Sunday, June 12, 2011

The Gods are Perfect. Can We Be As Well?

This is one of those topics that makes me wish I was a better writer. I am going to have difficulty articulating what I want to say. This makes this one of those posts that makes me glad to blog. One of you will likely help me clarify my own writing and ideas.

The predominant religion of my geography is Christianity. While there are many forms of that religion, all seem to hold up for our examination a perfect god. It tells us to aspire to that perfection. Then the culture around that religion, if not the religion itself, instills a moral code that guarantees we cannot meet that standard. Show me a healthy teenager that hasn't lusted after someone. Show me anyone that has never coveted something that was not theirs.  So, we fall short of the idea of perfection. Insecurities grow. The rational for this it that Jesus was both god and man. Since he was man, it is reasonable to aspire to his perceived perfection.

I believe this is correct for varying definitions of perfection.

All gods are perfect. Perfection being defined as total unity with everything within their purview. This is what makes them so strong. For instance, I have experienced Hermes as unified with the idea of unifying things. An example of this is his accepted trait of communication. In order to communicate, person A must encode a message, send it through a medium to be received by person B who then decodes the words according to his understanding. Hermes helps to unify the intended message with the code, unifies the code with the medium, the medium to the target and aids in decoding and unifying the message with the receiver. Each step is a unification with something. Praying to Hermes can help with all levels of communication. He can even help with how we code things so that the receiver has a greater understanding of our message as s/he decodes our words.

There are many other things Hermes does. The above example is but one. My point is that He does these things perfectly. He is perfect. It isn't perfection in some human moral sense but perfect in His unification with his god-purpose or role.

This then implies that all gods are perfect within their god-purpose. Applying human morality perfection is impossible for me when it comes to the gods of Christianity. Killing 14,000+ people to give the Jewish people land isn't morally justifiable in human terms. As a god-purpose, it may be perfect. This then carries over to every other god from the destruction of Cthulu to the balance of Maat to the peaceful deity Shazbat. Hey, if Lovecraft can make up a god, so can I.

Allow me to move back to the idea of man aspiring to perfection. Moral perfection can be impossible. No one has maintained that rigid level of self-control over the course of a lifetime. Even if they did mores change over time leading to a sense of past imperfection whether valid or not. Well, maybe Mother Theresa reached a standard of moral perfection for varying definitions of success in that regard.

The perfection of Being rather than morality just may be possible for us humans.

By perfection of Being, I mean the absolute unification with everything in one's soul-purpose. Some may call this true will but its more. One can do their true will and still fall short of perfection. For instance, it may have been Millard Fillmore's true will to be president but I'm willing to bet he wasn't totally unified with all aspects of the duties of his position.

If one is absolutely unified with one's soul-purpose, the concepts of morality and social mores fade away. The concept of being less so I must confess falls away. These things get in the way of the perfection of being and must be dropped eventually as one approaches this state. I fully acknowledge dropping them too soon can make on an egomaniacal  danger to us all.

Most of what we need to drop our preprogrammed insecurities that prevent us or restrict us from acting in accordance with our souls. I am still working on this level. Yet maybe, perfection of Being is possible over the course of lifetimes. I think it is a much more useful concept than moral perfection.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The post that you mention about dropping everything reminded me of Advaita teachings. Check out gangaji's videos on youtube. They are presumably going against the notion of 'having to do something' at all in order to realize perfection.In any case, they are of interest.

george.

Yvonne said...

I congratulate you for taking this topic on in writing. In many things we don't have the words. yet I understand you PERFECTLY, I think.

If humans can be perfect in soul-purpose, one most attain knowledge of the that specific purpose in order to attain perfection. I agree. But isn't it true that ALL humans are perfect at the soul's purpose, which is to incarnate and live embodied? I don't know if I am saying it right, but aren't all human souls PERFECT at incarnating/being in THIS world?

Oy vey

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. Can you please give me an example of someone alive today or who has passed away for whom concepts of morality and social mores have faded away?

Robert said...

@Simon, perhaps Christ and Buddha? They certain broke and discarded their social mores. Crowley?

On the other end, I'm sure sociopaths of various ilks but that is some sort of illness.

I am merely broaching the topic that there is something beyond those things.

Robert said...

@Simon, perhaps Christ and Buddha? They certain broke and discarded their social mores. Crowley?

On the other end, I'm sure sociopaths of various ilks but that is some sort of illness.

I am merely broaching the topic that there is something beyond those things.

Robert said...

William S. Boroughs?

Hunter S. Thompson?

Admittedly, very difficult personalities.

Risuna said...

For myself I wouldn't word it as "perfection" but I felt I had reached a state of being "whole" before - though that was before I decided to change path

In trying to regain that feeling I accidentally went through a short time of ego-maniacal... I wish I hadn't but everything is sorted out now

Honestly, I was never one to ask others of assistance when it came to deities but I may shallow my pride & ask Hermes for some help in communicating with someone so I want to thank-you for writing about him