rowdyjackal5 said:Peter Phillips32 As stated by:
Ladies, of course it’s possible—that's why they were phrased as declarative statements in the very first post.
It all goes back to this observation by Krishnamurti: he argues that trying to control yourself—policing your own thoughts and emotions—is actually a flawed approach. Instead, he suggests you should simply be an impartial observer. Because if you go down the path of self-control, you inevitably run into the classic paradox: who watches the watchmen? When reading his work, you can see him posing this exact question to his audience. They sit there, unable to provide an answer, and because they’re stumped, they just blindly accept his ideas as absolute truth. Rather than encouraging people to branch out into their own investigations and independent reasoning, he essentially pushes his own perspectives as the ultimate, unquestionable reality.
You really ought to read the Bhagavad Gita. Honestly, I can't recommend it enough.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that you can't exactly opt out of life by doing nothing. Avoiding action doesn't grant you some kind of cosmic pass; whether you act or stay idle, you're still going to have to deal with the consequences.
Secondly, let’s be clear: "control" is a complete myth. It’s nothing more than an illusion, a trick of Maya. Prabhupada illustrates this perfectly with a great example involving the President of the United States. The President walks around thinking he’s the ultimate authority, the big boss in charge. But in reality, his "subjects"—the American people—can kick him out of office at the next election. Then, during that very election, he has to stand there promising how great he’ll be if they just vote for him again. So, the supposed "boss" is actually entirely dependent on his "subjects." It’s the same ridiculous logic you see in a household: you might think you’re the master because you control the dog, even though in reality, you're being managed by your wife, your kids, or your mother-in-law. Yet, you still cling to the delusion that you're the one in charge of the dog.
True liberation only begins when you finally accept that your sole purpose is to serve, while realizing you actually control absolutely nothing. You become a servant to a servant of a servant, and in that surrender, you find yourself serving God.
God controls everything, and every single being is accountable only to Him—and to no one else.
Look, I’ve read it. And honestly, I still think people aren't anyone's servants, nor should they ever be. We’re responsible for ourselves, period. But since there's this whole systemic thing where people get brainwashed through verbal and non-verbal conditioning to fall into line, they lose the ability to even imagine—let alone believe—how much power they actually hold within themselves. They start thinking they need some "perfect" God to map out their entire "destiny" for them.
You know what I mean? It’s not that God created man in His image; it’s more like man created God in his own idealized image.
in there, Krishna tells Arjuna that you can't just opt out of action by being inactive; you'll face consequences for doing nothing just as much as if you had acted.
Exactly. You don't need some deity to tell you that your ass is gonna hurt if you sit too long or if you don't, and then demand that because they said it, you have to bow down, follow their every word, and act like a mindless servant—or else switch gods and face eternal torment.
secondly, "control" doesn't really exist; it's just an illusion called Maya. Prabhupada explains this beautifully with an example: The President thinks he's in charge, the big boss. But his "servants"—the American people—can kick him out at the next election. So, the "boss" actually depends on his "servants." It's like thinking you're the master controlling your dog, when really your spouse, your kids, or your mother-in-law is the one actually calling the shots, yet you still cling to the idea that you're the one in control of the dog.
Liberation only comes when you realize your only job is to serve, and that you control absolutely nothing. You serve a servant of a servant of a servant, and in that way, you serve God.
The President of the United States only thinks he's in control if he's foolish enough to believe the people serve him, rather than him serving the people.
I mean, he's elected by the people, for the people.
Find a better example than that. Honestly, it looks to me like besides that little copy-paste routine from the Bhagavad Gita, you don't really have any personal logic or independent thought of your own.
The Goddess-God controls everything, and every being is accountable only to them and no one else.
Really? And who are they accountable to? Who created them? Why did they create us? And where are they even located? Why do they allow so much violence, people starving to death, or a kid beating up their grandmother? Ask them if there are other beings in the universe and why they’re avoiding us.
etc. (and I've got plenty more questions, if you can actually manage to answer the previous ones meaningfully)
And yeah, how do you even know God exists in the first place?
Are you actually thinking for yourself here, or just soaking up whatever is written in books?
