The Meek Are Getting Ready
'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth'.
Mt:5:5
History is filled with larger than life figures we readily recall as heroes. But there are some others figures – shadowy mavericks on the periphery -- whose words, prophetic, rebellious, visionary contributed to major changes in human history. Motivated by their love of humanity, sacrifice was more than a virtue: it defined them. Many times, they turned away from their personal lives in order to follow the sometimes peculiar paths they felt drawn to traverse. The Buddha, once a wealthy prince, became a beggar as well as the catalyst for a rich and significant change in the way humanity viewed life and its choices. Amos, Mohamed, Gobind Singh, Jeremiah, Moses, Jesus, Bab, Zoroaster, Mahavira, Guru Nanak, Siddharta, – all individuals who suffered personal losses, but enriched the world beyond measure. Indeed, they turned the world upside down. Their faith kept them steady in their focus and purpose and gave them strength when adversity challenged them.
Who Were They
And What Did they say
"Instead of showing us a way through the elegant mansions of the mind, the prophets take us to the slums…
To us a single act of injustice--cheating in business, exploitation of the poor--is slight; to the prophets, a disaster….
The prophet is an iconoclast, challenging the apparently holy, revered, and awesome. Beliefs cherished as certainties, institutions endowed with supreme sanctity, he exposes as scandalous pretensions…
The words of the prophet are stern, sour, stinging. But behind his austerity is love and compassion for mankind…
The prophet is a lonely man. He alienates the wicked as well as the pious, the cynics as well as the believers, the priests and the princes, the judges and the false prophets. But to be a prophet means to challenge and to defy and to cast out fear…
Pages 1-22, The Prophets, Abraham Heschel, Harper & Row, 1962
To the "Christians"
By Francis Adams
Take, then, your paltry Christ,
Your gentleman God.
We want the carpenter's son,
With his saw and hod.
We want the man who loved
The poor and the oppressed.
Who hated the Rich man and King
And the Scribe and the Preist.
We want the Galilean
Who knew cross and rod.
It's your "good taste" that prefers
A bastard "God"!
SourceCry For Justice:An Anthology of Social Protest,
Edited by Upton Sinclair,The John Winston Co., 1915; page 219 Francis Adams
"English poet and rebel, 1862-1893; his life, a brief struggle with
poverty and disease, was ended by his own hand."
They fought for the poor, the disadvantaged and the oppressed, confronting injustice, oppression or tyranny, confronting authority, rebuking kings and the priestly caste for the injustices of their actions. They said things like: "Let my people go" (Exodus 5:1); Or the woes of Jesus where it seems no one was spared:
"Woe to you Pharisees, because you gave God a tenth of your mint, rue all other kinds of herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God...
…Woe to you experts in law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge."
(Luke 11: 42,52)
Unlike the stereotypical hero – the military hero, the great leaders of our times – these are individuals who had no armies, no minions, and, initially, no large movements . The followers they had were few and even those at times might desert them at moments of crisis. They had no master plan, no grand strategy. Sometimes they did not even know what they were to do next. What they had was faith. Belief in God. That if they gave themselves to God, to do his work--Good things would happen. They blindly followed their faith, believing that God knew best. That if they were to make a better world it would take the inspiration and faith of God to lead us. They understood that even men and women's in their most infinite wisdom could never achieve a life on earth a fraction of what God is capable of doing
"The avowed theologians--as well as the masses of people who were under their educational influence--continuously minimized and distorted the social character of prophecy and vulgarly and only superficially grasped the divine, prophetic revelation. They represented the Prophet as an unnatural, superhuman, God-empowered messenger, whereas actually the Prophet was a man with both feet planted firmly in everyday reality. In accordance with the natural and completely understandable dictates of his ethical and social conscience he took clear and deliberate position on the economic, cultural and political issues of his time. He oriented himself in the people's problems and he appealed to his people and their rulers to heed his words.
'The spirited independence of the prophet, the social-revolutionary character of his utterances, his strength to rise above and reject the prejudices of his times, can be explained by the fact that he did not regard himself as mechanical messenger, as 'a servant of god' whose senses only blindly and unconsciously the orders of someone outside and above himself. He is the messenger of a God (source of truth and justice) whole lives within him, and he brings a message which he himself has accepted out of his own inner compulsion, according to this own free will and conviction." (Page 14)
"To come to the relief of the distressed and to help the oppressed,
act as amends and expiation of many sins."
Islam, Nahjul Bulagha, Saying 22
Eastern Mystics tell us that the world is Maya--a delusion. In our modern world image makers and mind manipulators abound. We are told how wonderful life is, that history has ended and the world is a better place. But we know this is not true. How do we make a better world? How do we turn the world back right side up? Make justice a reality. Put our country back on track to live and breath the principles it was founded upon.
