Who is Satan, Lucifer or the Devil?

1. Satan - The name ‘Satan’ is a 10th century English word. It comes from the Semitic root "Stn," which represents opposition or adversary. The root word created a Hebrew word, "sathane", and meaning adversary. In original Jewish usage, it is found in the book of Job. The Satan is the mental adversary, not of the Divine, but of mankind. It is a human mental condition or state as an opposite of the mental state of goodness; not a person.

Thus, Satan' is not a person, a real character or being but a personification of an adversarial role or evil to test the genuineness of human virtue. As a fictitious creature, 'Satan' is used to scare people as we do with children so that they obey rules without questioning and when they are too young or immature to understand their purpose.

'Sin' in Greek is "hamartia," which is a state or condition of an "intellectual error in judgmental reasoning." Understanding this concept of 'sin' affirms the freedom and the acceptance of the full responsibility and consequences for one’s own actions. A person can only achieve victory over gross or beastly passions through knowledge. We are by nature NOT sinful or unclean but we drift away by thoughts, words and actions from our own inborn highest potential or divine selves (Genesis 1:27; 2:7 and Psalms 82:6) and by living a life in the lower stages of consciousness, like the prodigal son who chose to be in self-exile and later lived the life of pigs. We should not blame "Adam and Eve," ancestors, parents or anyone for our own transgressions of an "intellectual error in judgmental reasoning." The source of ALL evil is hate, greed and ignorance.   

“We are not sinners, we just make mistakes. In Hebrew, there is no word for sin. The (scriptural) word "Chet" appears in reference to an arrow, which "missed the target." The archer is not "bad." Rather, he makes a mistake - due to a lack of focus, concentration or skill. To avoid mistakes and achieve our fullest potential, get an education about life which is buried deep inside you and human nature.” - Rabbi Noah Weinberg, 'The ABC's of Judaism'

(www.aish.com/jl/48970081.html)

2. Lucifer is a Latin word meaning "light bearer" (from lux, lucis, "light", and ferre, "to bear, bring"), a Roman astrological term for the "Morning Star", the planet Venus. (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913. New York: Robert Appleton Company). 

Christians have used the words ‘Satan’ and ‘Lucifer’ interchangeably, while some authors have referred to Lucifer as Satan's name before his expulsion from Heaven.

The word ‘Lucifer’ was the scriptural translation of the Septuagint Greek heosphoros, "dawn-bearer" and phosphoros, "light-bearer". It is itself the translation of the Hebrew Helel ben Shahar, (Jewish Encyclopedia) i.e. ‘Son of Dawn’.

The name Lucifer was first applied to Satan around 400 CE by St. Jerome, a former hermit who served as secretary to Pope Damasus. St. Jerome was responsible for the Latin ‘Vulgate Bible,’ translated the word into the Latin ‘Lucifer,’ which refers to Venus.  The Latin ‘Vulgate Bible’ is the authorized scriptural version of the Roman Catholic Church.

Lucifer is the term originally used by the Romans to refer to the planet Venus when the planet was west of the sun and hence rose before the sun in the morning, thereby being the morning star. The ancient Greeks and Romans both used different words for this planet when it appeared in the morning sky from its appearance in the evening sky.

The Greeks called it ‘Hesperus’ in the evening and ‘Phosphorus’ in the morning; while the Romans later called it Venus in the evening and Lucifer in the morning. Hence, the translation of the Hebrew, via Greek, into Latin (i.e., from the Hebrew to the Septuagint in the Vulgate), naturally would introduce the word "Lucifer" as the correct Latin translation of the Hebrew. 

Isaiah 14:12 in The New International Version, the verse is as follows: “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations.”

And the Good News Bible: “King of Babylon, bright morning star, you have fallen from heaven! In the past you conquered nations, but now you have been thrown to the ground”

The word is applied by the writer of the prophecy to the King of Babylon, partly in reference to the astrology for which Chaldea was famous in ancient times, partly to the prevailing belief in the deification of heroes. The King of Babylon had complacently looked forward to the time when he would ascend into heaven and exalt his throne above the stars of the Divine. But in reality his dead body would be treated with the utmost contempt.

''A carcass trodden under foot”, while his soul would descend into Sheol, and there receive but an empty honour from the shades, astounded that the great and mighty king could become like one of themselves. - F.H. Woods, A Dictionary of the Bible Vol. III. (Edited by James Hastings, 1908)

The myth about the fall of Lucifer from heaven to the underworld is of non-Christian origin. It was derived from the Greek cosmic power of Hephaestus (the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire, whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan) who fell from Mt. Olympus (the highest mountain in Greece in which they considered as the home of the Olympians, the principal divinities in the Greek pantheon i.e. temple of all divinities) to the nether regions, where his forges were located.

In ancient art, Hephaestus is depicted as lame from the fall. Later the word was used to the demon of sinful pride in ‘Paradise Lost,’ an epic poem by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. The poem grapples with many difficult theological issues, including fate, predestination and the Trinity. It was originally published in 1667 and a second edition followed in 1674.

The poem concerns the scriptural story of the ‘Fall of Man’ i.e. the ‘temptation’ of Adam and Eve by the serpent and their ‘expulsion’ from the Garden of Eden. John Milton's purpose, stated in Book I of the Paradise Lost, is "justify the ways of God to men" (Milton 1674, 4:26) and elucidate the conflict between the Divine's eternal foresight and free will and discernment.

Based on and for more reading, “Some Light on Lucifer” www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/world/christ/xt-ibel2.htm

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Heaven (n.) Old English heofon, earlier "sky, firmament," probably from Proto-Germanic. *hibin-, dissimilated from *himin- (cf. Low German heben, Old Norse himinn, Gothic himins, Old Frisian himul, Dutch hemel, German Himmel "heaven, sky"), perhaps from the prehistoric language of Eurasia root *kem-/*kam- "to cover" (cf.chemise). There is nothing to do with the place of residence of the Divine nor a place of reward for the good but dead.

The concept of Heaven arises from Zoroastrian ‘Spenta Armainti,’ a righteous society, which is not in the skies beyond the clouds, but on earth. It is a home, a neighbourhood, a community, a society, a country, a place which has to be created by our righteous thoughts, words and deeds, and is the fruit of ‘Vohu-Mana’ (Good Mind).

The word Paradise was derived from the Greek word ‘Pari Daiza’ and meant circular enclosure, behind which in ancient Persian, the Zoroastrianists, created beautiful gardens which they called ‘Ferdows.’ It was originally introduced by Xenophon in his ‘Oeconomicus’, where he relates how Kurosh brother of King Ardeshir personally conducted Lysander the Greek General, round his Paradise at Sardis.

Xenophon writes, "....Lysander was full of admiration for the beauty of the trees, the accuracy of their spacing, the straightness of their rows, the regularity of the angles and the multitude of their scents...’. The creation of such a place was possible because the Zoroastrianists had used their ‘Vohu-Mana’ (Good Mind) and learned the secrets of the plants, and used it to create these beautiful gardens. The system of planting would today be categorized under scientific farming.

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Hell (n.) Old English hel, helle, "nether world, abode of the dead, infernal regions," from Proto-Germanic. *haljo "the underworld" (cf. Old Frisian helle, Dutch hel, Old Norse hel, German Hölle, Gothic halja "hell") "the underworld," lit. "concealed place" (cf. Old Norse hellir "cave, cavern"), from the prehistoric language of Eurasia *kel- "to cover, conceal, save" (seecell).

The English word may be in part from Old Norse Hel (from Proto-Germanic. *halija "one who covers up or hides something"), in Norse mythology the name of Loki's daughter, who rules over the evil dead in Niflheim, the lowest of all worlds (nifl "mist").

The word is used in the KJV for Old Testament Hebrew "Sheol" and New Testament Greek Hades, Gehenna.

Used figuratively for "state of misery, any bad experience" since at least late 14century.

Hell is according to many religious beliefs about the afterlife, a place of torment, of great weeping and gnashing of teeth. The English word 'hell' comes from the Norse 'Hel', which originally referred to the feminine cosmic power of the Norse underworld. In most religions' conception of Hell, evildoers will suffer eternally in Hell after their death or they will pay for their bad deeds in hell before reincarnations.

Hell exists in the Christian popular imagination. It has its origins in Hellenized Christianity. Judaism, at least initially, believed in Sheol, a shadowy existence to which all were sent indiscriminately. Sheol may have been little more than a poetic metaphor for death, not really an afterlife at all. In any case, the afterlife was much less important in ancient Judaism than it is for many Christian groups today; indeed, the same can be said for modern Judaism as well.

The Hebrew ‘Sheol’ was translated in the Septuagint as 'Hades’, which means both the ancient Greek abode of the dead and the cosmic power of that underworld. Haidou was the genitive form of the word, meaning "the house of Hades". Haides was ‘origin', the name for the underworld in Greek mythology comprises the collected legends of Greek divinities and ancient heroes and heroines, originally created and spread within an oral-poetic tradition. 

