'Fight Smart' - update 24 Oct
Islam, Vedic Defence and World Peace
"...What the Taleban are doing
is an abuse of power.... I have seen in the past how the
Maharishi effect has helped in troubled areas such as my country.
The effect is true and I am trying to do my part to help what is
happening now. I feel sad for wherever there is war, the poor
people are the ones who will suffer."
Payman Salek, Iranian Student,
Fairfield, Iowa
"Ironically, the reputed
strength and power of our national defense system seemed to
provoke rather than prevent the crimes against us. While a
consciousness-based approach may lie outside of our belief
system, keep in mind that our belief system was shattered on
September 11 when our own way of life was perversely and
catastrophically turned against us."
Angi Patton, Associate Professor
Art, University of Houston
Three items from the USA:
1. Ottumwa Courier -
'Muslims in Fairfield keep the faith'
2. The Daily Cougar - 'Any Freedom requires Transformation'
3. The Daily Cougar - 'New war strategy aims for peace'
NATURAL LAW
PARTY WESSEX
nlpwessex@bigfoot.com
www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex
The Ottumwa Courier (Southern Iowa), 8 October,
2001 http://ottumwacourier.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2001/October/08-1103-ffldmuslims.txt
Muslims in Fairfield keep the faith
By JEAN GRECO, Fairfield bureau chief
FAIRFIELD - Friday is a holy day for the world's 1.4 billion
Muslims.
Some of the 60 Muslims residing on the campus of Maharishi University of Management
gather at 1 p.m. with rug mats in hand in a general meeting room,
at this time set aside for prayers of the Koran and readings of
interpretative literature.
Today's "preaching" is about character and personal development. Contiguous with this structure where the dozen or so meet, is a dormitory where a number of the university's international students reside and the classrooms and offices where they tackle university projects and assignments.
Removing their shoes, the students - all male (women are permitted, but would take a place behind the men's group) - take a place facing northeast, for it is in this direction that the holy city of Mecca, deep in Arabia, would be found. Mecca, a major trading center in the Mideast, is where the prophet Mohammed was born and came to understand at the age of 40 that he was chosen by God to take a code for living to man. It is Mohammed that Muslims revere for the amount of persecution he endured at the hand of non-Muslims. He was by historical accounts a peaceful man and lived a life devoted to the word of Allah.
"For years he was tortured, yet he never retaliated," said Ayman Alsairati, a 29-year-old master's degree student at M.U.M.
Alsairati is among the faithful taking time to observe the Muslim Holy Day.
An Iman, or leader, puts his hands to each side of his face, and calls out rhythmically, prayers in Arabic. Standing behind him, the men drop to their knees, then mouths to ground and back up, each mouthing prayers to themselves. This is repeated numerous times.
"There is no correlation between those who would call themselves Islamic extremists and the Islam I know," Alsairati said. "Anyone who knows the Koran, knows that the killing of innocents or oneself are both mortal sins."
Alsairati said terrorist who would commit it in the name of a "Jihad," have some other ax to grind with the world and are wrapping their cause around religion to enhance the effect. He said 95 percent of the world's Islamic population does not believe in the Islam interpreted by extremists of the Taliban.
Coming from the island nation of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, Alsairati like another M.U.M. student, Payman Salek, is in this country on a F-1 student visa since last September.
Alsairati said obtaining a visa is not difficult in Bahrain. The nation, 270 square miles in total, is the base of operations for the allied nations in the Gulf and is also home to the 5th Fleet. As such, Bahrain and its citizens are very westernized. Clad in a button down shirt, khakis and Doc Martin sandals, Alsairati has worked for ACI Insurance Co., whose base of operations is in Omaha. He has spent some time in Omaha and visited Washington, D.C., before landing in "the quietness" of Fairfield to study computer sciences toward getting his master's degree.
He possesses an excellent command of English, which he says he has been speaking for 20 years. It is the official business language of Bahrain.
