God, Man, and Supreme
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE
INFINITE SPIRIT
The
Third Source and Center
Mind Gravity
Levels of Mind
The Seven Master Spirits and the Cosmic Mind
The Third Source and Center is known by many names, all designative of relationship and in recognition of function: As God the Spirit, he is the personality co-ordinate and divine equal of God the Son and God the Father. As the Infinite Spirit, he is an omnipresent spiritual influence. As the Universal Manipulator, he is the ancestor of the power-control creatures and the activator of the cosmic forces of space. As the Conjoint Actor, he is the joint representative and partnership executive of the Father-Son. As the Absolute Mind, he is the source of the endowment of intellect throughout the universes. As the God of Action, he is the apparent ancestor of motion, change, and relationship. [UB 9:1:1 (98:5)]
As the multifaceted third person of the Trinity and the Third Source and Center, the Infinite Spirit is also unitive Being. It is a function of the Spirit to maintain, strengthen, and where needed restore the unity of Being with creation, a unity that is in constant tension. The unity that the Spirit imparts is a higher unity than would have been possible had Deity never moved out of primordial Being and into expressive Being. For this new unity that the Spirit builds is a unity of freedom, a unity comprehending a diversity of free responsible beings such as ourselves. The Spirit, as unitive Being proceeding from both the Father and the Son, maintains the unity of creation.
And herein is an
infinite mystery: That the Infinite simultaneously revealed his infinity in
the Son and as Paradise, and then there springs into existence a being equal
to God in divinity, reflective of the Son's spiritual nature, and capable
of activating the Paradise pattern, a being provisionally subordinate in sovereignty
but in many ways apparently the most versatile in action. And such apparent
superiority in action is disclosed in an attribute of the Third Source and
Center which is superior even to physical gravity--the universal manifestation
of the Isle of
Paradise is the pattern
of infinity; the God of Action is the activator of that pattern.
The Infinite Spirit, acting as the Conjoint Creator with the Father-Son union, is the universal and divine minister of the Son's mercy and the Father's love. As Conjoint Actor, he is also the co-operative universal coordinator of creation; he is the coordinator of all actual reality; he is the unifier of the manifold energies and diverse creations that have appeared in consequence of the divine plan and eternal purpose of the Universal Father:
The Father is infinite
in love and volition, in spiritual thought and purpose; he is the universal
upholder. The Son is infinite in wisdom and truth, in spiritual expression
and interpretation; he is the universal revealer.
The Infinite Spirit functions in all three spheres of mind, matter, and spirit, and these functions tend to transcend even the most primal manifestations of cosmic reality, right up to the superultimate borders of absoluteness. As the living revelation of the unity of God, the Infinite Spirit is responsive to all things, meanings, and values. As Third Source and Center, he is coordinative of all energies, minds, and spirits. He operates not only on the deified spirit realities centered in the Son, but he also manipulates the undeified forces and energies of the created universes, thus bringing into existence the universal and absolute mind:
The
Third Source and Center. Third Person of Deity, the Conjoint Actor; infinite integrator of Paradise
cosmic energies with the spirit energies of the Eternal Son; perfect co-ordinator
of the motives of will and the mechanics of force; unifier of all actual and
actualizing reality. Through the ministrations of his manifold children the
Infinite Spirit reveals the mercy of the Eternal Son while at the same time
functioning as the infinite manipulator, forever weaving the pattern of
Mind is the functional endowment of the Infinite Spirit, and it is by the technique of mind that the dual universes manifestations of the original monothetic Creator personality, the I AM, are inevitably unified. The primal thought of the Father-I AM eternalizes the dual expression of his Deity equal, the Eternal Son, and of the antipodal nonspiritual material realities of creation reliant on Paradise as it's source and center. The Infinite Spirit, by virtue of mind, is the indispensable coordinator of both these spiritual and material realities:
