other|matters

The second pillar of spiritual chaos is the erasure of accountability. If you guarantee a person salvation either by eliminating any thought of accountability or by guaranteeing salvation, then you have erased the system of accountability. The accountant then of such a person will again become his/her nafs al-amāra. What reason is there to conform except according to the terms, solely of a world which permits the complete satisfaction (if it is possible) of the nafs al-amāra?

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In generations past, the immediate signal of exploitation was an inequality of the distribution of resources. That inequality was then the fuel for revolution. That inequality today is so great, yet where is the revolution? Even the protests marches of today are largely symbolic impotent exercises. The power brokers—in “feeding” our appetites—have already wiped out any possible revolution. But, there is one simple sign that has not yet been thoroughly conquered, though it almost has: emptiness and meaninglessness. Is that emptiness the fuel for tomorrow’s revolution?

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In every generation are people sensitive to abuses of power. In this generation, however, we are taught to be extra-sensitive about the nature and consequences of power. We are taught that “power” is to be possessed equally by all. Such is the ethos of democracy, in that no authoritarian structure has the authority to compel us to act, save in manners that are of benefit to the self and/or society. That compelling force becomes the force of the law.

A person is given “human” status, then, when that human is given the authority and ability to wield power. Thus, if someone has the right, for example, to vote, s/he has status as a “human. ” If s/he is not given that right, then s/he is classified (for all intents and purposes) as an animal or commodity. Thus, if someone has the right to redress wrongs and is given the full right of full compensation when wronged, then s/he is regarded and respected as legally “human.”

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To express my appreciation to the Creator for bringing you into my life, I quote the following story from Gulistan. [Trans. Omar Ali-Shah, p. 65]

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To oppress a population, you must take away their power. You must disempower them. Now, to disempower them, you have to replace their real material power, with impotent mythic power.

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