Alsairati defines the events of Sept. 11 as tragic.
"I could not sleep. I felt the world was coming to an end," he said, "but this attack on America has nothing to do with my religion. That is not Islam."
Down the hall, 31-year-old computer science intern Payman Salek, takes time to explain how growing up Islamic in Tehran, Iran, left him with a different view of the U.S. He said his childhood was essentially non-eventful geopolitically until a revolution by various religious parties to overthrow the Shah of Iran in 1979.
A border war with neighboring Iraq erupted, and many Iranians blamed the U.S. for its support of Iraq. Iran was already falling upon hard times economically and socially because of U.S. sanctions, he said.
Exiled Islamic fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran. Khomeini made Islamic law the basis of the legal system in Iran and he was named "supreme religious guide for life." He remains today a symbol for challenging the western powers on third world policies.
Salek said most Iranians believe it is time to move on to develop good relationships with the rest of the world.
He said in a country such as Afghanistan he can see how the Taliban came into power. "That country has had so many problems and the Taliban says "we have come to save you" and the people, they would accept that easily but that is not the real Islam. What they are doing is an abuse of power," Salek said.
Having attended university in Tehran Polytechnic Institute as an undergraduate, at M.U.M. Salek is conducting his practical training towards a master's degree. He learned TM at a center in Tehran at age 18 and recognized an improvement in his grades thereafter, he says, attributable to the practice. Tehran is also where he learned that there was a university in the states devoted to the group practice of TM. On the religion of Islam, Salek said, " I have my own culture," one where he strives to strike a balance between celebrating that religion, his studies, married life, and the group practice of TM, which he says can be used to create peace.
"I have seen in the past how the Maharishi Effect has helped in troubled areas such as my country. The effect is true and I am trying to do my part to help what is happening now. I feel sad for wherever there is war, the poor people are the ones who will suffer," he said.
Both men are members of the campus Muslim Student Association. Members break for daily prayers, sometimes five times a day, as well as for an extended session on Fridays which includes "preaching," as Alsairaiti said, "because it is our holy day."
side-bar Islam is customarily defined in non-Islamic sources as the religion of those who follow the Prophet Mohammed. Adherents are called Muslims, or Moslems. They number about 1.4 billion worldwide. The Arabic word "al-islam" means the act of committing oneself unreservedly to God and a Muslim is a person who makes this commitment. [web links added by nlpwessex]
The Daily Cougar
University of Houston
Vol 67 (24)
Any Freedom requires Transformation
25 September 2001
Angi Patton, guest columnist
In Vedic literature, specifically the Bhagavad-Gita, the wisdom of life is revealed in a dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. This historic discourse took place thousands of years ago as troops assembled on a distant battlefield preparing for war. On the side of righteousness stood Arjuna, the greatest archer of his time. Skilled in military science, Arjuna was poised to confront the opposing army that was led by his evil-minded cousin.
And while Arjuna was an esteemed warrior, one who could purportedly "fight ten thousand archers single handedly," he was also a civilized and compassionate man.
In the perilous moment preceding battle, Lord Krishna shrewdly disarmed Arjuna by mentioning Arjuna's mother by name. The thought of his mother, immediately filled Arjuna with a deep sense of love; and, he suddenly found himself paralyzed with indecision. His prowess as a military leader was overshadowed by his inability to reconcile his sense of duty with his love for family. His heart and mind were in conflict.
As a defender of virtue and morality, Arjuna was obligated to protect the world from evil influences; and yet, he was tormented by the thought of inflicting injury on his own kinsmen. Suspended in uncertainty, Arjuna found himself unable to act.
Those who are not versed in Vedic knowledge, may be surprised to learn that this legendary exchange between Lord Krishna and Arjuna has been fictionalized in Steven Pressfield's novel, "The Legend of Bagger Vance."
