Panikkar

["Lluerna Cultural" <lluerna@oninet.es>]

I tried to expose Panikkar´s point of view more than mine, a point of view
I believe is close to EJ´own points of view. Panikkar speaks of technology
as the new comovision, as the language of our world, Ej in " I promissi
titani" says " technology is the magic dance that we are dancing in the
contemporary world". P says that the interregnum we are living is a
conflict of cosmovisions, a conflict where if a culture wants to improve
technollogy has to renounce to their own culture ( and a culture for P and
EJ means much more than folklorical dresses or songs). EJ himself has
written a lot about the fascination and dangers of technology, now itself
that i´m re-reading Das Sanduhrbuch I have been able to find many beautiful
quotes on this ( and wasn´t the change from a circular time to a lineal
one, a change of cosmovision?). The big question here is if is it possible
technological development in a non western culture? P. answer no, and, my
believe is EJ had said the same. That means that we have to go back to the
past, destroying tv, computers, ...? P says if you believe that you miss
the point : " The emancipation of technology can only come from a new time,
a new human being", and EJ used to say simmilar things, p.e. in " I
promissi..." we can read " the problem is the spiritualization of reality
trough Art is theatren by Technology".
Till what point the ethnic and cultural conflicts aren´t  a reply to
western invasion?
Richard,I haven´t had the luck of visiting México, but when you say the
indian culture is not only still present but powerfull, i ´d like to ask
you it that cultural presence is something else than a folklorical
tradition. P.e, I am from Mallorca, an island which is proud of its catalan
culture, and where many people and  the goverment fight in order to
preserve our culture, speak our language and sing ours song, but beyond
this surface you will find nothing. The way of life has changed so
drasticly ( and that´s probably truth over the world). Spain is famous for
his catholic faith, and when you see the famous Holy week of Seville or
Castilla, with all that people, you can say, well, catholic faith is still
present here. But at my university i can´t see that my mates were more
catholics than my swedish cousins were lutherans. And a lot of my spanish
mates like to participate at the Holy Week in Easter. I don´t know México,
and perhaps is different and  indians are preserving theirs cultures, but
reading the mexican nobel prize Octavio Paz you can´t be too optimist ( and
about Hindu nationalism he wrote a wonderful essay).Perhaps beyond all
those presences we will not able to find any "Real Presence". Paz said once
that "Pedro Páramo" by Rulfo ( a book Borges considered the best novel
written in spanish of this century) was the best image of mexican
countrymen and their world, do you think  that culture will be alive in 50
years?
Panikkar is not a romantic, as I believe Ej isn´t. He is not against
technology but against a technological civilization without place for the
poetical experience. And I´ve only tried to explain his point of view.
So I let each of you draw the conclusion and as usual I invite to comment
Dani