by Emmanuel K. Astillero

Posted on October 27, 2013 at 9:35 PM

 

Two classes under Prof Paul Dejillas were joined to discuss “ACA” – “Applied Cosmic Anthropology” – as this subject is felt by the good professor to need deeper understanding. It needed wider exposition to Ph.D. students who are about to complete their academic requirements and write their dissertation. Students in these classes, when asked how they understood “ACA” were either silent or offered incomplete definitions. There appears to be no common understanding and agreement as to what the degree means, what its purposes are, and in what forms it could be used in dissertations. If ACA is not very clear, it stands to reason that dissertations of Ph.D. students may not “hit the target”. The question may be asked: “How has Cosmic Anthropology been applied in the Philippines?” But the supervening question is: “What is Cosmic Anthropology?” and “Are there applications of it in the Philippines?”

 

This paper attempts to start discussions on ACA concepts. It does not represent itself to be the definitive framework of ACA , nor is it the last word on ACA.  It is a ”starter”.  Materials used in this paper are based the presentations to the class by the good professor from his personal, voluminous research. It is also based from my own readings and understanding of this subject. If mistakes are made in interpreting these materials, these misconceptions are solely mine and not from the materials presented in that class.

 

It is a useful exercise since I am about to write my dissertation. And if ACA is not clear to me, as a student, then my dissertation won’t be also that clear, either.

 

Analytical Frame

 

“Applied Cosmic Anthropology” is basically an anthropological inquiry. Cosmic qualifies “anthropology”. The word “applied” means that the “anthropology” that is “cosmic” should be “experiential”; there is “practical application”, and “not theoretical, abstract, or conceptual” material only. While theories, concepts and principles may start the dissertation, the supporting data, information and evidences should have come out of “on the ground” experiences. It is in fact suggested that “phenomenology” or the study of actual events be used.

 

But what is “experiential cosmic”? What “cosmic principles” can be experienced in the Philippines? This is the somewhat drawn out story that I shall try to discuss.

 

 What is Cosmic?

 

“Cosmos” refers to the universe; to its structure, components, organization, forces, beginnings, and future. In the “realm of science”,  it is still an area of intellectual speculation because by and large, much of the universe, while apparent and visible through high-powered telescopes (the Hubble telescope is mounted on a space vehicle to escape the blurr of earth’s atmosphere) remains, to humans, who seek to fathom its depths – still relatively unknown.

 

In the “realm of religion”, so much material has been put forward about the cosmos. But much of what religion has provided is not acceptable to science, since the latter needs “proof”[1]. Religious teachings doesn’t require scientific proof. It requires “faith”.  “Blind faith”, oftentimes is exhorted of its adherents. The existence of a “Divine” is not to be proved nor debated. “It is.” Much of religion, early or modern, has been wrapped on cultural mythology: the experiences of man with man, and man with nature – which is what anthropology is all about. The best concept of the cosmos written by religion is the ‘Divine Theory of Creation”.  All major religions have their own versions of this approach. And this must be the reason why they could not agree to form one church.

 

In the Philippines, the dominant religion is Christianity. There is one Holy Bible with many different interpretations, accounting for the organization of separate church institution. For instance, the Protestant sects broke from the Catholic organization way back in the 17^th century in Germany.[2] In the Philippines, there is a more recent schism from the dominant Christian groups of Catholics and Protestants. Right after the 2^nd World War, the Iglesia ni Kristo was founded – a truly Philippine indigenous Christian church. Its main departure from either Catholics or Christians is the belief that Jesus Christ is not God but man. Citing the scriptures, it is Jesus himself who said that “I am a messenger” (sugo) of my Father.”

 

The more recent schism from the Christian mainstream are the “charismatic” groups. While many remain within the Christian churches, some broke away completely to form their new churches. This is important to note because “cosmic” – as we shall see further down this paper - means “oneness”. By continually breaking away and forming new groups, and disagreeing on the interpretation of the basic policies – the interpretation of the Holy Bible – the Christian church religions in the Philippines is presenting “human duality” – which is a natural course of evolution – but not the cosmic attribute of oneness.

 

In southern Philippines, the Islamic religion appears to provide a more certain sense of oneness.  Based on the Qur’an, an import from Arabia, Arabian missionaries, who accompanied seafaring traders, reached the Philippines through the Indonesian islands and the Southeast Asian coastal areas, before the Christian missionaries arrived with the Spanish conquistadores in early 16^th century. The arrival of Spanish Catholics checked their northward expansion. Manila was already a Muslim settlement when the Spaniards came.

 

Both the Filipino Christian groups and the Islamic groups, in so far as “cosmology” is concerned,  subscribe to the “Divine Theory of Creation” and not to the “Big Bang Theory” as espoused by western scientists. This appears to be the case because the “Big Bang” is not very well known in the Philippines; whereas Christian and Islamic worldviews and spiritual teachings predominate the Philippines.

 

The ACA student, therefore is left with very little choice but to look into the church religion as the possible channel of cosmology at the community level. But shouldn’t church-religious experience be qualified and the question asked: “Is your experience cosmic?” Putting it another way, do we approach its religious leaders, and with a questionnaire, try to analyze if their religious experience is cosmic? This will have to remain at the rhetorical level while we digest “what is cosmic”.