The human mind, Mana, can at the same time be used in a ‘Ahri’ or bad way, and is called ‘Ahri-Mana.’ The net result of such use will be the creation on Hell on earth. Enmity, war, famine, sickness and conflict with the laws of nature are a result of ‘Ahri-Mana.’ The wrong use of knowledge upsets the balance in nature and creates difficulties. The constant conflicts in large and small pockets around the world create hell. The social and economic systems, which exploit human and natural resources all create hell. So Hell is not under the ground, no horned devils, no snakes or fire await us after our death, but hell exists on earth, and we create it with our Ahri-mana and live with the difficulties while we are alive.

This was the original concept of Heaven and Hell in Zoroaster’s teachings. Today most religious scholars agree that heaven and hell have come to other religions through Zoroastrianism.

Later the Arabic Moslems who conquered Persia repeated the same exercise of burning the books, because they believed all that people needed to know was given by the Divine in the Koran. They did not allow the people under their rule to learn any thing but the Koran. Thus, ‘Vohu-Mana’ was out of use for a second time, this time by the power of the sword. Wrong concepts started creeping into Zoroastrianism, among them was the concept of the heaven and hell after death and away from the earth.

It is of significance to note that heaven and hell do not feature in the Hebrew Scriptures, being purely scriptural concepts. The very word ‘hell’ was taken from the Indo-European feminine cosmic power of the underworld, Hel.

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Sheol (n.) 1590s literally "the underworld, Hades." Used in the scriptures in place of Hell in many passages. Sheol is the term in Hebrew which means a grave or pit not a place of punishment for the wicked after their death.

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Hades 1590s, from Greek Haides, in Homer the name of the cosmic power of the underworld. Hades was the habitation of the dead or shades not a place of punishment for the wicked after their death.

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Gehenna, from the Greek geenna or the Hebrew hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom, is a deep narrow glen south of Jerusalem, where the Jews offered their children to the god Molech (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31, 19:2-5), as seen in Jeremiah this practice was strongly condemned by the prophets. Later it became a refuge for all rotten material which defiled the city; and thus became a symbol of the place of everlasting punishment, especially with its accounts of eternal burning fire.

‘Gehenna’ is a word tracing to Greek, ultimately from Hebrew Gai-Ben-Hinnom meaning “Valley of the Son of Hinnom” and is still called Gai Be', from the Valley of Ge-Hinnom, a valley near Jerusalem used as a landfill. Hebrew landfills were very unsanitary and unpleasant when compared to modern landfills. The Hebrew places were filled with rotting garbage and the Hebrews would periodically burn them down. However, by that point they were generally so large that they would burn for weeks or even months. In other words they were fiery mountains of garbage. The early Christian teaching was that the damned would be burnt in the valley just as the garbage was.

Gehenna is fairly well defined in rabbinic literature. In Judaism, Gehenna, while certainly a terribly unpleasant place, is not hell. The overwhelming majority of Rabbinic thought maintains that people are not tortured in hell forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 12 months. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Gan Eden (Heaven), where all imperfections are purged.

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Please read the Divine Comedy, an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between c. 1308 and his death in 1321 and Inferno, a 2013 mystery thriller novel by American author Dan Brown.

Is the Divine an External or Internal Reality?

Words as Signposts

A word, number or a name is a signpost. If you follow the direction of a signpost, you will arrive at the signposted place or feature. You can only arrive with one’s own ability and effort. A signpost is like a symbol, which is “an outwardly perceptible thing, which in itself, however, is only an image - not an unreal image, but one behind which stands a real thing or event.”

What is Essence?

Literally, an “essence” is the inner core or internal quality of something life. It is called ‘Noumenon’ in Greek and the Arabic word is ‘sulaalah’ which means ‘something extracted, the best part of a thing’. The opposite of ‘Noumenon’ is the external quantity called ‘Phenomenon.’

“Phenomenon – the appearance which anything makes to our (physical senses) as distinguished from what it is in itself.” (Chambers’ Twentieth Century Dictionary).

“…all objective things, the world and all things in it, physically objectified to the senses, are the phenomenal images of noumenal concepts, all things visible being the concrete reproduction, and therefore the actual material presentation of the ideas of a cosmic consciousness that framed them in thought. Such being the case, the grandest and noblest, the most transcendent activity of intellect is to discern the frame and content of the original cosmic Mind. The art or science of such an activity for the human mind was, as is obvious at a glance, an enterprise that fell within the capability of only the most cultivated intellects. It lies quite beyond the reach of "average" humanity. It was a heavy task even for the most capable among the philosophers.” – Alvin Boyd Kuhn, ‘Shadow of the Third Century.’ 

The Essence (inner core or internal quality) is that which is enduring, eternal and infinite. It is the ultimate reality. It can also be called “the Absolute” (“Parabraham” in Sanskrit). (Is this the source of the scriptural name “Abraham”?)

“The word, ‘Absolute’ is derived from the Latin “ab” and “solvo.” “Ab” means ‘from’. “Solvo” is derived from the Greek with the prefix ‘se’ changed to ‘so’; it literally means ‘without ties’. Absolute means ‘self-sufficient’ or ‘self-evident.’ It is the opposite of ‘relative’, which means ‘with ties.’ If there exists things with ties, there must be things existing without ties. 

Parabraham is “devoid of all attributes and essentially without any relation to manifested, finite Being. It is ‘Be-ness’ rather than Being (in Sanskrit, Sat), and is beyond all thought and speculation” (The Secret Doctrine, 1:14).

The Essence is the reality independent of the physical senses. This dimension of reality is absolute, infinite, universal and eternal. The Greek philosopher, Plato (an initiate at a temple of the ancient Egyptian town of Sais and a student of Sechnuphis, a priest of Heliopolis/Anu for 13 years) called this reality beautiful, goodness and justice. He said to live by these standards, is the good life we should aspire for and to grasp it is to grasp the ultimate Truth or the Absolute.

Plato defined ‘Essence’ as that which has “real being,” and described it as colourless, formless, and intangible visible only to the mind or higher reason that guides the soul. 

The Divine as a Mystery

The Enligsh word “mystery” is derived from Greek "musthrion," which means a "hidden secret thing, a riddle, a religious secret, confined only to the initiated and not to ordinary people, a mystic of hidden sense, a metaphor, an allusion to an Old Testament saying, an image or form seen in a vision or a dream." - www.jesus888.com.

The Latin "mysterium" and Greek "musterios" are derived from the same verbal root "mus" which means "to close the eyes or lips" and one who was initiated into the ancient mysteries was called "mustes," meaning "one vowed to silence."

Thus, strictly speaking, silence and secrecy are integral components of the deep truth teachings about the Divine, nature and humanity, as the Taoist dictum puts it: "Those who know don't speak and those who speak don't know."

"The (Hebrew Scriptures) versions use the word mysterion as an equivalent for the Hebrew "Sod," which means ‘secret’ (Proverbs 20:19, Judith 2:2, Sirach 22:27, 2 Maccabees 13:21). In the New Testament, the word mystery is applied ordinarily to the sublime revelation of the Gospel (Matthew 13:11, Colossians 2:2, 1 Timothy 3:9, 1 Corinthians 15:51)." - Wikipedia.

 
The word "mystery" has the exact same meaning with "occult." Occult means "secret, not divulged." This is a word with origins in the 1530s and it comes from Latin, "occultus," which means "hidden, concealed, secret." A part of the word 'occult' is "cult" and this comes from Latin "cultus" which means to "labour, care, tend." "Cult" later gives us "culture" which means tilling of land from Latin, "cultura" which means agriculture. Today the word, “occult” has negative sentiments associated with it arising out of the popular or literalist ignorance about that which is hidden or concealed.

Siddhatha Gautama, the Buddha, rebelled against the ceremonial rituals and priestly class of the Brahmins in India and introduced a religion of the mind and heart. Likewise, more than five hundred years later, Yahoshua ben Pandera, the Nazarene Rabbi, (renamed “Jesus/Iesous the Christos” by the Hellenic Jews) rebelled against the conservative priest class of Judaism by preaching the need to realise the kingdom of the Divine within onself, spoke openly against the priestly hypocrisy and the insufficiency of Hebraic strict rules and severity of religious procedures and rituals.

Both of the Siddhatha Gautama, the Buddha and Yahoshua ben Pandera, the Nazarene Rabbi, can be considered religious reformers in Hinduism and Judaism, respectively, by focusing on the nobility of individual character rather than institutional discipline or formal compliance of doctrines and dogma. 

