Earthly Paradise is Within our Grasp

Earthly Paradise is Within our Grasp

Category: Religion and Philosophy

http://literarydiscussions.myfreeforum.org/ftopic53.php

Suppose you were transported to a different land, and you met some doctors or counsellors in that land, and they wanted to advise you, help you.... but it happens to be close to lunch time, and suddenly the doctors and counsellors open their lunch pails, and pull out their lunch,... which to your HORROR AND AMAZEMENT, are fried and roasted human infants.....


They notice that you are shocked, and they offer you a multitude of reasons why you really shouldnt be shocked at all, that those infants felt no pain,.... that it was really more or less God's providence which had provided them or slated them for our consumption and enjoyment... that they could not be considered human since they had not reached the age of reason. Who knows what various and sundry reasons they might give you in this strange land to justify their
ghoulish eating habits.

No matter what justfications they give you, you are still horrified. It appears to you monstrous, unfeeling. From your perspective, it is THEY who are blind to the fact that their personal gratification as robbed a soul/consciousness of the right to exist, and experiences, to suffer and enjoy.

My little, hypothetical example is perhaps greatly exaggerated. But my point is that in a land , or a village, where people will not light a fire after dark, because the flame would attract an insect to its death, and that insect possess a soul which is essentially no different from a human soul, and the karmic consequences of having lite that fire, and cause that souled being to die, would negatively impact the soul of the person who lights the fire... were you such a people as the Jains, then how greatly would you value the spiritual, or psychological advice of those baby-munching physicians in that strange land. How seriously would you take them, if they told you that perhaps you were mentally ill, or that your way of life was somehow "wrong" or "inferior?"

And if you think that their notion of the insect having a soul is strange... well open your Biblical Old Testament and read about he Prophet Baalam, who had a talking donkey. The donkey was able to recognize the presence of the fearsome angel with a sword, standing to block the path of Balaam's journey. Balaam himself was blind to the angel's threat. When God grants the donkey the ability to speak, the donkey complains, "Why do you treat me so poorly, when I have
been your donkey for so many years and served you so faithfully." The angel chimes in, speaking in favor of the donkey and censures Balaam saying, "You should not treat your donkey so poorly." The bottom line of the story is simply that the donkey was ALWAYS a good donkey, and did its duty, yet BALAAM DID NOT HAVE sufficient FAITH in the faithfulness of the donkey to question or suspect that there might be a perfectly good reason why they donkey was refusing to
budge in this one instance.

Similary, BALAAM DID NOT HAVE sufficient FAITH in the faithfulness of God. Balaam did not see that there was a good reason why God did not want him to go on his journey. If we want to be REALLY clever and subtle in our observations concerning this Old Testament story of
Balaam, we will notice that Balaam says, "IF I HAD A SWORD, I would kill (the donkey)". This reveals to us that Balaam DID NOT take a sword on his journey (even though journeys were quite dangerous), out of respect for human life, lest he be tempted to take a human
life... and yet BALAAM has no respect for the donkey's life, admitting that HE WOULD kill the donkey if only he had a sword...

Of course, I am not for one minute suggesting that everyone in India, or any other country, is extremely religious, or obeservant, or vegetarian.

The religion of the great american hotdog/hamburger/capitalist culture has been quite successful in preaching its culture.

I suppose what I am saying is that in many such countries, people might welcome a pill or injection to control their diabetes, but they might not necessarily accept counselling or values of some social worker whose culture seems so brutal and barbaric.

You know, the West is so comical. We so cherish personal freedom, democracy, and liberty. We were so horrified when China instituted its "one baby" policy. And yet I often see mention made of the undeniable fact that, if China HAD NOT instituted such a policy, they would NOW be in much deeper environmental and overpopulation trouble. And it was only because they had the power of an absolute dictatorship that China could succeed in enforcing what seems like
such an inhumane law.

Ecologists and environmentalists estimate that the planet earth could comfortably support a population of ONE billion for an indefinite number of centuries.

The earth did not reach a population of one billion until around 1860, and yet by 1930, it had DOUBLED to TWO billion. And now it has skyrocketed to SIX billion. Those ads for ADM (supermarket to the world) project 20 billion by the year 2030.

Did it every occur to anyone that PARADISE, earthly paradise, IS ALREADY within the grasp of mankind?? Whatever do I mean by this strange statement?

Very simply this: If all 6 billion humans united and worked in harmony, this very moment,..... and through self-control, abstinance... whatever means (birth control, self-gratification...whatever) ... if their goal was to reduce the world population to ONE BILLION over the next 200 years... SIMPLY by limiting reproduction, THEN in a short 200 years, the
earth's population would be at a reasonable stable level from an environmental point of view.

Now what do I mean by "earthly paradise is in our grasp". I MEAN THAT, AFTER THE EARTH HAD RETURNED TO THE ONE BILLION population level, over the next 200 years, then technology, science, medicine, and a united world democracy, would make EVERYONE independently wealthy, and disease free.

It is very obvious to us , even now, that computers and robots and modern technology makes possible a level of production (food and other materials) which does not require such a work force as in previous centuries... and CERTAINLY DOES NOT require the slave labor
which was employed so many times in history.

Humanity has it totally within their power, to choose, to elect, to transform human life into a paradise of wealth for all, free of disease.

But our own selfishness and greed, and our racial and ethnic prejudices and nationalistic pride, will perhaps never allow us to co-operate with one another, and to practice the personal asceticism and self denial, to achieve such an end.

But even if humanity COULD manage to unite and discipline to create such a UTOPIAN WORLD, then what would those people do with all their free time, their leisure, their perfect health and incredible life spans extended by genetic engineering and artificial organ
transplants?

Would they write poetry and create works of art or recite prayers and debate theology?

Or would they have too much sex, drink and smoke too much, and become bored and depressed?