Why World?

Contents List:

Introduction
Hypotheses
Discussion
Conclusions

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Introduction

Despite rumours to the contrary, the Mystic is by no means necessarily a dreamy recluse sheltering from the cares of normal life in the cloister, hermitage, or remote retreat. Certainly, periods of solitude are necessary for meditation, contemplation, and study: but many mystics feel it their duty to put the fruits of their solitary labours into practice in the everyday worlds of industry, commerce, politics, education, and domestic husbandry.

Hence, the essays you will find in this section have been informed not only by mystical contemplation but also by observation and experience of the material world and the ways of wordly men and women. The essays are written in the style which comes most naturally to someone who places the highest value on individual freedom and personal responsibility. If you find them acerbic or provocative, so much the better: because there seems to be a widespread lack of awareness of the extent to which hard-won freedoms are being eroded by the unfeeling political machinery which has assumed the mantle of dictatorship in so many Western 'democracies'.

While all the initial essays are inevitably slanted towards the United Kingdom (because that is where I live) I hope that readers from other parts of the world will in due course contribute essays inspired by conditions in their own neighbourhoods or in other places with which they are well acquainted.

The Internet is a global medium, and mysticism is a cosmic reality. Let us therefore join together in spirit and utterance to make a contribution to the realisation of Teilhard de Chardin's vision of the 'noosphere', the thinking envelope of the Earth.

Hypotheses

In the Temple section of this Web site, I put forward the following hypotheses:

1. That the human being is essentially an immortal, intangible Spirit temporarily inhabiting a mortal physical body, and that we all share the same Spirit. Therefore, we are all individual manifestations of the One.

2. That the individual person is the irreducible quantum of will-power and that therefore the self-actuating human being is the ultimate determinant of all deliberate voluntary activity.

Discussion

This paradoxical situation confronts each of us with the problem of having to reconcile our collective Spiritual Oneness with our physical individuality. As individuals, each of us is free to do anything the body allows, regardless of its effects on other individuals or the physical environment we all have to share. This enables the Spirit to express Itself in the greatest possible number of ways and enriches our lives through Its infinite variety. But it also has the potential to give rise to conflict between individuals and groups: and it is this potential that gives rise to politics. Without conflict, there would be no politicians. I am also inclined to think that if there were no politicians, there would be fewer causes of conflict.

It seems obvious to me that if each of us were to realise our essential Spiritual and Immortal Oneness, we should all place our individuality at the service of our common Spirit. We should then pursue our individual interests while voluntarily refraining from doing anything that would harm other individuals or damage our common material wealth and temporary home, the Earth. In other words, each of us would behave responsibly.

Because most of us are unaware of our Spirituality when we first become aware of our bodies, we have to learn to be responsible. And so I contend that the primary objective of human education, from cradle to grave, should be the inculcation and continual development of a sense of personal responsibility for everything we do.

If everybody on Earth could be trusted to behave responsibly in all circumstances, there would be no need for law enforcement or social constraints. Everybody would be as free as it is possible for inhabitants of physical bodies to be. We should all be co-operating instead of competing, squabbling, or fighting.

In this 'Worldly' section, I hope to explore the consequences of adopting a Spiritual approach to politics and attempt to deduce some practical policies which, if adopted, would lead to a more peaceful and wealthier world. Because I am a citizen of the United Kingdom, I shall be attempting to deal with issues which seem to me to be of current political concern to other citizens of the United Kingdom. However, I hope readers everywhere will be encouraged to apply Spiritual principles in discussion of their own local and national politics.

I can already hear pessimists and politicians pooh-poohing the very idea as impossibly 'Utopian'. But I trust that you, the discerning and discriminating reader, will exercise a sense of personal responsibility to consider each idea on its merits, and accept, reject or modify it in the light of your own experience of life and living.

Conclusions:

I conclude this introductory essay by summarising a few conclusions that can be drawn from my two fundamental hypotheses:

  1. The purpose of the body is to serve the Spirit and all human values are therefore ultimately Spiritual values.
  2. Universal personal freedom to give responsible expression to Spiritual values is the supreme political prize.
  3. The ultimate Spiritual value is respect for the right of the Spirit to manifest itself fully in each individual person. This is the ideal of personal freedom.
  4. If we all share the same Spirit, we therefore share the same ultimate values.
  5. All conflicts between us arise because ignorance of our true nature gives rise to egotism.
  6. The primary aim of education should be the inculcation and development of a sense of Spirituality and therefore acceptance of personal responsibility for every deliberate act.