I’ve been working my way (again) thru the dvd set of The Sopranos and recently viewed episode 3:12 (“Amour Fou”) in which a priest tells Carmella, “God loves you more than you can know.” This triggered in me an agnostic scoff, along with a remembrance of the Sunday school adage, “God is love.” But it also got me thinking....
During the years I delved into Krishnamurti’s teachings, I balked at his premise that love was the underlying power of the universe. It was the way he baldly stated it as a given, clearly exempt from the questioning to which he demanded every thought or belief be subjected, that struck me as somewhat hypocritical. My problem, I realized later, came down to vocabulary, since “love” is so carelessly bandied about in so many ways.
But when I consider “love” as resonance or affinity, it not only explains attraction between people (a physical or hormonal resonance) or empathy for others (affinity for their suffering), it also applies to the underlying nature of Reality: it is the resonance of subatomic particles and their affinity for one another that is the very glue that holds existence together, and is also reflected by gravitational attraction in our larger world. It is nothing less than Tao. Which makes “God is love” a simplistic way of stating, “Tao is affinity.” Which means God is affinity as well – and affinity is God (or, to use a less loaded term, Tao). I’m not sure that’s what K had in mind, but it resonates with me.
On the human plane, love/affinity is caring for other human beings, is stewardship of Nature, is a desire for tranquility/peace, all of which means achieving resonance with existence. Now if that is the case, isn’t it strange that people who claim the necessity for “preemptive” war, who place the interest of humans over those of the environment, who denigrate the needs of fellow citizens if it means a greater tax burden on themselves, and who spew the greatest amount of vitriol on behalf of their stances, are often those who profess a love of God?
No comments:
Post a Comment