Acts of truth.

Philosophy Forums Philosophy
1

Came across this the other day reading Zimmer’s book. I don’t worry too much about the
mysticism, but the idea intrigues me. So I ask myself, do I have “Acts of truth” in my heart.
I must say, I cannot truthfully answer this. In my life have I been dishonest, yes, in my life have I lied,
yes, in my life have I cheated, yes, in my life have I hurt others, yes. My failings, many as they are, seems
to have disqualified me from being able to have "acts of truth’. But after much thought, I realize those failings
are my “acts of truth”. Have I lived a an honorable life, no. I lie and justify it by thinking others lie too.
I am dishonest and justify it by thinking others lie too. I hurt people and justify it by thinking others have done that
too. (there are many ways to hurt people without touching them) Do I think I am superior, not at all. Given
this some thought and I am average in just about every way, shape and form. In the whole of humanity today,
I am around 900 million out of 6 billion people. My sense of humor raises me enough to crack the billion mark.
I have enough good traits so I have some value, I see the humor in life, very little frightens me (outside of young
republicans) being human though, I see the my negatives far more than the my positives. In other words,
I am entirely normal and average, so I should have some sort of “act of truth” lying about in my heart and
yet, outside of the negative, I don’t seem to find it and that becomes part of my “acts of truth” given I could
have lied about this, to you and to me. After some thought, “acts of truth” can be negative, can be distasteful.

Staying true to myself, that is an “act of truth” for which I can accept and know. I have been true to myself and
followed my own drummer. I have my “acts of truth” because I have never tried to be anything other than
Kropotkin. I have followed my heart and head to land in this time and place. I accept that and that
becomes part of my “acts of truth”. Accepting yourself and you honestly say, I have my “acts of truth”

Here we have a prime example of what is called an “Act of Truth.” The Indologist Heinrich Zimmer explained this in connection with the concept of “dharma” as duty or correct way of life: “There exists in India an ancient belief that the one who has enacted his own dharma without a single fault throughout the whole of his life can work magic by the simple act of calling that fact to witness. This is known as making an “Act of Truth.” (Philosophies of India, pp. 160-161) This Act of Truth was later extended to include any deep truth spoken aloud, “…Truth must be rooted in the heart. The Act of Truth has to build out from there. And consequently, though dharma, the fulfillment of one’s inherited role in life, is the traditional basis of this Hindu feat of virtue, nevertheless, a heartfelt truth of any order has its force. Even a shameful truth is better than a decent falsehood…” (Ibid, p. 167) In modern times, Mahatma Gandhi based his political action on this principle and called it Satyagraha or “Holding to the Truth” in order to free India of British rule. In Gandhi’s case the “Truth” that he held to was “Ahimsa” or non-violence, the very name Angulimala was originally given. Zimmer explains, “Ahimsa, ‘non-violence. non-killing,’ is the first principle in the dharma of the saint and sage – the first step to the self-mastery by which the great yogis lift themselves out of the range of normal human action. They attain through it to such a state of power that when and if the saint steps again into the world, he is literally a superman.” (Ibid, p. 171) Here in the story of Angulimala we have the earliest Buddhist assimilation of these ancient Indian principles concerning the power of truth and non-violence.

Kropotkin

2

The heart is what we know as the mind, it is the essence of who you are, your authentic self.

You mention Ghandi above. His memory has been relegated to that of the Messiah, behind his glorious facade, Ghandi held racist views, in particular those of the Black South Africans. This may explain why he never met with African American (black American) civil rights leader. Perhaps if this was known, Ghandi would not have been so admired.

It is by the heart/mind that the entire person, the intellect, will, affections, emotions, is influenced and because the hearts of most are duplicitous, human nature can be described as tainted.

3

Evolution favors the duplicitous.
Those who can conceal their true intentions until it is too late for their enemies to do anything about it.
Nature has been feeding upon itself from day one.

“One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.”

  • Niccolo Machiavelli
4

Deception is the normal state of civilization. Truth is rare within the walls of civilization; because speaking it can get you, and has gotten other people, killed before.

