In the previous discussion, we examined the question of awareness of existence, and we said that existence, within this view, is not merely the presence of something in the world. Rather, it is the being's awareness that it exists, or more precisely: the being's witnessing of itself and its awareness of its own being. We also said that there is a true, creative, and generative awareness, and that the Creator is the one who brings beings out of the illusion of non-existence and into existence.
But when we arrive at the conclusion upon which we will build our discussion here, we encounter an important intellectual turning point: if existence is what humanity understands under the meaning of shame, then awareness of existence is itself awareness of shame.
And here the question arises: What is shame?
Shame as Awareness of Imperfection
When a person says, “I feel ashamed of myself,” what does this feeling mean?
The feeling of shame may be connected to a sense of difference and inadequacy, and an awareness that something is not yet complete or that something is not right.
For this reason, within this view, shame is not necessarily something bad that must be eliminated. Rather, it is awareness of imperfection itself. Awareness of shame is awareness of imperfection, and awareness of imperfection is, at the same time, awareness of existence.
From here we return to the idea presented earlier: if the Creator creates through the process of perception and awareness of existence, then awareness of existence is itself an act of creation. And if existence is shame, then awareness of shame becomes the awareness through which creation is realized.
Put more simply: the Creator is the one who makes the being aware of its own being, and makes it aware of the shame and imperfection of its existence; and this very feeling is part of the process through which it is created and becomes aware of itself.
Creation, according to this perspective, cannot be separated from awareness. To realize that you exist means to witness yourself, and to witness yourself means to recognize your limits and imperfections. From here, shame becomes the cause of creation.
The Cause of Creation and the Perfect Human
In divine philosophy, the concept of the perfect human, or the perfect creature, is presented as the creature in whom the process of creation has reached completion. And if the cause of creation is shame, then the perfect human is the one who feels shame toward his own existence.
This does not mean that shame is itself an imperfection. Rather, it means that the awareness of imperfection is what leads the being toward perfection.
The being who feels shame recognizes the cause of its existence, whereas the being who feels no shame does not recognize the cause of its existence. Thus, paradoxically, the feeling of shame becomes a sign that the primordial nature is intact, while the absence of shame becomes a sign of its decline.
The idea can be approached through the term shameless, meaning “without shame” or “without modesty.” Within this thesis, the person who feels no shame is the person who has failed to recognize the cause of his existence, and therefore resists the cause of his creation instead of aligning himself with it.
The person who feels shame before the Creator is therefore at the highest level of spiritual courtesy toward the Creator, because courtesy here means recognizing one's dependence, diminishing the ego, and feeling imperfection and remorse.
As for the person who sees himself as perfect and sees no imperfection within himself, then, according to this perspective, he is more deeply imperfect, because he does not feel the cause that brought him into existence in the first place.
The Paradox of the One Who Feels Shame
Here, a fundamental paradox emerges.
The perfect human is the one who feels shame, yet his perfection ultimately means that the cause of creation has ceased to operate upon him as a cause that drives him toward a new creation. Once he reaches perfection, he no longer sees the Creator as a cause from which he must escape, but returns to the Origin that is his cause.
Thus the paradox can be expressed as follows:
The one who feels imperfect is perfect, and the one who feels perfect is imperfect.
The person who feels shame recognizes his imperfection and therefore moves toward completion. But the person who feels no shame and believes himself to be perfect has surrendered to his imperfection without recognizing it.
Thus, the feeling of shame becomes a genuine attempt at perfection, while the absence of shame becomes a kind of hopeless surrender to imperfection.
Harmony with the Cause of Existence
This idea can be simplified through a symbolic example: suppose we say that the cause of a bottle's existence is thirst. The bottle then exists to fulfill a function related to thirst. If you attempt to eliminate thirst completely, you eliminate the cause that gives the bottle meaning in this context.
Likewise, the being that attempts to remove or escape the cause of its existence is moving against the reason for which it was created.
