Man as God, Man as Nature

Man as God
One of the most common mystical realizations in any religious tradition is the unity between Man and God. One does not, and cannot exist without the other. This is not a relationship of dependence, but of unity. Man cannot be separate from the whole of God, as the whole of God is everything. God cannot separate man from itself because this would imply that there would be something other than God, and a space in which Man could exist that is other than God.

This is one of the reasons man tends to anthropomorphize God. Man describes God as having Human attributes. This is the only way Man can relate to such a concept of supreme Deity. But perchance the descriptions are not far from the truth? Perhaps God is more human like than even imagined.

The implications of this are great, as it puts into question concepts such as morality, justice, chaos, etc. All these concepts are part of God not as physical reality, but as abstract musings…thoughts formed in the minds of men to explain things we cannot understand but have no solid existence. Good and Evil have no place in unity, and hence are nullified. With the realization of this comes a sort of quiet, and dispassion toward judging things as Good or Evil. This is what the Buddha speaks of when he teaches about enlightenment, Nirvana or Moksha (Liberation). Liberation from suffering which comes from attachments, which stem from the Judgment between Good and Evil.

Man as Nature
Nature is not often seen as connected to man as God is. It is a wonder why, seeing as Man is born of the stuff of nature. Man cannot be apart from nature lest Man dies. Man is immediatly and irrevocably connected to the planet Earth. Even when travelling off into the stars, Man must take parts of the Earth along in order to survive. They take air, water, food, materials, etc. Does this not imply that it is not human beings that are travelling into space…but the Earth itself?

Consider Man as an extension of the Earth, like a mountain, a river, a piece of rock. Imagine this rock hurtling itself through space. It is still part of the Earth as it was formed, planned and nurtered there. Human beings are the most complex part of the Earth. What Man does to the Earth, is done with Earth itself as Man is created of the stuff of the Earth and uses the stuff of the Earth in his technologies and daily living. Pollution, restoration, construction, demolition, harvesting and gardening. These are all done to the Earth, with tools created from the Earth, by the Earth (Earth as Human Beings).

Looking at nature in this way, humans can and do anthropomorphize it. The Earth is like a person, and a Person like the Earth. Just like a human being, the Earth is born, grows old and can die. Man is not just one with the Earth, Man is the Earth. It is just like Man’s relationship with God, Man be apart from it. The only difference is there is an empty space beyond the Earth that is known Man cannot live within, but yet it remains existing without the sphere.

However, how can Man sure it is not a part of that too? When a vacuum between Man’s atoms. In fact, what to say the pressure from the vacuum that exists around the is not the very source of gravity that holds it together as it does Man’s very atoms?

Responsibility
Knowing this is not to say that Man has no repsonsibility for his or her actions. In fact, this realization increases the responsibility to the individual. It becomes a duty to look t the events of the world with disspassionate care. Good, Evil, Justice and Punishment no longer become the driving force in a persons life. Man attains the knowledge of his or her responsibility to the themselves, nature and God. The responsibility is the same. It is a realization and a force that comes from within and needs no social system to keep in check, and creates no perversions out of attachments or unquelled desires.

This is the liberation from suffering, the realization that there is no suffering with the realizaiton of the unity between Man, Nature and God. They are all one. This is the sacred Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva. Earth, Man and Space; Man, Woman and Child.

Looking at the world with neutral caring eyes creates a prosperous and long life for both Man and Nature. As long as Man and Nature exist the belief and role of God shall remains among the planet. Man’s repsonsibility as a living, conscious beings is fulfilled when establishing that caring presence among our peers and loved ones. It spreads like wildfire.