--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, off_world_beings <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> Suffice to say 'Ved' is a word that is used by a vast culture. It
> gives us our word 'wisdom', 'Wizard', ('Witch' may be a version of
> it), also 'vision'. Even ' the three wise men' of the Bible, who
> came from the East, cannot escape. (They are also called ' the
> Majii' which gives us our word 'magician', and I wonder is it is
> related to the word 'maya'.)
> 'Ved' means 'knowledge' or 'wisdom'.
> If a Vedic culture exists 2,000 years from now, then it may infuse
> aspects of our science into it (those that are life-supporting,
> evolutionary, and useful) and drop the non-useful aspects. It may
> call its knowledge collection 'Knowledge', 'Wisdom ', or 'Ved'.
> Vedic culture (which just means wisdom) assimilates useful
> knowledge. (like the Borg:-) That is its nature.
> If aspects of Buddhism are found useful they too will be
> incorporated. I also assume aspects of the Vedic tradition that are
> nto useful to evolution, if such there be, will be dropped. Perhaps
> that what Buddha was trying to do, but it happens in a more natural
> way, on a human level. Although Maharishi is definately engaged in
> trying to re-estblish a system by which to live.
If ved is simply "knowledge", and vedic culture a set of social
systems to collect and perhaps systematize such knowledge, then most
"knowledge traditions" would lay claim to doing such -- almost by
definition. (Deeply) paraphrasing, muslims may say Allah is Truth, and
all knowledge that is true is Allah. Replace "Allah" with "Ved",
"Christ", "Tao", "the Great Father", "Mother Divine", "the holy
spirit", "Science", etc., and you have the prouncements of most if not
all knowledge traditions. Why should "Ved" be given special status
among all the other "synonyms"? Is doing so simply an ethno-centric
type (or parallel sort) of bias?
If Ved are the fundamental impulses of the universe -- then perhaps
there is a stronger case for preeminance. Except again, adherents to
many knowldge traditions will make similar claims -- perhaps along the
lines of (but not quoting specific doctrine -- just a speculative
example) "Christ is the fundamental impulse of the Universe". Replace
with "Allah", "Tao" and again, most knowledge traditions would say you
are on the right track when you use THEIR word.
Perhaps the qualification "life-supporting", "useful" or
"evolutionary" knowledge will provide some insight to solve this
quandry. But these are all words that CAN be the output of a system of
ethics, or tradions of behavior - perhaps suited to a particular age
and geography, not necessarily fundamental a priori truths.
Muslim fundamentalists may hold that women not voting or driving is
evolutionary. Hindus may claim that preventing caste intermarriage or
social interaction is evolutionary. How can one tell if a some new
knowledge is "evolutionary"?
Indeed some might claim that all knoweldge is evolutionary in that all
forms of knowledge are light, dispersing some area of darkenss.
But if some knowledge is not evolutionary, what is it? Is deep
knowledge of genetics and the human genome, in-and-of-itself, non-life
supporting, not useful? Or is it, instead, some specific and limited
applications of that knowledge that may be deemed as such? Same with
fission and fusion.
At this point, I don't see where "Ved" has a foot up on "Tao" or
"Allah" or "Science" as a superior or more basic, fundamental source
or expression of knowledge. Perhaps you are not making that claim.
However, it appears that many of us have at some deep level, have
accepted such. It shapes our thinking, "gut feelings", world views and
interpretative apparatus.
I am simply asking, why should this be the case? Is the subtle, or gut
level, acceptance of "Ved" as more fundamental than other knoweldge
traditions simply another unsupported bias in our thinking that should
be weeded out so that we can thus "see" and interpret the world and
our experiences more clearly?
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