For this reason, within this perspective, the human being suffers when he moves against the cause of his existence, which is shame. This does not mean that the Creator externally tortures the human being. Rather, the human being suffers because he moves against that for which he was created.
From here we understand the perfect human as the person who feels shame, yet does not attempt to flee from his existence or reject his destiny, but seeks completion.
He does not seek a new creation as much as he seeks to complete the creation already underway.
The Substitute and the Beginning of Deviation
From here we arrive at another fundamental idea: all deviation began when there came to be a substitute for the One.
The substitute does not feel shame at being replaced, because it accepts the logic of substitution and change. But that which cannot accept replacement retains its unique value, and it is precisely this that feels shame at being placed in the position of a substitute.
According to this perspective, we are substitutes in the continuation of existence, but complete existence cannot continue without the One.
Therefore, there is no substitute for the One, and there is no substitute for perfection as the path out of the darkness of repetition and multiplicity.
In this reading, we live within the darkness of multiplicity and number, where the one becomes replaceable, what is unique becomes merely a copy that can be substituted, and existence becomes shameless, meaning devoid of spiritual courtesy.
Here the difference between scarcity and abundance becomes clear.
If there are only four or five people, losing one of them is a significant matter because each person is precious and cannot easily be replaced. But in a vast group of people, the individual becomes less valuable in terms of replaceability, because there is always someone who can take his place.
Thus:
In multiplicity, the one becomes replaceable; in scarcity, the one becomes precious.
And if we rise from scarcity to absolute oneness, the One becomes absolutely precious, because there is no substitute for it in the first place.
The One and the Path to Salvation
If escaping the sea of darkness—that is, multiplicity and repetition—requires a path, then the question becomes: Are there infinitely many paths to salvation?
According to this perspective, the answer is no.
The paths may appear numerous, but the true path to salvation is one, because it does not admit a substitute, a partner, or an equivalent.
There cannot be two contradictory paths that lead, in the same sense, to salvation from darkness. And if the Origin is the One, then the very attempt to reconcile incompatible paths is evidence that the Origin is not difference, but unity.
Therefore, illusory alternative paths do not lead to salvation; rather, they return the being to hell and to the cycle of repetition once again.
From here, the matter becomes one of allegiance and disavowal in the intellectual sense of this perspective: allegiance to those who walk the path of truth, and rejection of paths that replace the unique path with false alternatives.
The Human Being and the Origin of the One
The same applies to the origin of human creation.
In narratives that speak of multiple forces participating in the creation or misguidance of the human being, the central point here is not the multiplicity of forces that may influence a person, but rather the distinction between who misleads the human being and who creates, guides, and directs him.
Within this perspective, the human being was created from a single origin. Even if many forces participate in misleading or influencing him, true guidance, creation, and direction cannot become a process with multiple origins.
For this reason, no matter how many choices a human being possesses, he remains in need of the One.
You may have thousands of possibilities before you, but if among them there is no one uniquely correct choice, then despite possessing many options, you are poor.
True richness is to possess what has no substitute.
The person who possesses something that can be replaced is not rich in the deepest sense. But the person who possesses something that cannot be replaced, bought, or sold is rich in something that the entire market cannot provide an alternative for.
The Irreplaceable Destiny
Here the idea of destiny emerges.
In some contemporary spiritual perspectives, there is a continual attempt to change paths, destinies, bodies, guides, and teachers, as though reaching truth always requires changing the condition in which we find ourselves.
But once a person recognizes what is irreplaceable in his destiny, he may no longer feel the need to change it.
I am in this destiny. I have lived what I have lived; I have been right where I was right and wrong where I was wrong. Perhaps there is a secret or wisdom in my being here that I would never have recognized had I been given another destiny.
Thus we may say:
My destiny, despite its imperfections, is complete in the sense that it cannot be replaced.
This is the meaning of the perfect human in this context: no matter how much imperfection it contains, it cannot be replaced; therefore, nothing is lacking in it with regard to its uniqueness.
