A Metaphysics of Multiculturalism

Imagine all the different cultures of our planet as reflecting an intrinsic quality or aspect of the divine as perceived within creation - by man.

Some peoples just flat-out resist a change in perspective; the Hindus a prime example. While time rolls on, we can make out distinctions in belief: The Easterner insists on seeing things from the perspective of the Absolute, perhaps embodying in human form a quality intrinsic to the direction of the east - towards the sun - which is proximity to the essence of things. Conversely, in the far west, instead of being entranced by the absolute, nondescript vision of divinity, the Native American is placidly ensconced within the womb of mother nature: divinity, in the far west, where the sun sets and God rests his presence, life and truth is found not in the beyond, in the void, but in creation: the Native American soul intuits the divine as a female, as Black Elk saw her in his vision.

Between these polls, both equally impersonal, we find a very unique apparition of divinity.

Imagine the topical view of our planet as a simile of mans own consciousness: the outer sphere, or the edges of the globe (the far east and west) express the basic metaphysical contours of reality. The Easterner sees the Absolute - and his soul can not rest at peace without acknowledging it. The westerner, in contrast, sees the beauty and harmony within creation, content in it's multitudinous forms and riveted by it's blessed sanctity. These different regions emit a different power or aspect of the divine on the consciousness of the individual. Being on the outside, or peripheral, they resemble a background to something which occurs in the foreground.

The background - the strictly impersonal - is the outer edges of our world, while the foreground, the center of our planet, reflects the individalized consciousness: divinity is found not only in patterns in nature, or in a Godhead beyond all distinction, but also in the strictly personal, I-Thou relationship between man as such and God as such.

In the sphere of creation, the inner core, the "malkuth' in the language of the Kabbalah, is the individual self which perceives. Here, at the center of things, God communes with man. Here - unlike in the east - which desires an impersonal connection with the divine, or in the west, which finds solace in natures divinity, the
soul of the monotheist desires a personalized connection with it's ultimate source, weary of the impersonal monism of the Hindu and unable to look past the importance of moral living, the Jew, or Christian, longs for a meaningful existence hinged on the rightness and wrongness of things.

The soul of creation emanates different lights wherever it is found. In the east, in China, Japan, South East Asia, Buddhism reigns; In the South of Asia, in a region which roughly correlates with the Kabbalistic sphere of 'da'ath', knowledge, a more metaphysical and systematic approach to divinity is taken (this being the dharmic religions of hinduism/sikhism/jainism); from the balkans, north africa, across the middle east and into central asia, we see a rapprochement of sorts between the personal dimension of Judaism with the impersonal dimension of the east; In Israel, a land thought to be the 'holy land', a special portion separated from other lands, cherished by a distinctly personal God, a Being invested with an ego (personalized consciousness) much as man has one, lies the law: God gives one people separated from others (as each self is separated from other selves) a mission: to spread the law of righteous conduct; through Christianity, as we encroach on the western world, the part traditionally influenced by Hellenistic philosophy, divinity takes on a more personalized role: instead of being envisaged as without any form, God becomes man; And as we reach the far edge of the world, across the abyss of the atlantic Ocean, we come to the americas, where the impersonal reigns; where the spirit of mother nature is directly felt.

Which is truer? I hate to be a relativist - and morally speaking, I abhor relativism - there does appear to be a fundamental uniqueness in the way men approach the divine; and this uniqueness appears to be conditioned by metaphysical principles which all traditions, from east to west, directly intuit.

It is fitting that the most explicit premonition of a future peace comes from the center - the mean - of our planet, conveyed by the biblical God to the peoples of the Earth:


The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
Isaiah 11:6

Two disparate creatures, one generally preying on the other, naturally at odds, destined to come to peace with each other.

The lion and wolf and leopard, together with the lamb, goat and calf: a child leads them. How apposite this symbol is! Only a child, a being unaffected by the frenzy of egoistic reasoning, can allow the natural and innate impression of the purity and holiness of life to flower and blossom forth. The initial impression of life - of it's inherent goodness - such as a child experiences as a gift from the divine, only such a spirit of clarity could force men to look beyond their differences of outlook: instead of creating an irreconcilable problem for logic, diversity becomes a thing to celebrate.

What about people in the west that follow a more Eastern philosophy?

