This is leading nowhere...I am talking about spirituality as people
practice it in other parts of the world, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
I abhor new ageism in CA, Deepak Chopra and the like. If deep
introspection is a result of someone saying you are immature you have
just missed the bus, no make it a boat:) The point is there is something
deeper than materialist foundations of society. Contrary to Ravi's claim
religion is not well defined, if it were the boundaries would be
clear cut. They are not--see in your own state whether people identify
themselves on the basis of religion. Secularism is not a panacea, as you
point out in the NPR case. Besides in the larger scheme of things (say
the cosmic world), what indeed is this bloody planet!
Yes, it is lot of opinion, that is why I say it is not going anywhere.
Cheers,
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Anthony P. D'Costa
Associate Professor Ph: (253) 692-4462
Comparative International Development Fax: (253) 692-5718
University of Washington Box Number: 358436
1900 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402, USA
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On Fri, 8 Jun 2001, ravi narayan wrote:
> Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2001 12:21:13 -0400
> From: ravi narayan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: [PEN-L:12995] Re: the gospel of buddha
>
> Anthony DCosta wrote:
>
> > I wish I could. But we make a living while we grade:) Why be dismayed
> > with spirituality? Coming from the Indian south I would have thought Ravi
> > would have had a better grasp of spirituality in general or has the pace
> > of alienation for him been faster being here than normal?
>
> >
>
>
> well, i was born on the cusp of the ascent of enlightenment snobbery
> in india (or at least "educated upper class india"), so the
> alienating substituion of the religion of rationalism for the
> religion of hinduism was accomplished at the start ;-).
>
> > On a more
> > serious note and to repeat myself, I am not religious myself (I went to
> > Catholic School, so there!) but I do respect people's spirituality (I
> > think Yoshie said it right).
>
>
>
> the problem i have with the term "spirituality" is that it has been
> so well appropriated by new age literature that it is difficult to
> pin anything down that i can argue against. you say a deep sort of
> introspection (that people do not carry out due to, among other
> things, capitalist modernism), but that doesnt help me much - i
> try to introspect deeply. when someone on a list calls me "immature"
> ;-) i reflect on that for a bit of time and analyze my words and
> actions. does that make me spiritual? at least i never thought of
> my actions as spiritual.
>
> religion on the other hand is very well defined. i can see what it
> is about and what it holds against modernity (not of capitalism, in
> my mind, but the modernity of science and technology). if the left
> is to mean those who fight for the underdog and help provide
> alternate viewpoints, then the left did, imho, a great job of
> countering the negative effects of certain aspects of religion,
> but in departing from the particular (such as countering religion's
> views against homosexuality or women's rights) and attempting to
> create an idealogy, an idealogy that attempts/attempted to join
> hands with and gain from the ascendance of science and rationality,
> the left (or at least one version of the left) has created what has
> become nothing but a fashionable pose for the 20th century
> intellectual and card carrying NPR member.
>
> from you initial response, i expected a kierkegaardian defense of
> religion in the face of tim[?]'s rationalist/platonist/???ist
> critique of your post. imagine then my justifiable dismay to see you
> take refuge [as i see it] ;-) under that serpentine term
> "spirituality" which in my mind conjures up nothing but deepak
> chopra conning the well-to-do in princeton or equivalent town, with
> recycled vedanta and shallow insights!
>
> i know... all of the above is just a lot of opinion.
>
> --ravi
>
>
