The Devil - A Concept Based on Human Judgement

In most Religions there are antagonist deities or demigods that harass and tempt man to do what he is not naturally supposed to do. The key word here is naturally. Man has created many unnatural concepts that reflect as unnatural behavior. Man has even gone so far as to personify this concept and use it as a method of explaining away the "evils" of the world.

This Devil, Fallen Angel, Lucifer, etc. is quoted by many fundamentalists as the source of all human misery. But what are they really saying when they state this? Isn't to blame the Devil for every bit of ones problems and temptations simply the same as just saying that bad things have happened? Why the need to personify the perceived negativity in one's life?

The first reason the comes to mind is simple; blame. We cannot blame an abstract concept, just like many find it hard to praise an abstract concept; hence we also have the concept of God. Known as anthropomorphism, giving human traits to that which cannot have them, is a form of imposing frustration upon something other than oneself in order to validate the possibility that events could have been otherwise.

The second reason is more philosophical. In the Bible, the Devil wanted to be as powerful as God, believing him not to be fit to rule. The devil got exactly what he wanted, half of God's power and dominion. God can only grant that which is in his power to grant, and since he is everything, he could not convert his wholeness into that of the Devil, which was already a part of him. However he could allow him dominion over half of his wholeness, half of infinity. Here we have the beginnings of judgment; Right from wrong, good from evil, God and the Devil. Coexisting in the same space and universe, and ultimately being nothing but the wholeness of God, as nothing but the Wholeness of god can exist for him to have complete dominion over everything.

The devil got exactly what he wanted, and from this duality in wholeness came the seeds of judgment and hence the temptation of man. When man ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he became obsessed with judgment and has ever since struggled to return to the simplicity of wholeness.

The real question is this: When we have allegory that signifies the fundamental problem with human thought and being: that of judgment, and action based upon judgment, commonly known as justice; why do we fight so hard to solidify in each others minds that there is a Good God and an Evil Devil? The admission and belief that these concepts are physical or metaphysical realities only further entrenches us in duality and steers us away from the wholeness of a single true source of all being. It creates splits in our thoughts and personalities as we accept judgment and duality as the norm and nature of life. Why can't we just allow events to be just that, events. We live and we die, we exist and we do enjoy life when we allow ourselves to be free of the burden of judgment.

They say leave judgment to God, we have no right to judge. This is very true especially since God has no reason or need to judge. God's judgment would be only God judging himself. Henceforth we have no reason to judge as judgment is only a reflection on ourselves. This adage is simply a message to convey that we should allow ourselves to live a full life without the illusion of judgment; an aberration that exists only in the human mind while containing no true substance.

Worship - Imposing Vanity on the Supreme Being

Why does man feel such a need to worship? When I say worship I speak mainly of religious worship even though man does indeed worship many things. The worship I am speaking of however is the formal kind of traditional religious worship. It can be said that man worships money, power or God, however none are worshipped as formally as God.

Elaborate rituals, social taboos and powerful symbols shroud this figure in mystery as animal, incense and devotion is offered on the altar. Why do we as human beings have this driving desire to offer all of ourselves and personal belongings to a person, in fact, a concept of which we cannot see? It would seem foolish to believe the words of our peers, especially when it comes to invisible men in the sky; however even in our age of science do we believe blindly and faithfully in the “divine”.

I would argue though, what use is it to worship, even if one does believe in a “higher” power? (The word “higher” implying that there is an above in which the deity resides and a below where the deity does not reside; an erroneous concept in itself.) Worship is purely selfish for both the worshipper and the worshipped. What on Earth could the divine possible want or lack that we as human beings have? Why does a supreme being want love and does he lack it? If he lacks not, then he logically wants not which puts our attempts to praise him in vain.

