by Jean du Plessis
There are people who are not content to have separate, God our Father in Heaven, and the Prime Mover, Omnipresent One, the Creator of all. Here, is some help in thinking this through.
By definition, our Father in Heaven, is in a type of place that we call heaven. We speak of Heaven as the place we are destined to go, a place where certain qualities and conditions are present–and Iesous teaches that we can experience some of those qualities, now, in our souls.
By definition, the Illimitable One, the CREATOR of the universes, creates conditions, qualities, and the types of places that we call heavens, earths, galaxies and universes. This, CREATOR defies definition, we cannot name, or comprehend the THAT, as ancient philosophers wrote.
Therefore, by definition, our Father in Heaven is a creature, who exists in a place limited by conditions, a place we call Heaven. He is defined as a God. The Father, is our God. God exists, within the limitations and empowerment granted by the CREATOR, to be our God.
I, for one, can behold in awe the decomposing fish on the riverbank, and see in it the Divine Energy, in all of life happening right there in that rotted fish–to the blessed privilege of my bodily eyes—so much life, so many living beings in the rotting flesh—almost as if looking deep into the universe, full of life and energy. However, I do not see my Father in Heaven present in the dead fish. For those like me, our Father in Heaven is in Heaven, where you and I will one day be reborn to start new lives—whether we will it, want it, or not.
The longer version
By definition, our Father in Heaven, is in a type of place that we call heaven. We speak of Heaven as the place we are destined to go, a place where certain qualities are present–and Iesous teaches that we can experience some of those qualities, now, in our souls.
By definition, the Illimitable One, the CREATOR of the universes, creates conditions, qualities, and the types of places that we call heavens, earths, galaxies and universes. This, CREATOR defies definition, we cannot name, or comprehend It. This too, is the theses of the Daodejing, Upanishads, Gautama Buddha and Greek philosophers of ~500BCE. The CREATOR is omnipresent because the energies that uphold creation, are perpetually required. If the energies are recalled, all shall cease to exist. In that, we are always in the presence of the Creator, and the Creator is always present in us.
Therefore, by definition, our Father in Heaven is a creature, who exists in a place limited by conditions, a place we sometimes call Heaven. He is defined as a God. The Father, is our God. God exists, within the limitations and empowerment granted by the CREATOR–to be our God. Our God, the Father in Heaven, is a monarch, the king of Sukhavati (Skt), which is a place called Land of Pure Bliss. In Sukhavati, certain conditions exist, bliss, for example. That, is where we are destined, the bliss of heaven, in the presence of God the Father.
“But, why can we not have the two, Creator and God the Father, together? Why can they not be one and the same?” one should ask.
The answer is old. It has been contemplated by (or spiritual beings gave the answer to) progenitors of the Upanishads, Tao Te Ching, Buddhism, and in the West, as early as Socrates, around 500BCE. The answer is that nothing in the universes exist separately from the presence of the One. The notion of separateness, of individuality, in terms of ultimate reality, is therefore false. In this sense, you and I, are in terms of Ultimate Reality the same. We are merely bundled collections of the same Creative Energy–no distinction. In this sense, not only are you and I not separate from one another. You, and I, do not exist as individuals separate from the Creator. But also, so is God the Father not separate from the Creator. In terms of Ultimate Reality, we all exist only in the One.
But that is Ultimate Reality. How is Ultimate Reality, so diligently contemplated by Zen, for instance, different from our everyday reality as soul beings? Here is an example:
Arsenic is deadly to the human body. You take that, and it is the end of this incarnation. You will have to return another day, in another body. It really messes with one’s soul growth. But in Ultimate Reality, arsenic is a collection of atoms animated by Divine Energy–it is one with the Creator, it exist not, with the Creator. That, is the Zen of arsenic. But is it an evil thing, made by the Creator? No, it is a thing, but in our reality it is deadly. In the reality of many other things, arsenic is essential. They use arsenic as a life force. In our reality, arsenic is a killer. In their reality, it is food.
Therefore, our existential world is different. The lifetimes that we experience and our soul-development, and our eternal future as spiritual beings–that–is our reality. We can be concerned about our reality, and we can do things to advance in this reality that we live. We don’t take arsenic, and we work on our attitude to life and our relationship with our God, the Father. We appreciate the Divine Presence of the Creator in all things. That, is our reality, and that, is how we will exist for several millions years to come–either reincarnating perpetually, or being reborn in Sukhavati.
As to Ultimate Reality, we can only remain aware of it. But, we cannot actually comprehend its effect on our future existence–which may still be several million years–therefore, we concern ourselves with the here and now realities of our lives, our existential reality, our God, our Father in our Heaven, and our future.
This page is copyright Jean du Plessis. It is part of the published works, Universal Gateway of Enlightenment. If you quote this text, by law, you should include the source, and author in your reference.
—
Annotations to the book Universal Gateway of Enlightenment: The second coming of Jesus as Lord of the World in c. 78AD, by author Jean du Plessis