When innocent people (or even sentient beings of any other species) are suffering … and let’s just say in this particular hypothetical, there’s no issue at stake of any kind of karma … in other words, they’re innocent and have done nothing to deserve such suffering … you’d think the decent thing to do, would be to help … right?
Well … you’d think so … but apparently, according to a bunch of “new age” or “spiritual” type people I’ve met … apparently this suffering is perfectly OK, and it is more spiritual to leave them to their suffering, than to help.
Now … this is of course complete bullshit, that only a fucking moron with an absolutely dysfunctional (or completely absent) sense of empathy could believe, yet nonetheless they do so believe.
The most striking thing about this is of course the insane level of hypocrisy. But when you raise this point (and believe me I’ve done so), the people who believe it still cannot see how they would feel if it were themselves suffering (and being denied assistance) … indeed they’re so absolutely convinced of this “truth” they’ve discovered, that they go on to say they would never be in such a position, because they’re too “spiritually advanced”.
Yes, I’ve met more than one person who believes this … and I’ll confess, I was taught exactly this kind of bullshit as a pre-teenager … So while I do understand what it means to be brainwashed, on the other hand … if you’re now in your mid-late 20s or older, how the hell could you continue to believe such obviously hypocritical nonsense??
The truth is people are just cowards. They’re afraid to face the truth, to take responsibility for it, and afraid of the consequences … so they hide behind nonsense they call “spirituality” … the ultimate excuse, it requires no evidence, logic or reason … and more importantly, no effort, inconvenience, discomfort or risk of any kind. The definition of cowardice.
BUT if you want a meaningful and valuable definition of spirituality, the fact is that it has to involve courage, wisdom, compassion, and other such aspects of “good character” … and being willing to stand by and do nothing as innocents suffer … well that’s bullshit spirituality, that’s cowardice.
We face a lot of tough decisions, and most people are just looking to cover their own arses … but the truth is, that won’t fucking work … there are no safe havens on an unstable biosphere.
So it’s time to have the courage to be:
- A follower instead of a leader if you’re fucking useless at problem solving;
- A leader rather than a follower if you can see something and actually prove it;
- A team member if you can’t do it alone or someone else can’t do it without you;
- A protector of the innocent;
- A defender of a principle;
… and a person ready to take risks and make a personal sacrifice for the greater good.