Vain it is, literally though; it is only vanity. By worshipping a deity we impose vanity upon them. The deity must be able to accept the praises and worships of his people without rejection or humility due to its frequency. Is a vain God a worthy God? Are we created only to validate and enhance God’s vanity? Let’s look at a simple lesson from Hinduism, the worship and image of a Deity is a tool to cultivate the properties imposed on an idol within oneself. So, as human beings by imposing vanity on another being, we cultivate the aspects of that being within ourselves. To worship then has nothing to do with the Divine.

The more I study religion and spirituality the more I realize that it is for us. The attribution of things to the divine is a mistake, as whether or not the divine exists does not matter. Religion is a lesson in self absorption; a tool to escape into the depths of ourselves and hopefully come back with something worthwhile. This is why we created the concept of the devil… for those times that we retrieve something that we or others can’t accept.

"Good" as a Principle

A beautiful quote from a book I picked up out of my library and started reading. I found this book in San Diego at an antique book shop near the convention center while attending the American Academy of Religion.

"We call good a principle, when it is only our way of estimating the phenomena of life. Think you there is any good where there is no sense to feel? So good and evil, being only our estimate, of that which we sense - it is our product and must belong to us-and we are the principle after all."

- F.B Dowd, The Temple of the Rosy Cross - The Soul: Its Powers, Migrations and Transmigrations, p. 11

Whenever I speak to people about Religion in general, ideas such as these come forth quickly. The non-dualistic viewpoint of the world attracts me because it makes sense. The dualities created by theology based on only one God, Multiple Gods, or even No God at all do not make sense. To me it is a sense of attribution of labels. What we want to call God is nothing more than the ourselves and/in the world. The concept of God is a way to understand who we really are, not what we are not.

Why would we seek to be closer to God if we weren't interested in who we are as opposed to who we are not? The closer we get the more we realize we weren't far away at all, in fact, not even a step.

Purpose and Work

One of the hardest things to do is discover is purpose, especially in relation to one's career. There are some who jump at every opportunity that comes toward them, and often get stuck with one or the other. Getting stuck only happens when the fear of change sets in and opportunity can no longer be recognized.

I have had the opposite problem. I've been everywhere, studied so many different things. I have had opportunity smack me in the face multiple times, often by the same people. I have been stuck on the fear of change too, but the fear of change from a dynamic life to a more static one, simpler and a bit more straightforward. It seems life eventually funnels down into this routine. I know, of course, that I will not stop studying and participating in my interests such as Spirituality, religions, Video Games, etc. I want to maintain those aspects of myself, and continue to develop them. It is odd how I have feared certainty, been uncertain about certainty so to speak.

I have felt confidence I haven't had in a long while, the influences of my past are slowly releasing their grip. Maybe now I can make myself successful with all the skills I have attained instead of showing them off as mere potential. I am motivated and pushing forward, taking on many responsibilities that may be very lucrative in the future.

The hardest thing to do is to maintain my sense of neutrality among the factions I have encountered. This Advaita, or Non-duality that I have established as my personal philosophy requires an immense amount of conscious participation to maintain. Perhaps this is a good thing.

Wealth, God and Happiness

The following was a reply to a discussion about whether Christians Should be Wealthy or not on myLot Discussions:


What do you need wealth for but to maintain your level of living? What are you going to save for? What are you going to spend on? What is the point of hoarding wealth instead of spreading it to others or into the economy (through purchasing, creating jobs, investing, etc.) Wealth does nothing. It is an insubstantial number in an insubstantial account somewhere...which surprisingly can be used to purchase substantial things. Until it is used it is just potential.

Those who are wealthy are those who have something substantial. This substance can be emotional, mental or physical. Being Christian and having money in an account does not mean you are wealthy, especially if you believe that true wealth is to have the compassion and salvation of your Lord and savior. If you have this, you are wealthy. Is it wrong then to be wealthy in such a manner?

Place this perspective on the concept of wealth and you will see that whatever it is that fulfills you is wealth. If a number in an account fulfills you, then that is wealth. If your friends and family are happy around you and it fulfills you then that is wealth. If knowing you have the kingdom of God in your reach as a promise from your lord and savior, then that is wealth.

