The Parable of the wall

A certain people with a overbearing monarch decide to embrace a certain concept of metaphysical uniqueness by building a certain wall that shuns the external world. The wall stood a thousand feet high and was resistant to the best siege weapons. The texts that were "legal" were ancient codes written for a context, the king knew that it is a context that produces a text which deals with the problems of the day and age. The wall would keep the context alive and thereby making the texts immortal for the ages to come.

The wall stands as a testimony to preserving a certain way of life. To dream beyond the walls would result only in unnecessary metaphysical problems which was too overbearing for humanity. Soon the meaning of the wall began to escape its context. It started when it became a monument of wonder and inspiration. Some others stricken by the sense of adventure sought to climb upon its summit (although they failed). It stood there for generations. Soon the wall became the center of political and religious activity ( I mean...who could miss that wall?).

Now what of those ancient texts? Do they lie lifeless in the museums because they have nothing to teach us?

Nay they have always taught us an important lesson - Yes it is possible to pass a great legacy - Yes, we solved our problems this way and these books contain the wisdom that build this community but as time marches on, wisdom should grow to meet its demands. Building an old context is against the spirit of the text.

Religion always points beyond itself. To take shelter in religion is not possible. The ancients responded to challenges using religion but it is against its own spirit to idolize it.

My comments on existentialism

Existentialism is not a Philosophical movement. Kierkegaard was not a philosopher, he was an anti-philosopher, an intellectual no doubt but not a philosopher.

Anyway we existentialists look at life from our own subjectivity rejecting all imposition of objective truth as a form of oppression and control. That is the reason why Dostoevesky's Christ is "apart from the truth". We begin with our own "being in the world". We are "flung into this world" and we find ourselves in the loving care of our mothers or in a dump yard, we encounter language, ritual, art etc, we encounter suffering, insanity, deception and death. All human discourses are myths, there is no objectivity in life, we embrace the goodness of life too, of non-human species and non-living objects too. We speak to them like they are also a part of this whole cosmic experience, we find that the gods of the universities and the philosophers dead and irrelevant....here we encounter the only value worth living for...love...and here in all this ordeal we embrace "the crucified God" because only he loves and can be loved.

Process and Becoming - The concept of Super- Metaphysics

"The quest" is the deep demon of human imagination that lurks behind every "movement". "The quest" is however linked to "rational consciousness" underplaying the role of "other entities" in reality. "The quest" is often misrepresented by grand narratives and "affects" the consciousness of the human subject. Metaphysics "attempts" to capture the "essence" of the quest but excludes the "actual involvement" of "existence" within its grand scope. Consider a flower, it is within the nature of the flower to "flourish" and shine with beauty but not all flowers "achieve" what is intrinsically built within its being. The causes may be various ranging from the case of a diseased plant to a violent storm. The the case of the first scenario the nature of the flower is altered by a "disturbance" within its true nature and in the second the disharmony of the "general" base of existence is visible. (the base being the "canvas" that holds a work of art). In the case of both being the case of the flower's impotence there is a general principle that binds us all destroying from our very nature the capacity to be genuine. Therefore all our "realities" are constructs because every reality is destined to non-existence. When metaphysics operates at a level where there is no connection with human reality and true "liberation", hope lies in decay and not in "understanding" the reality of existence within a world where binaries do not exist. There exist "disturbances" within the human system because the binaries are not identified with respect to "liberation". Binaries are identified within the context of "surrender" to forces that although perceived to be natural act contrary to its own nature. The notion that everything outside the human condition is in harmony with itself and only human beings are subject to this "unnaturalness" can be further questioned. There exists tragedy within the animal kingdom too and this "tragedy" is visible within human existence as well. A deer experiences pain and insecurity in the animal kingdom because of the presence of predictors but the reality of the deer's situation as interpreted by human beings is termed as "natural" because it is a certain "necessity" but this hierarchy is unacceptable when this is reflected in human society. Thus rational voice of "the quest" lies within human society and when the real quest is not visible to our eyes then we fail and enter into a system of "slavery" and often succumbing to our own "impotency".

There must exist an external "being" that is supra-conscious and is the cause of all becoming within its own realm of "becoming". Therefore it is necessary for an artist to destroy the "flaws" within his system and mold it into the entity that he conceives of. Therefore the grand-artist must be "involved" in this reality and work in harmony with "true becoming" that is intrinsically present in every unit of existence but is "absent" within its scope of being. Thus a revelation becomes a necessity.

A revelation must contain "truths" that contradict the "constructed" human nature to be genuine. If revelation is a product of "human construct" then it becomes the agent of "unnaturalness" and "slavery". Revelation must not deceive or defer but it must emerge out of a "per formative" or a "transcendental" sign that runs contrary to the natural "scope" of the universe. Thus a revelation must be eternally valid and must be the ground of all future existence.

