To answer this we must first discover what is Self. Look at it from this perspective. Ever since we were born into this world, we have been 'taught' by our parents/siblings etc how to act, what is right and wrong, what to do and not to do, essentially how to be a good little girl or boy.
Then further 'teachings' continued in school through teachers and friends and eventually into our jobs we are continually molded by our bosses and co-workers and integrated into the current system as how it exists. The point is we really never had a chance to express ourselves without judgement. Everything we think ourselves to be has been taught or copied from someone else. Therefore we cannot define Self by our programmed personalities.
What we do know is that the world around us affects us directly. The company goes bankrupt, we lose our job. A tornado hits our house, we lose it. We cannot just leave the world - suicide is not an acceptable option - we are stuck here to face ouselves.
So to skip along to the point, if you really honestly look at it... this world is a total disaster. Starvation(while theres plenty of food to go around), homelessness, war, murder, child slavery, child abuse, animal abuse, oppression, corruption, fraud etc etc etc... Who is responsible - Man. No-one else. If it werent for man, we would not have this mess.
What is is about man that desires to create this living hell for his fellow man? For the purpose of brevity, I will simplify it to one root cause. Dishonesty. Dishonesty about what? Self.
Man simply does not know himself.
Lets skip all the religious banter and make the logical assumption that man or 'self' is life. Now, does it make sense that life is killing itself? Certainly not. Why does life abuse itself? Would it not be a heaven on earth if every man supported his fellow man unconditionally to the fullest extent? What if all men treated eachother as equals? What if life actually supported itself instead of abusing itself?
Man, I tell ya... it would be awesome. But man doesnt see it. Man just accepts things as 'this is just the way it is". He does not consider that change is possible. Common sense is possible. Freedom from enslavement is possible. What will it take to be free? Self-honesty. Which is simply knowing yourself.
To know that Man, 'I am life'. I do not wish to abuse myself. It is foolishness for me to abuse or harm my fellow man because that is the same as abusing or harming myself. My desires for my own personal comfort at the expense of others is abusing life - Me.
That is Common sense. Yet sadly man has abandoned it, and in doing so, he has abandoned himself as life. He has refused to see who he is. Preferring temporary comfort over eternal joy.
To stand up for life in this physical reality is self-honesty. To see self as equal and one with all that exists is to see who we really are. Once you see, you cannot be deSEEved.
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