THE CLINTON CURSE – CLINTON’S IMMORAL SOCIAL SECURITY POLICY
The Clinton Curse. Clinton’s immoral Social Security Policy.
Social Security is the largest owner of the US Debt. In 1996, President Clinton amended the Social Security Act of 1945 by approving Public Law 104 – 193. President Clinton made an immoral choice to address the problem of mounting US Debt. His plan to reduce the US Debt by denying the payment of Old Age Retirement Income Benefits to senior alien workers has backfired. God has given His Promise. It delivers Blessings for the obedience of Commandments. Disobedience of God’s Commandments has consequences. The Clinton Curse reveals the consequences of President Clinton’s corrupt conduct. As of today, the US satisfies the government’s need for revenue by borrowing from foreign nations.
The Clinton Curse. Clinton’s immoral Social Security Policy.
To satisfy the U.S. government’s need for revenue, Washington collects taxes and fees. What happens if this isn’t enough? What happens if the federal government needs more? That is the subject of this article in which we’ll reveal who owns the most U.S. debt and how much of it is owned by foreign nations. We’ll begin by explaining, in simple terms, how the debt market functions.
Debt 101
An individual takes on debt when they finance a new car, house, etc. The U.S. government does so when it issues securities. Specifically, the federal government issues Treasury bills, notes, and bonds. The primary difference is in their maturity. For example, Treasury bills have a maturity of less than one year. Treasury notes mature in one to ten years. Treasury bonds have maturities greater than 10 years.
To issue its debt, the government holds periodic Treasury auctions. A successful auction indicates a strong demand for U.S. Treasury securities. If the auction doesn’t go well, it means demand for Treasuries is weak. Who owns the most Treasury’s?
Owners of U.S. Debt
The largest owner of U.S. debt is Social Security. Since the Social Security system is a government entity, how can the government own its own debt? Good question. This is where the “house of cards” theory resides. Some believe the federal government is merely moving the IOUs from one shell to another, hoping to escape the watchful eye of its citizens. In any event, Social Security owns about 16% of the debt followed by other federal government entities (13%), and the Federal Reserve (12%). How much is owned by foreign governments? The following chart contains the answer.
The Clinton Curse. Clinton’s immoral Social Security Policy.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, at the end of August 2014, more than a third of the debt was owned by foreign countries (34.4%). The largest foreign holders of U.S. debts are Mainland China (7.2%) and Japan (7.0%). What is the consequence of having such a large percentage of debt held by foreign nations? It depends. It depends on the relationship between the U.S. and the specific foreign country. It also depends on the global interest rate environment. Finally, it depends on the geopolitical climate and the degree of fear around the globe. This is the case because when fear rises money flows into U.S. Treasuries which is viewed as a safe place to invest. The percentage of debt owned by countries that are less friendly to America is about 10%. This includes China, several oil exporters (Ecuador, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Libya, etc.), and a few others. The worst case would materialize if the largest holders decided to sell their Treasury securities at the same time. This could potentially decrease demand which would push yields higher. If yields rose, the federal government would find it more difficult to service the debt, pushing the deficit higher. If the deficit rose, the total debt burden would accelerate and, unless demand for U.S. debt was to increase, it could get ugly. Will this transpire? It’s not too likely. At least not for the foreseeable future anyway.
Conclusion
Given the state of the global markets, the U.S. is still considered to be the best house in a bad neighborhood. Even though more than one-third of the debt is owned by foreign nations, as long as there are no safer places to invest, money will find its way here. Therefore, global turmoil would be in the best interest of the federal government. Anything which raises fear will bring money to the Treasury and allay the need for higher taxes. However, one day this unsustainable path we’re on will reach its day of reckoning. However, that’s probably not any time soon.
The Clinton Curse. Clinton’s immoral Social Security Policy.
THE CLINTON CURSE – THE US ECONOMY ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
Antislavery Campaign of 2018 demands the Repeal of PRWORA of 1996 as it triggered ‘The Clinton Curse’ placing the US economy on a slippery slope. In my analysis, President Clinton did not Balance the US Budget for he acted in violation of God’s Commandments.
President Clinton missed the opportunity to save the country from foreign debt because he denied the payment of the Old Age Retirement Income and Health Insurance Benefits to alien workers who fully subscribed to the Social Security and Medicare Plans by paying the necessary taxes. To the same extent, ‘The Clinton Curse’ invites Americans to live their lives paying taxes to repay the foreign debt.
How Bill Clinton’s Balanced Budget Destroyed The Economy – Business Insider
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
Bill Clinton is giving the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention tonight.
The idea is to make people feel nostalgic for the last time when the economy was really booming, and hope that some of that rubs off on Obama.
However, in the New York Post, Charlie Gasparino uses the occasion to remind everyone that the seeds of our current economic malaise were planted during the Clinton years.
Basically, it was under Clinton that Fannie and Freddie really began blowing the housing bubble, issuing epic amounts of mortgage-backed debt.
The story that Gasparino tells is basically: Liberal Bill Clinton thought he could use government to make everyone a homeowner and so naturally this ended in disaster.
Gasparino specifically cites the controversial Community Reinvestment Act, a popular conservative bogeyman:
How did they do this? Through rigorous enforcement of housing mandates such as the Community Reinvestment Act, and by prodding mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make loans to people with lower credit scores (and to buy loans that had been made by banks and, later, “innovators” like Countrywide).
The Housing Department was Fannie and Freddie’s top regulator — and under Cuomo, the mortgage giants were forced to start ramping up programs to issue more subprime loans to the riskiest of borrowers.
That’s interesting. But the truth is far more complicated. And more interesting.
Clinton’s Budget Legacy
In addition to being remembered for a strong economy, Bill Clinton is remembered as the last President to preside over balanced budgets.
Given the salience of the national debt issue in American politics today, the surpluses are a major mark of pride for the former President (and arguably the entire country). They shouldn’t be.
“I think it is safe to say that we are still suffering the harmful effects of the Clinton budget surpluses,” says Stephanie Kelton, an economics professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City.
To understand why you first need to understand that the components of GDP look like this:
In the above equation, C is private consumption (spending). ‘I’ is investment spending. ‘G’ is government spending. And ‘X-M’ is exports-minus imports (essentially the trade surplus).
Here’s a chart of the government budget around the years during and right after Clinton, in case you need a reminder that the government was in surplus near the end of his tenure.
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
Business Insider, Bloomberg
If the government is in surplus, it means that the government is taking in more cash than it is spending, which is the opposite of stimulus.
It’s also well-known that the US trade deficit exploded during the late 90s, which means that ‘X-M’ was also a huge drag on GDP during his years.
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
Business Insider, Bloomberg
So the trade deficit was subtracting from GDP, and the government was sucking up more money from the private sector than it was pushing out.
There was only one “sector” of the economy left to compensate: Private consumption. And private consumption compensated for the drags from government and trade in two ways.
First, the household savings rate collapsed during the Clinton years.
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
Business Insider, Bloomberg
And even more ominously, household debt began to surge.
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
Business Insider, Bloomberg
So already you can see how the crisis started to germinate under Clinton.
As his trade and budget policies became a drag on the economy, households spent and went into debt like never before.
