Prime Reality
Pantheism/New Age


Monism “The One”
Brahman has no
attributes,
indefinable
New Age
 No transcendent
God

God is all and in
all
External Reality
Pantheism/New Age



Universe flows out
of Brahman
Matter is illusory
Hierarchy
–
–
–
–
Humans
Animals
Plants
Matter

Altered state of
consciousness is
goal by use of
mystical
experiences
– Channeling
– Spirit possession
– Out of body
experiences
Who is man?
Pantheism/New Age



Atman is the essence
of each soul
Pass beyond selfawareness and be
unified with The One
Enlightened are closer
to Brahman



Human potential is
divine power within
self
Places great value on
individual
Man is part of God
Knowledge?
Pantheism/New Age


Brahman is
indefinable
No knowledge
possible

Knowledge needs
to be harmonized
across the
disciplines
– Ex. Science is both
material and
spiritual as in ESP
Morality, Right and Wrong?
Pantheism/New Age



Brahman is beyond
good and evil.
Therefore, actions
are not good or evil
Ethical conduct is a
tool for becoming
enlightened



Assume occultic
view that evil is an
illusion
Nothing is truer
than anything else
Belief in absolute
morality is wrong
Death?
Pantheism/New Age



Cycle of life until
enlightened –
Nirvana
Karma – present
fate
(pleasure/pain)
Reincarnation –
work out sin until
reach Nirvana

Physical death is
not the end of self
History?
Pantheism/New Age




Events and time are an
illusion
Events come and go in
a meaningless cycle
Meaning is here and
now
We leave history
behind

Meaning is personal
based upon life
experiences
BUDDAHISM

Prime Reality
– Final reality is the Void, nothing that can
be named or grasped
– The Void is the origin of everything

Who is man?
– Individual person is “not soul”
– People are aggregation of previous
individuals
– Distinctions disappear
Eastern Thought
Cyclical history
 Paths that cross
 Doctrines that disagree
 Evil that is good
 Knowledge that is ignorance
 Time that is eternal
 Reality that is unreal
Holds out the promise of peace, meaning and
significance.

West meets East

Irrationality
– Reason is not a category, rejected

Loss of morality
– Duality, both/and

Inconsistency
– Consistency is no virtue but by reason
– I’m not yet perfect
– Meditation is the answer, I cease acting