A
Survey of the Transcendent Perspective
in Ancient Traditions
This essay relies and builds upon the metaphysical
world view discussed elsewhere and it is closely related to the
essays:
Systemic Health,
The
Akashic Field,
The Two
Perspectives Empirical / Transcendent,
The
Akashic Field and Systemic Health,
Meanings
of Words subtle analogies in ancient sayings,
for more quotes
from the scriptures see these Correspondences
with Ancient Metaphysical Paradigms: a survey of information
theoretic principles in ancient wisdom.
More recent related articles can be found on the blog, such as Computational Metaphysics and Vedic Metaphysics, Hiranyagarbha and Virtual Reality Analogy Alongside Science and Mysticism.
Traditions:
Vedanta
Bhagavad Gita
Sri
Ramana Maharshi
Taoism
Mystic
Christianity
Sufism
The transcendent perspective or state of being is one of the
fundamental messages conveyed by all ancient traditions and sacred
knowledge. It has been so profoundly misunderstood over time and at
times also deliberately corrupted to disempower and enslave people by
their confusion and ignorance. Below I undertake a brief survey of
some of the ancient traditions that I have personally explored, but
these concepts would surely be found in all of them.
This is not in any sense a comprehensive survey, it is just a number of quotes and comments that I have jumbled together here, mostly by randomly opening books and synchronistically accumulating quotes upon which to comment. My method is purely random, relying on synchronistic guidance from the world rather than an exhaustive search.
The ancient language of Sanskrit effectively provides a detailed scientific nomenclature for the science of reality, of the transcendent realm, the empirical realm and of being in the world. In that language the state of oneness with ones Self and abiding in holistic systemic harmony is referred to a sahaja samadhi and when it becomes ones permanent and natural state of being it is referred to as sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi. It is a state of liberation from delusion and suffering, but one is still firmly grounded in ones physical body, but one is also firmly grounded in the true reality of ones transcendent / empirical manifestation and can therefore Be ones Self and dwell in reality.
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“He who sees the Supreme Lord [underlying transcendent process], who is present equally in all creatures [empirical forms], who is not destroyed even when they are, he may be said to have truly perceived. Perceiving the Lord as equally pervading everywhere, he does not let his self-sense [empirical egoic delusion] destroy his true Self [awareness of ones transcendent nature] and, in that way, he attains a state of excellence [true understanding and alignment with reality]. He who perceives that all aspects of actions are performed only through prakriti [nature] and also that the self is a non-doer [the ego has no control], he may be said to have truly perceived. On perceiving that the multifarious aspect of things is located in one point [separation is a distorted view of an underlying unity], from where it extends severally, he attains the Brahman.” (Bhagavad Gita, chpt 13: 27 – 30)
--==--==--==--==--
“Though all actions are done by the constituents of nature (prakriti), the ignorant one, deluded by his egoism, regards himself as the doer.
But ... he who realises that these constituents and the actions are both distinct from himself, and that it is only the constituents interacting together, does not grow attached.
People who are deluded by the constituents of prakriti get attached to the actions they produce.
Even the wise man acts according to his own nature. All created beings follow their own inclination. Then what use is restraint?
There is a fixed order of attraction and repulsion between each sense and its object. Let no one come under their domination, for they are marauding enemies of men.
One's own dharma [essential law of one's being], imperfect though it may be, is far better than the dharma of another, however well discharged. It is better to die engaged in one's own dharma, for it is risky to follow the dharma of another.” (Bhagavad Gita, chpt 3: 27 – 29, 33 – 35)
--==--==--==--==--
“Wisdom is enveloped by ignorance: thereby creatures are bewildered. But for those in whom ignorance is destroyed by wisdom, for them wisdom lights up the Supreme Self like the sun. Thinking of That, directing their whole conscious being to That, making That their whole aim, with That as the sole object of their devotion, they reach a state from which there is no return, their sins [delusions] washed away by wisdom.” (Bhagavad Gita, chpt 5:15-17)
--==--==--==--==--
“He whose mind is steady and devoid of confusion, that knower of the Brahman is established in the Brahman. He whose soul is not attached to external contacts finds that bliss which is in the Self. Such a man, disciplined in yoga through his union with Brahman, enjoys unending bliss. Those pleasures arising out of contacts (with external objects) are only the origin of unhappiness, for they have a beginning and an end... a wise man does not delight in them.
