The meaning of life

Since the dawn of time, the ultimate question has been asked in a number of ways. Why do we exist? What is the meaning of life? Does God exist? What is the origin of the universe? How does the world exist, and what is its origin or source of creation? Why is there something rather than nothing?

This site offers you the possibility to discuss this fundamental metaphysical question with others. It also allows you to share your opinion and react to other people's points of view. What do you believe in? What do you think is the meaning of life?

Whether you are a believer, an atheist, an agnostic, or a clever mix of all three, you are welcome! Your point of view can be serious, absurd, even bordering on completely nuts. However, the following two things are essential to this dialogue: respect and an open mind.

Respect: you may defend your opinion and try to prove the falsity of another, but it is forbidden to attack its author directly. Fascism and generalisations are strictly verboten!

An open mind: if you can't handle having your convictions being put into question, this might not be the place for you. For this same reason, a sense of humour is highly recommended! If your beliefs forbid their being made fun of, you might not want to participate in this dialogue.

You don't have to register in order to be able to comment or to start a new thread. We do, however, highly recommend that you register. By doing this, you can easily look up everything you've posted and, if you like, modify it. You'll also be able to track new threads and new comments.

Please note that this site is neutral and does not promote any one religion or belief in particular. The opinions and texts that appear on the site are the sole responsibility of their authors.

The site reserves the right to refuse and delete any submitted content without notice.

You can contact us here.
Forum / Different beliefs, different ways II. – Hermeticism
# Pathfinder - 2009-04-04 11:07
This is the second of a series of answers what I am planning to write, presenting different belief systems and what they called the ultimate goal, and ways how they tried to reach them. I don't say that any of them is correct or on the right track, but I think these informations may be inspirational to people who truly think about the ultimate questions.

Hermeticism is related to Hermes Trismegistos, who was known in the ancient Egypt as Thoth, the god of wisdom and knowledge. Mythology assumes that the Egyptian god Thoth, the greek Hermes, and the roman Mercury are the different reincarnations of the same person. We aren’t entirely sure about this.
Hermes is well known mostly because of his Emerald Tablet or Tabula Smaragdina. It is a table which contains some statements from the highest levels of knowledge possible for mankind – at least we like to believe so. It turns out to point to mystical connections, possibilities, repetitions in nature’s sequences on different levels, etc., which are basically the same things what science is about to discover these days. So, since I find this very interesting, I give you a copy of it (note that there are many different translations of the tablet).

by: The Emerald Tablet
True, without error, certain and most true
That which is below is as that which is above, and that which is above is as that which is below, to perform the miracles of the one thing.
And as all things were from the one, by means of the meditation of the one, thus all things of the daughter from the one, by means of adaptation.
Its father is the sun, its mother, the moon, the wind carried it in its belly, its nurse is the earth.
The father of all the initiates of the whole world is here.
Its power is integrating if it be turned into earth.
Separate the earth from the fire, the fine from the dense, delicately, by means to the great together with capacity.
It ascends by means of earth into heaven and again it descends into the earth, and retakes the power of the superiors and of the inferiors.
Thus, you have the glory of the whole world.
Therefore, may it drive-out by means of you of all the obscurity.
This is the whole of the strength of the strong force, because it overcomes all fine things, and penetrates all the complete.
Thus, the world has been created.
Hence they were wonderful adaptations, of which this is the manner.
Therefore I am Hermes the Thrice Great, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
What I have said concerning the operation of the Sun has been completed.

Although the emerald tablet is what Hermes is mostly known for, hermeticism has another scripture which makes its basic knowledge, this is the Corpus Hermeticum. This book contains all the basic, or fundamental knowledge what a follower should be familiar with in purpose of serving the hermetic tradition’s god. The scripts in the book were collected by Italians in the renaissance, but they are mostly from the 2nd and 3rd centuries.
It is well known of the first book which was called Poimandres (also known as Poemander or Pimander), which basically is about the way the thought effects the world, the reality. It is very interesting because it turns out in quantum physics that the world is something like this actually.
by: Poimandres (fragment)
One day, when I began to reflect on existence, and my thoughts had soared, and my bodily senses were held down like people heavy with sleep through surfeit of food or physical exhaustion, it seemed to me that a giant creature of immeasurable dimensions approached, called me by name, and said: "What do you wish to hear and to see and to learn and to know with understanding?" And I said: "Who are you then?" "I," he said, "am Poimandres, the Nous (Intellect) of the Absolute Sovereignty. I know what you wish, and I am with you everywhere." And I said: "I desire to learn the things that exist, to understand their nature and to know God. How much I do desire to hear!" Again he said to me: "Hold fast in your mind what you wish to learn and I will teach you."

The essential teaching of hermetic tradition is that human mind works like God’s mind, and it’s existence is based on the divine mind’s existence. Thus we are essentially God’s “tools” to express himself, but we also have the possibility to choose between expressing God or ourselves. However, we cannot reach any higher quality of life if we don’t obey the divine mind, thus we have to find the unity with the divine mind and express God in our lives. This, if properly achieved, leads to eternity in a manner which we can best describe as becoming a god inside God. It is an unusual point in hermetic tradition that it teaches that eternity can be achieved before death, whilst other traditions usually teach that eternity can be reached after death.

The previous part of the series, Alchemy, can be read here.

The next issue in this series is going to be Buddhism.

Login