Friday, June 06, 2008

Three, Two, One, Blessed Off! (5.20.10)

First God and then the world. If you know one you know all. If you put fifty zeros after a one, you have a large sum; but erase the one and nothing remains. It is the one that makes the many. First the one, then many. First God, then His creatures and the world. --Sri Ramakrishna

Or, erase the one in order to get to the zero.

We've said it before, but it's worth repeating, that zero gives birth to the One, the One to two, the two to three, and the three to everything else. This doesn't happen "in time" but prior to it, or "within" the eternal Godhead. It is simply in the very nature of things, which I believe is the mysterious reality which trinitarian theology is trying to convey, i.e., that God is one and three, but also neither, i.e., zero.

Or, you could say that apophatic theologians emphasize the Zero, which is nirguna brahman (God with no attributes), while cataphatic theologians emphasize the One, which is saguna brahman (God with attributes). The former emphasize union through gnosis, the latter union through bhakti. Still, both transmit the gift of knowledge; the gnostic ultimately knows Nothing (or unKnows everything), while the bhakti loves the One to whom he cleaves, and is thereby separated from nothing, which is the highest knowledge!

Listen to the wise words of Swami Ramdas, O little ringtailed one: "There are two ways: one is to expand your ego to infinity, and the other is to reduce it to nothing, the former by knowledge, and the latter by devotion. The Jnani [i.e., gnostic] says: 'I am God -- the Universal Truth.' The devotee says : 'I am nothing, O God, You are everything.' In both cases, the ego-sense disappears." Yes, you may well ask: what is the truth which, in possessing it, renders its possessor a lie? What is the truth that annihilates what was never really alive to begin with?

Or, as one Very Old Boy put it, it is like the cup, which is only useful because of its empty space that "protects" the family jewels. And like the athletic cup, we ourselves benefit from existence, but make use of non-existence. Existence is useless, like trying to live inside of a wall or eat soup from a flat spoon. Variety is the space of life. Live in that space and you'll never be bored, for God is generous, entertaining, a kick in the head, fun for the whole family!

The Zero is simply the dark side of the One; or the One is the bright side of the Zero. And they are forever bethrothed and betruthed, like cosmic man and wife, or Absolute (1, male) and Infinite (0, female). Oops! A dirty world!

The One is the vertical axis of existence, the zero its infinite and even mercurial potential, as it expands out into time and space, from timeless potential to endless plenitude. To ask why a woman can't be more like a man is to ask why the play of existence, or form, can't be more like the serious business of supraformal non-existence -- the latter of which is an even bigger joke. "Things are made from nothing; hence their true source is nothing" (Eckhart). Guffah-HA! "God's naught fills everywhere and his aught is nowhere" (Eckart). That's everything in a naughtshall!

God's essential threeness emphasizes a number of things, such as -- oh, and by the way, don't necessarily believe any of this, much less take it as orthodox theology, since I'm just riff-raffing off the top of my head and trying my best to unknow what I'm talking about and drive away more readers, for it is casual syntax Friday!

Anyway, threeness emphasizes God's going out of himself into the adventure of existence in order to return to himself, which he cannot not do. And the adventure of existence is in reality an adventure in trinitarian consciousness. God's without is our within, so our inward adventure is a journey outside ourselves and back to God. Likewise, God's within is our without, which is why we see traces of beauty and intelligence everywhere we look, like the face of the beloved. Oh, my nocturnal mischief making friends, "the universe is the outward visible expression of the 'Truth,' and the 'Truth' is the inner unseen reality of the universe." Do you not see it?

To put it another way, existence is an adventure of consciousness, in which consciousness becomes what it is not in order to rediscover what it is, which was just the modification of consciousness all along! It is the true Big Bang, and it will never cease banging, because that's what it does, baby. This is the one truth, which is no truth at all. You might say that the deconstructionists recognize this truth "from below," while the Raccoon recognizes it "from above," thereby going from modification to transformation. Thus, the mighty Raccoon may, to the foolish, look for all the world like the deconstructionists he deconstructs. But this is merely to confound the ignorant, for Petey is wise, compassionate, silly! He is always pulling your leg -- upward! Ho!

O, there is only the One Truth which requires no proof, is there not? If not, then you may stop speaking now, and forever! Shut the hell up, Mr. Olbermann! For errors and lies are many, while Truth is One. Or, to turn it around, in the absence of One, there could be no truth at all. None whatsoever. Hear the wise words of Sri Chandrasekharabharatiswamigal of the long and unpronouncable name!

"When [one] has recovered from the disease and regained normal health, nobody asks, 'What is the health you are now having?' The reason is, though diseases may be many and various, health is ever one and the same." Health is not new, it is merely the restoration of the proper state of things. It is the body -- or mind, or soul -- situated in its proper end. The body finds its rest in one station, the soul in another. But if enlightenment or reluxation is a state of total relaxation, then these are the same station. So take good care of your monkey, and your monkey will take care of you, dear friends! So says Scatter, the curious, the easily bored, the malodorous!

