“Perhaps one of the most prolific sources of error in contemporary thinking rises precisely from the popular habit of lifting history out of its proper context, and bending to the values of another age and day.”
Sir Laurens Van Der Post in “The Lost World of the Kalahari”
When studying our world history, including the legends of our ancient pre-historic past as revealed in the ancient texts of numerous cultures, it is sometimes incomprehensible that humanity could act in the way that they did back then. Acts of such barbarism, savagery and sheer madness seem to litter our history books since the dawn of creation. They seem totally strange to us but that’s because we are looking at them from our contemporary point of view.
Each generation or epoch in history is tinged with the culture of the day, as well as the dictates of survival in that particular point in civilization. There is little way for us to really know the context or to put ourselves in the shoes of the people of any particular time in history. We can only look at our past through the lenses of our current present social conditioning.
And just as we may look back in stunned incomprehension at how inhumane our humanity was to itself at certain times in our history, similarly I also look at today’s culture and civilization with shock at the barbarism and degradation, compared to the way more civilized cultures depicted in those most ancient of historic texts from our past, called the Veda of ancient India.
Compared to the times of a few hundred years ago, we may today pride ourselves as a civilization that has matured and evolved from the dark ages of our more barbaric past. We no longer commit the atrocities of ancient times. Our lifespan is lengthened by our advances in science, medicine and technology. Our standard of living is greatly improved. Poverty is being reduced. But is this all really true?
Compared to the ancient Veda, which allegedly date back 5000 years, we are today living like total savages in comparison. We may have apparent medical and scientific technology to remove disease and save lives and improve the standard of living, but we actually appear to be using that same technology to do the opposite. We are using the most cutting edge medical technology to now perform eugenics and cull the global population via the most surreptitious means.
We are now using toxic chemicals which are causing the most vile new types of diseases like cancer and other such conditions which never really existed in such proliferation mere generations ago. We are systematically destroying the healthy quality of life across vast swathes of the planet, including entire oceans, thanks to our so-called advances in chemistry and the harvesting of fossil fuels. Life on the planet now appears worse than it was thousands of years ago, thanks to modern science.
In previous ages, the legends tell of vastly longer lifespans among the human race – into the hundreds of years.. They tell of deep spiritual enlightenment and the capacity to activate powers and energy that far supersedes that which we use today. These ancient sciences are unknown to us today, so much so, that we cannot even comprehend them and may call them fantasy. Just like a primitive forest dweller with bow and arrow who sees a radio or television and calls it magic, similarly we look at tales of mystic yogis and their ability to instantly bring any object from anywhere into their presence as magic.
And indeed it was, for what is magic other than a science of which we ourselves are ignorant. By comparison to the ancient civilization mentioned in the 5000 year old Sanskrit texts of India, we are the primitives. This is particularly true in our comprehension of the nature of life, the cause of consciousness and the question of what animates an otherwise lump of dead matter to cause it to live. We don’t even know what life is because we don’t understand consciousness, despite all our scientific research today.
And compared to ancient times, we appear to have seriously devolved into a barbaric civilization when you look at the capacity we have for committing murder of all innocent animal life in our care. We have made an industry out of torture and death in the form of the animal husbandry that we today engage in. To me it is the most barbaric behavior on the planet. Abattoirs and livestock, including all the animals and chickens that we brutalize and slaughter, is to me the most ignorant expression of a degraded culture you could possibly imagine.
Because our forefathers did it, we have been bred to believe it is normal to inflict such pain and suffering on billions of defenseless and warm blooded creatures day after day all over the planet. This is barbarism and deep ignorance of consciousness as well as severe lack of compassion. And you can tell the level of evolution in a society by the way they treat their weakest and most vulnerable members.
We look down upon the dog eaters of certain east Asian nations because we see it to be inhumane and because we have some sentimental affection for pet dogs. But what is the difference between a dog and a cow? There is no difference. They both feel the same effects. So how hypocritical and ignorant is our culture that can decry whaling and dog eaters, but cannot follow through with the same logic in their brains regarding global abattoirs?
This is the epitome of the concept of “dumbed down” which covers today’s people like a blanket of ignorance based on degraded upbringing. So it works both ways. You think you are so advanced now culturally with your science and technology but by comparison you could also bee seen as a murdering savage under the most degraded level of ignorance ever known to this planet throughout its millennia of history. We are living in degraded times when we can make an industry our of murder, pain and torture of those weakest among us. That is how I personally see it.
(image pixabay)
Definitely the cultural context influences significantly the behavior of societies, and even more the connection we can have with Mother Earth and all her creatures. I can't say that we are absolutely compassionate immediately with all Creation, as I myself am walking that path and I still have a long way to go, but it is necessary to reflect on each act of our daily life and see what consequences it brings to others (animals, people, plants and environment). Very good reflection @julescape. Greetings.
Thank you Sirena you are very kind. I'm so glad you can relate to the concept of compassion and have the interest to read the blog post here. Self-reflection is a most valuable asset on the path of self-discovery.
I would love to say something meaningful, but you've said it all. Great writing and I wholeheartedly agree.
Hey there many thanks Playful, I appreciate your positive feedback. I was wondering if there were other like-minded souls here who can relate to this particular angle of vision. Happy to be connected.
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