I really enjoyed reading this thread and your right there does appear to be a metaphysical relationship between ideas of Divinity.

I see the Center as an acceptance that both Sides are one and the same, and live in hope that we realise it.

Thanks for posting this.

reply to post by EncompassAll

What about people in the west that follow a more Eastern philosophy?

The point is, they follow an EASTERN philosophy: a philosophy which grew out of the EAST.

I am fully aware that today - unlike 500 years ago - there are westerners who follow an eastern philosophy, whether buddhism or hinduism, and likewise, in south east asia which has historically been Buddhist, Islam has become prominent.

I am not stating a categorical rule that cant be contravened. I am merely pointing out the very uncanny correspondence between traditional interpretation of East and West - the east, where the sun rises, standing for proximity to the Godhead, while the west, where the sun sets, as the imminent indwelling presence of divinity.

I am also not stating, in case there is any confusion, that easterners dont perceive the divinity within nature or westerners (native americans) are incapable of intuiting the great abyss; the difference lies in degree of emphasis. The easterner feels more compelled to emphasize the absolute, unconditioned state, while the native american, the completely afresh experience of divinity within nature.

In between these two polls - equally impersonal - is the middle east, where Judaism (and its offshoots) grew out of. In psychology and mysticism a concentric sphere is often used to symbolize the self, while a smaller sphere, or point within it, as the ego which perceives. I just find it significant that the religion which most emphasizes the personal relationship between God and man (not saying other religions don't understand this relationship) - Judaism - grew out of a region which is essentially the center of the world (when the world is looked at topically, with the Americas to the left, and Asia to the right, Israel appears just around the center of it all.

reply to post by dontreally


awesome thread and your writing is beautiful!!

this may be off topic, but a personal question of caution for viewing nature as divine and sacred..... does a lion who snaps the neck of a baby deer view that deer as something special? why would the divine create a world in which innocent creatures are snacks for more aggressive and vicious creatures?

if man created artificial intelligent robots,, would you think it odd if the robot believed itself to be sacred and divine, made of holy metal, endowed with mystical intelligence? what i mean by this is we dont know how we should view ourselves and nature,, we can think and feel however wed like whenever wed like throughout our life, but how do we know what we really are and how we should really feel about it?

just playing the devil....s advocate..

reply to post by dontreally

I am not stating a categorical rule that cant be contravened

[

I was,nt having a dig at you my friend, i find what you wrote to be very interesting. I was just curious what your thoughts were.

reply to post by ImaFungi

does a lion who snaps the neck of a baby deer view that deer as something special? why would the divine create a world in which innocent creatures are snacks for more aggressive and vicious creatures?

I just wanted to share my thoughts on this for debates sake.

A lions intellect, or level of conciousness is,nt at a level where it makes decisions based on emotion. The creator did,nt design nature to be cruel. Evolution did. Only us humans with our superior intellect and level of conciousness. Decide that the act is cruel.

The creator or conciousness itself as i see it. simply provided a the realm in which the evolutionary, Big fish eats little fish, survival of the fittest struggle could exist. So from the creators point of view the lion is,nt eating an innocent creature or being cruel. Its just two abstract versions of conciousness connecting to produce a result. (lion eats dear or dear escapes from lion)

Originally posted by EncompassAll
reply to post by ImaFungi

 

does a lion who snaps the neck of a baby deer view that deer as something special? why would the divine create a world in which innocent creatures are snacks for more aggressive and vicious creatures?

I just wanted to share my thoughts on this for debates sake.

A lions intellect, or level of conciousness is,nt at a level where it makes decisions based on emotion. The creator did,nt design nature to be cruel. Evolution did. Only us humans with our superior intellect and level of conciousness. Decide that the act is cruel.