In going out of himself, God has left some mighty big footsteps. His revelations are the paths he has left to reascend to their source, are they not? How to get from the outhouse to the penthouse, from the cesspool to the open sea, from the frying pan into the purifying flames? Choose your vehicle: trial by fire, or rebirth by water.

William Law: "I feel within me a consuming fire of heavenly love which has burned up in my soul everything that was contrary to itself and transformed me inwardly into its own nature." Burn, baby, burn, for this agni is ecstasy!

Or, drown yourself in the flood, and flow into the bottomless sea of the naked Godhead. This is the vast O-ocean into which all rivers lose their form and find their end. Yes, you'll lose a drop or two, but you'll gain the whole sea. And if you don't like it there, you can always evaporate, become a cloud, and spend some more time hovering halfway between heaven and earth, or the sun and the soil.

Goodnaugt now!

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

J5: abc
Michael: easy as...
J5: 123
Michael: or simple as...
J5: do re mi
Michael: abc, 123, baby, you and me girl!
J5: abc
Michael: easy as...
J5: 123
Michael: or simple as...
J5: do re mi
Michael: abc, 123, baby, you and me!

Unknown said...

*sigh*.................Now my brain just hurts. Thanks Bob.

robinstarfish said...

Boojum!

Anonymous said...

Boo-yah!

Anonymous said...

Boo hoo!

QP said...

O`san´ne!

Anonymous said...

The One emerges from the limitless Zero. Joy! The eternal dance begins... There is now SOMETHING.

But this whisper, the first contraction, is at the same time the ultimate source of all existential dread.

Calamity of calamities or wonderous catastrophy, the peace of Zero has been interrupted by the stirrings of The One.

There is joy... But there is also dread. The dark side of existence. Before manifestation, before time. With The One comes the terror of separation, existential dread, the hole in the center of our souls.

A hole where dark thoughts brew, untamed by the light. And the darkest of them all:

Why does God the Creator create man? Why should God seek to know Himself? Why should Zero become One, The One become Two and Three and The Many?

To dilute the pain that He Himself created in emerging from Nothingness.

To exhaustively seek the one question for which He has no answer. AM I?

I AM. But only through man.

His joy and knowledge are shared. But so is the existential dread created when He stirred from Nothingness.

Dark thoughts, indeed. May God, by his Grace, show me His Light.

Anonymous said...

o.....m.....g......
Obama the Lightworker - via LGF

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

There are plenty of O's out there.. orbiting every star and planet! Send out your 1's, we're frOntiering!

A Rocket Theme for the mOrning:

Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars
In other words,
Hold my hand...
In other words,
darling, kiss me

Fill my heart with song
And I shall sing forevermore
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
In other words,
Please be true
In other words,
I...
Love..
You!


Three, two, one... blessed off!

NoMo said...

I love that the "Trinity" is not found in any one verse of scripture, but is only revealed by looking at the whole.

NoMo said...

Roadblock - The entire story told in the "sacred books" (Bible) might be boiled down to three chapters:

Intention (God's will)
Exile (Our will)
Reunion (God's will)

Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. Never fear - God's...WILL be done.

Anonymous said...

NOW you've done it River! And I was going to RESIST posting today. [I know, I know, Resistance is Futile (tm) and all that jazz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo7GHJ1VKV8

Beware, Brazilian raccoon at play.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"...for it is casual syntax Friday."

Oh great! Just what we need, more taxes!

Anonymous said...

Forgive me Nomo, but you are much further down the path than I. I don't see how your response answers the following problems:

1) that the emergence of God from the Godhead is itself the original source of existential dread. (and not human nature, human will)

2) that The One becomes many not just to share His joy, but also to dilute the pain and fear that was created when God stirred from Nothingness.

3) that the One actually NEEDS The Many in order to "know Himslef." (i.e. The Father asks "AM I?" and The Son answers "I AM.")

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"Choose your vehicle: trial by fire, or rebirth by water."

I choose...FireWater!!!

Skully the Sage

mushroom said...

Bob says: And like the athletic cup, we ourselves benefit from existence, but make use of non-existence. Existence is useless, like trying to live inside of a wall or eat soup from a flat spoon.

That's why you are Lord of the Coons.

The One is the vertical axis of existence, the zero its infinite and even mercurial potential, as it expands out into time and space, from timeless potential to endless plenitude.

The Y axis intersects the X at zero and everything is defined in relation to zero, whether positive or negative, vertical or horizontal.

Could you say you can be 1 with 0? As Jesus said, "May they be one just as We are one" (John 17, better in context).

3=011

mushroom said...