Economist Stephanie Kelton expounded further in an email to Business Insider:
“Now, you might ask, “What’s the matter with a negative private sector balance?”. We had that during the Clinton boom, and we had low inflation, decent growth and very low unemployment. The Goldilocks economy, as it was known. The great moderation. Again, few economists saw what was happening with any degree of clarity. My colleagues at the Levy Institute were not fooled. Wynne Godley wrote brilliant stuff during this period. While the CBO was predicting surpluses “as far as the eye can see” (15+ years in their forecasts), Wynne said it would never happen. He knew it couldn’t because the government could only run surpluses for 15+ years if the domestic private sector ran deficits for 15+ years. The CBO had it all wrong, and they had it wrong because they did not understand the implications of their forecast for the rest of the economy. The private sector cannot survive in negative territory. It cannot go on, year after year, spending more than its income. It is not like the US government. It cannot support rising indebtedness in perpetuity. It is not a currency issuer. Eventually, something will give. And when it does, the private sector will retrench, the economy will contract, and the government’s budget will move back into deficit.”
But this is only part of the story. What about what Charlie Gasparino wrote about above?
The Fannie and Freddie Boom
When the government is running a surplus, it no longer has to issue much debt. But risk-free government bonds are a crucial component of portfolios for all kinds of financial institutions, and for mom & pop investors who like the safety of regularly Treasury payouts. The yield on the 10-year bond was over 5% back in those days… nothing to sneeze at for people planning for a retirement.
This created a bit of a crisis.
Bond trader Kevin Ferry, a veteran of the scene, told Business Insider about the panic that was unfolding over the government’s lack of debt.
“OMG, they were all saying… there wasn’t going to be any paper!”
How did the markets react?
“Lo and behold… [Fannie and Freddie] issuance “SURGED” in the late 90s,” said Ferry.
Everything changed. While the government dramatically slowed down the issuance of Treasuries, Fannie and Freddie picked up the baton and started selling debt like never before.
“Prior to those years, there were not regular [Fannie and Freddie] auctions.”
“The system wanted it.”
“The fear was that there wasn’t going to be any…. There were no bill auctions.”
“The brokers were calling up ma & pa and said there are no more T-Bill auctions!”
And the data bears this out.
Total agency issuance of mortgage-backed securities spiked in 1998 and 1999, and from then on they never looked back.
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
Business Insider, Bloomberg
And just to drive home the point again, about how the 1998-1999 spike in issuance was the mirror image of the annual change in the size of the government debt.
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
FRED
Note that both government debt and agency issuance spiked in the early 2000s, but that was during a recession when the private sector dramatically scaled back its activity form the late 90s.
How Clinton Destroyed The Economy
The bottom line is that the signature achievement of the Clinton years (the surplus) turns out to have been a deep negative. For this drag on GDP was being counterbalanced by low household savings, high household debt, and the real revving up of the Fannie and Freddie debt boom that had a major hand in fueling the boom that ultimately led to the downfall of the economy.
And that brings up a broader question that people who advocate balanced budgets must answer.
What’s the point of it?
Despite the budget surplus, interest rates were higher. And the surplus provided no protection of the coming slump. And if anything, it just weakened the most brittle part of the economy: households.
Furthermore, there is a pattern of this.
Japan ran a budget surplus in the year right before its economy went into terminal decline, as this chart from Trading Economics shows
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
So while Clinton will be remembered nostalgically tonight, for both the performance of the economy and his government finances, they shouldn’t be remembered fondly.
The Clinton Curse. The US Economy on a Slippery Slope.
ANTISLAVERY CAMPAIGN OF 2018 – THE ROLE OF GOD IN THE US GOVERNMENT
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the Role of God in the US Government.
Special Frontier Force, the military organization based in India is the byproduct of American War on Communism. Living Tibetan Spirits because of their lifetime affiliation to Special Frontier Force have the right to review the role of God in the US Government.
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the Role of God in the US Government.
Most US historians agree that the US founding fathers embraced the principles of Natural Law because of its Divine Sanction.
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the Role of God in the US Government.
During the American Civil War 1861 to 1865, Union advocates invoked God to reject Slavery as immoral.
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the Role of God in the US Government.
Americans opposed Communism for the political doctrine of Dialectical Materialism is not consistent with trust, belief, or faith in God. American War on Communism includes the driving force generated by Trust in God. Special Frontier Force represents Tibetan Resistance Movement initiated by the US Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the Role of God in the US Government.
Americans cannot refute the role of God in the US Government. The Official Motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST” directly inspires the US Policy to engage, confront, and contain Communism.
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the Role of God in the US Government.
On this day in 1956, two years after pushing to have the phrase “under God” inserted into the pledge of allegiance, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a law officially declaring “In God We Trust” to be the nation’s official motto. The law, P.L. 84-140, also mandated that the phrase be printed on all American paper currency. The phrase had been placed on U.S. coins since the Civil War when, according to the historical association of the United States Treasury, religious sentiment reached a peak. Eisenhower’s treasury secretary, George Humphrey, had suggested adding the phrase to paper currency as well.
Although some historical accounts claim Eisenhower was raised a Jehovah’s Witness, most presidential scholars now believe his family was Mennonite. Either way, Eisenhower abandoned his family’s religion before entering the Army and took the unusual step of being baptized relatively late in his adult life as a Presbyterian. The baptism took place in 1953, barely a year into his first term as president.
Although Eisenhower embraced religion, biographers insist he never intended to force his beliefs on anyone. In fact, the chapel-like structure near where he and his wife Mamie are buried on the grounds of his presidential library is called the “Place of Meditation” and is intentionally inter-denominational. At a Flag Day speech in 1954, he elaborated on his feelings about the place of religion in public life when he discussed why he had wanted to include “under God” in the pledge of allegiance: “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”
The first paper money with the phrase “In God We Trust” was not printed until 1957. Since then, religious and secular groups have argued over the appropriateness and constitutionality of a motto that mentions “God,” considering the founding fathers’ dedication to maintaining the separation of church and state.
Also on this day
1965
Johnson signs Medicare into law
On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Medicare, a health insurance program for elderly Americans, into law. At the bill-signing ceremony, which took place at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, former President Harry Truman was enrolled as Medicare’s first beneficiary.
“IN GOD WE TRUST” REAFFIRMED AS NATIONAL MOTTO… AGAIN. GOD IN AMERICA
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the role of God in the US Government.
On Wednesday, November 09, 2011 the House of Representatives voted 396 to 9 to reaffirm the U.S. national motto: “In God We Trust.”
“Some public officials have stated incorrectly that there are different national mottoes. We heard the president make that mistake,” explained Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), who sponsored the bill. Forbes was referring to a speech President Obama delivered in Indonesia last year in which said, “In the United States, our motto is E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one.” (Forbes and a number of other members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, including current presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) sent a letter to the president, taking him to task for the error.)
As The Washington Post noted, Congress has reaffirmed the motto several times in recent years:
The motto has withstood legal challenges from groups that said it violated the separation of church and state. Courts have held that the motto is “ceremonial Deism,” not an official endorsement of religion.
Still, just to be sure, Congress voted to reaffirm the motto in 2002. In essence, it passed a new law that said the old law should not be changed one bit. “Make no change in Section 302, Title 36, United States Code,” it ordered then, citing the passage that created the motto.
Then, in 2006, the Senate voted another time, to reaffirm “the concept embodied in the motto.”
