Is my "Life is Fair" book really crap?

A few days ago I got an email from someone who pointed out that, in a recent blog post comment, I'd said: "Karma, reincarnation, rebirth -- no, not solid at all, as evidence is lacking for these ideas."

My correspondent thought that a retraction of sorts was in order, given that in 1998 I'd written a book for an Indian spiritual organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, called Life is Fair. The book is a karmic justification for vegetarianism (complete with cartoons!).

I replied to the emailer by saying that, hey, minds change. Today, I don't look upon karma and reincarnation as I did thirteen years ago. 

A reply to my reply then hit my inbox:

Perhaps you might consider publicizing what may - now - be your "retraction" (so to speak) of your previous "views" - as the crap which I saw them to be when I looked at your book years ago.

That struck me as a reasonable request. At first. Then I did some additional thinking about when it makes sense to publicly retract previous views that currently seem like "crap" to both me and other people.

I talked about this question in regards to Life is Fair in a 2009 blog post: "Shocked at my own beliefs, should I disown me?" Conclusion: no.

Back in the late 90's I thought differently. In the future, who knows?

The only thing I can be certain about is that from this moment until the day I die, I'm not going to be absolutely certain about anything. Probably, I should add, to be consistent.

So after a few days of pondering my emotional reaction to re-reading what I wrote a dozen or so years ago, I've concluded that I was too hard on myself.

Yes, I was disturbed that my beliefs back then fell into a "religiously mentally ill" diagnosis. And when I read how the Brian of that time looked upon evolution, it bothered me that I was less scientific than I'd remembered myself being.

But here's the thing: I changed. And I'm still changing. As are we all.Thankfully.

Because change only stops when we're dead. Until then, living leads us in largely unpredictable ways. Our relationships with other people change; our bodies change; our lifestyles change; our physical activities change; our personalities change; our philosophical and religious beliefs change.

Which is unavoidable. And largely to the good, even though many of life's changes are objectionable to us.

So I don't feel like retracting what I said in Life is Fair. I'm glad I wrote the book. It pleases me to think that some people have become vegetarians as a result of reading it, or were strengthened in their commitment to remain meatless.

I still believe that life is fair.

Just not for the same reasons I offered up back in 1998. Now I'm much more skeptical about the reality of reincarnation. If we haven't had past lives then "karma" is limited to our experiences in this life, plus the genetic heritage in our DNA of ancestors' lives.

But often it isn't possible to prove the non-existence of something, especially when that thing is hypothesized to be beyond the bounds of materiality. I'm not 100% sure that karma and reincarnation aren't real, just as I'm not 100% sure that God doesn't exist.

To me, retractions are justified when a factual error has been made.

If a newspaper story gets someone's age or occupation wrong, or misquotes them, a retraction/ correction is called for. However, opinion writers don't issue retractions. If a columnist changes her mind, she says "I look upon this issue differently now." No apology is required; no mea culpa. 

Recalling my state of mind when I wrote Life is Fair, I don't see how I could have done anything differently. Life is what it is, a cliche that nonetheless is true. 

As I've noted before, my relationship with Radha Soami Satsang Beas and the guru (Charan Singh) who led the organization when I joined up in 1971 strikes me as being a lot like my first marriage. Both began with love, followed by many years of happiness, and ended with a divorce.

Have I ever felt about "retracting" my attraction to my first wife? Of course not. What I felt for her at the time was real. I still feel a lot of fondness for her. We grew apart, but the eighteen years we were married never will leave either of us. Our marriage changed us, led us to grow, albeit in different directions.

Likewise, writing Life is Fair meant a lot to me. I agree with the person who emailed me that some parts of the book aren't scientifically defensible. I'd write it differently today, but yesterday isn't today. 

Comments

[Robert Paul Howard]

Que sera sera.

Robert Paul Howard

[Billricecomm]

Very well said, Brian. Thanks for this.

[tucson]

"Life is Fair" was sent to me a couple of years after I started drifting away from Radha Soami Satsang Beas. I had also begun eating pieces of decomposing animal carcasses after a 28 year hiatus. At least I usually ate them off a plate at a table and not on all fours off the ground, but still, in the view of some of my satsangi friends, I had reverted to savagery. This was shocking and unthinkable in their view...to this day.

