Post by watershield on Mar 26, 2008 2:53:15 GMT 1
By any other name…..Part I
Preamble to my view on the divine
God. The Universe. Isis, Zeus, Buddha ……..all just names attempting to identify or give meaning to some wisp of smoke that taunt our understanding of creation, nature, and all that exists.
From the dawn of time, man has sensed something greater than himself and has sought to put a name to it without fully understanding just what it was he was trying to name.
Early man developed instincts that help keep him alive. He learned to have a healthy fear of what he didn’t understand. He developed a respect for those things that affected his daily existence. He saw which things could be of benefit and which could cause harm. He learned what was a tool and what was a weapon. What was food and what was poison. He gave them names and became proficient in there use.
But always, things were happening in the sky above him. Things he couldn’t touch, or smell, or taste. Only see and wonder. Yet he knew that there was something….
It could give him warmth or cold. It could send down fire and water. It could give him great winds and gentle calm. When it provided those things that gave comfort he praised it. And when it sent those things that caused harm, he feared it. In time, man gave it a name, many names to describe it’s many faces and moods. He offered it gifts in thanks and in fear. As man became communities, the manor in which this greater being in the sky was praised became a religion.
As mans brain developed he began to understand many of the things around him. He knew when it was time to plant and to reap. He knew when the season would change and what to expect. Man became a curious being. Needing to learn more and according to the interests of each, individuals set out learning what they might about very specific things. One of these paths would of coarse have been a religious one.
Now this is speculation. But I think a reasonable, if not simplistic view, on how religion came to be.
Regardless of how it all came into existence, worship of a greater power developed in numerous ways all over the earth. Some faiths having similarities, while others being totally divergent.
The oldest of the major faiths however is Hinduism with writings dating back to the Vedic Civilization, 1500 - 500 BCE.
One of the concepts of Hinduism speaks to The World Egg or Cosmic Egg from which the universe was born.
Hinduism has six primary Gods, but from what I‘ve read there is an under lying idea that while Shiva is supreme the others are separate aspect of him;
Shiva - the supreme god
Vishnu - the universal reality
Shakti - the energy
Ganesha - Lord of beginnings and remover of obstacles
Kartkketeya - god of war
Surya - the visible god, literally the sun seen as a chariot of fire pulled by seven horses (the seven chakras) through the sky
The story goes that Shiva, using Shakti, created the cosmic egg. With it’s hatching the universe was born.
Interestingly, Egyptian mythology says the Ra was born of an egg laid by a great cosmic bird.
And don’t forget the current thoughts regarding the Big Bang Theory.
However the universe came to be, it exists and we exist right along with it. And for all the generations that have put their minds to the problem, for all the scholars who have put pen to paper attempting to explain it, there is no one answer that fits. Just as early man first sensed something greater than himself beyond the sky, so do we.
Weather there is or there isn’t actually something out there, it’s left to each of us to find our own truth. Just as the condition of my eye sight will determine how I see or don’t see a colour, the condition of my mind, my ability to understand, will determine how I perceive the nature of the universe and my ability to define “God”.
By Any Other Name…..Part II
One of the most difficult concepts for anyone to get their head around is who is, what is, where is God.
While I don’t think anyone can answer that question for anyone else, or with any degree of certainty, we can attempt to answer it for ourselves. If not answer it, at least try to understand the enormity of the question itself.
In all my reading I have found it interesting that many faiths share stories of how the universe was created from an egg.
In Hinduism, Shiva used Shakti (the divine energy, also seen as an aspect of God) to create the world egg from which the universe and all things in it were created.
Buddhism says that Pan Gu was asleep and grew within an egg until he stretched, breaking the egg, with the shell becoming heaven and earth.
Pagan tradition draws upon the concepts of the egg as a symbol of fertility with the contents a gift of the energy at the start of a new season.. This concept has been accepted and continues today as the Easter Egg.
In Judaism, the egg is a symbol of pass over. And in ancient Egypt it was said that Ra was born from an egg laid by a great cosmic bird.
Even science supports the concept of a cosmic egg with the big bang theory.
In each of these stories / myths, we can see some concept that energy existed before creation and that in some way the energy itself brought this universe into existence. Everything that we perceive the rocks, the tree’s, the stars, you, me, and even those entities we refer to as Gods and Goddesses, were manifested in some way from the divine energy.
