Waiting for God?

Waiting for God?


After the recent carnage in France, the Dalai Lama was asked what should be done concerning such atrocities on this planet, and if he thought people should pray for Paris? This statement formed the central part of his answer:

“We cannot solve this problem only through prayers. I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it. It is illogical. God would say, solve it yourself because you created it in the first place.”

So fundamental is the truth behind this response that it should serve to eradicate any doubts left lingering in the minds of those who believe that only divine intervention can save them – or indeed the planet – from whatever it is the that threatens to overwhelm both.

I am not a Buddhist, but if that is a central tenet of the Buddhist philosophy, then all power to the practitioners!  The Dalai Lama’s proclamation is rooted in deep common sense, and deep common sense surpasses religious belief and faith. It is a missing link in this world of virtual reality smoke and mirrors, in which far too many seem to feel that anybody ‘but them’ should take responsibility for helping to re-set the life-direction of this beleaguered planet.

In a vague sort of way many individuals appear to be waiting for some one, or thing, to make the decisions they don’t want to make. To take the steps they don’t want to take. To intervene and make things OK.

For others, the unwillingness to take responsibility often equates with the belief that life is essentially composed of random and chaotic events that have little or no meaning and no connection with each other. For these members of the human race, taking responsibility involves some sort of attempt to create an order, but a purely homophobic one. Strictly man made. Not a reflection of any all pervading cosmic order. Definitely not ‘as above so below’ – more simply ‘as below’ full stop!

Of these two lineages, the most deceitful is the first. The one which continuously shifts responsibility onto a third party and then seeks refuge in a higher power. Seeks solace in the fact that ‘another’ will surely sort-out the problems one has brought upon one’s self or the planet, by refusing to take a stand. This attitude constitutes a singular failing within much of human kind. Mainly, as the Dalai Lama so clearly states, due to the sheer illogicality of adopting such a position in the first place.

Yet disowning the need to participate in making change is widespread; as is the “there is no higher power/God” position. Between them, they probably account for the majority living in Western style ‘democracies’ and maybe a similar percentage in other regimes.

So where does this refusal to accept ‘response-ability’ have its inception? This unwillingness to acknowledge and act on one’s innate ability to respond to that which clearly demands a response?

For thousands of years the planet has been in the grip of top-down controlling regimes, many of which have been quite ruthless in maintaining their authority. Even with the advent of ‘democracies’, elitist, top-down political structures remain the norm. The only exception to the power seeking self interests common to both, are benign dictatorships in which wise and compassionate individuals have supported the wider socio-economic and cultural interests of their nations. There is another one: the tribal peoples of the world who acknowledge the wisdom of the tribal elders and maintain a close association with the natural environment. A position which is also common to almost all genuinely agrarian communities.

For the rest, however, life has been mostly about surviving under an insidious and persistent form of top-down repression, essentially lasting for millennia.

Of course, those who, by one means or another, managed to develop and maintain links with the ruling classes, life was probably quite bearable or even good. But they learned that one has to play  one’s cards astutely. And then to accept the consequences, which involved living a kind of pretend existence in which obeisance to the master can never be dropped.

With the rise of organised religion, the down-trodden people found solace in the idea that a benign god could lighten their load, and that obeisance to this heavenly master offered some escape – at least for the mind – from the impositions of their earthly masters. The church let it be known that only this god could bring the greater change so many desired.  Thus under this regime, people were once again absolved from the need to make the change happen themselves.

Where within this picture I have painted, is there any opening for the rise of an enlightened faction willing and able to ‘take responsibility for helping set  a new direction for life on this planet’?

It seems to me that the odds were stacked against the sort of liberation of spirit that could achieve this form of break-through. Where it was perhaps possible, for instance during the European Renaissance period, it was the artists who had gained favour with the aristocrats which led to the explosion of light, colour and form symptomatic of that period. But little or nothing was done to help spark a revolution for the emancipation of the people. Many artists, who were best placed to stir the sparks of a greater action, retreated into ivory towers, concentrating their concerns on their own creative endeavours. Does that sound familiar?

Thus it seems likely to be the case that we have no genuine precedent for what is now called for.

That the reason why so few ‘take responsibility’, beyond fulfilling the functions of daily life, is because for millennia, it simply wasn’t something ‘people did’.

It was the job of the masters, both secular and religious, to set the agenda and for everyone else to follow. The church introduced its own form of hierarchy and berated the people for their non conformist sins. Cajoling millions into believing that the authority of a highly judgemental ‘God’ must be respected if they wanted to avoid going in the wrong direction after death.

The church thus misinterpreted the teachings of Jesus Christ and declared that ‘The Divine’ is separate from the human and that one’s duty is to pray and to remain passive, even in times of crisis.

Millions of congregations around the planet have been encouraged to believe that the Messiah will return and offer salvation to all those of a pious nature and humble mind.  And that, in the meantime, there is nothing much they could or should do other than pray for forgiveness and remain obedient God and Government fearing citizens.

That largely remains the case today, even if the sources of influence have changed somewhat. So we should not be surprised to find that it’s only the few who stand-up to face the various crises besetting this planet. It is still only the few who seem able to take genuine response-ability and to manifest intention and action.

‘Waiting for God’ is not how most would describe their affliction of passivity and disinterest in challenging the status quo. Yet, the symptoms of this sickness are pretty much identical with those of former years.

The ‘waking-up’ of the human race is contingent upon recognising the truth that “humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it. It is illogical. God would say, solve it yourself because you created it in the first place” (Dalai Lama).

God would surely be correct. There is no other way forward. But once we do take this step, the greater universal powers spring to our aid, revealing that after all we do possess divine powers and do not need to get permission from some authority to use them.

But in the meantime, the universal higher powers feel obliged to fill the vacuum left by a distracted and dumbed-down humanity. To save the planet from absolute destruction by wilful acts of psychotic madness that are almost a daily occurrence at this time.

Isn’t it time to give them a break?

A New Year dawns. 2016, the year of giving back. The year of offering replenishment and nourishment to the Source which has unstintingly provided for us millennia after millennia.  Time to show that we have it in us to enhance rather than destroy the gift of life that we have inherited. Time to take our creator by the hand and proudly reveal the emergent powers of all that is innately divine and determined about we humans. Let us honour His ecstatic vision of the glorious and turn it into reality!

The time of waiting for God to act is long passed, lost in the mists of time. The moment of rising to our own godliness is upon us. No more fruitless longing. The Messiah is Here and Now. We are    his progeny, reborn as glowing lights in the midst of darkness and war. Casting aside the swaddling clothes of old. Rising up, emergent, co-creators in a perfect storm of healing creativity.