Every God is Good

Whatever happens in our lives, the Gods care about us, and the universe is the most beautiful and blessed Goddess, a temple and a hymn to all that is.

“Chance led Proclus to hear first Syrianus, son of Philoxenus, at whose lecture was present Lachares, who was profoundly versed in the doctrines of the philosophers, and at that time was an assiduous auditor of the philosopher, although his art in sophistry excited as much admiration as Homer’s in poetry. It happened to be late dusk, and the sun was setting during their conversation, and the moon, quitting her conjunction with the sun, began to appear. So as to be able to adore the goddess alone and leisurely, they tried to dismiss the youth who to them was a stranger. But, after having taken but a few steps from the house Proclus, — he also seeing the moon leaving her celestial house — stopped in his tracks, undid his shoes, and in plain sight of them adored the goddess. Struck by the free and bold action of the youth, Lachares then said to Syrianus this admirable expression of Plato’s about geniuses: “Here is a man who will be a great good, or its contrary!” Such are the presages, — to mention only a few of them — that the gods sent to our philosopher just as he arrived in Athens.”

All things that exist are offspring of the gods, are brought into existence without intermediation by them and have their foundation in them. For not only does the continuous procession of entities reach completion, as each of them successively obtains its subsistence from its proximate causes, but it is also from the very gods themselves that all things in a sense are generated, even if they are described as being at the furthest remove from the gods, [indeed] even if you were to speak of matter (hulê) itself. For the divine does not stand aloof from anything, but is present for all things alike.

For this reason, even if you take the lowest levels [of reality], there too you will find the divine present. The One is in fact everywhere present, inasmuch as each of the beings derives its existence from the gods, and even though they proceed forth from the gods, they have not gone out from them but rather are rooted in them. Where, indeed, could they ‘go out’, when the gods have embraced all things and taken hold of them in advance and still retain them in themselves?

For what is beyond the gods is that which is in no way existent, but all beings have been embraced in a circle by the gods and exist in them. In a wonderful way, therefore, all things both have and have not proceeded forth. They have not been cut off from the gods. If they had been cut off, they would not even exist, because all the offspring, once they were wrenched away from their fathers, would immediately hasten towards the gaping void of non-being. In fact they are somehow established in them [the gods], and, to put the matter in a nutshell, they have proceeded of their own accord, but [at the same time] they remain in the gods.

Background image is a microphone. Text reads, “In each of us, there lives the ambition of an Alcibiades, which we must discipline and train for something better.” Anonymous Prolegomena to Platonic Philosophy, ϴ' 23.23-25.

Proclus, On the Timaeus of Plato, Book 5, 324.5-24

This very topic should be investigated from the very beginning, asking why it is that the soul comes down into bodies. It is because it wants to imitate the providential care of the Gods, and it enters into generation on this account, abandoning contemplation.

For, given that divine perfection is of two kinds, the one intellective, and the other providential, the former involving rest and the latter motion, their static, intellective, and undeviating nature is reflected through the soul's contemplation, while their providential and motive power is reflected in its generation-working life.

And just as this intellection is particular, so too their providential care is particular, and as an individual soul it occupies itself with an individual body. Furthermore it is contributing to the perfection of the cosmos.

For there must not only be immortal and intellective animals, as there are among the Gods, nor only mortal and non-rational ones of the same kind as the last animals in the creation process, but also all the animals between these, ones that are not at all immortal but are able to partake of reason and intellection.

We know the Gods intrinsically.

Why worship Gods?

Platonists are fond of saying that the world is full of Gods, quoting from a pre-Socratic philosopher named Thales. Platonists like Proclus add that everything prays, each in its own way, just by nature of being what it is — like a sunflower following the sun. So, if every life form in the universe is already praying, why do anything extra?

Souls on a Journey

Each of us is a rational soul — not in the sense of Vulcans on Star Trek, though, as “rational” here is a jargon term describing having conscious, deliberative awareness. In Platonism, we are at the “lower” extremity of divinity, and part of how we express what we are is by incarnating in cycles.

… Drawn Down Here

We spend part of our incarnation cycles in close contact with the Gods, and part down here — we are each lured by the material world in a unique way based on our nature, as each of us is a soul in the “series” of a specific God, and we each inherent intrinsic attributes from them.

The Power of Awareness

Each of us could, in any incarnation, choose to wing it and go with the flow. Prayer, however, keeps our awareness anchored in our close, foundational contact with divinity. Physical tools we might use in prayer — statues, incense, chants, &c. — support cultivating awareness/connection when used wisely.

… Especially During Tumult

This is true regardless of how large and numerous the challenges we face are. Prayer, and the spiritual impact of connecting with Gods, keeps us rooted. Prayer builds our resilience and invites us us contextualize this specific life — both the good and the rough times. It keeps us in contact with virtue and a growth mindset.

Above All, Gratitude