By Rei Tanotsuka, 4 June 2019
“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” Confucius
Looking at most public Western “Intellectuals” of late, it amazes me that most people do not see them as the beacon heralding the demise of the Western reign on intellectual thought.
The simplistic, myopic and binary arguments in which they charge forth with, is a travesty to a legacy built on philosophy and contemplation.
It is like all nuance and historical understanding perished with the likes of Hegel, Nietzsche and Russell……..philosophers who dared challenge the currency of their time in pursuit of the ultimate truth.
The brave few who owned their thoughts, not because of happenstance but because they could actually see the narrative running through their world was discordant with their experience. Then they did the unthinkable. They broke the spell by speaking out against grave misdoings of the “influencers” of their time.
Today’s Zombie Intellectuals
Most of the mainstream personalities who get their 5 minutes of fame today, haphazardly paint history on a canvas using a single snap shot in time and then proceed to hang up their conclusions using the tiniest frame possible.
They refuse to acknowledge concurrent realities which were just as successful as Western ideology in changing societies for the better. Why? How else can they sell the ultimate, must have, commodity? Western Superiority.
I can not list every one of their biases in one blog post, so I will spread this topic over a few posts.
Argument 1 – The success of the Developed and ‘Peaceful’ nations is the result of Judeo-Christian beliefs
Christianity, as an official religion began after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ but the most controversial aspect of the Jesus story is the ‘Silent years’. Where did he go after his childhood, only to reemerge at the age of around 30, filled to the brim with unconventional wisdom and knowledge?
The ministry of Jesus Christ centred on his fundamental belief of everyone being equal and worthy in the eyes of God. This was contra to the belief of the Israelites at that time of being the chosen people who had to live under strict laws set down in the Pentateuch.
The Silent Years
Many people in the West will not even entertain the idea that Jesus learned from the Buddhists and Hindus. There are archives in Lhassa, Tibet documenting the life of the Prophet Issa. Issa is thought to be Jesus Christ.
‘The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ’ by Nicolas Notovitch, a Russian Journalist who painstakingly went to Tibet to examine the original archives was advised never to have his work published for fear of a backlash.
He need not have worried as his work was never acknowledged enough to cause a controversy. When any new finding runs against an established Western narrative it will be ignored.
Could Jesus have been a Buddhist?
Something as fundamental as the morally righteous, inerrant religion that is Christianity, seen even by atheists, to be paramount in shaping Western civilisation can not be questioned.
Any finding contrary to the established story can not even be faintly mused upon if it has any chance of dismantling the iconic belief that the great thoughts governing justice and morality, did not in fact originate from the West but was learned from the great Eastern spiritual masters.
Western minded scholars at most, can tolerate an evolutionary explanation of morality juxtaposed to the Judeo- Christian belief but everyone draws the line there. If you insinuate that thoughts are universal, cyclical and devoid of ownership, you will be lambasted. Click here to read Unchanging Human Nature.
To propose that one axiom to build a society can be based on equality (it can also be based on inequality) and that this thought has already been engaged in by the East, will earn you a tag as a nationalist or conspiracy theorist.
As we all ‘know’, revolutionary ideas and inventions can only be the offspring of a Western mind.
This long held belief by the anglophone community which refuses to seek any other source that may provoke a deeper reflection on the party line they toe, will not disappear any time soon.
What is wrong with this belief?
It steadfastly holds a bias towards anything great that was not the result of a Western civilisation.
Time and time again, if you read the comment section of YouTube videos regarding these topics, you see a plethora of viewers all parroting what the so called public intellectuals say.
It is simply a fallacy to believe that societies which were not democratic, engaged in Abrahamic beliefs and capitalistic, failed to achieve harmony and prosperity. It is equally audacious to claim that Western ‘democracy’ and capitalism brought the whole world enlightenment and comfort.
The Etruscans
Just before the Romans took hold of the World with their might, the Etruscans were light years ahead of them. The Etruscans lived in the Iron Age in ancient Italy and were the reigning ‘superpower’ before the Romans usurped them. The way of governance? Chiefdom or hierarchical political organisation.
The Etrsucan women had rights to property ownership, education and were seen to be sexually liberated. Women and men received the same social recognition.
The Etruscans held slaves but it was noted that the slaves were treated very well and had rights to own property.
Did I mention they were not ruled by Abrahamic religious beliefs and that they were highly superstitious?
That’s Impossible!
According to the Western line of reasoning, these conditions are mutually exclusive. How can a country without democracy, with a chiefdom system of rule and legalised slavery, be economically engaging, have gender equality and slaves with their own property?
In short, how can an authoritarian, superstitious (unscientific), slave holding civilisation be anything but miserable? Yet the Etruscans managed to prosper!
The Ladaks
In the high plateaus of the Himalayas, the Ladaks reside.
The Ladak women have their own money and exquisitely adorn themselves with jewellery, favouring turquoise which is usually set in hair ornaments.
The men on the other hand, have no expectations put on them……..which makes the next tidbit interesting.
Polyandry
Though largely a Buddhist community, polyandry predated Buddhism in the Ladak community. Polyandry was a practice put in place to control population expansion.
A girl needs to give her consent to a marriage, but once she marries, she gains ‘access’ to all the brothers.
A young girl who legally is below the marital age, may be engaged to a family til she reaches the appropriate age. However, should she be shown to bear ‘fruit’ before the official marriage, instead of being publicly scorned, she becomes more desirable because evidently she is able to produce children.
It is also the birth right of a wife to take on new lovers and husbands. Taking on a ‘Jingtuh’ (lover) is celebrated especially if a woman is unable to get pregnant by her existing husbands.
The strangest thing is, there is no jealousy among the men folk. None at all.
That’s Impossible!
Hardly democratic, capitalistic or adhering to Abrahamic laws governing relationships, yet harmonious. How is this possible? According to Western logic, it is not.
This will be interpreted as denial, or suppression of feelings on the part of the Ladak man or another line of perverse Western logic rather than accept that an ideology is not a substitute for real life.
People can and will achieve prosperity when they live in tandem with their environment, not when they force themselves into an ideology.
Life has so many variables, there is not one formula that will be potent enough to exact universal peace and harmony.
This belligerent and arrogant Western belief must be eradicated if we are to have a sliver of a chance of getting along. The world belongs to us all, not just the British, Americans and Europeans.
1 out of 195
The Western intellectuals, instead of planting the seed of arrogance in the uninformed, would be better off, by taking a bite of humble pie and admit that they too, have insufficient knowledge to make such bold, unfounded claims.
Western intellectuals need to take the time to teach the people to exercise critical thinking and in the process, teach themselves that their perception is but one view, out of 195 views in our world.
Part 2 – Toxic Western Values – Peace According to Whom?
You forgot Sikh Misls of the founders of Sikh Empire.