Illusion 101

2004-3-25 03:56:00

Glenys made an interesting point that goes along with a train of thought that I thought we would pursue as a class.

In the past we have talked about maya, glamour and illusion, three properties that distract the seeker's attention away from the truth so he will focus on that which is false. Any such diversion of attention creates a grave problem for the seeker and can cost him lifetimes of effort before he gets on track.

Of these three influences illusion is the most subtle and difficult to dissolve so the fog can be lifted. Many would-be disciples spend lifetimes of effort on wrong paths because of just one illusion that captivates their thought.

Therefore, what we are going to do for a while is go beyond theory and discuss real illusions that captivate many who are good, bad, rich, poor, intelligent and not so intelligent.

I want you all to contemplate illusions that affect much of humanity. We will then itemize them in the form of a permanent list that we will update from time to time.

We will start with the illusion Glenys exposed in her post by quoting her:

Quoting Glenys:
Someone has written to me suggesting that I am an anti-conservationist and do not care for the environment by expressing the view below.

Here is my response.

WelI, I do regard myself as a conservationist and I have probably done more than most to walk the talk.

I have planted trees on an island near where I live in the hopes of attracting bird life back to it, I support nature reserves, both financially and through volunteer work, and generally support any attempts to create environments conducive to life, including 'safe' environments where natural predators are eliminated to give diminishing species a change to recover.

But I do think there should be some balance in how we approach prolonging the form when it is clear that it has outlived its usefulness to the life within it. To me, an analogy is prolonging a human form by artificial means eg life support when the soul has already withdrawn the life aspect.

Spending millions of dollars on preserving species that are on their way to extinction is a questionable use of funds, in my view. I would rather we spent the money on assisting animals that are still evolving within their present forms.

In NZ we have many species which are dying out and to commit vast resources to preserving, for example, 12 birds on a remote island, is stupid, in my view.

But I realize this view goes against prevailing conservationist ideals and am used to people thinking I do not care as a result.

As far as I know, I am a minority of one on this matter so there is no need to be concerned that my view holds much sway :-)

JJ:
So what illusion can we conclude from this logic she presents?

Illusion One: It is not always good to artificially save a species just because it is endangered. Species come and go. They are born and they die and when the time comes for them to go then it becomes an evil rather than a good to interfere and attempt to prevent their demise.

Question: Is the solution to this illusion black and white? Should we not seek to save any species or should we seek to save them all - or does the second Key of judgment apply again?

Assignment: Contemplate other illusions which prevail in the world and post them. If they past the test we will include them on the final list.

We'll end with a quote from DK: In the case of the subhuman kingdoms in nature, death is the direct result of this obscure activity of the planet. The only idea as to its functioning which I can give you is that the soul of all non-human forms of life is an inherent aspect of the substance of which the planet is itself constructed; this soul can be withdrawn according to cycles, undetermined yet by science but fixed and certain in their working-apart from great planetary accidents or the direct action of the fourth kingdom in nature. This innate planetary power leads to the death of an animal and-in the larger sweep of evolution-to the extinction of a species; it leads also in time to the death of the forms of the vegetable kingdom and is also one of the causes which leads to the autumnal cycle in the year, producing the "sere, the yellow leaf," the loss of verdure in the grass, and those cyclic manifestations which indicate not alone death, upon a temporary and passing scale, but the complete cessation of vitality within a form. "Times of perishing" are cyclic manifestations of the "destroyer aspect" within the planet itself. These are necessarily difficult matters for you to grasp.