Alone…but not Lonely
“The most terrible loneliness is not the kind that comes from being alone, but the kind that comes from being misunderstood. It is the loneliness of standing in a crowded room, surrounded by people who do not see you, who do not hear you, who do not know the true essence of who you are. And in that loneliness, you feel as though you are fading, disappearing into the background, until you are nothing more than a ghost, a shadow of your former self.”
— George Orwell, 1984
Followers of George Orwell and his prophetic “1984” might see a sad connection between his feelings and those of Cassandra–the ancient Trojan priestess who was doomed to foretell the future, only to be ignored. Still, from a spiritual perspective, maybe, in the darkness of such loneliness, it is possible to take comfort that, despite whatever anyone else may say–some of whom may have been considered close and caring–there is a Presence that sees and understands…empathizes, even. Who knows. Maybe that Presence can even take human form in certain circumstances with certain people. That could be the case of the Prophets or Jesus or the Buddha…and is a basic premise Krishna and all the various deities in Hinduism. If so, in this image, it is not that the individual is alone. Rather, the two are keeping each other company.
Hinduism reflects the multiple aspects of the one divine force. It, too, can be seen as monotheistic.
Correct. People tend to think of Hinduism as a form of idolatry, but I don’t know that it is any different from, say, the belief in angels or even demons in Western religious traditions.