the meaning of life

The idea that anyone could know, in a comprehensive manner, the meaning of life, seems to most people an absurd notion.  Life qua life, is such an enormous, interwoven, complicated idea that it appears to defy comprehension, and further there is a general feeling today among Western Culture that a person searching for life's meaning is wasting scarce energy, scarce time, and being counter productive.  "Monty Python," a group of English funny men, created a satirical spoof movie called, The Meaning of Life.  Of course their title was meant to be sarcastic and to taunt the viewer with the high concept of "the meaning of life," then they immediately began to mock it in the most irreverent of ways.  After many comedic skits, that had little to do with the meaning of life, the movie ended with one of the Monty Python crew sitting in a chair saying , "Oh! You really expected to see evidence of the meaning of life?"  Then he reaches over to a small table standing next to him, picks up the book setting there entitle, "The Meaning Of Life," opens it and begins to read in a flippant manner, "treat every one as you would like to be treated, turn the other cheek, love your neighbor as yourself, blah, blah, blah," then throws the book to the side on the floor as the movie ends. 

Viktor E. Frankl, a Viennese psychiatrist, wrote a book entitled, "Man's Search for Meaning."  His presentation was taken seriously by millions of readers, owning to the facts that he was an immanent psychiatrist, and a survivor of Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and Dachau.  On page 154 of his book Frankl encapsulated his perception of the meaning of life, ..."Man is not fully condition and determined, but rather determines himself whether he gives into conditions or stands up to them.  In other words, man is ultimately self-determined.  Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment"...  Thus the meaning of life for Frankl, expresses itself from man's innate capacity for self-determination.  What is not made clear from Frankl's above perception or perhaps it was implied, is where the capacity for self-determination originates?  The answer is, it originates from our self-awareness. 

Since we are sentient beings our lived lives are exposed to us every moment.  We see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our lives.  It is like a continuous life-long movie, the difference being we are the producer, director, actor, and the audience or more accurately, the watcher. It is the fire of our self-awareness that allows us to see our nakedness, to learn from our experiences, to extract general insights and understandings, to create wisdom, and where from meaning to our lives. This self awareness process that extracts meaning from our lived experiences, is what could be term an elemental imperative.  The human race, from its origin has continuously searched, discovered and added to its meaning.  For instance, twenty five hundred years ago Gautama the Buddha had put on all the spiritual practices and techniques of his time, and found them unsatisfactory.  A bit despondent he sat under a Banyan Tree determined to become enlightened, and as the saying goes, "the rest is history."  The Buddha left an accessible and simple spiritual pathway for anyone to follow successfully.  At the ancient Greek Temple of Apollo, at Delphi, over the door entrance was a crosspiece carved with the phrase, Gnothi Seauton, "Know thyself," an admonition and a reminder to all that entered, that within the structure and operation of their own being lie universal principles of life.  Thus, humans have an ancient heritage of  not only searching for meaning of life, but also finding the meaning of life. 

There is an ancient worldview from India that relates a time, millions of years ago, where the gods walked the earth among nascent mankind.  There gods instructed mankind in principles of life, science, and the arts. Then when it was time for the gods to leave, they took the highest developed members of man kind and trained them to be in charge of Mystery Schools.  The Schools were meant to be the crucibles of the cosmic truths taught by the gods to fledgling mankind, and through a strict initiation process were meant to establish a trough of truth to feed evolving mankind.  

Some of the truths have been, over the millennia, let out through master teachers, especially in periods of darkness, to act as beacons of light for struggling mankind.  Some of the truths remain within the Mystery Schools, even today, to be let out as necessary to aid humans unfold their spiritual evolution, but to those humans whose desire for truth is unwavering, whose hearts are pure, and whose minds are highly trained these teachings are available in full.

When studied comparatively and comprehensively, the truths or various teachings that have been let out compose the basis for understanding the origin, nature, purpose, and destiny of our lives.  However, there is a caveat.  The ancient teachings are conceptually difficult to understand, owning in part to their universal nature, and their web of interconnections and interrelationships.  It is best to remember that the universal nature of these teachings relates and reflects the same universal  nature of the core of each human being.  Therefore, by affirming one's own universal nature one will open a contact point to begin to comprehend these wondrous and most satisfying teachings.  

