07-04-2008, 12:18 PM
A newly discovered (for me) pioneer in transcendental spirituality, Franklin Merrell-Wolff
http://www.integralscience.org/gsc/
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"The Nameless - Franklin Merrell-Wolff
Above, below, to right, to left, all-encompassing,
Before and after and all between,
Within and without, at once everywhere,
Transforming and stable, ceaselessly;
Uncaused, while fathering all causes,
The Reason behind all reasoning,
Needing nought, yet ever supplying,
The One and Only, sustaining all variety,
The Source of all qualities, possessing no attributes,
Ever continuous, appearing discrete,
Inexpressible, the base of all expression,
Without number, making possible all number,
Containing the lover and the beloved as one,
Doing nought, remaining the Field of all action—
The actor and the action not different—
Indifferent in utter completion;
Diffused through all space, yet in the Point concentrated,
Beyond time, containing all time,
Without bounds, making bounds possible,
Knowing no change;
Inconceivable, yet through It all conceiving becoming;
Nameless ever and unmastered;
THAT am I, and so art Thou."
_______________________________________
So many people have come to similar realizations...be it from a Unitarian transcendentalist, Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, mystical Christian & Jewish, Taoist, etc. point of view. The outer expressions of a faith tradition are not critical....they should be practices - tools for achieving inner realization...however...too often they become the objects of worship. And it will always be so...not everyone is capable of that leap....so a partial understanding is better than none. However, the confusion of the outer as truth leads to so much conflict....and domination by the priest / minister / Immam etc. class....only by performing such and such a ritual does one get "saved"...they themselves have not reached spiritual illumination and so cannot help their flocks...and often harm them. The individual seeker has a difficult road....at a minimum...studying what others have found is a start.
http://www.integralscience.org/gsc/
_______________________________________
"The Nameless - Franklin Merrell-Wolff
Above, below, to right, to left, all-encompassing,
Before and after and all between,
Within and without, at once everywhere,
Transforming and stable, ceaselessly;
Uncaused, while fathering all causes,
The Reason behind all reasoning,
Needing nought, yet ever supplying,
The One and Only, sustaining all variety,
The Source of all qualities, possessing no attributes,
Ever continuous, appearing discrete,
Inexpressible, the base of all expression,
Without number, making possible all number,
Containing the lover and the beloved as one,
Doing nought, remaining the Field of all action—
The actor and the action not different—
Indifferent in utter completion;
Diffused through all space, yet in the Point concentrated,
Beyond time, containing all time,
Without bounds, making bounds possible,
Knowing no change;
Inconceivable, yet through It all conceiving becoming;
Nameless ever and unmastered;
THAT am I, and so art Thou."
_______________________________________
So many people have come to similar realizations...be it from a Unitarian transcendentalist, Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, mystical Christian & Jewish, Taoist, etc. point of view. The outer expressions of a faith tradition are not critical....they should be practices - tools for achieving inner realization...however...too often they become the objects of worship. And it will always be so...not everyone is capable of that leap....so a partial understanding is better than none. However, the confusion of the outer as truth leads to so much conflict....and domination by the priest / minister / Immam etc. class....only by performing such and such a ritual does one get "saved"...they themselves have not reached spiritual illumination and so cannot help their flocks...and often harm them. The individual seeker has a difficult road....at a minimum...studying what others have found is a start.