How would I define Nature? To me, Nature is an impersonal order. An order that is infinitely intelligent, harmonizing and easing everything from the minutest level to the macro level. Everything in existence, whether animate or inanimate is found this order, arising in silence, unseen in every process. The arising of tangible objects are the result of Nature and yet Nature is intangible, unseen.
The same too can be mentioned about the Mind. You know it exist and yet you can’t put a finger on it. It is an order that governs experiences like hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing, touching, feeling, thinking, remembering etc.
Why do I perceive Nature as impersonal? Anything that is personal, has a mask (Latin). Why does nature need to put on a mask? Nature has no need to defense or attack. Nature is everything. Formless and infinite, it simply eases itself in total harmony and grace.
It is difficult for the mind to comprehend intelligence as an impersonal state and thus labels like Higher Being or even God come into being. And it is a cause of misunderstanding. Both connotation implies a force higher than me. The word higher already gives it a meaning of form, which already implies a limit. Anything that has a form, be it seen or unseen is limiting. Then you may say it is formless? Formless is a kind of form too except that it is not fix.
The mind can’t understand something that is beyond its capacity to understand. To put a label to it is to force the mind to conceptualize what it can’t understand, thus your God and my God is different – for I only conceptualize what I can only conceptualize. It is of no wonder the world is at war, for what I perceived is totally different from what you perceived, not to mention the word God. My perception is conditioned by what I experienced in life and your perception is conditioned by what you experienced in life. My present perception will change through time when new conditioning sets in – thus my God changes too! How absurd when I hold steadfast to my meaning or views. To say I know God is simply meaningless. How can personal grasp what is impersonal except in the space of impersonal?
I can’t escape from my own perception and thus I have to admit I can’t understand what is God, not to mentioned to know what it is. Unless and until perception is transcended, when “I” gets out of the way, the meaning of anything, everything, is meaningless.
In the voidness of everything, including I, me, mine, you – everything – godliness is understood.