If you look to society, you're going to get a resounding yes, these systems are needed. Our society, as it currently exists, is based enormously on systems of morals that tell us right from wrong, so of course society is going to say you need these systems, because society itself is based upon these systems. Since you were a child, society's morals were forced upon you, repeated constantly until they became unconscious behaviors, reinforced through rewards for obedience, and punishment for disobedience.
So how moral is society, really? Look at the big rule, "don't kill". That's not really the rule though, is it? It doesn't apply to plants and animals, so it's more like "don't kill other people", but that's still not how it really works, is it? We're taught that sometimes it's okay to kill, so the actual rule is something like "don't kill other people, except when the authority you serve tells you it's okay". That's how it really works, that's the paradigm most people operate under. Sometimes your religion, government or tribe tells you it's okay to kill, and then you can go kill people and it won't be wrong, right?
"Don't kill other people, except when authority tells you it's okay" when put that way, one of society's core morals doesn't sound so moral, does it? What happens when authority becomes corrupt? A better question would ask what would happen if authority wasn't corrupt, that's more of a mystery.
Then there's "don't steal", which is another rule that has a whole lot of exceptions. It's all tied up in the illusion of ownership, and I say illusion because ownership is an abstract concept, it's not directly represented by reality. For example, two people can believe they own the same thing and disagree about who owns it. In each person's mind, it's their's, but that's the only place ownership really exists, in the mind. Stealing is taking something from someone, and saying "I own this now". In our society, that's considered wrong, except in certain situations, like when the government approves, then it's permitted.
Ultimately, it's always the individual that determines right from wrong, but then often a government or religious "authority" comes along and tells us whether or not we made the right choice. On the surface this seems innocent enough, there's even people who believe this is a good thing, but it's really a recipe for tyranny and injustice. Let's suppose I really don't want to kill people, in fact, let's suppose I decide for myself that it's immoral to fund a government that murders and terrorizes people on a daily basis. Suppose I don't want to fund a government that goes against the very constitution it's sworn to uphold, so I stop paying my taxes. If I've got something worth taking, like a house, sooner or later the government is going to come collect what they believe I owe them. They will take it by force if I don't submit, and I can be killed for resisting. This is all legal under the rules of the people who are in charge of our moral systems. A differing in opinion about what constitutes morality can be dealt with very harshly.
The greatest justice is created through compassion, which is something a system of morality isn't capable of. Compassion requires actual presence, it's always different because each person is unique. Compassion is spontaneous, not systematic. A moral system is always based in the past, it cannot adapt to each unique situation. Our legal system even acknowledges this, that's why we have juries. A random group of people can tell right from wrong better than a system of cold, unfeeling rules.
Do we need external systems of morality? Absolutely not, we've only been taught that we need these systems, and that teaching is a part of the systems themselves. And you're not told specifically that these systems are needed, it's more subtle than that. You're taught to be afraid of losing these systems. You're taught that the world would be even more violent and chaotic without these systems. You're taught that you're a bad person for not following these systems. Last but not least, you're threatened with what will happen if you don't follow the systems.
Consciousness is naturally ethical, if you're truly aware of what happens when you harm another, you don't do it anymore. If you're really conscious, you can't help but feel the connection you have to everyone else. Then you start seeing the behaviors that perpetuate suffering and you stop feeding into them. Things like greed end automatically, because you see the damage it does, not only to others, but to yourself as well.
There's no mental system that can substitute for real consciousness. Consciousness is eternally adaptable, while a mental system is always defined by its limits. A moral system doesn't even teach you to tell right from wrong, it teaches you to follow someone else's opinions about what right and wrong mean. That's robotic, artificial, it's not authentic goodness. It's more about obedience than morality, and under the guise of creating good, it has enabled some of history's greatest evils.
We're told we need these enforced moral systems because people behave unconsciously, and yet these systems encourage unconscious behavior. Your government needs you to be unconscious, to not really see things for yourself, and to be told what to think. It's survival depends upon this, otherwise there'd be a revolution, and the governments would go back to serving the people.
There really isn't any systematic approach that can lead you back to consciousness. This is why I disagree with religion. I'm not even sure religion is any better than the materialist approach, at least materialists are more honest with themselves. I don't recommend either approach, don't trade one system of unconscious behavior for another and call it real progress. It's a painfully slow kind of advancement, that goes back and forth for generations.
Your consciousness already is. It's already here, now, and in an absolutely perfect divine form. Consciousness doesn't need any fancy systems, in fact, all the fancy systems are what gets in the way of true consciousness. You know hoarders, those people who refuse to get rid of anything and have huge piles of junk in their homes? That's the way it is between most people and their minds. Their minds have become hordes of unneeded junk that suck up all their attention and energy. The irony of this is that people's thinking would be much more clear if they weren't always caught up in their minds. A step back would allow for a much larger perspective.
The Galactic Free Press
No copyright, share/edit freely
If you feel this writing has helped you, please consider returning the favor with a donation.