Those sages... who have lost their dualities, who have achieved self-control and find happiness in the good of all, attain the release of being one with the Brahman.” (Bhagavad Gita, chpt 5:20-22, 25)
--==--==--==--==--
“That state wherein the mind is at rest... wherein himself sees his Self and rejoices in the Self, wherein he experiences that supreme bliss only realised by the intellect and unattainable by the senses and, steadied there, no longer diverges from the Truth... This state... severs the union with pain.” (Bhagavad Gita, chpt 6:20-21, 23)
--==--==--==--==--
To quote another source of wisdom from the same tradition I will quote some of the words of Sri Ramana Maharshi, recorded in the 1930's and presented in the book “Conscious Immortality”, published by the Sri Ramanasramam Tiruvannamalai, 1996.
“Sannyasa [renunciation] is the giving up of the ego... So long as a person thinks that they are a sannyasin, they are not one. So long as one does not think of world-illusion, one is not worldly, but is a real sannyasin.
Where is renunciation? It is not outside us, it is here (pointing to the heart). Where is solitude? In the mind. We must achieve these things within ourselves. The Kingdom of Heaven is to be found within us.
(when asked the question) Is it not, giving up possessions?
(he replied) The possessor too.” (re: Sannyasa or Renunciation)
--==--==--==--==--
(when asked the question) “What should we meditate on?”
(he replied) “Who is the meditator? Ask that question first. Remain as the meditator, then there is no need to meditate. It is the sense of doership that is the impediment to dhyana [attainment of a true meditative state of being].” (Re: Objects of Meditation)
--==--==--==--==--
“What is it that had birth? Whom do you call a human being? If, instead of seeking explanations for birth, death and after-death, the question is raised as to who and how you are now, these questions will not arise...
The body is born again and again. We wrongly identify ourselves with the body, and hence imagine we are reincarnated constantly. No. We must identify ourselves with the true Self. The realised one enjoys unbroken consciousness, never broken by birth or death – how can he die? Only those who think 'I am the body' talk of reincarnation. To those who know 'I am the Self' there is no rebirth.
Reincarnations only exist so long as there is ignorance. There is no incarnation, either now, before or hereafter. This is the truth.” (re: Rebirth and After-Death)
I have already undertaken an analysis of the hexagram Mountain from the I Ching in a different context. This hexagram represents the state of being wholly ones Self and thereby being in harmony with the cosmos. In the I Ching it is said that all things find completion in Mountain. It is the stillness that contains all motion. This hexagram is intimately related to this issue as are most of them in various ways.
{{more I Ching quotes}}
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The following are some related quotes from the “Tao Te Ching” (an ancient Taoist text), by the mythical sage Lao Tzu; trans D. C. Lau, Penguin Classics, 1963.
“... the sage keeps to the deed that consists in taking no action and practices the teaching that uses no words.”
Here words are related to objectification which is related to the materialistic or mechanistic delusion. Only within the context of the mechanistic delusion is there a doer that must take action and are there things that one may speak of. Hence “The way that can be spoken is not the constant way ... the nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth; the named was the mother of the myriad creatures”. Only through the materialistic delusion does one see the myriad egos all struggling within a mechanistic context.
--==--==--==--==--
“The myriad creatures rise from it yet it claims no authority; It gives them life yet claims no possession; It benefits them yet exacts no gratitude; It accomplishes its task yet lays claim to no merit.
It is because it lays claim to no merit that its merit never deserts it.”
This quote is in regards to the nameless; to ecosystems and organisms prior to their objectification and to the transcendent foundation that is the underlying reality or the uncarved block.
It does not succumb to the egoic delusion, thereby undermining its communion with reality and drifting into dysfunction and decay. In this way it is a constant source of creation in the world.
--==--==--==--==--
“The reason why heaven and earth are enduring is that they do not give themselves life. Hence they are able to be long lived.”
I.e. they remain true to themselves and do not engage in delusion by perceiving themselves and interpreting themselves and imposing these limited perceptions back on themselves.
The development of collective awareness is an important step in the progression of creation, however it opens one up to the egoic delusion. Thus the development of collective awareness is the undoing of many a collective, however if that collective whole can overcome or see through its delusion it can survive and attain to even greater power and glory because of its collective awareness. Thus an ecosystem produces a society that may either destroy the ecosystem out of egoic (institutionalised) delusion and a culture of exploitation and abuse, or it may augment and extend that ecosystem in profoundly creative ways leading on to ever greater life. Or an organism may produce a consciousness that may either destroy it out of egoic delusion and a lifestyle of hedonistic abuse, or this consciousness may overcome its delusion, regain harmony with the organism and thereby augment and exalt that organism to ever greater heights.