 

To approach the “cosmic” sense at the earthly, human experiential level, we might have to introduce a term called: “cosmic consciousness”. This seems appropriate since when we work on our dissertations, we are working with our minds and trying to probe the minds of our respondents. Both work out at the “human-level”. So the rhetorical question might be rephrased: “Do church-religion priests and lay members think, act, and talk in ‘cosmic consciousness’ ”?

Cosmic Consciousness

 

But what is “cosmic consciousness”? This question is asked because to bridge cosmology, which the realm of physicists, astronomers, and philosophers, and ASI’s “applied anthropology” which is the study of man on earth – lies a cavernous chasm.

 

This has to be bridged. The ACA Ph.D. student cannot just go around asking church-religion followers about the “moon and the stars”, and the “galaxies”, and the theory of creation, etc. The ACA student has to define a set of parameters that will embody “cosmic attributes” at the level of a human worldview.

 

Church religion translates cosmic parameters into Divine attributes that should be embodied in Man’s individual and social behavior.. In other words, in the case of Christians, a good Filipino Christian should think, act and speak like Jesus Christ, the role model. In the Christian eyes, Jesus Christ is “God” because he exhibits “perfection”. And in the same manner, a good Filipino Muslim thinks, acts, and speak like Muhammad, the Islamic Prophet (Praise be his Soul!). And so with other major religions. More of this later.

 

In ACA, the import of “cosmic” is to think, act, and speak not in earthly terms but in “cosmic terms”, i.e., in terms of the universe. Finding dissertation subjects of this magnitude is a bit challenging to ACA students, if I may say so.

 

If that be the case, it is important to know what is “cosmic consciousness”.  William James, in The Varieties of Religious Experience[3] citing Dr. R. M Bucke, a Canadian psychiatrist, says: “Cosmic consciousness in its more striking instances is not simply an expansion or the extension of the self-conscious mind with which we are all familiar, but the super addition of a function as distinct from any possessed by the average man as self-consciousness is distinct from any function possessed by one of the higher animals.”

 

“The prime characteristic of cosmic consciousness is a consciousness of the cosmos (sic), that is of the life and order of the universe.  Along with consciousness of the cosmos there occurs an intellectual enlightenment which alone would place the individual on a new plane of existence – would make him almost a member of anew species. To this is added a state of moral exaltation, an indescribable feeling of elevation, elation, and joyousness, and a quickening of the moral sense, which is fully as striking, and more important than is the enhanced intellectual power.

 

“With these come what may be called a sense of immortality, a consciousness of immortal life, not a conviction that he shall have this, but the consciousness that he has it already.”[4]

 

What was Dr. R. M. Bucke’s “experiential” application of “cosmic consciousness”?

 

Dr. Bucke continues:  “I had spent the evening in a great city, with two friends, reading and discussing poetry and philosophy. We parted at midnight. I had a long drive in a hansom to my lodging. My mind, deeply under the influence of the ideas, images, and emotions called up by the reading and the talk, was calm and peaceful. I was in a state of quiet, almost passive enjoyment, not actually thinking, but letting ideas, images, and emotions flow of themselves, as it were through my mind.

 

“All at once, without warning of any kind, I found myself wrapped in a flame-colored cloud. For an instant, I thought of fire, an immense conflagration somewhere close by in that great city; the next I knew that the fire is within myself.

 

“Directly afterward there came upon me a sense of exultation, of immense joyousness accompanied or immediately followed by an intellectual illumination impossible to describe. Among other things, I did not merely come to believe, but I saw the universe is not composed of dead matter, but is, on the contrary, a living Presence; I became conscious in myself of eternal life. It was not a conviction that I would have eternal life, but a consciousness that I possessed it eternal life then; I saw that all men are immortal; that the cosmic order is such that without any per-adventure, all things work together for the good of each and all; that the foundation  principle of the world, of all the worlds, is what we call love, and that happiness of each and all is in the long run absolutely certain.

 

“The vision lasted a few seconds and was gone; but the memory of it and the sense of reality of what it taught has remained during the quarter of a century which has since elapsed.

 

“ I knew that what the vision showed was true. I had attained to a point of view from which I saw it must be true. That view, that conviction, I may say that consciousness, has never, even during periods of the deepest depression, been lost (in me).”

 

ACA – the Dissertaion

 

Having established some parameters for the cosmic part of ACA, we stand back and ask ourselves, how do we shift the “Applied” from non-cosmic experiences? It is obvious from Dr. R. M. Bucke that he experienced the state of what Buddhists call “Nirvana/Samadhi”. Or what many religious leaders experience as “spiritual ecstasy”, “bliss”, “joy”, “being one with the Divine”, etc. It is the same state that practitioners of Zen Buddhism or Yoga aspire for. In Rajah Yoga, for instance, through meditation, one could reach that state. And so would many methods of meditation, Christian and of other religions (e.g., Sufi in Islam, Kabbalah in Jewish, etc.). The Theosophical Society offers advance students an “Esoteric School” where they are taught meditation.  Many new spiritual groups in Metro Manila and in major cities of the Philippines offer mediation courses.[5]

 

What happened to Dr. Bucke, and perhaps thousand if not more than hundreds of  thousands of individuals, who are fortunate to attain such states[6], is what I would call: the “Divine Experience”. Would the ACA subject have a “Divine Experience” to qualify his enrolment in the dissertation research of an ACA student?

