LAW OF THREE (73)
CORONAVIRUS AND THE LAW OF THREE (3)
"I must admit that all ultimate
questions cannot have final answers,
but that we can at least be aware
of the problem we have presented.
I have touched the limits of my
understanding and must stop here.
The Tree of Knowledge again and
again tempts one at the cost of
neglecting the more important tree,
the Tree of Life."
"How can human thinking grasp
the destiny of life itself, when we are
not its owners"
Ramon Panikkar, 4 September, 2009.
THE UNKNOWABLE
In the last two blogs I identified two reconciling forces: Coronavirus in Blog 71, and Uncertainty in Blog 72. In this blog, the reconciling forces the Unknown or Unknowable. The three successive
triads are leading us deeper into our Self.
The Unknowable transcends or puts a stop to the permanent binary struggling forces between certainty-uncertainty. The urge for certainty feeds on uncertainty. Both forces need to accept the presence of the Unknown and Unknowable in the midst. Both forces face the Unknowable that transcends Certainty and Uncertainty.
In this triad the urge to
Certainty is active (+), and the resisting force is Uncertainty (-).
Certainty and Uncertainty are two independent forces brought into a
relationship by the reconciling power of the Unknowable (=) How?
Socrates refers to Certainty in
Uncertainty and Uncertainty
in Certainty in a paradox: I know that I know nothing*
A humbling and implicit recognition of our powerlessness and utter
dependence on the knowing beyond knowing.
St. John of the Cross: "saber no sabiendo toda ciencia transcendiendo" (knowing in not knowing, all science transcending.)
The overwhelming urge for certitud and security at the present time, is referred to by Panikkar as our addiction the
Tree of Knowledge at the expense of the Tree of Life. He asks: What do we
know about life?
I recall the story of an old sage who
had spent all his life in a room surrounded by many many books when
in a rare moment at the end of his life he raised his gaze to look at
the mirror in front of him. He saw the presence a beautiful woman
standing behind him. 'Who are you,' he asked? 'I am your wife',
she answered, 'I have been beside you all your life. Who do you
think that during all these years has been feeding, and caring for
you?'