When revelation is "discredited" then it loses its potency within the human realm and there is no hope left but speculative hope which in Marx's terms operate as "the opium" of the masses. "The quest" is crushed and reduced to "metaphysical" slavery or deceit that promises " the harmony of the binaries" without viewing natural "slavery" and unleashing anarchy within the human society and unconsciously promoting nihilism. Thus post-modernity remains a "play" and not diagnosing this unnatural construct.

Metaphysics and Existentialism

The quest for every great philosopher in India like in other parts of the world is the quest for "Truth". Truth in philosophical categories refers to a principle that is unchanging, uncreated and transcends human scope. Adi Shankara inspired by the vedas beheld the decaying world around him and was confronted not only with temporarily but also Buddhist philosophy which negates existence in search of "nothingness". This was clearly a rebellion against against "mediated" religion and harsh asceticism. Adi Shankara on the other hand was well aware that salvation or enlightenment is not disappearing into oblivion but realization of an all pervasive deeper reality he called "Brahman". He then smelt the decay of this world and went into a phase of negation, he eliminated the possibility of the truth withing sensual reality because none of the objects of nature can stand independently. He then looked within his soul and found a being that "poses the question of being" and then looked within it for affirmation because there is a radical movement that arises before and after the "question" and that is "the affirmation" (In Derridan terms). So the question was the affirmation and the soul IS. And he looked upon the decaying cosmic reality as only an illusion of the "atmaan" or "Brahman". Reality was but an illusion and the truth lies within and some mystical "ignorance" prevents us from grasping this reality and binds us causing us to be "engaged" in this "pseudo-reality". Other Indian mystics regarded visible reality was necessary creation to liberate the soul from "ignorance". Shri Ramanuja talks about different categories like atmaan, chit, achit and jiva but the end being escaping material reality and sansara.

Greeek metaphysics also looks to the world of forms as reality and this world as a "falling away" from the truth. While Indian philosophy was more mystical in nature although powerful intellect was also necessary, enlightenment was not "intellectual" in nature but the Greek philosophers sought some kind of an intellectual "liberation". While Indian philosophy looked upon the whole visible reality as unreal, Greek philosophy sought to favor specific entities in visible reality as closer to the truth than other entities. For example there was a duality between culture/nature, form/matter, mind/ body etc. Death would imply escaping this reality to reach the reality of permanence where only the soul can reach and not the body.

Existentialism was a movement which started with Soren Kierkegaard in the 19th century although there was proto-existentialists who preceded him. Existentialism does not start with metaphysics as its grounding rather its quest arises from the study of human existence and rejects all metaphysical answers to that problem. There is more to pain than mere "ignorance" (both spiritual and intellectual). There is an element of similarity where Buddhism picks up from but Buddha deals with the negation of material reality but Existentialism considers human reality as primary and that which does not "affect" human reality is not to be sought after. Existentialists do not believe in the revelation of anything that is transcendental because metaphysics has failed humanity, the God of metaphysics is dead rather existentialism believes in the divine who "walks among us in the cool of the day", suffers with us, understands us and aspires for the things we aspire for. A God who we can relate to in our miserable existence and not an almighty metaphysical reality. We need a God who weeps with us, rejoices with us, loves us and has a "conversation" with our immediate needs. And this is the Christian God, the word did become flesh and pitch his tent among us and we did see his glory as of the father's only son full of grace and truth. He did behold the injustice of our reality and he did prove his divinity by identifying himself with the needy and dieing the death of someone who loves and cares for us and God was pleased with his existence and raised him from the death and now he still lives with us in reality maybe not in flesh but as an omnipresent living reality and he speaks to us everyday if only we can hear him talk. We can see the drops of his blood in the street corners, we can see him crying with the abandoned, decaying with the prisoner, stinking with the leaper and languishing with insanity in the mental asylums crying "Who will go before me and speak on my behalf?"

Jesus was a crossmaker

He sneaks out in the night with a chisel and a saw in his hands, he has the hinges well oiled for he is a very proactive lad of eight. Wandering into the darkness of the night he wonders about its mystery knowing that even this would disappear. What would remain of me he asks himself as he keeps sawing that discarded log. "I remember that old man Noah he would do the same but I am way too ashamed to tell the world around me now.This is my destiny and I know that, let me speak to the darkness, oh I remember when someone spoke into the darkness around me, he pitied her loneliness but who will pity mine?". He keeps sawing that old piece of wood, chiseling it to perfection and there he lay down and found peace, a peace so beautiful that a sweet sleep descended upon him till sweet presence awoke him. "Oh yes I remember he comes in my dreams and tells me about time and how it has to end one day, his eyes are blissful and I am his very soul but who would believe me? But why do you cry dear sweet Father? I am yours, this world is yours, yes human beings hurt you all the time and never return the love you give them but you could change that if you want to". Then again in his heart that voice speaks to him and says " I love you, close your eyes...."