In this way a worm is less deluded and therefore more enlightened than the average human but when a human pulls themselves together and attains enlightenment they have far greater potential than the average worm. In this way the development of collective awareness is a stage in our growth as well as a test of our worthiness for existence. If our egos or institutions succumb to egoic delusion and attempt to own and control the world they will become trapped in that world illusion and there they will suffer and drive themselves into extinction. If our egos and institutions overcome their egoic delusions then they may assist us in attaining blissfully harmonious and creative states of being. But ultimately peace only arises through the attainment of Truth and this implies the annihilation of all such egoic beings, since they are products of ignorance and misunderstanding.
--==--==--==--==--
“A man of highest virtue [inner connectedness to the Way] does not keep to virtue [the cultural conception of right conduct] and that is why he has virtue. A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue and that is why he is without virtue. The former never acts yet leaves nothing undone. The latter acts but there are things left undone.
A man of the highest benevolence acts, but from no ulterior motive. A man of the highest rectitude acts, but from ulterior motive.
A man most conversant in the rites acts, but when no one responds rolls up his sleeves and resorts to persuasion by force.
Hence when the way was lost there was virtue; when virtue was lost there was benevolence; when benevolence was lost there was rectitude; when rectitude was lost there were the rites.
The rites are the wearing thin of loyalty and good faith, and the beginning of disorder; foreknowledge is the flowery embellishment of the way and the beginning of folly.”
This passage describes the descent from reality into delusion by subtle degrees, whereby the state of natural effortlessness is lost and obscured by deliberate effort. If one can just Be, one naturally flows according to the Way. As soon as one starts to think about it one devolves into folly since ones essence is being channelled through ones mind where it becomes corrupted by the illusion of separate mechanistic existence and the natural essence is lost. That which is natural becomes that which is deliberate and the dwelling in reality is lost. The state of mechanistic delusion produces at first deliberate acts of benevolence that arise out of a desire to be selfless, but delusion has set in and before long one acts with rectitude because one thinks one should be selfless, but underneath one is being selfish. Then comes pure affectation or hollow ritual where one acts out of habit or meaningless expectation and so long as one follows the rites it matters not what ones motive or agenda is. This hypocrisy destroys good faith and loyalty wears thin since there is no sincerity and trustworthiness, only affectation and hypocrisy. Then when people become cynical and all good faith is lost the rites cease to be effective and people are totally trapped in the mechanistic paradigm, hence they roll up their sleeves (i.e. get practical and realistic in the mechanistic context) and things devolve completely into the use of brute force.
This sounds very much like the modern history of politics, both on a domestic level within nations and on a global level between nations. It inspired me to write a short story called “Descent into Chaos” in which I explore an allegorical communal situation to illustrate some of the dynamics.
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“I do my utmost to attain emptiness;
I hold firmly to
stillness.
The miriad creatures all rise together
And I watch
their return.
The teaming creatures
All return to their
separate roots.
Return to one's roots is known as stillness.
This
is what is meant by returning to one's destiny.
Returning to one's
destiny is known as the constant.
Knowledge of the constant is
known as discernment.
Woe to him who wilfully innovates
while
ignorant of the constant,
But should one act from knowledge of the
constant
One's action will lead to imapartiality,
Inpartiality
to kingliness,
Kingliness to heaven,
Heaven to the way,
The
way to perpetuity,
And to the end of one's days one will meet with
no danger.”
--==--==--==--==--
“The way is for ever nameless.
Though the uncarved block
is small
No one in the world dare claim its allegiance.
Should
lords and princes be able to hold fast to it
The myriad creatures
will submit of their own accord,
Heaven and earth will unite and
sweet dew will fall,
And the people will be equitable, though no
one so decrees.
Only when it [the uncarved block] is cut
are there names.
As soon as there are names
One ought to know
that it is time to stop.
Knowing when to stop one can be free from
danger.”
--==--==--==--==--
“Block the openings,
Shut the doors,
And all your life
will not run dry.
Unblock the openings,
Add to your
troubles,
And to the end of your days you will be beyond
salvation”
--==--==--==--==--
“The five colours make man's eyes blind;
The five notes
make his ears deaf;
The five tastes injure his palate;
Riding
and hunting
Make his mind go wild with excitement;
Goods hard
to come by
Serve to hinder his progress.”
--==--==--==--==--
“When the uncarved block shatters it becomes vessels.”
Vessels refers to officials who have ability but are unfit to be rulers, this refers to semi-inanimate objects. When we fragment the unity with a mechanistic coneptual filter we produce a world of objects rather than whole beings.