Last fall in God in America, our joint production with AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, we examined how “In God We Trust” came to be our national motto in 1956. At the heart of the story is an alliance between Rev. Billy Graham and Dwight Eisenhower, who together melded Christianity and patriotism into a weapon to be used against “godless Communism” during the Cold War.
The motto, explains historian Frank Lambert, “reclaims this notion that we’re a chosen people and that we were conceived under God and that we flourish under God, and we turn our backs on God at our own peril.”
Antislavery Campaign of 2018. Special Frontier Force reviews the Role of God in the US Government.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: BLAISE PASCAL(1623-62), FRENCH SCIENTIST, MATHEMATICIAN, AND RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHER FOUNDED THE MODERN THEORY OF PROBABILITY AND IN PHYSICS, DISCOVERED PASCAL’S LAW BY CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS IN THE EQUILIBRIUM OF FLUIDS THAT LED TO INVENTIONS OF HYDRAULIC PRESS, HYDRAULIC JACK, AND HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR. HIS MENTAL CONCEPTS ARE LIVING GIVING A DIMENSION TO THE CONCEPT OF LONGEVITY.
I would like to pay my tribute to Blaise Pascal who shared his views about man and human nature; “Man is a nothing in comparison with the Infinite, an All in comparison with the Nothing, a mean between Nothing and Everything. Since he is infinitely removed from comprehending the extremes, the end of things and their beginning are helplessly hidden from him in an impenetrable secret; he is equally incapable of seeing the Nothing from which he was made, and the Infinite in which he swallowed up.” Since man exists as a Mortal Being, man has a natural tendency to investigate the Beginning of Life and the End of Life and seek a better understanding of the natural processes liking Aging that propels man to travel and reach the destination termed ‘Death’ without any choice. Aging is a widespread biological phenomenon and all living things display a natural tendency towards a decline of biological functions and a time-related disability to adapt to metabolic stress. At the same time, I ask my readers to note that the ‘Protoplasm’, the living substance that makes up both the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm appears to be potentially immortal. The term ‘Longevity’, the length or duration of a life or lives, must be interpreted in the context of the potential ability of Protoplasm to survive while individual members of species take birth, live, and die after a period of time. The term Life-Span describes the longest period of time that a typical individual can be expected to live. Similarly, Lifetime is the period of time that someone lives, or that something lasts, functions, or is in effect. Human beings have the unique ability to use their Lifetime to create a legacy that can endure giving an aura of immortality to that specific human individual who may have finished his or her mortal existence.
THE PHENOMENON OF LONGEVITY:
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: THIS IMAGE OF DIVIDING YEAST CELLS DESCRIBES A REAL POTENTIAL IMMORTALITY IN SIMPLE ORGANISMS THAT ARE SINGLE-CELLED AND REPRODUCE BY ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION CALLED FISSION.
The concept of Life-Span implies that there is an individual whose existence has a definite beginning and end. Within the Phylum Protozoa, organisms that consist of a single cell, are numerous species that reproduce by fission which is a form of asexual reproduction in which the parent organism divides into two or more approximately equal parts, each becoming an independent individual. In such organisms where it is not easy to establish the beginning and end of an individual organism, the growth seems to continue indefinitely and a potential immortality can be observed. In organisms that use sexual reproduction, the limits of the life-span of each species appear to be determined by ‘Heredity’ which refers to the transmission of characteristics from parent to offspring by means of genes in the chromosomes. Each individual member of any given species has a life-span during which something of that individual lasts when transmitted to offspring as heritable information. The term heredity and the Laws of Inheritance and the Science called Genetics will have validity if, and only if some biological characteristics survive in spite of the death of any individual member of a species. It is very interesting to observe that there are several species of living things which have continuously lived for exceptionally long periods of time retaining their species-specific identity. Such organisms can be claimed to be immortal as they appear to be fully capable of surviving indefinitely. This faculty has been attributed to some insects, some simpler forms of invertebrate marine life (such as Tube Worms, Jellyfish, Clams, and Lobsters), certain fishes and reptiles which appear to be capable of unlimited growth. As the complexity of an organism increases, the internal changes associated with the aging process contribute to senescence and death of the organism. Even under the most favorable external conditions, there is a predetermined age beyond which a given individual of a species may not be able to survive. The Maximum Life-Span is often an estimate based on the longest lived organism of its species that is known to date. The Average Life-Span is a statistical concept that is derived by the analysis of mortality data for populations of each species. The Average Life-Span is related to Life Expectancy, the statistically probable length of time that a typical individual of any given species can be expected to live. Life Expectancy varies as it depends on the changing death rate over a period of time. Even species that have very slow-growing rates can experience higher than natural death rates due to external factors and may even face the threat of total extinction.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: COCKROACHES ARE AMONG THE OLDEST INSECT GROUPS HAVING SURVIVED BASICALLY UNCHANGED FOR 300 TO 350 MILLION YEARS(CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD).
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: ANTARCTIC SPONGE(PHYLUM- PORIFERA) CAN LIVE FOR CENTURIES, THE OLDEST KNOWN LIVING SPONGE COULD BE 1,550-YEARS OLD.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: TUBE WORMS(PHYLUM-ANNELIDA) SUCH AS LAMELLIBRACHIA LUYMESI LIVE ON THE FLOOR OF ATLANTIC OCEAN NEAR HYDROCARBON VENTS. THEY TAKE 170-250 YEARS TO GROW.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: GEODUCKS(PHYLUM-MOLLUSKA) DATE BACK TO CAMBRIAN PERIOD OR 500 MILLION YEARS AGO, FOUND IN THE US COASTAL SEA WATERS OF PUGET SOUND. ONE OF THE OLDEST ANIMALS IN THE WORLD. IT CAN LIVE FROM 140 TO 160 YEARS.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: OCEAN QUAHOG(PHYLUM-MOLLUSKA) ARCTICA ISLANDICA, SALTWATER CLAM CAN LIVE FOR CENTURIES, ESTIMATED AGE 400 YEARS.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: SEA URCHIN(PHYLUM ECHINODERMATA), STRONGYLOCENTROTUS FRANCISCANUS LIVES IN PACIFIC OCEAN. IT CAN LIVE FOR ABOUT 200 YEARS.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: THIS UNIQUE SPECIES OF JELLYFISH(PHYLUM-COELENTERATA-CNIDARIA) AN INVERTEBRATE SEA CREATURE WITH STINGING CELLS KNOWN AS TURRITOPIS NUTRICULA USES A CELL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS CALLED TRANSDIFFERENTIATION AND IT CAN REVERT FROM A MATURE ADULT STAGE TO AN IMMATURE POLYP STAGE AND HENCE MAY HAVE NO NATURAL LIMITS TO ITS LIFE-SPAN OR IT BEHAVES LIKE AN IMMORTAL BEING BY REVERSING ITS AGING PROCESS.