Now I will be the first admit that once again, these stories / myths are all conceptions born in the minds of man. If they have basis in fact, there is no way to know simply due to the fact time has removed us from the event.
I have searched long and hard to come to some understanding of creation. Something that feels right for me. It may not be true or factual, but it’s something that I can understand and feel a degree of comfort with.
It has been stated by science that the Universe was born in the Big Bang and that it is expanding. At the same time, science says the Universe is infinite. I have often found those statements to be conflicting. Was the Universe born in the Big Bang. I think so, at least science can measure or detect the echo of the explosion. Is it expanding? Yes, again that can be measured and seen through the light shift as systems move away from us. But if it’s expanding, what is it expanding into? Is it infinite? Well, if it’s expanding it’s got to have a defined edge which can be measured and is therefore not infinite.
First, I perceive the energy, the divine source. It’s particles vibrating at a multitude of rates creating a variety of planes of existence. It fills all eternity, no beginning and no end. It flows with an endless current in a vast slow circle. By itself there is no consciousness, no awareness. Rather it is simply state of existence. Within it all life exists in a joined consciousness. A unified understanding of purpose. Every spirit, past present and future resides therein, individually yet linked as one. Each functioning at it’s own vibration rate and perceived within a different “reality”.
At some point and for some undefined reason, the energy coalesced. In so doing,, energy and spiritual vibration rates slowed. At some point a release was achieved and this physical universe was manifest.
An individual entity from the divine source was set apart to coalesce to become a physical being/object, by accident or through intent.
And it is for that reason, that for each and every physical object that exists, there is a spiritual aspect that can not be deigned.
This is the basis for my view on animism, each and every object that exists in the physical universe has within it a spirit or life essence, be it conscious or not, which maintains its connection with the divine source.
Is the divine source God? In my view no. The Divine source is the medium that God resides in. Essentially, the Divine Source can be seen as Heaven. It’s the combined consciousness of the spirits, joined in unity and purpose that create the concept of God.
How we perceive God, the face, the mood, the personality, each being an aspect of that combined consciousness, dependant upon our own needs
Preamble to my view on the divine
God. The Universe. Isis, Zeus, Buddha ……..all just names attempting to identify or give meaning to some wisp of smoke that taunt our understanding of creation, nature, and all that exists.
From the dawn of time, man has sensed something greater than himself and has sought to put a name to it without fully understanding just what it was he was trying to name.
Early man developed instincts that help keep him alive. He learned to have a healthy fear of what he didn’t understand. He developed a respect for those things that affected his daily existence. He saw which things could be of benefit and which could cause harm. He learned what was a tool and what was a weapon. What was food and what was poison. He gave them names and became proficient in there use.
But always, things were happening in the sky above him. Things he couldn’t touch, or smell, or taste. Only see and wonder. Yet he knew that there was something….
It could give him warmth or cold. It could send down fire and water. It could give him great winds and gentle calm. When it provided those things that gave comfort he praised it. And when it sent those things that caused harm, he feared it. In time, man gave it a name, many names to describe it’s many faces and moods. He offered it gifts in thanks and in fear. As man became communities, the manor in which this greater being in the sky was praised became a religion.
As mans brain developed he began to understand many of the things around him. He knew when it was time to plant and to reap. He knew when the season would change and what to expect. Man became a curious being. Needing to learn more and according to the interests of each, individuals set out learning what they might about very specific things. One of these paths would of coarse have been a religious one.
Now this is speculation. But I think a reasonable, if not simplistic view, on how religion came to be.
Regardless of how it all came into existence, worship of a greater power developed in numerous ways all over the earth. Some faiths having similarities, while others being totally divergent.
The oldest of the major faiths however is Hinduism with writings dating back to the Vedic Civilization, 1500 - 500 BCE.
One of the concepts of Hinduism speaks to The World Egg or Cosmic Egg from which the universe was born.
Hinduism has six primary Gods, but from what I‘ve read there is an under lying idea that while Shiva is supreme the others are separate aspect of him;
Shiva - the supreme god
Vishnu - the universal reality
Shakti - the energy
Ganesha - Lord of beginnings and remover of obstacles
Kartkketeya - god of war
Surya - the visible god, literally the sun seen as a chariot of fire pulled by seven horses (the seven chakras) through the sky
The story goes that Shiva, using Shakti, created the cosmic egg. With it’s hatching the universe was born.