The creator or conciousness itself as i see it. simply provided a the realm in which the evolutionary, Big fish eats little fish, survival of the fittest struggle could exist. So from the creators point of view the lion is,nt eating an innocent creature or being cruel. Its just two abstract versions of conciousness connecting to produce a result. (lion eats dear or dear escapes from lion)

edit on 3-6-2012 by EncompassAll because: caus i cant spell good.

true ok.....i understand the benefits of the system, and competition, its just that we value life so much,,, to the point where we view it as sacred and divine, yet nature has no problem exhibiting cruel and terrifying behavior,,, our values of life have led to our views of morality,,,, do you think to the creator there is any value in human discovered morality or emotion? or morality is a tool of measurement we imaginarily use to create stability and order amongst ourselves with no real or absolute or meaningful existence in reality.

reply to post by ImaFungi

its just that we value life so much,,, to the point where we view it as sacred and divine, yet nature has no problem exhibiting cruel and terrifying behavior,,, our values of life have led to our views of morality

Morality is a choice thats based around a belief and so its subjective. What you find immoral, some may not. These are choices that are made using our brain, to fortify and balance our emotions. Nature, has no sense of morality. Its is we humans that place judgements on natural events. Nature does,nt care it just continues in its evolution.

do you think to the creator there is any value in human discovered morality or emotion or morality is a tool of measurement we imaginarily use to create stability and order amongst ourselves with no real or absolute or meaningful existence in reality.

These are a bye product of our natural condition. As with the Lion and the deer. Our physicality and anything that spurns from it is just part of its abstraction. The physical world is nothing more than a proving ground for concious exploration, or a mirror by which the creator can see itself and we can see the creator.

reply to post by EncompassAll



ok,,,, but if humans are left to their own wits and potential,,,, and a form of species cooperation leading to advanced cultural and societal systems, is part of the intuitive and natural progression of human advancement/evolution......
can there not be higher ( maybe absolute) morals in which the creator would want us to discover,.,.,

why would a creator want any of its creations to die, to be miserable by the mouth or claws of another part of creation,, this earth from micro to large is riddled with tangled conflict,,,, are you saying this physical conflict is a metaphor or representation of the creators original idea? or is this the only way it can be? the creator couldnt create a perfect world where all of creation lives in peace?

do you not think there are deep meanings and lessons within the arrangement of the universe and life? the need for responsibility, and will power,,, the opportunity to give your soul to another through love and create with your partner a new human fusing your ancestral/genetic legacy into the future of the planet,,,?

because what i got out of what you wrote,, is that there is no such thing as meaning,,, of course there is purpose and cause and effect,, but its just valuelessly happening,,, of course an individual may find value or meaning in something, but that actually doesnt mean anything, ..

reply to post by ImaFungi

ok,,,, but if humans are left to their own wits and potential,,,, and a form of species cooperation leading to advanced cultural and societal systems, is part of the intuitive and natural progression of human advancement/evolution......
can there not be higher ( maybe absolute) morals in which the creator would want us to discover

You could place knowlege itself in the same bracket as morality. Any level of morality even the absolute would only serve us in our physical world. There are no right or wrong answers in the eyes of the creator. Our Universe only exists as proof that the creator exists. We only exist as proof that the creator exists. The only great truth is that we are conciouse. Anything beyond that, is subjective and dualistic.

why would a creator want any of its creations to die, to be miserable by the mouth or claws of another part of creation,, this earth from micro to large is riddled with tangled conflict,,,, are you saying this physical conflict is a metaphor or representation of the creators original idea? or is this the only way it can be? the creator couldnt create a perfect world where all of creation lives in peace?

Again your confusing the creator with nature, Nature itself is no more than an abstract version of conciousness. Conciousness is all there is. So how can anything that is created from conciousness, by conciousness die, or be miserable. These are all cocepts of the human emotion. From the creators perspective life itself is just an result of concious interaction. The creator is,nt watching what each individual being or creature is doing. The creator IS the being or creature. We are created from the creator. Only we who exist within the cofines of out reality label and name and judge what happens.

reply to post by ImaFungi


Of course i do because im human like you and im still a product of my emotions. Im still confined to this reality and so i form morals and judge things and get miserable. I do so with the conciousness that the creator gave me and i,ll always try to get closer to its purity.

reply to post by EncompassAll


I see,,, understand,, and slightly agree.........

but i do think the oddity of what is possible for man to accomplish ( i believe we have just begun to accomplish)

everything that man has created on earth, cities and homes, and palaces, and histories and cultures, has came from earth, and mans mind,,, all the materials were on this planet, waiting for their potentials to be unlocked, the computer, the airplane, the space shuttle,, all was possible with a little mental and metal computing,, and physically exerted energy..... i do think there is something to the universe that,,, it wasnt easy for man to survive the generations and maintain information, knowledge, ability and skill,, but it was possible,,,.. i am curious as to why such a complex yet potentially pleasant existence is available for mans taking and living,,.,. i question why is anything possible let alone the current state of the world right now,,,, the beauty and character of a pretty women,, its all truly marvelous.