Leave truth outside civilization, where it belongs. However, in this beginning of postmodernity, and a worldwide state society, a global civilization, truth has nowhere to go except to hide behind silence.

5

Peter Kropotkin

Isn’t that statement just one’s perception of self though?
If you’ve never tried to be anything other than Kropotkin, doesn’t that say that you keep yourself fixed to the same thoughts and behavior always?
Couldn’t “acts of truth” be based on circumstances and situations - they are different you know.
What does it mean to say “I accept myself”? If you have acts of truth, would your self necessarily be frozen in time?
Doesn’t truth become and thrive more in freedom?

I think that an “act of truth” might be more in questioning and seeing what is ultimately “real” in the moment and acting on that.
But I don’t know - thinking about it, that might even be dangerous being perceived from the wrong inner eyes.

6

I have followed my Kropotkin path to the best of my abilities.
I have little interest in the road most people take.
I have little interest in money, the first time I made more
then ten thousand dollars a year, I was 32 and the first time over
twenty thousand I was 34. I have never made over thirty thousand dollars
and I really don’t care. I spend my time on reading, writing, thinking and watching sports.
gotta have my sports, anyway, The so called rat race has never interested me. I have
changed my views as I have aged, both in the political and philosophical. I am not
the same person I was even a year ago. Right now I am learning German and reading
about Indian philosophy. I spend my time, money and effort in the pursuit of knowledge, information, wisdom.
I wrote a book, a novel. Published it online about a year ago and 12 whole people bought it… of course
at least 10 of those people were family members who have never bothered to read it, but hay, I am a
published author and I made roughly 26 dollars on it, which by the way I still haven’t claim from paypal.
I have been a communist, an anarchist, a democrat, and I have been a nietzschian, a follower of David Hume,
a follower of Kierkgaard, and atheist who has studied religion and looked for god for over 30 years.
I am 55 years old. My life has been a life of the intellectual, a searcher for truth and wisdom.
I am Kropotkin and I have followed my path and that is my “Acts of truth”

Kropotkin

7

I guess that I am just not getting it but this

Maybe I’m just applyng too much meaning and essence on the word Truth here.

What would you consider to be a deep truth spoken aloud?

8

Earth is a violent planet. Maybe not as violent as before, yet at any time chaos could threaten even the very fabric of life, but even if we evolve, find better ways to handle our conflicts, I think no one can deny that the seed of violence remains within each of us. We must recognize that, because that violence is capable of consuming each of us.

9

K: I think I just did “a deep truth” in my post above yours. A deep truth is almost like
a mission statement. I follow this “truth” and lived this “truth” as it is written in my heart.
My truth is I have lived a life in the pursuit of knowledge, understanding, wisdom.
that is my deep truth. I haven’t played life by the ordinary rules of keeping up with the joneses.
I have rejected the pursuit of money, of fame, of being on a reality show.
I have followed my path for over 40 years regardless of the personal cost which on
one occasion meant being homeless and other having no food and no money for about a month.
I lived on one large jar of peanut butter for that month.

think about it, what is your deep truth? What would be your mission statement?

Kropotkin

10

K: and what would be the first step to rising above the violence? the first step in any situation would
be a understanding of the problem. You have to know that you have a problem before you can fix the problem.
think AA and the whole drinking thing. The first step to ending drinking is to acknowledge you have a problem.
We are a violent race, so what would be the first step? acknowledgement. then comes the second step?
coming up with personal solutions to violence. adapting non-violent solutions. Showing people the path
would be the third step. What would the fourth step be?

Kropotkin

11

putting it into action.

12

Correct. and thus Gandhi did so.

Kropotkin

13

I would like to point you to these posts in the thread you just took a shit in.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=186363&start=275#p2490149
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=186363&start=300#p2490185

Thanks.

14

You can’t really shit in a thread that was already covered in manure.

Kropotkin

15

The problem with the AA is that they cut off their own final success by emphasizing the importance of the “problem” by declaring it an absolute, inescapable reality;
“You are an alcoholic.
You will always be an alcoholic.
You must regularly confess your weak state of being an alcoholic.
You will never be free from being an alcoholic.
Nothing can be done to change the fact that you are an alcoholic.
You are condemned forever to be an alcoholic.
Repeat it all after me every week for the rest of your life.”