However, this opening is gained by pressing through the present thought forms or mind molds of our minds.  These minds molds have been caste there and habituated by the intense exposure to our system of education, our cultural customs and mores, and to our religious and spiritual beliefs.  It is like changing directions while driving an automobile; tremendous force and energy must be brought under control before the directional change can be made.  It is difficult, but not beyond the capacity of ordinary humans like you and I.  

There is another necessary step of preparation, and that is in considering the idea of expectations.  These teachings are so vast they touch the outer reaches of our Home Galaxy, and the smallest particle of our earth.  Exploring such a vast body of wisdom it is best not to expect any final understanding or definition, as we are accustomed to expect from our traditional educational system.  Thus to know such teachings on one level is vital, but a relatively small step in an progressive advancement towards truth.  One last word, I promise, these teachings are not just for intellectual viewing, but are meant to be put-on and practiced.  They are intimately wrapped around the highest ethical principles and conduct.

Here is a listing of some of the teachings let out as apart of our human heritage:

                             1)  Composite organization of all beings and entities

                             2 )  Indwelling consciousness of all systems, entities and beings

                             3 )  Karma and reincarnation

                             4)  Cyclical revolving of all manifest things

                             5)  Hierarchical arrangement  of all things

                             6)  Innate characteristics of all things

                                 One truth many paths.  Be good, do good.

  

                                                    Louis DiVirgilio

  

      

my two cents-again

The Hindu calculation of the current evolutionary cycle of our world, is what they call, Kali Yuga, and means, "The Dark Age."  The duration of this dark age, is to be, 500,000 years, of which 5000 to 6000 years have been already spent.  The time period of 500,000 years, is more or less than this estimate of duration, for with the Hindus the exact duration of cycles given to the public is always cloaked.

If we ever awaken from our obsession with our electronic devices, remove the tyranny of time, for only a few minutes, mature  beyond seeking satisfaction for every sensation, we might gain just enough clarity to understand the real dangers and affects of  this dark age.  The force of direction of this dark age is toward materialism and rampant self-satisfaction; the negative or dark side of life.  Of course, the light side is not completely extinguished, but exposes itself continuously and opportunistically through out the dark age's course.   The primary affect of this dark age is what might be called the "Pinocchio Affect."  Using the Disney interpretation of the story of  Pinocchio as an metaphor: we see Pinocchio, school books in hand, walking to attend school, when on his way the Wolf intercepts Pinocchio and seduces him with an invitation to Pleasure Island.  There, said the Wolf, "All your desires can be satisfied, twenty four hours, day in, day out, and at no cost to you."  Pinocchio, engrossed with the idea of having all the pleasures he could want, skips happily and voluntarily under the arches of Pleasure Island.  As Pinocchio and the other children indiscriminately feed their desires, they begin to, slowly but surely, morph into donkeys. When the morphing process is totality completed the Wolf and his cohorts lead the now donkey herd into wagons, and bring them to auction houses, where they are sold to business people as slave labor.

If you haven't figured it out as yet, we live within a dualistic reality: hot/cold, pleasure/pain, male/female, night/day, spirit/matter, etc.  There are three very ancient symbols which represent the duality in which we live: first, the Buddhist symbol, a circle with dark and white  forms within the circle's interior; you might recognize it by thinking of the Chinese, yin and yang. Next, (keep in mind that this is a very ancient symbol), is the swastika, another favorite Buddhist symbol, a cross with broken arms bent at right angles.  The German Nazi Party used this ancient symbol to designate their party, but defaced the original, ancient meaning to meet their needs.  The vertical line of the cross represents the spiritual aspect of life, while the horizontal line represents the matter side of life.  The right angle arms suggest, life, movement, and forward progress.  The third symbol is known as the Egyptian Tau.  It is a cross with a circle at the top of the vertical line descending from it.  Its meaning is similar to that of the swastika, however emphasizing the movements and circulations of consciousness in evolution.  If you study these three symbols, single mindedly and separately, they may bring insights that substantiates your empirical idea of the characteristics of the duality in which we life.  When you bring enough pertinent facts together the truth emerges.