The Conjoint Actor functions throughout the grand universe as a positive and distinct personality, especially in the higher spheres of spiritual values, physical-energy relationships, and true mind meanings. He functions specifically wherever and whenever energy and spirit associate and interact; he dominates all reactions with mind, wields great power in the spiritual world, and exerts a mighty influence over energy and matter. At all times the Third Source and Center is expressive of the nature of the First Source and Center. [UB 9:1:4 (99:3)]
The Father-I Am and the Eternal Mother Son love one another with an eternally boundless love, a love that is personal and living as are the Father and the Son. This personal love proceeding from the Father and the Son is fully embodied in the eternal persona of the Infinite Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. The Infinite Spirit was not created - rather, the Spirit is a person co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. The Infinite Spirit, acting as the Conjoint Creator with the Father-Son union, is the universal and divine minister of the Son's mercy and the Father's love to all created personalities. The Infinite Spirit is sincerely "devoted to the task of fostering the ascension of the material creatures to higher and higher levels of spiritual attainment." [UB 8:4:4 (94:6)]
God the Father loves men; God
the Son serves men; God the Spirit inspires the children of the universe to
the ever-ascending adventure of finding God the Father by the ways ordained
by God the Sons through the ministry of the grace of God the Spirit. [UB
3:6:8 (53:6)]
Scattered throughout The Urantia Book is an interesting accounting
of the primal relationships between the three eternal Persons of Deity that
uses strong imagery of the family of Father-Mother-Daughter. As the Father-I AM is one with the Eternal Mother Son, this fortuitous
union consummates in the appearance of the third person of Deity, the Infinite Mother Spirit. The first act
of the Mother Spirit is the inspection and recognition of her divine parents,
the Father-Father and the
Mother-Son. This presented sequence
of eternity events sets the stage for the Creator prerogatives of the Father,
who, in liaison with the Son and Spirit, initiates the evolutionary momentum
of time and space.
The Infinite Spirit is also the co-operative universal coordinator of creation, the coordinator of all actual reality. The Spirit is the unifier of the manifold energies and diverse creations that have appeared in consequence of the divine plan and eternal purpose of the Universal Father. As intuitive Being, the Infinite Spirit maintains, strengthens, and, where needed, restores the deified Being of the Trinity with non-deified creation. The unity which the Infinite Spirit imparts is of a higher unity than would have been possible had the I AM never moved out of primordial Being, for the unity which the Spirit builds is a unity of freedom, a unity comprehending a diversity of free and responsible beings. The Spirit Mother maintains the unity of creation.
As the living revelation of God, the Infinite Spirit is responsive to all things, meanings, and values. As God the Spirit, the Spirit is truly personal in function and possesses supernal kindness and merciful affection. As the Conjoint Actor, the Spirit is coordinative of all energies, minds, and spirits, operating not only on the deified spirit realities centered in the Son but also manipulating the undeified non-spirit forces and energies of the created universes, thus bringing into existence the universal and absolute mind. The Conjoint Actor is a will-endowed personality of "unlimited spirituality co-ordinated with absolute mind and endowed with unique prerogatives of energy manipulation." [UB 9:0:1 (98:1)]
The Conjoint Actor functions
in all three realms of universal reality: physical-energy relationships, true
mind meanings, and spiritual values. The Conjoint Actor is the mind activator
of cosmic energy, the conceptualizer of spirit purpose, the interactor of
the causes and effects of the material levels with the volitional purposes
and motives of the spiritual level. The Conjoint Actor integrates the divine
spirituality of the personal Son with the immutable energies of the
God the Spirit - The Infinite Spirit, the Third Person of Deity
The Conjoint Actor - Universal Integrator, Mind Bestower
Mind, in all of its phases, is the functional endowment of the Infinite Spirit. All mind responds to the mind circuit of the Conjoint Actor. The universe is mind made and personality managed. The universe is knowable and intelligible. It is by the technique of mind that the spiritual and material universe manifestations of the original Creator personality, the I AM, are inevitably unified. The primal freewill act of the Father-I Am eternalizes the dual expression of his Deity equal, the Eternal Mother Son, and of the antipodal non-spiritual material realities of creation that are centered in the Isle of Paradise. The Infinite Spirit, by virtue of mind, is the indispensable coordinator of both these spiritual and material realities.
