Monday, February 05, 2007

M-moses, Baba, Tommy, and the Frankly Amazing Journey

There once was a note, pure and easy,
Playing so free like a breath rippling by.
The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me,
Forever we blend and forever we die.
--Pure and Easy, The Who

"Petey, If God is always already all, then why the elaborate process of involution and evolutionary return? Furthermore, how can I 'meet' God on His own transcendental plane, when the bulk of my knowledge and understanding comes from my interaction with the horizontal plane? And conversely, how do I maintain a stable, balanced life in the material plane when my thoughts are constantly drifting towards intellection of the higher realms?"

What say you, Petey? Any likely stories for us this morning?

My fellow Coons, in the last analysis, each of us is but a spark in the dark ever since we were tossed from the park. When we talk about "ultimate reality," we must necessarily use forms and symbols as a blind man might use a cane (to borrow a metaphor from Polanyi). This is a prominent theme in many forms of mysticism, including Orthodox Christianity, in which the Godhead is hidden in darkness within a cataphatic cloud of unknowing.

How do we adapt our inner eyes to the divine darkness, so that we do not confuse the form with the substance? What the hell, let's ask another Petey through his alter-ego, Tommy:

Deaf Dumb and blind boy
He's in a quiet vibration land
Strange as it seems his musical dreams
Ain't quite so bad.

Sickness will surely take the mind
Where minds can't usually go.
Come on the amazing journey
And learn all you should know.

Pete Townshend wrote those lines under the influence of the unorthodox Indian spiritual master Meher Baba. Until this moment, I didn't know a great deal about Baba, but according the Wikipedia entry on him, he begins his metaphysics where any sound metaphysician must, which is to say with the idea of "divine unity, the view that diverse creation, or duality, is an illusion and that the goal of life is conscious realization of the absolute Oneness of God inherent in all animate and inanimate beings and things."

In short, Baba starts with the perennial -- and necessary -- distinction between the Absolute and the relative, or what we would call "being" and "beyond being." It is also the distinction between the One and the many, or Brahman and maya, the latter of which represents on the one hand "illusion," but also power and play, or shakti and lila. For Christians it would be the difference between God's essence and energies (dynamis), while for Kabbalists it would be the difference between the Ain Sof and the Sefirtoth, or the formless Godhead and the inner form, or "blueprint" of creation.

I like this -- it's very Eckhartian: Baba "compares God's original state to an infinite, shoreless ocean which has only unconscious divinity -- unaware of itself even though there is nothing but itself. From this state, God had the 'whim' to know Himself and asked 'Who am I?'. In response to this question, creation came into existence. What was previously a still, shoreless Ocean stirred, forming innumerable 'drops' of itself..."

Why do I like this? Because it's exactly what I unsay at the beginning of the Coonifesto in so many bobscure nonwords. From our human perspective, the "within" of the cloud of unknowing looks like "nothing, pure emptiness, a formless void without mind or life, a shadow spinning before the beginning over a silent static sea, unlit altar of eternity, fathomless vortex of the Infinite Zero." It is "One brahman deathless breathing breathless, darkness visible the boundless all, unknown origin prior to time and space, fount of all being, unborn thus undying, beginning and end of all impossibility, empty plenum and inexhaustible void."

And that is That.

But wait a minute. Something stirs within the darkness of this eternal One. What's is it? It's a question:

"Who is? I AM. A wake. A lone. Hallow, noumena!"

Who knew God was a Seinfeld fan? And has Kramer's racist diatribe changed this?

In any event, as Baba says, creation -- including our womentary maninfestation -- comes into existence simultaneously with God's Infinite Question, "Who am I?" Happily, this comports with the answer Moses received within his own little cloud of unknowing atop Sinai, which was, I AM WHO I AM, but you can call me I AM for short."

What? Haim?

"No, stupid, I AM."

Oh... okay... I AM... umm, care to elaborate, because -- no offense -- but that's what I call myself.

"Yes, that is correct. Tell your fellow wandering Coons that I AM has sent me to you, and that this is my name forever, and that all subsequent generations must vertically remember this fact."