“Those admitted to the mysteries, were not allowed to divulge what they were shown. The unknown is necessarily the misunderstood, hence in common parlance the words "mystery" and "mysterious" came to mean not merely that which cannot be spoken about, but owing no doubt to a later (vulgar) bias of men's minds, something which does not really exist, or something contradictory to sense and reason and which is only professed by charlatans or those who want to mystify others and to get credit for knowledge they do not really possess.

“But this is a later development. What is properly understood as a mystery, and consequently mysticism, is that which is related to the essence and inner principle, the ultimate reality of things, precisely the reverse of the popular idea. It implies something which not only may not, but which cannot be fully divulged. It is concerned with experiences on a plane beyond the reach of words, and when the subject of these experiences tries to express them in ordinary language, the result is a confused account, a sort of floundering in a sea of terms altogether inadequate to the expression of such things.” - Emily Kislingbury, The Mystic Side of Christianity (Theosophical Siftings, Volume 5 - 1892-1893)

Thus, strictly speaking, silence and secrecy are integral components of the deept truth teachings about the ultimate and absolute reality of things, as the Taoist dictum puts it: 'Those who know don't speak and those who speak don't know'.

The meaning of life is elaborately concealed in the mystery and nature of the Divine and deep knowledge about the Divine leads us to the innermost depths of life and creation.

In religious terms, there are three types of human beings – Theists, Atheists and Agnostics.

      1.      A Theist is one who acknowledges the existence of the Divine.

     2.     An Atheist is the direct opposite of being a Theist. Many atheists are decent and rational human beings who are law-abiding citizens even if some Theists may find their viewpoints objectionable.

     3.      Agnostics are those in the middle of Theists and Atheists, they have no position over the existence or non-existence of the Divine.

There are two types of Theists – Externalist and Internalist, depending on whether the Divine is considered or acknowledged externally out there or internally, respectively.

The Essence of the Divine

In discovering the essence of the Divine, let us now fully explore whether the Divine is an external or internal reality.

1.    As an External Reality, the Divine is an invisible Being with anthropological (human) attributes having a separate place to live called heaven in the outer space of the sky who harshly punishes and kindly rewards. The Divine, the invisible Supreme Being, is considered to be "enthroned in space, who dispenses good or evil, either according to His whim or fancy, or according to our desires." He is also viewed as requiring appeasement by endless petitioning or supplacation, through emotional admiration and fervent or relentless adoration.

"When a human being grasps (the Divine) as another being, albeit a more powerful than him/herself, then he/she relates with (the Divine) as a dutiful slave, whose duty is to do his bidding. Blindly following a set of narrowly defined rules makes one Divine’s prisoner, or rather, the prisoner of dogma laid down by humans for their own ends...” - Clara Szalai, "Holophany: The Loop of Creation" (Smashwords, 2007). Religious intolerance, extremism and fanaticism have largely been the manifestation of this worldview. The Divine becomes an individuation and projection of the fears, insecurities and paternalistic needs of the Self. The base of this religious worldview is the egoistic human wants and unconscious vulnerabilities driven by the deepest infantile yearnings requiring a harsh, intrusive and interfering paternal figure.

This is the definition of the Divine whose mental picture is a essence and image is based on the world of physical senses and mental perception. This type of perceiving the Divine is as a result of individual or collective alienation of the Self. It causes one to live in the egoistic or lower stages of human development. “The mental perception and public representations of (the Divine) in fact resemble things encountered in the sense-world.” The Divine is of humanoid image and attributes that have been imagined and perceived in the human mind. This is the concept of the Divine of the religious literalists whose existence is denied by atheists, doubted by skeptics and laughed off by esoterics or mystics.

“The notion that there is only one (force) – an omnipotent father figure who keeps a constant watch over us, controlling everything which happens, rewarding us for doing good and demanding complete subservience and devotion – obviously satisfied (and continues to satisfy) a deep-rooted psychological need of fallen human beings... …(Lowly developed) human beings need an externalist (Divine) in response to the loss of the sense of meaning or the loss of awareness of spirit force or receptive and present-centred awareness…The concept of an externalist (Divine) is a way of dealing with a world that is cold, alien and hostile. Life is considered as absurd and unnecessary. If (the Divine) was overlooking the world, protecting people and arranging everything that is happening, then life will not be absurd and the world was not going to be completely indifferent. An externalist (Divine) is a reaction to the sense of separation and incompleteness created by loss of life meaning. The belief that (the Divine) is always present and watching over us is a defence mechanism against human beings’ sense of isolation and loneliness…(Lowly developed) human beings need to believe that there is an entity or entities who are always watching over them, who is always there, wherever they are and whatever they are doing (even if he is not actually in the world with them). If an externalist (Divine) was there, people are never alone.” – Steve Taylor, “The Fall: The Insanity of the Ego in Human History and the Dawning of a New Era” (O Books, 2005), paraphrased. 

Therefore the externalist perspective is that Divine is a humanoid being (“having an appearance, character and attributes resembling that of a human being”) located somewhere in the universe ready to benevolently reward or viciously and harshly punish unless if fervently supplicated and unquestionably submitted to.

2.    As an Internal Reality, the Divine is a discovery and an experience within. Such a perspective considers the Divine as an impersonal, formless, eternal and infinite life sustaining cosmic force or energy (called “chi” by the ancient Chinese and “prana” in Sanskrit of India). It is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. In each individual, it is the "consciousness, intelligence and creativity" and thus the final or grand court of appeal for a human being’s punishment or reward. The journey of re-connection with the life sustaining cosmic force or energy (Genesis 1:27; 2:7), is directed towards the internal Essential, Real or True Self to discover, awaken and actualise the individualised grand or cosmic powers or faculties – reasoning, discernment and causation. The life sustaining cosmic force or energy does not reside in an organisation, building or public sphere; but very deep within our hearts awaiting discovery. The life sustaining cosmic force or energy is considered the life “First Cause” and “Sustaining Cause” of "consciousness, intelligence and creativity."

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of (the Divine) is within you.” - Luke 17:21 as based on Genesis 1:27; 2:7 and Psalm 82:6. This approach sees the Divine, life sustaining cosmic force or energy, as part of and within a human being and the universe.

According to Pythagoras, “(The Divine) is the Cause of all things, the Intelligence of all things and the Power within all things. The motion of (Divine) is Circular, the body of (the Divine) is composed of the substance of Light, and the nature of (Divine) is of the substance of Truth.”

Therefore, the expression ‘the Divine’ is just a signpost or metaphor for the impersonal formless, infinite and eternal life sustaining cosmic force or energy, the indwelling Infinite Great Spirit.

The Divine as the Cosmic is the All (life-force or life sustaining energy) within All (humanity and all aspects of the universe). The Cosmic Energy is the One (life sustaining force or energy) within All (humanity and all aspects of the universe). This whole worldview is centered around "harmony, vitality, and appreciation of the world around."

This is the profound understanding of those who consider things more deeply and are found in the more advanced or higher stages of human development. Religious tolerance is the forte of this worldview’s approach to life. It means affirming that each religious and denominational view attempts to represent a valid way to the divine from a certain insufficient and limited point of view.

“All that humanity is or can ever hope to be depends upon its concept of (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy). Humanity’s concept of (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy) must pass through three definite states symbolized by the Spirit/Energy (the Cause or Source), the Mind (Line or the Means) and Matter (the Result or Effect). The lowest concept of (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy) is Matter - as an individuality, personality or a physical entity. Superior to this concept is that of (the Divine) as a mental entity. The third and highest definable concept is that of the life sustaining cosmic force or energy) as a Spirit/Cosmic Energy - permeating and diffusing life-giving principle. Above all these concepts and superior to (the Divine) as a spiritual entity is that concept of Absolute SPACE – formless and but an incomprehensible fullness. The absence of form means impossibility of destruction.

“Humanity’s status in the cosmos is determined, therefore, by the quality of its thinking. Quality, as applied to mental processes, is not necessarily intensity but rather refinement and delicacy. Unless the inner nature transcends the limitations of both the flesh and the mind, the Self can never attain to a full measure of expression. Whether a human being be beastly or (divinely) does not depend upon his outward appearance but rather upon the clarity of his inner perceptions. Many of the most respected citizens of every community are actually ravaging beasts concealing their primitive instincts under a thin veneer of culture. On the other hand, some whom the world regards as failures possess an innate beauty, which elevates them far above the level of their fellows. 