The
The Spirit sustains the same personal relation to the Son in all subsequent creation that the Son sustains to the Father in the first and central creation. [UB 8:3:3 (94:5)]
The Infinite Spirit, along with the supreme spirit groups, is partaker in the creation of "the vast creature family of the Third Source and Center. All orders of the ministering spirits spring from this association." [UB 17:8:2 (205:3)] The Spirit is the original and eternal mother of all her ministering angelic daughters:
Nevertheless, in dealing with sex creatures it is our custom to speak of those beings of more direct descent from the Father and the Son as the sons of God, while referring to the children of the Spirit as the daughters of God. Angels are, therefore, commonly designated by feminine pronouns on the sex planets. [UB 38:2:2 (419:2)]
In the material universe of
universes, spirit is expressed through the Eternal Son and physical reality
is manifested through
The mind of the Eternal Son is like that of the Father but unlike any other mind in the universe, and with the mind of the Father it is ancestor to the diverse and far-flung minds of the Conjoint Creator. The mind of the Father and the Son, that intellect which is ancestral to the absolute mind of the Third Source and Center, is perhaps best illustrated in the premind of a Thought Adjuster, for, though these Father fragments are entirely outside of the mind circuits of the Conjoint Actor, they have some form of premind; they know as they are known; they enjoy the equivalent of human thinking. [UB 6:6:3 (78:7)]
Mind does not have to be added to pure spirit, for spirit is innately conscious and identifying. Spirit is always intelligent, minded in some way. It may be this mind or that mind, it may be premind or supermind, even spirit mind, but it does the equivalent of thinking and knowing. The insight of spirit transcends, supervenes, and theoretically antedates the consciousness of mind. [UB 9:4:2 (102:2)]
The duality of the eternal realities of the Isle of Paradise and the spirit expressions of the Eternal Son is eternally expressed in the primal thought of the Universal Father. The mind of the Infinite Spirit is the inevitable repercussion of this eternity act of the Father, becoming the "indispensable channel of communication between spiritual and material realities." [UB 56:2:2 (638:6)] The Conjoint Actor exclusively endows intelligence as a ministry of material and spiritual mind.
The Conjoint Actor
Partner of Spiritual Mind
Essence of Morontia Mind
Substance of Material Mind
The Infinite Spirit functions in all three spheres of mind, matter, and spirit, and these functions tend to transcend even the most primal manifestations of cosmic reality, right up to the superultimate borders of absoluteness. The universe is a creation of mind. Mind is a necessary factor in the planning, creation, and maintenance of the material cosmos. The universe is mind-made and personality managed. The fact that mankind can know the universe in an intelligible fashion presupposes the reality of divine mind and further reveals the presence of actual personality as a primal foundation for the function of mind. Mind is organized consciousness that is capable of conditioning matter and is capable of becoming liberated by spirit modification. Mind is the vital link connecting matter and spirit. Mind unifies spirit causations with energy reactions. Mind unifies the spirit of divinity with the pattern of energy.
Mind alone can interassociate the physical forces and energies of the material level with the spiritual powers and beings of the spirit level. [UB 12:6:3 (136:1)]
The living ministry of mind ever intervenes between the spirit and material energy systems. Mind is the personal-energy system which exists around a divine spirit nucleus and functions in a material environment. Mind is the experiential technique of endless progress. Mind, in all of its phases, is an attribute of the Infinite Spirit, the Third Person of Deity.
Evolutionary will creatures will find it easier to comprehend the Infinite Spirit than the Eternal Son or the Universal Father because the Third Person of Deity is the original source of mind. Mind is a necessary factor in the planning, creation, and maintenance of the material cosmos. In time and space, mind interrelates energy and spirit, establishing their mutual kinship in eternity. The gravity circuits of spirit, mind, and matter are independent of time. The spirit and spirit-mind levels of reality are also nonspatial making them independent of space as well.
All sub-absolute levels of mind are unified at the Deity level of the Master Spirits in association with the Supreme Being, and they are unified as the cosmic mind (in subordination to absolute mind).
There are three distinctly different qualities of mind:
(1) Spirit Mind - mind directly allied with spirit.
(2) Pure Mind - mind which coordinates spirit and matter.
