The creation of the universe

In the beginning there was nothing but God. Silent perfection. Complete darkness. Total stillness.

God then chose to create manifestation. This manifestation is not separate from God, but is God “wrapped up,” as it were, in the form of manifestation – while God also continues to exist above manifestation at the same time. Everything in manifestation is a part of God, and its essence is God. This essence is, however, covered up, as it were, by the limitations of manifestation.

The great “out-breathing of creation,” as it is sometimes termed, is the stage when God is “wrapped up” in an ever more limited form. This is termed “involution.” This is the stage when we drift further and further away from Divine perfection.

The great “in-breathing of creation,” conversely, is the stage when God is, as it were, “unwrapped,” becoming ever less limited. This is when we come ever closer to our original Divine nature. The in-breathing of creation is also referred to as “spiritual evolution,” and is the purpose of all true religion, and of all genuine spiritual practices.

Through evolution, as it says in The Twelve Blessings, we return “to the Godhead – as Conscious Gods.” Although we are all God all the time, we are not fully conscious of this fact, even if we believe it. It is by becoming conscious of it, that the spark of God within us shines ever more brightly through us. This consciousness is gained by learning the karmic lessons given to us through experience.

This simple explanation encapsulates a vast all-encompassing truth – and the full ramifications of this truth are complex and far-reaching. The reason why God chose to create manifestation is unknown – and unknowable, even in the deepest states of meditation – to any Earth person. However, in The Nine Freedoms we are told that when we have freed ourselves from the wheel of rebirth of this planet, and experience the life-cycle of a more advanced planet, we will indeed begin to realize this great “why.”

Below is a more technical explanation of the creation of the universe, as given by Dr. King in The Nine Freedoms (p.39-40):

In the beginning there was only potential. Then for some reason known only to The Absolute Itself [i.e. God], this original potential was brought into and bound within manifestation. The forces used to bring this about could only be referred to as Divine Will, Divine Mind, Motion and Sound. All that we can see, all that we can ever know about, was brought into being within this framework of pure Divine Law. The Absolute saw fit to:

1. Create the original potential, and
2. Introduce those forces into this potential which were designed to bring it into manifestation.

After taking these first two steps, the Absolute then took the third step which resulted in a preservation of manifestation. The great energy of Preservation is known as Love.