โScience gives man knowledge, that is power; religion gives man wisdom, that is control. Science deals mainly with facts, religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary.
Science keeps religion from sinking into the valley of crippling irrationalism and paralyzing obscurantism. Religion prevents science from falling into the marsh of obsolete materialism and moral nihilism.โ
โ Martin Luther King Jr.
I agree, both Ramayana and Mahabharata must be far older than currently dated. Along with elephants, horses may play into current dating techniques, as they are not indigenous to India. But I once read an article about a species similar to the horse, If I can find it again, will post. Also there are drawings in the Bhimbetka caves, dated to over 10,000 years ago, that might indicate horses in India that long ago.
photo from https://t.co/PXlMvT5byD
oh, I know what I forgot to say, โฆ that understanding Ramayana on all the levels is complex, and on the mortal level, possibly hampered by a corruption in understanding of varnas, as Rama presented a model not just as a man and husband, but also a king. So understanding raj dharma is important. That each varna has its own corresponding dharma, that is not mutually exclusive, but featuring one prominent drive/desire/or purpose. That it was a system meant to be heterarchial versus hierarchical in dividing not just labor, as Adam Smith does in Wealth of Nations, but dharma, as itself is not absolute but related to purpose. sorry for any confusion, or if Iโm in left field in this one. ๐
For hundreds of thousands of years, hunter gatherers lived in egalitarian communities, but in smaller groups, trust is easier to maintain. As agrarian civilizations evolved, power moved from individual to governmental institutions, the rights to feed, shelter, protect oneself โฆ which undeniably belong to the individual in the wilderness of nature โฆ shifted to the state. History shows only heirarchical systems of rule ever since. The only societies that evolved the concepts of equal rights and respect for individual dignity, were those with religions which advocated equality in a higher power, in God. Itโs the only reason democracy, a historically failed experiment, worked in America.
yes, their individualism was an answer to the overreach of church impinging religious freedom, and the hierarchical structures of rule and nobility of the time, impinging on inherent freedoms as understood by natural law, it doesnโt answer relationality in a secular world. I donโt think they envisioned a world where religion was so absent, as religion has always been a tempering force to the centralization of power through governmental systems since the dawn of civilization. But all man made institutions are corruptable, even religious ones.
hmm โฆ itโs interesting to think of a monotheistic shift as a revolution rather than evolution.
I canโt cite one book, but to tentatively trace the ideas in many, โฆ religious/spiritual thought followed the psychological/intellectual/emotional needs of mankind, from early animism as mankind sought to understand the natural world around them, to polytheistic structures designed to instill trust in early agrarian civilizations as they formed larger governments and power structures (early nomadic hunter-gatherers had smaller communities where you would personally know the chief or leader, were often democratic in practice in that everyone had a say. As city-states formed and kings grew further away from the common man, trust was maintained by belief in a higher god that even kings were accountable to), then as civilizations gained prosperity, less time on farms and manual labor, they were able to consider more existential questions, theology met philosophical musings. Specialization of arts and crafts brought aesthetics into consideration, beauty led to truth, justice, etc. Monotheism in the form of Christianity, brought to the western world stability of thought over some centuries. Once everyone shared the same belief system, minds were free to explore other ideas, science soon followed, (though it faced resistance and persecution in its early days) in many ways built on ancient systems of knowledge from across the world.
history of civilization is about 12,000 years, less than a drop in the ocean of time โฆ our individual lives are fleeting, but if we step back, we see all religions, all cultures, have somehow interacted, inspiring each other, to bring humanity to the footsteps of the stars. Just as we individuals stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, all cultures, all systems of thought, built upon each other, until we found a way to reach the moon.
Sorry this a poor patch-work summary, but had to reply to the very interesting post. I will read the book to better understand cosmotheism. Thank-you for your post.
@theEndisNAAY most likely a foreign account or deep state player with anti-western sentiments, trying to amplify divisions and further destabilize the west. united we stand, divided we fall.