There is a general election in the UK today. I shan't vote because it's clear that all
parties are equally determined to plunge the country further into spiritual
chaos. It does seem to me, however, that a properly ordered society would
naturally be conservative but in that case any conservative party would be
totally, radically, different to the one we have now.
A
true conservative society would be focused on God and on preserving what was
valuable in tradition which is the wisdom of the ages, tried and tested in the fires of experience on the one hand and spiritual revelation on the other. It would not be especially interested in protecting the fortunes of the rich or in the advancement of capitalism though it would not be averse to those things when
appropriate either. Specifically, to preserve or enhance the spiritual order of society.
Note
that in ancient India, a very conservative society, the Brahmins, the highest
caste, were certainly not the richest though they were the most respected and
the maintainers of religious orthodoxy.
Spiritually
concerned people who are drawn to the left because it seems to promise a
fairer, more egalitarian world should ask themselves what this world is actually
for. The fact is that this material world does not exist for everyone to be
happy and well off in the context of worldliness. It exists for spiritual salvation and the opening up of consciousness to light. But since its inception the left has
drawn human beings further and further into the idea of this world as real in
and for itself and human beings, as they appear to be in the context of this
world, as real in and for themselves. It has effectively become a humanistic religion which
completely fails to understand that this world has no reality and no purpose in
and for itself. It is a false religion which has sought to replace Christianity
by usurping and over-emphasising certain aspects of it which have no relevance outside a spiritual
context.
That
is why the left is so spiritually harmful. Anyone tempted towards it on the
ground of fairness or justice should know that the more it focuses its battles
on this world, the more it cuts us off from higher spiritual realities. Which,
of course, does not mean that unfairness and injustice are acceptable but
everything here should be seen in the light of God's plan of salvation and
spiritual unfoldment with the understanding implicit in the latter that there
is a higher and a lower, a deeper and a shallower and that therefore things are by no
means equal. The universe is based on oneness and hierarchy and these two
cannot be consider separately. That is the key to all politics. Even politics
comes down to metaphysics.
Yes, earthly things must not be viewed as ends.
ReplyDeleteCommunism and socialism certainly seems more compatible with spirituality than Capitalism, but in the end, it is still merely about "correctly" distributing wealth on this earth. It's still about material things.
I see so many concerned with spirituality talk about how it will make conditions better on this earth - it will lead to the glories of civilization, or make us better able to use physical aggression against Muslim terrorists, because atheism makes us cowards, etc, etc.
Yet surely, this is a serious mistake - spirituality will make us much "worse" at all earthly projects, since it sees this earth as less important, and our end beyond it. Europe became more civilized - all the arts and sciences of civilization flourished - as she became less Christian, and highly spiritualized societies are always seen as "cowardly" by warrior societies. When Europeans came to Asia they thought the natives quite "cowardly". Early Christians were borderline pacifists, and even legitimate soldiers were thought to need atonement for their warlike activities.
People forget that spirituality and earthly achievement are opposite polarities - to achieve highly in one, you must "sacrifice" the other. As one waxes, the other wanes. That is why the so-called "via negativa" is the kernel of every religion (from a non-earthly POV it is really the "via positiva". Everything "negative" is "positive" from another POV, by definition. By negating "this" earth, you are allowing another world to rise up within you).
I am very opposed to this idea that all good things go together - that earthly goods go along with spiritual goods. That we must sacrifice nothing.
A return to spirituality would mean we become less civilized, less interested in earthly warrior virtues like physical courage, and the like. The more spiritually rich we get, the simpler and cruder and more rudimentary our earthly life will be.
This seems very difficult for many to understand or accept - for many people, one gets the sense that spirituality is really about how to live well on this earth, as an end in itself, which is totally getting it wrong.
I agree with some of what you say, Aaron, but not all. If a spiritual focus is primary I don't see why that shouldn't translate into living better in every respect though how that panned out might not be what we would expect.
DeleteI also think we are involved in a spiritual war and that courage is an important spiritual virtue but maybe you didn't mean that sort.
