What drives the general lot of mankind to pursue materialism, almost feverishly, is the fear of truth. In lieu of this, the modern world raises up the altar of materialism, and especially technological progress, as being a semblance of truth. But why should we trust this?
Looking behind the modern facade of materialism, the idea of technological progress merely serves to conceal the fear of truth by putting a false truth in its place. Furthermore, it begs the question that technological progress speaks for truth declaring that the tools that we use in life are higher than the very medium of life itself which is completely spiritual.
So what is really happening is that modern man fears truth because it will wipe away what he has long believed, thus far, to be truth. In any event, at all costs he must prevent the questioning of what is today accepted as truth. Along side of this is the implication that modern man fears to know the real truth of his truth.
Being steeped in such fear, modern man is ever alert in his watchtower for those who might someday proclaim a different or higher truth; who also know how to shake the very foundations of materialism, questioning its authority and right to exist.
Those who stand guard in the watchtowers of modern materialism are not like Plato's Guardians—far from it. These are the skeptics who make sure nothing immaterial passes through the gates of materialism that might possibly liberate the multitudes who live in fear as if their souls were telling them that they are defending and preserving hell against heaven.
In politics, this turns out to be the preservation of the fear of truth by various forms and degrees of despotism in which the ascending arc of liberty and toleration eventually declines giving way to the ruthless control and monitoring of all human discourse and conduct.
In religion, the fear of truth is in the form of dogmatism in which logos or reason excludes the mystical comprehension of truth as the realization of pure spirit which is the absolute medium of all.
As regards psychology, the fear of truth is the fear of deep introspection: a fear maintained by learning to thwart any inclination to ‘look within’ by indulging, instead, in consumerism, amusement, substance abuse, loveless sex, and various forms of sadomasochism. The life of the modern soul is almost entirely one of running from introspection.
How this is overcome will have to be explained some other time. Suffice it to say that truth is nothing to fear. One who sees beyond the pale of materialism is, in fact, fearless for the reason that the nature of the true is absolute and undying. The fear of truth—and fear and panic in general—is concern only for those who are materialists. Indeed, they have feverishly over-invested in the temporal body becoming enslaved by its incessant wants and more so by the terror that it holds which include its possible disfigurement, torture, and certain loss in death.
As the observant Buddhist will reflect, the fear of truth is what holds the fabric of modern society together. The trembling, terrorized, aimless herd stays together only through its common fear—not its desire for true being. Of this common herd, its leaders are of no avail being no different than the stragglers who follow behind the herd. It is only when the invisible order of spirit is found, again, and cultivated, becoming the norm (dharma), that peace, compassion, and fearlessness arise. Outside of this , there is no hope.
I came to the conclusion a few years ago that the "blow-back" from materialism is the fear of truth. Such fear really has no target. In the 1950s it was the 'commies' and now, 'Islam'. I sometimes believe our pharmaceutical industry is based solely on the repercussions of materialism.
Posted by: The Zennist | August 24, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Indeed a good article and much reminicent of a documentary I just saw called "The power of Nightmares" by Adam Curtis.
Where did Osama Bin Laden come from, and why does he hate the American way of life?
Why do the American neo-conservatists want the public to believe in a world wide
conspiracy of evil, operating from vast underground complexes that look like a James
Bond film set? In a world that has just witnessed the worst natural disaster in
known history, why are our nightmares filled with images of bearded men and dirty
bombs? This three-part documentary gives the answers. In a cool, factual manner, it
goes back to the historic roots of both sides in this lukewarm war, and shows us how
eerily similar they are. That is what is really scary about the war on terrorism.
This series is essential viewing for everyone who wants to understand the most
important conflict of our time. Which should include you.
Adam Curtis' work deals with fear and control. To quote a review; "In The Century of the Self
he explored how the nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays, used Freudian
principles to manipulate the hidden fears and desires of the consumers of mass
media."
The documentary can be downloaded from this site:
http://onebigtorrent.org/torrents/3821/Power-of-Nightmares-by-Adam-Curtis-in-Three-Parts-Repack
If this link doesnt work go here: http://onebigtorrent.org/
Regards
TGL
Posted by: TGL | August 24, 2008 at 11:20 AM
Good article, materialism seems to have captured the common mind as did christianty a century ago
Posted by: Lebensgeist | August 24, 2008 at 03:29 AM