(From chapter 14 ofbeginning of the millennium)
glen t. martin
I have tried to enumerate here ten fundamental aspects of an integral revolutionary life. They are not arranged in order of importance, but together they form an integrated whole. Some people may emphasize certain while others focus on others. Nor do they claim to be complete. "Practice" means that theory and practice cannot be completely separated, especially when examining the direct existential transformation of human consciousness that is associated with the awakening process.
The only possibility is the direct existential realization practiced by the mystics themselves. The same goes for revolutionary compassion. The motivation to side with the poor and oppressed cannot be activated by any theoretical explanation of their exploitation. Solidarity with nature and our planetary biosphere is based more on decisions than on arguments. Many academics read Marx's passionate accounts of the degradation of the poor and remain completely unmoved. One has to discover compassion in one's life, and then the motivation becomes obvious. It is perceived that being a full human implies such a commitment. But a more complete philosophical explanation of what it means to be a complete human being is also needed. The aspects of "practice" articulated here presuppose much of the theoretical discussion in this book, and vice versa.
(1) Encourage and develop truly critical thinking.
Think and live like a revolutionary heir to the philosophers of human liberation. Expose the hidden premises of class society in every way and in every imaginable forum. Learn to critically read the media, cultural manifestations, the symbols of the dominant system and government pronouncements for their ideological cover-up of the system of injustice and death from which they benefit. Use "class analysis" and "territorial nation-state analysis" to understand the workings of the world's governments, corporations, media, and other dominant institutions.
No thought is truly critical without being revolutionary. The title "Critical Thinking" in most courses offered in universities today is profoundly misleading. To be critical, thought must be able to penetrate beyond the ideological veil of capitalism and the nation-state. And to be revolutionary, thought must be oriented towards a social reality where people come first, where dignity, security, freedom and the satisfaction of basic human needs are the basic principles.
Being revolutionary means that practice must be oriented towards creating global institutional embodiments of these values, to make them founding principles of a living institutional reality, and not just seeing them as "ideals" to work with in the distant future. Revolutionary critical thought is not only democratic and socialist in orientation, but necessarily global in scope and liberates humanity from monopoly capitalism and the territorial nation-state.
(2) Delegitimize the territorial nation-state system and global capitalism in every possible way and at every possible opportunity.
Work to uncover the illegitimacy of institutions that claim to be the only legitimate ones in a world where there are no other alternatives. We must everywhere expose the inadequacies and injustices of the nation-state system and the global capitalism with which it is intertwined. Show the interdependent complicities of this system of domination over education, the media, culture, charity, the economy, the arts and politics.
Reveal the many absurdities of the system while demonstrating the many practical alternatives immediately available to any healthy society (see Holland and Henriot, S.J., 1993). Let it be clear that the world has no future under the current system of ecological destruction and exploitation of the poor by the rich. Promote in all contexts the clear and universal principles of a non-military democratic world government as set out in theConstitution for the Earth Federation.
(3) Commitment to solidarity with the poor and oppressed.
Join the organized fight for liberation from all poverty and oppression. Serving the poor is not an external addition to the fullness of life. It is an integral part of a full and satisfactory way of existence, since unity in diversity, with the consequent awakening to the ethical dimension that recognizes the human being as an end in itself, is at the center of existence. Some people were born into these circumstances, with this hunger and malnutrition, with this lack of opportunities for education or health care. He might well have been born there and endured those terrible hardships and privations.
My fight on the side of the poor and oppressed and against the systems that oppress them is an integral part of being human. It is inseparable from a life in the middle of the world, where the struggle of peoples to get out of their current state of barbarism cannot be separated from an authentic life process. Always act in solidarity with others around the world who are striving for a just and prosperous world order. Actively promote the simple principles of a changing economic order that are outlined in countless books and studies, some of which are listed in the Works Cited section below.
(4) Education for human and planetary liberation.