Set in 1931, Pressfield's story moves the conflict of good and evil from an ancient battlefield to a well-manicured playing field. Rather than a celebrated archer and his ennobled charioteer, Pressfield transforms Arjuna and Lord Krishna into an amateur golfer, Randolph Junah (R.Junah) and a mystical caddie, Bagger Vance. Like Arjuna, Pressfield's Junah is also challenged by circumstances that were precipitated by worldly events.
Although a decorated hero, Randolph Junah is a casualty of war. After witnessing the cruelty and devastation of human conflict, Junah grew disillusioned with the human enterprise. Junah's emotional emptiness triggers a retreat from society similar to Arjuna's stalemate on the battlefield.
While a war torn battlefield may seem a far cry from the civility of golf, and ancient scriptures and popular fiction may seem trivial compared to the gravity of 21st century terrorism, in fact and in fable these stories share the same dynamic -- they represent tales of transformation. Lord Krishna and Bagger Vance counseled their protégés that to overcome the impediments of life, to defeat their opponents, they first had to look inward, rise above their individual nature, and experience the world as something greater than themselves. By expanding their awareness, Arjuna and Junah gained the perspective necessary to deliver themselves from their troubled circumstances.
On September 11 when darkness descended on the Earth, we awakened to the fact that evil had the upper hand; and like our literary heroes, we felt impotent, immobile, and overwhelmed. Terrorism of this magnitude represents a 21st century construct that is impervious to the Cold War tactics of the 20th century. Terrorism is an intangible target because it is nonlocal and ubiquitous. As our world has grown more abstract and virtual so have the negative forces that threaten us. And yet,government leaders, blinded by convention, can only respond with strategies that require pinpointing targets that can be seen, touched, and felt. Terrorism has no corpus; it is neither person nor place. Terrorism, rather, is a symptom of requited suffering, a consequence of the cramped conditions of the soul.
For the moment we feel empowered by righteousness. But consider that those who planned and executed the horrific acts of September 11 were also driven by a sense of purpose and resolve. They believed so strongly in their cause that they were willing to plot and pilot their own deaths.
Feeling righteous does not make one right and it does not justify violence.
This is not to suggest that we should not act. The future of the world depends on our action. It is up to the United States to release the grip of evil and shift the balance of power back towards goodness. But the action that is needed requires a more elite special forces' unit than our military can currently deploy. To strike at the heart of the discord, our peacekeeping forces must be skilled in tactics that are not grounded in convention, but rather methods that are as vaporous and nencumbered as our enemy. This calls for a feat of mind, not a maneuver of matter.
In an open letter to government leaders and peace-loving citizens, a solution has been proposed that is outlined in the September 23rd issue of the New York Times. At first glance, a strategy aimed at neutralizing stress in the environment may appear to be insignificant and impractical against the enormity and immediacy of terrorism. Consider, however, that the most sophisticated, highly-armed, well-financed, and powerful military in the world could not deter the terrorism that was inflicted on its shores.
Ironically, the reputed strength and power of our national defense system seemed to provoke rather than prevent the crimes against us.
While a consciousness-based approach may lie outside of our belief system, keep in mind that our belief system was shattered on September 11 when our own way of life was perversely and catastrophically turned against us.
We have emerged a wounded nation in search of direction. Guidance has come in the form of archaic practices that keep us languishing in our misery. In this moment of crisis, like Arjuna and Junah, we need a way to expand our awareness and transform our consciousness. Freedom is, after all, a state of mind, not a condition of geography.
Angi Patton is an Associate Professor Art at the
University of
Houston. She can be reached at patton@mail.uh.edu
[web links added by nlpwessex]
Daily Cougar
University of Houston
Vol 67 (41)
New war strategy aims for peace
18 October 2001
Angi Patton, guest columnist
It's a concept that seems born in fable, not in fact, an idea
conjured in fantasy, not formulated in reality, a plan more
mysticalthan rational, more curious than conceivable. And
yet, on September 28th in our nation's capital the plausibility
of using a strategy of consciousness to immediately diffuse the
threat of terrorism was credibly presented to the world press by
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The plan? An immediate gathering of 40,000
Vedic pundits trained in the art of mental coherence. The cost?