This message of liberation from delusion leading to greater life was one of the principle messages of Christ and can be clearly discerned throughout the new testament although its meaning has been much obscured by institutionalised Christianity. I will here present a few quotes, and comments focusing mainly on “The Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew,5-7) since it is a good summary of Christ's teachings.
It is an interesting coincidence that the title of that sermon could be interpreted as “The Sermon Regarding Mountain” which ties it in with the I Ching.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” (Mat:5:3-9)
All these are blessed because they do not cling to the mechanistic conception of reality but to the underlying transcendent conception. They seek not to act through and against the world but with the world. Hence they will come into ever greater communion with Truth and thereby into ever greater Life, whereas those that cling to the mechanistic delusion will come into ever greater conflict with Truth.
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” (Mat:5:27,28)
It is not just the mechanical actions in the world that have significance, indeed of far greater significance is the subtle transcendent dynamics occurring behind the scenes. By objectifying another as an object of egoic lust one defiles oneself and the other; one reinforces the egoic delusion in both, and herein lies the sin, since that delusion blinds one to reality and leads one to act inappropriately in any given context.
“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” (Mat:5:29)
If ones perceptions lead one into delusion such delusions may lead ones entire being into suffering and destruction. He then speaks of ones hand and cutting it off, this is ones actions, that reinforce the mechanistic delusion within the world and bring suffering upon one. By seeing or acting through the mechanistic delusion one is reinforcing it and is moving further away from truth, life and joy.
“Again, ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all: neither by heaven ... nor by the earth ... neither by Jerusalem [earthly kingdom] ... Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black [ones ego is not the sovereign of ones body]. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Mat:5:33-37)
In a similar manner to the Tao Te Ching this relates words and discriminative thinking with objectification and the materialistic egoic delusion. In saying yea and nay one recognises ones reality without imposing ones concepts upon it, anything more than this rests upon a foundation of delusion and thus it “cometh of evil”.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also... Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you ... That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil, and on the good ... Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Mat:5:38-48)
The advice is to avoid the temptation to engage with the materialistic world through the lens of egoic delusion and to seek to manipulate it in mechanistic ways. Even if ones intentions are good one is only reinforcing delusion and evil. Hence do not resist evil by engaging in evil (i.e. mechanistic delusion) but in all mechanistic respects remain passive on that level and act through the transcendent realm, through the Akashic field, wherein dwells ones true Self, wherein dwells ones Father, and wherein lies unlimited power and potential. Therefore call upon the divine law of the cosmos not upon the laws of man and empire, seek protection from the natural laws of the cosmos and ones harmonious integration into these, no earthly authority can protect you if you go against God. Furthermore, do not bestow the bounty of heaven selectively as if it was scarce, and do not impose ones own judgements upon the world and say, this one is good and that one is bad, but bestow it freely upon the entire cosmos, since there is no separation and to separate one from the other is to engage in evil. If one bestows the bounty of heavenly virtue upon all creatures then one is a child of God, one is a channel for divine energies and one is filled with the holy spirit and there is light in life.
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven... But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand knoweth what thy right hand doeth: that thy alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Mat:6:1-4)
Do not partake in virtuous or spiritual activities for worldly reasons, for that is futile. One must store up ones virtue in heaven (or purify ones being and thereby come to dwell in reality). This is a work of inner transformation and by making it a part of an outer or worldly game one disrupts the inner evolution.
Jesus then speaks in a similar manner regarding prayer, that it is “in secret”, it is an inner activity that is not composed of particular actions or words i.e. “use not vain repetitions ... for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him”. Prayer is not a magical incantation by which one extracts what ones ego desires from the world, it is the building and strengthening of ones bond with ones inner Self, with ones inner reality and thereby with the reality of the cosmos. Jesus then relates the words of a prayer that is known by many Christians as “the Lord's Prayer” but this is not an incantation or a vain repetition, through this Jesus is conveying an attitude only, a feeling within the heart, for it is the feeling in the heart that is the true prayer, all else is simply a modification of the mind that detracts from the prayer.
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Mat:6:9-13)
The attitude of prayer is not of asking for this and that desire in the world, it is one of strengthening the bond and the relationship that one has with the transcendent realm. An attitude of recognising the dependence that ones ego has on ones true Self and thereby coming, by degrees to dwell in ones true Self. It is an attitude of humility and reverence, but not the kind that places God on a distant and unreachable pedestal, for God is our innermost being; it is an attitude of closeness and dependence. It is also a recognition of the inevitability of the descent of the kingdom of heaven (underlying transcendent reality) down into earth (materialistic delusion); it is a recognition of the inevitability of our own attainment of reality and liberation from delusion or of the transitoriness of ignorance, darkness and suffering. It recognises that we are not the doers in the world, it is the will of the Father that “will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”.
