Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl00026)

JRC:

[writing to Richard Ihle]

>... the
>vision of our final harmony is *not* that of the whole lot of us blending
>into some sort of homogeneous collective mush, but rather of a *galaxy of
>brilliantly shining stars* - "brotherhood", then, *not* meaning some
>final agreement on a single "correct orbit", but a condition in which
>every being shines with their own light, *and has discovered their own
>orbit*.

This sounds like, in a certain way, what I'd refer to as the goal of
brotherhood or unity. Life is moving towards increased individualization
and self-expression yet at the same time seeks to regain the essential
unity that it once possessed. How is this obtained? By moving towards
*heterogeneous* unity, not *homogeneous* unity. Life moves towards a
unity based upon diversity and individual, unique self-expression, not
upon standardization and the disappearance of individual differences.

Like a fractal undergoing an endless series of iterations, life
does not go half-way and then start "uniterating", reversing itself
towards disappearance in its original first interation. It
presses forward, until its material elements disappear in a cloud
of cantor dust (become infinitely fine and small, to the point of
non-existence, for all practical purposes).

How then does life reattain unity as this differentiation progress?
By phase-locking, by harmonization, by continual readjustments
made by us and everyone around us as we grow and change and become
different. Each change in us requires new adjustments in life, but
having made those adjustments, the world is a better place.

How does this tie in with the theosophical scheme of evolution
and involution? We have, I think, a descend into matter followed
by a reascend into spiritual realms. This happens over vast periods
of time. Our experience of lower, darker, material planes is
followed by one of higher, lighter, spiritual planes. And then
we, humanity, descends yet again into the dark realms of the
lower planes (down the Descending Arc along the way to Globe D
again).

Each cycle through the planes, over many, many millions of years,
constitutes a complete sequence of interations for the "human
fractal". In another sense, the world and everything in it is
at a completely different level with each such Round through
the planes.

As the Rounds proceed, the focus of differentiation shifts from
the physical side of things, where differences flower, to
inner principles, like feelings and thought, which then flower
in their turn. Attention shifts away from the outer, physical
forms to what is going on in the minds and hearts of people,
and then in future ages yet deeper, to our spiritual-divine
natures, Atma-Buddhi.

The homogeneous unity that we start with is the unity found
on a blank canvas. The discord in the world, the problems and
shortcomings of life, comes from the awkward and sometimes
ugly-looking appearance of portions of the canvas where the
first few paint strokes don't yet look right. And the completion
and final unity of life is the completed work of art, with
a overall meaning and beauty to the painting in its entirety,
a beauty that can only exist because everything fits together
just right.

-- Eldon