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: THE WHITE SHARK, CARCHARODON CARCHARIAS, ONE OF ABOUT 350 SPECIES OF CARTILAGINOUS FISHES. SHARKS ARE REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL ANIMALS WITH FEW PARASITES OR DISEASES AND ALMOST NO ENEMIES EXCEPT OTHER SHARKS. THEY ARE LIVING ALMOST UNCHANGED FOR ABOUT 350 MILLION YEARS SINCE THE END OF THE DEVONIAN PERIOD.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: CROCODILES ARE LARGE AMPHIBIOUS REPTILES THAT ORIGINATED DURING THE LATE TRIASSIC PERIOD, 200 MILLION YEARS AGO. DURING THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD, ABOUT 120 MILLION YEARS AGO, LARGE CROCODILES(40 FEET OR MORE) THAT EXISTED MAY HAVE PREYED ON DINOSAURS.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: TORTOISE IS THE LAND-LIVING TURTLE SPECIES. THEY ARE IN EXISTENCE FROM THE TRIASSIC PERIOD, ABOUT 200 MILLION YEARS AGO. THIS GALAPAGOS GIANT TORTOISE(TESTUDO ELEPHANTOPUS) CAN LIVE UP TO 177 YEARS. THE ALDABRA GIANT TORTOISE NAMED ADWAITA LIVED FOR 250 YEARS.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: SEA TURTLES ARE REPTILES, AMONG THE OLDEST LIVING GROUP OF REPTILES WHICH HAVE NOT CHANGED IN THEIR APPEARANCE FOR NEARLY 200 MILLION YEARS. IF THEY ARE ENDANGERED OR THREATENED, THE PROBLEM IS NOT CONTRIBUTED BY AGING OR NATURAL LONGEVITY.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: TUATARA(SPHENODON PUNCTATUM), NATIVE OF NEW ZEALAND IS NOT A LIZARD. THIS SPECIES IS IN EXISTENCE FOR ABOUT 225 MILLION YEARS. IT IS A VERY RARE, MEDIUM-SIZED, AMPHIBIOUS REPTILE WHICH BELONGS TO THE ORDER SPHENODONTIA. ALL OTHER SPECIES OF THIS ORDER BECAME EXTINCT 60 MILLION YEARS AGO. IT IS CALLED A LIVING FOSSIL. INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS MAY LIVE FROM 100 TO 200 YEARS. IT HAS A WELL-DEVELOPED THIRD EYE AND A ROW OF SPINES ALONG THE BACK.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: “KOI” ARE ORNAMENTAL, DOMESTICATED VARIETY OF THE COMMON CARP, CYPRINUS CARPIO. THESE FISH HAVE RECORDED LIVES OF 150 TO 226 YEARS.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS, ORNITHORHYNCHUS ANATINUS, A MONOTREME, AN EGG-LAYING MAMMAL OF EASTERN AUSTRALIA AND TASMANIA. IT IS SEMIAQUATIC, HAS A DUCK-BILL SHAPED MUZZLE WITH NO TEETH, FEET ARE WEBBED, NO EARS, AND BODY COVERED WITH DARK-BROWN FUR. COMBINES FEATURES OF A DUCK, BEAVER, AND OTTER. HAS MILK GLANDS TO NOURISH THE YOUNG. THEY HAVE SURVIVED SINCE AUSTRALIAN PLEISTOCENE, ABOUT 2 MILLION YEARS AGO.
SPIRITUALITY SCIENCE – AGING AND LONGEVITY: THE BOWHEAD WHALE OF ALASKA. RIGHT WHALE OR BALAENA MYSTICETUS ORIGINATED IN THE EARLY TERTIARY OR UPPER CRETACEOUS PERIOD ABOUT 70 MILLION YEARS AGO. IT IS THE LONGEST LIVING MAMMAL AND INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS HAVE RECORDED 150 TO 200 YEARS OF LIFE.
The issue of Life-Span of plants and trees and of Human Life-Span need special consideration. In all animals, where the organism is formed by sexual reproduction, the beginning of life is defined by the formation of the fertilized egg cell or zygote. Very often, physical birth is considered to be the beginning of the Life-Span. The end or death of an organism is reflected in its inability to support its structural and functional organization that gives it a distinctive physical identity. This generation of Life by the union of an egg and sperm is a most remarkable event. In the entire Animal and Plant Kingdom where the organisms achieve reproduction sexually, the Generative Mechanism remains the same and is unchanged over millions of years. This Generative Potential of Sexual Reproduction is unaltered and it describes a most creative process that is involved in the beginning of all living creatures. In my view, the immutability of Life’s beginning is dependent upon the Unchanging Principle called Soul or Spirit.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
BhavanaJagat is inspired by Goddess Sarasvati who personifies Pure Knowledge and Perfect Wisdom.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 160,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 7 days for that many people to see it. My blog post titled “What is Life – Life is Knowledge in Action” has attracted the most number of views.
WHOLECHRIST – WHOLELOVE: The term “WholeChrist” refers to Jesus before His human birth, during His earthly existence, after His Resurrection, and to the Hope of His Second Coming to establish the ‘Kingdom of Heaven on Earth’.The term “WholeLove” describes God’s Unconditioned Love that is not determined by human knowledge and rationality. The Birth of Jesus cannot be fully accounted by human knowledge and rationality for man lacks the ability to account for his own existence.
The word Christ(Greek. Christos) refers to the Messiah whose appearance is prophesied in the Old Testament and is used as a title to describe Jesus of Nazareth. I am using the term “WholeChrist” to describe Jesus before His human birth, Jesus during the years spent on this Earth, Jesus after His Resurrection, and Jesus who gives the Hope of the Second Coming to establish ‘The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth’. The word Christ may not communicate the entirety of Jesus and in the four Gospels we do not obtain the full picture as the event called ‘The Second Coming’ has not yet taken place. The word “Love”(Hebrew. ‘ahavah’, Greek. ‘agape’) is presented in Scripture as the very nature or essence of God, the supreme attribute in which all other attributes are harmonized. Love is a bond that unites all virtues. I consider the Power/Force/Energy of Mercy, Grace, and Compassion as the operating mechanism of God’s Love and could be simply called Divine Providence. I am using the term “WholeLove” to describe God’s Unconditioned Love that is not determined or fully accounted by human knowledge and human rationality. In other words, I have no ability to empower myself to receive God’s Unconditioned Love. I cannot manipulate God’s WholeLove through my actions, behavior, or even prayers. I can experience WholeLove but, I cannot explain or fully account for the existence of that Love.
WHOLECHRIST – WHOLELOVE – WHOLECREATION:THE BIRTH OF JESUS:
WholeChrist – WholeLove – WholeCreation: The Birth of Jesus as a Spiritual Being cannot be fully accounted by using human knowledge and human rationality. Man must try to know and understand as to where he exists and as to how he exists. God uses the dimension called WholeLove to bring Unity and Harmony between the dimensions of Matter, Energy, Time, and Space to create man and the World in which man exists.
Man cannot explain the Birth of Jesus using his scientific knowledge. The Birth of Jesus can only be understood as a fact of Creation, a creative event. It should not come as a surprise as each human being who took birth on Earth has always arrived as an original, unique, distinctive, and one of its own kind of object with a genome that never existed in the past, and would also never exist again in the future. Each man is born as a created being and the birth of Jesus as a singular event reveals a creative mechanism not known to man and not subject to the limitations of man’s rational power. God uses the dimension called WholeLove to bring Unity and Harmony between the dimensions of Matter, Energy, Time, and Space to create man and the World in which man exists.