(3) Material Mind - mind allied only with matter.
To the universe of universes, spirit mind is:
. Creating (mind planned)
. Controlling (mind made)
. Upholding (mind administered)
Living beings always function with mind that is in some form of coordination with either energy-matter or spirit, or both. Material-energy systems are receptive and responsive to mind, but mind is not necessarily inherent in physical manifestations. Mind can be superimposed on living energy patterns, but the material does not possess any form of innate consciousness apart from the endowment of mind. Pure Spirit, on the other hand, does not require the addition of mind to be innately conscious. Eternal Son spirit is primal to the eternity expression of infinite mind and as such possesses a pre-mind quality of spirit mindedness that somehow "transcends, supervenes, and theoretically antedates the consciousness of mind." [UB 9:4:2 (102:2)]
Havona mind is:
(1) the mind laboratory of the creators of cosmic mind and the ministers to every creature mind in existence
(2) the pattern for all spiritual and material creature intellects
(3) the perfect home and retreat for the untiring Mind Ministers of time and space
(4) the mind graduate schools for all beings destined
for
The Seven Master Spirits and Cosmic Mind
Seven Master Spirits function as superuniverse source-centers for the far-flung ministry of cosmic mind. The absolute mind of the Infinite Spirit is discerned in the time-space creations as the cosmic mind. Cosmic mind is endowed by and derived from the Seven Master Spirits. Cosmic mind "is the sevenfold diversified mind of time and space, one phase of which is ministered by each of the Seven Master Spirits to one of the seven superuniverses." [UB 42:10:6 (481:3)]
Cosmic mind encompasses all finite-mind levels
Cosmic mind coordinates experientially with the evolutionary-deity level of the Supreme Mind
Cosmic mind coordinates transcendentally with the existential levels of absolute mind (the direct circuits of the Conjoint Actor)
Differential and divergent cosmic mind is convergent in the Seven Master Spirits
From a power focus on the
periphery of
The Seven Master Spirits are, in reality, the mind-spirit balance wheel of the universe of universes, an all-embracing, all-encompassing, and all-co-ordinating power of central location. [UB 13:4:2 (150:1)]
The probable event that initiated the first universe age of finite reality, the age of superuniverse evolution, was the creation of the Seven Master Spirits. These Master Spirits, one assigned for each of the seven superuniverses, are not existential; they are experiential - they had beginnings in time. They are the very first expressions of experiential Deity. They are representative of Paradise Deity on all levels below the existential absolute - finite (Supreme), absonite (Ultimate), and finite-absonite (Supreme-Ultimate). The Seven Master Spirits each personally express one of seven possible combinations of the three persons of Paradise Deity (as do, collaterally, each of the seven superuniverses over which they have jurisdiction):
In Havona, Master Spirit number seven personally sponsors all ascension candidates from the worlds of time in their attempts to find God the Supreme. Despite the noncontactability of the actualized person of the Supreme in the present universe age, the Seventh Master Spirit is in the meantime revelatory of the spirit person of the Supreme by virtue of his triune Father-Son-Spirit nature; this nature discloses "the marvelous symmetry of the co-ordinate blending of the divine natures of Father, Son, and Spirit." [UB 16:3:20 (189:2)] He will prove instrumental in empowering the pilgrims of time with the eventual ability to penetrate the Trinity and to discover the three infinite persons of Deity.
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The Master Spirits are the actual sources of the intellectual and spirit potentials that are segmentally distributed throughout the seven superuniverses and are diffusely specialized in the local universe creations. Collectively, the Seven Master Spirits are functionally equivalent to the divinity level of the Trinity of the Paradise Deities. Individually, they exhaust the primary associable possibilities of triune Deity. As representatives of the Conjoint Actor, they are the repositories of that spirit-mind-power sovereignty of the Supreme Being that he does not yet personally exercise prior to his final actualization.
The Conjoint Actor is the universe center of the mind circuit and is the ancestor of cosmic mind. Cosmic mind operates under the dominance of the absolute mind gravity of the Third Source and Center. The circuits of cosmic mind influence the intellectual levels of all known existence, focusing back into the Seven Master Spirits and converging in the Third Source and Center. The Master Spirits are the sevenfold source of cosmic mind that is:
(1) The intellectual potential of the grand universe.
