Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Signs of intelligent dissent

A poster makes an intelligent comment below:

Hello BY. You've heard this genre of response many times, I'm sure, which is to say that the less attention paid to that good old boy, the better. Your idea plays right into the criticism that, while you may have left the group, your interests continue to revolve around it to the degree that, if you were not a self-identified dissident, you might very well be thought an advocate, albeit in a twisted way not uncharacteristic of the Daism oeuvre altogether.A response might be that, if Daism is left without a challenge then its proponents will be the only voice you hear. But there are innumerable voices spouting crap and insanity. Who has time to contradict them all?We might ask those who feel they do have time -- have they become fully enlightened and/or realized themselves, that they can afford to waste that much time down at the Sidetrack Tap, so to speak? And if they have not so realized, does a such a thorough deconstruction of a discredited path lead to anything worth while?

I can't say I disagree. I have no fears that Adidam will somehow rise up and take over the world unless a few brave souls stand in their way. It's also true that the world is full of crappy messages like Adidam's, and I don't have to counter them all. But Adidam's message is something I spent a lot of my life imbibing and regurgitating, and the last few years refuting. So I have a little more responsibility than most in relation to this bit of insanity. As I said, I don't really have anything new to say about Adidam, and I'm not much motivated to write about it anymore. But this is more a way of simply compiling what has already been said in a more digestable way that really does put an end to the project. Somehow the whole thing feels a bit unfinished in that respect. Time constraints are another matter however, and that has always been the limiting factor for me. But a wikipedia style project allows for a lot of the work to be done by anyone who cares enough to participate, and build over time. It's the only way of doing it that would interest me, so I think it's at least worth considering. I haven't yet made up my mind, but I can't see any solid reasons not to start it up.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent answer to my comments. I can't disagree with your approach, either. It's an individual thing, then, and you're not recommending that everyone do the same. In noting your own responsibility and interests, you're taking a fine position, imo. Thanks.

Sirensongs: Indologist At Large said...

Thanks for the link!

Caroline in Andhra Pradesh
(Sirensongs-the India Diaries)

Anonymous said...

Broken Yogi: I'm very grateful for your blog - I have a good friend in Adidam, and I've also been considering Adidam myself. I was looking for someone with a balanced perspective: aware of the appeal of Adidam, but familiar with the insanity. I wholeheartedly encourage the creation of just such an "Adidapedia" as you've suggested. It would help countless people be able to make sense of the confusion.

Thank You,
Brian