B-b-bu.... I'm not m-much of a t-talker, Lord.

"Never mind that. Who has made man's mouth, anyway? Don't sweat it. I will be with your mouth and teach you O-->(k) despite the little hitch in your verbal giddyup. And I apologize for calling you stupid. I've got a lot on my plate. This is my crazy time of yuga."

Since repetition is the mother of pedagogy, alert Coons will have gnosised that the passage above from p. 7 of One Cosmos is a holographic fractal that contains the entirety of the book and repeats itself throughout. The same story is told from slightly different angles on pp. 8, 9, 10, 13-14, and 15-17. For example, on page 8: "But it was not good that this Godhead, the Most High, should be allone, so he expired with a Big Bong and said 'let there be higher physics,' and it was zo." Or on page 9: "Only himspoph with nowhere to bewrong, hovering over the waters without a kenosis. Vishnu were here, but just His lux, God only knows only God, and frankly ishvara monotheotonous." Etc.

According to Baba, "Each soul, being formed by God's whim to know Himself, contains within itself the same desire for self-knowledge." In attempting to answer this question -- as the "Who am I?" journeys back to I AM -- we become conscious of our divinity. But in order to do this, we must overcome many illusory and anti-evolutionary mind parasites, or samskaras, along the way. This idea is presented on p. 14 of One Cosmos, when we fall into so may "jivass godlings and samskara monsters."

The spiritual path represents a reversal of this involutionary process. As the soul "begins to traverse an inner spiritual path," it "gradually eliminates all impressions which cause the appearance of separateness from God" (Baba).

And "once the sanskaras are gone, the goal of knowing itself as conscious divinity is attained. The drop soul once again becomes merged in the Ocean, that is, it realizes its true Divine indivisible and eternal nature. It has now answered the question of 'Who am I?' with 'I am God.'"

Now, I know there are many Christians who believe that this doesn't apply to them, but with minor modifications and important qualifications, it does. I don't want to get into a theological debate over the fine points, and in any event, it is not for me to say. Suffice it to say that if you wish to investigate the original Christianity of the early fathers, it is not difficult to do.

As to the second question, "how can I 'meet' God on His own transcendental plane, when the bulk of my knowledge and understanding comes from my interaction with the horizontal plane?" Again, one does so by reversing the process of involution. In short, if you find yourself in an existential hole, the first thing you must do is stop digging. Scientists can keep digging, but the way back does not -- cannot -- lie in that direction. That's fine. We have no quarrel whatsoever with scientists, so long as they do not confuse digging with climbing, you dig? In the words of Richard Weaver,

“The modernistic searcher after meaning may be likened to a man furiously beating the earth and imagining that the finer he pulverizes it, the nearer he will get to the riddle of existence. But no synthesizing truths lie in that direction. It is in the opposite direction that the path must be followed.”

Ah ha! The opposite direction! Umm, could you unsay a bit less?

Yes, back to Tommy, in whom:

Sickness will surely take the mind
Where minds can't usually go.
Come on the amazing journey
And learn all you should know.

For the spiritual seeker, "health" is a kind of spiritual sickness and sickness is a kind of spiritual health. It's paradoxable, don't you know: blessed are the poor in spirit, the last will become first, and all that jazzus.

Once again, this is indirectly undressed in pp. 252-266 of the Coonifesto, each paragraph of which deals with caterpultering your buddhafly across the phoenix line -- with how to de-part and be-wholed in the vertical. Frankly, because of our original sinatra, this is very hard to do without a little nonlocal assistance, but not to worry: in lama land there's a wise old man, and he'll goose your nous for you.

So come fly with me on the amuzing journey, where "each sensation makes a note in our symphony."

And remurmur: Do be. Do be. Do!

Listening to you,
I get the music.
Gazing at you,
I get the heat.
Following you,
I climb the mountains.
I get excitement at your feet.
--Petey Townshend

42 comments:

Lisa said...

Bravissimo!!! That was beautiful!