(2) The subabsolute manifestation of the mind of the Third Source and Center.
(3) The functional counterpart to the mind of the evolving Supreme Being.
Cosmic mind is ministered by the infinite and universal mind to the universes of time. Cosmic mind is unified in the supervision of the Seven Master Spirits who are themselves in coordination with the evolving Supreme Mind of time and space and who are "perfectly correlated with the all-embracing mind of the Infinite Spirit." [UB 56:2:3 (638:7)] The near Supreme levels of cosmic mind are subordinate to the infinite and eternal wisdom of the unconditioned and limitless mind of the Third Source and Center.
Through this personal influence
of the Seven Master Spirits every creature of every order of intelligent beings,
outside of
Concomitant with the activation of the spiritual circuits of the Seven Master Spirits, the Seven Supreme Power Directors contrastingly exercise their supervision of the physical activities in the superuniverses. The Power Directors exercise certain jurisdiction over those phases of mind which are physical-energy associated mechanical mind. Because of the time-space efforts of these Power Directors, cosmic mind appears as a new factor co-ordinating matter and spirit.
The Seven Master Spirits and the associated Seven Supreme Power Directors, respectively, are the personal repositories of the mind potential and of the power potential of the Supreme Being which he does not, as yet, operate personally. [UB 24:7:8 (271:7)]
All personalities coordinated
with cosmic mind display an intuitive sense of reality response. Cosmic mind
is responsive to spirit. Spirit mind unified by personality is responsive
to total Deity reality. Cosmic force is responsive to cosmic mind. This spirit
represents divine purpose that is activated within creature mind - "spirit
mind is divine purpose in action." [UB 9:4:5 (102:5)] Mind relates matter and spirit in unifying ways
that are reflective of their mutual kinship in eternity.
As reality shifts from the
absolute unity of
The
greater the spirit-energy divergence, the greater the observable function
of mind; the lesser the diversity of energy and spirit, the lesser the observable
function of mind.
Apparently, the maximum function of the cosmic mind is in the time universes
of space. Here mind seems to function in a mid-zone between energy and spirit,
but this is not true of the higher levels of mind; on
UNIVERSE REALITY RESPONSES
The ubiquitous presence of cosmic mind provides a basis for the sometimes remarkable interconnection and functional fraternity of various types of mind.
Not only are kindred spirits attracted to each other, but kindred minds are also very fraternal and inclined towards co-operation the one with the other. Human minds are sometimes observed to be running in channels of astonishing similarity and inexplicable agreement. [UB 16:6:3 (91:6)]
(1) The Fact of God [causation] - The energy-reality domain of the physical senses;
. Logical uniformity
. Factual from non-factual discrimination
. Reflective conclusions based on cosmic response
(2) The Law of God [duty] - The mind-reality domain of morals in the philosophic realm;
. The arena of reason
. The recognition of relative right from wrong
(3) The Love of God [worship]- The spirit-reality domain of religious experience;
. The personal realization of divine fellowship
. The recognition of spirit values
. The assurance of eternal survival
. The joy and liberty of ascent as the sons of God
These three endowments of the human mind are:
1. Developed by education
2. Expressed by civilization
3. Realized by life experience
4. Ennobled by religion
5. Unified by personality
Universal Mind is like a great
ocean, its surface ruffled by waves and surges but its depths remaining forever
unmoved. Between Universal Mind and the individual discriminating mind is
the intuitive-mind (manas) which is dependent upon Universal Mind for its
cause and support and enters into relations with both. But the intuitive-mind
enters into relations with the lower mind system, shares its experiences and
reflects upon its activities. The discriminating-mind is a dancer and a magician
with the objective world as his stage. Intuitive-mind is the wise jester who
travels with the magician and reflects upon his emptiness and transiency.
Universal Mind keeps the record and knows what must be.
[The Lankavatara Scripture
(Self-realization of Noble Wisdom)]
A Service of
The Urantia Book Fellowship