Paper 56 Overview: Universal Unity

Paper 56 explores the concept of universal unity, establishing that God is unity and that Deity is universally coordinated throughout all creation. The universe of universes functions as a vast integrated mechanism under the absolute control of one infinite mind, with physical, intellectual, and spiritual domains divinely correlated to enable finite evolutionary creatures to ascend to Paradise in fulfillment of the Universal Father's perfection mandate. Although time-space mortals with their circumscribed minds may perceive apparent disharmony and a lack of effective coordination in the universe, beings who can observe wider stretches of universal phenomena can detect the underlying unity beneath creative diversity and perceive the divine oneness that pervades all functioning plurality.

This paper examines how unity is achieved across multiple domains—physical, intellectual, spiritual, and personal—and traces the unification of evolutionary Deity through experiential development. It explores how the evolutionary repercussions of local universe development contribute to the progressive revelation of Deity, discusses the Supreme Being's role as the essential unifier for finite experience, and addresses the philosophical conundrum of absolute unity. It concludes by examining how settled worlds in light and life progressively comprehend Deity through the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness, ultimately recognizing that love, the sum of these qualities, represents humanity's perception of God as spirit Father and is the greatest thing in the universe because God is love.

God is unity. Deity is universally co-ordinated. The universe of universes is one vast integrated mechanism which is absolutely controlled by one infinite mind. The physical, intellectual, and spiritual domains of universal creation are divinely correlated. The perfect and imperfect are truly interrelated, and therefore may the finite evolutionary creature ascend to Paradise in obedience to the Universal Father's mandate: "Be you perfect, even as I am perfect."

The diverse levels of creation are all unified in the plans and administration of the Architects of the Master Universe. To the circumscribed minds of time-space mortals the universe may present many problems and situations which apparently portray disharmony and indicate absence of effective co-ordination; but those of us who are able to observe wider stretches of universal phenomena, and who are more experienced in this art of detecting the basic unity which underlies creative diversity and of discovering the divine oneness which overspreads all this functioning of plurality, better perceive the divine and single purpose exhibited in all these manifold manifestations of universal creative energy.

The physical or material creation, while not infinite, is perfectly coordinated, with all force, energy, and power being one in origin. The cosmological structure demonstrates various patterns of unity: the seven superuniverses exhibit a dual nature, the central universe is triune, while Paradise possesses a singular constitution. Paradise functions as the actual source of all material universes—past, present, and future—though this cosmic derivation exists outside time and space as an eternity event. Material cosmic derivations appear to emerge through the Unqualified Absolute, which serves as their ultimate repository in space and their revealer and regulator in time.

The Unqualified Absolute upholds the physical universe while the Deity Absolute motivates the exquisite overcontrol of all material reality, with both Absolutes functionally unified through the Universal Absolute. This cohesive correlation of the material universe is best understood through the observation of gravity, which draws all genuine material reality toward nether Paradise. Pure energy and pure spirit are wholly preresponsive to gravity, as these primal forces inhere in the Absolutes and are personally controlled by the Universal Father. All gravity therefore centers in the personal presence of the Paradise Father, who unifies pure energy and pure spirit in his supermaterial abode.

The infinite nature of God the Father cannot possibly contain the duality of physical and spiritual reality; however, the moment one looks beyond the infinite levels and absolute reality of the personal values of the Paradise Father, one observes the existence of these two realities and recognizes their full responsiveness to his personal presence. At the moment of departure from the unqualified concept of the infinite personality of the Paradise Father, one must postulate MIND as the inevitable technique of unifying the ever-widening divergence of the dual universe manifestations of the original monothetic Creator personality.

The Thought-Father realizes spirit expression in the Word-Son and attains reality expansion through Paradise in the far-flung material universes. The Eternal Son's spiritual expressions are coordinated with material creation through the functions of the Infinite Spirit, whose mind ministry and physical-directive acts correlate spiritual realities with material repercussions. Mind serves as the indispensable channel of communication between spiritual and material domains, allowing material evolutionary creatures to conceive and comprehend the indwelling spirit.

Mind represents the functional endowment of the Infinite Spirit, possessing infinite potential and universal bestowal qualities. The primal thought of the Universal Father eternalizes in dual expression as the Isle of Paradise and the Eternal Son, and this duality necessitates the Infinite Spirit as the mind God. This infinite and universal mind manifests throughout the universes in a hierarchy extending from the primitive ministry of the adjutant spirits through the magnificent mind of chief universe executives, all adequately unified under the supervision of the Seven Master Spirits who coordinate with the Supreme Mind of time and space and correlate with the all-embracing mind of the Infinite Spirit.

