In the era of Facebook, Zoom and Twitter, we are inundated by faces, faces of all kinds from immediately recognizable, celebrity faces to the faces of complete strangers. Two dimensional faces appear on the surface of our screens, faces made and manipulated, CGI constructed faces designed to look seductive or scary. On social media we encounter 10,000 faces that hold the promise to satisfy our longing to witness and be witnessed.
Unveiling the Faceless Source
But the very source that sustains everything is faceless. When Moses takes to the desert and goes one on one with God, God remains concealed, hidden. The most that Moses ever sees is the back side of God. The true face of the source remains elusive. In the Mandukya Upanishad the great soul is described as “invisible, unthinkable and ungraspable”. The very fact that the source keeps cover, never to be seen in broad daylight, moves us to explore its persona in dreams, visions, in theatre, and through spontaneous visitations.
The true face of God can only be seen with the inner eye. Too many only go skin deep, judging others by the color, age and sex of the surface visage. Celebrate the difference of the many faces. And with true humility, trust in the presence of that which cannot be seen with the naked eye.