My point is that "worldly" better is not the same as spiritual better - they are opposites, and cancel each other out. We must give up some things to have other things - it really is a choice, not a "best of all worlds" kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteIf your eyes are on the Beyond, you just won't be able to devote much time to "civilization", the arts and sciences, etc. More than a mere question of limited time - developing the world simply won't be seen as "important".
If you develop Love, compassion, lack Pride, and see this world as not of ultimate significance, you will not develop "warrior courage" - though, in other ways you will indeed be very courageous, in facing death, for instance, and in self-sacrifice.
Physical aggression and spirituality have always been opposites - surely it is a fool's dream to think being spiritual will help us develop the physical aggression needed to repel invaders.
Today, people lack physical aggression because they see nothing worth self-sacrifice. Granted, this is hardly admirable.
But a spiritual people motivated by love and compassion can hardly be expected to develop physical aggression, physical courage, and warrior virtues of the kind needed to repel invaders - and to think the two are linked, is surely to misunderstand spirituality. Worse, to think we will be 'great" again as a result of spirituality seems like a truly absurd misunderstanding. Our greatness so far was a result of our move away from religion.
And people conflate the two a lot it seems to me, and this is a huge mistake.
That's all I'm saying.
Well, I go along with that! I'm just not sure you should equate aggression and courage but I take and agree with your general point. I'm not a pacifist though, like all spiritually inclined people, have been tempted, in that direction. Krishna's instructions to Arjuna are useful in this respect I think.
ReplyDeleteI take your point, William.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am just annoyed at people who don't accept there are fundamental antinomies in life.
But that is not you, I know.
@Aaron - I think you need to consider more carefully what William says about the real nature of Leftist politics - there has never been a society more aggressively hostile to Christianity than the communist dictatorships of the twentieth century.
ReplyDeleteIt is not generally known, but the Soviets slaughtered Christians (for being Christian) in greater numbers and for longer than the Nzis killed jews. Because Russia had been the most devout Christian country in the world.
If you don't already know of the work of Fr Seraphim Rose (an American priest monk of the Russian Orthodox Church Overseas) I have a feeling you would find him a real soul mate and inspiration. A book he wrote before becoming a monk is the clearest and deepest exposition of Leftism from a Christian persepctive I have ever encountered:
http://oodegr.com/english/filosofia/nihilism_root_modern_age.htm
Thanks, Bruce. I will check out that book. I am familiar with Rose, even own his biography somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI am not defending lefti-wing politics, and certainly not their applications in the world - and I don't mean because they weren't applied "right", as is said, but because the attempt to perfect "the world" will always produce monsters. As William says, it is about materializing spiritual realities.
If our goal is beyond this world, focusing on "absolute" economic equality and the like are not just distractions, but spiritually destructive - if you don't believe wealth is the important thing, then it should not matter if some have more.
It is fundamentally misconceived, and "will" attract men of enormous selfishness and greed.
The Right, of course, embraces the lower self in many ways - Capitalism, pursuit of wealth, domination of nature - so in my view, at least, is hardly preferable.
But these are all secular alternatives...
The thing is to focus on the transcendent, and our earthly lives will spontaneously organize themselves around that goal...and the imperfections that exist, will be of little import - render unto Caesar what is Caesars, because the spiritual man can hardly care about politics, in a true sense.
As I said above, we are in a spiritual war. Although the devil certainly operates on both sides of the political divide in my view he has only corrupted the right while the left is anti God to begin with. Why? Because it is based on the illusion that what are essentially spiritual problems can be solved by material means. It also seeks to minimise or even deny individual responsibility which as free will is the basis for God's creation of mankind.
ReplyDeleteSo the left denies the reality of God and diminishes the significance of what it is to be human. But because it comes in a pretty package, justice, fairness, equality and (superficial) compassion, people lacking discrimination don't see what's inside the box or understand the spiritually disastrous consequences of embracing a left wing perspective. But what the really demonstrates is a failure of imagination and lack of response to real goodness and truth.
The right is corrupt and deformed by materialism, no doubt about that, but leftism is essentially a disorder of the soul caused by the denial of spiritual reality and a consequent misapplication of principles relating to the absolute plane to the relative one. Even if it's origins weren't satanic (that's debatable but it may have had a balancing function at one time) it has long since been a tool to deny and destroy the spiritual.
