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Professor Martyn Oliver 9/17/12 Forms of the Sacred A Syncretistic Phenomenological Theory of Religion

Eric Gilston

In lieu of Platos Allegory of the Cave might the idea be inferred that the notion, which this story holds at its core, may very well be a paradigmatic link that upholds the integrity of both sacred and profane context. While at the same time providing a holistic formula to examine mans ontic reality? Perhaps man has forgotten where he once came from and so forgetting, after the many years in prison - the true essence of the existential nature. This profound allegorical riddle that Plato poses to the reader is a paradox as is found within the eternal enslavement of the prisoners mind, that has become a self-induced psychosis, set in motion by the utter folly and plight of mans captivity. Indeed, within the confines of Platos profound ontological thinking he suggests that ones existential existence is subject to the prison guards, whom, with their puppets, cast flickering shadows against the cave wall. But upon waking up from this soma-like trance, this mans emancipation would thus signal a re-found enlightenment to distinguish what truly is, and what truly is not. If this distinction were made, as Plato alludes to such a sentiment, it would be such an overwhelming shock to mans psyche, and his choice thereafter experiencing the divine would be an interesting one, of course, where for it would be subject to the severity of his awakening.

However, this existential epiphany could easily go unheeded, and then the prisoner would be recast back into a life bound in shackles. Where religion in all its connection to the divine has succumbed to mans fallacies. But so too do the many truths that are endowed within the various religious traditions which seem to follow within the context of their sacred texts rendering them indecipherable, to those who know not of the sacred nature of mans ontic reality. In this line of reasoning a parallel may be drawn to the insider (religious observer)/outside (academic) dilemma, which subjects the self and other into two distinct taxonomies. (Herling 37) In and of itself, this dilemma is constructed by the dichotomy between the sacred (religious observer) and profane (academic). The very fact that there is such a thing as religion, positions these entitys into two distinct categories of either sacred or profane contexts. (29 Herling) Thus it establishes a symbolic disunion between the two entities that are in fact, one and the same, and equal parts of the whole. The philosopher Descartes said, in a similar fashion, I think, therefore I am. Here it is his suggestion that there are no limits to the possibility of mans existential existence within the temporal/physical world, except for that of his imaginations creative power. Ultimately, this idea seems to have arisen in the context of the enlightenment and became clouted by the dualistic influence of postcontructionalism. By using a dualistic framework which comes to distinguish both the sacred and profane - spatial and temporal contexts- into two distinct frames a student of religious studies has a map, as Herling puts it, to go about trying to solve the answer to Platos riddle. However, this map is not legible and cannot be

read without the key, which is an experience with the divine/sacred that would allow one, instead of de-familiarizing, making the familiar seem strange in order to enhance our perception of the familiar; it would be the strange making the familiar seem strange in order to enhance our perception of the world. (11 Herling) This possible experience with the divine would, in fact, familiarize one with the unlimited possibilities that are latent within the ontic reality of ideas. Such an irrational experience might also allow for one to more accurately perceive religious-texts, in their true form. Or perhaps even allow the individual to act as a mediator between the sacred and profane. Those who have had religious experiences of profound nature are people who have seen a glimpse of mans true ontic reality - which Plato so well describes. It is the irrationality of the memory that will forever alter the individuals worldview, in which an empathetic imagination triggers an endless array of possibilities. (Hurtling 13) If an individual would pursue this newly found mindset might they he/she regain a unique sense of curiosity about the world, that which only a child poses? Indeed a world where anything is possible unleashes the Pandoras box of infinitesimal possibilities. If by re-aligning the space between the sacred and profane is dependent upon shedding its dualistic frame, and adopting a respective, but mutually inclusive framework to allow for more individuals to experience or share in a more complete version of humanitys meta-narrative. All possibilities are as infinite as they are imagined, but only, when freed from the dualistic narrowness that divides the indivisible. One might approach the whole study of religion with this idea in mind, that if such distinctions as sacred and profane continue to exist it may