“Those (divinely) may be defined as those in whom the state of knowing has reached a degree of relative perfection, and those beastly are creatures in whom the state of knowing is asleep. Between these two extremes is a human being, who wanders about in a state of partial knowing, united to the bestial creation by his ignorance and to the higher orders of divinities by his dawning rationality.” – Manley Palmer Hall, ‘Lectures on Ancient Philosophy: An Introduction to Practical Ideals’ (1929). (my own emphasis)  

“We do not have to search for (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy), because the presence of the Divine permeates all things. The closest we can come to thinking about (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy) is as a process rather than a being. We can think of it as “be-ing,” as verb rather than noun…As long as we relate to (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy) as Father and we as children, we sustain the dysfunctional model in which Father knows best. We not only remain alienated with a sense of abandonment, we relinquish our personal sense of responsibility. We think Father will take care of everything.” – Rabbi David A. Cooper, ‘God is a Verb: The Nature of God’ (Riverhead Books, 1997). (my own emphasis)

Therefore the internalist perspective is that Divine is considered as an infinite, immortal and eternal breath of life found within and around universe in general and humanity in particular as a cosmic consciousness, intelligence and creativity, and needing no human mention and supplication. The Divine is within and around us as an immanent Life Force, Vital Force (“Elan Vital” in French) beyond the concept of Time and Space. In ancient Egypt, this single cosmic power was unrepresented except for its creative energies or causal attributes and functions called “neteru” (plural for ‘neter’ and ‘netert’). The single and universal Life Force is “Prana” in Sanskrit and “Chi/Qi” in Chinese, “Ki” in Japanese, “Pneuma” in Greek, “Great Spirit” by Native Americans, "Shekinah" in Hebrew, "Spirit" in Christian theology (Breath of Life, Genesis 1:3, 2:7), "Energy" in science and "Cosmic Energy" in metaphysics. The word ‘spirit’ is derived from Latin ‘spiritus,’ and it means "breath," "air" or "wind.” This is the vital energy and active principle found within and around all living things. It is pulsating and permeating within and around everything as it throbs in intense rhythmic motion so that every life experience is about its manifestation.

To the Internalist, the Divine cannot be worshipped or supplicated to but rather imagined in the mind, felt in the heart and actuated in our lives as the greatest and highest Good, Truth and Beauty. It is not a way of dealing with pain, uncertainties, hardships and tragedies of life. It is about allowing one to possess a grounded center "connected with issues of confidence, power, will, trust, support, and equanimity." 

"Freedom comes through the realization that there is no (Divine) outside of Self. Then comes the freedom; no need to beg, plead, and reach out to a god somewhere who may or may not listen, depending upon his mood that day. A (Divine) who may or may not grant your request depending upon you having spoken the right words or followed a rigid list of standards with regard to the perfect words to be used  or even some special magic words known only to a select few." - The Acturus Group. 

This means that the cosmos or the entire universe is divinely animated to have what Jan Assman called "cosmotheism." As a result of militant monotheism of organised literalist religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), the world was separated from its own indwelling Infinite Great Spirit, as the life sustaining cosmic force or energy.

"The religion of the future will be cosmic religion. It should transcend (an externalist divinity) and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity." - Albert Einstein.  

 “(An externalist Divine) is a human social invention to keep insecurity in check because being human is a very insecure thing to be. We’re self-conscious. We know we’re going to die and we have to relate to that. Animals don’t have to relate to that, they just live until they die. Human beings are the only animal that commits suicide or uses drugs. (An externalist Divine) is part of our defense system against the radical insecurity of life.

“In order for (an externalist Divine) make you secure you have to make excessive claims…You have to make a claim that locks security up tightly. It doesn’t work, but it’s popular. There will always be fundamentalist churches…

“(The Divine within) is not supposed to make you secure. (This view) is supposed to give you the courage to walk into an insecure world knowing that you’re not alone and to embrace the radical insecurity.

“(An externalist view of the Divine) is not about truth, it’s about security. The sort of thing I’m presenting is never going to be the majority view but it’s going to be the minority point of view for those who are bold enough to look at life as it really is and not to need a narcotic to get through it but as something that gives them the strength to embrace the radical insecurity of life, and I think that’s worth doing.

“(The Divine within) is not about saving people from their sins. It’s about expanding the sense of what it means to be human. That’s a very big difference. I’m tired of being saved from my sins. People say, “You don’t believe in sin.” But, that’s not true. I believe that human beings are incredibly capable of doing evil. We do that because we’re survival-oriented creatures. That means we can’t help but be self-centered—and that’s what the church called “original sin.” (The Divine within) doesn’t rescue us from that aspect of our humanity. What (the Divine) does is lift us beyond the survival mentality into a kind of humanity that can give itself away in love.” - Bishop John Shelby Spong, in an interview about his book, 'Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World' (HarperOne, 2011).

The word 'spirit' is derived from the Latin, “spiritus,” which means “breath or to breathe, the act of inhaling and exhaling” or "the Breath."

Job 33:4: "The Spirit of the Divine has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life" and Psalms 33:6: "By the word of the Lord were heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."

“Spiritual” means "1. Of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. 2. Of, concerned with, or affecting the soul. 3. Of, from, or relating to the Divine; deific."

“Soul” is “1. the animating and vital principle in human beings, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and often conceived as an immaterial entity. 2. The spiritual nature of human beings, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state.”

The Hebrew schema for "Ruach Elohim" (Spirit of the Divine) is “Resh-Vav-Chet Aleph-Lammed-Hey-Yod-Mem” (RVCH ALHIM) and its gematria or numerical value is 200+6+8 = 214, 1+30+5+10+40 = 86, giving a total of 300. The letter Shin (Sh) is 300, and is equivalent to the “Spirit of the Divine.”

In Genesis 1:2, "the Spirit of the Divine moved upon the face of the waters." The words "the Spirit of the Divine" would thus be "the Breathing of the Divine" and this is related to the "Swára" in Sanskrit, it means the “Great Breath” being the commencement of all life.

The ‘Spirit of the Divine’ is called ‘Ruach Elohim’ in Hebrew and it is the life giving and creative cosmic agency (Genesis 1:2); an active power (Isaiah 40:13); and works in providence (Psalms 104:30). It constitutes the animating dynamic, which results in a human being to be a living creature (Genesis 2:7).

In many instances, the ‘Spirit of the Divine’ enabled an individual to speak or act on behalf of the Divine as an energizing force - Genesis 1:2; 42:38; Exodus 31:3; 35:31; Numbers 24:2; 1 Samuel 10:10; 11:6. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath (Ruach) of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6) and "The Spirit (Ruach) of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." (Job 33:4).

In a living creature, 'Ruach' is the breath, whether of animals (Genesis 7:15; Psalms 104:25, 29) or mankind (Genesis 2:7; Isaiah 42:5; Ezekiel 37:5). In humankind, 'Ruach' (Spirit) denotes the principle of life that possesses reason, will and conscience.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, ‘Ruach’ is translated 180 times as spirit(s), 92 times as wind(s) and 32 times as breath(s). Thus the word "Ruach" generally means a spirit, mighty wind (air in motion) and breath of life. Breath is ‘neshamah’ in Hebrew. A spirit is the “vital force” ('prana' in Sanskrit) of nature and life. It is that “which is invisible to human sight and which gives evidence of force in motion. Such invisible force is capable of producing visible effects.”

Scientifically, breath brings oxygen into bodies and thus is a source of life because the whole system is dependent on air.

The Hebrew schema and gematria of Ruach is ‘Resh-Vav-Chet’ (200+6+8 = 214 = 2+1+4 = 7)

·   'Reish' is the 20^th Hebrew letter and the literal meaning of the Reish is "first", "Head" and the symbolic meaning is "first" "person", the "most important", "highest" or the "highest/first person." It has a numerical value of 200. When one spells out the letter Resh in Hebrew, it is Resh-Yod-Shin. Yod and Shin spell YESH - THERE IS. The letter Resh means BEGINNING. So it is possible to say that the Resh literally means THERE IS A BEGINNING.

·   ‘Vav’ is the 6^th Hebrew letter, has a numerical value of 6, and is constructed of a single vertical line. Vav means HOOK and makes a sound like the V in Victory. When used as a vowel, Vav can sound like a long o or a long u. Translated it means AND. It is the GREAT CONNECTOR. Vav appears in the Four Letter name of Yahovah - YHVH.

·   ‘Chet’ is the 8^th Hebrew letter of the alphabet and has a numerical value of 8. The number 8 is the number of new life/new beginning. Raised to its triplicate, 888 is the numerical name of Jesus in the Greek Scriptures (New Testament). The literal meaning of this letter is a "fence", "hedge" or "chamber." The symbolic meaning is "to make private" or "to separate." In ancient Hebrew the 8th letter was drawn as a fence, and the word picture it gave was ‘brother’ (Genesis 24:29) because the word brother is "a strong fence" (that protects).

The Hebrew word ‘Ruach’ means “the first and the infinite.” If the Spirit (Breath) of the Divine (Ruach Elohim) is a life sustaining cosmic force or energy and is internalized, then the Spirit (Breath) of the Divine is exactly the same Life Force or Cosmic Energy that enlivens and animates life.

In the human body and nature, energy is in a constant flux, running and returning, up and down. It is dynamic not static. It pulsates as evidenced in the movement of the heart and the pulse, breath’s inhalation and exhalation. It becomes each one’s ability and effort as the vessel or vehicle of the life sustaining cosmic force or energy to rise up to the level where it is completely transcendental. This way it connects and submerges itself with its source.

