My fiancé’s grandfather and I have an ongoing dialogue on comparative religion. I speak from my current world-view, (that of a lapsed Lutheran who has found solace in Yoga and Buddhism), while he informs me of the deeper aspects of Catholicism. In this way, we've spent some happy evenings, discussing books such as Thich Nhat Hahn's Living Buddha, Living Christ.
As was a habit during these talks, Ed asked me a point blank question on the lines of Catholic doctrine; namely "Do you believe in the Trinity?"
"Yes, yes I do." I replied.
"Well, we agree on that." He said.
Realizing I was treading in murky theological waters, but ripe for debate, I went on to say, “Well, maybe. As a concept, the idea of ‘trinity’ is ancient. It pre-dates the Bible! You can find examples of the number ‘three’ being holy in many traditions.”
"Well, that may be," replied Ed smiling calmly, accustomed to my way of trying to make the specific universal, “but it’s a matter of faith, isn’t it? It demonstrates that God is both transcendent and imminent; how He is Almighty, yet he is also among us.”
I was lucky that he did not think to evoke more from me that evening, as, upon reflection, I only had a few vague ideas to back up my statement. Was the mystery of the Trinity as universal as I suspected?
While Christians differ widely in their interpretation of the Trinity, we can turn to the Bible for the basic premise. In 1 John 5:7 we find, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
I’ve heard the Trinity expressed as “God observing Himself.” If we accept God or the Creator as ‘One’, there must be a way to explain an act of manifestation in which there the concept of ‘Other’ may exist.
Christian scholar Donald Bloesch states in his book "God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love (Downers Grove: IVP, 1995, p. 185), "God in his essence is one, but the way he interacts within himself is threefold. In the Godhead there is one being but three modes of existence. There is one person but three agencies of relationship." It is in this idea of relationship where we can look for synchronicities in other traditions.
The Christian Trinity is anthropomorphic. If we equate the idea of 'Father' with an Active force or Will, the 'Word' or 'Son' with Passive force or Love, and the 'Holy Spirit' with Neutralizing force or Wisdom, we come closer to other religious and philosophical schools of thought. ‘Will’, ‘Love’ and ‘Wisdom’ are the highest forms of the triad, while in humanity, they manifest as spiritual, intuitive and higher mental states.
In the Bhagavad Gita we are informed that the three Gunas - Sattva (sentient or positive), Rajas (mobile or negative) and Tamas (inert or neutral) - are the primary constituents or underlying principles to every activity in the universe. Swami Hariharananda Aranya comments, "The Gunas are distinct though mutually related, are uniting and separating, and they co-operate to produce manifest forms. All possible objects of thought come under these three Gunas.1" It is the imbalance of these three aspects that serve as the ground for creation.
In the Sufi tradition, as espoused by G.I. Gurdjieff, the three forces (active, passive and neutral), are always present in every activity, large or small, and “each force appears only in relation to the two other forces.2" Not only do they appear only in relation to each other, but the "three forces are always present in every event...only a conjunction of three forces can produce an event.3”
In Taoism, we have the Tao (Neutral force), Yang (masculine force) and Yin (feminine force). In the Kabbalah, we see the supernal triad of Kether (Supreme Wisdom), Chokmah (masculine force), and Binah (feminine force). From their union arose the created universe.
In my mind’s ear, I hear Ed say, “Well, this is all very interesting, but I still like to think of God the Father, compassionate and loving, his Son, the Savior, and the Holy Ghost as Divine Spirit at the service of God.”
Meditating in my own personal triangle of the half-lotus, I intuit that an understanding of the inseparable triad underlying all manifestations must be perceived at the same level of consciousness as those who originally recorded these ideas. Which is what I'll mention to Ed the next time we talk of these matters.
Footnotes/Recommendations:
1The Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali: Samkhya-Yogachara Swami Hariharananda Aranya, State University of New York Press, 1983, p. 161.
Scholarly commentary on the Yoga Sutras. Reveals new depths with every read.
2The Fourth Way, P.D. Ouspensky, Random House, 1971, p. 191.
An exposition of G.I. Gurdjieff's Fourth Way teachings by his most prolific student. Detailed explanation of the Law of Three, the Law of Seven, aspects of the esoteric Sufi tradition.
3Ibid. p.189.
Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice, Robert Lawlor, Thames and Hudson, 1987. The 'Practice' part of this book requires a compass and graph paper. In other words - it's Math! But, it was never this illuminating in school.
Websites:
http://www.byzant.com/kabbalah Overview of Kabbalah study.
http://catholic-defense.com/trinity.htm Execellent selection of Catholic doctrinal documentation regarding the Trinity.