Lets us write a litany of the effects of the full morphing process into donkeys, using our country as a point of reference.  When all our U.S. power and influence is measured against the qualities of life, such as peace of mind, harmony, tolerance, and joy, we are found to be severely lacking.  While we proclaim our superior economic "standard of living" far and wide, we allow vice under every form to flourish in every city and community.  While we advise other countries to follow our principles of living, we consume a quarter of all the world's resources, yet we represent only one-fifth of the world's population.  While we are mentally absorbed in inventing new, cheap products or innovating old products to make them cheaper, our waste of resources is vast enough for entire countries to use and live well.  While we shop in a pet store and become frustrated over which brand of dog food to purchase, people over the world are starving to death.  In our country forty-five million citizens are living in poverty.  While we indulge ourselves on every level possible, the air and water the whole world breaths and drinks is being polluted by those very businesses'  providing the means for our gratification.  While we measure our Gross National Product in the zillions of dollars, our rate of drug addiction and over does deaths, murders, and suicides are among the highest in the world.  While we look great and powerful from the outside, we are corroded on the inside.  We have become self-seeking and self-satisfying, and in turn have become slaves to our own vices and to foolish social and economic customs.  This is a form of mental slavery of the most destructive kind.  This litany of the effects of the Dark Age have not here been exhausted, much more can be added;  and as the pertinent facts expands the truth emerges.

I am not preaching doom and gloom of Judgment Day proportions, because Universal Nature's essence is not annihilation, but evolution within harmony, balance, and unity.  Yet, "We cannot (either) always live on the enthusiasm of heavenly joy.  The rosy hue of dawn does not reach round the world; it chases darkness," (Recension by, William Q. Judge, "Bhagavad-Gita", page 122).  The relationship of the extremes within the duality are not static, but dynamic; they interact, and in so doing, commingle.  Let us use, as an example, Kali Yuga, the dark age of the Hindus as it reacts and interacts within the its opposite, the light side.  All dualistic extremes originally start at a point of balance.  From this balance point or rest point, the Dark Age begins its unfolding, (think of a clockwise circular movement around the outline of a circle). within the parameters of Universal Nature.  Simultaneously, as the dark side unfolds, the light side. begins to inscroll itself.  This movement continues until the dark side maxis-out, and reaches its balance or rest point.  The balance point is an inner pause in which progress takes place. The pause is like sleep, like the stillness before a storm.  It is the point before transition; where all things are cleared or exhausted to make ready for the change.  From this half rotation, (keep in mind a circle), the light side begins to unfold, and the dark side inscrolls, until the light side maxis-out and reaches its balance point.  The full rotation of the light side and dark side is called, in Hindu parlance, the Day and Night of Brahma, the duration of which is some where around 8,640,000,000 years.

This great wheel of evolutionary life, evolves many minor wheels, like wheels within wheels: the 24 hour day/night, the solstices and equinoxes, the four seasons through the 365 day year, the fourteen day moon wheel round the earth, the wheels of the sun and planets and their moons, etc..  All the above, comes under the operational guidance of Universal Nature, who marks its own time and effects in relation to the quality of karma of evolving life within the various wheels.  Put that in your pipe and see what kind of smoke comes out.  Who said that ascending the ascent to wisdom would be easy?

Pythagoras of Samos, one of the wise men who walked on our earth, is credited with using the word, "philosopher."  His meaning and use was, "a lover of wisdom."  The meaning of philosopher has morphed over the centuries, into systems or schools of thought.  Now days a philosopher is one who expounds on a particular system of thought.  Pythagoras's meaning did not particulate certain systems of thought, but the seeking and utilizing the truth, no matter where it is found.  As the Dark Age evolved into our current time, we see that truth is expounded on by self proclaimed experts, degree academicians, scientists, preachers, and anyone who is connected to the internet. There is such a diversity and high-volume of wisdom-less truths constantly flying through our eyes and ears that our likes can quickly attach to, and because of our loose attachment to our likes we can swiftly change to the most popular expert's theory or opinion.  Since most of the expert's theories and opinions lack comprehensive wisdom,  our beliefs are weakened. This weakness compels us to seek strength, power, and zeal at the extremes.  Thus, here in the twenty first century, we sit stuck in the mire of the extremes. with little ability to compromise.  Instead we stand on false principles, and are willing to go to war up-holding these weakened principles. 

