Practical Vedanta

[Parisi & Watson]

----Original Message-----
From: Madhavan Srinivasan <maadhavan at HOTMAIL.COM>
To: ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG
<ADVAITA-L at LISTS.ADVAITA-VEDANTA.ORG>
Date: Sunday, May 16, 1999 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: Practical Vedanta


<snip>
>This is a pure escapism. We people settled in our lives and comfortably
>discussing vedanta in the net. There are people who are struggling for
their
>day to day life. But you are advising that forget about other poor people
>and solve your problem first.

<snip>

I don't think anyone sees a problem with service to others as a form of
karma yoga. But that would be service, not trying to restructure society and
solve the world's problems. In the twentieth century haven't we seen over
and over what can result when the power to alter the world is grasped by
people who have not sought wisdom and self knowledge first? Concentration
camps, re-education camps, slave labor, genocide, the list goes on and on.
Better to do our humble part on the local street corner or in a neighborhood
soup kitchen than to try to be the savior of the world without even
understanding all our own motives. Does this mean that we can't favor
progressive political trends and social legislation? Absolutely not. But if
we wait for the world to be 'fixed' before we start on ourselves, not only
will the day never come, but dramatic efforts to right all wrongs will
probably make things worse in the end. Just my two cents.

Robert.