The Origin Is Stability
From here we arrive at another question: Is the origin change or stability?
The answer underlying this perspective is that the origin is stability, and what changes is a branch of it.
If pure change were the origin, nothing could ever become stable. And if vibration were the origin, the branch would have no fixed point on which to rest.
This can be imagined through the example of a shaking table: if the table's foundation itself is stable, the movement of something placed upon it does not remove the stability of its foundation. But if the foundation itself is shaking, there will be no stable base upon which anything can settle.
Thus, a branch may shake, but its movement does not alter the stability of the origin if the origin itself is stable.
The rule here is simple:
The origin is stable; vibration is incidental.
Masculinity and Femininity in the Origin-and-Branch Model
Within this model, the perspective moves on to the question of masculinity and femininity.
If vibration is the origin, then stability becomes a branch of it, which reverses the relationship between origin and branch. But if masculinity is the stable origin, then femininity becomes a changing and fluctuating branch, without affecting the stability of the origin.
Accordingly, the sound model, according to the thesis, is for the origin to remain stable while change occurs in the branches.
As for saying that the origin is fluctuation, vibration, oscillation, and change, this means that the origin itself is unstable, which makes the achievement of stability in existence problematic from the outset.
That which changes at its origin cannot give its branch genuine stability.
From here, continuous vibration is regarded as a path toward losing the origin, because persistent vibration may ultimately uproot the human being from his origin, separate him from what is original, and connect him to what is not original.
Space as an Image of Falling
As this thesis develops, what is called space is viewed not necessarily as an image of elevation and transcendence, but as an image of falling and separation from the origin.
This differs from perspectives that make space a symbol of ascent, or that connect the return to the origin with a return to space or to other worlds.
Within this perspective, the matter is reversed: the origin is stability, and what appears to be movement and elevation may in reality be a form of falling away from the origin.
For this reason, the fundamental warning here concerns lies that, once they become established in people's minds, become part of memory and then become difficult to dismantle.
Shame and Lying
From here we return once again to shame.
If enlightenment means anything within this context, it cannot simply mean eliminating the feeling of embarrassment and shame. A person who lies and falsifies, yet feels no embarrassment or shame about his lies, has not transcended shame; rather, he has lost awareness of the cause of his existence. A person who has things that make him feel shame is a person committed to proper conduct and mindful of his behavior; you may say that he is awake. But a person who feels shame about nothing is like a butcher, a malformed being who cares about nothing and possesses no quality of courtesy.
A person who feels ashamed of lying will not fabricate lies, dress himself in falsehood, attribute to others what he has no evidence for, or stand before people presenting rumors as facts.
Therefore, the problem is not that a person does not know something; ignorance can be temporary if a person acknowledges it. The problem is when ignorance turns into a claim to knowledge, when lies turn into certainty, and when the spreading of rumors becomes a substitute for the search for truth.
If you do not know, say: “I do not know.”
And if you are not capable of leading people toward truth, make room for someone who is.
But to place yourself at the forefront and then lead people into blind uncertainty is a problem greater than mere ignorance.
Life Is Not Its Own Purpose
Another idea that emerges in this context is the rejection of the claim that the purpose of life is life itself.
If a person is told, “Simply existing means that you have fulfilled the purpose,” this means that his existence has fulfilled the cause, but it does not necessarily mean that he has fulfilled the purpose.
The simple evidence is the end of life.
If life itself were the purpose, it would never end. But death reveals, according to this reasoning, that the mere continuation of life is not the ultimate purpose.
Therefore, if a person does not know the purpose of his existence, the more honest response is to say: “I do not know,” rather than turning his ignorance into evidence that there is no purpose at all.
Acknowledging ignorance leaves room for knowledge, whereas turning ignorance into truth closes the path to understanding.
Knowledge Is the Origin and Ignorance Is an Attribute
Likewise, within this perspective, the origin is not ignorance but knowledge.
