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The usefulness of a Messiah
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Posted by:
13 ®

04/11/2024, 02:14:40
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That whimsical post I made below about an AI personalised Messiah/guru that you could share all your troubles with and get personalised advice got me thinking about the role of such a figure.

I do have some problems - currently a lack of concrete pipes. I've made some enquiries and am waiting for some responses. No guidance needed there I think.

I have some personal and moral dilemmas. Some decisions to make that whatever I decide there will be upsides and downsides. I might reflect on some with a friend if we get into that kind of a conversation, but the decisions are mine to make and the consequences mine to own. No inclination to ask for guidance there either.

And the mysteries of the universe seem infinite and I am quite small. So I learn what I can, what I can benefit from and what I'm curious about and if I knew more would that situation really change? I'd still only know a tiny bit. Can't fit much more into my brain. 

Solace perhaps? None needed right now but if it were, it would really only have meaning to me coming from an empathetic human.

So it's funny to me how after all those years of following a guru, I now can't imagine the need or the use of such a figure. 






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Posted by:
AJW ®

04/11/2024, 03:31:12
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John, you're in your mind.

anth- filled with grace






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Posted by:
13 ®

04/11/2024, 04:33:47
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Would it be better if I was out of my mind?

Rhetorical question obviously, given the above.






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Posted by:
lakeshore ®

04/11/2024, 07:11:14
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Whimsical...

(Much appreciated relief, but - as everyone knows - not a substitute for all the seriousness brought to light here.)

In keeping with whimsical, I've been open lately to sharing the very first thought that pops up in my mind as I'm reading posts. (Sometimes I marvel a just how out there some of them are!) Thoughts that in the cult were forbidden and dismissed as the cause of separation from Guru Maharaji a/k/a god. The kind of thoughts that got you branded as a bongo and deprived of service opportunities... or never called upon to give satsang. But really the kinds of whimsical thoughts that serve as the seeds of inspiration, creativity, invention and advancement in every aspect of civilization. (Not that mine ever contributed much!)

So in keeping with my hopefully temporary first thought honesty phase:

"I now can't imagine the need or the use of such a figure"

The first thought that popped into my mind was... stick it on a wall! When I was a kid, we played this game called Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Just to double-check (in my old age) the spelling of tail (tail/tale), I googled it and to my surprise, I found out that its also known as Pin the Tail on the Bunny, Dinasaur, Mermaid, Unicorn, Dragon and Pig.

AI or no AI, given that my first thought was based on "the usefulness of a messiah," I guess my crazy mind wasn't that far out there after all.
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"And the mysteries of the universe seem infinite and I am quite small. So I learn what I can, what I can benefit from and what I'm curious about and if I knew more would that situation really change? I'd still only know a tiny bit. Can't fit much more into my brain."

The first thing that popped into my mind was "how refreshing," particularly in contrast to all those know-it-alls who can't seem to grasp how small they are and how tiny the little bits they know really are. That definitely falls into one of those "seeds of" categories!

Good luck with the dilemmas and concrete pipes.







Modified by lakeshore at Thu, Apr 11, 2024, 07:41:58

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Posted by:
tommo ®

04/11/2024, 09:47:40
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Ah John,   to slightly misquote JFK

'think not what your guru can do for you but what you can do to serve your Guru'

the point of a Guru is to have someone in authority to humbly serve.  And in serving them you eventually come to love them and to keep their picture on your wall --- they become your sacred cause and your inner companion ---  Maharaji, Stalin and Big Brother  All the same thing.   

And so it's sort of relevant to this topic I think - Rawat and the rest have in fact always been only distant virtual entities - imaginary figures with imagined virtues - to the vast majority of their adherents.  So purely relying on AI and spurious new quote generation etc isn't much of a step further.

Unfortunately perhaps the idea of a virtual Guru -- or just - for now - some (considerably) AI enhanced version of Rawat say -- is quite a dark idea that might have legs.  An app on your phone -- up pops Monika Winslow with a little reminder that Rawat needs support for the next great thing -- suggestive subliminal juxtaposition of adds with legacy and will services etc etc.

Anyway the AI avatar for my guru would be Sonja Kristina of Curved Air as she was in 1971 -- I was deeply in love with her --but don't tell my wife

Tim






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I got stuck in the pipes
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Posted by:
aunt bea ®

04/11/2024, 12:26:56
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What do you need concrete pipes for? I just installed about 1440 meters of pipes, but they were plastic I guess. For a geothermal heat pump in case you are wondering. It is amazing how that kind of thing now fascinates me more than a lot of other subjects.






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Posted by:
13 ®

04/11/2024, 13:33:31
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Nothing so interesting as heat pumps. I've got to do a bit of road building for the house I'm building. The concrete pipes just handle the water that runs by the side of the road where my driveway will join it. 






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Posted by:
aunt bea ®

04/11/2024, 14:49:08
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Our road and courtyard are all whats called Feldsteinpflaster, which are basically really big vertically oriented cobblestones, each one like 20 kilo. So when you dig holes and trenches, like for heat pumps, you have to first take these out, then smash them back in again with a big mallet. Keeps you buff in old age.






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Posted by:
Aquinas ®

04/11/2024, 20:40:57
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I agree that there isn't a lot of usefulness to a Messiah, but I could sure use my mother again from time to time. She has been dead for over 30 years but I still dream about her. I also miss playing cards with her and just chatting about life, the universe and everything with her. I have never met anyone else like my mother in my whole 70+ years. Much better than a Messiah.






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Posted by:
lesley ®

04/11/2024, 21:35:17
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another point of similarity   my mum and I had a great conversation going too.  Could not agree more, much better than any guru, not to mention the love and cuddles that came with it.






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I got stuck in the dilemmas
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Posted by:
lesley ®

04/11/2024, 21:23:56
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Great post, John, thank you.  so true. 






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