The Lord of the Rings - hidden truths

It is known that Tolkien based his character King Theoden of Rohan, in The Lord of the Rings, on a real historical character Theodoric I who was King of the Visigoths (418 - 451 AD).  He ruled a kingdom shown in orange below.  In order to make alliances with neighbouring kingdoms Theodoric married his daughters to rulers/heirs of these hostile peoples.  One to Rechiarus, King of the Suevi (shown in green) and another to Genseric's (King of the Vandals, shown in yellow) son, Hunnoric. Neither marriage ended in the good relations that Theodoric hoped for.  Rechiarus was a belligerent neighbour who made war on every single country around him including the Roman Empire.  He was eventually defeated by Theodoric's son on the battlefield.  The other marriage of his daughter to Hunnoric ended even more horrifically. 

This marriage in 429 AD between Genseric's heir Hunnoric (King of Vandals) lasted fifteen years and produced children.  But in 444 AD Hunnoric wanted to make an alliance with the Roman Empire by marrying Eudocia, daughter of the Emperor Valentinian III.  So he had his wife, Theodoric's daughter, mutilated by cutting off her nose and ears and then sent her back to her father.  Understandably, Theodoric was livid and took up arms against the Vandals and prepared an attack.  Genseric and Hunnoric, realising they could not withstand this assault, cleverly prevailed on Attila the Hun to invade Gaul.  This meant Theodoric had to focus on defending his country from this much-feared invader instead of taking revenge. 

These warriors were very feared and had unusual practices.  The Huns believed in artificial cranial deformation and used wooden planks/fabric to produce flat elongated conical cranial shapes in their babies from 1-6 months old.  Their appearance must have been frightening.  In addition, they scarred male children on the day of birth by slashing both cheeks with swords.

"For they cut the cheeks of males with a sword, that before they receive the nourishment of milk they must learn to endure wounds."

The similarity of Tolkien's story and that of Theodoric becomes clearer in the details of the battle. Attila advanced towards the city of Orleans burning and plundering all the way.  Theodoric got together an alliance of the tribes and managed to defeat Attila in the battle of the Catalaunian Plains.  In a scene very similar to that in The Lord of the Rings, where King Theoden in the battle of Pelennor fields fought against the King of the Nazgul and rode ahead of his men.  Theodoric was thrown, like Theoden, from his horse and trampled underfoot and killed.  

His son, Thorismud, pursued the enemy hungry for revenge and penetrated right into Attila's camp.  Like Eomer's reckless rush, in The Lord of The Rings, Thorismud had to fight his way out to safety.  The next day the body of Theodoric was found "where the dead lay thickest" and the warriors carried his body away with traditional songs and ceremony.  It was one of the only defeats of Attila the Hun.

It is to be expected that Tolkien, a professor of English at Oxford, would use not just historical sources including oral traditions, to enrich his tales but also ancient literature/poems dating from these periods.  It helped that Tolkien was familiar with many languages including Latin, French, German, Middle English, Old English, Finnish, Gothic, Greek, Italian, Old Norse, Spanish, Welsh and medieval Welsh.  His work was able to be enriched by tales from many ancient cultures and traditions. Tolkien's love of ancient myths combined with his deep religious faith to produce his conviction that mythology was a divine echo of "the Truth".  Whether these tales of ancient deeds, sometimes horrific, often time heroic, some fiction, some factual either add to the truth or distort it, is still an open question but they certainly add depth.  I must confess to my favourite scene in The Lord of Rings which talks about death so beautifully.

“Home is behind, the world ahead,

and there are many paths to tread

through shadows to the edge of night,

until the stars are all alight.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Proverbs 4:7 

Wisdom is defined as  “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting” whereas understanding is “information gained through experience, reasoning, or acquaintance”.  So knowing what is right or wrong is important but the practical experience of implementing action and reflection on its consequences is also required.