I have recently been exploring what exactly am I trying to help people create in their bodies using Pilates and other body methods. With your guidance and gently nudges, I have looked more closely at the negative/nothingness that is present around each molecule in a macro and micro sense. Using the breath, I am encouraging people to try to create more space/nothingness between each vertebre and throughout the body radiating away from the center. When the movement is initiated from the spine and center the muscles around the spine naturally respond and react. It seems to have an impact on helping them move more vertically in a horizontal plane and acheive a degree of effortless and grace while moving through life. But then you always have the few that just want the flat abs and firm ass and don't care how you do it. And really, what's the harm in that!

Anonymous said...

Another song by Pete Townshend asks "Can you see the real me, Doctor? Doctor!?!" Well, you've found me out this time, Doctor Bob.

The album on Dupree's turntable, Who Came First, was a tribute to Meher Baba, recorded in exchange for $150K, which was given directly to Sufism Reoriented, the organization that was carrying on Baba's teachings after his passing. At that time, I had a friend who taught Alexander Technique, who was working with those folks in California. I'll be visiting him next month, and perhaps can return with interesting tidbits to share. Townshend still works on behalf of projects that seek to preserve Meher Baba's teachings.

For some reason, the music of Pete Townshend has always gone right to my soul. I like it "too much".

Anonymous said...

This post lays a good grounding for a question that must inevitably follow--

"Now that I know and feel that I am a droplet of God returning to God, and this awareness grows ever deeper, what are my responsibilities to the world and my fellow droplets?"

This is the take-off point for the Gita and its message of detached action in the world.

Action is where the er, action is. That's what spiritual seekers really really want to know, deep down.

"What the bleep should I be doing?"

Lisa addresses that question in her post very nicely--she offers people a way to move vertically using the medium of they physical body.

Anybody else want to talk about mission, direction, service? Those kinds of things.

Anonymous said...

Walt: You too, huh? For some reason, Pete connects with me on a level that John and Paul don't, if you know what I mean.

Anonymous said...

Back when I was a young hipster I had a picture of Baba taped to my VW dashboard. I wasn't a follower, but I liked his smiling face. You gotta be focused on joy when you're driving an old bug. Especially when it breaks down every few hundred miles in inconvenient locations.

I was more of a Satchidananda guy then. I liked his yoga. I sat with him once in Santa Barbara and had such an intense out-of-body experience that I didn't come back in for several days. Wikipedia says his method is similar to Sri Aurobindo's. Hmmm. Pre-raccoon training?

Anonymous said...

>>unaware of itself even though there is nothing but itself<<

I think maybe unaware of itself *because* there was nothing but itself.

It needed Another to become self-aware.

To see Itself reflected in Another, to bring Itself to ultimate self-awareness, there had to be love.

But there was no Other - how could there be? There was only One.

Something stirred in the Oneness, seeking expansion. But how could it expand? It was already All that was.

More stirring, greater stirring. Anguish and fire in darkness. Dark fire.

And the dark fire turned in on itself. The Oneness constricted Itself and the fire became Light and the Light was love.

A silent Ka-blowee. Creation.

Above as Below. This is the pattern: fire is to be sublimated into light - micro-creation within our own bodies, spirits.

Gagdad Bob said...

Truth is the light
Of the silent Ka-blowee
And Love is the warmth

Anonymous said...

Inty -

The mission is - develop your talents, just as Lisa is doing.

Pretty simple. Yet profound!

Anonymous said...

Interlocutor,

You can't be doing until you're being. Oh, you can do all sorts of things, and you should, but at every moment you should be asking yourself, "what am I learning here, in this place, doing this task?"

I spent a big chunk of my life doing what was important, what I was called to do,; and now, I hear a Voice beckoning me to be.

It's all good. For some, the be-ing comes first in their consciousness, but for others it's only the do-ing that helps them know how to be.

As a very young 'coon of seventeen, I was inspired deeply by one anecdote about the life of St. Francis. He was raking and tending his garden when he was asked by a fellow monk, "if you knew that today was your last day on earth, what would you be doing right now?"