Furthermore, by 'trespasses' is meant the imposition of our mechanistic delusion upon the world around us, upon other beings and upon ourselves. If we resent such trespasses upon us and we develop a grudge, that is itself a mechanistic trespass and we become bound within the delusion. Hence, to break out of the cycle of recrimination that binds us into the delusion we must forgive. This is not a nicety, it is not something that one can take or leave, it is a deep and powerful step toward reality and away from the delusion that leads to suffering and destruction. It is vital to the attainment of greater Life.
For our own trespasses to be forgiven is for our inner being to overcome the abuses that accumulate due to our mechanistic conception of ourselves and the abuses that accumulate due to the mechanisation of our world. Only in this way can the organic and transcendent cohesion persist, otherwise there is decay, disease and destruction. To Jesus, there was no difference between healing a disease and forgiving sins, the two are the same. (see Mat:9:2-7)
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Mat:6:14-15)
Words such as 'virtue' and 'trespass' or 'sin' have too often been misunderstood (for more details on this see the essay on The Meanings of Words). These words do not refer to an arbitrary system of positive and negative points that one scores and which are dealt out by some centralised authority such as a hierophant, a church bureaucracy or an all powerful white haired being upon a cloud, as if in some mechanistic game. Too often transcendent truths are interpreted through a mechanistic delusion and are thereby corrupted so that they become utter nonsense. This turns many people away from transcendent truth and into the world or arbitrary human opinion and arbitrary human laws and power. Such people come to see sacred truth as a trap for the superstitious but it is the mechanistic world of arbitrary opinion that is a very subtle trap for the superstitious. Also refer to the comments regarding Christianity and the Beast for a discussion of the sustained attack upon sacred truths that has shaped much of Western history.
In the same way that the I Ching speaks of clouds rising to heaven and storing up heavenly virtue, so too does Jesus say: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt ... For where your treasure is there will your heart be also” (Mat:6:19-21)
This is related to earlier comments regarding the heart, how it is the means through which one relates with ones world, hence it determines the world that one ultimately dwells in. Furthermore, storing up heavenly virtue is transforming ones being and coming to dwell in reality, thus if ones treasures are in heaven and ones heart is in heaven then one perceives and dwells on the transcendent level of existence, whereas if ones treasures are in earth and ones heart is in earth then one perceives and dwells on the materialistic and mechanistic level of existence.
Following on directly from this he says “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Mat:6:22-23)
The light is truth, it is the essence of that which is. The 'world' is a perceptual construct and the eye mentioned above is the lens or the conceptual framework that we use to perceive and experience our world. If one interprets things realistically, then one perceives the unity and oneness of all things and ones eye is single. One then perceives, experiences and responds to truth and reality, thus “thy whole body shall be full of light”.
If one interprets things mechanistically, then one perceives the illusion of separation and egoic struggle and ones eye is evil, in that it contains delusion and it propagates delusion into ones world and through one out into the greater world. If ones very eye is evil, then one cannot help but perceive, experience and respond through the lens of the mechanistic delusion and in every way one is bound within that delusion, thus “thy whole body shall be full of darkness”, i.e. delusion or ignorance. If even ones greatest and purest knowledge is founded upon delusion then “the light that is in thee be darkness” and all words are confusing, all actions inappropriate and all paths lead further into suffering. Often the harder one tries to channel light, one only channels more darkness since ones very being is composed of darkness. To be a channel for light one must first clear the shadows that obscure ones Self, then ones eye cannot help but be single and ones whole being cannot help but be radiant with light.
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mat:6:24)
Here Jesus is not just talking about any two ordinary masters in the world or any ordinary type of serving, that is just an analogy, the masters he speaks of are the two perspectives or paradigms; the mechanistic and the mystic (i.e. the empirical and transcendent states of existence). These paradigms are mutually exclusive, one cannot hold to both since to hold to one is to reject the other. Either one interprets and experiences through the lens of the mystic paradigm and one thereby dwells in the transcendent plane or one interprets and experiences through the lens of the mechanistic paradigm and one thereby dwells in the materialistic or empirical plane.