Wisdom without understanding does not suffice.  Honour and progress only occurs when you hold wisdom and understanding within your heart.  So how can we learn wisdom?  Confucius claimed there were three ways to learn wisdom

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”

Confucius

I like the way he tells us the easiest way, is to imitate someone who is wise.  That is easy to relate to.  You get to see an example in front of you and you copy it.  Or with experience you learn through trial and error, which can be very painful and take time. Or as proverbs more eloquently but crudely puts it,

"As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly"

Proverbs 31

Reflection is described as the noblest perhaps because you work it out yourself using your own rational ability.

But real grace and honour will never be dependent on what you acquire but on what service you carry out as a result of this wisdom and understanding. Or in the words of Zoroaster,

“One good deed is worth a thousand prayers.”

Zoroaster

It also brings benefits not just to the recipient as he further explained,

“Doing good for others is not a duty.  It is a joy, for it increases your own health and happiness.”

Zoroaster

In fact he advises,

“Turn not yourself away from three things: good thoughts, good word and good deed.”

Zoroaster

However, attaining these goals is ever dependent on control of oneself and that is no simple matter.  As the Buddha pointed out,

“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s mind.  If a man can control his mind he can find the way to enlightenment and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”

Buddha

The statements from Zoroaster are from around 2000 BC , Proverbs is thought to be made up of some of the writings of Solomon ( 970–931 BC) and even the writings from the Buddha are from approximately 500 BC.  In other words, the path that leads to true understanding and wisdom has been clearly elucidated for several millennium so why are we still struggling?  Well, as luck would have it, Proverbs has an explanation.

“..fools despise wisdom and instruction”

Proverbs 1.7

In other words fools deliberately choose another path. Why would we make this choice to turn from wisdom and ignore guidance that could help? Again, a proverb even suggests an underlying cause for these bad choices.

“The complacency of fools is their undoing.”

Proverbs 1:32

So it seems a strange lethargy and carelessness leads to loss on many fronts.  Personal loss is just one aspect but there are larger considerations too.  The community does not flourish and develop as it should and the fruits of such wisdom is lost to humanity.

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

James 31.17

Without wisdom and understanding those longed for fruits slip through our fingers.  We have ever been urged to acquire knowledge. 

“My Lord, increase me in knowledge”

Quran 20:14

To desire knowledge means humility is required not the fool’s complacency. The fool’s pride allows him to assume he knows it all.  That’s why guidance is despised.  How do you fill a full cup?  Submissive humility requires we put aside the insistent self and make room for wisdom and understanding.  It demands recognition of our essential poverty.

“The essence of understanding is to testify to one’s poverty, and submit to the Will of the Lord”

Bahá'u'lláh

It should not surprise us that the enlightened have ever pointed out the importance of wisdom and understanding.  Urging us to choose the path towards truth and not falsehood over the millennia.  It has never been easy but it has always been emphasised by those who knew the needs of their time.  We should recognise the truth because it has ever been so. 

“This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.”

Bahá'u'lláh

“The All-Knowing Physician hath His finger on the pulse of mankind. He perceiveth the disease, and prescribeth, in His unerring wisdom, the remedy. “

Bahá'u'lláh

Through thousands and thousands of years the guidance and remedy has consistently been given.  Do we choose complacency or search out truth because a world without wisdom and knowledge is an unworthy choice even for fools.

Your Loss is Remembered...in our hearts

My heart goes out to you on the loss of your son. Ever since I received the news the shock has left me devastated. He was such a special soul and one of the nicest young men it was my pleasure to know. His kindness and good humour was tangible. I must say of all my son’s friends he was my favourite. 

I'm sure I am telling you nothing you do not already know. The last few nights have left my heart aching that we have to go on without this sweet young man in our midst. Last night I could not sleep and could only think of him and remember his smile and ready laughter. Then, in the early hours of the morning, I registered that this tragic sense of loss must be nothing to that experienced by you and the family.

There are no words! 

May I just offer you my deepest sympathy for your loss and my sincere congratulations that you brought up such an exceptionally unique character. I am so grateful to have known him and know the bewildered sense of loss must be shared by many. Such sweet souls are rare and touch so many hearts.

love

Malta's Online Gaming/gambling industry - are we winners or losers?

