Ain Soph

From The SpiritWiki

Ain Sof is a Kabbalistic term syncretic with Differentiated Consciousness.

Syncretic Terms

Differentiated Consciousness > Ain Soph

Related LP Terms

Ain Soph Aur >

Non-LP Related Terms

Ain Soph Aur > Ain, Ain Soph, Ain Soph Aur

Endogenous to the LP

Kabbalah >

Non-LP Related Terms

Kabbalah > Age of Redemption, Ain Soph, Ain Soph Aur, Breaking of the Vessels, Descent to the Chariot, Messiah, Mitzvah, Nejuda Reshima, Sefirot, Shekhinah, The Correction, The Withdrawal, Tikkun, Treatise on the Emanations on the Left

Notes

Ain (or Ayin); The Fabric of Consciousness in its original state of Undifferentiated Consciousness = a state of "I"-less/ego-less bliss.
Ain Soph → The Fabric of Consciousness as it existed after the initial Intensification of Consciousness and the consequent self-realization of I, but before the initiation of emanation. Once a monad existed in The Fabric, Consciousness became differentiated.
Ain Soph Aur → The Fabric of Consciousness as it exists during the perpetual and eternal emanation/unfolding of Physical Creation. Emanating Consciousness


"The term “ein sof” itself does not carry any particular meaning. It is a negative phrase that could be replaced by any other negative one: “no beginning” or “eternal” could be used in its stead, as well as any other designation of divine infinity. Unlike the appellations of the sefirot, the ein sof is not represented by any anthropomorphic or ethical phrase."[1]

In the Zohar:

"Before He gave any shape to the world, before He produced any form, He was alone, without form and without resemblance to anything else. Who then can comprehend how He was before the Creation? Hence it is forbidden to lend Him any form or similitude, or even to call Him by His sacred name, or to indicate Him by a single letter or a single point... But after He created the form of the Heavenly Man, He used him as a chariot wherein to descend, and He wishes to be called after His form, which is the sacred name "YHWH".[2]

Theosophy: "Ain-Soph" -> "the endless, or boundless, in and with Nature, the non-existence which IS, but is not a Being."[3]

Related LP Courses


Footnotes

  1. Dan, Joseph. Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. (Kindle Locations 608-610)
  2. Zohar, part ii., section "Bo", 42b
  3. Blavatsky, H. P. The Key to Theosophy: A Clear Exposition Based on the Wisdom Religion of All Ages. Theosophical University Press, 1889.