Again we see the effects of living in the Dark Age.  The good news is that the light side has not abandoned us.  Although, the dominance of the Dark Side makes it more difficult to incorporate the light side into our lives, it is not an impossible achievement.  We must learn how to build spiritual knowledge, and use it as a foundation and shield, by making yourself the center of authority and filtering all information through the standard of the light side and truth.  In that way you can withstand all the illusions and force of the Dark Age.  It is like anything we aspire to and highly value; plant your desire within your will, imagination, and faith.  Whether you like it or not, the evolutionary wheels continuously revolve, alternating the light and the dark side, leaving you to choose which path to follow.

I leave to contemplate a poem by, Maximinus, a Renaissance, Roman poet, about the Pythagorean Y.

                                  The Pythagorean Letter two ways spread
                                  Shows the two paths in which Man's life is led.
                                  The right hand track to sacred Virtue tends.
                                  Though steep and rough at first, in rest it ends.
                                  The other broad and smooth, but from its Crown
                                  On rocks the Traveler is tumbled down.
                                  He who to Virtue by harsh toils aspires,
                                  Subduing pains, worth and renown acquires.
                                  But who seeks slothful luxury, and flies,
                                  The labor of great acts, dishonor'd dies.
                                         

        

                                    One truth, many paths.  Be good, do good.

                                                         Louis DiVirgilio

The Quality of Love

The idea of love as an expression of human beings seems to be inborn.  Humans from the inception of recorded history have attached a great importance upon the idea of love.  Humans see love in everything: poets write about it, Barrette  Browning, "shudders in his lover's shadow," song writers flood the airways with songs of love, while preachers proclaim love as a living force.  Great and infamous deeds have been committed in the name of love, from sacrifice of one's own life to save another's, to murdering the one you love.  Yet for all the attention placed on love and all the vociferous affirmations of love, the world of human affairs has more discord than harmony.  Somehow, love has come to be misinterpreted and misapplied  with regard to human expression, otherwise there would be harmony in the world of human affairs.

St. Paul, in Corinthians, 13, helps explain love in its purest expression.  He writes, "I may gain all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all faith to move mountains, but if I have no love, I am nothing."  In this statement, St. Paul dissects love into intention or desire to love.  Where love is, the benefit is "thou."  Where love is not, the benefit is "I."  The man who gains knowledge and understands all secrets, merely benefits himself.  He thus works against his higher nature, and eventually becomes cold, indifferent, and without love.  For such a man, any attempt at expressing love, would be a cheap imitation of love's sentiments, since within each expression is the intention of self-benefit.  Even if the man gave large sums of money and his time to a needy charity, if his intention was to show the world his own beneficence, his actions would be loveless and provide him small merit.  Such a man associates lower selfish passions and desires with higher ideals which is both a delusion and a corruption.  Love, in its purest expression is selfless.

St. Paul continues his explanation of love, "Love is patient and kind, it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with truth.  Love never gives up, and its faith, hope, and patience never fails.  Love is eternal."

The discord within the world seems to be the result of a rigid focus on the "I."  The self-gratifying wills of collective humanity clash and fiercely fight for fulfillment, but frenzy and discord can be the only out come.  If only we could feel the love of the Universal Spiritual Heart that gives us our beat, and strikes each one with a common rhythm.  As one heart beats, so beats the whole planet, solar system, and galaxy.  We are all commonly tuned and even the slightest of discord reverberates through the entire Cosmos, rewriting our common destiny.

Let us choose to resonate with the Universal Spiritual Heart, and begin to become one with it.  In so doing, we will be able to express love in its purest form.  "Love is eternal."

                                     One truth many paths.  Be good, do good. 

                                                     Louis DiVirgilio