The earliest phase was characterized by a conception of the universe as extremely small and of the Earth as the only inhabited planet. The world, however, possessed, besides our physical plane, a number of other planes, also material but with a materiality of a different nature and possessing different properties than ours. None of the planes, including ours, were thought to evolve. They had been created once and for all and were inhabited by good and evil beings. Humans lay at the center of those beings’ interests and were, so to speak, their apple of discord. Humans were not conscious of Nature as something distinct from themselves and did not contrast themselves with it. Individual natural phenomena evoked, of course, one or another feeling-fear, pleasure, awe-but it seems that Nature was almost never perceived as a whole, or was perceived so in a purely aesthetic sense, and even then only by individuals who were highly gifted artistically. For that reason, one rarely finds among artistic works of those eras lyrical poetry about Nature, and even more rarely does one find landscape painting. In the main, the cultures of antiquity, as well as certain later cultures in the East, belong to that phase. As for religion, polytheism was typical of this first phase.
Typical of the second phase were the monotheistic systems, which either ignored Nature or else were hostile to it. The growth of individuality led to the conception that humans could grow spiritually. Nature, on the other hand, showed no signs of spiritual growth. It was stagnant and static; it was amoral and irrational; it was under the power of the demonic; and if the spirit itself was not to be vanquished, that part of a person’s being that was cosubstantial with Nature had to be vanquished by the spirit. This was the antinature phase. The Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu peoples all passed through it; Jewry (meaning believers in Judaism) still remains in it. The latter, however, like the Muslim peoples, did not so much declare war on Nature as simply snub it.
The Semitic attitude to nature has, generally speaking, been marked by a poverty of feeling. It has long been remarked how lacking the authors of the Bible and the Quran were in their feeling toward nature compared to those who wrote the great epics of ancient Greece and of India in particular. The Semites gave Nature what they considered its due, sanctioning procreation with the blessing of their religion, but in their religious philosophy and art they strove to ignore it, and with grave consequences.
Human attitude towards Nature throughout History – interesting overview November 22, 2009
The magic of Materialism November 6, 2009
Materialism is our glittering Reality. Especially now, then the Christmas time is coming, the amount of that glitter increases, as if accumulating material riches was the message of Christ. The magic of Matter is powerful. The human/physical part of our being is longing for comfort and beauty, sensual satisfaction and delight…We dive into the fascination of matter and its hypnotizing charm.
But the Matter is not all we consist of. Another powerful part of us is the Spirit (I don’t mean the soul here though)
For a spiritual person is not easy to find the balance between the two. While in a mediation I dwell in the Realm of a Spirit and realize the tremendous power and beauty of it, it is the magic of materialism that wants to take over in my daily life, for instance in a form of the pretty Vienna City with its imperial style and flavour of coffee…
Is it possible to have both, to enjoy the Materialism and Spirituality?
Since several years I am trying to play a game and make these two happily coexist. When you meet me first, you might say I am quite successful in that (I keep up a glamour look and spend much time in restaurants and cafes). An yet it feels like a game, because all the time I am aware of the silent completion between the two. The famous dualism is always there…
Honestly, I am in owe of the black magical power of Materialism. Since last 2 decades I have been watching Materialism taking over in two greatest spiritual nations like Indian and Russian. Within no time (historically seen) the value system crashed down and many people had to undergo a wired transformation of their attitudes to life and themselves. (more…)
7 basic questions Science cannot answer November 2, 2009
Only 7 questions that seem to be essential for the understanding of how humanity lives and operates, and no answers…
- Does the Source, the Creator, God exist? Unknown
- Does such a thing as a soul exist? If so, is it immortal? Science does not know the answer.
- What is time, space, matter, energy? Opinions are sharply divided.
- Is our world eternal and endless or, on the contrary, is it limited within time and space? Science does not possess the necessary data to give a definite answer.
- Why should I do good and not evil, if evil appeals to me and I can be sure of escaping punishment? The answers are totally unintelligible.
- How can science be used to avert the possibility of wars and tyranny? Silence.
