Contradiction and The Idea

What comes to mind when you think of a contradiction? Opposing energies in a negative sense may be? Probably in most cases yes, that’s exactly what comes to mind. I think for the most part we’ve been conditioned to think of so called contradictions as a negative thing. We see them in others and more importantly we confront them in ourselves. I’ll be the first to admit my own hypocrisies – saying one thing and doing another, or internalizing a self image that has no outer reflection.

However, recently I’ve come to appreciate contradictions and to see them as not necessarily a negative thing, but as a necessity. It is part of our life essence.

What follows is my humble attempt to share, what I consider, life changing information – simple but profound.

In reading ‘Foundations of African Thought’, the author Chukwunyere Kamalu introduces the Idea. “The Ideas are unattainable ideals which have their use in urging us to strive towards moral, aesthetic and technical perfection.”

Now here’s where it gets interesting, when we consider life in general and how it relates to the Idea and our ideals. Life is filled with contradictions (or complementary opposities); a fact known to the Ancestors as the doctrine of the law of opposites. Contradiction can be found relative to all things and people we experience around us, and our ideals cannot escape from this. They emerge from our life experiences, sown with the same contradictory thread of our existence, consequently our ideals manifest contradictions. This is especially true when it comes applying these ideals and the Idea.

This is a fact most of us fail to register consciously. And at the very heart of this failing is our paradoxical idealogies

“God, the Absolute Good, is the Idea towards which man & woman aspire in search of moral perfection, in quest of becoming god-like. To achieve the impossible and become god-like would require an absolute adherence to the moral law, an Unfailing Will, which in typical character of the Idea, is paradoxical. This is because, in effect, one who abides unfailingly by the moral law is determined by it, so it would appear that the person no longer exercises the choice between good & evil; for he is in effect, conditioned to do good by the very existence of an absolute moral standard and robbed of his freewill.”

So many people strive for this in their prayers, “let thy Will be done” or even in the seemingly casual statement “God willingly” or “insh’allah.” This begs the question, if a pre-determining of our way is formed does the choice really exist? For all practical purposes it doesn’t. A choice is no longer exercised but instead our action or reaction becomes instinct (which is not necessarily and bad thing. It is the mission of religious and spiritual systems). To realize an Unfailing Will is to realize we don’t need a ‘free’ will, only a Will. One can say freewill culminates to our choice and ability to reprogram our subconscious mind; for example, reprogramming it to follow a certain moral and ethical code.

And I feel it must be said in regard to the above quote, it is not saying we shouldn’t strive for the ideal and its Idea, nor is it to deny an Absolute Creator or Divine Being. It is an explanation of why we need contradiction and complementing opposites in our lives. How could we have absolute good without evil is always the popular question.

It is creation and nature that gives us opposites – the yin yang in life, or as mentioned before, understood as the law of opposites. Opposites bring balance and balance brings order. Apart from trying to understand this creation process we can occupy ourselves with the conscious task of harmonizing with such a process, especially when it comes to personal contradictions and inner conflict between our thoughts and actions. In the midst of contradiction lies potential balance, which if reached ushers forth the inner transfiguration or transmutation known as becoming god-man and god-woman.

Let your contradictions serve as a reminder that we are to strive for balance, and the ultimate goal of creation is to exist in a state of balance. This is the deification of mankind, better known as becoming the Christ or Anointed, and is spoken of in the Christian bible:

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” – 1 John 3:2