​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Yingzan Zhang

Mr. Shoemaker
English 10
Jan 16, 2025

Easter Pantheistic Monism

What is Prime Reality? What is the nature of external reality? What is a human being?

What happens to a person at death, are four of the main worldview questions stated in the book,

The Universe Next Door. In the seventh chapter of the book, the discussion states the basic ideas

of Eastern Pantheistic Monism, including religions such as Hinduism. The following passages

will summarize and answer the four worldview questions based on Hinduism.

In Eastern Pantheistic Monism the only true reality is the ultimate One, often referred to

as Brahman. Brahman is beyond all dualities and distinctions, meaning it transcends time, space,

good, evil, personal, and impersonal. “Brahman is Atman” is the statement one must pursue to

achieve Oneness with the one. Atman, "The individual self, " must know that everything that

exists is only a manifestation of this ultimate reality, and the ultimate goal is to understand that

Atman. According to Eastern pantheistic religions, the world around us is simply an illusion of

the true reality, also known as “Maya”. Maya is the concept that the physical world, with all its

distinctions and separateness, is not ultimately real. Instead, it is a veil that masks the true reality,

which is the unity of all things. The only “real” reality is the ultimate reality, beyond

differentiation; beyond good and evil. Brahman is beyond good and evil. As stated by

Siddhartha: The world which is Govinda is not an imperfect path evolving to perfection but

rather it is perfect at every moment; therefore, every sin and death already also carries its grace

and holiness since for example, all small children are potential adults, all sucklings have death

within them, all deaths leads to eternal life, concluding that the system of this world is simply

perfect. A oneself is only a manifestation of the divine oneness. The essence of an individual is

the Atman, and Antman is Brahman, who is the essence, the soul of the whole cosmos.

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Therefore, our personal identity and individuality are illusions. The true nature of every human

being is divine and identical to the ultimate reality. The path to enlightenment involves

recognizing and experiencing this oneness. According to page 144: since Atman is Brahman and

Brahman is far beyond personality, “a sheer abstract”, human beings are beyond personality as

well, to achieve this status, one has to “realize” and abandon the complex personhood and enter

the undifferentiated state. Atman has “four conditions”: Waking life, dreaming life, deep sleep,

and “the awakened life of pure consciousness”, four stages to reach total oblivion. The final

stage or the closest to unity with the One and not conscious at all, is “Pure consciousness”, which

is not really a “consciousness” at all, but a pure being. Death in Eastern pantheistic monism is

considered more as a transition rather than an end. Upon death, the individual self (which is an

illusion) merges back into the ultimate reality, losing all individuality. Atman, the soul, is

indestructible. The cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, known as Samsara, continues until one

achieves moksha, which is the release from this cycle and the realization of the oneness of

Atman and Brahman. Karma is the belief that all good deeds will be returned to the doer with an

equal amount of blessing and bad deeds are equally returned to oneself with a curse or a lower

class in the reincarnation of the next life.

According to the Bible, the human being is a being created by God in his own image with

unique qualities that reflect His character and breathed the breath of life from God. "So God

created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he

created them." (Genesis 1:27) Humans are seen as possessing physical, spiritual, and moral

dimensions, capable of relationships with God and each other. "I am the vine; you are the

branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do

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nothing."(John 15:5) a quote by Jesus that emphasizes the need for a relationship to have with

God.

Personally, I find Eastern Pantheistic Monism a very interesting and deep concept of

religion or lifestyle. The idea of a constant search for peace seems like an attractive point of the

worldview. As a Christian, I believe the practice of meditation is not an evil practice but a great

way for one to gain peace and calm when the world around us forbids it. The belief of Karma, I

think is not a great concept since forgiveness is what we need to practice the most. Christ taught

his believers not to practice good deeds for their own selfish desires but to help and support the

needy in order to glorify the name of God and to demonstrate a difference in a world of

corruption. Karma promotes good deeds which are necessary for “salvation” therefore anyone

could be doing great deeds but only for their own good and desires to escape the cycle. On the

other hand, Christianity promotes forgiveness, although we humans commit countless evil deeds

every day through the blood of Christ and the heart of God we are forgiven for the sins we have

done. Overall, Eastern Pantheistic Monism is a very different concept from Christianity and other

religions of the west.