In all places and in all situations, strive to educate others with sensitivity and consideration about the possibilities, processes, and needs of human and planetary liberation. Show the connections between the political and the spiritual and between man and nature. Apply the educational process to yourself and others because education is truly a lifelong process that never ends. Emphasize the inseparability of authentic education and truly critical thinking. Always think about the paths, means and opportunities available for human liberation and the creation of a dignified future for our children and for the precious earth in which we live.
(5) Become a planetary citizen: Think globally and locally and act globally and locally.
Explore the connections; realizing that the only solution to many local problems will be the planetary one. Understand that it is not “globalization” per se that provides an answer (as capitalism has been doing it for centuries) but a planetary solution based on aFoundedsociety, a non-military global democratic world government. Distinguish critically between the deceptive ideology of “global governance” or the “new world order” in which nothing substantial has changed, and a planetary society in which human liberation has essentially been institutionalized. Change your primary allegiance to the land and its inhabitants. become a signatoryconstitution of the land.Be a citizen of the earth first, because only then can we become true good citizens of the local communities of which we are a part.
(6) organize and resist; Organize for political and economic effectiveness and resist through nonviolent direct action.
Use the inseparability of critical theory, compassion, and active nonviolence as a basis for action and as a theoretical framework for a new social order. Active nonviolence includes speaking out, writing editorials, voting, organizing, strikes, boycotts, protests, street theater, revolutionary music, murals, system disruption, conferences, education, teaching, and refusing to participate (for example, paying war taxes, military registration, military contracts, corporate exploitation of the Third World poor, etc.). It includes expressions and actions of solidarity with others in their revolutionary struggles, whether in defense of the environment, labor movements or Third World liberation struggles. Make it clear that no single struggle can lead to a just world order without a democratic world government.
(7) Practice meditation and mindfulness.
Meditate: Take radical time, free from all interruptions, to quiet your mind and practice mindfulness in daily activities. The emerging history of human evolution is precisely the history of the transformations in consciousness often associated with the material conditions of existence. A person steeped in revolutionary ideology, unaware of himself, and lacking in sensitivity to others and the fullness of the present moment is likely to be an incomplete revolutionary. The very process of life is inseparable from a continuous growth of consciousness, a growth that requires effort, discipline and conscious choices.
Meditate whenever possible without sacrificing time in competing revolutionary activities. Continue the process of awareness cultivated in meditation in daily activities through mindfulness, the practice of self-awareness. Observing one's own reactions, emotions, compulsions and "internal conversations" without evaluating them is in itself liberating and helps to become free, rational and awake people who are no longer carried away by hidden motivations or obsessions. Be aware of the various ways that dominant systems try to inhibit awareness and encourage knee-jerk responses in the population.
(8) Cultivate compassionate solidarity; think and live compassionately.
The word "compassion" is used here as a symbol of a spiritual awakening to the inseparable unity in the diversity of all things, which is the source of our revolutionary solidarity with the poor and oppressed. As such, the realization of compassion is the inseparable complement of the social revolution and a fundamental dimension of revolutionary practice. As the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, emphasizes in his writings, compassion for those who follow the Buddhist path need not come under the glare of something called "enlightenment" (see Dalai Lama, 1995; 1994; 1985). .
Rather, compassion, kindness, and love (three interrelated concepts) can be cultivated in daily actions by paying attention to how we treat others, being aware of our own selfish and selfish impulses, and going out of our own way to help. . Be considerate and supportive of others. Achieving compassion is a process, just as the other aspects of revolutionary life are processes. This realization is intertwined with our lifelong education, meditation, and spiritual growth and is enriched more and more, potentially in a series of revolutionary experiences. Ultimately, we must discover compassion that we can identify with other people we have never met simply because they are sentient beings who are suffering. As this process begins, we begin to discover true revolutionary solidarity and also the fullness of our own humanity.
(9) Think and live aware of the silence that surrounds our life: separate ourselves from the whole world.