He awakes when he feels a chill running down his spine, he sees everybody look at him with disgrace and he knows that he is the man chosen for this. "Here lies a man who is the worst our race has ever produced, curses are way to pure to indulge with his being, may God curse him forever". He smiles and tells himself "Oh he would never do that, he loves me, he always did, I never wronged him, I was always by his side....Now smile upon me my God for you are my father". Then he looks up into the heaven and he sees nothingness, he sees death smile upon him, his soul is empty, that voice never existed but he called for him like how a lamb calls to his master who reared him only to feast upon him one day. His eyes looked upon him with trust knowing that his master would never do that for he remembered the day when he saved him from that lion and the bear but that was never so. He saved him from those dreaded beasts so that he would deliver him to the leviathan. His soul loses its essence, he longs for death but he never loses hope for he says "Even in death do I love thee, I can never hate, I hate nobody". That was the darkest day in history, the day love died. His blood cries out from the earth, cries out with love saying "If it takes this to save these human beings who never had the love we shared I would give my life a thousand times more for them and a thousand times again for all eternity and if it pleases you to destroy the one who has his origin in your soul for this cause your name is still blessed forever and though you have abandoned me my bones will hope in you for you are my love and you will love me forever".

Oh the day God wailed like a child estranged from his parents, he knew that his man loved him and his love would save the cosmos from self-annihilation, for only loves cares and nurtures. He recalls the time when he brought upon this phenomena from absolute nothingness and recalls the smile in his beautiful countenance for he brought it out of love. Love so engulfs him that he recalls his name again and he is really risen. Love never fails and even death cannot stop us from loving. This is the power of Christ.

A thought on the death of God and recreation

I always wondered about creation and the concept of "nothingness". Nothing is that which does not exist and nature is contingent existence, everything within nature is temporary and interdependent so much so that the universe finally rests on "the uncreated". The concept of God is a paradox, God is not nothingness because he holds creation and God is intra-dependent unlike nature. God does not "exist" like we do nor does his base his existence on something outside of him or derive his consciousness on something that he is not (which is nothing). Thus God's existence is "praousia" (beyond essence).

With this in mind let us consider the death of God. God cannot die because death is natural (part of nature) but when he incarnates by kenosis then he is totally a part of nature. One can hear the voice of the divine only when one is empty and likewise God could experience his own being because that which is natural is too insignificant to fill his divinity. Likewise on the cross when he lay dead, "nothingness" took its essence and that begins the process of re-creation or new creation (in Christ we are new creatures, old things have passed away and all things have become new), God again spoke his word and the spirit again initiates the resurrection. God was dead in nature, powerless and defeated but in his reality there exist no binaries (he is neither dead nor alive but super-alive and this life is experienced in empty death) and thus God is.

Crude "Worldviews"

The question of "being" in philosophy is always assumed to be "presence". That means that reality is singular, meaning is static and absolute, words are the absolute signifiers of a grand reality, the structures are the most important dictators of human behavior (leads us to the concept of "structured experiences") and the criteria for the absolute is static. I would like to meditate on the concepts of atheism and belief in God.

Atheism

There is an attempt of "biologically" study the origin of the question. The source is the end of the search. The radical movement that deals with the question being pre-existent and the source of the question is always deferred. The hypothesis is that a biological being poses the question. Therefore the question is of no importance and the source is centered around one individual entity who is not real. The biological self does not "pose" the question, matter is not the source. The source of the question is an individual self. The self is a construct that derives consciousness from nature and human society. Therefore I want to come up with this radical concept that the Universe poses the question and it is articulated through Human language. Thus crude atheism is not a healthy world view.

Theism

The theists do not have faith in the medium that carries the question but rather "absolutizes" the question. The question is an end within itself. The question is analyzed in many forms and a "transcendent" everything is envisioned. Human qualities are attributed to the question and the source of "affirmation" is decimated.

Here stand two opposing world-views by assuming two different signifiers to be absolute.

A Critic of Idolatry

The ancient understanding of idolatry was associated with worship of mortal attributes. The end begins with the question and the question is assumed to be "immortal". Derrida questions this movement and proposes another radical "era" of the "affirmation". A movement before the past and after the future. The question is just an illusion because it is a "trace" from the past and absolute meaning is an 'event" in the future which is "postponed". Thus the "Affirmation" is personal, flexible but not a entity that exists in the universe. The Greek "uncaused cause" and the "unmoved mover" is the "substance" of theistic idolatory and the "irrational" enemy of atheists.