He stopped and considered, then replied, "I would continue tending my garden."

****

BTW,Too many others are looking to judge what another is doing or being. If tending a garden is what you know in your soul to be Eternally good at this moment, you'd best be about it. Jesus understood the temptation to want to define what some other person should be doing. He said, "What is that to thee? Follow thou Me."

Anonymous said...

>>He stopped and considered, then replied, "I would continue tending my garden.<<

Actual Zen saying: Before Enlightenment what does Joan do? Joan chops wood and carried water in a bucket. After Enlightenment what does Joan do? Joan chops wood and carries water in a bucket.

You can, of course, update with modern conveniences such as chain saws and plastic coolers.

Anonymous said...

Or as Gurdjieff once said, "When peeling potatos, do so with the mind of one peeling potatos."

Anonymous said...

Note to Rex Grossman - when passing the football, do so with the mind of one passing a football.

Anonymous said...

Before Enlightenment what does Rex do? Rex passes footballs. After Enlightenment what does Rex do? Rex chops wood and carries water in a bucket.

Anonymous said...

possibly tangentially related...

I was alone.
I heard a sound inside.
A sound I'd heard before.
A tone, a song, a word.
Reaching for my lonely voice
to be heard.
I tried to recognize.
I strained to hear.
I guess I made it disappear.

One day while walking I was
stopped along the way.
Just like before.
I heard. I recognized.
The very same, though different
from before.
Two voices sang as one.
Two sounds, one soul.
Ah...

"Come let me sing," I prayed,
"and my lonely voice won't be lonely
any more".
They replied, "the nicest thing about
singing is: you can always add
one more."
Our voices sang as one.
Song has one soul.
Ah...


This song from back in my '80s or '90s has always described (to me) a kind of finding one's way back to a state a friend and I used lean on in our discussions of A Course In Miracles (sans Williamson): the notion of individuals as "dimples on Spirit". That is, each of us is an almost completely isolated concentration of/on/in a Spirit that pervades us all. Something like the Aspens. Maybe "digging" focuses attention on the isolation, rather than the connection.

My ongoing internal query is: what comprises not-digging? Practically (horizontally) speaking, what activity (or non-activity?) is this? This is related to something I asked the other day. That is, if " "transcend[ing]" or "eliminat[ing]" the ego really comes down to identifying with the wider reality to which the exteriorizing ego attaches itself," then what is the horizontal pursuit(s) required to achieve this? Does it involve will's mission? Something else (too?)? Just a different awareness?

robinstarfish said...

ecstatic windmills
hear meher baba wahwah
through townsend's guitar

Anonymous said...

"Now that I know and feel that I am a droplet of God returning to God, and this awareness grows ever deeper, what are my responsibilities to the world and my fellow droplets?"

It's interesting that you should say that the above question would inevitably follow spiritual enlightenment.
Because if the droplet is truly gaining in awareness, the question answers itself or is never even raised.
If the droplet just thinks it is gaining in awareness, and is hell bent on proving it, the question mutates the droplet into a Marxist.

Anonymous said...

If the droplet just thinks it is gaining in awareness, and is hell bent on proving it, the question mutates the droplet into a Marxist.

Hmmm... perhaps we're conflating the acts of questioning one's own responsibilities and dictating those of others (i.e., according to their "gifts"). :-)

Anonymous said...

Meher Baba wasn't a pantheist, we should make clear. What he describes (and Bob, too, to an extent) is panentheism - or, put another way: God is Everything, but Everything is not God.

SGT Ted said...

Hm. GOod stuff. What popped into my haid was:

"I am what I am" -Popeye

and

"Be. Know. Do." US Army NCO Leadership model based on lifelong learning and experiencing.

Anonymous said...

Meher Baba would have probably said something like this.

True religion is the esoteric science or luminous sacred process of direct investigation of, or enquiry into light itself. The method of true religion is devotional surrender of the total body-mind of the investigator to and into light itself,done via the instruction and guidance of the Guru who is consciously alive as that light.