Originally posted by EncompassAll
reply to post by ImaFungi

 

Of course i do because im human like you and im still a product of my emotions. Im still confined to this reality and so i form morals and judge things and get miserable. I do so with the conciousness that the creator gave me and i,ll always try to get closer to its purity.

but if the creators purity is indifference?

if part of the creators creation is moral less carnage?

how do you know about the creators intentions or purity?

should you live in your best interests or the creators? if the creator created you to live in your own best interest, and you believe its in your own best interest to live as what you think the creators best interest is,, what are you doing and what should you do? ( this is more of an lol)

Originally posted by ImaFungi
reply to post by EncompassAll

 

I see,,, understand,, and slightly agree.........

but i do think the oddity of what is possible for man to accomplish ( i believe we have just begun to accomplish)

everything that man has created on earth, cities and homes, and palaces, and histories and cultures, has came from earth, and mans mind,,, all the materials were on this planet, waiting for their potentials to be unlocked, the computer, the airplane, the space shuttle,, all was possible with a little mental and metal computing,, and physically exerted energy..... i do think there is something to the universe that,,, it wasnt easy for man to survive the generations and maintain information, knowledge, ability and skill,, but it was possible,,,.. i am curious as to why such a complex yet potentially pleasant existence is available for mans taking and living,,.,. i question why is anything possible let alone the current state of the world right now,,,, the beauty and character of a pretty women,, its all truly marvelous.

I could,nt agree more. We are truely amazing and we,ll only get smarter. I get excited when i think of the possabiltys that lay ahead of us. The complexity of all that has come from the bang amazes me everyday.

Peace.

Hmmmm - how about imagining cultures as the result of memetic evolution and others as the result of Archonic mind parasite/predator infuence - instead of PC utopian psychobabble.

reply to post by ImaFungi

but if the creators purity is indifference?

Not the creators purity the pure creator within me. My conciousness.

if part of the creators creation is moral less carnage?

Thats your judgement not the creators.

how do you know about the creators intentions or purity?

Like ive already said the creator only wishes to see itself, so it knows it exists. Thats its only intention. As for purity im talking about focusing in on the creator within me. My conciousness by removing it from the physical world. Leaving nothing but the interaction between my conciousness and my brain. Then by exploring my pure untainted conciousness. I gain a deeper understanding of the conciousness itself, the creator within.

I think what the main post is relative to peace and universal consciousness, I've been there it is a fun place, many beings on this planet exist in the metaphysical realm they exist together in peace love and harmony. So far I've seen many unique beings like lion people, snake people also known as nagas, zeta greys, clown people, faeries, and many other races of human beings, I remember seeing a native/asian like person who sort of looked like a cave man.

reply to post by ImaFungi

why would the divine create a world in which innocent creatures are snacks for more aggressive and vicious creatures?

Man is surplus to nature. Man, to almost anyone with a descrying eye, is absolutely different from everything around him.

Nothing in nature is like man , and man, invested with a perception of nature that allows him to see it for what it is, beyond it's pristine beauty, as a vicious, shameless, impersonal survival of the fittest predation, and man - and man alone - looks at it at times in complete horror.

It is completely normal and natural to feel this way; and perhaps this perception justifies it's existence. If it wasn't for the bad, we wouldn't be able to know and choose the good.

The world God created is an incredible struggle for man, between good and evil, war and peace, man learns to find himself and his God through this sometimes hectic and desultory amphitheater.

Also, evil is a strictly human perception. Nature - and animals - being essentially unconscious to the moral-spiritual dimension don't think a thing about it, therefore, what they naturally suffer, is not as horrific to them as it appears to us.

reply to post by EncompassAll


Are you positing two different powers - God and evolution? There can only be one, because even if you ascribe godlike status to evolution, and another to the creator, what is the medium this competition takes place in? There must then be something anterior to both, and this and this alone deserves the name 'God', creator of EVERYTHING, both the apparent 'survival of the fittest', and man's natural abhorrence to it's cruelty.