(FB posting of mine):”Every time I have an inspiration these days, someone has a reason why it isn’t so or can’t be. Reason ,which at some point in history was an instrument of liberation ,has now become a means of enslavement! Because this is so important, I think I’m going to post this every day for awhile. Now, go ahead and tell me why that isn’t a good idea ! I dare you lol”

If one looks more deeply,you can see that, in fact, Reason is a bigger problem than all the other cardinal sins like greed,lust ,envy and pride put together! Why? Because reason is used to justify all the other sins!The psychoanalysts call that”Intellectualization” or “Rationnalization” and it is one of the major defense mechanisms of the ego.

So the greedy person says:”You need money to survive and you have to plan for your financial security.”Even more poignant it will say”the financial well-being of your family”! How can you resist that one.When Mike Tyson bit off part of the ear of his opponent during a fight with Evander Hollyfield,he was asked why he did it”I have to feed my family” he answered.Really! Admittedly there are more clever rationnalizers around but that was a particularly vivid example.Trump will say to the applause of his audience;”Put America first” which is a thinly-covered veil for American greed-on a personal and collective level.Not even the Democrats will challenge him on that policy! After all, we need to be greedy as a nation,no?

Pride will say”But I deserved that.Look how clever I am or look how hard I worked for that”Lust will say: “But women are beautiful: aren’t they the creation of our Lord”? Can you begin to see how sinister this all is.We could go down the list of all the major sins but I think by now the reader is getting the point.Watch it play out all around you in your lives.There’s plenty of it,I guarantee you.

I don’t know about your situation but I am surrounded by this contagion on a daily basis-dealing with government offices and large private institutions,dealing with friends and relatives,going to the market,even.But there are islands of sanity in this sea of obscurity-so there is hope-I think-but not much.

In was initially introduced to this problem at a series of Est Seminars in the 1970’s.The trainer was at the board writing down the stages of spiritual development. In his c;lassification, Reason was the lowest level-just barely above animality! He repeated the phrase several times:”Reason is the lowest level of spiritual development.”It registered in a deep place in m,y being. But if you look around you- at the Justice System,Government Administration,Universities(don’t get me started on them) you will see that it has the most credibility and the most investment.Look how much money is now invested in University education and how much money is invested in building churches and synagogues and mosques.Yes,the Intellect has taken over the role of Temple and faith.

After my foray into Est seminars , I began studying the Vedanta .Aha! These people understood that the mind was a repository of illusion.Is anyone putting that age-old insight into use in contemporary society?No,not even in India! Then there were the Zen Buddhists also trying to escape from the tyranny of the mind.They talk about”Seeing” and “Hearing” an d “Feeling.”(Btw Interesting parallel with the Quran where Allah talks about the people who are blind and deaf and have hardened hearts.It could easily have been talking about the administrators and intellectuals of contemporary society but at the time it was referring to the unbelievers.There are still a few of those around,I believe lol)

And what about the Sufis.Here is a poem by Jellalludin Rumi: