Wednesday, December 08, 2004
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Profligate War Spending Threatens Historic Status of Dollar
Will it take a third party to repair
the damage done
by the tax and spend Democrats
and the kill and spend Republicans?
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Soldier Stands Up To The Master Of War
And The Master's Callous Response
As with a libertine so consumed with lust
he can not stop himself to don a prophylactic,
So, the Cheney, Bush, and Rumsfeld gang,
consumed with lust for war and
covetousness of oil and power,
can't stop to provide its soldiers
with the necessary armor.
Copyright JRH Wednesday, December 08, 2004
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Torture is a moral issue.
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Soldier Stands Up To The Master Of War
And The Master's Callous Response
As with a libertine so consumed with lust
he can not stop himself to don a prophylactic,
So, the Cheney, Bush, and Rumsfeld gang,
consumed with lust for war and
covetousness of oil and power,
can't stop to provide its soldiers
with the necessary armor.
Copyright JRH Wednesday, December 08, 2004
:~::~::~:
Torture is a moral issue.
:~:
:~:
:~:
Monday, November 29, 2004
Profit Motivated Drug Industry Kills Thousands
Drugs are made by erring man;
Herbs are made by God's own hand.
Drugs are born of corporate greed;
God made herbs to meet soul's need.
Responsible are you to use your heart,
Without it, drugs or herbs, don't start.
Responsible are you to use your head,
Without it, drugs or herbs, you're dead.
And in the end, though body dies,
Those born in God will have new lives.
Copyright JRH November 29, 2004
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Namaste Mark,
I enjoyed our little chat the other day when you were in the store.
I can feel and identify with your sincere and ardent desire for justice in the "Mideast".
Pondering the roots of justice and injustice, this is what comes to me:
Seeking justice in the interest of ego creates injustice.
Seeking justice in the interest of the enemy creates justice.
Hating the enemy, one hates oneself.
Loving the enemy, one loves oneself.
Love, peace, and blessings to you and all.
John
I enjoyed our little chat the other day when you were in the store.
I can feel and identify with your sincere and ardent desire for justice in the "Mideast".
Pondering the roots of justice and injustice, this is what comes to me:
Seeking justice in the interest of ego creates injustice.
Seeking justice in the interest of the enemy creates justice.
Hating the enemy, one hates oneself.
Loving the enemy, one loves oneself.
Love, peace, and blessings to you and all.
John
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Namaste,
In my perpetual study of the yamas and niyamas, today begins a month of focus on asteya.
The Anusara Yoga website offers this definition:
Asteya (Non-stealing): Not taking what is not yours?money, goods, or credit. Not robbing people of their own experiences and freedom. Non-desire for another?s possessions, qualities, or status. Non-stealing.
Some Memorial Day reflections:
From the perspective of 36 years later, a decision I made when I was only 17 years old
still looms as perhaps the most important and most correct choice I ever made. I chose at that age to request from my draft board the forms to register as a conscientious objector.
I have never regretted that decision, and I encourage all young people around the world
to consider whether they should reject participation in the madness and evil of the war machines. I was not granted conscientious objector status by the draft board. The identity I chose to give myself, in alignment with my heroes Gandhi and Martin Luther King, was and is much more important than the labels issued by the draft board as representatives of the war machine.
Most wars are class warfare. War is the rich elite sending the less powerful to kill other less powerful persons, including men, women and children, in the interest of
ruling commercial interests. Most war is killing for worldly wealth and power.
On this memorial time occasion here are some human sacrifices the rulers in the
City of Darkness on the Potomac would like you to forget:
1. The returning dead service people.
2. The 10,000 plus civilian men, women, and children killed in Iraq by the lust of our rulers for more worldly wealth and power.
In my perpetual study of the yamas and niyamas, today begins a month of focus on asteya.
The Anusara Yoga website offers this definition:
Asteya (Non-stealing): Not taking what is not yours?money, goods, or credit. Not robbing people of their own experiences and freedom. Non-desire for another?s possessions, qualities, or status. Non-stealing.