 

I ask this because this state could be one of the “cosmic” input into the ACA dissertation. Otherwise, what we could gather would be “mundane” or “worldly” experiences. But are there other ways with which the manifestation of ACA could be observed? This could be explored by other students. In my case, I will limit my exploration to “cosmic consciousness” that could be brought about by “intentional” or “unintentional” mysticism. Or that “rare” “Divine Experience” – a moment of peace, bliss, joy and emotional upliftment (a “peaceful release”, a “sense of truth”) when one experiences that he is “one with the Divine”. Traditional Philippines healers are of such specie. For instance, Filipino healers say that they “hear” a “Voice” that tells them what to do. And all acknowledge that it is not they who heals but “Him” “up there”. They dream of “Him”.

 

But since “Divine experience” is rare, a second question could be asked: “What mundane or worldly experience” would be a manifestation of “Divine Experience”. There are suggestions – but these would have to be explored further and validated by ACA students. I do not hold that these parameters are the final say on this subject.

 

The materials cited by William James in “cosmic consciousness” suggests the following materials to look out for in the ACA dissertation subject:

 

1. A high moral ground (“moral exaltation”);
2. “Enhance intellectual power”; “intellectual illumination”;
3. The joy of living (“elevation, elation, and joyousness”)
4. A “sense of immortality”; “consciousness of eternal life”
5. A “consciousness of immortal life” (“a conviction that he has it already”); “all men are immortal”;
6. A feeling that “the universe is not composed of dead matter, but is, on the contrary a Living Presence;
7. The “cosmic order is such that . . .tings work together for the common good of each and all”;
8. The “foundation principle of the world, of all the worlds, is what we call love”.

 

Review of Cosmology

 

 Given the above suggested parameters for what is cosmic, and given my approach which is the “Divine Experience”, we shall continue to focus on aspects of cosmology that could build up “what is “applied cosmic anthropology”.

 

A. Theories of the Cosmos

 

As in anthropology, the literature is rich in terms of “cosmic” or “cosmology”. The ASI Library contains, for instance, volumes on mythology – which would be anthropology. Prof. Dejillas in his presentation brought out a lot of references, none of which is in the ASI library. He got them from the U.S.

 

First, cosmology, from the materials presented, is the stuff of physicists, astronomers, astrologists, and philosophers. These disciplines are assuredly not of everyday life. Second, people view the universe as “far-away” – and therefore, not within their daily concerns. It is regarded by many as an esoteric subject. The Cosmos, in relation to Earth, lies physically far and removed from the daily life of man. Third, one has to have access to telescopes to peer into the vast remote space where the moons, the suns and planets move – apparently fixed, but in actuality – at dizzying speeds of light.  

 

Concerning the origins of the “cosmos”, this is another terra incognita because of limited human means to probe its origins. Reading this part of the literature is also a difficult enterprise because one has to acquire new jargon. Even so, the “scientific” writers can only speculate on “how it all began”. There is no incontrovertible proof, for instance, of the “Big Bang Theory”.

 

 We only know the Earth, and to a certain limited extent, our nearby moon, and through recent space probes that bring back digital images, the neighboring planets, notably Mars and Venus. Even the Sun and farther planets are largely unknown to Earth-bound man. The Sun is better known than the outlying planets because of its daily – second by second – impact on earth life. Sunlight streams continuously on Earth and is responsible for sustaining life – be they plant, animal, mineral, etc. We have observed sunlight and broken it down to its elements. We have peered at the Sun and saw its solar bursts which affect our radio signals. But we hardly know anything about the sun, speculating that it is a huge body of gas. As for the other suns, and there are millions of them in the Universe, with its own family of planets, we hardly know anything about them.

 

Thus, cosmology may be likened to the Indonesian leather-puppet play: shadows are projected on a lighted screen (of white cloth) but the reality is something else. It has been the subject of speculation and theories.

 

The Big Bang Theory

 

The Big Bang Theory speculates that eons and eons before, the Universe was filled with gases. One day, in the very remote and distant past, billions of years ago, a spark ignited the gasses and a huge explosion occurred. Later, in the cooling process, planets were formed. Astronomers and physicists have speculated very richly on this process. Using scientific instruments that can measure the decay of certain atomic elements, they wove a “calendar of events” on how the universe began with this explosion and how (and when) it is unfolding even to this day.. The “calendar” tells the story of how earth life and the many millions of galaxies, like ours, were formed through a “cooling process”. They even calculated that “seconds” out of the Big Bang, planets were formed, etc. and the “seconds” or “equivalent “days” and “weeks”, “months”, and “years” when terrestrial life formed; with man following many ”years” after the Big Bang.

 

What they cannot explain is what precipitated the “big bang”. Was it a spontaneous “spark”  or a planned “spark”? Knowing scientists to stick to what they can defend, it must have been the former. Science has not penetrated what mysticism has done: the existence of the soul, the spirit and its links to the Divine which exerts a powerful influence on human life through the mind. Scientists, by definition cannot see the spirit, the soul nor the Divine and therefore they are immeasurable, inexplicable and ineffable – and therefore “they do not exist”!! There is very little information and plenty of speculation after the Big Bang. But if there is a big bang, there must have been a period before the big bang. And how was it then?

 

And here lies the potential integration of science and religion: If the Big Bang is planned, then some “Being” of “Forces” planned it.  The way to this integration is worldview and spiritual outlook. A paradigm shift needs to be proposed.

