I love Eckhart Tolle. I could listen to him for hours and have done.
Occasionally he says something which I feel needs correcting. Skip to 56 seconds into the above video and he says, "The universe delights in creation. It delights in creativity. It delights in creating new forms".
I do understand what he goes on to explain. I also understand that words are open to misinterpretation. Yet I still have to ask, how can he possibly know that the universe delights in creation?
Also watch this part of the video which is 5 minutes in. Again, I feel so uncomfortable about what he is saying. "The universe delights in that, and you are an expression of that, it wants to become conscious of itself, through you". How does he know categorically this is true?
Spiritual teachers often say these things as though they have definitive knowledge. There is no doubt Eckhart has a lot of wisdom, but there is doubt that he categorically knows what the intention of the universe is.
He eloquently goes on to say, "How do I know that, well, just look around on the planet here, there are millions of life forms". However, that is still not proof the universe "delights" in creating forms.
For all we know, the universe could have been triggered by a lab disaster that caused a chain reaction through time and space and the entity that caused it is desperately trying to stop it.
Please don't misunderstand me. Just like Eckhart, I believe we are all part of the universe. Why? This is a fact, just as we know that our heart is part of our body. It even remains true if you also believed we are just characters in a computer game called The Universe. In that latter scenario, the code of the game would still be connected, as are the pixels in a picture on a TV screen.
However, for someone to say they know what the purpose of the universe is, well, it is very shaky ground.
I also understand that belief and hope play a part in taking a leap of faith. I also think that what Eckhart says is beautiful and I want to believe the universe enjoys creating. I am not saying it doesn't. I am just saying how can anyone state it as fact, even the wonderful Eckhart.
What do you think? Am I being too pedantic?
Kindly,
Christian Jacques Bennett