In the Greek Scriptures, the Spirit (Breath) is also seen as that dimension of human internal nature whereby relationship with Yahovah is possible (Mark 2:8; Acts 7:59; Romans 1:9; 8:16; 1 Corinthians 5:3-5). It is this human essential nature that enables continuing conversation with the Spirit (Breath) of the Divine (Romans 8:9-17).

In Sanskrit, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy is 'prana,' an invisible bio-energy or vital energy that keeps the body alive and maintains a state of good health. It is also known as ‘Ki’ (Japanese), ‘Chi’ (Chinese), ‘Pneuma’ (Greek) and ‘Mana’ (Polynesian). It is also universal force and omnipresence that manifests itself throughout the entire Universe.

The life sustaining cosmic force or energy is seen through the metaphor of the Bread of Life and the Living Waters that represent the building energy blocks that constitute the primo-material in the construction, creation and expansion of this Universe as found in various instances in the Greek Scriptures (Luke 22:17-19; Mark 14:22-24; Matthew 26-29; John 4:1-26).

Let us get the other meanings and uses of the "Ruach" in the Hebrew Scriptures:

·   He gave life to Yahovah's creatures - "When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth." (Psalm 104:30).

·   He guided Yahovah's people - "Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses' right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself an everlasting renown, who led them through the depths?" (Isaiah 63:11-12) "You gave your good Spirit to instruct them." (Nehemiah 9:20) 
"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground." (Psalm 143:10) 
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm 51:10-11).

·   He gave power to leaders - "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him." (Judges 6:34) "So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power." (1 Samuel 16:13).

·   He inspired Yahovah's prophets - "But Moses replied, 'Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them.'" (Numbers 11:29) "But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin." (Micah 3:8) 
"They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry." (Zechariah 7:12) 
"For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:21).

·   He teaches - "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26)

·   He hears and speaks - "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me (Jesus) by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." (John 16:13-15).

In all these instances, the Spirit both means the life sustaining cosmic force or energy, and creative agent: “The Divine is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) and ‘Ruach’ is “the creative Spirit of the Divine, the principle of all life (Psalm 33:6, 104:30), which worked upon the formless, lifeless mass, separating, quickening, and preparing the living forms, which were called into being by the creative words that followed." (C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, ‘Commentary on the Old Testament’, Volume I, 1978).

In Genesis, the Spirit is the life sustaining cosmic force or energy, humanised as an extension of the Divine in the work of creation not as a separate entity. As an extension, it can be seen as the hand of the humanoid Divine for it is the active component of the Divine. "The Spirit of (the Divine) is the vital power which belongs to the Divine Being, and is seen to be operative in the world and in men. It is the Divine Energy which is the origin of all created life, especially of human existence and the faculties of human nature." - Swete, The Holy Spirit in the New Testament (1909).

The Divine is said to be the "alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" – Revelations 1:11.

"Alpha" and "Omega" are the first and last (24th) letters on the Greek alphabet, respectively. "Omega" means 'o' mega, meaning the "great o." The first and last (22nd) letters of the Hebrew alphabet are "Aleph" (the potential of all existence) and "Tav."

In esoteric Hinduism, the divinehead is a trinity consisting of “Brahma” (Creator), “Vishnu” (Preserver) and “Shiva” (Destroyer) or the infinite life cycle of birth, growth and death. This is considered the "Beginning, the Middle and the End," ("Alpha and Omega"), as well as being the triude of being omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent.

      1.      Isaiah 41:4 – “Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

      2.      Isaiah 44:6 – “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

      3.      Isaiah 48:12 – “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

     4.      Revelations 1:11 – “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.

     5.      Revelations 1:17 – “Fear not; I am the first and the last:

     6.      Revelations 2:8 – “These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

     7.      Revelations 22:13 – “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

     8.      Matthew 20:13  - “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”

This means the first and the last shall be the same, or rather what manifests in the beginning remains constant.

The Divine, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy, is also called ‘the Absolute’ and the word, ‘Absolute’ is derived from the Latin “ab” and “solvo.” “Ab” means ‘from’. “Solvo” is derived from the Greek with the prefix ‘se’ changed to ‘so’; it literally means ‘without ties’. Absolute means ‘self-sufficient’ or ‘self-evident.’ It is the opposite of ‘relative’, which means ‘with ties.’ If there exists things with ties, there must exist things without ties.

In the pre-Christian era of India, a disciple went to a spiritual master and asked: “Sir, please tell me in a few words the fundamental principles of the Vedanta philosophy.” The spiritual master, who was a seer of Truth (Rishi), replied: “I will tell you in half a couplet the fundamental principles of the Vedanta philosophy that have been declared by millions of volumes. Brahman or the Absolute, infinite and eternal Being, is Truth; the world is false and unreal, and the individual soul is no other than Brahman or the Absolute Truth, which is absolute existence, knowledge (intelligence), and bliss.”

"In Christian Science, the word ‘God’ is used to signify the absolute Reality or unchangeable truth of the universe; so, in Vedanta philosophy, the Sanskrit word ‘Brahman’ is used to designate that all-pervading substance being, which is the reality of the universe. This unchangeable reality of the universe forms the reality of all living creatures and all mortal things, everything that we can see, hear or perceive with our senses. If Brahman or the absolute being whose nature is absolute existence, knowledge (intelligence) and bliss, be the one reality and all in all, it must be one, because there cannot be many absolutes or infinites. Absolute must be one and infinite must be one. As we find this idea in reading Science and Health, so we find it also in the Vedanta philosophy. Granting, then, that the absolute reality is one, the question naturally presents itself: why do we see so great a variety in the phenomenal universe?”

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: In physics, one learns that Energy exists in every single Thing. As a creative and life sustaining agency, energy causes, animates and enlivens every Thing. No Thing can live without energy. Energy is present in every Thing all the time. Energy is every Thing that exists – “east and west, north and south, above and below, infinitely everywhere.”

Energy is the indwelling Infinite Great Spirit, then variously named YaHoVaH (Jehovah/Yahweh), “God,” Allah, Brahman, Atum/Amun/Amen, etc.

The Jewish-Dutch mystic philosopher, Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) considered one of the great rationalists of the 17th-century philosophy, laying the groundwork for the 18th century ‘Enlightenment,’ said, “everything that exists is a part of (the divine) and that (the divine) is in everything that exists.”

Pythagoras learnt in ancient Egypt, Chaldea and India that “(The Divine) is the Cause of all things, the Intelligence of all things and the Power within all things. The motion of (the Divine) is Circular, the body of (the Divine) is composed of the substance of Light, and the nature of (the Divine) is of the substance of Truth.”

The dictionary meaning of the word "being" is "the fact of mortal or material existence as opposed to non-existence, the essential nature of self, something that exists or is thought to exist, an actuality." “Being” can be either visible or invisible. Therefore, “Being” denotes a form or matter. Being is finite and a mortal. Although a form or matter takes up space, it does not fill all space i.e. it is not omnipresent. Form is not mind or thought, but rather form is in the mind and thought.

Therefore, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy or the indwelling Infinite Great Spirit is not a Being, whether visible or invisible, because a Being denotes a form or matter. Although a form or matter takes up space, it does not fill all space i.e. it is not omnipresent. Form is not mind or thought, but rather form is in the mind and thought. The life sustaining cosmic force or energy is not a Being because a Being is finite and a mortal.

The life sustaining cosmic force or energy is therefore a boundless and a formless Principle "which cannot be seen, tasted or touched…Principle does not occupy space; neither has it any limitations of time or matter, but it eternally exists as the one underlying cause out of which come forth all true ideas." – Charles Fillmore, ‘Metaphysical Bible Dictionary.’

"(Within the Divine is) the potential for all things created and all things that are yet to be created… Anything visible and anything that can be grasped by thought, is bounded. Anything bounded is finite. Anything finite is not undifferentiated. Conversely, the boundless is called Infinite. It is absolute undifferentiation in perfect, changeless oneness. Since it is boundless, there is nothing outside of it. Since it transcends and conceals itself, it is the essence of everything hidden and revealed… In order to help you understand, you can compare Ain Soph to a candle from which hundreds of millions of other candles are kindled. Though some shine brighter than others, compared to the first light they are all the same, all deriving from that one source. The first light and all the others are, in effect, incomparable. Nor can their priority compare with its, for it surpasses them; their energy emanates from it. No change takes place in it-the energy of emanation simply manifests through differentiation." – Mystical Judaism. 

According to Humanity Healing (www.humanityhealing.net), there are three major sources of Life Force or ‘Prana’:

       ·       The sun: Solar Life Force invigorates and it can be absorbed by sunbathing.