Looking at it this way...I don't see whats wrong with being wealthy, Christian or otherwise.

On Death and Memory - Birth and Death

When a person is born, it can be said that they have no memory whatsoever of anything before birth. Can this not be said then of death? Is there really that much of a difference between birth and death?

If both are said to be oblivious states in which conscious does not yet, or ceases to exist, then they are one in the same. There is no difference, before or after, for something that doesn't exist. Experience of consciousness happens during the living phase, which is the only phase. A state of non-existence is not a phase. This is an interesting thought, because God is said to be beyond time and space, essentially a phaseless existence. There is no change because there is no change possible, as a moment to change does not exist.

If both are said to be conscious states of which we only have no memory, then it calls into question so many different things. What were we before we were born? What created us if we were nothing before we were born? The generation of a soul may be just an accident of physical birth. If it is, then is Man the creator of Man?

What decided what body we assumed before we were born if were not created at birth? From here we go on into various metaphysical and theological questions about God and the nature of reality. However, none of these questions can be satisfactorily answered without some degree of hesitation, exception or faith.

I do not think that there is any difference between Birth and Death, they are merely labels for transitional states of which we move from one existence to another. Even if we have no memory left, if we move on to become angel or demon, animal or human again, there must be some condition that has come from our past lives, generate by our actions and conscious thought, that moves on into another body or mode of existence. What is to say that a rock which has had my ashes placed upon it does not contain some of my essence. Who knows in what world that rock may become part of another living being, by passive influence or by direct absorbtion as a mineral.

Birth, Life, Death, Reincarnation, Eternal Salvation, Transcendental States, are all speculation and will remain so until we experience the end for ourselves...if there remains an experience to be had.

Man as God, Man as Nature

Man as God
One of the most common mystical realizations in any religious tradition is the unity between Man and God. One does not, and cannot exist without the other. This is not a relationship of dependence, but of unity. Man cannot be separate from the whole of God, as the whole of God is everything. God cannot separate man from itself because this would imply that there would be something other than God, and a space in which Man could exist that is other than God.

This is one of the reasons man tends to anthropomorphize God. Man describes God as having Human attributes. This is the only way Man can relate to such a concept of supreme Deity. But perchance the descriptions are not far from the truth? Perhaps God is more human like than even imagined.

The implications of this are great, as it puts into question concepts such as morality, justice, chaos, etc. All these concepts are part of God not as physical reality, but as abstract musings...thoughts formed in the minds of men to explain things we cannot understand but have no solid existence. Good and Evil have no place in unity, and hence are nullified. With the realization of this comes a sort of quiet, and dispassion toward judging things as Good or Evil. This is what the Buddha speaks of when he teaches about enlightenment, Nirvana or Moksha (Liberation). Liberation from suffering which comes from attachments, which stem from the Judgment between Good and Evil.

Man as Nature
Nature is not often seen as connected to man as God is. It is a wonder why, seeing as Man is born of the stuff of nature. Man cannot be apart from nature lest Man dies. Man is immediatly and irrevocably connected to the planet Earth. Even when travelling off into the stars, Man must take parts of the Earth along in order to survive. They take air, water, food, materials, etc. Does this not imply that it is not human beings that are travelling into space...but the Earth itself?

Consider Man as an extension of the Earth, like a mountain, a river, a piece of rock. Imagine this rock hurtling itself through space. It is still part of the Earth as it was formed, planned and nurtered there. Human beings are the most complex part of the Earth. What Man does to the Earth, is done with Earth itself as Man is created of the stuff of the Earth and uses the stuff of the Earth in his technologies and daily living. Pollution, restoration, construction, demolition, harvesting and gardening. These are all done to the Earth, with tools created from the Earth, by the Earth (Earth as Human Beings).

Looking at nature in this way, humans can and do anthropomorphize it. The Earth is like a person, and a Person like the Earth. Just like a human being, the Earth is born, grows old and can die. Man is not just one with the Earth, Man is the Earth. It is just like Man's relationship with God, Man be apart from it. The only difference is there is an empty space beyond the Earth that is known Man cannot live within, but yet it remains existing without the sphere.