True religion is the way or intensive process of realizing non-separateness from Reality, Truth and the Divine Self-Condition.

Anonymous said...

" .....in lama land there's a wise old man, and he'll goose your nous for you."

Once I get you up there, where the air is rarefied
We'll just glide, starry eyed
Once I get you up there, I'll be holding you so near
You may here, angels cheer - because we're together.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
Don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

Anonymous said...

I have been reading this blog for several month. I bought the book and am re-reading it after an initial quick pass through it. The many references to other authors and books has prompted me to do some google searching so my comments on this go beyond what Bob says and what he may even believe.

I like what I read very much. My Christian faith has a very strong emphasis on Theosis. It isn't new or heretical to me. What is lacking in the "spirituality" that is omnipresent in Christianity is the necessity of love as manifest in the blood of Jesus Christ. He says, "As I have loved you, love one another." "Love your neighbor as yourself", "In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, ye have done it unto me."

Interestingly the gospel writer that most fuels the notions of theosis and Oneness is John and he is also the apostle that testifies that our perfectability (i.e. our unity with the Father) depends on the Blood of Jesus and the uniqueness of his mission and the most adamant that we have received a commandment to love one another. Do read the epistles as well as his gospel. (and the latter chapters of Revelation).

I am interested in where you would take my concerns Bob.

Anonymous said...

"The apostle whom Jesus loved" has always been something of a mystery to me. Did John call himself that out of self-aggrandizement (I doubt it), or because he wanted to remain relatively anonymous within the pages of his own work? And if he was in fact singled out for special affection by The Man HimSelf, how did he come by that?

I know my own religion fairly well, but I have a few odd blind spots I can't seem to clear up. John is one of them.

Anonymous said...

Whimsy will notice the havers or makers of the time seem to extricate a partialness of the Whole. Our fascination magnetized to their proof in the nail finds hammer fraction of an eternal second. Arteest, the moniker of latitude. Yeah? Marry one who labors, struggles with the burden of the known. Wait. Reminds me of a truth revealed. Not so long ago "WE" had cause to celebrate - decades of the bliss. It was asked of me the line of time? Honestly? Twenty five and plus some more of the years BUT I must confess seems like twenty five and plus a few MOMENTS..................











.... under water!;~) One or two or three NDE's will deliver the clarity, like an icicle in your eye, that you seek at "the feet".;~) heh heh

Anonymous said...

SGT TED!?

sgt?! boot glasr permission to speak? sgt!

sgt! at the report of small arms fire we double quick TOWARDS the report of small arms fire?!?!?! sgt

I'm in the wrong Army.;~)heh heh

Anonymous said...

Glaser:

Stop saying "heh heh" all the time. It makes you sound insane.

Anonymous said...

I am a bit dense. I meant to also add as a Christian I believe in the absolute necessity for my sins to removed by the blood of Christ. The various "spirituality" notions seem to ignore this fundamental of the Christian faith.

Anonymous said...

I'll chime in from the peanut gallery and say that if you're really into the blood of Jesus thing, this place probably isn't going to feel like a true home for you. On the other hand, Bob is a fan of the Desert Fathers, who if I'm not mistaken were very much centered on the blood, but who also were very eastern and "spiritual" -- you might even say cosmic. So I don't know, maybe studying up on those guys would help to bridge the gap between where you are and where most of the Racoons are.

NoMo said...

Interested Reader - You might even go so far as to say that every drop of blood spilt in Old Testament sacrifices painted a picture of the atoning work of Christ -- the fulfillment of all that had before been prophesied - the "new testament".

Question - Can one participate in the coonmunity AND literally believe that True spiritual birth only lies in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection?

Answer - Yes. There are a lot of like minds here - not identical minds (thankfully).

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well." Was Jesus a liar, crazy, or...

NoMo said...

No "bob-bleheads" ever bob exactly the same.

Lisa said...

Impressive, I had no idea these Desert Fathers also hosted Weight Watchers Meetings!

