The Atman and The Avatars

At the deepest level, at the core, the self is unchanging and intact, but not individualized; it is the same self for all of us; the Atman, the One Self. The experience of this self transcends time and space; it is static, yet is also dynamically and somewhat mysteriously present at all times and places, under infinite forms. The waves which differentiate themselves from the ocean are only surface appearances, and the tide never separates itself from the immovable sea. In the realm of space-time, wholeness exists only in the process. Here, we have emanating levels of differentiation and becoming. The transitions between states are subtle and determined by their sympathy. What we call causes and their effects are only the closest, most intimately related sympathies between things. Separateness is, then, a lack of sympathy, or likeness, but it is also largely an illusion, since everything is ultimately related to everything else through these bonds of sympathy. Nothing is entirely separate. Even sworn enemies share friends in common.

The core is the true self, the real deal. It is God, but it is also your true self, my true self, everybody's true self. This is what we mean we say God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. He is the deepest conviction of every heart, of which we yet remain unaware. Referring back to the idea of levels, I believe the archetypes of the unconscious are relatively close to the core, and the egos of individuals are relatively removed from it; just as gods are closer to God than men are. If, like Novalis says, "God wants there to be gods," it is because there are men, and because the chasm between God and men is so great. Between consciousness and super-consciousness, there is an entire ocean of unconsciousness; and, as nature abhors a vacuum, this ocean is filled with all manner of creatures and composite ideas, the significance of which can only be imperfectly known to the conscious mind, but which operate as touchstones, or catalytic go-betweens, relating the self to the Oversoul. They are true in that they are simpler than ourselves, but false in that they can scarcely indicate the simplicity of God.