To dwell in the transcendent cosmos is to sing ones way through life with a devoted heart, forever in harmonious communion with the cosmic field, and thus fully participating in the process of creation and thereby serving God. To dwell in the empirical cosmos is to be an isolated egoic being, a confused and fragile creature, driven by desire and fear, a worldly creature seeking personal happiness and individual benefit, seeking earthly power and wealth, engaging in the worldly struggle and playing the game of life and thereby turning the wheels of the juggernaut within which one has become a cog amidst the mechanism and in this way one comes to serve mammon, the god of greed and lust for earthly power. In the light of this interpretation it is clear that “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”.
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?” (Mat:6:25)
He is saying, do not be the doer and get caught up in all the things that you think need doing, these are all a delusion arising from a fundamental misunderstanding. There is more to reality than the mechanistic delusion can comprehend, there is the entire transcendent plane of existence as well; “Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”, there is also the essence within the form.
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Mat:6:26)
You are not isolated fragments cast adrift in a hostile world where you must scratch in the dirt to fend for yourselves, that is just how it seems when seen only through the mechanistic delusion. You are sacred and beloved children of your Father in heaven who is All Mighty, you are fundamental and essential aspects of the cosmos, gestures in the cosmic dance and sparks of the one fire. That is how it seems when seen in reality, through an eye that is single.
“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his
stature?
... your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all
these things [food, clothes, etc].” (Mat:6:27-32)
It is pointless to succumb to the delusion of isolated responsibility and to become the controller, since as an isolated ego you have virtually no awareness and no power, and you are starting from a position of error and confusion. By trying to take control one interferes with the flow and imposes ones delusions upon the reality, but by going with the flow everything happens as it should. That doesn't mean doing nothing, it means acting without the egoic delusion, being real, being natural, being in ones element rather than lost in ones egoic story.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mat:6:33)
First resolve the fundamental misunderstanding and then all the many things and countless desires and fears and confusions will evaporate and you will then know the Truth. Everything you need will be provided and once you have attained a firm grip of your true nature and your attachments to delusions are broken then you may participate in the world fully without being led astray by the world. One who seeks worldly power will be led into destruction but one who seeks Truth and Reality may be caused to wield great earthly power in the service of God. But one must have righteousness and firmness in the transcendent perspective otherwise the ego is aroused and delusions arise that darken the light and spread evil.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Mat:6:34)
Therefore, don't plan and control in a mechanistic sense, since the cosmos is beyond your control, it will evolve however it must according to its nature, of which you are an aspect. It is not up to you to provide your future, in truth there is no you, nor is there any future in the typical sense, all these concepts arise from the mechanistic delusion. The cosmic dance of light will flow and change as it will, and that part of the cosmos that you think of as “me” and “my world” will have changed in harmony with the entire cosmos; thus “the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself”. There is no chance here for that-part-of-the-cosmos-that-you-think-of-as-“me” to exert any coherent influence in the form of a mechanistic isolated being. As a part of the whole pattern it participates in the whole process but the isolated being component only arises through false perception and misunderstanding, thus it has no intrinsic reality and no power whatsoever. Everything that is done through such an egoic stance is fundamentally out of harmony with reality. Thus when a being attains realisation of their true Self, the ego evaporates since it only persisted out of delusion and all their later actions are in accord with the way.
Do not project your present delusions onto your future, your delusion of that day on the day will be sufficient evil (confusion, misunderstanding) for that day, so do not heap more onto this by obsessing about your future and fearing it or investing it with unreasonable expectations. Furthermore, do not add to your present day's evil by allowing an imagined future to fuel your present delusions, in this way one loses touch with the moment and it is only now that things exist and happen, it is in the moment that reality exists. Thus to lose touch with the moment is to lose touch with reality and only ever experience it through thought patterns that revolve around memory and expectation and which ultimately arise from the mechanistic delusion.
“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Mat:7:1-2)
This is related to the earlier comments on 'trespass', by judging we are imposing a mechanistic delusion upon the world and creating a materialistic world that will objectify us as material objects and we all become entangled within a mechanistic nightmare. Especially when it comes to inflicting harmful punishments to supposedly correct an injustice, to what extent is one simply adding to evil in the world.
Furthermore, in all these matters do not just think of things happening to others, for there is no separation, each other is an intimate self, a divine manifestation of life, and each such self is an intimate part of the true Self that is God. Thus these passages do not call upon selfishness and ask one to always think of oneself as the only way to think properly of others but it encourages us to see the oneness behind all separation.