 

The Divine Creation Theory

 

In contrary distinction to the Big Bang Theory is the “Divine Creation Theory”. It holds that there is a “God” which created the universe and man. Man did not evolve from primitive forms to its present form. Man came from Divine Creation already “made” in its present form. In Christian teachings, this was done in 6 days. And woman? Well, she was plucked from man, from one of his left ribs, and God breathed life into this future partner of man. It is worth noting that debate still rages on whether “each day” is our usual human 24-hour day or millions of years-day. More modern speculations go for the latter[7]. The Divine Creation Theory is espoused by theologians and championed and popularized by church religions. The Christian Holy Bible is the most popular proponent of this theory. Other books of other church-religions speak of similar veins[8].

 

In the Philippines, and other aboriginal and indigenous societies (a realm of anthropology), cosmic creation is likened to benign gods creating humans and the earth. The indigenous myths are more modest. They limit themselves to the earth, its plants, animals, minerals and other features of the landscape. The indigenous cosmology also speculates on the sun and the moon, mainly because they are the more visible parts of the universe. They are rendered as gods by themselves – sailing the sky by day and by night, respectively, and strewing good and bad spirits on the landscape – causing illness and curing them. It could be said that indigenous peoples (IPs) look to their immediate environment, mostly physical – e.g.,  mountains, the trees and the waters than speculate on the heavens, IPs ascribe spiritual significance to this landscape. The Environment is peopled by spirits – of their ancestors, of their gods.. The IP myths of creation may be said to belong to the “Divine Creation Theory” since there are “superior entities” (i.e., more superior than man) to which creation is ascribed. In the Cordillera epic, “Kabunyan” is the chief god, much like Zeus of the Roman pantheon. In the Tagalog myth of human creation, Malakas and Maganda, came out of the bamboo – already fully formed as adult man and woman. Thus were Adam and Eve fully formed in the Garden of Eden.

 

B.  Cosmogenesis - Theosophy

 

Theosophy weighed into the discussion by the writing of 2 books[9] by Helena P. Blavatsky (HPB) -  Isis Unveiled (1870, London)  and The Secret Doctrine – or “SD” (1875, London). SD is an elaboration of the earlier work, Isis Unveiled.  The SD is in 2 thick volumes: Vol. 1 is about “Cosmogenesis” or the creation of the “kosmos” or the universe, while Vol. 2 is “Anthropogenesis” or the creation and evolution of the human being. The writings of Blavatsky formed the foundation for the organization of the Theosophical Society (TS) – of which she became the first head. She was followed by equally eminent philosopher-writers who possessed clairvoyant gifts. The  present head is a lady of Indian nationality, Madame Radha Burnier. Other past heads with great works included Annie Besant and Charles Leadbetter The world headquarters is at Adyar, Southern India. I am a member of the TS in the Philippines for the last 10 years. Our president, himself a well-traveled and eminent writer and lecturer, is Mr. Vic Hao Chin – a Bicolano.

 

In Cosmogenesis, Theosophy posits a “”Logos” or an Intelligent Energy that puts everything in place. In the beginning “there already was” - unlike the Big Bang Theory and the Divine Creation Theory which posit “nothingness” before the act of creation. The only action brought about by the Logos was “becoming” -  that is putting “order” using “natural laws” and universal principles. These laws and principles are contained in the SD. There was no “chaos” but the elements of matter, the “prakriti”[10] was already there. The potential for life exists. The Logos makes everything work, among many laws, through karma[11]. Karma is a system of “balance”, i.e., it is a “compensating” natural law. Where there is imbalance, equilibrium is restored. Even in human life, karma seeks to restore the balance. It appears to be a very scientific outlook! Karma operates at individual human level and at the vast universal level. ”What is above, so is below.” This should explain what the astronomers and physicists observe about the Universe: that it is continually creating galaxies and destroying them in an endless “dance of the stars”. In the human body there is also “perfect order”. The liver and the kidneys perform automatic separate functions. The glands secrete hormones to regulate eachorgan.

 

Anthopogenesis

 

In Anthopogenesis, the creation of man (or what appears to be human life, but not immediately in the present form) is done planet by planet – i.e., within the Solar System. Other galaxies have their own order and sequence of life cycles. The future earth dwellers came from the moon – when that celestial body reached its cosmic nadir - and from Venus.[12] A flight of spirits came down in waves to people the earth – simultaneously in 7 geographic places. These spirits were the “form-models” for the physical manifestation of man. The “form-models” were developed at the astral plane before being manifested into the grosser physical plane. The evolution of man occurs in both physical and spiritual terms.

 

In the 1^st Root Race (on earth), men were pure spirits with no physical bodies. The SD, using a Tibetan proem, Dhyzan, suggests that humans were “sweat born” and the first beginnings of man came from eggs. (Well, kidding aside, didn’t we all?) We are now on the 4^th-5^th  Root Race, and we assumed a rigid physical frame from the 3^rd Root Race and onwards. Given this spiritual beginnings, the apes could not have been the progenitors of the present human society! In fact, Theosophy teaches that the apes were fathered by early men cohabiting with animals. And they were punished by great floods and the sinking of Lemuria and Atlantis. In those early races, men were “giants” of 10-20 feet tall, and living for as much as hundreds of years[13]. Goliath and the Bamie statues in Afghanistan were pictured as giants of the Lemurian and Atlantean continents. There they scattered as survivors of the floods (Noah’s ark story?). It is said that the Philippines was at the edge of the Lemurian Continent which occupied the whole of the Pacific Ocean. Being at the edge, the Philippines was above the waters. It is to these high points that survivors fled.. And this explains the great spiritual healing that works here – especially in Northern Luzon.

