[continued from previous message]   
      
   Another similar example is the Pope's address, a few weeks ago, before the   
   Pontifical Academy of Sciences. John Paul II's message stressed that   
   scientists should abandon any research that may be used for the purposes of   
   war. While such a pronouncement    
   may appear to be quite innocent on the surface, a closer analysis reveals two   
   very curious inconsistencies. First is that the Vatican's very recent interest   
   in, and alleged support for science, stands in stark contrast to the black   
   history of the Church    
   in this respect. (It is not at all surprising to note that, of the 71   
   top-level scientists from around the world, who are life-time members of the   
   Pontifical Academy, only about 25 are practicing Roman Catholics – while the   
   vast majority are non-   
   Catholics.) One must surely wonder how it happens that for two thousand years   
   the Church clearly felt threatened by any form of scientific enquiry, whereas   
   today it pretends to be unconcerned. Secondly, it is well worth noting that by   
   far the largest    
   contingent of the 71 member-scientists of the Pontifical Academy comes from   
   the U.S.A. and that a very large majority of the 71 scientists come from the   
   NATO countries. But perhaps most significant of all is that not even one of   
   the 71 comes from the U.S.   
   S.R. Obviously, the Pope's address before such a lopsided body of world   
   scientists can have only a one-sided effect and, presumably, that is indeed   
   what the Church desires. It is also pertinent to point out that the results of   
   a recent poll conducted on    
   behalf of the International Herald Tribune revealed that almost half of the   
   Italian people believe that nuclear arms should not be used even if their own   
   country were under nuclear attack and more than one-third of the Italian   
   people would support    
   unilateral disarmament of the West.   
      
   [424] Though all languages are equally important and respectable as the mother   
   tongue of some community and as the primary medium of that community's   
   cultural heritage, today English is the most convenient language and Roman   
   script the most scientific    
   script to serve the necessary function of a lingua franca. Of course, in   
   future some other language may take the place of English, and some other   
   script may replace Roman script. Always it is necessary to make adjustment   
   with changing times.   
      
   There are in the world today some people who express the opinion that, should   
   any language be adopted as a lingua franca, then that language must be an   
   artificial one. These people claim that, if a particular language in common   
   usage be accepted as the    
   lingua franca, then the society which uses that language for its mother tongue   
   would automatically gain world domination. Unfortunately, they neglect to   
   mention the fact that fifty years ago Français was the effective world   
   language. Yet today France    
   certainly is not dominating the planet. Furthermore, even if adoption of the   
   English language were to lead to world domination by the English-speaking   
   peoples, then which of those people would the leader be – the British, the   
   Americans, the Australians,    
   the New Zealanders, the Jamaicans, the Nigerians, the South Indians? In the   
   final analysis, a language remains artificial only so long as it is not   
   adopted by one or another community. But the world language is certainly   
   likely to be adopted eventually    
   by one or another community. Do the Esperantists of the world suggest that   
   each time that language-adoption takes place another artificial language   
   should be created and imposed upon the entire world as the new lingua franca?   
      
   [425] Once these four conditions are met, then all nations of the world will   
   tend to come closer to each other as a natural consequence of good   
   communications, cultural blending, economic similarities and administrative   
   efficiency. In the not-too-distant    
   future, a world government will be accepted and gradually strengthened. On   
   that auspicious day when a meaningful and benevolent world government is   
   formed, humanity will have eliminated the threat of war on this planet once   
   and for all. Finally, all    
   people of this world will be able to realize that human society is indeed one   
   and indivisible.   
      
   [426] In my opinion, the only really comprehensive and truly scientific   
   spiritual path available to humanity today is the yogic path known as Ananda   
   Marga (the “Path of Bliss”). In all my research, both historical and current,   
   I have never discovered any    
   religion, or spiritual path that is so complete in respect to the range of   
   guidance given nor so free from the poisonous effect of dogma in terms of type   
   of teachings and practices found therein.   
      
   Hence, I would recommend sincerely that the reader make a thorough   
   investigation of the theory and techniques of Ananda Marga. And I would   
   especially caution all my gentle readers to disregard the false propaganda of   
   the many opportunists, who naturally    
   feel their position to be threatened by such a powerful and pure movement.   
      
   [427] Regarding Idea, this term is often used loosely to denote the meaning of   
   a word or words. If, for example, we take the word “cat”, then the image of a   
   cat on one's mental plate is simply the meaning of the word. This is not   
   really Idea in its    
   finest sense. In fact, the mental image of a cat (derived either by direct   
   perception or by some more indirect method) is not at all psycho-spiritual   
   parallelism; rather, it is the opposite of that – psycho-physical parallelism.   
      
   In a like manner, the term Ideology also has been so much bandied about that   
   today it is used variously to refer to many crude and materialistic   
   philosophies. However, properly speaking, Ideology (like Idea) is a concept   
   that cannot be extended to the    
   plural number, and its significance must always imbibe a spiritual sense.   
   Ideology comprises only those realizations that emanate from Idea. It is the   
   inspiration that has a direct association with the Supreme.   
      
   [428] Both scriptures and the person upholding those scriptures have   
   tremendous importance in social life. Where there is some defect in both the   
   philosophy and the propounder of that philosophy, the results are disastrous.   
   Divine kings, divine right of    
   kings, slavery, warfare, super-powers, capitalism, communism – these are just   
   a few of the lethal institutions that have tormented humanity as a direct   
   consequence of pseudo-spirituality and pseudo-spiritualists. Where only one or   
   the other is defective –   
    either the philosophy or the propounder of that philosophy – the results are   
   generally not so catastrophic. If there be some defect in the philosophy, but   
   no defect in the propounder of that philosophy, then in that case little harm   
   will emerge from the    
   philosophy during the lifetime of that great personality, but harm may well   
   result after the great personality's demise. On the other hand, even if there   
   be no defect in the philosophy but there be no proper person to take the   
   responsibility of    
   implementing that philosophy, then that high philosophy has no practical   
   value, being confined only to books.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)