This consciousness is at the same time at the heart of the world, living from the depths of stillness in the fullness of the present moment. But it gives us the detachment, objectivity, and critical relationship with our own subjectivity that are essential prerequisites for effective revolutionary practice. This awareness is also connected to other aspects of the practice: meditation, mindfulness, compassion, and ethical awareness, which are discussed elsewhere in this book. But it must be emphasized in itself, since ultimately the process of realizing this silence, which is available to us as the backdrop to all our experiences, leads to the transcendence of the fractured, compulsive ego that is so fundamental to us. capitalism and nationalism. Silence is transformative, so we become revolutionaries not only in our actions and commitments, but also by being transformed and awakened human beings ourselves.
(10) Think and live eschatologically and cultivate the utopian imagination.
Celebrate daily the new time of human realization by being born in the present, or the realization of the Buddha nature in all things, or the coming of the kingdom of God, or the coming and ever-presentPleura, or the fulfillment of the messianic era, or the cosmogonic birth of the omega point, or the new era of peace and prosperity that begins here and now. The eschatological present-future informs the fullness of the absolute present and points to marvelous and transformative depths at the heart of reality.
This awareness, available to all of us as part of the depths of present existence, is a source of overwhelming joy and ecstasy. It is the ultimate promise that bubbles up within us from the universe, whose cosmic processes over billions of years have led to the rise of human beings, not as a final goal, but as the key to the further realization of the divine-human project. . It is the source of the authentic revolutionary imperative in us precisely because it sees the radical future of the absolute now and is not seduced by the perpetual displacement of a peaceful, just and transformed world. As participants in the Jewish Seder, we live as pilgrim citizens celebrating our place in the liberated world to come daily.
While the eschatological consciousness embraces the unspeakable aspect of the fullness of the present, its companion, the utopian imagination, is free to use language, symbol, or story to express its vision. The utopian imagination can free itself from the ego and articulate a more "realistic" and intelligent future than is possible for the egoistic imagination (see Moltmann, 1996; Fox, 1988). Because we have seen that the utopian fantasy is not the negative work of vain fantasies (as the forces of the contemporary empire, which strives to freeze history and make it eternal, want it to be). The utopian imagination freed from the ego is an access to "reality". It can point to possibilities contained in the eschatological dimension of human existence. It can articulate the parameters of a practical utopia, fully available to people if we are willing to choose it.
Conclution:In short, these ten principles are the ten essential elements of a revolutionary practice for 21: organizing and resisting, practicing meditation and mindfulness, cultivating compassion, living in the stillness of the absolute present, and living eschatologically. While one or more may dominate in daily life, I believe all are essential to the fullness of life and a truly revolutionary practice. They are the result of the advance of revolutionary theory since Marx and a broader understanding of the concept of spirituality since the 20th century. In this sense, they are unique outlets for a revolutionary practice in the 21st century.
And all of these ten principles of maturity-oriented practice are essential if we are to participate as vehicles in the divine-human-cosmic processes of emerging evolution taking place on planet Earth. The integral revolutionary consciousness described in this book does not need to be fully present in our lives at all times. We are always growing towards maturity, wisdom and compassion. The central issue is our practice, how we act, what we do to change our broken and fragmented world order and ourselves. The central question does not require the claim of an "enlightened consciousness." People who care about our planet, our children, and our world will participate in all or most of these ten forms of practice in one way or another.
The fate of the earth and its creatures has been entrusted to us. The future of the world depends on our present choices. We can accept our true vocation as travelers in the immense and sacred journey of cosmogenesis, or we can refuse once more and remain as mere tourists oblivious to the fight for the abundance of life on this planet, finding ourselves more and more accomplices in the death of nature and the environment. future to make generations. . At the beginning of the 21st century, we still have a choice. Soon it will be too late and the election may be revoked. Will we descend into ever greater darkness and twilight in the years to come? Or are we now choosing a glorious start to the millennium for ourselves and future generations?