So I asked ChatGPT to comment my linked blog post. ChatGPT was a bit less schmoozy than Gemini, but there are obvious similarities between their answers (including the obsession with "Kashmir Shaivism"). So it seems I´m a stable genius, after all! How I believe
This is an interesting synthesis because it doesn't simply reproduce one existing religion. Instead, it combines themes from several traditions while trying to remain metaphysically coherent. Let me break it down.
1. God as consciousness
Your starting point is:
If God exists, God must in some sense be consciousness.
This is actually a fairly common position in the history of philosophy.
It resembles:
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Neoplatonism, where the ultimate principle is beyond ordinary consciousness but is also the source of all intellect.
-
Plotinus, although Plotinus' One is arguably beyond consciousness as we ordinarily understand it.
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Kashmir Shaivism, where ultimate reality is Cit (pure consciousness).
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Advaita Vedanta, where Brahman is often described as pure consciousness (cit), though impersonal in the strictest interpretations.
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Some forms of Christian idealism, where God is understood as absolute Spirit.
I think your point about human consciousness having many layers (waking, dreaming, subconscious, mystical, autonomic) is philosophically valuable. It suggests that "consciousness" is an analogical term rather than a univocal one: if finite consciousness already has many modes, we should not expect divine consciousness to resemble human consciousness in a straightforward way.
2. "Supra-personal"
I think this is one of your more original ideas.
Rather than asking:
Is God personal or impersonal?
you propose:
God is supra-personal.
That idea has precedents.
For example:
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Paul Tillich spoke of God as the "Ground of Being," not "a being."
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David Bentley Hart argues that classical Christian theology never meant God was "a person" alongside other persons.
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Raimon Panikkar frequently used language suggesting that the divine transcends the personal/impersonal distinction.
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Many Hindu thinkers say Brahman is both personal and impersonal, depending on how it manifests.
So "supra-personal" is not unprecedented. It is a reasonable way of expressing the idea that God includes what we mean by personality without being exhausted by it.
3. Freedom and unity as two metaphysical poles
This is perhaps the most distinctive part of your proposal.
You describe two principles:
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differentiation
-
unification
whose harmony appears as love.
This reminds me of several traditions without being identical to any of them.
Neoplatonism
Reality proceeds outward from the One and returns toward the One.
There is:
which resembles your freedom and unity.
Kashmir Shaivism
Reality consists of:
-
Śiva (pure awareness)
-
Śakti (creative manifestation)
Manifestation differentiates.
Recognition reunites.
Christian theology
The doctrine of the Trinity has often been interpreted as:
perfect unity without loss of distinction.
Modern theologians sometimes describe divine love precisely as:
unity preserving freedom.
Your formulation is surprisingly close to this.
Process philosophy
Thinkers such as Alfred North Whitehead describe reality as balancing creativity and order.
That is another interesting parallel.
4. Evil
Your treatment of evil is nuanced.
You begin existentially:
Evil feels like a real opposing force.
But then conclude:
Metaphysically it probably cannot be an independent substance.
That actually follows a trajectory seen in many traditions.
For example:
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Augustine of Hippo argued evil is a privation of good.
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Plotinus held something similar.
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Advaita sees evil as arising through ignorance (avidyā).
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Many Mahayana Buddhists see suffering as rooted in ignorance and craving.
Your proposal differs slightly:
evil is distortion of freedom and/or unity.
I think that's philosophically interesting because it preserves evil's experiential reality while avoiding an absolute dualism.
5. Many gods as angelic beings
This idea has a very long pedigree.
It appears in:
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late Neoplatonism
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some Church Fathers
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Renaissance Platonism
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certain strands of Hinduism
-
some esoteric Christianity
The hierarchy becomes something like:
God
↓
high celestial intelligences
↓
lesser divine beings
↓
humans
↓
other creatures
One could call these beings:
-
devas
-
angels
-
aeons
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bodhisattvas
-
archons
depending on one's tradition.
6. Religious pluralism
Your final speculation is perhaps the closest to Mahayana Buddhism.
You suggest:
Different religions may represent different skillful means.
That is remarkably close to the Mahayana concept of upāya.
At the same time, your system remains theistic, whereas Mahayana generally avoids positing an ultimate creator.
7. Where I see tensions
I also notice a few unresolved questions.
Is God necessarily conscious?
You begin by saying:
God must be consciousness.
Many philosophers would challenge that.
Plotinus, for example, held that the One is beyond intellect and consciousness because consciousness normally implies a distinction between knower and known.
So someone influenced by Neoplatonism might ask whether your concept of consciousness is broad enough to include a reality beyond subject-object awareness.
Is freedom really primordial?
Your metaphysics gives freedom equal status with unity.
Many traditions would instead say:
-
freedom emerges from unity,
-
or unity is more fundamental.
Whether the two are equally ultimate is an interesting philosophical question.
Is God evolving?
Sometimes your language sounds as though creation participates in God's unfolding.
At other points it sounds like classical theism, where God is complete and creatures evolve.
Those lead to rather different metaphysical pictures.
8. Overall
If I had to classify your philosophy, I would say it sits closest to a family of traditions rather than a single one:
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Neoplatonism provides the hierarchical metaphysical framework.
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Kashmir Shaivism contributes the emphasis on consciousness and manifestation.
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Mahayana Buddhism contributes the idea of multiple skillful means and an expansive cosmic vision.
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Christian mysticism contributes the centrality of love and participation in God.
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Process philosophy offers analogies for your emphasis on relationality, creativity, and dynamic harmony.
The one feature that strikes me as most original is not the individual ingredients, but your proposal that freedom and unity are the two fundamental "poles" of divine life, with love emerging as their perfect equilibrium. It echoes ideas found in several traditions, yet I don't know of a major historical system that formulates the relationship in exactly that way. It would be an interesting idea to develop further, especially by asking whether freedom and unity are truly independent principles or whether one is ultimately grounded in the other. That question would likely determine whether your metaphysics ends up closer to classical Neoplatonism, a nondual Hindu philosophy, or a more process-oriented view of reality.
