The Sacred Word
3. AFTER HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS
God created man in His image and likeness. What does that mean? It is obvious that the beautiful frescos by Michelangelo are purely allegorical, and we need to get a deeper understanding.
Returning to our Circle of the One, we see that it polarizes forming two antipodes: a positive one (Alpha) corresponding to the sphere of Spirit and a negative one (Omega) corresponding to the sphere of Matter. Two spheres occur simultaneously within the One, as the Sacred Circle of Being divides into two polarities: the upper sphere which is positive and referred to as the Spirit, the Heaven and the Creator-Cause and the lower sphere that is negative and referred to as Matter, Earth and creation-effect. There is a continual interchange
of energy between the two spheres in the figure eight flow: in our diagram the active impulse from Alpha is shown by a solid line, and the return flow from Omega is shown by a dotted line.
Now we have an opportunity to see once again that the concepts of different religions that are perceived by the common consciousness as contradictory to each other are absolutely identical in their inner sense and differ only in the way of expression.
The original impulse coming from Alpha as an active giver is the Beginning, and the return of energy from Omega as a passive Receiver is the Ending. This is exactly what the scripture says: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” So this is the Christian aspect of the concept in question.
On the other hand, it is evident that our diagram is a representation of the t’ai chi which is one of the basic concepts of all Eastern philosophies symbolizing the interaction of the masculine Yang that corresponds to the Spirit sphere and the feminine Yin corresponding to the sphere of Matter.
Thus we see that the outer differences that seem to be insurmountable to the human consciousness are indeed caused by the limitations of this very consciousness and disappear completely when come in touch with the Light of the Divine Wisdom.
But let us return to the creation of man. In the process of creation the One becomes the many — He creates numerous “copies” of Himself — His individualized manifestations known as divine monads. Each monad in its turn polarizes within itself forming the spheres of Alpha-Spirit and Omega-Matter. The latter corresponds with the human soul.
When a man says “I” he usually means his physical body plus the thoughts and feelings that he perceives as his own. Such an approach misses the main point—the awareness of the Presence of God that is individualized for each soul and constitutes an integral part of each one’s being, and the understanding of the fact that it is this Presence of God that is the Beginning and the Ending of our existence both on earth and in other spheres. It is the Presence of God whose name is I AM, or the I AM Presence.
So the upper part of the figure eight corresponds to the I AM Presence representing the sphere of Spirit, and the lower part corresponds to the
human soul evolving in the plane of matter. And so we see that according to the divine plan each of us is in no way a particle of helpless flesh lost in the vast ocean of time and space, but a great being having at his or her disposal the infinite energy of God focused in His individualized Presence given to each of His children.
The interchange of energies between the upper and the lower spheres is shown in more detail in the diagram on the left. The spiral flow of energy descending from Alpha is represented by the violet line and the returning ascent from Omega by the aquamarine line. The third picture shows them together as a whole, for the divine energies are not subject to the laws of time and space, and they move with
the speed incomprehensible for the finite consciousness from plus to minus and from minus to plus, manifesting the unity of God and his creation—“as above, so below.” And man manifests “below” the fullness of the perfection of the Godhead “above.”
But we understand, of course, that this is an ideal description of the ideal process, as it was in the past and as it has to become in the future. But that which we see on the present stage of the mankind’s evolution is quite different from the ideal scheme. So what is the reason? Where do wars, poverty, hatred, illnesses, and natural calamities come from? And how do they match the perfect design conceived by the Creator in the beginning?