 

The 1^st root race was purely non-physical, i.e, they were pure spirits. The 2^nd root race was partly spirit and partly physical. They reproduced by “sweat”, forming eggs, which separated from their bodies and became entities. This progression of Anthropogenesis also occurs on the mental, emotional and spiritual bodies of Man. There is also an evolution of mental, emotional and spiritual “urgings” from purely spiritual, i.e., the 1^st Root Race, and to the grosser bodies of the 3^rd-4^th-5^th Root Races. The evolutionary process will take the present 4^th/5^th root races (us now) to less grosser and more spiritual forms of the 6^th and 7^th Root Races – when the evolution ends. We are now towards the end of the 4^th root race and the beginnings of the 5^th. The 6^th Root Race could usher a physical form different from present human forms.

 

This evolutionary force also manifests itself in social movements: from purely physical warfare of the 9th-19^th centuries, to less and less of the physical violence of the 20^th century (except the Americans in the Middle East today) to more spiritual revivals of the 21^st century (the Age of Aquarius). Already, in the Philippines, the Catholic Church is taking a more prominent position in non-spiritual matters. More “charismatic” groups are being formed (El Shaddai, Couples for Christ, sects in Mindanao, like the Benevolent Mission of the Philippines based at the new province of Dinagat Island off Surigao, etc.).

 

“Applied” Cosmic Anthropology

 

Considering the knowledge we have of Cosmic Anthropology, how do we then proceed to apply CA in the Philippines so we can move forward? From this state of unknowing, it is thought that ACA graduates will contribute to further the knowledge and perhaps assist, in the little way we can, on initiating “social change” for the Filipino society – which is considered by many ACA students as “sick”. Wasn’t this  the main motive for mounting the ACA Ph.D. course in ASI 10 years ago? Had the dissertations contributed to this goal? What do we “apply”, anyway? This was the onus of the classes of Prof. Dejillas.

 

It would seem that the jump from the esoteric, philosophic, scientific planes of Cosmology and Anthropology to ground level is a proverbial “big leap” with eyes closed. In the Philippines, we call this “parachuting”. One leaps and does not know what lies on the ground! Somehow, the chasm must be bridged gradually. In conceptual terms, we must bring the esoteric down to the ground level – but maintaining the cosmic links. But how and in what processes and forms? This, I think is the onus of this paper.

 

The Carriers of Cosmic Concepts

 

The most visible exponent of ACA today in the Philippines are the church-religions. Within the Christian groups – there are many sub-groups, each group tries to preserve its autonomy from the others. The main motive of each church group appears to be a long-term sustainability of its institution, of their organization. To do so, they have to appear to be different from each other. For if there were no differences among and between them, then we should have only one church-religion[14]. This, by the way is the cosmic intention – unity.

 

Of course, political, economic, and cultural streams of thought, and institutional strength (or weakness) dictate, rather, that each church-religion group be separately formed and operated.  After all, institutions, such as church-religions, are managed by people who have their own agenda and objectives to achieve in this life.. There is always talk of “ecumenism” or the “joining of forces” which would have been “cosmic”, but, so far, that has been just talk. There is no concrete institutional moves to cohese or unite (i.e., be cosmic). These talks on ecumenism is bruited about when issues that should unite forces against other political forces come about.  Just as soon as these issues become less important, the talk about ecumenism dies down, and is forgotten.

 

Thus, there is no “cosmic integration” among and between, and across church-religions. This could be a good dissertation topic: why is there no “cosmic integration” across, between and among church-religions in the Philippines? Is the institutional agenda of each church group  stronger than the “cosmic pull” towards “ecumenism”? Why is that so? (If that is so!)

 

The Catholic Church

 

In terms of where I am (I am a Catholic), our “tribe” is defined by a) literature, mainly the Holy Bible, b) the institution – the church which is based in Rome, and c) the decision-making hierarchy of  the Pope, Bishops and Priests – as liturgy is preserved and the church organization(s) is managed. Within this hierarchy exist hundreds of thousands of church workers – lay or ordained. There are rituals and holidays of obligations, and there is a catechism. There are legions of saints and patron saints of which votive images are carved and placed in strategic places – in and out of the church and carried in processions. There is a community (the “parishioners”) and there is a physical church. Around these key elements are woven many public events designed “to strengthen the faith” and make the church-religion sustainable over the millennia. This, the Catholic Church, using its time-proven formula, with little deviations, has used with success since 90AD when the early community churches in the Middle East, were formed.

 

Judging from my post, as Vice Chairman of a “Parish Council of Ministry” (PCM) in our parish in a small town in Cavite, the formula is still intact and is being strengthened to make it work. Our parishioners are hardy farmers who see the fruits of their labor as the fruits of their labor. Thus, they also work during Sundays and do not go to church – unless somebody is married, baptized or buried (KBL – “kasal”, “binyag”, “libing”). The challenge to the PCM is how to convince the common parishioners that everything emanates from God; and they should attend religious rituals, especially the Sunday mass.[15]

 

This is another piece for a Ph.D. dissertation in ACA: “Why is it that despite over 500 years of Christinity in the Philippines, the churches are not full in many parishes? What is the interface of the traditional Filipino worldview on nature spirits and the western Christianity? Herbalism (the “herbolarios”) have achieved cosmic unity by attributing their cures to God, and they, His channel. And they use Christian prayers to heal; even ancient Latin prayers. But many don’t go to church – the healers and the healed!