Through the action of the cosmic mind, the conceptual gap between spirit and matter is bridged, making mind the essential intermediary in universe functioning. Without mind, creatures could not apprehend spiritual realities, nor could the diverse expressions of the Universal Father be unified into a coherent cosmic pattern. Mind provides the universal language and common ground where diverse entities—material, morontial, and spiritual—can interact and coordinate their activities in accordance with the divine purpose.

Just as universal mind gravity centers in the Paradise presence of the Infinite Spirit, the universal spirit gravity centers in the Paradise presence of the Eternal Son. Although the Universal Father is fundamentally one, he reveals himself to time-space beings in the dual phenomena of pure energy and pure spirit. Similarly, Paradise spirit realities are fundamentally unified, but manifest throughout time-space in multiple forms: the spirit personalities and emanations of the Eternal Son, the personalities and influences of the Infinite Spirit, and the Father's bestowal of Thought Adjusters and other prepersonal spirit entities.

Regardless of where in the universe one encounters spiritual phenomena or contacts spirit beings, one can know they all derive from the God who is spirit through the ministry of the Spirit Son and the Infinite Mind Spirit. This far-reaching spirit functions on evolutionary worlds through local universe headquarters, from which the Holy Spirit and Spirit of Truth, together with the adjutant mind-spirits, extend to the lower evolutionary levels of material minds. The spirit ministry achieves its most direct unification in the personalities of the Divine Ministers presiding over local universes, who correlate perfectly with the Paradise gravity circuit of the Eternal Son, wherein occurs the final unification of all time-space spirit manifestations.

Perfected creature existence can be attained, sustained, and eternalized through the fusion of self-conscious mind with a fragment of the pre-Trinity spirit endowment from one of the Paradise Trinity persons. The mortal mind, created by the Sons and Daughters of the Eternal Son and the Infinite Spirit, partakes of a threefold spirit endowment in evolutionary realms. When fused with the Thought Adjuster from the Father, these three spirit expressions become perfectly unified in finaliters, just as they were unified in eternity in the Universal I AM before he became the Universal Father of the Eternal Son and the Infinite Spirit.

The Universal Father exists as a divinely unified personality, and all ascendant children who reach Paradise through the rebound momentum of the Thought Adjusters will likewise achieve complete personality unification. Personality inherently seeks to unify all constituent realities, and the infinite personality of the First Source and Center, the Universal Father, unifies all seven constituent Absolutes of Infinity. The personality bestowed upon mortal beings comes exclusively and directly from the Universal Father and possesses the potential to unify the constituent factors of the mortal creature, reflecting both its high and exclusive source and its unbroken contact with that source through the personality circuit.

Despite the diverse manifestations of God from the domains of the Sevenfold through supremacy and ultimacy to God the Absolute, the personality circuit centered on Paradise provides complete unification of all these expressions of divine personality for every creature personality throughout intelligent existence. To personality, God cannot be plural; he is Father to each creature, and it is literally impossible for any child to have more than one father. While philosophically and with reference to differential levels of manifestation one may conceive of plural Deities and postulate multiple Trinities, in the personal worship experience of every personality throughout the master universe, God is one—the unified and personal Deity who functions as the Paradise parent, bestower, and Father of all personalities.

The unification achieved through personality represents a distinct and essential aspect of universal unity, different from the physical coordination, intellectual unity, and spiritual unification previously described. Personality unification operates through distinct circuits that emanate from the Father and maintain direct connection with him, ensuring that despite the vastness of creation and the complexity of divine manifestation, every personality throughout the universe is individually recognized, valued, and related to by the Universal Father as his child. This personal relationship transcends all concepts of partial or incomplete unity.

The oneness and indivisibility of Paradise Deity is existential and absolute in nature. While there exist three eternal personalizations of Deity—the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, and the Infinite Spirit—in the Paradise Trinity they function as one undivided and indivisible Deity. From the original Paradise-Havona level of existential reality, two subabsolute levels have differentiated, wherein the Father, Son, and Spirit have engaged in the creation of numerous personal associates and subordinates. While it would be inappropriate to consider absonite deity unification on transcendental levels of ultimacy in this context, it remains feasible to examine certain aspects of the unifying function of various Deity personalizations in which divinity is functionally manifest throughout different sectors of creation.

Divinity currently functions in the superuniverses through the operations of the Supreme Creators: the local universe Creator Sons and Spirits, the superuniverse Ancients of Days, and the Seven Master Spirits of Paradise. These beings constitute the first three levels of God the Sevenfold leading inward to the Universal Father, and this entire domain of God the Sevenfold coordinates on the first level of experiential deity in the evolving Supreme Being. A fundamental distinction exists between the nature of Deity unity in different cosmic locations: on Paradise and in the central universe, Deity unity exists as a fact of existence, while throughout the evolving universes of time and space, Deity unity represents an achievement that must be realized through experiential development.