- How can social harmony be attained with the least human cost? Mutually exclusive proposals are put forward that resemble each other only in that they are all equally unrelated to pure science. (more…)
Never jobless: my “Whiskers, Paws and Tail” strategy October 28, 2009
This post is an outcome of my over 10 years work experience. The funny thing about it is that none of my employers have ever looked at my CV. And yet I was getting very good positions. The even funnier thing is that I ended up working as a Human Resources Manger myself. All that gives me the right to claim that there is a certain strategy that makes it work, and work successfully.
I call it “Whiskers, Paws and Tail” strategy. There is a popular Russian cartoon “Prostokvashino” with a cute cat Matroskin who, being asked about his documents replies: “Whiskers, paws and tail are my documents!”. And that is what I mean under no need of a CV presentation: you yourself at any moment of life should be the best CV to your personality, both inside and outside. Let me list some ideas on how I see it.
1. Reliability is the most precious and important quality for an employer, no matter in which sphere - creative, business or industrial. You should not only look reliable but actually be that. Reliable people with determined attention emit this quality naturally, and this leads to trust which is so valuable for anyone.
2. Inner and Outer Beauty: It starts with the inner work on oneself – the perpetual unfolding of your character is essential. Not getting “better” from day by day, no. You are already perfect. It is about discovering the true beauty of your personality. The most speedy method for it I found in my meditation practice. There are many other ways as well, but this one gives the fastest results. As soon as your true perfect being will be increasingly shining through, this will make you a desirable person. Many people will want to be with you, will seek your company for any thinkable reason. Among these people there will be also some potential job-givers!
3. Be The Best Product Yourself Having this full package of precious inner Qualities + their Manifestation + Reliability you become a kind of a PRODUCT, a highly desirable trade mark. How will you know it works? When any decision-maker/boss/HR Manager will want you to work for him/her after a couple of minutes you have talked. And this is not a dream! (more…)
It`s fascianting to have same experience as saints did! October 22, 2009
We live in fascinating times. Unbelievable but fact – being an ordinary householder, one can still have extraordinary spiritual experiences like the saints of all times did.
I came across a stunning quote of a great South Indian saint Ramana Maharshi, (1879-1950) who describes his spiritual experiences exactly the way I have been experiencing it thanks to my meditation practice:
“…the samadhi I speak to you about is different. It is sahaja samadhi. In this state you remain calm and composed during activity. You realise that you are moved by the deeper self within and are unaffected by what you do or say or think. You have no worries, anxieties or cares, for you realise that there is nothing that belongs to you as ego and that everything is being done by something with which you are conscious union.”
Or this one: ” Your own Self-Realisation is the greatest service you can render the world”. How true is this, incredible!
And that one is reflecting my own daily experience: ”Nearly all mankind is more or less unhappy because nearly all do not know the true Self. Real happiness abides in Self-knowledge alone. All else is fleeting. To know one’s Self is to be blissful always.”
This beautiful saint is only one example. Reading of or about saintly people of all times I realise that they all had basically same experiences. (more…)
One Buddha’s story: how to get clear water October 13, 2009
Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.” The disciple walked up to the lake.
When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!” So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same.
After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha. Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, (more…)
My vision of the 21st century Arts October 4, 2009
Are you an intellectual? October 1, 2009
Intellectuals are those nice people who think they reach their destination merely by studying the road map.Gregoir de Kalbermatten
I love this quote! I was a classical intellectual since my childhood – books meant everything to me and mental knowledge was the measure of all things. At some point I realised that this leads nowhere, that I dramatically miss the REAL knowledge. And I did not mean the knowledge of what is called “life experiences”, no. It was the longing for something else, something universally accessable and clear, powerful and very practical… I was fed up with studying the road map, I wanted finally to reach my destination.
And it turned out to be possible! The guide was called (more…)
The sky and spiritual growth September 17, 2009
Not by chance the sky has been always compared to something spiritual - to paradise, to bliss, to something beautiful and pure… Recently, taking off from Vienna in a grew cloudy day one interesting metaphor stroke my mind:
When we are so called down to Earth and the sky looks grey, when it’s raining, it’s cold and unpleasant – the whole world looks like it and we can’t imagine a sun shining anywhere else:
Rising higher, struggling throughout dark clouds, it can look like that:
or like that: (more…)
axinia
