6 - The divine body as model of the integration of consciousness

Summary

In this chapter I intend to consider in more detail the second function of the divine body in Teilhard de Chardin and Rāmānuja (see p. 87 above), namely, the divine body as a theological concept. In particular I shall explore how the divine body metaphor, when articulated conceptually, provides a key to understanding each thinker's theological worldview.

In this context it is appropriate to refer to the divine body as a ‘model’, in that it represents connections made between things in order to help us structure and interpret what we see. Like metaphors, models are intrinsic to our thought-processes: we look on things in terms of other things and act upon their perceived connections. Models are thus maps of inner processes. Stephen Katz explains:

The model provides a cosmological—metaphysical and inter-related mystical mapping of the order of things. It shows us how things are; where we are in the scheme of things; what is before and what after; what is expected of us; what is above and what below; and especially important in mystical traditions, how we get from where we are to where we want to go … It provides what we can call conceptual coherence; a quite particular understanding of the nature of the inter-relationship existing among entities in space and nature and beyond.