What Sri Aurobindo tells us is to practice detached self-defense

ned said...I agree with what you are saying on the whole, but the important thing is to realize why all of this darkness exists in the universe in the first place. Sri Aurobindo reminds us that this darkness is there to teach us that our self-righteousness is nothing more than a pretentious impurity. And the Mother tells us that the "Adversary" is undoubtedly necessary for the perfection of the universe, as is the touchstone for gold. One has to be very careful when setting out to destroy evil and ask oneself if one is doing so to bolster the false self, or truly doing it as a slave of the Divine.

Do I advocate pacifism in every single situation? No, of course not. If someone is trying to rape me, I'm going to kick and scream and hurt him as much as I can to allow myself to run for my life. Of course there will come a time when humanity will be ready for pacifism through and through, and war will become obsolete. Until then, however, what Sri Aurobindo tells us is to practice detached self-defense. Not gratuitous violence, but conscious defense of the dharma, which will involve much more spiritual warfare with adverse forces than actual physical warfare. To feel empathy for an enemy and share their pain even as one finds oneself forced to slay them -- this is what truly spiritual warfare would entail.

Where there is physical warfare, it always reflects our own inner conditions, and this must never be forgotten. The war on terror is to be fought inside our own hearts, for that is where the real battle lies. 4/05/2007 10:02:00 PM

Gagdad Bob said... Ned--We'll have to agree to vehemently disagree on your interpretation of Sri Aurobindo. Much of what you said is either distorted ot flatly untrue. 4/06/2007 04:26:00 AM One Cosmos