The concept of Deity unity differs radically in meaning and application depending on whether one refers to existential Paradise Deity or to the emerging experiential Deities. Paradise Deity inherently possesses absolute unity that has always existed and requires no process of development or integration. In contrast, experiential Deity such as the Supreme Being and the Ultimate must achieve unity through the progressive integration of diverse experiences, values, and realities across time and space. This distinction highlights the dynamic and evolving nature of the universe as contrasted with the static perfection of Paradise.

When the three eternal persons of Deity function as undivided Deity in the Paradise Trinity, they achieve perfect unity, a quality also exhibited by their Paradise progeny. This divinity of purpose manifested by the Supreme Creators and Rulers in time-space domains produces a unifying power potential of experiential sovereignty that generates a reality tension, which can only be resolved through adequate unification with the experiential personality realities of experiential Deity. The evolutionary process thus creates a dynamic tension that drives toward greater unification of diverse elements of reality.

The personality realities of the Supreme Being, originating from the Paradise Deities, unite on the pilot world of the outer Havona circuit with the power prerogatives of the Almighty Supreme that emerge from the Creator divinities of the grand universe. The Supreme Being existed as a spiritual person in Havona before the creation of the seven superuniverses, but the evolution of the Almighty power of Supremacy through diverse divinity synthesis in the evolving universes produced a new power presence that coordinated with the Supreme's spiritual person through the Supreme Mind. This Mind simultaneously translated from potential in the infinite mind of the Infinite Spirit to the active functional mind of the Supreme Being, facilitating the integration of power and personality in experiential Deity.

Material-minded creatures of the evolutionary worlds can comprehend Deity unity only as it evolves through the power-personality synthesis of the Supreme Being. Mortal beings must evolve through the recognition of truth, the appreciation of beauty, and the worship of goodness to develop recognition of a God of love, and then progress through ascending deity levels to comprehend the Supreme. After grasping Deity as unified in power, creatures can then personalize this unity in spirit through understanding and attainment. While ascending mortals achieve power comprehension of the Almighty on the superuniverse capitals and personality comprehension of the Supreme on Havona's outer circuits, they have not actually found the Supreme Being—and will not until they attain seventh-stage-spirit status and until the Supreme becomes fully functional in the outer universes.

The steady progress of evolution in time-space universes produces ever-expanding revelations of Deity to all intelligent creatures. Each local enhancement of evolutionary progress signals corresponding expansions of deity function within progressive creation units, and these local enhancements produce repercussions extending to all other sectors of creation. Every new domain of realized and attained evolution constitutes a new and enlarged revelation of experiential Deity to the universe of universes, creating a ripple effect of divine manifestation that radiates throughout creation.

As the components of a local universe progressively settle in light and life, God the Sevenfold becomes increasingly manifest. The evolutionary process begins on a planet with the Creator Son-Creative Spirit association in control. As a system settles in light, this Son-Spirit liaison reaches its full functional capacity, and when an entire constellation achieves this settled state, the second phase of God the Sevenfold becomes more active throughout that realm. The completed administrative evolution of a local universe brings new and more direct ministrations from the superuniverse Master Spirits and initiates the ever-expanding revelation and realization of God the Supreme, culminating in the ascender's comprehension of the Supreme Being while traversing the sixth Havona circuit.

Ascending mortals may experience the impersonal presence of successive Deity levels long before they develop the spiritual capacity and educational preparation necessary for experiential personal recognition of and contact with these Deities. Each new evolutionary attainment within a creation sector, as well as every new invasion of space by divinity manifestations, coincides with simultaneous expansions of Deity functional-revelation within previously organized creation units. This new administrative work sometimes appears through advance groups of administrators preparing the way for subsequent eras of new administrative control, foreshadowing even the transcendental overcontrol of God the Ultimate during the later stages of a local universe settled in light and life.

The Supreme Being fulfills three essential functions in mortal experience: first, he unifies time-space divinity as God the Sevenfold; second, he represents the maximum of Deity that finite creatures can actually comprehend; and third, he provides mortals with the only avenue to approach the transcendental experience of consorting with absonite mind, eternal spirit, and Paradise personality. The Supreme thus serves as the crucial bridge between finite creatures and higher levels of reality, making possible the continuing progression of creature experience beyond the limitations of finite existence.

Finaliters, having been born in local universes, nurtured in superuniverses, and trained in the central universe, embody in their personal experiences the full potential for comprehending time-space divinity as God the Sevenfold unifies in the Supreme. Through successive service in superuniverses other than their birth universes, finaliters superimpose experience upon experience until they encompass the full sevenfold diversity of possible creature experience. While the indwelling Adjusters enable finaliters to find the Universal Father, it is through these experiential techniques that finaliters truly come to know the Supreme Being. They are destined for service and revelation of this Supreme Deity in future universes of outer space, fulfilling a cosmic role that transcends their original finite limitations.

