Human nature is endowed with the capacity to unite together in groups. This unity is the result of forces that bind individuals together, whether these forces are generated by love, fear, ideology, culture, religion, interest, etc; and the capacity for unity always implies a center. Consider united groups throughout society today. A political party is united around some agency or a common stance on a policy, as well as united by being not another party; a group of sports fans are united by their common love of a certain team, and likewise a common hatred of the rival; an ethnic community is united through traditional activities and ideologies that have been passed down over generations, traditions different from their neighbors.
All of these centers of unity are spatially and temporally limited in scope, they are all particular and material in nature, and they often involve a struggle for power against some other center. These types of centers will lead to conflict and contention, and the greatest hope of humanity organized around these types of unity is a sterile and distant tolerance. More likely will be perpetual war.
Rather, a spiritual center of unity is universal and limitless. All human beings are spiritual in nature, and this common element can unite across geography, culture, and generations. There is no power struggle, because there ceases to be an “us” and “them” – one group is no longer defined by not being another group. Power is used collectively and constructively, and not oppositionally.
Using an analogy from physics, individuals in society can either be compared to gas molecules in a container or as planets revolving around a sun. In the first case, the movement of the molecules is independent of other molecules, and the interaction is collision. The condition that governs interaction is simply the size of the container – less conflict can be achieved through a larger container and less interaction. In the second case, there is a center of gravity around which all the planets revolve. The sun establishes the relationships between the planets, ensures order, creates harmony between all parts. The interaction of the planets is beautiful, never in conflict. We see, here, the profound differences when introducing one variable – a universal, unifying center.
Unity, by definition, requires a center around which to unify. Unity for the entire planet necessitates a universal, spiritual, center.
What are your thoughts on unifying centers?
achieving coherence 