These days there is a contagious disease spreading throughout the world and Malta is not immune. 

The growth of online gaming/gambling companies is explosive. You can be forgiven, not to have noticed their pernicious presence because they are usually to be found in office space not immediately apparent unless you start looking for them. For those of you who have ever thought of buying property, it must've struck you that suddenly you noticed for sale signs down side streets, at the top of apartment blocks, hidden down rural lanes or in newspapers in classified adds. Now that I've drawn your attention to the existence of these businesses, which encourage gaming/gambling, you might suddenly be shocked at the extent to which they have set up shop on this Island.

So what? You may ask! Surely they provide much-needed employment to a workforce that might otherwise have to leave the island to find a job. In addition, they pay valuable taxes to this country at a time when European countries are desperate to rebuild their economies.

So basically three questions need to be asked. How many exactly are we talking about? How many employees do they have and thirdly exactly what do they contribute to the economy? There is a fourth question. Exactly what damage they do society? How many people become addicted to their services and what is the fallout from these addictions.

In other words, do they actually end up costing us more money than they are worth? Many businesses fall into this category. For example, the tobacco industry causes the deaths of millions and yet argues strongly and effectively that it also substantially contributes, through taxes, to global healthcare finances. Since smoking kills more people than drinking and all other drugs combined, arguing that your industry is contributing to the health and well-being of citizens is a bit of a stretch. But the fast food industry along with food producers in the developed world have deliberately played a role in boosting obesity into epidemic proportions. The developed world is voraciously eating itself to death while the third world is suffering from starvation and malnutrition.

So obviously, addiction, whether that be food/alcohol/tobacco/sex or even gambling, is big business. Why focus on gambling when tobacco causes many more deaths? Well, our youth are the future and as such are a precious commodity indeed. The numbers of youth being targeted by gambling companies are breathtaking. The life consequences can be catastrophic. People used to complain that they worked all their life until 75 and when they retired got a watch and a poor pension in recompense. Today even the unemployed are entangled in the gambling business. For workers, the addiction can steal from them even the basic hard-won salary they earn and leave them debt-ridden and trapped. So what! I hear you ask. That is their folly, their choice! But is it?

These businesses target their prey at younger and younger ages. Just as the alcohol business design drinks for younger and younger clientele so too these gambling businesses are getting in earlier and earlier. If they can pounce at that fragile adolescence/post-adolescence stage when long-term consequences cease to be a discouragement to immediate choices, they're literally onto a sure thing. Baiting them with free money to start betting is a common practice. Additional money is given to those who introduce their friends and family to the sport. Loans are sometimes given to ensure that lack of funds does not become a handicap to this profitable addiction. Sometimes the interest rates on such loans provide an even larger part of the business profits.

Consulting the MGA Malta Gaming Authority website at http://www.mga.org.mt/gaming-sectors/remote-gaming/licensed-operators/ There are apparently 592 businesses who are licensed operators.  Given that it produces 8000 jobs and pays 52 million a year in taxes this gravy train is not going to stop anytime soon.  Since three of the earlier questions, posed, have been answered the fourth remains.  Perhaps gaming, unlike gambling, is not so bad?  What harm is playing games online, no one gets hurt surely?  It's just entertainment!  Unfortunately, addiction is not good for most people but especially for adolescents.  Online gaming addiction has been found to do something funny to their brains! 

A recent peer reviewed article on online gaming addiction http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053055 gives worrisome findings.  It seems to show that structural differences occur in the cortical thickness of the brain between adolescents with online gaming addiction and normal subjects; This thickness was detected via High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans and coincided with impaired cognitive control ability.  In layman’s words it appears that addiction to online gaming messes with the brain in adolescents in scary ways.

There are forces at work that influence society in fundamental ways for the better or the worse.  The question is if these influences bring both financial rewards but also substantial damage to members of our society what should we do?