Some Memorial Day reflections:
From the perspective of 36 years later, a decision I made when I was only 17 years old
still looms as perhaps the most important and most correct choice I ever made. I chose at that age to request from my draft board the forms to register as a conscientious objector.
I have never regretted that decision, and I encourage all young people around the world
to consider whether they should reject participation in the madness and evil of the war machines. I was not granted conscientious objector status by the draft board. The identity I chose to give myself, in alignment with my heroes Gandhi and Martin Luther King, was and is much more important than the labels issued by the draft board as representatives of the war machine.
Most wars are class warfare. War is the rich elite sending the less powerful to kill other less powerful persons, including men, women and children, in the interest of
ruling commercial interests. Most war is killing for worldly wealth and power.
On this memorial time occasion here are some human sacrifices the rulers in the
City of Darkness on the Potomac would like you to forget:
1. The returning dead service people.
2. The 10,000 plus civilian men, women, and children killed in Iraq by the lust of our rulers for more worldly wealth and power.
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Namaste,
Satya is the yama for me to study this month. All my thoughts, words, and deeds will be examined with special emphasis through the lens and in the light of Satya.
Gopi Krishna wrote:
"My exercises in self-mastery included scrupulous adherence to truth. At first sight this resolve appears to be easy to accomplish, but it is much more difficult than one can imagine before trying it in actual practice. In my official career, especially, it was a hard discipline to follow. When parties involved in a case came to seek my advice and help, it was extremely difficult to be open and frank with them."
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
*********************
Recently I sold a book on the Internet about the history of alchemy in Greaco-Roman Egypt. Seeing that the winning bidder emailed me from India, I tossed him a namaste in reply, assuming he would know the greeting. Sure enough, he replied in kind, but in this second email he requested that I put false numbers on the customs slip.
I replied with this statement:
"In regard to customs, a vow of Satya (Truthfulness) prevents falsification of forms."
He replied with this story:
"There once was a monk in a monastery far away in the Himalayas who was famous for keeping Satya, he never told one single lie, nor to himself or any other. One night a man came to the monastery seeking a hiding place because he was being chased by a man and his gang, who wanted to kill him. The monk agreed to hide him hoping that his followers would not come this way. But soon after the angry man and his men where at the gates of the monastery demanding to speak with the monk. The angry man said: “I am looking for a man who might have come this way tonight. Me and my men could easily tear this place down trying to find him, but I know that you never tell any lie, so just tell me if he is her a not and - if not - I shall leave taking your word for good”.
Now what was the monk to do?"
And after complaining about high customs fees in his home country in Scandinavia (he was only on holiday in India), he wrote:
"I therefore ask you kindly to consider this before declaring the value of the book. Any way the decision is yours and now you have a full view over the situation."
And my reply was:
"Re: The Monk's Dilemma
There was no dilemma for the monk. From his practice of svadhyaya he knew that Patanjali and others teach the yamas and niyamas in a particular order for a reason. Ahimsa is first because it controls, modifies, and conditions all the others. If an act or thought violates ahimsa, then it cannot be in accord with satya, whether we immediately understand the particulars of the circumstance or not. In the monk's story, the hidden man was not there to be harmed. Some teachers go so far as to say that ahimsa even subsumes all the other yamas and niyamas and that by mastering ahimsa alone, one has mastered all the rest. The foundation of ahimsa is the Oneness of All.
With an untrue entry on the customs label, the practice and habit of both ahimsa and satya would be broken. If I can't observe the yamas in a simple and easy instance such as this one, how can I build the practice and habit strongly enough to serve me in more difficult situations? I am not a saint, and only as recently as December 2nd did the light dawn in me that I must attend to practice, practice, practice.
With warm regards, and thank you for the story which I will share with my fellow students and teachers."
---Namaste
Namaste,
Satya is the yama for me to study this month. All my thoughts, words, and deeds will be examined with special emphasis through the lens and in the light of Satya.
