connectedness of the self

Creation is the term used for the "beginning" of the world and life in it. There are many creation stories or accounts that help explain in some way why things are the way that they are and how they came to be. These accounts are for people. Creation narratives are very important b/c they signify how a person thinks or feels about the very nature of the world and those in it. For example in the creation account told by the early upinsads there is a God like figure that separates himself and makes a female. He then procreates with her. AFter she has considered the oddity that her husband is also her father she flees from him and disguises herself as a cow. The god is not fooled and transforms himself also, into a cow and procreates again. This continues until the earth is populated by all types of creatures. This account makes for a very messy creation narrative. It lacks intentional creation and purpose. It represents a type of humanity that is corrupted from the very beginning with the very birth of woman and all animals being a product of rape and incest. It is very different from the creation narrative we find in the Hebrew Bible. Genesis talks of an all powerful God that intentionally creates a human being and all of the animals and plants of the earth. This creation narrative suggests a purposeful creation and population of the world rather than an accidental. It also begins much less violently (without rape and incest). This could be conducive to a less chaotic world view. Yet, even in that thought, one must consider that he early upinsad tradition taught of the brahman and the atman, and the connectedness of the world and its creatures. By explaining that all animals and humans came from the same mother and father, it proclaims a more united creation. Alongside this unitedness comes the denial of the existance of self (atman). This is a very complicated thought that i'm not going to be able to completely explain (because I only understand it as much as my introductory course in buddhism will allow and because this blog is going to be long enough as it is). In this light, "self" is not viewed in the modern western sense. It does not refer to a person. Though it is difficult to separate the image that we see in the mirror from the idea of self, upinsad texts suggest otherwise. The self described in these texts is not an individual thing, but rather, a universal self that is in everyone. The text discusses the idea of Brahman, whoever believes that they are brahman also, like the original brahman becomes the brahman or the whole. therefore, the text is not teaching a person how to be selfless ( in a more literal sense of the word) , but rather, how to connect to the greater "self" or "whole".
Christian ideas of the self include dying to ones' self, the self eists but it is not something we are to grow or expand on necessarily. It is, in a sense, to be killed off and filled with God/ Christ. "Less of me, more of you". Buddhist ideas of self include not having a self. IT simply does not exist. There is one collective self. Americanist/ western thoughts of self include banking in on your own self. It is your most valuable tool. Be yourself. Every man for himself. Perhaps we should encourage less, the maintenance of the self and rather focus on the characteristics of Christ. IN this we are losing ourselvse and becoming part of a body, part of our Christian version of collective self. But what of individualism> What of the things God put in just us? Maybe they are unique in order to create on greater and perfect self in Christ's body, all of our attributes coming together to create one perfect self.