Universal Love: Magnetism, Gravity or Wishful Thinking
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Consider this the “curmudgeon’s-eye-view” of the subject since, philosophically speaking, I find most exhortations of unconditional, universal love at the spiritual level to be debatable at best and improbable at worst. But don’t take this too seriously (except the anti-religious part); my goal is as much sly humor as criticism. (For the record, I’m not a “hater,” I’m just highly suspicious of “pop spirituality” in the same way I’m skeptical of “pop psychology” of the self-help kind, and chary of any form of “Father knows best” religious paternalism.)
In the more mystical enclaves of metaphysical society I often encounter the blithe assumption that the essence of the Universe is “Unconditional Love,” whether it is idealized in human nature, imposed by Divine decree or simply the goodness inherent in the reality of existence. I have a skeptical opinion of such unconvincing, Panglossian pronouncements; considering the present state of humanity, it’s impossible to accept that “Everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.” (I often say that we are not nearly as evolved spiritually as we like to think we are.) When it isn’t purely a convenient escape from boredom, the fact of mutual appreciation seems more akin to magnetism or gravity; we circle around one another, hoping to be sucked in both physically and emotionally. If “Universal Love” is on tap, it certainly doesn’t announce itself in plain language, leaving us to ask questions like “Why do bad things happen to good people?” We can try to broadcast our abiding love of “Life, the Universe and Everything” through our day-to-day actions in the world, but expecting an equally charitable response from the less kindly-disposed can be a lesson in futility. Sometimes about the closest we can come to reciprocal altruism is servicing our shared self-interest: “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” (Other applications of friction may eventually follow.) The Christian ethic is too often a “one-way street.”
To be perfectly honest, I’m as far as one can get from embracing religious orthodoxy since I see it as an abdication of critical thinking. The Universe may in fact possess the kind of all-pervading or “immanent” consciousness that Spinoza envisioned as an ongoing and expanding wave of creation, in that the very substance of the Cosmos is invested with impersonal deity as its apotheosis. But it isn’t irrational, we just have to figure out its agenda. The First Hermetic Principle of the Kybalion is “The ALL is MIND; the Universe is Mental,” a presumption that Spinoza most likely wouldn’t have disputed The 18th-Century Deists seem to have had a handle on this: God created the world and them moved on to his next project, leaving us to fend for ourselves and make whatever peace we might with his cast-off legacy. In short, God has “checked out” and He, She or It won’t be returning even though this place is long overdue for remodeling. Mr. Rogers’ “beautiful neighborhood” notwithstanding, I certainly don’t anticipate receiving “two-thumbs-up” from the Cosmos-at-large every time I walk out the door; it seems to be as much as we can expect in the way of celestial blessing to be able to draw breath when we wake up in the morning. Most of the other breaks we have to make for ourselves.
Although I tend to dismiss such naive notions as idle fantasy, let’s suppose for the sake of argument that there is a balmy current of benevolent inspiration coursing through the Universe with nothing but the best intentions for all life on Earth. How do we flag it down and climb aboard without succumbing to cynical “wishes and horses” opportunism? Personally, I would have no problem with Christian morality if we could dump the priesthood, the patriarchal dogma and the secular power base, and just let people approach it in the same way they might contemplate Buddhism or Taoism. Give them the riddle and let them crack it for themselves, don’t spoon-feed them a bunch of made-up nonsense. They should be able to find Hamlet’s “more in Heaven and Earth” on their own once the blinders are removed, assuming they aren’t already too mentally lazy or addled by the persuasions of religious sophistry to bother. When it comes to human sublimation, the best policy may be to take purveyors of such self-serving “snake oil” on your own terms or not at all. You might even become an ambassador for “Unconditional Love” in the bargain.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on November 9, 2022.
