Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- PART I
- PART II
- 5 Functions of the divine body in Rāmānuja and Teilhard de Chardin
- 6 The divine body as model of the integration of consciousness
- 7 The divine body as model for the transformation of consciousness
- 8 The body divine: paradigm of a conscious cosmos
- Appendix I Composition and publication dates of papers by Teilhard de Chardin cited in this work
- Appendix II Teilhard de Chardin on the Mass
- Glossary of Indian terms
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
6 - The divine body as model of the integration of consciousness
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- PART I
- PART II
- 5 Functions of the divine body in Rāmānuja and Teilhard de Chardin
- 6 The divine body as model of the integration of consciousness
- 7 The divine body as model for the transformation of consciousness
- 8 The body divine: paradigm of a conscious cosmos
- Appendix I Composition and publication dates of papers by Teilhard de Chardin cited in this work
- Appendix II Teilhard de Chardin on the Mass
- Glossary of Indian terms
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
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.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Body DivineThe Symbol of the Body in the Works of Teilhard de Chardin and Ramanuja, pp. 107 - 124Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1991