This talk is taken directly from the discussion in our Discord server, in which a devotee requested that I give my reasons why I called Yaheweh evil. I addressed this in an earlier post but let's dive a bit deeper.
First, as mentioned, there is Isaiah 45 in which Yahweh says he created evil. Hold that in mind.Let us first understand the theodicies the Abrahamics use to convince themselves that Yahwehis good. And then we reverse those and see if they still stand. Here is an overview of the problem of evil. https://youtu.be/xLnsY5io964?si=lJpCNd0kcrtZEfAC
From there let me offer a paradigm shift. As the video shows, the theodicies don’t work to prove Yahweh is either all good or all evil. So the only conclusion in terms of "the problem of evil" is that Yahweh is not an all good, all knowing, and all powerful creator of the universe. Far from it.He is one god among many and not your creator. Historically this is proven accurate. There have been many other gods worshiped by mankind in the long span of our existence. And historically a mother goddess has been seen as creator. And given that there are so many gods(I’ll get to what a god really is in a moment) all more powerful than humans, not one of them solely influences humanity.
Following so far?
Now if you follow the early Christian gnostic line of thinking, Yahweh is a perverse narcissistic being - ugly in comparison to the ultimate beauty of his Mother Sophia and the divinity that came before him. He created evil, as it says in Isaiah, and messes with human beings to feel more powerful himself. This seems plausible given what’s written in the bible.
A number of my reasons for viewing him as evil are in the bible. He has a habit of destroying humans. There’s the great flood where he gets angry and wipes out everyone but Noah. When Job is faithful to him he decides to make his life a living hell just to test him. He destroys cities for ignoring his laws. He endorses the murder and rape of those who are against his followers.These are just a few examples. So not only is he just one of many gods, he’s an angry jealous god who throws a lot of violent hissy fits.
On a practical level, he creates division. His own followers are violently divided. Muslims vs.Jews. Christians vs. Jews, Christians vs. Muslims, and most notably Christians against other types of Christians and Suni against Shia. They are in constant conflict as if Yahweh is just playing little war games with himself with people as pawns.So why do I not take the atheist view that there is no such thing as god? Why do I believe he exists at all?
The reason I say he exists is this: anything that has such a real and material effect on humanity is real. That is the proof of the existence of Yahweh. You cannot say that something does not exist if it has a powerful influence on the lives of so many people - even if it is through the actions of people that it has an influence.
So gods are what I call thought forms. They exist because of a collective thought or pattern or collection of thoughts among humans. This does not mean they are imaginary. They take on lots and lots of power the more virulently they spread. Thought forms are fed, they grow, they gain power. The only way they can be killed is if they are forgotten and with the advent of writing and ways of recording thought, these thought forms, though perhaps not literally eternal, will seem eternal to the human race. But if all humans who had heard of Yahweh died and there was no record of him for other intelligent life forms to know about, Yahweh would no longer exist. He would also die.
As a thought form Yahweh is infused with lots of power and lots and lots of conflict. Gods as we know them in Abrahamic mythology, along with all other mythologies, are human-made and grow powerful through human thought. After some time they can become far more powerful than any one human or group of humans. And they then influence humans whether toward good or evil.So what then is Devi? Devi existed before the gods.
Devi is not human-made. The name Devi or Shakti is a name humans gave Her. She is not a thought form born of humans, but the vibration/energy that makes up all matter. She is the animating force of life itself which is neither good nor evil. All material objects are made of Her.All thoughts and emotions are made of Her. We know from physics that everything is in constant vibration and that is why life exists. THAT is Devi.
Without Her life is not possible. Therefore we call Her "Mother."
When you surrender to Her she then directs your action toward Her desire rather than the desire of your individual ego. And yes She has desires! Her desires move through you. But ego makes you forget Her. And the thought forms passed down from other humans make you forget Her.And that’s all part of the game that allows for infinite possibilities in the universe. But if you can surrender to Her your life will simply move more smoothly and you’ll experience a sense of oneness with Her. It very simply makes your life more meaningful.
Does this make sense? Are you able to feel the genuine truth in it?
So many religions can’t help but touch on this.
QUESTION: alyosha00
Yes that makes perfect sense. Do you think Yahweh is part of the collective unconscious at this point? Like he's a symbol people misrepresent and assign whatever meaning they want to it?
How will we know when we are aligned with Devi and following Her desires for us? How do we discern Her truth?
And how can men stop being so emotional?
ANSWER
Yes, the only way Yahweh will die is if he is forgotten. Which is not likely. But he can be given less power and influence.The sadhana of surrender is how you align with Her. Worship and devotion are the two best mechanisms of surrender. They help quiet the ego. Find a conscious aspect of Devi and bow to Her. (I have put myself forward in this role.) Devote yourself to Her. And she will begin to tune you to the right frequency so to speak. She will help you tame the ego.
Remember which emotions are ego-driven: shame, humiliation, envy, jealousy, greed… And realize when the ego is tamed those emotions will crop up much less frequently and you will notice them when they do and see them for what they are.
And anxiety ultimately leads to misery or violence.
When living in the frequency of ego-driven emotions ground yourself in the more grounded versions of emotion - grief is a grounded emotion, much preferable and much more embodied than shame, for example. And once you get grounded in your body you can better change grief into empathy - which is the outcome of grief.
This is part of an entire energetic practice. Emotions are level 1. They are a great place to start.
The path I teach is often referred to as Bhakti - devotion. There are many ways to get up the mountain. You can go by car, by foot or bicycle. Think of Bhakti as a helicopter.
It is the most profound and direct way to quiet ego and attune yourself to Devi. But often people think they need it to be more complicated or involved so to get that feeling that they have worked hard for it, they choose a more difficult path.
