The Middle Way

Whilst it has been alluded to previously in this site perhaps it is appropriate, given these difficult times, to project some Realpolitik into the beliefs of the people of the world. I'm not so inclined as to preach to people how they should live their lives and conduct themselves in their day to day business, except that much has already been said by people who should know better, and much harm has come in consequence to peoples faulty belief structures. I should make clear before going any further that the way of God is what makes the most sense for the people. Unfortunately a great many people are unaware of the way of God, the message of Jesus, or Buddha, Mohammed or Krishna, or are not so inclined to behave in such a manner, maybe because they view such moral codes as 'utopian ideals', or simply believe in something else. However it takes all sorts to make the world indeed there wouldn't be a world to live in, at least not one as we know it, if everyone was the same. So I'm going to proceed to outline ' the middle way' for the benefit of those whose psychology is faltering in the face of adversity; adversity derived from deluded, weak, sick, unscrupulous, bad or just outright wrong people seeking to make their estate in the world.

My message is substantiated in part by the work of biologists who have come to understand the nature of genetics and its influence on peoples behaviour, behaviour which has been (but will not always be!) notoriously selfish to its own interest. However one must also take into account the astral and spiritual influences that exist which biologists are loath to recognise. Astral and spiritual entities are as real as the day is long and until one can take full account of their psychology and realize their potential such entities are highly likely to continue pursuing their own agendas through people in the material world whether or not such is in the best interests of themselves or others.

So here we are:-

1. Be good to insiders and try to be good to outsiders.

Insiders are people that share your genes, but including your partner/husband/wife, etc, outsiders are people that do not share your genes. Whilst apparently being good, or trying to be good it is of no use fooling yourself and going through the motions, instead one should have regard for eight tenets of Buddhism and be sincere in your efforts, in particular one should exhibit right intention, right speech, right action, right effort and right mindfulness.

2. Do not be 'nice' to people in general. Instead of being nice be friendly.

Being nice is patronizing and counter-productive in many cases in the long run. Being nice basically means being insincere;

3. Do not like or dislike people until you have come to know a sufficient amount about them.

Liking people for no apparent reason, perhaps as part of a 'sunny' disposition, will serve in most instances to make trouble for yourself; "Give people an inch and they will take a mile"!;

4. In the main, do not give your love away for free. Use emotional intelligence.

Love, like hate, is a learned response based on experience and biology. Without trying to be cynical, to be in love means believing that another will act in your best interests (even if only in the long run!), but at the same time accepting that person for what they are, this whilst attaching the 'love vibration' to them. The love vibration is the basis of all love, but essentially it is in the process of its attachment that we have come to understand the concept which is love. A good nature (or a modicum of good values at the least!), confidence, trust and intelligence (albeit mostly emotional intelligence) are key concepts in the case of love. Sometimes, in the case of family for instance, it is worth giving love because it is very likely to be reciprocated at some point therefore it serves ones interests. Love in romance should be earned if this is not what's happening its most likely that love is not what's is going on but something else, fulfilment of desire for instance. I say this in respect of the phenomenon of 'soul mates' and freely admit that such can and does happen. 'Love at first sight' is a variation of 'soul mates';

5. Do not help morally weak people unless it is in your greater interests.

This may sound very harsh but in actual fact morally weak people aren't weak intentionally, of course they would like to impose them-selves (note: the self is essentially the spirit, which may be considered as the God in man) on their environment but, for one reason or another, find that they cannot. Morality in man is a manifestation of strength in ones character (one of ten main ones the other nine being ability to love, hardness, happiness, loyalty, effectiveness, honour, goodness, humour and intelligence) and is a sure sign of the spirit. If one was to be kind to the weak on a carte blanch basis one may find oneself in the situation where the weak tried to impose themselves when they would normally have little influence. This will lead to roll reversal psychology in certain circumstances, which may be of concern to someone who was going about there business in the normal way. Weak people with power generally tend to be ugly in their adaption to the world so one is likely to be able to recognise when such people have advanced themselves. One must be careful not to classify certain people in difficult situations as being weak, when in actual fact they may be very strong;

6. Demonstrate a degree of hardness in your personality.

This is naturally in following the former edict. It is not in betrayal of your self (spirit) to display such a degree of hardness in your personality and in fact even Jesus Christ was not a "pushover" and was no doubt hard in some ways. Lest we not forget that Jesus was 'on a mission'; were he not it is unlikely that he would have permitted his own death through crucifixion;

7. In the main, forgive people for their sins against you.

This is a difficult one because there have been conflicting directions given by different 'masters' in the past, however it is unwise to let other peoples transgressions permanently prejudice oneself therefore one must learn to forgive. In some cases the sin against one is of such gravity that 'revenge' is right way to go about things, for it would be a burden on ones heart not to get revenge. Of course the law of the land should provide opportunities for such 'revenge' i.e. perhaps a long, uncomfortable, custodial sentence.

8. There are exceptions to this rule but, in general, mind your own business.

Sometimes its our business not to mind our own business! If it is your business not to mind your own business be careful that your ideology does not turn into a Judas mentality;

9. Cut corners wherever possible so long as it does not serve against your greater interests.

Whilst this may seem to be controversial quite simply the world is what it is people are what they are nothing is perfect and there is no point making things more difficult for yourselves than they really need to be. If done in the right circumstances and the right way there will be no loss suffered but much benefit gained;

10. And finally one should try not to live outside of themselves.

By this I mean try not to act against your true self and your own best interests. Sometimes it is difficult for people to know how their own best interests are served, whether that be through lack of experience, lack of intelligence (which is gained through experience) and/or because 'the dumb are being led by the blind'! which does happen at various times for various reasons. "Be true to yourself and yourself will be true to you" is where we are all going no matter how long it takes and in essence this is exactly the message that Hinduism tries to convey, not forgetting the Hermetic axiom, "know ye not that ye are Gods!", lest we forget the advice of master Jesus when he proclaimed, "ye are Gods!". Unlike the masses however Jesus was able to resurrect himself from the dead whilst the mortal masses do not have such abilities (as yet!) to fall back on. So as I mentioned earlier Realpolitik is what's required for the time being. We should know in contemplation of the greatest good, and the life of Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and the like, and ourselves, what we really want for, which amongst others is peace, love and happiness; in a word: Joy!