To Judy, Barry, Bob et al: I could have used another cultural medium as a frame of reference. It could be based on Judeo-Christian tradition, TM, science, Star Trek or whatever. The idea is to convey an idea to describe what is reality.
In any story, the writer has to convey a point in clear distinct characters to convey a message. We could use the story of Saddam Hussein to describe how he got in such a dire predicament. He was a product of his culture and country. As we can see, before the Americans came, Saddam had to balance the two factions in his country: the Shiites and the Sunnis. He wanted to keep Iraq as one country. But how? He found with some success in the beginning that threats and intimidation could do the job. However, as he grew in power, he found that he had to use other methods to promote his agenda, such such as killing, tortures and war. In his own mind, he was doing what he understood to be the Muslim faith, his belief. In the end, the ultimate judge of his actions on this earth is the Iraqui court (perhaps with the help of Bush). As we found out yesterday, he was found guilty according to the rules of his country. Thus, he got literally hung for it. If it was in this country, he could have had a lethal injection. But somehow the journalistic medium does not convey the same meaning as the medium used for conveying moral values (for the lack of a better term). There is another way to describe the mechanism that got Hussein in the gallows. Regards, John R. --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "John" <jr_esq@> wrote: > > > > Gentlemen: > > > > Aside from his personal views, if they are historically accurate, HG > > Wells apparently struck a note of wisdom in his writing of the Time > > Machine. He may have gotten lucky. But the message still rings > > true. Perhaps, the message is political and economic-- that is, the > > battle between socialism and capitalism. > > > > From the vedic point of view, however, we can see the interplay of > > the gunas and how they manifested among the Eloi and the Murlocks. > > We see the struggle between good and evil, which is very similar to > > the struggle between the demigods and the demons in the vedic > > literature. The story even today has an inherent appeal. > > Just as a point, John, some of us here don't see > the world in terms of the TM buzzword "vedic." > As I think I said in my initial reply, anyone > can project onto a well-told story anything they > want to see in it. The fact that they see it there > does not, however, mean that the author intended > it to be there. > > It is certainly possible to see The Time Machine > as a metaphor for the struggle between demigods > and demons, a la the Vedas. It would be equally > possible for a strong Christian to see the same > story as a struggle between the forces of God > and those of Satan. Or, one could view the same > story in a less dualistic manner, as just the > interplay of energies, without casting those > energies as "good" or "bad," "angelic" or > "demonic." IMO it's all a matter of how one > chooses to see such things, and the world in > general. > > Me, I'd be happiest with seeing this story, and > the world in general, in terms of a non-dualistic, > eternal interplay of energies that are neither > good nor bad...they just are. You, of course, > can choose to see it, and the world in general, > in a more dualistic fashion. The neat part of > being human is that we get to choose how we view > the world. The troublesome part of being human > is that we get to live with the repercussions > of how we choose to view the world. As many > spiritual teachers, including Maharishi, have > said, "That which you focus on grows stronger > in your life." > > I would take that to mean that if one chooses to > see the world as a battleground between good and > evil, then a battleground is what life becomes -- > for that person. I prefer the vision of life as > a graceful dance of energies, none of them > inherently good or evil, just energy dancing. >
