[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]The oneness of everything in pure consciousness manifest itself into many in matter and then returns back again to the unity of pure consciousness to complete the cycle of evolution.
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That is a teaching of Hinduism, and that to me is the most reasonable and logical explanation.
Sorry everyone for disappearing from the discussion. I subscribed to it, but was notified of only two posts and thought the discussion was still-born.
Here is a poem I wrote on that theme, about 40 years ago. I use the word "God" in the sense of an intelligence innate in the universe.
LIKE, WOW !
The unformed essence filled the universe
And this was God, the absolute
The essence stirred
And little eddies formed
And shaped in patterns mathematical
And their vibration was very, very high
And the patterns became more complicated
And joined together
Forming objects with a purpose
And as they became more complex
The particles vibrated slower
And their form was no more recognized
As the pure primordial essence
From which they came
And on the process went
Until there formed a man
And in the man were particles
Of every vibration
From the highest to the lowest
And man started to become conscious
But at first he was conscious
Only of that part of him
That vibrated slowest
And this was his carnal nature
And its vibration was the same
As the earth in which he lived
And he was unaware
That he had come
From the pure primordial essence
But it was still a part of him
And in its different vibrations
It made up all of him
And man experimented with his carnal self
And learnt to understand it a little
And then he became aware
That there was more to him
Than food and lust
He had a mind
And he played with his mind
And got very confused
Because he only knew a part of it
And this part thought independently
Of the higher parts
And thought it knew everything
But it didn’t
Man’s destiny lies far ahead
In timeless aeons
He must become aware of all of him
Little by little
And when he knows it all
He will know that he is God
And God will know himself
For God made man a mirror of himself
And His consciousness is man’s
And man’s is His
For there is no division in creation
All is one
But man in incomplete awareness
Thinks the little that he knows is right
And all the rest unreal
But all is real
And all is God
And God is all
And man is God
And God is man
And everything is moving on with meaning
And a goal
The goal is God’s awareness of Himself
Through man and all creation
The reason?
There is none that I can see
It just happened
And we are part of it
And we are stuck with it
And we must make the most of it
And one day we’ll be glad
We persevered
And got to know ourselves
For we are sons of God
And God is all
And we are all
And all is all
And all is life
And life is love
And man, what a gas !