Relationship -- the game that the Infinite plays with Itself

Relationship is a game that the Infinite plays with Itself.  If you want to learn about this game, read Meher Baba’s book God Speaks.

In the dedication Meher Baba states; “To the Universe—the illusion that sustains Reality.”

An amazing statement! Even some of Meher Baba’s closest followers thought that He had got that wrong! Illusion sustains Reality, how can that be? But, as the Perfect Master Hafez once said;

“About what you hear from the Master, never say it is wrong, because, my dear, the fault lies in your own incapacity to understand Him.” – Hafez

Perhaps the first most obvious question is; if the Infinite is Infinite, then nothing exists that is not the Infinite; so how is it possible for the Infinite to have a relationship with itself?

And secondly, why would the Infinite even need, or want, to have a relationship with Itself?

Of course the mind, especially the Western mind, is addicted to knowing—to trying to know—  and so Meher Baba was generally very patient with our questions and our doubts. But in the conclusion of God Speaks, Meher Baba reminds us;

“Nevertheless, all that is said here and explained about God to appease the intellectual convulsions of the mind of man, still lacks many more words and further explanations because the TRUTH is that Reality must be realized and the divinity of God must be attained and lived.”

In human terms we can say that relationship is something—a something—that can exist between two entities. It is also something—a something—that can exist among more than two entities.

We speak about a marriage between two people—two distinct individuals, but one marriage—one relationship. By its very nature, a relationship is something—a something—that makes one thing out of two or more entities.

There are all kinds of relationships; between the bird and the tree, the tree and the earth, the earth and the sky;  relationships between a man and a woman, the rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the sane and the insane, the heathy and the sick….

Relationships exist among all the people of a nation and among all nations in the world. Planets are in relationships with other planets and in relationship to the sun, the sun with other suns, galaxies with other galaxies… on and on throughout all of creation. It might be said that the very nature of creation itself is relationship and that the ultimate question is about the relationship that exists between this creation and its Creator.

Meher Baba reveals the essence of any and all relationships on page one of  God Speaks:

“All souls were, are and will be in the Over-Soul.

Souls are all One.

All souls are infinite and eternal. They are formless.

All souls are One; there is no difference in souls or in their being and existence as souls.

            There is a difference in the consciousness of souls;

there is a difference in the planes of consciousness of souls;

there is a difference in the experience of souls and thus there is a difference in the state of souls.”

What is a soul?

A soul is a drop of the Ocean of the Over-Soul. The drop is of the Ocean; the drop is the Ocean; the drop is one with the Ocean.

What is the Ocean of the Over-Soul?

The Ocean is all of the drops of the Ocean. In Reality no distinction exists; but in illusion distinction exists as consciousness, planes of consciousness, and experience.

But how can there even be a drop of an Ocean which is Infinite? Does not the state of a drop imply some part of the Ocean as being, as becoming, separated from the Ocean?

And if the Ocean is Infinite, than nothing can be other, or outside, of the Infinite; therefore, how can a drop even exist?

Meher Baba explains that the existence of the drop is an illusion—a delusion—an imagination of the Ocean Itself.

Then, what gives the drop its apparent reality as a drop?

Meher Baba tells us that three bubbles apparently surround the drop—the soul. There is a bubble of mind He calls the mental body, a bubble of energy that He calls the subtle body, and a bubble of form He calls the gross body. It is these three bodies, actually the consciousness of these three bodies, which creates the illusion of existence of the drop and its separateness from the ocean.

So might we ask what’s the point of it all the apparent-lies, the illusions, the delusions, the bubbles, etc.?

Again, Meher Baba tell us that the point—the purpose—of this game of drops and bubbles is for the drop to gain consciousness of itself as the Ocean.

So that original one, in order to consciously experience itself—its oneness—makes itself appear to itself as two, so that these two can, in the end, unite and experience consciously and eternally its  original oneness that it always was, is, and will be. 

But is there another word, perhaps a better word, than relationship to describe this game? Do we dare say the word is love?

Rumi once said; “The tale of love must be heard from love itself, for like the mirror, it is both mute and expressive.”

And on another occasion he was heard to say; “And when the subject turned to love, the quill broke and paper tore!” – Ibid

But can more be said? Is there anything more to say? And to whom can we turn to for the truth? No doubt, that is for each to decide for oneself, but as for me, I turn to the words of Meher Baba:

“The development of love is conditioned and sustained by the tension of duality. God has to suffer apparent differentiation into a multiplicity of souls in order to carry on the game of love. They are His own forms, and in relation to them He at once assumes the roles of the divine Lover and the divine Beloved. As the Beloved, He is the real and the ultimate object of their appreciation. As the divine Lover, He is their real and ultimate savior, drawing them back to Himself.” – Discourses, 7th edition, pp. 115-116

The attraction and repulsion of one magnet to another; the orbits of the planets circling the sun; and what about the hunter and the prey; are these not all the expression of love at different levels?

Then, there is human love and hate, and there is also Divine love—the love of the Creator for the creation? Does not relationship exist at the core of all and everything in creation and therefore, does not love exist as the core—the reality—of all of creation, no matter how much to the contrary it may appears to the limited mind?

There is the story of a king who asked his minister why God periodically takes birth in His creation in human form. The minister put off the question, saying it was far too weighty a question for such a beautiful day and that instead the king should have a nice picnic aboard the royal barge.

And so the barge set sail on the river with the king, his young son, the minister, and a whole royal retinue of soldiers, guards, and servants.

It was indeed a beautiful day, for a while, but soon the weather changed; the sky turned dark and rainy, and winds whipped the waters into menacing waves. And then, at the height of the storm, the minister picked up the king’s young son and through him into the raging waters! Without the slightest hesitation, the king leapt into the water and saved his son.

As soon as they were safely aboard, the weather again abruptly changed, and the sky was clear and sunny, the winds were gone, and the waters were calm.

Of course, the king was furious and demanded an explanation from his minister who immediately replied; 

“You yourself jumped into the water to save your son, even though you had a whole retinue of soldiers and guards who were ready, willing, and able to jump into the water to save him. But you saved him yourself because of love, and that is the answer to the question you asked me this morning—this is why God comes again and again into His creation—the answer is always the same, the answer is love!”

    (c) copyright Michael Kovitz 12/13/2019