      ·       The air: Ozone Life Force, the most effective is acquired through deep slow rhythmic breathing and through the seven energy centers or states of consciousness (‘chakras’) of the inner and outer aura, which is the ethereal body.

       ·       The earth: The Ground Life Force enters though the souls of our feet. Trees and plants absorb life force from the sun, air, and ground and exude a lot of excess life-force.

When we make our own life sustaining cosmic force or energy (whose religious metaphor is the word “Yahovah”) idle, stagnant and unproductive, we are being irresponsible and neglectful.

When a person is dead and an electroencephalogram (EEG) test is taken to measure and record the electrical activity of the brain, there is electrical activity registered. This is because the spirit that brings life to the body and understanding to the mind is an electrical energy. When a person is dead, the spirit would have left the body. According to the ‘Theory of Relativity’ by Albert Einstein, matter is just a dense form of energy. He summarized the ‘Theory of Relativity’ in the formula, E=mc², the energy content of a body is equal to the mass of the body times the speed of light squared. His greatest discovery was that light is the only constant in the universe.

Therefore, the Spirit of the Divine (Ruach Elohim) that was breathed into a human being to make him a living soul or creature (Genesis 2:7) is an electrical energy.

The life sustaining cosmic force or energy is a condensation of molecules rotating or vibrating at various rates of speed. To explain using Albert Einstein's relativity theory, matter is a form of energy that is rotating slowly and at a constant rate of speed. When energy is slow, it appears to be solid because the slower the speed, the denser it appears. At a higher level, energy vibrates at a much faster speed and therefore is freer and less dense.

Everything is constant motion or energized at different orders of densities. The faster form of energies creates invisible energies called spirit and is a life force. Those vibrating slower are visible and are discernible to natural senses as condensed energy or matter.  

Substitute the word ‘Yahovah’ with “Life Force” or “Cosmic Energy” and you will have a new perspective about your own life and your latent or dormant energy.

Energy is defined as “the ability to bring about change or to do work” and this is studied in physics. A human being has the “ability to bring about change or to do work” and therefore humanity has energy within.

There are two laws observed about energy:

First Law - “Energy cannot be created or destroyed but can be changed from one form to another. Therefore, the total amount of energy and matter in the Universe remains constant, merely changing from one form to another.”

Second Law - "In all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state."

This scientific assertion confirms a religious assertion about YaHoVaH, the Divine, is a life sustaining cosmic force or energy as part of and within a human being and the universe.  

O you who dwell in the ocean of energy,

Near Heaven,

Prepare a ship for me that I might sail to the realm of light.

                       Texts of the Sarcophagi, Ch.815

I follow the Great Divine,

Who has created Himself.

Who is He?

Energy.

The ocean of primordial energy,

The father of the Divinities.

                     Tomb of Queen Nefertari

 
 

I am the South,

I am the North,

I am the East,

I am the West,

I am the master of the universe.

I emerged from the ocean of primordial energy

at the same time as the divine light.

                         The Second Book of Breaths

I am a follower of the divine light,

I have taken possession of Heaven.

I have come to You, my father Ra, divine light.

I have traveled light-filled space,

I have called upon the Great One,

I have traveled through the Word,

I have crossed into the solitude of the shadows

which lie on the road to the divine light.

I have gained Heaven.

                       The Book of Leaving the Day, Ch.13

Therefore, the Divine, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy is NOT an individual or a Being with a spirit body at a particular place where he resides. "(The Divine) is individualized within us or personal to us when we recognize Him within us as our indwelling life, intelligence, love and power. There is a difference between a personal (Divine) and (the Divine) personal to us…(the Divine’s) attributes come into expression and manifest through human beings, who are his children and who are like him in Essence. (The Divine) is Spirit, the principle of intelligence and life, everywhere present at all times. He is, forever, as accessible as a principle of mathematics or music. "The Father abiding in me" (John 14:10). " - Charles Fillmore, Metaphysical Bible Dictionary.

In the internalist aspects of all organized religions, the Divine, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy is seen as one who radiates not as a Being but as an Infinite Energy that is found within all of existence. The life sustaining cosmic force or energy is reflected in all creation through attributes as different levels of reality. Scientifically, all forms of energy - heat, magnetism, electricity, sound, radiation and Light, are different vibrations or spectrums of the same energy.    

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: To establish what is absolute reality, let us look around and pick on an item we can easily relate with our physical senses. For example, a chair. A chair appears as a chair because it is clothed with the usage, form, shape, appearance/manifestation and name. If we mentally separate the usage, form, shape, appearance/manifestation and name from the chair, we are left with a piece of wood. If we take away the usage, form, shape, appearance/manifestation and name of the wood, we are left with atoms and molecules. If we take away the mental usage, form, shape, appearance/manifestation and name of atoms and molecules, there will be nothing but energy of “countless particles called Corpuscles or Electrons.” That energy or force is the absolute reality permeating everything.

We can therefore conclude that the chair appears as a chair because it is clothed with a usage, form, shape, appearance/manifestation and name but it is of the same essence as everything else. Human conflicts arise when there is difference in naming the emanation, manifestation and expression of the same infinite ocean of energy or force.    

Therefore, the absolute or supreme Truth is that everything is dualistic – an object of our physical senses to earn a name from humanity and defined by structure, shape and manifestation (MATTER/SUBSTANCE), and with the mutual relationship with its internal make up of the same essence – ENERGY. Matter or substance is thus the varying emanation, manifestation and expression of the same energy or force. Such Truth is universal and cannot be monopolized by anyone, organisation or country.   

“The Absolute is more than Mountain or Ocean—Electricity or Gravitation—Monad or Man—It is Spirit—Life—Being—Reality—the One that is. Omnipotent, Omnipresent; Omniscient; Eternal; Infinite; Absolute; these are Man’s greatest words, and yet they but feebly portray a shadow thrown by the One Itself.” - A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga.

“Prana,” as it is called in Sanskrit (the Chinese call this energy or force 'Chi', the Japanese call this energy or force 'Ki', the Greeks called it 'Pneuma”), is that energy which is enduringly universal, intelligent and life-giving. This is the source of All. It is everybody’s responsibility to achieve essential unfoldment, realise the absolute Truth of energy and attain the state of divine-consciousness. 

"All that is glorious, grand, extremely righteous or (essential), is the outcome of the powers that proceed from the infinite source of all forces and of all energy in nature. Wherever there is anything that is extraordinary or unusually uplifting to the soul, there is a special expression of the divine power." – Vedanta.

"The whole universe is like one infinite ocean of Reality, which is nameless and formless, and in that ocean waves and bubbles rise spontaneously and take different names and forms. These waves and bubbles are the objects of the phenomenal universe. As in the ocean, waves and bubbles have no existence separate from or independent of the ocean itself, so the waves and bubbles known as the phenomenal objects of the universe have no existence separate from or independent of the ocean of Reality. We are like so many bubbles in the infinite ocean of Reality; we owe our existence to that ocean, live there, and play for a while, then merge into it to reappear in some other form.

“Such is the conception of Vedanta concerning the relation of phenomena to the absolute noumenon, or the unchangeable Truth, which underlies all phenomenal names and forms." - Swami Abhedananda (1886-1939).

Scientifically, energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It simply changes form. Energy is infinite and formless. Everything that exists is made from energy when it changed from into matter. Similarly, “Yahovah” as the metaphorical or figurative term for Energy, and scientifically cannot be created nor destroyed. Everything that exists is the life force or cosmic energy, which changed form and the universe became matter.

"That which is eternal in the midst of non-eternal phenomena, which is the life of all living creatures, which is the infinite source of consciousness, is one. It is also the bestower of happiness to all. Eternal happiness comes to those alone, who realize this absolute Oneness; to them comes unbounded joy and peace, to none else, to none else." – Vedanta.  

The true essence of everything is an Absoluteness Reality of cosmic energy. It assumes different names all over the world. It was called “Atum/Amen” in ancient Egypt, “Brahman” in Hinduism, “YaHoVaH” in Judaism, “Spirit of the Divine” or “the Divine” in Christianity and ‘Allah” in Islam. It is that very same omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient absolute reality, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy, which is then viewed by externalist organised religions to have humanoid or anthropomorphic attributes and behaviour.

In Christianity it was assumed by Roman political authorities that the Divine, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy, divinely incarnated itself in human form as Yahoshua the Nazarene (misnamed “Jesus, the Christ” by Greeks under the political authority of the Roman Empire) as a sign of love, mercy and kindness to the suffering humanity to be saved from sin and death.  

According to deeper truth, incarnation of the Divine, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy, means the human embodiment of sublime or noble qualities and powers. This takes places whenever (time) and wherever (place). "Wherever true (or internalist) religion declines and irreligion prevails and whenever the vast majority of mankind, forgetting the highest ideal of life, travel on the path of unrighteousness which leads to the bottomless abyss of ignorance, and sorrow, the (Sages’ scribes manifests Divine powers to establish righteousness and true spirituality, by humanising it), but at the same time showing to all that (the Divine) is the real master of nature and absolutely free from all the bondages of the world and its laws." – Vedanta.