Gopi Krishna wrote:
"My exercises in self-mastery included scrupulous adherence to truth. At first sight this resolve appears to be easy to accomplish, but it is much more difficult than one can imagine before trying it in actual practice. In my official career, especially, it was a hard discipline to follow. When parties involved in a case came to seek my advice and help, it was extremely difficult to be open and frank with them."
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
*********************
Recently I sold a book on the Internet about the history of alchemy in Greaco-Roman Egypt. Seeing that the winning bidder emailed me from India, I tossed him a namaste in reply, assuming he would know the greeting. Sure enough, he replied in kind, but in this second email he requested that I put false numbers on the customs slip.
I replied with this statement:
"In regard to customs, a vow of Satya (Truthfulness) prevents falsification of forms."
He replied with this story:
"There once was a monk in a monastery far away in the Himalayas who was famous for keeping Satya, he never told one single lie, nor to himself or any other. One night a man came to the monastery seeking a hiding place because he was being chased by a man and his gang, who wanted to kill him. The monk agreed to hide him hoping that his followers would not come this way. But soon after the angry man and his men where at the gates of the monastery demanding to speak with the monk. The angry man said: “I am looking for a man who might have come this way tonight. Me and my men could easily tear this place down trying to find him, but I know that you never tell any lie, so just tell me if he is her a not and - if not - I shall leave taking your word for good”.
Now what was the monk to do?"
And after complaining about high customs fees in his home country in Scandinavia (he was only on holiday in India), he wrote:
"I therefore ask you kindly to consider this before declaring the value of the book. Any way the decision is yours and now you have a full view over the situation."
And my reply was:
"Re: The Monk's Dilemma
There was no dilemma for the monk. From his practice of svadhyaya he knew that Patanjali and others teach the yamas and niyamas in a particular order for a reason. Ahimsa is first because it controls, modifies, and conditions all the others. If an act or thought violates ahimsa, then it cannot be in accord with satya, whether we immediately understand the particulars of the circumstance or not. In the monk's story, the hidden man was not there to be harmed. Some teachers go so far as to say that ahimsa even subsumes all the other yamas and niyamas and that by mastering ahimsa alone, one has mastered all the rest. The foundation of ahimsa is the Oneness of All.
With an untrue entry on the customs label, the practice and habit of both ahimsa and satya would be broken. If I can't observe the yamas in a simple and easy instance such as this one, how can I build the practice and habit strongly enough to serve me in more difficult situations? I am not a saint, and only as recently as December 2nd did the light dawn in me that I must attend to practice, practice, practice.
With warm regards, and thank you for the story which I will share with my fellow students and teachers."
---Namaste
Friday, April 30, 2004
"The desire for self reform is the first sign of the activity of kundalini."
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
Today my devotion to ahimsa was challenged by the appearance of a poisonous spider speeding along the floor toward
where I was sitting on my blankets. I called out "ahimsa, ahimsa", but the spider paid no heed, not wavering
in his advance. Insects such as flies and moths have taken advantage of the time I spend chanting "ahimsa" to change
their course, escape out the door, or otherwise disappear, but not this spider. On he came. I hopped up and grabbed a roll of packing tape, quickly ripping off a piece. Twice I pressed down the tape over the back of the spider, but each time I awkwardly peeled the patch of tape up the spider came free. He even ran to hide under my sitting blankets! Finally, after the third attempt to catch him, it ran between two tilting stacks of books and out of reach, saved by the disordered piles born of my habitual lack of shauca.
Weighing the harm I intend to the spider against the harm the spiders might do to my customers or their children, I nearly guiltlessly lay out more sticky strip spider traps. I console myself with the musing that the very effective traps are passive
devices and the spiders that are caught are the engines of their own fates.
