concept versus physical
Yossi mentioned last night an idea that I'd heard before with another teacher. What if the idea of Moshiach -of messiah- is a concept and not an actual person? (l'havdil for those of you who would be offended, seriously this is a thought experiment.) Let's say that "saving" is kind of like nirvana or enlightenment... The concept then is that there is some kind of higher enlightenment... be it a self-awareness or a heightened awareness of the world order and how everything natural and man-made, inanimate and animate, interpersonal between humans, and even the earth and the cosmos interact on a total scale. To exist well, we have to ignore those things and focus just on our small little bit. That we need to feed, clothe ourselves, keep up our interepersonal linkages which enable us to remain in the tapestry of human life, work, etc. is a small piece and a little speck of dust piece of the greater picture. What if when it is written in the Torah that a human cannot know and see "G-d" that what we cannot bear to see is this infinity of how things are so connected and how our daily concerns are nothing in the grand scheme... such thinking leads to such intense self-negation that a person could not stand up under such a burden. Once the mind has tried to see it, the being scared of losing its "selfhood" and scared, too, of the ramifications of such order and disorder hanging in balance -the being and its mind hunker down and agree to accept "the way." So we agree to obey the rules -maybe like the concept of the Bene Gesserit. It is a means of protection.
okay, so the idea of Moshiach then, of Kwisatz Haderach, of Messiah and Savior... what if this idea, planted as it is to drive humanity to reach a certain level of togetherness and to reach a level of purpose and definition about the human condition's goals and what it is that humanity strives for... (do we strive for perfection? do we strive for goodness? do we strive for a certain kind of balanced existence?) ...is merely an idea that is planted to inspire to motivate and not much more? Who was Apollonius? who was Jesus? Who was Mohammed? who was Shabbtai Tzvi? Who was the last Lubavitcher Rebbe? (mind you I odn't equate all these men with each other. Each one had a different kind of impact on people and on different people.) ... they motivated people to behave a certain way. People warped the high ideals of how people are supposed to treat one another and chose instead to lead themselves far far astray into these things which drive wars and alter society. Materialism, though, like communism, like capitalism, is its own god and religion. Is there anyone who is not free of some credo which controls that person like a religion or like a god? If not, how do you choose which god or religoin is for you? (That is, if you are not a believing Jew and have the choice already indicated to you that there is only one true Gd. I'm not encouraging apostasy.) Seriously, though... the Hmong have no worldview which involves a higher power. Their lives focus on a philosophy of balance. The Druze often never even know the deep tenets and instead, believe that faith is most important... faith more than what the belief itself is. If you've ever read the Desiderata on trusting that the world evolves as it should... then you might understand that concept.. in the end thogh.. when push comes to shove.. the deepest part of this is that, perhaps it is true.. whatever you believe in... G-d or not, religion or philosophy/creed, order and disorder...
perhaps what is most powerful and most "right?" or fitting for the world to work as it should is that you believe what you believe...
Believing and having faith these things make the world continue to go as it should.. perhaps these things drive us to do what we do.. and everyone acting in concert or in opposition to others.. we force the movements of the world to unfold as it should... like one great cellular being... ribosomes, mitochodria, etc. ...our universe.
Perhaps that force of faith or belief in whatever we all differently believe in is what drives the world to continue...
After all there is no set reason for why one action should mean one thing more than another action...except that it is in our minds... and our minds have a power far beyond our current uses for them... or far beyond what we are aware w/r/t how we use them.
okay, so the idea of Moshiach then, of Kwisatz Haderach, of Messiah and Savior... what if this idea, planted as it is to drive humanity to reach a certain level of togetherness and to reach a level of purpose and definition about the human condition's goals and what it is that humanity strives for... (do we strive for perfection? do we strive for goodness? do we strive for a certain kind of balanced existence?) ...is merely an idea that is planted to inspire to motivate and not much more? Who was Apollonius? who was Jesus? Who was Mohammed? who was Shabbtai Tzvi? Who was the last Lubavitcher Rebbe? (mind you I odn't equate all these men with each other. Each one had a different kind of impact on people and on different people.) ... they motivated people to behave a certain way. People warped the high ideals of how people are supposed to treat one another and chose instead to lead themselves far far astray into these things which drive wars and alter society. Materialism, though, like communism, like capitalism, is its own god and religion. Is there anyone who is not free of some credo which controls that person like a religion or like a god? If not, how do you choose which god or religoin is for you? (That is, if you are not a believing Jew and have the choice already indicated to you that there is only one true Gd. I'm not encouraging apostasy.) Seriously, though... the Hmong have no worldview which involves a higher power. Their lives focus on a philosophy of balance. The Druze often never even know the deep tenets and instead, believe that faith is most important... faith more than what the belief itself is. If you've ever read the Desiderata on trusting that the world evolves as it should... then you might understand that concept.. in the end thogh.. when push comes to shove.. the deepest part of this is that, perhaps it is true.. whatever you believe in... G-d or not, religion or philosophy/creed, order and disorder...
perhaps what is most powerful and most "right?" or fitting for the world to work as it should is that you believe what you believe...
Believing and having faith these things make the world continue to go as it should.. perhaps these things drive us to do what we do.. and everyone acting in concert or in opposition to others.. we force the movements of the world to unfold as it should... like one great cellular being... ribosomes, mitochodria, etc. ...our universe.
Perhaps that force of faith or belief in whatever we all differently believe in is what drives the world to continue...
After all there is no set reason for why one action should mean one thing more than another action...except that it is in our minds... and our minds have a power far beyond our current uses for them... or far beyond what we are aware w/r/t how we use them.
posted by Meowmix Chatul at vendredi, février 25, 2005
2 Comments:
You've been reading Dune, I see.
wiggin, I've always had these thoughts long before Dune, but it was comforting to know in Dune that another thought similarly to me.
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