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Service to self

Joan, as I have read about the terms 'service to self' and 'service to other', it is said that we must all be 'service to self' to some degree.  We must provide for ourselves, we must protect our own interests, we must defend ourself, we must take counter-measures against those who attack us. 

But if that is ALL we do, it is not enough to be considered 'good'.  We must actively seek to serve others, as well.  They even claim to measure it in percentage, by observing our frequency or aura, or some other energy we emit as individuals.  So the goal is to be 51% or greater 'service to other'.  I don't necessarily agree with this, I am just reporting what I have read.  However, it does seem to make some sense, and it is in some accord with your position.

posted by GoldenMean on January 6, 2018 at 6:40 PM | link to this | reply

Joan

Good to see you here, welcome! 

I would say that it is obvious that God is limited, perhaps even self-limited.  I just don't know how or why, but I am trying to speculate on it. 

If God were not somehow limited, there would be much greater restraints on evil in this world.

posted by GoldenMean on January 5, 2018 at 2:18 AM | link to this | reply

Limits of God eh? Interesting. do you think God is limited?  How about the Universe? Is that limited? What is a soul? Genetic make up?  Is it the chak/ra system?  

Well, I agree with your definition of evil. Hunting down people with the intention of gaining something for themselves or one self. 

 

Service to self : i have to say that is what humans have to do service to self in order to survive the age of Kaliyuga.

 

posted by Joanofrance on December 25, 2017 at 10:07 AM | link to this | reply

Re: Anib

Oh, I see. That's perfectly fine and thank you.

posted by anib on June 6, 2017 at 5:39 PM | link to this | reply

Anib

My apologies,  I did not mean to say that animals are evil or immoral for being predators and parasites,  although I do rather enjoy swatting and smashing mosquitos,  those little vampires that plague me in my outdoor work.  I say vampires in jest,  because the little monsters suck blood and cannot stand direct sunlight or wind,  lurking in the shadows of the woods,  and come out mostly at night.  But I must often enter the shadows of the forest,  and here they come,  buzzing around me in a cloud,  as if to carry me away to suck out all my blood at their leisure!!  Even the repellent spray does not keep them all off,  and I relish when I smash a little vampire that has lit on my skin,  before she has a chance to drill me  (I hear that only the female mosquitos attack us). 

Even so,  I agree that the little mosquito vampires and all other animal parasites and predators are doing what they must to survive  (and keeping the balance of Nature as you say),   and I mentioned that in my post:  "The insects and animals, however, have no choice in the way that they must survive, while humans have a wide range of choice."  So the animals and mosquitos have no moral judgement from me,  even though I might let loose a curse as I smash them!! LOL

So humans who choose to be predators and parasites upon their own kind,  have no moral justification, must be called evil, and must be stopped or killed themselves.  For me,  thinking of them as human predators and parasites makes their evil even more stark and damning.  It is an imagery that I find most useful and appropriate.

posted by GoldenMean on June 6, 2017 at 5:03 PM | link to this | reply

Re:

Some mistakes which may be ignored and understood as I am bad at typing on my mobile. But you do understand I know.

posted by anib on June 6, 2017 at 11:45 AM | link to this | reply

Your response is intelligently argued and has some good points in it and I appreciate it in spirits. I must however give a clarification addressing Satan, the cunning in animal and human predation and on ignorance, as well as our perceiving.

Satan, notwithstanding all his evils and his being expelled from the heavens as a fallen angel, had one redeeming feature that none can dispute: He was an exceptional leader and an exemplary strategist. Despite all odds, he had the ingenuity to wade through Night and Chaos to find the new world, earth, God had created, and then making a causeway between hell and earth to gain ways access to earth to inhabit and impel innocent man to the ways of the Devil. Did not the all-powerful God know Satan’s designs. Then why did he send Evil to earth. Supposing the gang were not consigned to Hell in the first place evil could have never touched the world. By that token it was God’s lack of foresight and guilt what He did unknowingly. Then again, how can God, be omniscient or omnipotent?

