"in God we live, and move, and have our being"
At this point it is difficult to know what Paul had in mind by so saying. However, it could be interpreted to mean:
--we are atoms in the body of God (an Eastern notion)
--God is that which lives us (life), moves us(energy) and
IS us (beingness)
So the statement has as much depth as one wants to see in it. It reminds me of the statement from John: "In the beginning was the Word........." At the superficial level that has one meaning. But in its depth, it is one of the more esoteric statements of the New Testament.
Here are two general comments by Adi Da on the subject:
ADI DA: "There is Only God. Now, let Me elaborate on that for a moment. There is something you must understand about this kind of statement. It sounds like one of those gleeful statements that ridiculous mystics make from time to time.
Now, many people say that there is only God, and when they say there is only God, they mean there is God. The statement that there is Only God is actually a "radical" statement, because it implies that there is nothing that is not God. Nothing! There is no process, no appearance, no manifestation, not even this one, not even this homely little devilish involvement of everyone, that is not God.
Literally, there is Only God. There is Only One Condition, Only One Condition-not many conditions, not a condition of which this is a manifestation. There is One Condition, absolutely Only One. How can I say it? There is-let Me put it this way-there is One Condition. There is absolutely One Condition, and That is not other than your own Real Condition, or Consciousness Itself."
(July 28, 1975)
and:
ADI DA: "Abandoning all concerns for physical exploitation, self-indulgence, satisfaction of habitual desires, answers to habitual questions, attainment of superior changes of state or experience, suppression of desire, inversion, inwardness, or ascent to glamorous subtlety, the true devotee simply abides in constant Love-Communion with the Living God. Through every kind of right harmonious action, he does this. In every moment of action, every moment of attention, every moment of existence, he does this. Therefore, he already transcends all phenomena, all desires, experiences, all time and space. Soon there is only God."
Does that help at all to clarify what he is trying to say, and how he relates "counter-egoic activity" to the process of God-realization?
Namaste!
Jim |
