The diagram (from 'Spirituality and Aging' conf. 2009' - c.o. Dr Richard Egan) struck a chord with me when revising material about the connection between the religio-mythological side of Syai culture and its language. In the three outer areas of the 'map' of the psyche are the Physical, Social and Mental. They are centered by Spirituality. These designations come close to what the Syai call the Gods of the Minor Quaternary and how Syai linguists introduce a crucial part of their language structure. At the center is the Heart-goddess (spirituality); on the outer are the "Worldly-deeds" god (physical), and the Emotive/Motivational goddess (social) and the Intellectual god (mental). Each Syai verb-form can be divided into four variants according to which of the god-realms it most suitably seems to belong in. This provides a pattern of meaning-associations that facilitates the learning and use of the language.
Naturally, each of the deities mentioned has its own Syai name, and all four are major protagonists in the dramatic creation story that is used by Syai adults to explain the world to their children.
Iperial Syai system of government ... just a sketch, no details as my focus here is on the democratic principles. Center (Q) (metaphorically) reflects the Minor Quaternary of Syai gods, the Empress/ Emperor and the three 'elders' of the Imperial Council.They are the source of validation of power, but in themselves have almost no power. The three 'Elders' are go-betweens, advisers and guardians, informing the imperial personage and organizing everything around her/ him. (If the two real powers can't come to agreement on something, then 'Q' might have to play an important, even deciding role.) The real powers are the Villages' Assembly and the Walkers' Council. The Walkers are not so concerned with steering the course of government as with environmental and social well-being and justice.
Some points of the constitution as far as T. could remember them.
(1) Freedom of access to readily-available truth.
(2) A holistic education founded on the humanities, on children learning about their biological/ natural surroundings to start with; with science and technology built on that foundation.
(3) Stimulating but fair competition, with emphasis on individuals or groups competing against their past selves, not blocking or undermining efforts of 'rivals'.
(4) In an open society where everyone has personal aims that can be better pursued in co-operation rather than cut-throat competition, there is no place for secrecy and transactional privacy. Acts of personal and consensual privacy are assured and protected, so long as they have no direct harmful effect on persons unknowing and uninvolved.
(5) To have unity among diverse communities there must be a grand symbol of unity, and to be effective a-ffectively that symbol needs a face - that is, some degree of personification. The gods of Syai cultural mythology serve this purpose without fueling a demand for theocracy to take precedence over democracy.
Using what 'T.' reveals of the Syai Empire as a model of democracy, I have been thinking of our Western so-called democracies and what would be the revolutionary reforms needed to change them from oligarchic semi-democracies to what would satisfy the Syai to call them real democracies. I have worked out five or six principles which I will subsequently present (in some form) on this blog. My fear is that if any country on this globe under present conditions dared to come near to implementing these principles, that country would be trashed. If not armed agression, practical reasons and even moral considerations would be dreamed up and given full air-time by the Western media for why it was a bad experiment that was being justifiable undermined in the interests of growth, international co-operation, freer trade and so forth. Even if the "experiment" proved popular, the discontent of a power-hungry few would be worked upon both in and out of the country to bring about a reactionary reversal. But there is no credible historic evidence that a real democracy experiment could never succeed in a country or region, provided it was
left free of outside interference.
As planned next year I should have a seminar prepared on some of the negative aspects of religion and how they might be overcome. My contention is that a greater understanding of the spiritual dimension of our lives can potentially overcome the conflicts and violence that these days seems to rage around religious issues. I fully approve of suspending disbelief - there's a lot to be gained from it in entertainment and even in wisdom. But to think it doesn't matter if people believe whatever they like or suits them to believe, is simply to "feed into" the aforementioned conflict, violence and rage. The picture above might well be taken as symbolic of the beauty of 'Gaia' or the natural sciences. However, without the spiritual dimension and openness to philosophical criticism, scientists themselves can fall into belief-systems that cause conflict and environmental harm, often in bowing to the self-interest of their human, emotional selves, or to the greed and ambitions of their financial backers.
