Perfection and Imperfection

About these two terms much could be said. But I only want to touch a few aspects. Perfection means total balance, perfect harmony and often simply a state of peace, of static order. Imperfection means imbalance, in main action, movement. It is a dynamic state. Imbalance, disorder or imperfection always has this longing for perfection. Imperfection means that something is missing. The necessary part, energy, quality or power is missing for the state of perfection. So imperfection means also deficiency and perfection means abundance or being complete.

When we talk about these terms then we come directly to the term of polarity as we have to ask “What is not in balance? Or what is needed to achieve balance, perfection?” Balance or perfection starts with number two as the one in itself is already perfect. When we have the polarity of two opposite forces then we can find them in harmony, – perfection or in disharmony, – imperfection. The question of balance gets an even deeper meaning on the level of number four, – the four elements or the fourfold polarity.

When we examine God and creation, then we can say that God respectively the fifth element is one, perfect, static while creation is the opposite pole, – dynamic, in movement, in imbalance, always in a balancing process. It is the mystery of Shiva and Shakti in the human being but also in general in the macrocosm. It is number two.

Everything and every being in creation is permanently in a process towards a higher level of harmony, perfection while the process itself means disharmony or imperfection.

Imagine you go up the stairs. As long as you stand with both feet on one step you rest in a state of perfection, harmony. But there is the drive in you to upwards on the next step. In this movement you are not in balance but in action, in a state of dynamic balancing which ends when you have landed with both feet on the second step, on the level of a higher harmony. So indeed we have to leave one state of harmony or perfection to get to a higher state of harmony and during this process we are in imbalance.

This time of imbalance can feel like chaos. It is a time of reorganization. It is indeed an adventure in an unknown area outside of our comfort zone where we normally feel at home.

Besides these thoughts I want to point at a different aspect which might be even more fascinating.

Most people think – if at all – only in the frame of one polarity. Indeed when we examine a phenomenon then we have often a double fourfold polarity or even more complex settings.

So we have the polarity of the spirit, God world of abundance and perfection and matter, the material world, the world of deficiency and imperfection. The spiritual development of the human soul starts from the world of deficiency towards God, towards perfection, balance and abundance.

This path of development shows itself in the human nature. On a lower level the human being is focused on the so-called ego with all its desires, passions, addictions and illusions, – the state of imperfection. The ego wants it all and now and without any respect towards laws of nature or his fellow beings.

During his spiritual development the human being refines itself and gets more and more into balance in itself and with creation. On the refined level the human being understands itself as a part of the greater unity and it asks only for the things which are reasonable, lawful, right. The wisdom of the heart is talking now instead of the ego.

When we examine now the principles of polarity in creation then we can see that there is one neutral polarity which simply says that there are forces which create while there are other forces which destroy.

But there is also a second polarity. There are the forces of perfection, – the divine nature and the forces of imperfection, – the selfish nature.

Indeed we have a double polarity in creation. We can create and destroy things when we are selfish as well as when we are divine. The difference is the intention, the quality. Equal what you do as a refined soul, – you do it in the name of wisdom, regarding the laws. And equal what you do as a selfish person on a lower level you do it for yourself without thinking about the effects.

Corresponding with this we can also differentiate the positive and the negative hierarchy into forces of perfection and forces of imperfection which might be more useful than the idea of good and bad.

This fits also to the symbolism of so-called angels and demons. Demons represent the animalistic, selfish human nature while the angels represent the divine beauty and harmony.

Corresponding with this, refined, noble masters work with angels while selfish persons prefer demons to satisfy their selfish desires. This is quite simple.

When we think now about certain beings or spirits of nature like Pan or Enkidu and others then we see the symbolism of the animal nature and with this of the natural desires and qualities. These aspects of the animal nature in the human being are not “bad” but they are the lower aspect in comparison to the higher aspect of the hidden divine nature. We can see here the “fight” between lower and higher aspects, – the polarity in the human nature.

The human being itself, but also society and religion always tried to keep control over this animal-ego side of humans as it causes a lot of trouble. And so it was marked as “bad” or “evil”.

On the spiritual path we grow beyond our animal nature and our ego towards our divine nature. From imperfection to perfection.

It is useful to understand these things.