However, how can Man sure it is not a part of that too? When a vacuum between Man's atoms. In fact, what to say the pressure from the vacuum that exists around the is not the very source of gravity that holds it together as it does Man's very atoms?

Responsibility
Knowing this is not to say that Man has no repsonsibility for his or her actions. In fact, this realization increases the responsibility to the individual. It becomes a duty to look t the events of the world with disspassionate care. Good, Evil, Justice and Punishment no longer become the driving force in a persons life. Man attains the knowledge of his or her responsibility to the themselves, nature and God. The responsibility is the same. It is a realization and a force that comes from within and needs no social system to keep in check, and creates no perversions out of attachments or unquelled desires.

This is the liberation from suffering, the realization that there is no suffering with the realizaiton of the unity between Man, Nature and God. They are all one. This is the sacred Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva. Earth, Man and Space; Man, Woman and Child.

Looking at the world with neutral caring eyes creates a prosperous and long life for both Man and Nature. As long as Man and Nature exist the belief and role of God shall remains among the planet. Man's repsonsibility as a living, conscious beings is fulfilled when establishing that caring presence among our peers and loved ones. It spreads like wildfire.

Progress

Why do we need progress? What is it about feeling as if we are progressing, accomplishing something, that drives us forward?

I know that whenever there is a huge project with a goal that I know will satisfy and lead to other things, that I become extremely motivated to do so. It's why gaming works so well for me, that sense of progression is always fed. Often if i reach the top too quickly I get bored and drop off.

It is the same with my Religious Studies Degree and my Thesis. I have yet to finish my Thesis and honestly don't feel like writing it. I have felt like writing many other things about Kashmir Shaivism, Spirituality, Vedanta, etc. But even though the Thesis is the last paper I will have to do for the degree, I could care less. Why? There are various reasons, one being that I will not really use the degree anytime soon in the near future, and hold some spite as toward the reasons for getting the degree.

There is just no sense of progression when i write for the purpose of Thesis. It is a labor, for work I have almost completely finished. I continue to pay for thesis credits and don't get it done. It bothers me that its always on my head, but it bothers me more that I have to spend grueling time to finish it, even though almost all the research is already done.

I will finish it, begrudgingly, but only to feel as if i didn't "waste" my time getting the degree. The knowledge I gained and have from the degree is far more important than the paper anyways...but I guess quitting right at the end when I am guaranteed success is silly.

I feel like I can start writing again once I change jobs, or get the notification that I will be changing jobs. The feeling of insecurity coming from being in one job ready to go to another (permanent one), but just not yet is irritating but manageable, just doesn't do anything for my desire to continue to write.

We will see how things go!

Why do we Fool Ourselves?

We fancy ourselves compassionate, loving, sentimental creatures. This you could say is a product of evolution and technology. Compassion and love normally takes backseat when creature comforts aren't around. There is more of a sense of urgency and survival.

I don't think the compassion and fanciness of the current New Age Movement is organic as much as it is an aberration. It could be a product of our technology advancing too fast, allowing creature comforts and hence spiritual fanciness to flourish. Old traditions took their religion very seriously. Most point out that ecstacy and oneness is not so much the goal as not having a goal at all. There was no point to spirituality, and that was reason enough.

In fact, having no point to ones spirituality seems to hold a key that almost all of us will never realize. Being religious out of familial or genetic obligation is not what I am speaking of...it is to be religious, or "spiritual" with really nothing invested. No emotion, no mind, no social or physical obligation.

Why do it then? That is a question we ask of ourselves for everything we do...it is part of our modern, techno-logical thinking. Without a reason we cant have a cause. Without a cause we have no reason.

It is a self-denying cycle of dependencies when we look for validation in the eyes of others. Even when we look toward the eyes of our most trusted and exalted spiritual leaders, we are betraying ourselves to their agenda...of which is to "set us free" through their "control". This hypocrisy does not work, it only creates a spiraling well of pitiful grovelling and emotional scrounging.