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
Today my devotion to ahimsa was challenged by the appearance of a poisonous spider speeding along the floor toward
where I was sitting on my blankets. I called out "ahimsa, ahimsa", but the spider paid no heed, not wavering
in his advance. Insects such as flies and moths have taken advantage of the time I spend chanting "ahimsa" to change
their course, escape out the door, or otherwise disappear, but not this spider. On he came. I hopped up and grabbed a roll of packing tape, quickly ripping off a piece. Twice I pressed down the tape over the back of the spider, but each time I awkwardly peeled the patch of tape up the spider came free. He even ran to hide under my sitting blankets! Finally, after the third attempt to catch him, it ran between two tilting stacks of books and out of reach, saved by the disordered piles born of my habitual lack of shauca.
Weighing the harm I intend to the spider against the harm the spiders might do to my customers or their children, I nearly guiltlessly lay out more sticky strip spider traps. I console myself with the musing that the very effective traps are passive
devices and the spiders that are caught are the engines of their own fates.
"It is a strange vagary of human character that when one is the victim of injustice, he promptly raises a hue and cry against the dispensers of law, but when he is the cause of injustice to another, he often exonerates himself and puts the blame on the victim.
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
This month I have been looking at the concept of Ahimsa.
John Friend's Anusara website defines it like this:
"Ahimsa (Non-harming): Loving kindness to others, not blocking or obstructing the flow of Nature, compassion, mercy, gentleness. Non-violence."
Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, commenting on Pantanjali's Yoga Aphorisms, write "We are to live so that no harm or pain is caused by our thoughts, words or deeds to any other human being. In a positive sense, this means that we must cultivate love for all, and try to see the one Atman within everybody. We must think of ourselves as
the servants of mankind, and be ready to put ourselves at the disposal of those who need us. It does not mean, however, that we should lend ourselves to the evil purposes of others, helping them to commit crimes; for such purposes would be in opposition to the purposes of yama. The truly helpful man is like a public trolly car, available to all who care to use it, but traveling, nevertheless, along a fixed route to its destination."
--How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Pantanjali. Vedanta Press, Hollywood, 1971.
My own most recent and vivid ahimsa experience involved a violation of several of the yamas at once, in expressing in letters, desire for intimacy with a friend so intense that it shocked and hurt her deeply. It is only in the last few days that my presence has ceased to be a source of visible discomfort for her. I made a semi-public confession in church and have apologized to her. I owe this person eternal gratitude for the spiritual awakening she triggered in me and hold my friendship available to her without regard to time, place, or condition.
Living with Kundalini: The Autobiography of Gopi Krishna, Shambala Publications, Boston, 1993
This month I have been looking at the concept of Ahimsa.
John Friend's Anusara website defines it like this:
"Ahimsa (Non-harming): Loving kindness to others, not blocking or obstructing the flow of Nature, compassion, mercy, gentleness. Non-violence."
Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, commenting on Pantanjali's Yoga Aphorisms, write "We are to live so that no harm or pain is caused by our thoughts, words or deeds to any other human being. In a positive sense, this means that we must cultivate love for all, and try to see the one Atman within everybody. We must think of ourselves as
the servants of mankind, and be ready to put ourselves at the disposal of those who need us. It does not mean, however, that we should lend ourselves to the evil purposes of others, helping them to commit crimes; for such purposes would be in opposition to the purposes of yama. The truly helpful man is like a public trolly car, available to all who care to use it, but traveling, nevertheless, along a fixed route to its destination."
--How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Pantanjali. Vedanta Press, Hollywood, 1971.
My own most recent and vivid ahimsa experience involved a violation of several of the yamas at once, in expressing in letters, desire for intimacy with a friend so intense that it shocked and hurt her deeply. It is only in the last few days that my presence has ceased to be a source of visible discomfort for her. I made a semi-public confession in church and have apologized to her. I owe this person eternal gratitude for the spiritual awakening she triggered in me and hold my friendship available to her without regard to time, place, or condition.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
If we grasp a correct idea too tightly,
we risk squeezing the truth out of it.
Content of this website is copyright
by John R. Hiller.
we risk squeezing the truth out of it.
Content of this website is copyright
by John R. Hiller.