 

Other Church-Religions

 

Parallel frameworks exist in other religions. In Hinduism the Vedas and related books (the Upanishads) are  the biblical counterpart. In Buddhism, the Tripitaka in Pali (“palm leaf”) performs the same function for the Theravada and Mahayana sub-groups.. And in Islam, the Holy Qur’an is the basic guide for Muslims[16]. Allah be praised!. In the Christian sects, and there are many, the Holy Bible is common, although there are variations in words and interpretations. These variations, and the need to vary practice, perhaps due to cultural – social, political, and economic motivations , account for the many sects of Christianity. In the Philippines, the variations occupy a wide spectrum of groupings. They range from patently animistic groups taking Christian symbols and prayers (e.g., even Latin prayers) and Christianity merged with politico-religious movements (e.g., the Rizalistas, the BMAP – Surigao, etc.).. The Iglesia Ni Kristo, indigenous to the Philippines, but has spread to Filipino communities abroad, recognized Jesus Christ, not as God, but its Messenger (“sugo”) – amply supported by many passages in the Christian Bible.

 

Be that as it may, church-religions explain cosmogenesis and anthropogenesis, with a wealth of “how to behave in society” thrown in, i.e, rules of social behavior. The ten commandments of the Christian groups, taken from the Jewish tradition, is one such example. But so is the permission to marry up to 4 wives in Islam, one such rule.

 

IN terms of potential Ph.D. dissertation in ACA, one could explore the many church groups that have cropped up in the Philippines. Some within the church (El Shaddai, Couples for Christ, etc.),, many outside – in the process forming their own churches (Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association in Surigao, Solong Diyos, etc.) Why do Filipino Christians keep on forming new church groups? Have the mainstream Catholic Church “fialed” them? IN what way? Have these new groups improved their faith in The Divine, fostered oneness, and made them well-behaved, productive social members?

 

Some Principles of Cosmic Antrhopology

 

From the lectures of Prof. Dejillas, from my own readings and my own exposure to Theosophy and other spiritual groups that I had joined in the last 10 years, there are principles which would could be considered if one were to ask for “applications” of ACA:

 

1.  There is the larger Universe and Man is part of it, however puny and seemingly weak, he is, compared, to the tremendous forces moving and changing the Universe. On earth, he or his societal groups, is not only the object of change – it is also the mechanism for change. Change man’s attitude and he is changed. His worldview, formed since birth, dictates his adult life. And unless his worldview is turned around, like will proceed like a machine, with self-righteousness, to, for instance, decimate his fellowmen and his environment. There is a need to “redirect much of his social values and worldview to more beneficial directions, to more cosmic proportions.

 

2.  The Universe is ever-changing and Man is ever-changing as he lives out his term on Earth. A reading into the history of human societies and culture definitely establishes this process of change. China now in the 21^st century is vastly different from that of only recen Whether the Universe is also changing is beyond the ken of Man, at the moment, given his limited means of perceiving changes at the universal plane. By and large, the world societies have done away with non-cosmic dukedoms and warlordism (in remote parts, they still remain). But the 2st century, ushering the Age of Aquarius, have seen more enlightenment. Where arbitrariness reigned as in aristocratic societies, more democratic, people-compassionate principles prevail. The age of colonialism is gone, Surely, the cosmic alternative is to continue the direction of integration rather than disintegration – as past ages did.

 

3.  The Anthropist Principle suggests that Man is the center of creation; he is the reason for universal being. This is, of course, shared by church-religions, although science has moved him back a bit, realizing that there are powerful cosmic forces beyond the control of man. Some bodies of esoteric philosophy posit the reverse: that man is in the thrall of greater and more intelligent forces; and that there is a Grand Plan for him (Theosophy).

 

4.  An Intelligent Being or Energy rules the Cosmos, and Man. There is a plan for the Universe of which man is a part. Thus, while man may be able to decide more mundane things, the larger aspects of his life is planned, and ruled accordingly “by intelligent beings”. The principle that “there are no accidents in Life” applies. On the one hand, extreme dependence on this principle could result in total fatalism and  inertia (as what seems apparent among the poor in India). On the other hand, a balance could be struck, where man decides some and the Universe decides the rest. The dividing line is still  obscure and unexplored for lack of tools.

 

5.                   There is a natural law of Karma that achieves equilibrium in the Universe as in Man. Karma restores the balance. Man cannot go on incurring negative acts without somehow compensating for it. The “dance of the Universe” – with planets and suns not colliding with each other is an operation of the Natural Karmic Law. And so with the human system operating perfectly and in perfect balance – until we drink alcohol and eat meat – that disrupts it. The “law” of gravity, “discovered” by Isaac Newton, is a karmic operation on matter and motion. It is now used extensively in science and is responsible for many technological advances. One of its destructive application is the overcoming of the law of gravity by propelling  projectiles into space, or throwing armed missiles at each other. The application of the Karmic Law on people’s minds and emotions, and in the larger societies, has hardly been explored.

 

6.                   Man is a storehouse of Energy, and so is the Universe. There are no vacant spaces in the Universe, and so with Man. Every space is filled with “Life Force” or “prana”. The regular ingestion of prana within the human body accounts for life, and its blockade results in illness. The total stoppage of its entry into the human body due to a malfunction of a body part spells human physical death. The same is obvious in plants and animals. Hindu philosophy, and yoga, teaches that there are 7 (or 42) energy centers, that, daily, must be opened, to attain a perfect healthy, human life. Lately, in a video called “Thunderbolts of the Gods” (Internet) the Quantum physicists suggests that space is filled with energy - and it is “electricity”. I thought the Greeks established that 5,000 years ago? Theosophy holds, since the late 19^th century,  that space is filled with “fohat” or energy, and there is no vacant space. All is filled up. Well, science is catching up with philosophy.