Interestingly, Egyptian mythology says the Ra was born of an egg laid by a great cosmic bird.
And don’t forget the current thoughts regarding the Big Bang Theory.
However the universe came to be, it exists and we exist right along with it. And for all the generations that have put their minds to the problem, for all the scholars who have put pen to paper attempting to explain it, there is no one answer that fits. Just as early man first sensed something greater than himself beyond the sky, so do we.
Weather there is or there isn’t actually something out there, it’s left to each of us to find our own truth. Just as the condition of my eye sight will determine how I see or don’t see a colour, the condition of my mind, my ability to understand, will determine how I perceive the nature of the universe and my ability to define “God”.
By Any Other Name…..Part II
One of the most difficult concepts for anyone to get their head around is who is, what is, where is God.
While I don’t think anyone can answer that question for anyone else, or with any degree of certainty, we can attempt to answer it for ourselves. If not answer it, at least try to understand the enormity of the question itself.
In all my reading I have found it interesting that many faiths share stories of how the universe was created from an egg.
In Hinduism, Shiva used Shakti (the divine energy, also seen as an aspect of God) to create the world egg from which the universe and all things in it were created.
Buddhism says that Pan Gu was asleep and grew within an egg until he stretched, breaking the egg, with the shell becoming heaven and earth.
Pagan tradition draws upon the concepts of the egg as a symbol of fertility with the contents a gift of the energy at the start of a new season.. This concept has been accepted and continues today as the Easter Egg.
In Judaism, the egg is a symbol of pass over. And in ancient Egypt it was said that Ra was born from an egg laid by a great cosmic bird.
Even science supports the concept of a cosmic egg with the big bang theory.
In each of these stories / myths, we can see some concept that energy existed before creation and that in some way the energy itself brought this universe into existence. Everything that we perceive the rocks, the tree’s, the stars, you, me, and even those entities we refer to as Gods and Goddesses, were manifested in some way from the divine energy.
Now I will be the first admit that once again, these stories / myths are all conceptions born in the minds of man. If they have basis in fact, there is no way to know simply due to the fact time has removed us from the event.
I have searched long and hard to come to some understanding of creation. Something that feels right for me. It may not be true or factual, but it’s something that I can understand and feel a degree of comfort with.
It has been stated by science that the Universe was born in the Big Bang and that it is expanding. At the same time, science says the Universe is infinite. I have often found those statements to be conflicting. Was the Universe born in the Big Bang. I think so, at least science can measure or detect the echo of the explosion. Is it expanding? Yes, again that can be measured and seen through the light shift as systems move away from us. But if it’s expanding, what is it expanding into? Is it infinite? Well, if it’s expanding it’s got to have a defined edge which can be measured and is therefore not infinite.
First, I perceive the energy, the divine source. It’s particles vibrating at a multitude of rates creating a variety of planes of existence. It fills all eternity, no beginning and no end. It flows with an endless current in a vast slow circle. By itself there is no consciousness, no awareness. Rather it is simply state of existence. Within it all life exists in a joined consciousness. A unified understanding of purpose. Every spirit, past present and future resides therein, individually yet linked as one. Each functioning at it’s own vibration rate and perceived within a different “reality”.
At some point and for some undefined reason, the energy coalesced. In so doing,, energy and spiritual vibration rates slowed. At some point a release was achieved and this physical universe was manifest.
An individual entity from the divine source was set apart to coalesce to become a physical being/object, by accident or through intent.
And it is for that reason, that for each and every physical object that exists, there is a spiritual aspect that can not be deigned.
This is the basis for my view on animism, each and every object that exists in the physical universe has within it a spirit or life essence, be it conscious or not, which maintains its connection with the divine source.
Is the divine source God? In my view no. The Divine source is the medium that God resides in. Essentially, the Divine Source can be seen as Heaven. It’s the combined consciousness of the spirits, joined in unity and purpose that create the concept of God.
How we perceive God, the face, the mood, the personality, each being an aspect of that combined consciousness, dependant upon our own needs