WHOLECHRIST – WHOLELOVE – WHOLEEXISTENCE:
WholeChrist – WholeLove -WholeExistence: The Birth of Jesus and His earthly existence describes the operation of a Supreme, Spiritual WholeLaw that harmonizes all Laws of Nature that operate in the physical world to establish WholeExistence which may be stated as a Law of Conservation:” Matter is neither created nor destroyed.” Similarly, it can be stated: “Life is neither created nor destroyed.”
WholeChrist – WholeLove – WholeExistence: God Exists. Very often people raise the question about God’s place of existence in this vast universe of unknown dimensions. Where does man exist? How could man be certain about the location of his own existence in this universe which is constantly moving every instant?
WholeChrist – WholeLove – WholeExistence: Where does man exist? It is easy to describe man’s place of existence in the Solar System, and Milky Way Galaxy, but in reality man exists in Space without any awareness of his position that is changing every instant. No object that is known in this universe continues to exist at the same position at two different instants. Man exists in a restless universe under the Blissful influence called WholeLove which shields man from the harsh realities of physical universe.
To experience the Joy of Christmas, to seek the uplifting power of Jesus Christ, man must know the truth and reality about human existence. Human knowledge and rationality in themselves do nothing to justify human existence or the existence of this universe. To establish the fact of this human existence on one known planet called Earth is beyond the abilities of human cognitive powers. The biological basis of human existence demands the support of Love whose operating principles are Mercy, Grace, and Compassion. This Love is not conditioned by human behavior and human actions and not even prayers. Man cannot empower himself to acquire God’s Love using his free will. The good and evil actions of man, the right and bad conduct of man will be possible if and only if man’s existence precedes his actions and behavior. It is often argued that the evil and suffering in the world seems to count against the existence of God. I have to account for my physical existence before I can share the experience of pain, misery, disappointment, frustration, and suffering of my life’s condition. The fact or the reality of human pain and suffering cannot exclude the fact of God’s existence. Man at any given age and any given stage of his existence, from conception, physical birth, infancy, youth, adult, old age and death, in ill-health or good health depends upon an Unchanging Spiritual Principle to bring Unity and Harmony to maintain that condition or state called existence. This concept of God’s Unconditioned Love or WholeLove for man is shared by the Birth of Jesus. When I think of this WholeLove, I feel better, my mood gets uplifted, the burden of my painful existence is eased, and I can sense the Joy of the Season.
WHOLECHRIST – WHOLELOVE – WHOLELAW:
WholeChrist – WholeLove – WholeLaw: Love is defined by stating its attributes. Love is Patient. Love is Kind. Love does not envy. Love does not boast, it is not proud. Love is not rude. Love is not self-seeking. Love is not easily angered. Love protects, trusts, hopes, always perseveres and Love never fails. Divine Mother Mary is seen expressing such Love for her baby Jesus.
Apostle Paul in his First Epistle to Corinthians, in the New Testament Book of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13, verses #4 to 8 describes the attributes of Love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.” Jesus Christ while teaching the operating principle called Love, names Love as a Law, a Law above all other laws of nature, and above all other Commandments. In the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Chapter 22, verses #37 to 40 “WholeLove” is explained as “Whole Law”: Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Love is the supreme attribute, nature, and essence of God and at the same time it operates as a Law above all other Laws of Nature and the commandments shared by Prophets. WholeLove can be stated as the WholeLaw that governs the existence of man and gives man the chance to experience Peace, Harmony, and Tranquility in his living condition.
WHOLECHRIST – WHOLELOVE – WHOLEREALITY:
WholeChrist – WholeLove – WholeReality: The Birth of Jesus Christ. Life is neither created nor destroyed. The term WholeChrist describes Jesus as an eternal, immortal, unborn Spiritual Principle that existed before His birth, that existed in the Middle or during His earthly Life, and continues to exist in Future without being influenced by Time.
Apostle Paul in his First Epistle to Corinthians, in the New Testament Book of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse#13 states the Principle of Conservation: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Man exists in a world that is restless and is constantly changing. The Individual, created human being is born, grows and develops, exists with a physical identity that constantly changes under the powerful influence of Time and the event called death records the loss of that identity that is never constant at any time of its earthly existence. In the natural world, such changes in appearance are governed by the Laws of Conservation such as the Laws of Conservation of Mass, Energy, and Momentum. During man’s physical existence, the physical form and appearance change and yet the Spiritual Principles of Faith, Hope, and Love are conserved. Man cannot depend upon his knowledge and rationality as they are always subject to change. To know the Subjective and Objective Reality or the “WholeReality” of his ‘WholeExistence’, man needs to know the Law of Conservation of Faith, Hope, and Love.
WHOLECHRIST – WHOLELOVE – WHOLEPRAYER:
WholeChrist – WholeLove – WholePrayer: The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 gives the account of “WholePrayer” that is popularly known as ‘Lord’s Prayer’. Father knows what you need before you ask Him. We pray for His “WILL” be done on earth as it is in Heaven. The ‘WholePrayer’ gives virtues such as Patience, Perseverance, Tolerance, and Kindness the attributes of ‘WholeLove’.
The word Prayer refers to man’s communication with God. It is a spiritual or devotional communication to make a humble, sincere request. Prayer is the act of supplication and it includes words of praise, words of thanksgiving, words of confession, and words of plea seeking sanction of a favor to transform a mental desire into a physical reality in the external world. If God is omniscient, He must know of the evil; and if God is omnipotent, He must be able to remove the evil; and if God is perfectly benevolent and is loving, there should be no pain and suffering. To experience pain and misery, to experience suffering, disappointment and frustration, I have to maintain the condition called existence. At a fundamental level, I have to understand my ability to know things, my power to rule or govern things, and I must know my ability to make choices to change things in my external environment. Jesus in the New Testament Book of Matthew, Chapter 6, verse# 8 instructs: “Do not be like them(pagans), for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” In Lord’s Prayer, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the purpose of the ‘WholePrayer’ is that of asking, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Using my human knowledge and rationality, I can neither account for my existence nor account for my experience of pain and suffering which describes the nature of my existence. I describe ‘WholePrayer’ as an act of Faith, and Hope in recognition of the fact or reality called WholeLove that imparts its qualities and virtues such as Patience, Perseverance, Tolerance, and Kindness. Even if I cannot change the circumstances of my life that cause or give the experience of pain, suffering, and misery, the acceptance of WholeLove makes me pain-tolerant, and pain-resistant. It gives me the strength called ‘Endurance’ to overcome the challenge called the ‘Stress of Life’.
WholeChrist – WholeLove – Nietzsche: “That which is done out of Love always takes place beyond Good and Evil.” Man with his Good or Evil actions and behavior cannot control the flow of God’s Unconditioned or ‘WholeLove’.
WHOLEDUDE – WHOLEDESIGNER – SUPERMAN – THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL RECURRENCE:
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Superman: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche(1844 to 1900), German philosopher in his most celebrated book ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra'(1883-85) introduced in eloquent poetic prose the concepts of the ‘Superman or ‘Superior Man’, and the ‘Will to Power’ using his doctrine of Eternal Recurrence.
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Superman: The German word ‘Übermensch’ means a Superman or a Superior Man. Nietzsche argued for the “Natural Aristocracy” of the ‘Superman’ who driven by the ‘Will to Power’ celebrates life on Earth rather than sanctifying it for some heavenly reward. Nietzsche described the concept of ‘Superman’ or ‘Superior Man’ based on his doctrine of “Eternal Recurrence.”