We are so used to thinking of large political parties, organizations, movements, money, corporate power, military might as agents of change. Yet we know that solitary figures have been capable of turning the world upside down. Like the boy David that felled the giant Goliath, they have defied conventional wisdom and shown the power of courage and faith.
For the Prophets, God was the highest source of social truth and justice, the defender of the poor and the weak, the punisher of every brute and oppressor. The Prophet was particularly proud and happy and honored to fulfill his mission, despite all the storms of the passing day--a day that was no longer than a blink of an eye in comparison with eternity--and despite all the pain and affliction wrought upon the messenger, who would willingly sacrifice his own life for the ultimate victory of justice and truth," (Page 15)
Professor Shmuel Eisenstadt speaking about the Old Testament prophets in his book; THE PROPHETS: Their Times and Their Social Ideas, Translated from the Yiddish by Max Rosenfeld, Yiddisher Kultu Farband (YKUF), New York, 1971
"Humility is my mace;
To become the dust under everyone's feet is my daggar.
These weapons no evildoer dare withstand."
Shikism, Adi Granth, Sorath, M.5, p.628
To this end we look to the Great Teachers and prophets. They show us the way of God! Look to Moses, Zoroaster, Bab, Mohammed, Jesus, Buddha, Abraham, Gobind Singh, Jeremiah, Mahavira, Guru Nanak, Siddharta. It is from their examples we must learn! They are the great ones, the great teachers. The message they brought still resonates the truth in our world today.
Become like the great prophets and be an advocate for the poor, speak out for the oppressed, confront injustice. The prophets were doers, people of action. Not only did they carry the message of God they tried to live it--To instill it in humanity, to make it a reality. If we are to make a better world and advance humanity--to get closer to that day when the meek shall inherit the earth we must become activists. Not soldiers, Not politicians!
"The world is imprisoned in its own activity, except when actions are performed as worship of God. Therefore, you must perform every action sacramentally, and be free from all attachments to results."
Bhagavad-Gita, 3:9
'He that controls the senses with the mind, and undertakes the yoga of action with the action-senses, but is unattached to the fruits of action, he is the best.'
Bhagavad-Gita, 3:7
'The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of activities to Me; whereas the person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled'
Bhagavad-Gita, 3:12
"The force of arms cannot do what peace does.
If you can gain your desired end with sugar, why use poison?"
Jianism, Somadeva, Nitivakyamrita 344
Reread the scriptures with emphasis on how the prophets delivered the word of God. Look to the challenges they confronted in their world at the time. Understand their trials and tribulations, their tests and their frustrations. Gain a new insight and perspective from this analysis and let it become your inspiration.
Look to God for inspiration; draw upon your faith. Volunteer and you will be called.
The path we are advocating is not for everyone--but there are things we can all do. Things to break the hold of corporate tyranny and mind manipulation, to regain our humanity, to reconnect with our communities, to bring love and vitality into our scorched earth. To advance both the human condition and our founding fathers vision of democracy: To free others and free ourselves.
Look within yourself and find that God within. Nurture and develop that relationship. When you are ready ask for direction. Go slowly at first; ask for time out when need be. Don't take big risks nor confront injustice or tyranny with anger. Instead keep a loving heart, pray for guidance and protection. Do as we do when we ghost--keep a contemplative mind.
The things we recommend seem so small, so simple--but they are powerful. The prophets were a great inspiration to me on my quest; let them be so to you as well. We will build upon these and most certainly God will do the same within you.
We are all activists now.
"Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind.
It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man."
Mahtma Ghandi
"We must be the change we want to see"
M.K. Gandhi
IT IS OURS TO CHOOSE!
Action Liberates Us
Liberation begins by developing the spiritual self so that we may find and better serve the God within.
Tips
Inaction Traps Us!
We live in the age of self, under the false prophet Adam Smith' s doctrine of 'self-interest'. Greed motivates many. "…he [sic] intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for society that it has no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it." (page 423) The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (Random House, Modern Library Edition, 1937).
There are several corollaries that are implicit in the capitalist's prophet Adam Smith theology. First, we are not responsible for our actions because whatever we do it will benefit society. Contemplate on that--it puts many things and attitudes we see in the world in perspective--Most of all it absolves us of sin! Secondly, inaction binds us to Smith's belief system and dogma--because after all whatever we do (or do not do) benefits society. So passivity, in-action in our modern world is essentially participation in the Capitalist paradigm. . Sitting idly, couch potato tuning out is being part of it. Couch potatoes are like the Emperor Nero glued to the Television while the world around them burns, when they feel some heat they reach for more popcorn or go to the Frig for a soda--Inaction makes them Duplicitous! Thirdly, Smith implies humanity is incapable of promoting the benefit of society, or helping itself.
GHOST to bring about
ENLIGHTMENT
Click on Buddha
By madis senner