SURVIVAL IN DEEP PIT – VIRTUE OR SIN? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
Military Service imparts survival skills as much as fighting skills. Infantry soldiers dig and prepare pits of various sizes to take cover while they come under enemy fire and to fight against advancing enemy.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Military equips soldiers with shovels and entrenching tools to prepare defensive pits and foxholes.
Survival on battlefield depends upon external circumstances on which individual may have no control. Soldier may not have any option to get away from the battlefield. For the first time during my military career, while taking part in military action in Chittagong Hill Tracts in November 1971, I used US Army folding Shovel to dig a foxhole to take cover when enemy patrol spotted suspicious movement and started firing in our direction. We remained calm and just a couple of our men exchanged fire to keep the enemy patrol at a safe distance. We allowed the patrol to fire all its ammunition and retreat. We planned an attack on their camp on the following night and did not want the patrol to get any clue about an impending attack.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin. The action or “KARMA” of using US Army entrenching tool or Shovel forced me to live in a deep hole.
My Unit Adjutant, Captain Kottayam Chacko Kurien, Kochi Jew took the initiative to help me take cover using US Army shovel. My association with this Jew makes me to review the story of Joseph, son of Israel(Jacob), narrated in the Book of Genesis, the First Book of Moses. I could not escape from the consequences of my action or “KARMA” of using US Army Shovel to dig a pit to survive for a few hours while coming under intense fire. From the hours spent in pit, my life remains enslaved by external circumstances which I could never overcome successfully.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
The Old Testament Book Genesis shares the story of Joseph thrown into a pit by his brothers.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
Apparently, Joseph’s brothers hated him and they conspired to get rid of him.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
Fortunately, Joseph survived his ordeal when his brothers changed their mind and sold him as slave.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
But, not all of us could be as fortunate as Joseph. I may voluntarily choose confinement of entering a pit to survive while facing adverse external circumstances. It will not be easy to extricate oneself from such a pit if the pit grows deeper and deeper.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
Indian tradition describes condition of proverbial ‘Frog in Deep Well’ using Sanskrit phrase “Kupa Manduk Nyaya.” It refers to a man who is arrogant and is unwilling to learn on account of intellectual pride.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Hard place to survive with no Freedom in sight. Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
Survival in a deep pit imposes challenges of its own. Apart from lack of mobility, man loses advantages of developing social relations, and gets virtually isolated while keeping his existence. Aesop’s Fable shares story of two Frogs deciding upon a place to survive.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
When survival faces threat, man may have to choose confinement of deep well rather than making the foolish attempt to climb out of the deep pit. Man may not be able to save himself through his physical or intellectual effort if external circumstances erect insurmountable barriers.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
I do not have physical or mental capacity to seek the world and people who exist outside my confined space. For I have no hope of emerging from the deep pit to claim victory, I seek satisfaction of learning from my defeat.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
Survival in Deep Pit – Virtue or Sin? Septuagenarian Discovers Septuagint.
From bottom of the deep pit, I give thanks to God for letting me survive in a world where my ‘Brothers’ have eyes but cannot see, have ears but cannot hear and have hearts but do not understand my loss of Freedom(Book of Isaiah 6:9-10).
I seek harmony between doctrines of Idealism and Realism to account for human existence. I welcome thoughts from all directions to understand the nature of Human Identity and Individuality. The multicellular human organism exists as Physical, Mental, Social, Moral, Spiritual being with a Creative Form that cannot be duplicated. For purposes of brevity and simplicity, I divide the human being into two categories; 1. The first is 'SELF' and it represents man as Physical, Mental, and Social Being and 2. The second is, the 'KNOWING-SELF' which represents man as Moral, Rational and Spiritual Being."I am Consciousness, therefore I am", is the proposition that I use to understand the nature of man's Identity and Individuality. Man is a Mortal Being whose Life and Death are operated by Oxidation-Reduction Chemical Reactions. The Physical Being is dissolved by the powerful influence of Time which seem to operate Natural Law of Aging. Things in Nature change with Time but the Identity and Individuality of Man remains the same during his Life Journey. The genotype remains unchanged while the phenotype appears to be changing all the time. In the multicellular human organism, the Consciousness functions to establish Identity of the organism and to defend its Individuality. Consciousness also establishes the Connection, Partnership, Relationship, Yoking, Joining, and Association between the energy dependent man and his energy provider. Man exists in Nature because of his ability to acquire energy from external environmental source. Consciousness in its essence refers to this awareness of energy dependence. I describe the Connection between energy seeker and energy provider as 'God Connection'. Man during all the stages of his existence, and under any given circumstance, either in good health, or ill-health exists on the basis of this 'God Connection' which is an attribute of biological or living function called Consciousness. This conditioned nature of human existence is supported by Power/Energy/Force which can be experienced as Compassion/Mercy/Grace of the Creator who created man as an Individual with unique genome that has never existed in the past and also will never exist in the future. I seek the Unity of Man in Body, Mind, and Soul unlike other common Indian traditions that seek to verify Identity between Human Soul and Divine Soul. My doctrine can be described as Unity Theory of Non-Dualism.
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