Nietzsche in his most celebrated book ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’ introduced the concepts of the Superman or Superior Man and the Will to Power. The basic conception of Thus Spoke Zarathustra asks the question: “How well disposed would a person have to become to himself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than the infinite repetition without alternation, of each and every moment?” Nietzsche says, the person who could accept recurrence without self-deception or evasion would be a super human being or “UBERMENSCH”, a Superman whose distance from the ordinary man is greater than the distance between man and ape. This Superior Man would not be a product of long evolution; rather, he would emerge when any man with superior potential completely masters himself and strikes off conventional Christian “Herd Mentality” to create his own values, which are completely rooted in life on this Earth. Nietzsche attacked Christianity and Democracy as moralities for the “Weak Herd”. He argued for the “Natural Aristocracy” of the Superman who driven by the ‘Will to Power’ celebrates life on Earth rather than sanctifying it for some heavenly reward. Such a heroic man of merit has the courage to live “dangerously” and thus rise above the masses, developing his natural capacity for the creative use of passion. Nietzsche’s goal was a “Caesar with Christ’s Soul.”
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Superman: Nietzsche described the concept of “UBERMENSCH”, the Superman or the Superior Man. Nietzsche’s goal was a “Caesar with Christ’s Soul.” Nietzsche argued for the “Natural Aristocracy” of the Superman and ridiculed the idea of the “MEEK” inheriting Earth.
George Bernard Shaw popularized the term “Superman” by his play ‘Man and Superman'(1903).
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Superman: Nietzsche’s concept of Superman was popularized by George Bernard Shaw in his play ‘Man And Superman’. This is a picture of the cast of Roundabout Theatre’s production of that play directed by William Woodman. The cast includes Kim Hunter, David Birney, John Carpenter, Frances Conroy, Michael Cumpsty, Anthony Fusco, I.M. Hobson, Jonathan Walker, and Harriet Harris.
WHOLEDUDE – WHOLEDESIGNER – THE CONCEPT OF “BHAVANAJAGAT”:
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Superman: Nietzsche’s concept of Superman, Superior Man, or “UBERMENSCH” is based on the Doctrine of Eternal Recurrence. In the concept of ‘BHAVANAJAGAT’ the world or ‘JAGAT’ exists in a constant state of motion. Fundamentally, there is no possibility of the infinite repetition without alteration of each and every moment as visualized by Nietzsche.
Nietzsche’s concept of Superman, Superior Man, or “UBERMENSCH” is based on his doctrine of Eternal Recurrence. He visualized the possibility of the infinite repetition without alteration of each and every moment. In my concept of “BHAVANAJAGAT”, the term ‘JAGAT’ refers to planet Earth which exists in a state of constant motion without giving the possibility of the infinite repetition without alteration of each and every moment. Man’s thoughts, ideas, and the power of imagination have no effect on the reality of planet Earth and its nature of existence. Earth churns each future moment into a past moment without ever giving the man the opportunity to know the existence of any present moment. Each moment in the life of planet Earth is a new moment and there is no infinite repetition of any given or recognized moment. Man has to recognize the basic reality about Earth where there can never be two identical moments. “BHAVANAJAGAT” uses the term ‘BHAVANA’ to describe the Unchanging Principle that establishes the human existence in a constantly changing world. For man has no power to experience the repetition of any single moment during his entire period of physical existence, there is no possibility of man evolving into a Superman, Superior Man, or “UBERMENSCH”. Nietzsche’s concept is fundamentally flawed; his doctrine of Eternal Recurrence is a simple product of his mental imagination and it has no correspondence with any external reality. In fact, man has no physical or mental power to establish his own existence on Earth. Man has no intrinsic superior potential to master himself. Man is designed to exist in a constantly changing world without any potential to govern or rule the functions of the independent cells that constitute his body.
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Whole Happiness: Arthur Schopenhauer(1788-1860), German philosopher had famously stated: “It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.”
The word happiness(noun) is about having, showing, or causing a feeling of great pleasure, contentment, and joy. The word glad implies a strong, exultant feeling of joy. Being cheerful requires a steady display of bright spirits or a condition of rejoicing. The term ‘bliss’ can be used to describe the perfect condition of total happiness and in the Indian language of Sanskrit the word “ANANDA” describes the perfect state of existence while experiencing pure happiness, joy, or bliss. It is easy to describe happiness while it could be difficult to find happiness. The reason is that of finding circumstances that favor or cause the feeling of happiness. The problem is, man’s experience of happiness is affected by both outward and inner circumstances beyond his control. The pursuit of happiness can be granted as a Constitutional Right and yet there is no guarantee that man may find the happiness that he desires in his living experience. Arthur Schopenhauer stated: “It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.” While happiness is an inner experience, it is formulated by the external circumstances found in a given place, at a given time, and in a given environment. Happiness cannot be discovered and people cannot find happiness until the external circumstances favor the experience of happiness. If the circumstances that do not favor the experience of happiness cannot be changed, man experiences stress and has to use coping mechanisms to deal with those unhappy circumstances. The ability to cope with unhappy circumstances may not be viewed as a state of having, showing, or causing a feeling of great contentment, pleasure, and joy. I am not inclined to say that Schopenhauer taught a ‘pessimistic’ view of human existence. He placed emphasis on human will and he considered that pleasure is simply the absence of pain. Schopenhauer lived a solitary life from 1831 until his death in 1860 and for about 28 years of his life he was resentful at the world’s failure to recognize his genius. Fortunately for him, his works received international recognition during the final years of his life and provided him the experience of some happiness.
THE THEORY AND THE NATURE OF HUMAN WILL:
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Whole Happiness: There is a fundamental problem with man’s experience of happiness. Man has no choice other than that of interacting with the circumstances of a given environment in which he exists at any given time.
Will is the term used in philosophy and psychology to describe the faculty of mind that may play a role to stimulate motivation of purposeful activity. Will is a motivating force and is related to other words such as wish, desire, appetite, impulse,choice, purpose, and it involves converting a thought into action. Will also includes the power of controlling one’s own actions. The Theory of the Will and the Freedom of the Will have been variously interpreted. Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes and Kant describe Will as personal faculty or function. Spinoza, Leibniz and Hume describe Will as the externalized result of the interaction of conflicting elements. Hobbes, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche describe Will as the manifestation of personality. The religious doctrine of Determinism does not affirm the reality of individual’s Will. Modern Psychology considers the concept of Will as unscientific and human actions are explained on the basis of unconscious motivation.
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Whole Happiness: Arthur Schopenhauer described the World as a constant conflict of individual ‘wills’ resulting in frustration and pain. Pleasure is simply the absence of pain and can be achieved only through the renunciation of desire. I may be able to control my desires and it may not defend me or prevent another individual exercising his Free Will to take action that will deny me the experience called Happiness. What is the Truth or What is the reality of Happiness???