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” (Mat:7:3-5)
Ones eye is ones instinctive conceptual framework or metaphysics, not the conscious type but subconscious, by which one constructs ones reality. If this is flawed then the whole reality that one experiences is flawed and any action arising from those experiences will be flawed. Therefore, before you try and impose yourself on others, see that you are able to perceive reality and to act appropriately, otherwise one is simply being inappropriate and is spreading dysfunction and creating tension, which results in cycles of repercussions that further binds oneself and others into the mechanistic delusion of strife, struggle and suffering. Therefore “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness”.
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Mat:7:6)
That which is holy and sacred is that which points the way out of the delusion. Those who are firmly in the grip of the delusion cannot comprehend such things and are likely to abuse, misuse, destroy and obscure anything holy that comes their way. They may respond in all manner of ways, with fear, with greed, with condescension and so on. In casting such things before such beings one draws attention to oneself and they may turn on you, one thinking that you're a demon, another thinking that you're a tree of valuable timber and another thinking that you are a patient needing treatment. Each in their own way will impose their delusion upon you and you will be assaulted in inappropriate ways by the delusion that dwells within them.
That has been the fate of many of Gods messengers throughout history, they are like lambs to the slaughter, and yet they continue to come. But do not risk yourself needlessly for then it would be without gain, but when in the service of God, everything is in accord with the way. Then one shall speak the Truth and break thereby, if need be.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”
If one is centred as ones true Self and flowing with the way (wu wei) then ones movement is a part of the movement of the cosmos and the whole cosmos moves with you; the abundance and power of the entire cosmos lies behind every step you take. All that you need will be at hand, nothing will be amiss, all you seek will be apparent and nowhere is bared to one who manifests the will of the cosmos.
The soul or transcendent pattern that underlies the manifestation of the individual being is a fluctuating pattern in a field of light, this light flows and resonates within the field. All that is arises from the field, the field is the maker and sustainer of all things, it is ultimately through the field that all changes arise. Whilst in embodied form the empirical being experiences this as tuning in to a surrounding field of energies and through this field they interact with the world at large. Much like vision in a field of light but using the intuition or the whole mind instead of any one sense or just the intellect. In this context nothing is impossible, this field can fluctuate in any conceivable manner, thus reality is infinitely plastic.
Those who imagine and vision their way in life know that all that they can conceive of or fashion within their creative genius, can be brought to bear within the world of manifestation. Since the image has formed within their mind, that means it has already formed in the field, but in an internal space, but patterns of information can be projected between these spaces and sustained projection results in manifestation. This works in both ways, in the same way that environment effects consciousness, consciousness also effects environment. This happens in subtle ways all the time, but when ones internal space is deeply attuned to the cosmic process then ones inner vision can be a perfect mirror of the cosmos. Herein lies the origin of prophecy and magic.
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Mat:7:12)
This relates to karma. The energies that you give out into the world are not random, they are used by the world as part of higher level processes. These energies are channelled and give rise to productive work in the overall creative process or the cosmic metabolism.
All events in the world are the empirical shadow of transcendent processes, thus all phenomena have deep causal roots. There are coherent movements and processes occurring within the cosmic field and energies flow in intricately inter-connected ways. When a being engages in action the world channels energies at them and they transform these through themselves, but on another level patterns simply flow and fluctuate.
If the cosmos is about to pour out its cup of wrath in full measure upon your head then there is nought that can be done to stop it, and this transcendent flow will manifest via some seemingly earthly mechanism (although this is just the shadow cast within our empirically bound consciousness). We are not afflicted by divine bolts of lightning, it is disease or poverty or violence or oppression that afflicts us. This is the world acting back on us, just as when it gives abundance and vitality and beauty and peace and joy. But in all ways the energies can be seen to act through the world, since they leave traces or a wake of effects.
Thus our acting in the world is in accordance with these movements in the field, when we project an energy into the world this resonates with different currents and the field directs our flow. By projecting loving energy, that energy resonates with the world and the world directs us into situations where that energy can manifest and the world makes use of that energy. So too with all the various types of subtle energies. Just as if you project violent energy the world will quite likely use you for violent purposes, perhaps as a soldier or a psychopath, each has their part to play in the cosmic drama at different times.
Thus the energies flowing through you are indicative of the role that you are serving and also of the types of energies that you are entangled with. If everyone you know is a trained killer, then you're probably not a saint. Thus if you desire a world of love, peace, joy, creative growth and vitality then it is a good idea to ensure that the energies that one is channelling are positive. If you draw from positive sources you are exposed to positive influences, if your interpretations are positive you are adding to the positivity of all that flows through you and you are cultivating the light, and if all your actions are positive the world will find positive productive uses for them and thereby subtly brighten the light throughout the world and you will engage in positive encounters leading to further growth. Thus there is a positive resonance that explodes into life, hence, as some friends of mine once realised, Positive Energy Activates Constant Elevation or P.E.A.C.E. leads to ever greater Life.
