'Eternal youth' and the Cycle of Birth and Death
Here we go again: another tantalising promise from the scientists - NEW JAB IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO UNLOCKING KEY TO ETERNAL YOUTH - reads one title in Daily Express.
There's no need to go into further details of how, according to the scientists, this will become possible (based on their experiments with aged mice). What saddens me is this desperate perpetual search for the 'elixir of life', hopeless fear for ageing and dying which is part of the natural cycle of Nature regenerating itself.
What is born must die! Even the stars and planets are no exemption. What's the point in fighting against this law of nature?
My question is, will delayed ageing and longer-lasting youth make people nicer and wiser, less greedy, cruel and violent? Will the suffering in the world be reduced with some privileged few staying youthful and living for longer? Will there be more compassion, generosity, equality and therefore less poverty, starvation and suffering in the world? Will the lucky ones (those who can afford the miracle jab) be leading a more meaningful life for the common goods of humanity as a whole?
Instead of investing on a jab to satisfy man's quest for eternal youth and sooth man's fear of ageing and dying, why not invest on means (be it jab, pills or exercises) to change people's heart and soul so that they may have more compassion and joy from within? If every individual regulates his life according to the laws of nature, the chances of diseases and premature ageing will be greatly reduced anyway.
Over-eating, over indulging in sensual pleasures, engaging the body and mind in incessant activities, lack of proper suitable exercises , harbouring negative emotions ... all of these and dozens or more other factors make an individual age quicker than he/she should. What's the point in making all the violations and then pin the hope on a saviour in the form of a 'jab' or a 'pill'?
The Taoist adepts (those who seek to liberate themselves and others from the cycle of birth and death; NOT those who darn themselves in robes and perform rituals at temples for show and money)have always taught that ones life lies within one's own hands, not in that of Heaven. Such positive attitude and optimistic overview of life and death is echoed in many western mystic traditions. Modern Canadian mystic, Manly Hall, concludes,
Man is essentially a permanent and immortal principle; only his bodies pass through the cycle of birth and death. The immortal is the reality; the mortal is the unreality. During each period of earth life, reality thus dwells in unreality, to be liberated from it temporarily by death and permanently by illumination.
...By initiation into the Mysteries and a certain process known as operative theology, this law of birth and death is transcended, and during the course of physical existence that part of the spirit which is asleep in form is awakened without the intervention of death ... This is at once the primary purpose and consummate achievement of the Mysteries: that man shall become aware of and consciously be reunited with the divine source of himself without tasting of physical dissolution.
[The Human Body in Symbolism, THE SECRETE TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES]
Many adepts in all traditions, be it Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism or other mystic traditions, have testified to this truth with their own experiences. This is NOT a mere philosophical or metaphysical idea; neither it is a mere belief. It can be experienced on the physical level within one's own organism in this very life (without any psychedelic intervention)!
There's no need to go into further details of how, according to the scientists, this will become possible (based on their experiments with aged mice). What saddens me is this desperate perpetual search for the 'elixir of life', hopeless fear for ageing and dying which is part of the natural cycle of Nature regenerating itself.
What is born must die! Even the stars and planets are no exemption. What's the point in fighting against this law of nature?My question is, will delayed ageing and longer-lasting youth make people nicer and wiser, less greedy, cruel and violent? Will the suffering in the world be reduced with some privileged few staying youthful and living for longer? Will there be more compassion, generosity, equality and therefore less poverty, starvation and suffering in the world? Will the lucky ones (those who can afford the miracle jab) be leading a more meaningful life for the common goods of humanity as a whole?
Instead of investing on a jab to satisfy man's quest for eternal youth and sooth man's fear of ageing and dying, why not invest on means (be it jab, pills or exercises) to change people's heart and soul so that they may have more compassion and joy from within? If every individual regulates his life according to the laws of nature, the chances of diseases and premature ageing will be greatly reduced anyway.
Over-eating, over indulging in sensual pleasures, engaging the body and mind in incessant activities, lack of proper suitable exercises , harbouring negative emotions ... all of these and dozens or more other factors make an individual age quicker than he/she should. What's the point in making all the violations and then pin the hope on a saviour in the form of a 'jab' or a 'pill'?
At this point, a funny image conjures up in my mind - a tree that has enjoyed its lushness in summer is now shivering in autumn wind which threatens to deprive it of its waning leaves. The tree thus begs passers by: 'Please polish up my leaves and clue them to my boughs! I want to stay green for longer than other trees!' What it doesn't know is that without the old leaves falling off the boughs, there won't be new leaves growing in the next spring and summer!
The Taoist adepts (those who seek to liberate themselves and others from the cycle of birth and death; NOT those who darn themselves in robes and perform rituals at temples for show and money)have always taught that ones life lies within one's own hands, not in that of Heaven. Such positive attitude and optimistic overview of life and death is echoed in many western mystic traditions. Modern Canadian mystic, Manly Hall, concludes,Man is essentially a permanent and immortal principle; only his bodies pass through the cycle of birth and death. The immortal is the reality; the mortal is the unreality. During each period of earth life, reality thus dwells in unreality, to be liberated from it temporarily by death and permanently by illumination.
...By initiation into the Mysteries and a certain process known as operative theology, this law of birth and death is transcended, and during the course of physical existence that part of the spirit which is asleep in form is awakened without the intervention of death ... This is at once the primary purpose and consummate achievement of the Mysteries: that man shall become aware of and consciously be reunited with the divine source of himself without tasting of physical dissolution.
[The Human Body in Symbolism, THE SECRETE TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES]
Many adepts in all traditions, be it Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism or other mystic traditions, have testified to this truth with their own experiences. This is NOT a mere philosophical or metaphysical idea; neither it is a mere belief. It can be experienced on the physical level within one's own organism in this very life (without any psychedelic intervention)!
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