In a benign attempt to save me from the jaws of Kal (the negative power or 'mind' in RSSB teachings)one of these friends sent me a copy of the book hot off the press. This friend felt that the logic was so compelling that I would be forced back to my vegetarian ways.

It had the opposite effect. I clearly was no longer in the RSSB philosophical camp, and meaning no disrespect to the current Brian, I thought the old Brian was indeed full of crap.

To this day, the RSSB prohibition from eating eggs has never been explained to my satisfaction. I just went along with it for all those years. No chicken is harmed by eating its eggs and they are good for you!

[DJ]

What's fair about a murderer having to be reborn and murdered himself in a future life?-what if he is a kind, loving husband and father;shouldn't he have been punished in the lifetime when he committed the murder if he got away with it or in a afterlife? According to karmic theory innocent people have to suffer for past life actions -Life is So Unfair!

[Blogger Brian]

DJ, good points. When I say that I believe life is fair, I don't mean this from a human moral, ethical, or justice perspective. Bad people do indeed get away with things they should have been punished for, and good people suffer even though it seems like they don't deserve it.

I just mean that life appears to be ruled by cause and effect linkages, with "chance" (unpredictability) being a part of all that. Even chance, I suspect, is part of the laws of nature. A roulette wheel does what it does lawfully, not arbitrarily. (I no longer believe in reincarnation, or causes extending over multiple lives.)

If a murderer gets away with his killing(s), there's a reason for this. We may, and probably will, think that the end result is unfairness. And it is from the human perspective. I don't deny that. I just believe there are reasons for why stuff happens, even when these aren't apparent. See:
http://hinessight.blogs.com/church_of_the_churchless/2007/03/life_is_fair_he.html

[tucson]

IMO karma is action: This functioning occuring now.

It is its own cause and effect. Where is the past that it originated from? Where is the future it will influence? There is no meaning other than just this as it is now. Nothing holy or divine about it because it is not anything. As soon as you try to grasp it, it is gone.

I have "seen" that this is so.

In Castaneda's books he uses the term "see" in italics to indicate a type of seeing different from our ordinary perception where one "sees" things as they really are, their true nature as it were.

However, I have no idea how one could absolutely determine that because there could be a "seeing" of "seeing" that transcends even further ad infinitum. But it appears that the possibility of further clarity is unlikely.

So,in my view, if you eat an egg it does not mean you will have to endure future suffering or retardation of spiritual progress (to where? to what?) as taught in "life is Fair". All that happened is an egg was eaten. That's it. No big deal. A bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. That's it. No big deal.

[Suzanne Foxton]

Certainly, life is balance.

[Tara]

tucson ...

I agree with you. I was raised lacto-vegetarian ( hardcore RS fare ) but I could never understand the fuss behind eggs, specially hidden eggs.

My viewpoint is — wouldn't the chicken prefer to be killed-off ( eaten ) while it is still an " egg " than be corn-fed only to be hacked under the butchers knife a few months later ? Hmmm ... I think we must ask the chickens.

[tucson]

Tara makes a good point that should be raised at the next question and answer session with the Param Sant Satguru.

Eggs are just eggs. They are not a developing animal unless they are fertilized by a rooster. No harm is done eating unfertilized eggs. Chickens lay eggs whether a rooster is present or not. Why not eat them if you like eggs? Otherwise the egg just sits there until it rots.

In RS the perceived "threat" of eating eggs is that if you eat an unfertilised egg you may by accident eat a fertilized egg thereby depriving the chicken embryo the opportunity to grow into a flourishing, cackling chicken destined to have its head cut off as Tara pointed out. The spiritual aspirant, having consumed the embryo of a living creature is then thought to have acquired negative karma that will affect their spiritual practice/progress. Also it is thought that the essence or vibration of the egg stimulates "lower" tendencies and passions.

I have never noticed this effect from eating eggs. Rather, the opposite as the nutritional value is high which has a steadying and satisfying effect that has never caused me to rape, pillage, fornicate, cheat, lie, go into fits of rage, drive too fast or otherwise behave badly. I do these things whether I eat eggs or not.

I think the whole egg thing in Sant Mat is absurd.

