Holy grail paradox

The Holy Grail Paradox. The Holy Grail has been identified as a symbol of receptiveness to truth, or to God. In Alex Caldon's book [Caldon, Alex (January 2008), "The Quest For Truth; On Finding the Grail", Easterly Press, ISBN 978-0-9557401-0-7] the lost spirituality of the Holy Grail is that of Pantheism, that is it represents the belief that the universe and God are one and the same thing. Caldon ignores interpretations of the Grail as a relic and instead examines what he terms the "Spiritual Themes of the Holy Grail" as recorded in the Grail Romances. Two of these themes - firstly that the Grail provides cummunion with God, and secondly that the Grail provides the path to enlightenment are interpreted as having the same meaning when God and the universe are viewed as the same thing. The Grail therefore is a symbol of receptiveness to that truth, be it the truth of God, or the truth of the universe; the Grail is a receptacle, and truth is represented as the liquid which flows into and out of the Grail. Caldon identifies that humanity needs to receive the universe's / God's truth to grow spiritually, or mentally. However, although this symbol of receptiveness to truth is the interpretation, it is impossible to give the interpretation to another person, since they must already be receptive in order to receive it. This then is the Holy Grail Paradox - that receptiveness cannot be given. Caldon determines that receptiveness to truth is a spiritual or mental discipline which one has to choose for oneself, and is akin to the more common religious notion of free will.

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