Re: an atheist speaks . . .

J J R (jrovira@juno.com)
Sat, 19 Sep 1998 09:35:23 -0400 (EDT)

Yeah, of all Salinger's stories I think Teddy is the most clearly
influenced by Eastern thought.

Jim

On Thu, 17 Sep 1998 19:38:29 -0400 gpaterso@richmond.edu writes:
>>Now, by "eastern" I'm speaking of the Vedas, really, and beliefs
>>influenced by them.  Esp. the Upanishads.  The chief revelation for a
>>human being to attain within the context of the Upanishads is to 
>realize
>>that "I am God and God is me."   That there is no difference between 
>the
>>individual and the Divine--between anything and the Divine. That God 
>is
>>the ground of all being and the underlying substance of everything.  
>And
>>that, therefore, all differences are moot--are illusory, in fact.  
>
>...
>
>>That's what makes your statements really interesting.  I think, 
>within
>>the context of the spirituality underlying Salinger's work, that when 
>we
>>say, "wait, it was us all along," that is true.  It was us AND it was
>>God, because there is no difference between the two.
>>
>>Jim
>
>Salinger himself made this clear also in "Teddy" when Teddy discusses 
>an
>incident to that guy (I REALLY should remember his name) where he was
>staring at his sister pouring milk into a glass, and realized that his
>sister was God, and the glass was God, and the milk was God, and that
>"God was pouring God into God."
>
>
>________________________________________________________
>
> G.H.G.A.Paterson  (804)662-3737  gpaterso@richmond.edu
>________________________________________________________
>
>

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