During 1813-14, Schopenhauer was introduced to the teachings of Indian antiquity – the Indian Philosophy of the Vedas and their interpretations in texts called the Upanishads. It gives me a very good reason to share his views about human existence and about man’s purpose in life. Schopenhauer viewed the entire world is the representation of a single Will of which our individual wills are phenomena. He used the word will to describe desire, striving, wanting, effort, and urging. Man is the expression of insatiable will to life. It is through the will that mankind finds all their suffering. Desire for more is what causes this suffering. Schopenhauer claimed that our world is driven by a continually dissatisfied will that is continually seeking satisfaction. He tried to account for the world in all its significant aspects. He considers the pain and striving of the human condition and the possibility of deliverance from it.
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Whole Happiness: How to Find Happiness in Each Day of Human Existence??? Schopenhauer explained that human “WILL” exists outside Time, Space, and Causality.
Schopenhauer agrees with Immanuel Kant about human perceptions of the world in which man exists. But he equated Kant’s “thing-in-itself” with a blind impelling force manifesting itself in individuals as the “Will” to live. Schopenhauer’s most important work is “The World as Will and Idea”(1818-19) and a revised edition titled “The World as Will and Representation.” His doctrine of the Primacy of the Will also emphasizes the irrationality of Will. The Will(“thing-in-itself”) is not perceivable as a presentation and it exists outside Time, Space, and Causality. He viewed inner experience as intuited through the Will as the most important form of experience. He tried to understand the relationship between human will and human body. Man can go beyond simple perception to know the ultimate reality called the “Will” through which man is compelled to act to express love, hate, desire, and rejection. Although the Will is entirely real, it is not free nor does it have any ultimate purpose. According to Schopenhauer, human will is all-consuming, pointless, and negative. There is also no escape from the Will as manifested in Nature; the expressions of Will are seen throughout the natural world as in the struggles of animals, the stirring of a seed, and the turning of a magnet. Schopenhauer comes to the conclusion that the purpose in life must be that of escaping the Will and its painful strivings. The arts, especially the Art of Music with their “will-less perception” provide a temporary haven. The only final escape is through the “turning of the Will against itself”, a mysterious process that results in Liberation by causing the sheer extinction of the Will. The Indian School of Thought called ‘The Karma – Yoga’ or ‘The Yoga of Action’ describes that man has no choice and cannot avoid action and it recommends the renunciation of the desire to experience or tasting the fruits of one’s own actions.
WholeDude – Whole Designer – Whole Happiness: In my view, Life cannot be explained on the basis of uncaused, self-caused, unguided, random, and spontaneous actions or events. Life, the striving, the desire, the ‘Will’ is action towards a goal. Most living functions of the human organism are performed by independent, autonomous units called cells that perform goal-oriented actions without the use of man’s imagination or thought.
In my view, Life cannot be explained on the basis of uncaused, self-caused, unguided, random, and spontaneous actions or events. If Life has a goal or purpose, it primarily involves the striving or desire towards the goal or purpose to maintain the condition called existence. The human organism comprises of trillions of individual, independent, autonomous units called cells that perform the living functions without any assistance from the imagination or thought of the man who lives in the world because of those living functions. Human existence cannot be explained on the basis of human will to exist if that human will is dependent upon human thought and imagination. The human being does experience desires and man indeed takes action to respond to those desires. However, the experience called happiness depends upon a factor called ‘Contentment’. It is the factor which determines the degree of gratification that is needed for producing the effect called ‘Satisfaction’. Man can choose to set the bar called Contentment at a high or low-level and experience the effect called Satisfaction while seeking the gratification of his desires. There is no “Whole Happiness” until there is Satisfaction of the desires. To conquer the insatiable enemy called DESIRE, to achieve the effect called SATISFACTION, man must overcome the organs of sense perception, the mind and intellect which are the sitting places of Desire. In my view, there is “Whole Happiness” if and only if man has fully recognized the existence of his relationship, partnership, connection, and association with an external source of “Whole Happiness.” I describe Spirit and Soul as the material principle that establishes man’s relationship with the external source of Happiness and thereby sustains man’s desire to live or to have life. Man is a Spiritual Being who can use his Spirit and Soul to exercise control over his mind, intellect, and senses to manage the feelings, the cravings, the urge, and the inner strivings that could manifest as Free Will and provide motivating power to translate thoughts into actions performed in the external world.
WholeDude – WholeDesigner – Whole Happiness: The word Sunshine means the light and heat from the Sun and Sunshine is used to describe the feeling of Cheerfulness and Happiness. To have a true or real experience of Happiness, man needs an external source of Happiness.
Whole Happiness, Pure Joy, and Perfect Bliss is a condition that demands connection, relationship, partnership, and association between man and his external source of support that formulates the conditions of human existence. In other words, man finds the experience of Sunshine, Cheerfulness, and Happiness under the influence of an external source of Whole Happiness.
Pope Benedict XVI delivering the Vatican’s traditional Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi”(to the City and to the World) Message from the central balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday, December 25, 2012.
Pope Benedict XVI in his traditional Christmas Day Message has wished for Peace, Freedom, and Justice to the people of all nations across the World.
WHAT IS FREEDOM????
Spiritualism-The Spirit of Freedom: What is Freedom???? The Statue of Liberty symbolizes human aspiration for Freedom and Liberty.
John Milton(1644) demanded, “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.” British Bill of Rights(1689), French Declaration of the Rights of Man(1789), and The U.S. Bill of Rights(1791) describe Civil Liberties and Individual Freedoms. John Stuart Mill(1806-73), English Philosopher, and Economist had observed, “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” Being sovereign, means that the person, or entity acknowledge no superior. To be a sovereign shows the ability not to accept commands from anyone. In Political Science, when States are called Free and Independent, their autonomy or sovereignty means that they have full power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states have the right to do. The terms Freedom and Liberty are often used to describe the opposite of servitude, slavery, or bondage. It describes the act of releasing or setting free of a slave or prisoner from physical servitude or imprisonment. Freedom means the state or quality of being free from the control of some other person or some arbitrary power and it gives the person the ability to act, move, and live without hindrance or restraint. Similarly, Liberty describes Freedom from arbitrary control, confinement, and compulsion imposed by rules, regulations, laws, and traditional practices. However, Freedom does not constitute License which implies the ability to violate the usual rules, laws, or practices either by consent or as an abuse of Liberty. The purpose of Freedom is not that of imposing Anarchy which is the complete absence of government. Anarchy may lead to political disorder, lawlessness, and may contribute to disorder in various spheres of human activities, and human interactions. Freedom, and Liberty cannot be disassociated from Peace, and Justice, and equal protection of Rights of all the members of any social community or national entities. Liberty cannot be allowed to grow without limit at the expense of Justice and Order. The concept of Freedom, Liberty, and Freewill expressed in human thought and literature has very limited application in Natural Sciences. The establishment of Life on planet Earth speaks of the operation of the Laws of Nature. Life has emerged from discord, disorder, and chaos; it reflects the nature of sequential, guided, and purposeful interactions of atoms, and molecules to seek peace, harmony, and tranquility to get over the consequences of random, unguided, and spontaneous interactions which have no purpose.
THE SPIRITUAL BASIS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE:
Spiritualism-The Spirit of Freedom: Jesus Christ offers the hope of Freedom from Death. What is Believer’s Freedom????