All that the Universal Father and his Paradise Sons do for us creates an opportunity for us to reciprocate by doing for and in the emerging Supreme Being. The experience of love, joy, and service in the universe is fundamentally mutual rather than unidirectional. While God does not require his sons to return all he bestows upon them, they may bestow all this upon their fellows and upon the evolving Supreme Being. All creation reflects antecedent creator-spirit activities, and as Jesus stated, "The Son does only those things which he sees the Father do." Mortals begin the revelation of the Supreme to their fellows and increasingly augment this revelation as they ascend toward Paradise, potentially making increasing revelations of this God on supreme and even ultimate levels as seventh-stage finaliters.

The Unqualified Absolute and the Deity Absolute achieve unification in the Universal Absolute. These three Absolutes are coordinated in the Ultimate, conditioned in the Supreme, and time-space modified in God the Sevenfold. On subinfinite levels, three Absolutes exist distinctly, but in infinity, they appear as one. Similarly, on Paradise, there are three personalizations of Deity, but in the Trinity, they function as a singular entity. This pattern of unity amid diversity pervades all levels of cosmic reality, reflecting the fundamental principle of unity that emanates from the Universal Father.

The master universe presents a primary philosophical proposition: Did the Absolute (the three Absolutes as one in infinity) exist before the Trinity, or is the Trinity antecedent to the Absolute? While the concept of the Absolute as ancestor to all things initially offers a satisfying philosophical unification, this conclusion is invalidated by the eternal nature of the Paradise Trinity. This recognition leads to the consistent philosophical conclusion that the Absolute represents the impersonal and coordinated reaction of the Trinity to all basic and primary space situations. For all personality intelligences in the grand universe, the Paradise Trinity eternally stands in finality, eternity, supremacy, and ultimacy—and for all practical purposes of personal comprehension, functions as absolute.

When creature minds seek a personal concept of the otherwise impersonal Absolute, they revert to the Universal Father as the existential Father of absolute personality. While the Eternal Son embodies the Absolute Person, he does not represent the personalization of the Absolute in an experiential sense. Spiritual personality achieves absolute status only on Paradise, and the concept of the Absolute remains unqualified only in infinity. Deity presence is absolute only on Paradise, and the revelation of God must remain partial, relative, and progressive until his power becomes experientially infinite in the Unqualified Absolute's space potency and his personality manifestation becomes experientially infinite in the Deity Absolute's manifest presence—with these two potentials of infinity becoming reality-unified in the Universal Absolute.

As worlds settled in light and life progress from the initial stage to the seventh epoch, they sequentially grasp the reality of God the Sevenfold, from adoration of the Creator Son to worship of the Paradise Father. Throughout the seventh stage, ever-progressing mortals deepen their knowledge of God the Supreme while beginning to discern the reality of God the Ultimate's overshadowing ministry. During this glorious age, advanced mortals primarily pursue a better understanding and fuller realization of the comprehensible elements of Deity—truth, beauty, and goodness—representing humanity's effort to discern God in mind, matter, and spirit.

Philosophy is somewhat graspable through intellectual engagement, while divinity is comprehended through worship, social service, and personal spiritual experience. However, the pursuit of beauty, cosmology, is too often limited to studying crude artistic endeavors rather than recognizing that beauty fundamentally involves the unification of contrasts. The supreme beauty, representing the pinnacle of finite art, manifests in the drama of unifying Creator and creature, when man finds God and God finds man, achieving the supernal beauty that comes from unifying the cosmic extremes. Truth forms the basis of science and philosophy, providing the intellectual foundation for religion. Beauty sponsors art, music, and meaningful rhythms of human experience. Goodness embraces ethics, morality, and religion—the experiential perfection-hunger of the soul.

These meaningful reality values of divinity blend in the Father's relationship with each personal creature as divine love. They are coordinated in the Son and his Sons as divine mercy and manifest through the Spirit and his spirit children as divine ministry. In the Supreme Being, these values are primarily expressed as power-personality synthesis, while God the Sevenfold manifests them in seven different associations of divine meanings and values across seven ascending levels. For finite humans, truth, beauty, and goodness encompass the full revelation of divinity reality. As this love-comprehension of Deity finds spiritual expression in the lives of God-knowing mortals, it yields the fruits of divinity: intellectual peace, social progress, moral satisfaction, spiritual joy, and cosmic wisdom. Advanced mortals on worlds in the seventh stage of light and life have discovered the supreme truth that love is the greatest thing in the universe—because God is love.