There is a great difference between the predation of animals and of man. Animal preys for survival, man, driven by motives of greed, expediency and self-aggrandisement. Firstly, even the most ferocious animals are not violent as man who is bent on decimating all others to the exception of his own, like the Muslims, for example. Secondly, they are doing as guided by Nature, they help Nature in keeping a perfect balance. The herbivorous have a rate of breeding twenty or more times than of carnivorous animals. If this elimination process were not to be there, man would not have existed on this planet. Yet his predation springs from innocence. Does it incur any sin or any retribution thereafter? Man incurs, because he violates the Will of Nature. Thus, no animal but man, sins.

When Socrates said innocence and I said ‘innocence is the mother of all evils’, the gestalt was very different from what was to be meant. The story goes that once when Socrates was declared the wisest man on earth, his fans came running to apprise him of the good news. Socrates laughed and said, “I know, I know, but for once your Delphi declaration of the Oracle seems to have made a mistake; all I know is that I do not know, know nothing, only today I discovered that I am the most ignorant man in the world”. Confused, the people rushed to the Oracle to report what Socrates had said. The Oracle replied, “Precisely for that, only for that reason we declared him so”. People’s confusion was not lessened any the whit but more were they confused. This is where the literal or the figurative meaning causes confusion, not fusion, because the sense is metaphorical. Socrates is here saying that he is no more carrying the burden of knowledge, all knowledge has now assimilated or transmuted into wisdom. Otherwise what did God mean when He forbade man not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. He meant man to remain innocent as a child to qualify his entrance into the kingdom of heavens. When I said ‘innocence is the mother of all evils’, I meant the word to be the exact opposite, which is ignorance, not knowing the difference between what is virtue and what is not, as that of an utterly illiterate. Can you trust him to do anything right. No. We see things from our own jaundiced perspectives, projections of our mind and assume it robe true. Can you tell the true colour when see wearing goggles like whan we say Cheers 

 

posted by anib on June 6, 2017 at 11:38 AM | link to this | reply

GM

As promised, I shall address this whole issue, but it'll take a few days since I'm kinda busy...BTW, I really appreciated your comment to my piece in 'Thoughts', Response-to-Comments Monday, and have responded there...

posted by Nautikos on June 6, 2017 at 7:22 AM | link to this | reply

Such a delicious irony

Here we have TAPS possibly agreeing with Nautikos,  about the nature of evil.  My dear and respected lady,  who I defer and bow to as a strong Christian,  please remember that Nautikos is atheist,  or at best agnostic.  When Naut responds,  by post or comment,  I will predict,  here and now,  that TAPS will no longer agree with Nautikos.  Anyone else,  care to place your bets??  LOL  

posted by GoldenMean on June 6, 2017 at 1:40 AM | link to this | reply

I see where you are coming from here, but in thinking about what Nautikos said I find it interesting that I cannot really think of a time when I was not influenced by religion.

posted by TAPS. on June 5, 2017 at 8:11 PM | link to this | reply

Anib

When you say  "ignorance is the mother of all evils",  you remind me of another famous philosopher,  Socrates,  who said  "the only evil is ignorance".  I think this is tragically wrong,  and leads to all sorts of exploitations by evil,  which is not ignorant at all,  but very clever and devious.  This led to the errors of modern liberals,  who have continued this misconception,  which we are all suffering from today.

Predators are very smart.  Is a tiger ignorant,  or a cobra?  No,  indeed,  they are very cunning,  stealthy,  and patient,  to be able to get within striking distance and take the lives of their victims,  who were watching out for predators,  but sadly not vigilant enough.  Human predators are also very smart,  using their intelligence to gain their evil goals. 

This idea that  'evil is ignorant'  may have been planted into human history by evil agents themselves,  as a diversionary tactic,  to compound our vulnerability.  For more about the error of Socrates,  you could peruse this previous post of mine  http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/The_Golden_View/893753

An interesting irony is that while Socrates said  "the only evil is ignorance",  he also proclaimed at diferent times that he himself was ignorant.  So by his own declarations,  he was evil himself,  LOL.   Cheers! 

posted by GoldenMean on June 5, 2017 at 2:24 AM | link to this | reply

Anib

Thanks for your astute and adept comment.  I am familiar with Hegel and his thesis vs. antithesis struggling and reaching a synthesis.  I don't think that will apply to goodness  (service to others)  and evil  (service to self).  Consider the concept of  Satan. 

