Instant recap: The unexplained mystery in all past and present cosmologies was how the primordial unity became duality. We solved it at last: the eternal recurrences of the cosmos coexist as parallel universes, each with its own God as One and All; in chapter 2 OM-God entered the latest cosmic round and encountered its presiding deity, who thus became the Deuce.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. I and Thou
Deuce was whelmed up in ecstasy at beholding the fruit of his magic, though he did not suspect that his joy was fueled by the supernal glory flowing into him from Unam. He cried “Eureka! I’ve done it!” Then to Unam he said, “Do you know who and what you are?”
Unam wished to dispel the illusion that he was merely a magical projection from the mind of Deuce, and said: “I am not you.”
To understand the further dialogue we must resort to present-day colloquialism and imagine it being spoken by the primordial beings, though of course their language was beyond speech as we conceive it. Deuce was astonished by the reply, and exclaimed “Oh my God!”
Posing the first riddle and wordplay in cosmic history, Unam said: “Delete the ‘I’ and you will know my true identity.”
Deuce pondered a moment and ventured: “Ohm… God?”
“Thou hast said it ~ my very name. Or so it was before my coming hither.”
Suddenly Deuce was seized with the original primal terror reported in the Upanishad quote at the beginning of our story. It had only dissolved with the realization of his aloneness: “Since there is nothing but myself, why then should I fear?” But now he glimpsed the heart-quaking reality of otherness, the blood-curdling truth that the being he beheld was not of himself but a thing in itself, driven by its own will and harboring inscrutable designs. It was the consummation of his deepest longing, but instead of joy he was filled with the fear that has ever been felt upon unexpectedly meeting a stranger in a dark place. His thought was: “No, it cannot be!” And he used this denial as a bludgeon to smite away his fear.
He said, “You were nowhere before your coming, for I have created you and called you out of the void that surrounds us.”
Unam was saddened that Deuce had willfully clouded his consciousness, but decided that the only viable course was to play into his game, at least for a time. He said, “Whatever may be my origin or nature, there now seem to be two of us here in this Abyss. So what shall we do to pass the time which stretches eternally before us?”
Again Deuce was taken aback. All his intention had been focused on conjuring another entity into being, and success had seemed so unlikely that he had given not a thought to the aftermath. He surveyed the situation and answered candidly, “If there is one, he acts alone and can do whatever he deems, to no avail but his own. But if there are two, their actions will redound upon each other, and they must heed the impact ere they act again. Thenceforth these two will act together; in a word, they will relate.”
“Well said, my friend!” Thusly I record Unam’s reply, and note that his expression of the concept of “friend” was the birth of the archedox of friendship, just as Deuce’s remark begat the broader archedox of relationship.
The two deific beings embarked on a pathfinding venture of friendly interrelationship. It went on for an indeterminate period in the fluid time of that numenal realm, which we may call the Dyadasphere. Deuce had been trapped in darkness, but Unam had the power to shine light into the Abyss, for he was a conduit to the glorious presence of OM-God, which encompassed them as a greater sphere unto a nested lesser one. The light imbued the Abyss with an inkling of substance, barely distinguished from the underlying emptiness; but it was enough to enable the dyad to project images onto it and create a primordial puppet-show of illusory creatures. It was delightful to Deuce, making the simulacra dance with a wave of his hand, and elaborating fanciful scenarios. But as soon as the two turned their attention away from the play, it all vanished back into the nothingness which it truly was.
Through these pastimes the relationship between Unam and Deuce developed, becoming deeper and more complex. It harbored a distinct imbalance, for only Unam could access the divine energy of OM. It was infinite, but he was no longer so, and he experienced a constant outflow of substance from himself into Deuce. It gave pleasure to his friend, and even the first rudiment of happiness he had ever known; but it was a drain on the inner resources of Unam, and caused him a small but discernible degree of pain. At length the burden became lucid to him, and he happily gave his consent to it as a sacrifice for the sake of the other. Here, then, was the origin of the praxis of an Avatar suffering for his fellow beings, which is the foundation of life in the universe: the sacred blood that fills the cup of sorrow and waters the firmament with its overflow.
Coming soon!
Pingback: The Deuce | The Kin of Aries