It must be clearly recognized that Freedom or Liberty is a product of man’s mental imagination and it has no physical correspondence with an external reality. From the viewpoint of a scientific observer, the human subject exists without Freedom, or Independence as the subject cannot be detached from its external source of support. Freedom or Liberty is a subjective, personal experience and it cannot be tested or verified using the protocol of objective Science. In other words, man’s subjective, mental experience called Freedom, or Liberty exists if, and only if his existence is sustained by the rules, laws, and conditions imposed upon the reality called Life. Man’s status in Nature is characterized by the absence of “Independence” as it is conditioned by dependence. Man does not have “Sovereign” powers to rule or govern his own human body which comprises of independent, and functionally autonomous, individual, living cells. The Living System requires constant supply of energy from an external source and the ability to acquire this energy is independent of man’s control over his own body. Man may appear to have the freedom to choose death, and the same is not true about keeping his own existence. To live, and to perform living functions, man needs support, and man has no choice other than that of dependence. Man has the desire to exist as an independent Individual with Individuality while being attached, and while surviving on support from an external source. In Life, or Death, man needs Mercy, Grace, and Compassion of a Supreme Being who may control the source of external energy and constitute the principle called Divine Providence.
What is Soul? What is Spirit?:
Spiritualism-The Spirit of Freedom: Soul and Spirit describe two-sides of the same coin.
Soul/Spirit is stated as the vital, animating, life principle found in all living entities. Spirit is often used to describe the moral nature of man, a specified mental, or emotional attitude that characterizes words, actions, opinions, and etc., Spirit is used to refer to the intelligent or immaterial part of man as distinguished from the human body, and mind. The term Spirit considers the possibility of the existence of an immaterial reality that is imperceptible to the organs of sense perception. The life principle displays both material and immaterial aspects. Hence, I would like to suggest that Spirit and Soul represent the two-sides of the same coin. Spirit and Soul influence human nature in two different ways. Under the influence of Spirit, man seeks his Freedom, or Independence. Spirit gives the ability to man to generate new, original, and creative thoughts that form the contents of his imagination. Man applies imagination and uses inspiration from within or without to create new, and original products. Whereas Soul is the guiding mechanism that establishes the dependent, or conditioned nature of man’s existence. The recognition of the nature of dependent existence generates an emotion or feeling called ‘Devotion’ and man learns to act in obedience of an unknown Supreme Being. The presence of ‘Devotion’ is detected in human behavior and actions that display a sense of humility and modesty. Freedom, and Dependence are the two basic elements of human nature that are perpetually in tension with one another. While the Spirit is dominant, man seeks total Freedom and expresses this Freedom to constantly manipulate the dependent nature of his conditioned existence which may include a desire to seek Freedom from Death through his works, and actions. With the help of his Soul, man totally surrenders his sense of self-pride, ego, or arrogance. His deliverance, or salvation, or liberation is entirely dependent upon the Mercy, Grace, and Compassion of his LORD God Creator.
JESUS CHRIST – THE “SPIRIT” OF FREEDOM:
Spiritualism-The Spirit of Freedom: Life through the Spirit. The Book of ROMANS, Chapter 8, verses 1 & 2; “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the Law of the Spirit of Life set me Free from the Law of Sin and Death.”
Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Galatians has been called the “Magna Charta” of Christian Liberty. However, it must be noted that the essence of Christian Freedom is stated as deliverance from bondage of sin and its consequent moral corruption of human nature. Apostle Paul declares, “It is for Freedom that Christ has set us Free.”( Galatians, Chapter 5, verse 1) The Freedom advocated by Apostle Paul refers to freedom from the ceremonial laws of Jewish Old Testament customs and traditions. He demands Galatians to live as released prisoners or freed slaves and at the same time it was not an invitation to lead immoral lives. He specifically instructs that the Freedom described relates to freedom from sinful nature; “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of sinful nature.”( Galatians, Chapter 5, verse 16 ) In the Gospel according to Apostle John, Chapter 6, verse 63, Jesus describes the distinction between the Spirit and human body; “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life.” This Spiritual Liberty involves man becoming the slave of God; “But now that you have been set Free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”( The Book of ROMANS, Chapter 6, verse 22) Spiritual Liberty never condones the abuse of Liberty and there is no exemption from the exercise of individual judgment. The Book of JAMES, Chapter 2, verse 12 stipulates the Law of Liberty; “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the Law that gives freedom.” The use of Liberty and Freedom is limited by consideration of obedience of Law and acting in accordance with moral precepts as man exists in the world as a created being and not as a Sovereign or Independent entity.
I wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.
Rudra N. Rebbapragada, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.
SPIRITUALISM AND VIOLENCE – GRIEF AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:
Spiritualism: Grief and Compassion at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut, Friday, December 14, 2012.
In U.S. history, the second-deadliest school shooting took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut during the beautiful morning hours on Friday, December 14, 2012. The killing of 20 school children and other adults will force us to reflect upon human nature.
The tragedy at Sandy Hook: 6-year-old Emilie Parker is one of the shooting victims. She is seen in this photo with her father Robbie Parker.
This act of violence at Sandy Hook compels us to examine the Spiritual Basis for human existence.
AGGRESSION AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS:
Among animals, man has the ability to kill members of his own kind for reasons other than that of food, territory, and reproductive success. However, I do not consider that aggression is innate to human nature. The thought to commit an act of violence may enter the human mind because of an external, environmental stimulus. For an infectious agent to enter human body and cause a diseased condition would require a degree of susceptibility to that infection. A person who is not in proper relationship with his own self, and with others is susceptible to be taken over by harmful emotions such as anger that generates the desire to commit an act of violence. The gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School could be described as a victim of his inability to formulate harmonious relationship both at personal level and interpersonal level. Mental Health involves the ability to develop harmonious social relations. In my view, the basis for external, harmonious, social relationships begins at a personal level; the ability to define one’s relationship with oneself.
THE SPIRITUAL BASIS FOR HUMAN EXISTENCE:
This act of violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School illustrates man’s estrangement or alienation from his true or real nature. I would like to reinforce the fact of the spiritual basis for human existence. In life, or death, man needs the mercy, grace, and compassion of his Creator. Man does not exist in this physical world because of his intellectual, or physical effort. It is a good time to explain the dependent nature of human existence and invite peace, harmony, and tranquility in the living condition by accepting the Divine Providence with a sense of respect and humility. The act of acceptance of Divine mercy, grace, and compassion generates the emotion called ‘devotion’ which provides a sense of comfort and makes the person stress-resistant, and imparts the ability to overcome the feelings of fear, and the sense of grief generated by the loss of life.
GRIEF AND COMPASSION AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:
SPIRITUALISM AND VIOLENCE: GRIEF AND COMPASSION AT SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
It is human nature to respond to grief with feelings of compassion. I describe, that human nature is constituted by the principles called ‘spirit’, and ‘soul’. In ‘spirit’, man seeks freedom, and with ‘soul’, he establishes the dependence that supports the human existence. The violence, and aggression that we have witnessed is a response to an external environmental stimulus. Man betrays his own true nature or fails to recognize his real self; and this sense of estrangement or alienation from reality leads to behavior that destroys peace, harmony, and tranquility in man’s interactions with others in his environment. This gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School had utterly failed to defend his own freedom as he got alienated from his own ‘spirit’ and had failed to recognize his own ‘soul’ that sustains his existence. This loss of freedom had caused him to end his own existence using the same gun with which he had attacked others.
Whole Dude - Whole Concept 