Sounds bleak? Think about it...

Who can set you free? Who can bring you true salvation?

It is definitely not you or me, or him or her...so who is it?

Wonderings

Sometimes I wonder if we are really ever meant to do anything. Are we fooling ourselves with purpose? Do we need it?

What is the purpose of purpose seems to be a redundant question. One that leaves me in a state of silence, my mind doesn't travel to an answer because...whats the point??

Life is strange, the way we mill about focused on numbers.

In our western culture we are mostly preoccupied with two things, money and weight. Both can be measured, both are sought after. Statistics are appealing, I am not sure why. Even myself, I am drawn to video games with meaningless pointless numbers...maybe that's why it is so entertaining...it reminds us that life doesn't need a purpose to be lived.

Transactional Relationships

There is a certain amount of effort that people put into individuals they meet. This effort is usually for a Return. The threat of that effort being removed creates anxiety and rashness. The loss of that effort creates depression, hate, malice and other negative affects towards the individual.

What isn't normally realized is that this effort was placed willingly, and with complete knowledge that it is a risk. Why do we treat our relationships as business transactions? If you don't either follow a person’s lead or contribute to a person’s interest, there is no relationship.

It makes me wonder if thinking that relationships should be based on non-transactional "interest and care" for each other is the right way to think of my role toward other human beings, as a human being. Why do we even have this opinion of non-conditional relationships where we accept our friends and family as "who they are", without any expectation of change or validation of our own interests?

More and more it appears to me that our lives are based on what I would call "Threat". I will relate this to video game terminology, silly as it may seem. "Threat" is a concept that goes along with another known as "Aggro" or aggression. The more you perform an action or relinquish performing and action you gain and lose aggro. The closer you are to someone, the more of a threat you are, and the easier it is to get "Aggro"'. The further away, physically and emotionally, the less likely you are going to gain "Aggro". There is always the exception, such as the random act of senseless violence, or kindness. But these are few and far between and are indeed also transactional relationships because they create and instant and unexpected transaction between yourself and another that creates great and intense gratification, sorrow, despair, and other powerful feelings right at the start of the relationship.

Transactional relationships exist in all aspects of our lives. Of course, in business, this is the norm. If you don't do you work, you are fired. If you do your work well, you are rewarded. You make deals, hold up, or let down your end of bargains. You help people and you defy people. You create opportunity, and block others for your, or your associates benefit, to the downfall of your competitors. These are all transactions, one comment traded for another, one persons salary increases as another loses their job.

Competition itself is a transaction. It is an agreement toward gain and loss between two or more parties, and the acceptance of thereof.

This transactional relationship exists in counseling as well. You must pay money, or perform the advice given, or else the counselor severs the relationship. The counselor has the intent to help others, but never out of selfless care. There is always something given, whether its physical payment, emotional gratification or mental satisfaction.

Would it surprise you that it occurs in spiritual circles as well?

What use are you to a person or group if you don't follow their belief system, leadership or advice? The minute you forget the mantra, you have threatened your relationship with the teacher, the student, with God! If you forget to pray or pay homage to your deity, you may have sinned and must repent or "make up" for the forgotten transaction. This is an expected transaction as well, payment for misdeed.

When the group realizes you no longer have interest in their subject, they see the effort they "put" into you as a loss and discard you. It is completely conditional, and conditional relationships can only create conditioned thinking and behavior. Conditioning is a transaction. You put in to get out something, your own brainwashing or the brainwashing of others, along with the strengthening of your own personal position.

Is it bothersome that our lives function this way? Is this the way it is supposed to be? Is it healthy? Is it sane?

These are questions I'd love to discuss in comments, if anyone cares to share their opinions on the answers to these questions.

Testing Out Blogger

Easy to blog with this it seems. Very little maintenance.

I wonder if I can connect Blogger to my Joomla! Site. Would be great.