 

7.                   Principle No. 6 provides us the basis for the interconnection of Man, plants and and minerals. Such a realization has tremendous impact on the awareness that each living being on Earth is somehow part of Man – the principal destroyer, changer and arbiter of change. Thus, the Environment has to be protected because the Environment is Man itself. The Environment exists not separate from Man. In fact, the Environment supports human life! ACA graduates  could dwell on the Environment on this principle of unity of Man and his Environment. In effect, the Biblical dictum that man should have “dominion” over all creatures on earth should be revisited. It does not give him a license to obliterate plants and animals and endanger the Environment – and his earthly existence -  for his selfish, limited, ends. He needs to change his worldview to one that is in accord with the ACA philosophy of interconnectedness of Life.

 

Cosmic Men - As Bridges

 

In our effort to apply cosmic and anthropologic principles into modern Philippine life and hopefully “redirect” much-needed social change into cosmic, not anthropological streams, I suggest a “bridge”

 

This bridge are the “Cosmic Men” (and “Women”). They exemplify the applications of Cosmic and Anthpological principles to their own societies, and they effected social change – locally, regionally and globally.

 

They are role models in the sense that they think less of themselves, and think more of others’ welfare. They think “cosmic” – not the usual worldly trappings of man. They do justice to the dictum that the greatest sacrifice is to die for one’s fellowmen, and while their lives are not perfect, their ideas, the social and political causes they espoused are “cosmic” – that is their teachings  are for the greater good of the greater numbers. Cosmic is taken here to mean “the reverse” of what humans would “normally” do as earth dwellers of the common kind.  And they take their listeners to spiritual levels – i.e, they go beyond the limitations of the “worldly”. And this is the reason why they are “charismatic”, i.e., large numbers of people listen and follow them. The words and actions of these leaders are “cosmic” or “universal” – not particular or parochial, not individual but all encompassing and compassionate, i.e., they universal. The universe is the playground of their ideas.[17]

 

The first on my list of Cosmic Men is Jesus Christ. Whether he is a historical Jesus or a Christ Consciousness – i.e., we become Christ according to the Greek “chrestos” – the enlightened (much like the Buddhist Nirvana/Samadhi) is beside the point. This position reflects the extent of my information as a Catholic, and having known so much from that end, there is a definite positive bias towards him.  Christian groups (Catholic and Protestants, but not Iglesia ni Kristo) enshrine him as “God”. And his teachings are taught as “divine” – the better for easier acceptance. Anything and anyone so located, as “divine” cannot be false and unacceptable. He or she should be “true”. Thus for Christians, Jesus Christ said a lot and all them applies in cosmic anthropology. He died on the cross at 33 years old after teaching for 3 years.[18]

 

Certainly not a “second” but a Cosmic Man, as well, is the Sakyamuni Buddha, the Enlightened. Sitting under the Bodhi Tree for 40 days, and meditating continuously (note that Jesus Christ meditated for 40 days also - in the wilderness, became so hungry that the Devil tempted him), finally found enlightenment, i.e, he attained Nirvana/Samadhi  - an expanded consciousness that enabled him to “see reality” and avoid  “untruths” which are life’s blocks on the way to spiritual progress. After 40 days he decided that the “way” is not “ascetism” and fasting but a “normal” life. So he ate and was served rice with goat’s milk by a maiden. He taught the “Middle Way” - a lifestyle of moderation. It  consists of the “Right Work”, the “Right Speech”, the “Right Action”, and the “Right Thoughts”. He taught and traveled within Northern India for 45 years and died at the age of 80 in the hands of the monks he taught at the Sangha (the community of Buddhist monks). He predicted the day and hour of his death.

 

Next on my list is Mohammad (Praise be his Soul!) who, together with selected disciples, wrote the Qur’an under divine guidance. Some of the passages were “direct” quotations from Allah, the Almighty. The Qur’an is, thus, the “word of Allah” and “obedience” to God’s words, is the essence of Islam. Today, Muslim societies comprise the second largest group in the world. They sustain a worldview and a way of life that is distinct from the Christian worldview and way of life. They have a basic law that rules their societies – the Shariah Law – which is very much different from the Greek/Roman western laws that we use. While Islamic societies do not necessarily prohibit the practice of other religions (Pakistan has Christian Churches), some are more conservative and do prohibit Christian practices (Saudi Arabia is strict about carrying in public the Holy Bible and other Christian icons; the holding of Christian rituals outside employment compounds is prohibited). Mohammad exerted a powerful force to meld his members into a militant group and through the centuries, assured their institutional and political existence. Within the Islamic societies, the arts, literature, science, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, and engineering flourished - far more than what the Christian societies did for the same length of time. When Toledo and the other Spanish Islamic enclaves fell to the Christian armies in the early 12^th century, the libraries and Muslim laboratories were opened to astounded Italians, French and English intellectuals. Western Europe, for instance, rediscovered the Greek and Roman classics, carefully preserved in the original by the Moorish scholars in Spain. The availability of vital information gave birth to the Rennaisance (a “period of enlightenment” in Europe, as the “coming out” of the “Dark Ages”), the navigation of seas beyond Gibraltar, and the Industrial Revolution.. These, we owed to Muhammad who was the prime inspiration of Islamic teachings.

