Spirit of One the Philosophy

¶ … Spirit of One

The philosophy of pantheism holds that all things are of the same matter, the same energy, the same life force, and that when death occurs, it occurs for the collective. It is the sense that all that, and who, can be found upon the earth, as well as the nature of water, fire, wind, and the universe are the collective thought, breath, and the being part of that which is greater than the whole. This is the philosophy of pantheism, "the view that everything that exists constitutes a unity (in some sense) and... this all inclusive unity is divine (in some sense) (Levine, Michael P., 1994, p. 25)." Pantheism has been debated, contested, and, by some, discarded; but for others it has served as an inspiration, and one which has yielded creative expressions in the arts, the environment, and a sense of inner wellness that has caused many to turn to pantheism today. In this brief essay, I will argue that pantheism, in philosophy and theory, is what was described as God.

One example of pantheistic inspiration is the silent film by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson (1992), wherein the images tell a far more compelling story that is moving, compelling, entertaining and aesthetically magical as the viewer is absorbed into the beauty, the mystery, and intrigue of what is unfolding before them (Fricke, Ron, and Magidson, Mark, Baraka, motion-picture, found online at http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/baraka.aspx,1992). So, as we look through Fricke's images, we are going to discuss the images of terms of their pantheistic value as unifying images, or images that cause us to gain a sense of the collective being of one.

The opening six images help the viewer relax into a sense of solitude and beauty (Fricke and Magidson, motion picture, 1992). The images are of snow capped mountain ranges that convey the sense of something much more powerful and greater than any one person. The mountains are forceful, the range upon which the forces of nature meet mankind in the harshest of environments in a test of strength, courage, will and endurance. Another image of a Japanese mountain monkey taking a steam in a hot pool in the mountains, and the monkey is covered with the frost of the winter as it sits in the steaming pool warming itself. There is the conveyance of the notion that the creature is on the same level as mankind as it seeks to warm and soothe itself in the heated waters. The creature has a distant look in its eyes, as if it is contemplating some deep thought. In yet another image the eclipse of the sun reminds us that we are really powerless over the forces of the cycles of the universe, and that the slightest alteration of those cycles can irreversibly change our lives and our environments. The mystery of the eclipse has intrigued and mystified mankind since the early writings of our ancestors.

As the images in the film move forward and into the realm of mankind and manmade, there is no less wonder at that which we have ourselves created over time. It has become popular in some parts of the world today to demean mankind, to place the blame for ills of the world squarely upon the shoulders of mankind. Be that as it may, along the way mankind has contributed to the beauty of the world and fed the collective's appetite for the aesthetic and the mysterious. The film moves from and through the ruins of ancient lands where ancient man walked; prophets and rabbis stood and revealed for mankind our shared heartbeat, and that the blood that courses through our veins, regardless of race and regardless of animal, is of one and the same. This is pantheism defined cinematically.

Pantheism is a departure from Christianity or other theisms as it does not have at its center a God, but suggests that all things, people, animals, creatures, elements, are of the collective; that the collective, together, in its entirety, is the "god (Levine, Michael P., 1994, p. 147)."

The philosophies that surround pantheism are many, and make sound and tempting arguments in favor of a superior being as opposed to the superiority of being the collective. Renee Descartes was one such philosopher, and certainly Descartes' philosophy is supported by many philosophers and academicians today. Descartes set about to prove the existence of God, and he began his research by becoming a skeptic and questioning everything, even existence itself (de Spinoza, Benedictus and Britan, Halbert Hans, 1943, p. 12). Descartes proved, at least in the minds of many philosophers, the existence of God (de Spinoza and Hans, p. 12). Descartes' proof has been uttered time and again in the phrase, "I doubt, I think, therefore, I am (de Spinoza and Hans, p. 14)." "In this truth, he finds the ground of all knowledge, as well as the measure of all other truth, viz, Whatever is as clearly and distinctly perceived as this is true (p. 14)." However, a close read of Descartes' principles of philosophy are more easily envisioned and understood in terms of pantheism, as opposed to monotheism. Descartes has described "the collective" in his statement, "I doubt, I think, therefore, I am (de Spinoza and Hans, p. 14)." Spinoza, too, agreed that this is what Descartes had proven the mind and body were not, as Descartes had suggested, of a different substance, but that they were in fact the same substance. Further, that the "substance" was part of a greater and singular totality, even though Descartes perceived them to be two: God and Nature.(de Spinoza and Hans, pp. 12-17).