Ignorance is a temporary condition, and it can truly remain temporary when a person acknowledges his ignorance and seeks knowledge.
But if he refuses to acknowledge his ignorance, that condition may become permanent, like a river carrying the person away with it.
For this reason, the person who does not know must sometimes remain silent, listen, and search for genuine knowledge.
True knowledge is not merely the abundance of information circulated by people. An abundance of information does not necessarily mean valuable knowledge.
Information that everyone wants to discard, or that has no real value, is not the same as knowledge that its possessor preserves because it is precious to him, because it represents an origin he does not want to lose.
Not Everyone Becomes a God
From here we can understand the objection to slogans that tell people, “Let us all become gods” or “Let us all attain enlightenment,” without defining what these words actually mean.
The first question is: What is a god in the first place?
Using a term simply because it is attractive is not enough to understand it.
Likewise, enlightenment cannot be reduced to merely eliminating the feeling of shame, because within this thesis, the feeling of shame is connected to awareness of imperfection, the cause of creation, and spiritual courtesy. It is not an obstacle that must be eliminated.
A person does not become perfect merely by believing himself to be perfect, nor does he become enlightened merely by removing every feeling of imperfection from within himself.
Unique Knowledge and the Complexity of the Origin
Finally, we arrive at the question of knowledge itself.
True knowledge, within this perspective, is not something universal that everyone can possess to the same degree simply by repeating phrases. Rather, there is knowledge with keys, entrances, and exits; it has an origin and branches, and it requires an understanding of the relationships that connect its different parts.
For this reason, one should not underestimate the complexity of genuine contact with truth or with the Creator.
A person may imagine that everything can be reduced to a simple idea or an easy practice, but the complexity of the map does not mean that truth does not exist; it means that reaching it requires wisdom, experience, and understanding.
The origin that gathers all branches together is not necessarily simple in a superficial sense. That which unifies differences and brings them together within a single system cannot easily be reduced to one of its individual parts.
From this perspective, the complexity of the path itself may be evidence that there is something greater than the human capacity for complete simplification. No matter how much wisdom and experience a person attains, there will always remain something more complex than what he has been able to comprehend.
Conclusion: From Multiplicity to the One
When we bring all these ideas together within a single framework, the picture becomes clearer.
Existence begins with awareness; awareness of existence is awareness of shame; and shame is awareness of imperfection. From here, shame becomes the cause of creation, because a being recognizes its existence only by recognizing its limits and imperfections.
The perfect human is not the one who believes he is free from imperfection, but the one who recognizes his imperfection, feels his dependence, and engages with the cause of his existence rather than attempting to escape it. The person who feels shame about certain things is selective: he does not accept everything and does not treat all things as equal. This selectiveness is one of the gateways to spiritual courtesy, because it indicates the existence of boundaries and standards to which the person commits himself in his conduct and existence.
We then move from the human being to the very structure of existence: the origin is One, stability is fundamental, multiplicity is a branch, vibration is incidental, and no substitute can replace the true One.
Therefore, the way out of the darkness of multiplicity and repetition is not to multiply the paths without end, but to return to the unique path for which there is no substitute.
True richness does not lie in possessing alternatives, but in possessing what has no substitute.
Perfection does not lie in eliminating every imperfection, but in understanding the reality of imperfection and the cause of existence, and then reaching a state in which the being no longer needs to flee from its origin.
As for ignorance, it is not an origin but a temporary condition. The person who does not know can begin with a simple admission: “I do not know.” From there, the search for genuine knowledge can begin.
In the end, the entire question returns to one question: Do we want to be merely replaceable copies within multiplicity, or do we want to recognize the value of the One, the value of the origin, and the value of what cannot be replaced?
Within this perspective, salvation is not found in the abundance of alternatives, but in discovering what has no substitute; perfection is not found in denying imperfection, but in becoming aware of it; enlightenment is not found in eliminating shame, but in understanding it; and existence is not mere survival, but the being's awareness of its own existence, its origin, and the cause of its existence.
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