To make the Spiritual (sublime) state to dominate, it means one discovers and experiences the divine spark within. This is achieved by embarking on a Labour of illumination or enlightenment by:

1.     Taking note that one should have goodness of intentions (mind), word (talking) and conduct (action).

2.     Developing a deep urge or desire for the cultivation of higher mental or rational faculties so that one becomes a useful member of society. One is advised to embark on self-liberating studies of the classical liberal arts and sciences. One is also encouraged that the journey to the source of all goodness is by morality, inherent dignity and uprightness of actions.

3.     Through coaching and guidance, the development of an intuitive faculty or illumination that should control and cultivate intellectual reasoning (mental and rational faculties). En-LIGHTenment or illumination is attained by a well-directed internal effort and ability under the guidance of a teacher (mentor) or sage. By doing so, one discovers ‘light.’ Light is a symbol of knowledge, intellectual illumination, consciousness and knowledge properly used leads to wisdom and power. This is the reason why those who were members of the Greater Mysteries were known as 'Sons of the Light’ and such mysteries were practiced by the ancients in Egypt, Sumer, Chaldea, India, Greece and among Hebrews under the name of Lux (Light).

The Essene grouping was called the "School of Prophets" and they called themselves "Children of the Light" and were in existence 150 years before the time Yahoshua the Nazarene is purported to have lived. Trained in priesthood, Essenes were also artisans and craftsmen, studied and practiced healing. The Talmud sates that “wise-men are called builders because they are always engaged in the up-building of the world.” The members of the Essene sect among the Jews were called Bonaim, or builders, because it was their duty to edify or perfect the spiritual temple in the body of man.” – Manly P. Hall.

The early followers of Yahoshua the Nazarene were called "the Sons of the Light" (John 12:35-36), while Yahoshua spoke of "the sons of light" in the parable of the unjust steward. For the Nazarenes, what separated Yahoshua apart from all other people was that he kept well both the exoteric (externalist) and esoteric (internalist) of the Mosaic Law and so he was a righteous man and thus we should be like him.

In the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas Saying 50 and Gnostic Gospel of Judas 5:6, Yahoshua said, "If they say to you, 'Where did you come from?', say to them, 'We came from the light, the place where the light came into being on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?', say, 'We are its children, we are the elect of the living father.' If they ask you, 'What is the sign of your father in you?', say to them, 'It is movement and repose.'"

Philo Judaeus, the first century Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, said, "That the Supreme Being is a Source of Lights, whose rays or emanations permeate the universe; that the lights and shadows, in all time hostile principles, dispute with each other the empire of the world..."

“And (the Divine) said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And (the Divine) made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And (the Divine) set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” - Genesis 1:14-19.

The search for metaphorical light is a search for deep knowledge. Thus, the idea of “seeing the light,” “knowing the light within ourselves” or “being enlightened” are metaphorically related to this. It is not light in the physical sense but enLIGHTenment that is desired. When one is internally illuminated by light, he/she is externally radiant and glowing. This is the Sanskrit origins of the word, Divine! 

In "Metaphor of the Sun", The Republic (507b-509c), Plato used the sun as a metaphor for the source of "illumination," which is an instruction that reveals hidden things. Accordingly the eye is the only sense organ that needs a medium, namely light, in order to operate. The strongest and best source of light is the sun; with it, we can discern objects clearly. A plant in a dark room will grow in the direction of sunlight.

In an interview with Bill Moyers in ‘The Power of Myth,’ Joseph Campbell stated, “All the gods, all the heavens, all the worlds, are within us. They are magnified dreams, and dreams are manifestations in image form of the energies of the body in conflict with each other.”

Therefore, all religious texts like the Bhavagad Gita (Hinduism), Hebrew Scriptures (Judaism), Greek Scriptures (Christianity), Koran (Islam), etc are records and narration throughout human history of the ceaseless quest and search for and profound varying encounters with the Divine, the indwelling Infinite Great Breath, as a life sustaining cosmic force or energy. All of the religious and spiritual texts are respectfully and solemnly complex collection of writings compiled over many centuries reflecting the deep understanding and inspiration of the writers at the time they were written.

The Divine, the indwelling Infinite Great Breath as a life sustaining cosmic force or energy is revealed not only in the majesty, beauty and orderliness of nature, but also in the vision and moral striving of the human spirit. Revelation is a continuous process, not confined to one group and one age. The numerous religious texts enshrine an ever-growing consciousness of the Divine, the indwelling Infinite Great Breath as a life sustaining cosmic force or energy and of the moral law. They preserve the historical precedents, sanctions and norms of human life, and seek to mold it in the patterns of goodness and of holiness. Being products of historical processes, certain of its laws have lost their binding force with the passing of the conditions that called them forth. But as a repository of permanent spiritual ideals, the religious texts remain the dynamic source of profound knowledge about humanity. Each age has the obligation to adapt the teachings of the religious texts to its basic needs in consonance with the genius of religious expression. The religious texts were not divinely given, but rather they are a reflection of historic sublime development and an encounter with the indwelling Infinite Great Spirit as a life-force or cosmic energy in each succeeding generation.

In this way, the Divine, the indwelling Infinite Great Breath as a life sustaining cosmic force or energy, works through human beings and each generation produces capable and inspired teachers and sages. Some individuals of each generation may equal or exceed the preceding generations and therefore simply assigning greater divinity to an earlier generation because they are just of the past is unhelpful and unnecessary. Historical and sociological studies of religious literature during the last two centuries have proved this. This vast literature is viewed as the product of reaction to varying needs motivated by thought and the human impulse.

Religious diversity among people are reflections of the different levels of understandings of the divine aspiration, as well as the needs of specific groups within their communities. Each period of history is analyzed and different strands of the "the Path" are discovered. The strands appear both in the decisions and underlying philosophy. There is existence of diverse paths to the top of the aspirational mountain as the hallmark of humanity and religious literature. Those who are of a sectarian approach choose a single path and reject others. Those of sectarian approach are in many instances so hostile to others.

When faced with new situations, the mainstream thought as well as the divergent paths are approached for guidance as a vast repository of knowledge and sound insights. The preceding or past debates or thoughts are often relevant to new situations. Not every question can be resolved by reviewing preceding authoritative literature. In some instances, totally new thinking is appropriate and may be buttressed by precedent.

The events described in religious texts are not only historical but also taking place in the present moment; that they are not only geographical but also located in the inner life of the individual. By taking the higher meaning of the religious texts, an event is an experience that exists as a possibility of life and in the journey of self-realization. All the different figures in the picture represent characteristics of the Self.

“All that humanity is or can ever hope to be depends upon its concept of (the Divine). Humanity’s concept of (the Divine) must pass through three definite states symbolized by the Spirit/Energy (the First Cause, Point or Source), the Mind (Line or the Means) and Matter (the Result or Effect). The lowest concept of (the Divine) is Matter - as an individual, personality or a physical entity. Superior to this concept is that of (the Divine) as a mental entity. The third and highest definable concept is that of (the Divine) as a Spirit/Energy – i.e. a permeating and diffusing life-giving principle. Above all these concepts and superior to (the Divine) as a spiritual entity is that concept of Absolute SPACE – formless and but an incomprehensible fullness. The absence of form means impossibility of destruction.

“Humanity’s status in the cosmos is determined, therefore, by the quality of its thinking. Quality, as applied to mental processes, is not necessarily intensity but rather refinement and delicacy. Unless the inner nature transcends the limitations of both the flesh and the mind, the Self can never attain to a full measure of expression. Whether a human being be beastly or godly does not depend upon his outward appearance but rather upon the clarity of his inner perceptions. Many of the most respected citizens of every community are actually ravaging beasts concealing their primitive instincts under a thin veneer of culture. On the other hand, some whom the world regards as failures possess an innate beauty, which elevates them far above the level of their fellows. 

“Those (divinely) may be defined as those in whom the state of knowing has reached a degree of relative perfection, and those beastly are creatures in whom the state of knowing is asleep. Between these two extremes is a human being, who wanders about in a state of partial knowing, united to the bestial creation by his ignorance and to the higher orders of divinities by his dawning rationality.” – Manley Palmer Hall, ‘Lectures on Ancient Philosophy: An Introduction to Practical Ideals’ (1929).  

 “I believe in Spinoza's (Divine within) in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.” - Albert Einstein, following his wife's advice in responding to Rabbi Herbert Goldstein of the International Synagogue in New York, who had sent Einstein a cablegram bluntly demanding "Do you believe in God?" Quoted from and citation notes derived from Victor J. Stenger, “Has Science Found God?” (draft: 2001), chapter 3.