The problem with that cure is that it is self-fulfilling. It keeps reminding the person of alcohol by demanding the thought of it, which in turn reminds the person to consider it. It does not erase the temptation, but reinforces the belief in it.

Proclaiming that people are “just a violent creature” is that same thing. It is declaring an immutable fact and thus even if all violence stopped, it would keep tempting the thought and passion such that some would just say;
“Well okay, I AM violent. So what?
Violence, as you say, is in my very nature.
I like being violent.
There is nothing that I could do to change being violent.
I must accept what I am.
Let the violence come.”

Many alcoholics end up that same way after going through AA. AA’s 12 step program was a pretty good formula, but not as good as it could have been.

And your “Fourth Step” is “Verification” of the first 3.
The “Fifth Step” is “Reinforcement” of the first 4.
Then Loop (“Rinse and repeat”).

And there is nothing else to life but to repeat those steps, else you have not done one of them well enough.

16

I was using AA as an example, I actually disagree with some of their stuff including the
idea of god as a crutch. I also think AA is for quitters. I would never join a group that
would advocate quitting beer. I love beer and as far as violence goes, we are a violent
group, we humans. Look at the need for guns and how people are so quick to recommend
violence for a wide variety of problems such as Iraq, Syria, crime, the answer to violent crime
(although I really don’t see how resorting to violence will end violence, but hey, that’s me.)
and your solution to the step problem is your solution and not necessarily anyone else’s solution.

Kropotkin

17

Is THIS what You would call an Act of Truth? :-k

18

Peter Kropotkin

.
If you break your leg or ankle, you may need a crutch ~~ you will actually need two. Now, normally I am NOT for people using their god for every kind of support at all times but let’s face it - if someone is an alcoholic, goes to AA, is trying to get clean, I see no reason if their belief in god prompts them to turn their life over to god. Psychologically speaking, it’s changing the focus from the alcohol to their god. Not really so unhealthy the way I look at it…no matter what the reality. It changes the focus.

Perhaps you’re being facetious here - perhaps not. But if you are NOT, then please tell me, in what way do you see an alcoholic joining AA to get help for himself, to be with people who really know what it is like to fight that kind of a daemon, to get that kind of moral and spiritual support, to recognize that weakness and revealing it, confessing it - as being a quitter? The way I look at it, the quitter is the one who refuses to get help, it requires guts to reach out and to get help for one’s self - the quitter is happy within his misery and in making others miserable and in screwing up the lives of family members. The quitter would sooner hang in a bar, drinking and commiserating with other “oh, woe is me” quitters just like himself - crying into his beer or rum or whatever, about how much he loves his wife and kids, but they just don’t understand me, rather than making a start at taking his life into his control and beginning to climb that mountain~~ and it must be some kind of a mountain to be climbed.

For an alcoholic, I don’t think that drinking beer is the same as it would be for me (ugh, hate the taste) and someone who occasionally has a beer or some wine. AA is not perfect, it has its flaws but who knows how many people have given up the drink and given up that daemon, although I’m sure that some of them slide back down that slippery slope, but many do not.

There are a lot of Acts of Truth out there. You recognize your own kind but you don’t seem to recognize that of the alcoholic who goes to AA to get help and to turn his life around. That too is an Act of Truth. You can also consider it a Mission Statement in a way…no more nor less than your own.

19

K: yep.

20

K: life is a comedy to those who think and life is a tragedy to those who feel.
I don’t believe life is some solemn thing where live has to be serious, hardly,
Life in many, many ways is a joke and when life gives you a joke, you laugh.
Actually, I will make a joke about anything. I have made fun of the handicap
(now if you are a solemn type you sudden think he makes fun of the handicap,
what a horrible human being. However if you know or don’t know, I am handicap myself,
severe hearing loss, so I can make fun of the handicap. Nothing is out of bounds as far
as I am concern.) so people quitting beer for AA is worth a joke. Don’t like it, oh well.
Laugh when you can because otherwise life will be a long and tedious affair.

Kropotkin