Critical Analysis of Mysticism and the concept of oneness with god Essay

Critical Analysis of Mysticism and the concept of oneness with god - Essay Example According to W.T. Stace 'The mystical event is a personal experience during which one feels as though one has been touched by some higher or greater truth or power.' "The most important, the central characteristic in which all fully developed mystical experiences agree, and which in the last analysis is definitive of them and serves to mark them off from other kinds of experiences, is that they involve the apprehension of an ultimate nonsensuous unity in all things, a oneness or a One to which neither the senses nor the reason can penetrate. In other words, it entirely transcends our sensory-intellectual consciousness. It should be carefully noted that only fully developed mystical experiences are necessarily apprehensive of the One. Many experiences have been recorded which lack this central feature but yet possess other mystical characteristics. These are borderline cases, which may be said to shade off from the central core of cases. They have to the central core the relation which some philosophers like to call "family resemblance. (pp.14-15)" 1. Even among monotheistic religions-(belief in one God) - there are differences between God's relationship to his Creation. Religions like Islam feel he is above his creation and the Jewish tradition feels he is both, within and above it. 'On the face of it, the characteristics of transcendence and immanence appear to be in conflict. A transcendent God is one who is beyond perception, independent of the universe, and wholly "other" when compared to us. An immanent God, is one which exists - within us, within the universe - and, hence, very much a part of our existence. How can these qualities exist simultaneously'The best example of an immanent God is found in the Hindu religion in the Bagvad Gita in which the God Krishna declares, "He who sees me in all things and in all things sees me, where ever that man may be, I never leave him and he lives in me."2. In other words, an immanent God is found wherever one seeks Him. The idea of a transcendent unknowable God has roots in Zoroastrianism which in turn affected Judaism and Islam. The Old Testament prohibits idols in an attempt to emphasize the 'otherness' of God which cannot be physically depicted.The fundamental concept in Islam is the Oneness of God. Islamic 'tawhd'- monotheism, is not relative or pluralistic it is absolute. This Oneness of God is the first of Islam's five pillars. This is why it is known as the 'uncompromising monotheism of Islam' since it does not allow any pictorial references of 'Allah' in a mosque. Timeless, 'Allah' is unchangeable and outside time and space. He is therefore unknowable in the mystic sense. Islam believes that God is so far above his creation that man can never begin to know him. The word Muslim literally means 'one who has surrendered to God' through blind worship and obedience. In the Kabbalistic theory of creation God 'contracted' his infinite essence to create a 'conceptual space' in which a restricted world could exist. In Jewish mysticism, the concept of 'Tzimtzum' contains a built-in paradox, as it requires that God be transcendent and immanent at the same time. The Judaic God took part in

Financial Futures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Financial Futures - Essay Example And, the carry cost is the amount of interest expense paid by the investor to hold on to the commodity purchased in the futures market until the maturity of the futures contract. Many bold and daring investors would enter into an arbitrage transaction where they would invest in shares of stocks in a corporation with the hope that the company will merge or consolidate with another company in the same line of business (Bjrk 2004, 1). The following paragraphs will explain in detail how commodity futures work. Most investors would enter into a cash and carry arbitrage contract. Their main reason would be to invest in two securities that are differently priced in the market with respect to each other. Eventually, the prices of both commodities will correct itself by either increasing or decreasing per commodity. For, a correction of prices would cause a profit on one commodity and a loss on the other commodity. Equitably, both commodities will zero out thereby future losses can be avoided or diminished to a great extend. The commodities include gold, silver, coffee, sugar, oil, U.S. dollar currency, European dollar currency, Japanese Yen, French Franc, and other currencies. Also, "For as long as national currencies are in operation, and are used in day-to-day foreign trade, the demand and supply for those currencies will be affected by the size of exports and imports in those currencies" (Scobie, Buckley, and Fox 1998, 8) Further, the arbitrage investor would profit from his investments if he invests in a security and in the futures contracts. The investor would then profit if the amount he put in the commodity plus the added cost of carrying is less than the futures prices. One definite advantage of the commodities futures market is that the investors can sell a commodity like the European dollar today and then buy the same commodity, European dollar, three days from today. This is not possible in the real world outside the commodities market. A person cannot sell a product that he or she does not own. For this would entail personnel turning over to the buyer the car, house, shirt, or computer game the moment when he or she pays for the items bought (Blake 2000, 231). In terms of oil, "The oil industry, more than other energy sectors, is global in its character and operations. The geographical concentration of reserves and the vital role of oil in modern society has made it the principal commodity in international trade (Haugland, Bergesen, and Roland 1998, 54) " Also, the current pricing of Eurodollar futures and US dollar Foreign Rate Agreements (FRA) high frequency data shows that arbitrage opportunities are linked to the presence of stale FRA quotes and the oscillatory behavior of FRA quotes. And, Inter -market information flows are found to be of much shorter duration than previously reported with the futures market playing the dominant role in the information transmission process in the shorter -dated maturities. Many companies invest in short term interest rate futures and forward rate agreements for