The Shadow World: A False Unity

"As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need for you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need for you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be without strength are indispensable. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together." - 1 Corinthians 12: 20-22, 26

Unity is never an excuse to ignore suffering. Non-duality is never an excuse to whitewash the vastly different ways humans experience life. A paradox exists that we must sit in with humility and contemplative awareness. Unity is expressed in diversity. We are one body with many different parts.

The Christian concept of the trinity is a perfect model for this reality. God is said to be simultaneously One yet also distinct in three Persons. God is the ultimate unity expressed as diversity. Likewise, the Hebrew concept of God, while claiming "Hear, O Israel, our God is One", describes divine manifestations of Wisdom, Spirit, and Word as being God yet also distinct from God. In various schools of Hinduism, Brahman represents an ultimate divine unity that exists among the various manifestations of divinity. In all of these traditions, the One is known and experienced in and through its diverse expressions.

Today, many people can be heard saying "we are one body" while they remain unaffected by the suffering of the other parts. In effect they are saying "I have no need for you" in their apathy. This is not true unity. This is a body cut up into a million dying pieces. The body that ignores the suffering of its parts will never be whole.

The truth is that parts of this body of humanity have been routinely ignored and cut off. Their cries for help are dismissed as negativity so we respond by looking the other way for something more positive. We refuse to be burdened with someone else's problem and cherish our comfort above all else. That is not unity. That is not love. That illusion of unity is foreign to God, and as such, can never achieve true union.

"When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others." - Desmond Tutu