Supposedly,  Heaven was in an original state of synthesis and harmony.  Then Satan became jealous or rebellious for egotistical reasons,  convinced one-third of the inhabitants of heaven   (angels)  to rebel and fight against God,  causing God to eject them from heaven.  This supposedly happened before the appearance of humans.  Then when humans appeared on the scene,  Satan showed his true nature by attacking us,  deceiving us,  abusing us,  enslaving us,  destroying us,  and prodding us to do these evil things to one another.  Apparently,  Satan will never change,  never evolve,  never synthesize,  for he is destined to be punished and put where he can no longer attack the human race.  

For me,  this Biblical tale illustrates the absolute incompatibility of goodness and evil.  They are sort of like thesis and antithesis,  yes,  but they are more like matter and antimatter;  they cannot co-exist without one destroying the other.  It is said that love conquers all,  but I fear it is more accurate that evil conquers all,  and even more accurate to say that evil conquers all that goodness ALLOWS it to conquer. 

From a practical,  non-moral standpoint,  evil is a valid and very effective way to survive,  following the path of the predator or parasite.  I think,  as the Biblical tale of Satan illustrates,  that there will always be those people or spirits who choose this way of surviving by dominating and destroying.

 

posted by GoldenMean on June 5, 2017 at 1:49 AM | link to this | reply

As per my thinking, evil exists as a consequence of the law of the opposites, it has nothing to do with karma, cause and effect principle. It is Hegelian in nature, which is, a thesis creating its antithesis, then the very thesis and its antithesis acting and reacting with each other to create a synthesis. The synthesis again becoming the thesis, the very process repeats to create a higher synthesis and so on and so forth. By that principle evil is not permanent, it will eventually evolve into good. Ignorance is the mother of all evils, and again, there is a secret purpose - that of evolvement of man. So to say that evil and religion come in tandem is absolutely a wrong conception. The equation just does not stand, it is lame at the most. 

 

 

posted by anib on June 4, 2017 at 8:05 PM | link to this | reply

Re: Anib

She was hospitalised in the ICU for quite long, but she is almost recovered now. So we thought we'll have fun and celebrate in the southern part of India Thas why I'm unable to concentrate on writing and reading, and am hankering to. Thanks for your good wishes. 

posted by anib on June 3, 2017 at 7:34 AM | link to this | reply

Anib

Thoughts and prayers for your sister.  Safe travels for you......

posted by GoldenMean on June 3, 2017 at 7:18 AM | link to this | reply

RP

Everyone thinks about good and evil,  it is a subject dear to everyone's heart.  I have just taken the trouble to write down my thoughts.  Thanks

posted by GoldenMean on June 3, 2017 at 7:16 AM | link to this | reply

Hi GM

I'll be back to carefully read and comment on the ongoing discussed subject. Right now I am changing flights to go to my sister who survived a major life threat in Jakarta. I'm writing during the break-journey. Their  17th floor apartment was burnt in fire least year. They are back in India now. So, until then.

posted by anib on June 3, 2017 at 12:12 AM | link to this | reply

GM

Very interesting reading in your post, GM. I shall continue to observe, listen and learn until, or if, I get to the point where I can make a meaningful comment on this topic. :) I can see you have given the subject much thought, something many do not do. 

posted by Sea_Gypsy on June 2, 2017 at 10:50 PM | link to this | reply

Kabu

But how did Jesus put it??.......  don't fret about tomorrow,  for there is already sufficient evil to deal with today.......

posted by GoldenMean on June 2, 2017 at 3:23 PM | link to this | reply

Kabu

That is very good advice!

posted by GoldenMean on June 2, 2017 at 3:21 PM | link to this | reply

Out of my league. Besides today I was reminded by someone very sweet that dwelling on sorrows from the past are not a great way to live but to go forward and embrace the future...which for me means putting something evil away from me.

posted by Kabu on June 2, 2017 at 3:08 PM | link to this | reply