Approximately one day of our annual defense budget. The
catch? Finding the courage to acknowledge that the mind is
mightier than matter. The reward? Perpetual world peace.
The response? America began bombing Afghanistan.
Middle Eastern analysts have warned that radicalized Islamic factions are using the United States to unify the Islamic world against western culture and ideals. Rather than out smart this regime, we have fallen victim to a calculated plot. As predicted, we are flexing our military muscle and flaunting our brute strength. Consider that we are assaulting an all ready war torn Afghan landscape with the Pentagon's full range of weaponry. In less than a week, we achieved supremacy of the Afghan air space.
An ocean away our technically astute military has won the air zone, but on our own soil we have lost ground as an insidious white powder has surfaced via an unsuspecting postal system. From the perspective of cost and reward, the use of Maharishi'squos consciousness-based strategy is appealing. Consider that this approach requires no military arsenal, no ground troops, no loss of life, and no threat of global annihilation. Consider that every time this strategy has been implemented in 'hot spots' around the world the results have been measurable, consistent, and effective. The results of which have been published in more than 40 scientific journals such as the Journal of Conflict Resolution, Social Indicators Research, Social Science Perspectives Journal, The Journal of Mind and Behavior, the Journal of Crime and Behavior, the Journal of Crime and Justice, and Psychology, Crime, and Law. Additionally, these remarkable findings have been made available to government's of the world where this information has mostly been ignored.
Although we have grown accustomed to a wireless world where hardware shrinks and software grows more potent, we are slow to make the connection between mind and matter. With the magnitude of the September 11th atrocities, the perpetrators made certain that our attention would remain focused on the surface. The physical horror of their deed resulted in brutal images, an ensuing stench, mounds of rubble, and a psychological and emotional after shock that continues to reverberate through the national psyche. This approach was tactically designed to keep our minds in an irrational state. Right on cue, we are acting out the role of Satan that bin Laden has proliferated in building his case of jihad. We certainly feel justified in our actions because 'they started it' but we are missing the point of 'fighting fire with fire.' The attack on our nation was a tactical and cogent mental construct. To defeat our enemy will require striking back with a more evolved state of mind that transcends conventional practices.
The notion that individuals can radiate coherence in the environment is a documented phenomenon. Although it sounds exotic,bizarre, and granted, out of the ordinary, the phenomenon referred to as yogic flying does diffuse hostility and neutralize negative tendencies. For the mind to move matter, for a mental impulse to lift the body off the ground, the brain must be operating from a state of infinite coherence. When large groups of individuals gather in one location and practice this technique a more orderly and peaceful environment is the documented outcome.
While the current plan calls for 40,000 pundits stationed in
India, over 100,000 yogic flyers have been trained in the world
since 1976. Who makes up yogic flyers? University
professors, airline pilots, librarians, doctors, lawyers,
students, taxi drivers, accountants, CEOs, farmers, politicians,
merchants, stockbrokers, actors, bankers, men and women, moms and
dads, wives, husbands, uncles, aunts, grandmothers, young, old,
short, tall, brown, white, black, yellow, Christians, Jews,
Muslims, Hindus. In short, very ordinary people sprinkled over
100 countries in the world make up this extraordinary force. What
has been lacking for the establishment of world peace is a
communion of these efforts.
We may have so called 'smart' bombs but consider that these
weapons, despite the intent, create further chaos and confusion
in the environment. To restore order and civility in the world
will require a more educated strategy than we have currently
utilized. For perpetual world peace to be the legacy of our
generation, we must be open to a new form of defense that has the
proven ability to create coherence and eradicate the terrorist
stronghold on the world.
Angi Patton is an Associate Professor of Art at the
University of
Houston. She can be reached at patton@mail.uh.edu
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