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Below are some quotes from Rumi or Jelaluddin Balkhi (1207 – 1273) taken from the book “Rumi: Selected Poems”; Penguin; trans Coleman Banks, 1995.
“It's the man who was looking for treasure... He wants me to finish his story...
Don't think of him as a seeker, though. Whatever he's looking for, he is that himself. How can a lover be anything but the beloved?
Every second he's bowing into a mirror. If he could see for just a second one molecule of what's there without fantasizing about it, he'd explode.
His imagination and he himself, would vanish, with all his knowledge, obliterated into a new birth, a perfectly clear view, a voice that says, I am God.
That same voice told the angels to bow to Adam, because they were identical with Adam.
It's the voice that first said, There is no reality but God. There is only God.”
(from the poem In Between Stories)
--==--==--==--==--
“Love has taken away my practices
and filled me with
poetry...
I used to be respectable and chaste and stable,
but who can
stand in this strong wind
and remember those things?
A mountain keeps an echo deep inside itself.
That's how I
hold your voice.
I am scrap wood thrown in your fire,
and quickly reduced to
smoke.
I saw you and became empty.
This emptiness, more beautiful
than existence,
it obliterates existence, and yet when it
comes,
existence thrives and creates more existence!
The sky is blue. The world is a blind man
squatting on the
road.
But whoever sees your emptiness
sees beyond blue and beyond
the blind man.
A great soul hides like Muhammad, or Jesus,
moving through a
crowd in a city
where no one knows him...
Why should we grieve that we've been sleeping?
It doesn't
matter how long we've been unconscious.
We're groggy, but let the guilt go.
Feel the motions of
tenderness
around you, the buoyancy.” (from the poem
Buoyancy)
In general Rumi uses the word 'empty' in a way similar to 'sunyata' in Buddhism. The state of emptiness or formlessness, which is the uncarved block of the Taoists.
--==--==--==--==--
“Jesus on the lean donkey,
this is an emblem of how the
rational intellect
should control the animal-soul.
Let your spirit be strong like Jesus.
If that part becomes
weak,
then the worn-out donkey grows to a dragon.” (from the
poem Jesus on the lean donkey)
--==--==--==--==--
“Consider the difference
in our actions and God's actions.
We often ask, “Why did you do that?”
or “Why did I act
like that?”
We do act, and yet everything we do
is God's creative
action.
We look back and analyse the events
of our lives, but there
is another way
of seeing, a backward-and-forward-at-once
vision,
that is not rationally understandable.
Only God can understand it.
...
Ignorance is God's prison.
Knowing is God's palace.
We sleep in God's unconsciousness.
We wake in God's open
hand.
...
Who are we then
in this complicated world-tangle,
that is
really just the single, straight
line down at the beginning of
ALLAH?
Nothing.
We are
emptiness.” (from the poem
Emptiness)
--==--==--==--==--
“When you are with everyone but me, you're with no one.
When
you are with no one but me, you're with everyone.
Instead of being
so bound up with everyone, be everyone.
When you become that many,
you're nothing. Empty.” (untitled)
Thus speaks the voice of the Oneness; the voice of ones Soul and of God.
--==--==--==--==--
“Don't run around this world
looking for a hole to hide
in.
There are wild beast in every cave!...
The only real rest comes
when you're alone with God.
Live in the nowhere that you came from,
even though you have
an address here.
That's why you see things in two ways...
You have eyes that
see from that nowhere,
and eyes that judge distances,
how high
and how low.
You own two shops,
and you run back and forth.
Try to close the one that's a fearful trap,
getting always
smaller...
Keep open the shop
where you're not selling fishhooks any
more.
You are the free-swimming fish.” (from the poem
Tending Two Shops)
--==--==--==--==--
“I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one...” (from the poem Only Breath)
--==--==--==--==--
“There is a way between voice and presence
where
information flows.
In disciplined silence it opens.
With wandering talk it
closes.” (untitled)
--==--==--==--==--
“We have fallen into a place
were everything is music....
The singing art is sea foam.
The graceful movements come
from a pearl
somewhere on the ocean floor...
They derive
from a slow and powerful root
that we can't
see.
Stop the words now.
Open the window in the center of your
chest,
and let the spirits fly in and out.” (from the poem
Where Everything is Music)
--==--==--==--==--
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The
Akashic Field and Systemic Health,
Meanings
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