Re: Isn't India enigmatic - idols & visions ...

India produced the Budda - later China's Triptaka went to India to resolve contradictions in the teachings that had emerged in the Chinese translations.

But Indian Buddism is steeped in vedic teachings and traditions.

I find it so odd that so many Indians fervently worship milk drinking stone staues of Ganesha and yet the most enlightened among India's people are in the forefront of divining the 'inner' God.

Their concept can be expanded to include that the inner God can be found in any living thing and in a basic form, any matter. The whole issue of the difference between inorganic matter & living organic matter is still part of the puzzel. Wilhelm Riech's attempts to take one & into the other with the addition of 'Universal Energy' (Orgone), was an intriguing perspective on the life / no life mystery. Still intigues me to this day. I still don't believe any human has succeeded in demostrating this transformation or clearly identifying the missing ingredient that allows one to become the other.

It seems amazing that we humans can deduce that every universe is powered by a black hole, but we can't take a mix of inorganic material (soup) & show that it can be made organic (creating life of it). But the man who first can do this and clearly define and scope all ingredients, can surely claim to be a 'God' (the old fashioned type :-).

Re religion in Australia - tis so long ago since I went to school It have no real idea what gets taught now other than that teachers must keep their hands off pupils (these days touching pupils for any purpose puts the fear of God into all sorts of people - esp paranoid parents).

Cheers

Doug

I think the "walking to the Ganges for water, then some humongous distance back - to pour water over an icon" represents the 'formatory' mindset, present in all populations. Ditto picking out your fav sub-deity for special attention. (Still.. Ganesha is the most compassionate of deities!)

Always and everywhere are the 'circles' - with esoteric in the center. Believe it is at the esoteric level only, where the bells & whistles are dispensed with. Such questions as would imagine er transmuting inorganic into organic - creating 'life'? - just wouldn't arise. That would be a Western approach: analyze, induce, synthesize - the expectation of a process to be 'mastered'. Reich could be called a wannabe Western mystic - Orgone as umm phlogiston ?

We have a hard time letting go of 'causality' and much else. That's why I don't see it as likely, that we can bridge the gap in mindset: we believe that $$ (and chemical elements) are Real! and that intellect can deduce it all. Words fail in that argument.

(Whether or not the historical Jesus made it to India in the 'unchronicled years'? many of his ideas as expressed - preceeded him, there)

Oh Well.. There is the concept of 'yugas' (some thousands of years) and this is supposed to be the most 'difficult' one from which to discern, well.. 'Truth'. There are ways (or Ways?) around the dificulty but - again - the noise of technology tends to interfere with following these, for most folk in typical daily situations. (In India today, as well)

There have been a few Remarkable sages, in recent years - and with interesting attitudes towards 'seekers' from the West: believe that ~ people who have gone to that much trouble (?) are worthy of attention, while - (actually saying that!) "Indians today can't pay attention either / are lazy". Go figure.

(Some English transcriptions of talks are jewels. One in particular, from the Marathi language, is remarkably clear - I'd say erudite in the precision and subtlety of the examples -- almost poetry even in the translation. One can only wonder.. and credit the translator for capturing that which could not possibly come from 'editing')

It's always an interesting 'Play'.

Ashton

Welcome to IWETHEY!