 

There are hundred more religious leaders that come to mind. They will not be discussed in detail for the sake of brevity of this paper. They are cosmic men/women because they espouse, as a group, similar teachings – that the “treasures” are not of this earth, and they have developed spiritual exercises to effect individual spiritual change within the individual (the inner self), and in so doing – the larger society. “Social change starts within you.” Some of them are the Dalai Lama from Tibet, Confucius advocating Taoism, the Zen masters of Japan, Mother St. Theresa of Mumbai, St. Teresa de Avila, St. Ignatius de Loyola of the Jesuits Order, etc.

 

For ACA dissertation purposes, students may consider writing in what “experiential” ways these “cosmic men/women” have left their imprints on Filipino society, and how they have shifted paradigms for the better.

 

Lay people, i.e., Non-clerics – as Bridges  

 

The first on my list is Dr. Jose P. Rizal. He was pacifist, as contrasted with Andres Bonifacio who was a fiery revolucionario. That Rizal was preferred by the American regime to be the “national hero” of the Philippines, at the turn of the century over Bonifacio is of no moment to this paper. Rizal’s ideas – that of forming the first Asian nation and getting out of the oppressive embrace of European colonial masters (Spanish) resonated with Malay societies and inspired them to mount independence movements in their own societies. Rizal was a “universal” man: he was a medical doctor, a musician, a painter, a poet, an accomplished novelist and political writer (La Solidaridad). He traveled all over Europe and learned. While beauties, Filipino and foreign,  peopled his bachelor life, he moved on., He was thrown in exile in Dapitan (Mindanao) where he established a school, volunteered to apply his medical services in Cuba (for the Spanish Government), was approved, but on the way to Cuba, while on the stopover at Manila, he was arrested, tried and  convicted of treasonous acts against the Spanish colonial government. He was shot, at the age of 36 in Bagumbayan, Ermita, Manila in December 30, 1896.

 

The second in my list is Martin Luther King. He revived the fight for equal rights in the U.S. Already enshrined in law, civil rights were not put into practice, and the “discriminatory” acts in American public places in favor of the whites continued, and even worsened. A Protestant pastor, Martin Luther King was very articulate. He is remembered for his speech at the Washington Monument before millions of marchers – both white and clack – “I have a dream” that one day ”we shall unite” and “be brothers” not enemies. The civil rights movement that he inspired effected a wide sweeping social change in the United States. It ended the painful discrimination against the blacks, and everybody heaved a sigh of relief because that is the cosmic way to do it. All have the same rights to life and none can be discriminated against for the color of the skin. Non-cosmic men see the obvious, cosmic men see the eternal truths. The universe puts forces into motion that can become unstoppable, as in the case of Martin Luther King’s crusade for civil rights. At the end of his labors, he was shot to death. But the social change has taken root already. He had become “universally” dispensable. His work was done.

 

My last example is Mahatma Gandhi. Starting out as an Indian lawyer among the Indian communities in South Africa, he went home to join the movement for independence from British rule. Hs approach was cosmic, i.e. it is not along traditional lines of violent warfare, but exactly the opposite: “non-violence”. He created a movement that bore the brunts of violence from British soldiers, with patience, dignity and perseverance on the part of his non-violent troops of civilians. This unmoving mass finally convinced the British to leave India, a highly profitable colony. He was simple and dressed in loincloth. Entering the ornate and stately British palace in Delhi, he was alone. He climbed the stairs flanked by British honor guards dressed in a simple cotton wrap, and a cane, and his lunch in a cotton pouch. He was barefoot. Thus, alone and barefoot, he received the capitulation of the powerful British Government in India with all its armed troops. Gandhi won the war of independence without armed troops! This was in 1948. The following year, he was assassinated by a disgruntled follower of an ultra-conservative group. Before dying, he ordered his assassin to be released because he already forgave him. Like Rizal and Martin Luther King, the Universe moved cosmic forces to retrieve these spirits because their jobs have been done at their locations.

 

According to Theosopy, the “intelligent beings” ruling the universe will move them to other locations to do more useful work. They will be taken back to earth as Boddhisatvas, until they “graduate” and stay in the “heavenly realm” to guide other workers – like them.

 

There are hundreds of social leaders like Rizal, King and Gandhi. For the sake of making this paper short, they will not be presented. A worthy mention of more recent savants that introduced social changes are Mao Zhe Dong of China, Ho Chi Minh of Viet Nam, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Hellen Keller of the U.S. (for the disabled), Albert Shweitzer of Austria, Albert Einstein of the U.S. and others.

 

Looking for Cosmic Persons in the Philippines

 

The challenge to ACA Ph.D. students is: “are there Filipino cosmic men/women” who can bridge the gap between cosmic-anthropology theories and principles, and translate them to ground-level actions?  Perhaps, no single individual Filipino can have all the cosmic gifts – but maybe a group of them.

 

The ACA Ph.D. students may be likened to Diogenes, who, with a lit lamp, in broad daylight, walked the public places of Athens looking for an honest man. Legend has it that he did not find any. I think we can find some in the Philippines if we just look hard enough and farther into the countryside. He/she may not be in Metro Manila, at all. He/she might be in remote rural areas, away from the glare of light and glory, but quietly laboring, such as healing the sick. #

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