READING THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Some Reflections
This was our 1st Meeting of 2011 and it took place 2 days after the Christian Festival of The Epiphany which was most appropriate. Epiphany tells the Christian Story of how Jesus became manifest to the world through the Magi or Wise Men. In reality, the Magi were people who were seekers, people of wisdom and were open to reading the signs of their times.
We listened to the 2nd of 3 talk given by Sister Ishpriya at a Satsang Retreat in Douai Abbey in March 2010. Her talks were related to how Satsang Members could effectively live out their Satsang Commitment In her 2nd Talk she suggested that Satsang Members had two basic practices. These were firstly Being open to Reading the Signs of the Times and secondly Sitting Still Doing Nothing ( Meditation). She then focused on the 1st of these ‘Reading the Signs of the Times’
She shared a common experience we all have. This is the modern tendency to collect knowledge , not through experience but through reading. She recounted how often , on discussing any issue, she is often asked ‘ Have you read this book’? She challenged this all too common attitude and suggested that, in order to read the signs of the times, we needed to be open more to experience. We have a Tsunami of information in our modern world and we can so easily be swamped by it. This requires each of us to reflect deeply and to learn to discern, select and reflect on what is essential. We could learn from Eastern Approaches as these place more emphasis on the importance of experience over mere knowledge, and so much of the latter is only information which is NOT based on real understanding nor experience.
She recounted an experience of meeting 3 Westerners at a Buddhist Community in North India and how they responded to her questions. She recalled the quality of their ability to really listen deeply and how one, when asked ‘What are you reading’ ? replied ‘ Reading
We need to be aware (and to beware of ) , that in this ‘age of mass-communication’ we do not fall into an ‘era of mis-communication’. Much of the ‘information’ floating around the Web needs to be viewed with caution. We certainly need to read the signs of the times in our own life. Only when we do this can we be available for others.
She then focused on the inequalities in our human family. Some of us have more than we need , we have an abundance and others have so little – these suffer scarcity. She commented upon a recent statistic. This suggested that there was equal distribution of the world’s resources and that if somehow this could be represented by a portion of land, then each person would get 4.5 hectares for all their needs . In other words, 4.5 hectares would symbolically represent and provide every member of humanity with enough.
However, this IS NOT how our current world works. She quoted the following few statistics based on the 4.5 Hectare symbol.
The above statistics are stark and make a valuable point. If we were to try to raise everybody’s standards to that of the West and of the USA FIVE ) more planet Earths . However we only have 1 World.
Something has to change. This change is not external it is internal. We all need to take responsibility. We need to sit and discern, select and reflect on this issue of inequality in our human family. This is where the Satsang Practice of ‘sitting still doing nothing’ is vital and it could provide us with a new way. We have to discern the essential difference between WANTS and Real NEEDS.
Our meeting then led to a shared discussion that focused around the following questions designed to provide some focus for our reflection and any general sharing.
How can we remain open and awake to reading the signs of our times ?
What message do the current inequalities in our human family hold for us ?
What has been our experience of an epiphany in our life ?
These reflections merely give a ‘taste’ of our Satsang Meetings and do not necessarily give a true sense of our experience. In the end, just as a recipe is not the actual meal, these reflections cannot truly convey the experience.
Readers are always welcome to our open meeting. Our next meeting is:
DAY OF REFLECTION - Saturday 12th February 2011
10.30 - 4.30 - Wolverhampton
CREATIVITY AND REVOLUTION
Challenging our Approach to Life and Particularly Education
FURTHER DETAILS AND FLIER TO FOLLOW
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