Of the upper class, in general, it may be said that, while they are in possession of the resources to control and direct the infrastructures of evil in their society, they are too dependent, addicted, and spoiled to wage the necessary campaigns of independent inquiry and group activism...
Of the middle class, in general, it may be said that, while they are in possession of the resources to unmask and dismantle the infrastructures of evil in their society, they are too comfortable, complacent, and apathetic to wage the necessary campaigns of independent inquiry and group activism...
Of the lower class, in general, it may be said that, while they lack the resources to unmask and dismantle the infrastructures of evil in their society, they are too exhausted, overworked, and despirited to wage the necessary campaigns of independent inquiry and group activism...
Thus, evil continues to take the upper hand in the wider orchestrations of power, both foreign and domestic.
Nevertheless, when full-scale revolutions do occur, they inevitably rise, like human tidal-waves, from the deepest levels of the collective, sweeping all of society up with them.
And what is true in the collective is just as true in the life of individuals.
Each one of us is conflicted, as society is conflicted. We are power hungry, complacent, exhausted, and fed up; we are masters, slaves, and everything in between. Somewhere, in those parts of ourselves which have been most effectively supressed, most disempowered, disinherited, and denied, -- those parts of ourselves for which no advocate may be found, and on behalf of whom every other part of ourselves pretends to speak, -- we are even primed for revolt.
An exploration of external revolution ought to reveal just as much about the psychospiritual process of change within the individual; and vice-versa. What I choose to articulate, as an author, is ostensible; and secondary to what you, as a reader, choose to interpret. If I begin with a study of social movements, it is because I hope these will help to clarify, through magnification, the movements within the individual psyche.
The magnification is one of quantity, not quality; physics, not metaphysics. No doubt, there have been social upheavals and reversals of worldly power which cannot compare in significance to individual enlightenment experiences. Indeed, there have been enlightened individuals whose personal experience of inner transformation catalyzed revolutions in the world which are still underway, thousands of years after the death of the individuals who began them. Inevitably, such catalysts do not so much rise from the ranks, as with them.
What is required, in order for grand, historical shifts to take place, is a collective evolutionary leap, -- characterized, foremost, by a healthy suspicion of authority, and a consequent awareness of the individual's responsibility to test the truth of claims, and the claim of truths, handed down; for there is much that, having been subjected to scrutiny, proves worthy of the claim of truth, and much that is true which, yet, proves unworthy to claim a great share of our sympathy, allegiance, or attention.
The honor reserved for solid gold must be accorded neither to fool's gold, nor to sterling silver. But the economies of the earth are, for the most part, run on less than nothing, -- on chimeras; delusional perceptions, manufactured by ethical mutants; sociopaths, who occupy the chief positions of influence precisely because they have placed nothing before their own avarice and compulsive ambition for power.
With rare exceptions, those who pull the strings (or, rather, the knots, where numerous strings converge), are individuals who have allowed nothing to distract them from the acquisition of power. Intimacy, family, friendship, religion, science, art, philosophy, self-exploration, self-realization, and self-actualization have all been swatted ruthlessly to the curb, and kicked mercilessly into the gutter. Such things are worse than nuisances, -- they are actual encumbrances, -- to a person utterly intoxicated with ambition and completely addicted to controlling others, to worldly notoriety, and to the acquisition of objects intended to symbolize status.
What has no personal significance, to an individual whose only interests are personal, can have no significance for such an individual at all. Hence, what such people annex from their own lives, they will be inclined to annex from the life of a culture. Yet, these are the very things which unsuspecting citizens expect to see authorities protect and nourish in the culture! How long will the citizenry continue to hand the keys to the vaults of their hearts, where all that is most cherished by them is kept, over to the very criminals, who wish, -- not to steal these precious treasures for themselves, but, what is far worse, -- merely to see them obliterated; so that no one in the world may ever profit from them.
Is this not how the very devils like to thieve? For they wish to steal that which is most holy and pleasing to God, and, yet, they have no use -- or, at any rate, no desire, -- for such things themselves. The demon does not filch your hope because he desires it for himself. Even to desire it, he would already have to possess some small quantity of it; which he does not, for he would not be a demon if he did. No, he steals your hope because he desires to see you hopeless, and what he takes he destroys.
This is perhaps the greatest and most revolting irony connected with power. Even most who have come to understand that the economies, governments, and larger institutions of the world are corrupt, have not yet understood the full extent of the corruption. They picture the "elite" as vampires, feeding off of the masses, and getting fat on what ought rightfully to be theirs. But, while this is a fair analogy, as far as economic parasitism is concerned, it fails to capture what is most insidious about these particular ghouls. The absolute worst part of our condition is that the blood we lose feeds no one; that it is sucked from our bodies and spit into the dirt; and worth less than nothing to the ones who gather it only for the sake of squandering it.
What each one of us must discover for ourselves is that our dearest values and principles must not be handed down to us from on high; neither by a parent, a politician, a priest, or a pilgrim claiming to be the Son of God. Rather, they must arise directly from within ourselves, and out of the grist of our own immediate experience of the world.
This is not to deny what was said by Jesus, or by anyone who has tried to share their own experience with others, but, rather, to repeat it; not as a mindless parrot repeats things, but, as one who has tasted the wine may concur with another who has tasted and remarked on it first. Jesus is called "the first fruits" precisely because he is the first to have imbibed and endorsed the holy wine of mystical experience; many have known the way, before and since, but only one has shown it; only one followed the path to the end and returned while the others were still in transit (or transmigration); only one could speak with authority when all others could speak only partial truths.
A distinction perhaps ought to be made between Jesus and The Christ, --
if only for the sake of more clearly understanding the unity which is "Jesus Christ".
What was best in Jesus (the man) was the Christ (God), and he only became "Jesus Christ" by being conformed utterly to what was best in him. The message of the Gospel, that you serve God when you serve one another, is crystalized the instant you realize that what was best in Jesus is also what is best in you. If it were merely in him, then it would have died with him. Christ is risen in you because what was best in Jesus lives on, and takes on new life, within you.
If we take the words of Jesus into our hearts, it is not because we deny our own witness, -- but, on the contrary, because something within our hearts resonates with something in the words, and is as drawn to them as they are to it. That something, in both instances, is The Christ.
When all words, all voices, all sounds, and even silence itself, has lost the power to move us, The Christ will still speak, and will speak more clearly than ever, from the depths of our soul's experience. When we are ready to listen, we listen, and when we listen, we hear. It is the simplest thing in the world, but as long as we are caught up in the impressions of the world, and neglect to honor our own "still small voice", we will not hear it. Then, the message of Jesus, along with our own inner truth, will be subject to distortion, and become just another agent of hypnosis.
Revolution, whether on a mass scale or within the life of the individual, depends upon a willingness to doubt the superficial impressions, and to confront the voice of conviction, in the world or in oneself, with a greater attitude of skepticism.
Indeed, it may be difficult to come up with a more perfect definition of deep meditation, than to say that it is absolute skepticism. In a mysterious sense, there is no difference between absolute skepticism and absolute faith. In doubting the world, we place faith in ourselves; in doubting ourselves, we place faith in that which transcends ourselves, and is deepest in ourselves; in doubting all, we place faith in that which transcends all, and is deepest in all.
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