“…Knowledge without morality may be a curse, and not a blessing...Thus..the ancient Masters of Wisdom were wise in their generation when they refused to permit a man to delve into the hidden mysteries of nature and science until he had given proofs that his morality was such that he could be safely entrusted with these secrets."

The radical and rapid Western industrialization and economic development has been noticed to be through the “Hermetic core” or Western “esoteric tradition.”

·       The “Western esoteric tradition” or “Renaissance hermetic tradition, … was not only congenial to modern science, but the causal factor in the emergence of modern science…Esotericism is often seen as an important factor in the understanding of early modern science.” – Henrik Bogdan, “Western Esotericism and rituals of initiation” (State University of New york Press, 2008);

·       “One way or another, modern Western civilization owes an incalculable debt to the divine gift of “gnosis,” or sacred knowledge.” – Tim Wallace-Murphy, “Hidden Wisdom: The Secrets of the Western Esoteric Tradition” (2010);

·       “Ideal Commonwealths: Comprising, More's Utopia, Bacon's New Atlantis, Campanella's City of the Sun and Harrinton's Oceana” edited by Henry Morley (Dedalus Limited, 1989); and

www.gutenberg.org/files/18638/18638-h/18638-h.htm.

Summary

There are two types of Theists – Externalists and Internalists.

1.    A Theist of an externalist approach considers and affirms that the Divine, has a physical address called heaven somewhere in the universe, has humanoid or anthropological attributes (masculine, fatherly, judgemental, benevolent, etc). He is said to intervene, respond to and gets involved in daily human behaviour. This is exemplified by human expressions when we talk about the Divine - “he” said and can say this and that, “he” did and can do this and that, “he” wanted, wants and does not want this and that, “he” wants and does not want us to do this and that, etc. In this externalist worldview, the Divine is a humanoid or anthropological "Infinite Great Being."

2.   A Theist of an internalist approach considers and affirms that the Divine, is an infinite, immortal and eternal life sustaining cosmic force or energy and breath of life found within humanity in particular and universe in general as cosmic consciousness, intelligence and creativity, and not needing human supplication and attention. "A human being is not a physical body with a life force (the Divine) but a life force (the Divine) with a body." - Charles Haanel, "The Master Key System." This is a theological development of Genesis 1:27 and 2:7. The Divine is within us as a life sustaining cosmic force or energy, Vital Force (“Elan Vital” in French) beyond the concept of Time and Space. It is called “Ka” in ancient Egypt, “Prana” in Sanskrit and “Chi/Qi” in Chinese, “Ki” in Japanese, “Pneuma” in Greek, “Great Spirit” by Native Americans, "Shekinah" in Hebrew, "Spirit" in Christian theology (Breath of Life, Genesis 1:3, 2:7), "Energy" in science and "Cosmic Energy" in metaphysics. The word ‘spirit’ is derived from Latin ‘spiritus,’ and it means "breath," "air" or "spirit.” This is the vital force or energy and active principle found within all living things. It is pulsating and permeating within everything as it throbs in intense rhythmic motion so that every life experience is about its manifestation.

In many instances, strident Atheists like Richard Dawkins may be responding to an externalist view of the Divine while Agnostics are very doubtful of the veracity of an externalist view.

There are two types of externalist-focused Theists:

1.      There are those who belong to an organised religion. There are many and numerous organised religions in the world: Hinduism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Bahai Faith, etc. Within each of the organised religions, there are various groups and denominational persuasions. For example, Christianity is divided into Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Protestant (whose international bodies are Anglican/Episcopalian, Methodist/Wesleyan, Lutheran, Calvinist, Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Presbyterian, Quakerism, Unitarian, Reformed, Anabaptist, etc), Pentecostal, Charismatic, Apostolic-Prophetic, etc.

2.    There are those who do not belong to any of the organised religions but are of the externalists by disposition. These include those of an indigenous traditionalist outlook who are of are externalist but not organised into a formal institution.

All organised religions are products of human behaviour i.e. they are social constructs. They arose out of human imagination, expression and actions. This means that all organised religions are not naturally or divine-made. They are all “social constructs” in an attempt to learn about and reach the Divine. No organised religion can claim exclusive ownership or knowledge of the Divine, the life sustaining cosmic force or energy.

Christianity is an organised religion around the personality of a historical figure of Yahoshua the Nazarene Rabbi of Essene/Nazarene Judaism, whose identity was changed by Greeks under the political authority of the Roman Empire to become “Jesus, the Christ.”

The Christian religion is a product of Greek-oriented intellectual effort of the 4th century under the supervision of the Roman Emperor Constantine whose influence was his mother Helena and the guidance of his religious and political advisors were Hosius, Bishop of Cordova; Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea; and Lactantius, among others, when the basic tenets of modern Christianity and its first canons were legislated by the state in 325 CE. It is therefore important to seek finer details about the historicity of Yahoshua the Nazarene Rabbi using “Early Christianity” (Nazarene Judaism or Gnostic Christianity) resources.    

From the internalist approach or worldview,

1. The Divine is an eternal, immortal and infinite life sustaining cosmic force or energy within the universe. Mencius (a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself) described "chi/qi" (life force) as an individual's vital energy, which is necessary to activities controlled by one's effortful willpower. Since it is natural, it can be augmented by "means of careful exercise of one's moral capacities" (Mencius, 2A:2).
2. All forms of life and human beings are bearers, means and vehicles of the universal life sustaining cosmic force or energy. “The physical world and our physical bodies are the outermost aspect of the universe. It exists at the lowest rate of energy vibration and the highest density. The centre (Source or First Cause, the Divine) of all creation is made up of the highest energy vibration and the lowest density.” - Adrian P. Cooper, “Our Ultimate Reality, Life, the Universe and Destiny of Mankind" Ultimate Reality Publishing (November 10, 2007).
3. The innate or natural divinity of every human being should be acknowledged and respected as the diverse expression of the universal life sustaining cosmic force or energy.   
4. The universal life sustaining cosmic force or energy is individualised in each human being as the Divine or Higher Self (‘Atman’ in Sanskrit or ‘Christos’ in Greek), and it is the purpose of human life to internally discover and externally actualise the Divine or Higher Self (i.e. "know thyself") without the burden of loyalty to divisive and conflictual religious doctrines and dogmas, and avoidance of cultic tendencies (unquestioning or gullible obedience, complete subservience and excessive or unrestrained devotion).

When one has internally discovered the Divine or Higher Self (‘Atman’ in Sanskrit or ‘Christos’ in Greek), he/she develops and grows his/her own abilities (natural or acquired) to externally dispense the highest, best and greatest glory or the worst gloom to oneself and to others. "We all exist as Divine aspects and expressions of Source Energy, (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy), who resides within each and every one of us without exception. And it is (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy) within us that "doeth the works", in other words creates through us. Everything we experience therefore comes from the inside, created by our thought processes giving rise to a Thought and then Form, and which then manifests outwards into our physical experiential reality... The Principle of Creation therefore is simple: To realise (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy) within and to create from a position within (the life sustaining cosmic force or energy).” - Adrian P. Cooper, ‘Our Ultimate Reality, Life, the Universe and the Destiny of Mankind: The Principle of Creation. (my own emphasis).

Quiz after the reading

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1.    Do you acknowledge and affirm the existence of the Divine?

A.     Yes (Theist)

B.     No (Atheist and Agnostic)

2.    Do you NOW acknowledge and affirm the Divine as

A.     one who is invisible but has humanoid attributes or anthropological and is located externally, or

B.     the universal sustaining cosmic force or energy within all forms of life?

( Answer ‘A’ or ‘B.’ You can make comments if you so wish) 

3.    Do you STILL or NOW consider and view the Divine as

A.     a benevolent and judgemental male figure with human or anthropological attributes who is affected by human ethical and unethical behaviour and therefore needs to be placated against a threat of punishment or promise of reward, or

B.     an indwelling cosmic force or energy in every expression of life?

(Answer ‘A’ or ‘B.’ You can make comments if you so wish) 

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Briefly, how should you relate with the Divine if all your answers are ‘A’ or ‘B’?

Who am I?

I am sleeping or static in the mineral, breathing in the plant, moving or dynamic in the animal. I am the intelligence, consciousness and creativity in humanity as I express myself at the highest level in the innermost depth through imagination, innovation and creativity.

At this highest level, a knowledge of the Cosmic Laws important.

These Cosmic Laws are "definite, exact and scientific." They are also limitless, eternal and omnipresent.

The Laws enable one who knows about them "to plan courageously and to execute fearlessly and masterfully." They lead to growth, progress and expansion.

Wherever there are no limits, where Infinity, Eternity and Immortality exist, is where I am.

I am not limited by time, space and human constructs, nor can I be represented that way.

I cannot be confined within the habits you have acquired and inherited from your family, world and received from your education system.

I AM the “Life sustaining cosmic force or energy”