"I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to
gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat. I
shall say nothing on my own account, but only what I have received
from the Holy Fathers. They have not given us only a single rule
for fasting or a single standard and measure for eating, because
not everyone has the same strength; age, illness or delicacy of
body create differences. But they have given us all a single goal:
to avoid over-eating and the filling of our bellies... A clear
rule for self-control handed down by the Fathers is this: stop
eating while still hungry and do not continue until you are
satisfied. "

St. John Cassian

Anonymous said...

Lot's of folks here like Pete Townshend. I was always a big Who fan as well.

Does it not bother any of you, however, that Townshend was caught in an online pedophile (child porn) sting a couple years back? He was nailed fair and square, but used the ludicrous excuse that he logged into a child porn site (using his credit card) in order to do "research" for an upcoming book (which mysteriously never appeared).

I mean, the guy is quite likely a really sick, twisted man. Doesn't that influence your impressions of him as spiritually enlightened?

I'm not trying to pick a fight or get attacked by the regulars here, I'm honestly curious...

Anonymous said...

I came across Meher Baba in the 70's via a popular gutsy passionate singer called Melanie. And via the extraordinary guitarist Robbie Basho.

Anonymous said...

There ya go, Lisa - the Desert Fathers and other great mystic figures of yore had it DOWN.

We Baby Boomers (not you, Lisa) dust off the old truths, then go around acting like we invented them.

Anonymous said...

Rudy G announced his prez candidacy run tonight.

Rudy sees and calls evil for what it is.

Here's prayers that he stays healthy.

Anonymous said...

Anon,
You won't get any arguement from me. Judging from history I find any artists claim to spiritual enlightenment dubious at best. And since I'll never get to see them "in action" in their personal lives, I'll never know for sure.
I mean wasn't the Artist Formerly Known as Prince supposed to have become a Jehovah's Witness years ago?
Judging by the obvious phallic implications from behind the curtain at the Supahbowl, it would be difficult to detect an awakening from what I witnessed. ;)

Anonymous said...

Int said……. “what are my responsibilities to the world and my fellow droplets?" Well that is the question I am interested in at present also.

It seems Teilhard de Chardin devoted much of his life to the issue of how to sanctify action in the world. As a man of action and science his thoughts are a great inspiration for me. Bede Griffiths also sought what was essential to lead an authentic life and seemed to settle on “detached action” (detached from the result not unemotional) which is not surprising after living 30 years in India and studying their Scripture.

Bob’s answer in another post of seeking / willing beauty, goodness and truth in one’s life seems to hit the target for me also.

interested reader raises the issue of the forgiveness of sin and how central that is to understanding Jesus. I can accept Jesus as Son of God that he brought a vertical message, which was so radical the world had to kill him, and then he was raised from the dead. I am not sure what else being a sacrificial lamb for our sins adds to the above?? Perhaps it was an important point of understanding at the time?

It seems that the message “just believe” leaves a lot of people at that point with the feeling that nothing more needs to be done. That just doesn’t feel right to me.

Anonymous said...

hoarhey:

re: Prince

Yout noticed that too, huh? I've got to tell you that Americans seem pretty foolish to the rest of the world at times. A couple years ago there was an accidental glimpse of a nipple and the country went into full-blown Saudi religious police mode. This year a guy does shadow theater of an enormous phallus in front of screaming teenaged girls and nobody even misses a handful of cheetos. Is the American public really that oblivious and unsophisticated?

*Sigh*

Anonymous said...

Will and Cosa... too funny!

:)

Anonymous said...

Anon and Hoarhey:

I think the qualitative difference is that Prince is, though sometimes shockingly direct, a master of innuendo as well. A lot was IMPLIED by that shadow, but he no longer really needs to show anything more explicit. I mean, if he really wanted to measure up to what Janet Jackson did, he'd have to wear those yellow trousers with a gigantic hole in the back again.

Agnikan said...

I just wrote a little summary of Meher Baba's invo-evolutionary theo-cosmology yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Do be. Do be. Do!

"Don't be a Don't Bee.
Be a Do Bee!"
-- crazy lady from Stephen King's Misery

Or are we talking about The Doobie Brothers?

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