BANANACUE
REPUBLIC
Vol I, No. 7
Oct 20, 2004
by H. A. de Veyra
PHILOSOPHY:
In the Name of the
One, of the Two,
and of the Thousand...
I had only one goal since I can remember: to seek the Absolute. A moment of bliss, a moment of enlightenment, satori, nirvana, etc. The perfect moment. Whatever it's called, I tried looking for it in sunrises, in the change of colors (twilight), in my inner silence, in meditations, in a God, in moments of peace or in terror, in food-tasting, in lovemaking, in songs, in numbers, in science, in journeys...
In this search for the Absolute, I've encountered differing theories and philosophies of various times and ages from many fields and disciplines. From the time language was discovered to the present, man has been able to compile volumes and volumes of theories and philosophies. Probably realizing the impossible task of reading all these concepts in one lifetime, scientists and philosophers have tried in vain to come up with unified theories of the universe. One theory, one definition, to no success. They only added more books to our libraries.
Fortunately for me, I'm no fan of theorists and philosophers. I'd rather read a self-help book than read one man's idea that does not interest me and takes effort to understand.
I've some few favorites though, mostly of the unified theorists/theories, because I find the attempt amusing. How can you unify many myopic views of the universe? Certainly not while you're human with a limited consciousness. You need to be a God, or a Supercomputer.
But one of my favorites is Wilbur Smith, he has been trying to unify 'science and soul' for ages and still trying. Quantum physics has tried but came out rather confused because of human intervention in the experiments. Another is Donna Harraway who scoffed at the idea of unifying all theories but ironically came out with a unified theory of her own by accident. Even the Jainist sect has one, remember the "Blind Men and the Elephant" parable? Indra's Net also tries to trap all of us inside interconnecting 'jewels', where the internet/ cyberspace incidentally is a projection of that philosophy. I Ching passively unifies all theories by giving subtle advices to man's problems with its Taoist non-sayings, using 3 coins. I Ching incidentally, great-great-great grandfathered Chaos Theory. I'm still grappling with the concept of mathematics' ability to measure chaos, or to be exact, to find order and patterns in chaos. I've never been good with math.
Cosmic Fish Net
not unlike Indra's net
God is the culprit of course. If not for God, we'd have one unified view of the world by now. It all started with religion. Man at first tried to name things perceivable, then moved on to naming the unknown. But since the unknown is unsayable, man called it GOD. The unsayable God (called thus because it couldn't be defined in words) was thus defined as that-which-is-not. This business of the naming of things and defining God was called 'religion'. The undefinable to the many, but 'known' to the few became a tool to control man's perception. When you hold the power to define things, you have the power to do whatever you want. (Obviously this is where advertising originated.) You yourself become the creator of your world. Naming things, naming concepts, defining them and moralizing, you have the power to wield judgment over who's right and who's wrong.
God of course is just a concept. Even if He is the unseen, the undefinable, the Controller of all things, the One, the Omniscient and All-knowing, He is still a concept. Man's concept. If you involve man's emotions and ego in the defining, God becomes a religion and a moralizer factor. This kind of God makes us go to war in his name. He is the God that demands justice, he is the voice that whispers instructions to leaders' ears to kill as many 'sinners' as possible of different faith in whatever manner, humanitarian or otherwise. He is the ultimate separator.
If you do not involve emotions and your ego in your naming of things, God becomes mere numbers. This God does not play with humans just because he has no other god to play with. He is as involved as we are in the play of things.
I call this God, Mathematics. Not the simple mathematics we learn in school, but the evolved kind of mathematics that generates complex algorithmic codes that's still way beyond any present day computer's ability to compute. I also call this God, Light, that which produces colors beyond any fashion designers' vocabulary. I call this God, Sound, that which generates interweaving frequencies and vibrations inaudible to the human ears and machines. Sound is the vibration that makes up everything physical and nonphysical in this world and beyond; Light is that which is produced by the vibrations and frequencies of sound, and Mathematics is the language that measures, instructs, and explains the two. Together, they make up the mathematical God.
All I'm saying really is that everything is quantifiable. Even man's unpredictable behavior that's based on feelings. Behind the reality we perceive with our senses, are numbers, coded algorithms, instructions that determine all our actions and reactions. We do have a choice and free will, but it's limited to the IF THEN variables our mind can only possibly grasp. Think it, and it is already written. Nothing is original. Behind the act of thinking is the algorithm that instructs you to think, to come up with solutions #1, #2, #3, or #4 ad infinitum, followed by the IF THENs that are consequences and possibilities that you produce from your choice. That's what 'free will' really means. You can choose but the choices and results are already written and coded. Who's arrogant enough to say that one can get out from the order of things? Even chaos is patterned. Even 'God' has to play along, because he is the numbers, the written instructions, a participant in the order of things which none of us can escape from.
In my search for the Absolute, this is where I am now. Writing my own fate that's already been written above and behind the illusion that is me. From where I'm standing, I face as many roads as I'm able to comprehend, each one having an IF THEN instruction once I take my first step towards it. Even as I stand here, I've the choice whether to weigh all the roads open to me and take a long time thinking, or go on ahead boldly, or warily. I am predetermined, I am written, I am a player.
In my search, I've learned that the Absolute can be found in each moment that we experience, and not out there at the end of the journey. Maybe, as I sit still in silence, I can see the myriads of formula and numbers floating behind what we call reality. Perhaps, I can find release from the nagging question that's at the back of my mind: Who is writing the codes as I speak?
Posted 10/19/04.
"Behind the reality
we perceive with our senses, are numbers, coded algorithms, instructions
that determine all our actions and reactions. We do have a choice
and free will, but it's limited to the IF THEN variables our mind can only
possibly grasp. Think it, and it is already written. Nothing
is original."
The One, or that which is, must become two--knower and known--for the
third factor or knowledge or consciousness to arise.
Unity, Duality, and Harmony