" Although the devil certainly operates on both sides of the political divide in my view he has only corrupted the right while the left is anti God to begin with. Why? Because it is based on the illusion that what are essentially spiritual problems can be solved by material means."
ReplyDeleteVery well said, William.
However, many things the right likes and defends, like Capitalism and the profit motive, imperialism (in the past), domination of nature as life's major project, etc, seem to me inherently anti-God as well.
The right may be supported as a concession to life in the bad world, but the left tries to "usurp" spirituality and religion, presents itself as an "ideal", as the focus of all our moral and spiritual striving - and this is certainly far more dangerous!
But I do feel right and left are really false choices.
As things stand they are both certainly false choices. I just feel that one is basically good but corrupted by materialism and selfishness as well as lack of true vision while the other is wrong from the start because it repeats the temptation in the garden of Eden as well as one (can't remember which offhand!) of the devil's temptations to Christ in the wilderness before the start of his ministry. That is, it seeks to live without reference to God and the spirit.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough the fact that the right is usually regarded as bad, selfish etc while the left is seen as fundamentally having its heart in the right place rather confirms that for me in these inverted times when good and evil have been made to swap places in our denatured perception.
William - I've been a right-winger most of my life, to be honest, before I was religious.
ReplyDeleteMaybe its a case of lilies that fester smell worse than weeds. Certainly Burkean righti-ism is far preferable to anything on the left.
I have to say I am not surprised that the left won against the right - the right has become about wealth and social order, earthly concerns, while the left tries to appeal to metaphysical values (however corrupt, however wrong, however co-opted by sociopaths)
A major issue for the right, for instance, would be crime - an important earthly concern, to be sure - but this cannot fill man's metaphysical hole. The left at least tried to.
Burkean right-ism is about filling man's metaphysical hole, and, I believe, would have stood a much better chance winning against the left. Burkean right-ism is inpsiring! Even though "irrational".
I have always thought that if the right wants to win against the left it has to provide a metaphysical vision - not business, jobs, crime, etc - those are important things but they don't give modern man what they need.
"Conservatism" - the mere name is metaphysically uninspiring!
The right lost the battle right there.
Yes, it's all about metaphysical vision. Unfortunately neither side has any, the right because it's mostly severed its link with religion, true spiritual religion, and the left because it only ever had its eyes fixed on this world.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet God allows all of this to happen as presumably he regards the gift of agency or free will something that he will not (or cannot) violate?! If he regards our fundamental free will as such a sacred thing and still does not directly intervene when things are as bad as you all appear to think that they are then what does that tell us? God seems to allow this world the freedom of self-determination in a way that is fundamentally in line with much of the earnest original motivations of *some* historic liberal thinkers, whom I personally respect. I must declare, I cannot honestly and in good conscience tar everyone with the same brush in a simple 'left' vs 'right' dichotomy. The reality of individual human beings anf their mixtures of good and bad motivations is much more complicated than that.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTo address your points, David, or as far as I am able. I think God allows us to exercise our free will up to a point but there are always consequences of that. Both on an individual level and a collective one. And eventually, if we go too far down the wrong path, there are severe consequences as, for example, the Flood or the fall of Atlantis. Some people think we might be close to that now but it's always foolish to try to second guess the Creator! Anyway I believe he gives us many opportunities to turn around of our own accord before he intervenes.
ReplyDeleteAs for left bad/right good, I'm not exactly saying that. Historically there were some liberal thinkers whose work has certainly benefited humanity even though many of them were in denial against God for the left did more or less arise as an anti-God movement. And even now a lot of people turn to the left because, in the present materialistic/atheistic environment, they think that's the most moral way to be so they are trying to act well even though they are doing it from a totally false perspective.They are dupes rather than bad though it must be said that if they were true to their inner being they would not be acting in this way.
Spiritual truth is above left and right and has nothing to do with either of them but the left is the chief focus nowadays of demonic perversion of reality. The modern right is certainly not spiritual but it is not used to anything like the same extent to remake man not in the image of God.