truly limit the creative potential of idea. This frame only serves those who proliferate decadent ideas, as a fallacious rationale that obscures what is truly whole. This logic holds that all religions have a certain and definitive truth, insofar as they are expressions of human being imaginative and creative powers. It also appears, that as a result of Hegelian dialectic separating sacred and profane, cognitively speaking, the power of idea and human imagination becomes subject to the realm of the profane. For now, this dualism has closed the Pandoras box that holds humanitys infinitesimal creative power, as these frames of opposing dialects are entirely based upon the premise of the self in relation to the other. To try and mold the imaginative power of peoples ethos and worldview is the attempt to subjugate their truths to a particular idea that comes into being through the act of thought; thereby rendering the minds of men to the will of those, who in there fear of the unknown, are caught up in the trivial pursuits that this life has to offer. The ensuing drama is but all to familiar, and leads to violence, hated and bigotry. This molding of ideas and ethos seem to be a paradigmatic theme in Platos Cave allegory, and in this way the ideas of man must be contained and refined to the opposing dialects which places the world into two distinct orderings, that act to suppress any feelings that stray from sacred into the profane. For within mans infinite awesomeness that he holds - in the concept of thought - these divisions serve only to hinder his imaginative evolution behind ideas. Perhaps Descartes articulated far better than myself, as he famously said, I Think, Therefore I Am.

Interestingly enough, the dynamic assortment of worlds religion share many similar tales and ideas about mans ontic reality, which if cross-culturally examined. An amazing trend emerges out of historys meta-narrative that subscribes to the conviction that there is a divine existence encompassing the totality of human experience. Not only will you find the divinity within mans imagination but also the idea of a supreme being; enmeshed and interwoven across historical and geographical lines that one man finds his existential existence as particularly peculiar. Quote whether it is from divine revelation or a Hopi Indian rain dance ceremony. It is my idea that all religions hold a value of what truly is when dealing with the sacred and profane, interacting with each other. In fact ancient ancestors ethos were somehow linked in ways that now, scientists are just starting to grasp. Just by the mere fact that so many people - from antiquity - certainly believed in the idea that a sacred spatial space manifested itself - to one degree or another in their existential natures, gives such an idea validity. They as do many people in todays world believe that somehow the divine is indistinguishable from mans ontic reality. A topic systematically pondered over since mans primordial beginnings, and within the context of world religions, all hold a truth, insofar as they were ideas, which arose out of the imagination, and so must be held as true. It is not therefore vital to understand the concept of idea and its evolution throughout the meta-narrative of human history? If a student might stumbles upon the one many etymologies of Religion, as relegre, the act of going back and re-reading. In trying to obtain answers to what truly is mans ontic reality. (Herling 24) Could there be such a chain connecting

various religious tradition, at some level or another, in such a way that, as to argue for humanitys collective unconsciousness? Thus providing a more collective and holistic interpretation of religion in history. Wherever such interactions have taken root, all peoples from past and present have felt that it was vital and necessary to record their experiences with the sacred (by written language, or memorization passed down through generations, or by any number symbolic effigies). So that it might never be forgotten again in the progression of humanitys collective historical memory - a sort of map to escape Platos Allegory of the Cave. You can argue that such an argument is reductionist, and maybe so, but its at least an attempt to break free from the confines of dualistic idiosyncrasy that is embedded within many prominent religious theoretical concepts. In an attempt to break the dividing wall, and to this end I would agree entirely with William Jamess statement that, so long as we deal with the cosmic and the general, we deal only with the symbols of reality, but as soon as we deal with private and personal phenomena as such, we deal with realities in the completest sense of the term. (Herling 53) Thus what is becomes dependent upon the fact that the individual has had an experience of profound nature with the divine that shakes the foundations of what that individual perceives to be the true nature of things. For how can one even know where to begin to look for the sacred in life, if they do not even know what to look for? This dualistic tendency to place the sacred and profane into separate categories only exists in order to act as a barrier with which obstructs the creative power of the mind. It owes its prevalence in academia to Hegelian Dialecticism, but

what is being implied here is that such a dualistic framework subverts the more pivotal dilemma to lifes many mysteries. What actually is or may be does not matter because anything dealing with the sacred this framework fails to comprehend the divine intermingling of sorts and cannot be placed within module that Hegelian Dialecticism lays forth. And by means of drawing a distinction between fact and fantasy there is no middle ground, only that of what is physically observable. And it would be most appropriate to employ Platos ontological thinking to an acceptable theory based framework that would allow for these creative powers to, once again take the reigns in directing mans spiritual and intellectual evolution. The divine only exceeds the limits of that which we may perceive it to be so, in contexts of the construction of our ontic realities.

Works Cited

Herling, Bradley L. A Beginner's Guide to the Study of Religion. London: Continuum, 2007. Print.

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