How many of you out there believe in pantheism/cosmotheism? For those who don't know: Pantheism is, by the book, "the doctrine or belief that God is the universe and its phenomena (taken or conceived of as a whole) or the doctrine that regards the universe as a manifestation of God" In layman's terms, God is the universe, God is the combined set of physics and laws of the universe, God is, essentially, logic. My thoughts grow closer and closer to this ... religion, if you can call it such; if not, then belief. ... Taking the dictionary definition, I have expanded my personal interpretation of pantheism to include some of these points: (1) In the entire universe, within every little particle and every celestial body, the presence of a sentient spirit can be found; this is part of God him/her/itself. (2) This sentient spirit, which I call and will hereonin refer to as Gaia, is both omnipotent as well as omniscient. (3) Gaia rewards morality and spirituality through karma. Now, this statement alone may seem very ... unintelligent, in a theological sense, but allow me to explain: (3a) Gaia, the spirit of the universe, has, shall we say, morphed into the form of this universe so that we may exist and enjoy it. We have been given life through Gaia, and we ought to do with life whatever we so desire, so long as it is respectful of both life and the universe. (3b) Acts of unwarranted hostility towards others, including murder and such things, is disrespectful of life, and displeases Gaia with your lack of respect for life. (3c) Acts of disreguard and disrespect for nature and this world, acts such as pollution and destruction, also displease Gaia with your lack of respect for the universe that has been created for you. (4) Karma is Gaia's way of rewarding people who are moral, spiritual, and respectful of life and the universe. Spirituality is found through oneness with the universe, and through complete and utter impartiality. (4a) People who are rewarded experience "good karma," or good things happening as a result of their mindstate and oneness. =) (5) People are never given "bad karma," but in extreme cases, are denied good karma altogether, as they have isolated themselves so far from the spirit of Gaia and become so disrespectful of nature and spirituality that they are considered foreign and alien towards Gaia, and thus are rejected. I have not come up with an answer to "what happens when we die?" but I am working on that. =) Either way, I just want to know what some of you guys think about pantheism and my interpretation of it?
I'm a pantheist in a sense. I see the material world and the spiritual world as one, there is no difference between the two besides perception. I don't see the universe as a conscious entity, it doesn't think or know anything. Or rather, it knows by the doing. It knows what a human is because there are humans in the universe, thus the universe is a human in a small way. It knows what a star is because it is the stars. It knows what empty space is because it is the empty space. This is all obvious because the universe is the sum of it's parts. It's like knowing what your foot is because you have a foot. You are, in part, your foot. I wouldnt call it a religion, though. Maybe a framework of belief/thought, but a loose one, with no dogma; what kind of dogma would the universe have? Maybe science, I guess, for it reveals the truly wonderous workings of the universe. And, to get really wild, modern physics (quantum theory) tells us that things only exist in relation to everything else, for example, you can't know where an electron is in an atom until you measure (interact with) it. Meaning it is everywhere and nowhere at once. This means all of the universe is a big relationship with itself, between it's parts. In this sense, we are in reality all ONE, without division. This is the heart of pantheism for me. Still, I never really use the label because it sounds like it means I believe in a god-entity, what with the word "theism" in it, and I also find labels to be limiting. By the way, if you think the universe is conscious, that it thinks, acts with volition, judges, rewards, and punishes...you are a panentheist, rather than a pantheist.
Pantheism, like any other religion, is the interpretation of the reality. Some may be further off base than others, but in the end, it all leads to One. God becomes the desire when studying religion like this one. Only when we see past this desire and discover that if this god is in all, all must be one, so then god is not required because god is just a word to describe all that is. Isness.
I suppose that makes a lot of sense, and that's how I see it; however, for lack of description, I coined the term "Gaia" to use as the name of a "God" figure even though there is none. And just to clarify, when I refer to Gaia, I am referring to the union of the universe and the latent spirit within. Edit: Looked up panentheist in the dictionary (unabridged). Didn't find it. Googled for it, found a great definition. Either way, I guess I consider myself to be a Gaian-panentheist. =) Yay! =P Any more comments would be appreciated. Please, no flaming or anything. If you're going to point something that doesn't make sense out, then please do it with respect!
I've read about that, and agree with the sentiment behind it. Gaia incidentally was the Greek Goddess of the earth, literally mother nature. She is one of my favourite goddesses.
Aye, the Greek goddess Gaia is where I got the name from. Though for it to work with Panentheism, I guess Gaia has to go up a rank to the spirit of the universe, instead of just the spirit of the Earth. =)
If one can see the relativity between beliefs and the laws of physics, there can be truth in all. Could it be that this Karma is only the negativity that builds up in your mind as it desires a false reality? Could this Gaia be representing the laws of chemistry and physics themselves, bonding and unbonding atoms, creating perfect combinations for life, evolving life. We must respect Gaia, because Gaia is truth. Truth is unchangeable. This Karma of the mind can not be affected by pure truth. The only Karma is truth itself. Pure acceptance of all must mean pure truth. This is what this mind has concluded through reasoning.
As long as no-one invents a doctrine for it I've always had a soft spot for this version of spirituality. pantheist rather than panentheist I'm not sure I agree with all your points, very few in fact, actually I can only agree with point 1. I'm happy with most of TrippinBTM post, I'll always think that you can never truely know though, maybe when you die.... maybe you don't. My thoughts sometimes run like this "An intense conciousness (god) either is around before the universes/multiverse or is brought into being with the universe/multiverse. It is, are far as we are concerned, omnipotent and everlasting, like we might consider a soul. It figures that it can either sit here twiddeling its omnipotent thumbs, or experience all facets of life, WITHOUT restriction. So if the universe/multiverse did not exist before, it then creates it from its essense (spirit) or if it has come into being from the uni/multiverse it releases its control and adds its essense to all the uni/multiverse. It does not create anything nor lay down any laws or rules it merely allows its component parts to experience every part of the uni/multiverse. Neither does it create beings or hand out souls like candy, all comes together through natural laws of physics in the universe or (if more) universes. Snaps out of trance ¦¬)