[Todd]

What I've always found ironic about your book, Brian, is that, your own Guru said a number of times, essentially, that life is NOT fair, that "souls" were initially "pushed" into the "Creation" by the Supreme Being, before they could have had any choices or karmas. There are a number of quotes in which he basically said something like, "Brother, we do not know why we have been sent into this world. He knows best...."

[Tara]

Invictus ( William Ernest Henley )

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate :
I am the captain of my soul.

[renos]

[Renos, I've put a double asterisk (**) by the statements I most agree with. Hope this helps you with the survey. Sorry for the delay in responding. For some reason your comment went into the spam section of TypePad comments, where I just discovered it. -- Blogger Brian]

To Brian Hines: As part of a survey on why individuals leave/break away from Sects/Belief Systems, below is a list of statements. I wonder if you would be so kind as to tick those applicable in your case?
Incidentally I read your book some time ago and found it good, and your website has prompted me to include you in my survey. The guru/minister/headman/shaman is referred to as 'Leader', and the Belief System/Institution as 'Sect'.

BREAKING AWAY FROM A BELIEF SYSTEM:

Please tick the statement/s most applicable in your case.

PAST (reasons for joining and subsequently):
I felt lonely
An admired individual was a member of the Sect
Some admired individuals were members of the Sect
** I attended a meeting and felt inspired/positive/happy
I was healed of pain/sickness/delusion
I was told by someone that I was a 'seeker' and this flattered/intrigued me
I was often depressed

** I followed all the precepts to the best of my ability
I followed the most important precepts
I followed none of the precepts
** I found many good friends among the members
** I was satisfied for many years as a member
I was not regular in the practices
I know no one who was regular in the practices

Reasons for Leaving the Sect:
I found the practices too difficult
I was not mystically inclined, and saw myself as an Intellectual
I hoped to gain materially from my membership, as I was told by others this would occur
I made few lasting friendships among other members
I was disapppointed when the Leader left/died/retired
I did not like the new Leader
I was ignored by the new Leader
** I am not a pious personality type, and the 'piety' of others irritated me
I was influenced by an admired individual
I was influenced by a stronger personality
I missed a social life
I missed the company of like-minded souls
** I felt I was trying to be someone I wasn't
I felt no need for farewells/thanks/apologies to the Leader or local representative, simply
stopped practices and going to meetings
I made my reasons clear to the Leader and left
I missed getting together with friends for a few joints/beers/laughs

PRESENT (since leaving the Sect)
** I feel released/at ease/happy
** I remain a seeker/I feel we are all seekers
I feel vague guilt
I wish to pass on to others my new enlightenment
** My life has taken an upswing
I am no longer wary of what others think
I relish my new outgoing/gregarious/sexy personality
I would categorise myself as basic/rough/outspoken
I am not a 'group' person
I don't care to parade my inner beliefs
I have become more spiritual
I have become more private
** I have become more involved in local events/the world/my family/politics
I am enjoying life at last
** I still follow some of the precepts for health/common sense reasons (ie diet, exercise, meditation, prayer)
I still follow some of the precepts for business reasons (tithing, community service)
I've lost all my fear of death
I feel so sorry for those other deluded members, and want to help them
** My advice is 'to each his own'.
I have learned that 'it takes all sorts to make a world'.

FUTURE:
I see nothing but good ahead
I probably will join a self-help method
I hope to initiate/have initiated a self-help method for others to join
I see myself as a sort of anti-guru guru
I probably epitomise the intellectual's guru
Mathematics is for me the new Scripture
I will probably gain many followers
I hope to gain many followers
I look forward to an ayahuasca session or two
I might join another and higher spiritual path
** I'm not interested in followers, just a few like-minded friends for a few
joints/beers/laughs
I've decided to pursue formal studies
I might start a nudist colony/group

***
Many thanks for your time!
Renos

[abc]

Does God Really Exist?
Author unknown

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God,

The barber: I don't believe that God exists.
The customer: Why do you say that?
The barber: Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber's shop again.

The customer: You know what? Barbers do not exist.
The barber: How can you say that? I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!
The customer: No! Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.

The barber: But barbers do exist! What happens is, people do not come to me.
The customer: Exactly! That's the point! God, too, does exist! What happens is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.