RE: Alan's light-worker link -- Morford is one of the few people who, by print alone, can make my skin crawl. Yet, he is so pathetic that he's almost pitiable. You really have to wonder what has to happen to someone to make them that sad.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it fascinating that Obama offers hope to an absolutely hopeless infrahuman such as Morford! It is a pure inverse mirror of reality.

Gagdad Bob said...

Hey, I'm sitting here babysitting and watching this dreadful Love Bug movie with Future Leader. I notice that the race car drivers have detachable steering wheels that they click into place when they start driving. Why is that?

Anonymous said...

This is why Leonard Cohen sings "I am the one who likes changing from nothing to one."

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Dread is a human response to the almighty and incomprehensible power of the Godhead. Correct fear is not an emotion but a sense of something that is deadly. If this power to make and unmake is not deadly, then what is? While we love God, we also must fear him correctly, as well.

Anonymous said...

I guess zero's too many and one's not enough. Or is it the other way around?

Gagdad Bob said...

Yes, zero's a crowd, but three is just right.

NoMo said...

Roadblock - What path? I was drawn through a doorway, too broken to resist, and the door shut behind me. On the other side there's this whole different reality that is going to take forever to explore (maybe that's the path). Oh yeah, the exploration calls for a lot of contemplatin' in the good book - among other things. A good day for me is when I can remember to keep looking up (in wonder). At least I'm never just talkin' to myself anymore.

I confess to not understanding the problem you're describing, but thought a different perspective might be helpful.

Ephrem Antony Gray said...

Break on through to the other side.

julie said...

Bob, in answer to your steering wheel question:

"the reason this innovation came about was that open wheel race cars and stuff like that are so tight in the cockpit that they need the wheel off to get in and out." (from some forum)

julie said...

D-Day, with modern MSM spin. (via Insty)

Matteo said...

roadblock--

God in three persons as the product of a theological nervous breakdown? Sorry, I'm not buying it. God is not three persons in order to know Himself. He is three persons because he knows Himself. So says orthodox Catholic theology. You might enjoy reading Theology And Sanity by Frank Sheed. It has some great stuff about the nature of the Trinity.

The very idea of God or the Trinity "stirring from nothingness" is heretical with respect to magisterially defined Catholic theology. God did not begin to exist at all, and the three persons are eternal. That which necessarily exists does not begin to exist. That which does not exist does not have the power to confer existence. The Zero is not prior to the One. The One is prior to all else.

Indeed, may God by His grace, show you His light!

Van Harvey said...

roadblock said "I don't see how your response answers the following problems"

They are your questions which you consider to be problems, maybe you should answer them.

Van Harvey said...

Gagdad Bob said "the race car drivers have detachable steering wheels that they click into place when they start driving. Why is that?"

... hmmm... I suspect because it's to difficult to drive without them....

Van Harvey said...

"For errors and lies are many, while Truth is One. Or, to turn it around, in the absence of One, there could be no truth at all. None whatsoever. "

I suspect that's the first big peak that must be climbed, before seeing the wide open vista's - both on the other side, and that which we had our back to while climbing upwards, face pressed close into the dirt and rock.

Puts things into perspective, I still remember the frontal lobe swirl from realizing it.

Anonymous said...

Re Morford: As the Gagster knows, I've long considered him a sort of living Platonic ideal of not only moonbattery, but of moral inversion and spiritual perversion. The man makes L. Ron Hubbard look like Saint Augustine in comparison.

Here he is at his moonlight gig, spewing an even bigger load of crap for the edification of potential yogi/ni/s:

http://www.yogatreesf.com/teachers/mark_morford.htm

I mean, of course this guy was going to fall for the ObaMessiah. His life as a walking stereotype of SF HipsterKultur demands it.

mushroom said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mushroom said...

Shoot, if I had read Julie's post (as I usually do religiously) I could have saved my idle speculation.

Anonymous said...

Roadblock,

Your little ditty there sounds as if you've written the Creation Story of the ideological cross between Darwinism and Satanism.
I'm sure in today's climate there is the possibility of a book deal and a new church if were you to flesh it out a bit.

julie said...

"if I had read Julie's post (as I usually do religiously)"

Really?
:D
Cool! Half the time I seriously wonder if I should hit "post."

Anonymous said...

The Living Flame Of Love
Songs of the soul in the intimate communication of loving union with God.

1. O living flame of love
that tenderly wounds my soul
in its deepest center! Since
now you are not oppressive,
now consummate! if it be your will:
tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!

2. O sweet cautery,
O delightful wound!
O gentle hand! O delicate touch
that tastes of eternal life
and pays every debt!
In killing you changed death to life.

3. O lamps of fire!
in whose splendors
the deep caverns of feeling,
once obscure and blind,
now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely,
both warmth and light to their Beloved.

4. How gently and lovingly
you wake in my heart,
where in secret you dwell alone;
and in your sweet breathing,
filled with good and glory,
how tenderly you swell my heart with love.

St. John of the Cross

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