Does Monism lend itself to Universalism?

A popular critique against monism (though it does nothing to rebuke it) is that monism lends itself to several kinds of universalism, chiefly religious and socio-political universalism. It’s no secret that a great many people resent the foremost universalist religions on the world stage — Christianity and Islam, both of which are rooted in Abraham and are fundamentally universalist, which surely lends itself to both religious imperialism and their widespread adoption because of their universalist appeal.

Left wingers will largely have problems with the former, right wingers the latter — left disposed people would probably like the widespread appeal of a system, as you can see in virtually all left wing paganism and spirituality, there is emphasis on unity and universality — whereas with right wing paganism there is emphasis on identity and particularity. Historically, pagans would’ve seen their Gods as universal powers, they of course would claim their exclusive descendency therefrom — but they certainly wouldn’t see their Gods power as unreal beyond the confines of their own tribe. Moreover, they would certainly jump on the chance to assimilate their neighbors, with Rome this is obvious but its also true for the Germans. It goes without saying however that their own identity is always primary, and it is admitted that paganism is even theologically tribal.

There is something to each, unfortunately it’s not as simple as one or both positions being utterly wrong, in the spirit of Hegel we will sublate the two to reach a synthesis, discarding all that is wrong to reach the underlying truth.

Reality itself is necessarily universal, there are no two inherently contradictory realities that coexist. Nor are there even multiple contradicting rule sets by which reality operates, reality never contradicts itself — reality is a universal system. The only way different things could ever experience relation is if there was an underlying relational medium allowing for such a relation to take place. As soon as you juxtapose one principle against another you create a relation which presupposes a relational principle underlying both. [See CTMU and Syndiffeonesis]

And yet, there indeed exist particulars, there exists difference in this underlying sameness — if there were no reason for this present in the underlying nature of reality then even apparent differences wouldn’t exist, and calling it an illusion would only push the question back. There MUST be an intrinsic explanation for particulars and difference in this universal system that amounts to something real.

We are are therefore left with a self-particularizing and self-defining (definition is what defines one thing against another, creating differentiation) universal system. If that universal system is a unitary one, and it must be if its indeed universal — then we can suggest that this self-particularization is a kind of self-reproduction, which reproduces unitary systems unto themselves — or souls, at increasingly particular scales. [See Monadology]

Those systems contained within the universal system could be defined differently according to the motion of the universal principle in its reproduction (its own operation of self-definition): it could create varied internal conditions, hence the varied conditions of souls — none of which contradicting the necessary, essential nature of that universal system and in fact reflecting its necessary nature — varing only in condition, but not in principle.

Therefore you need not concede identity, difference nor definition in even the immaterial conditions of souls (which is necessary for the same things to exist materially). These things are explicable in a monistic metaphysic without defaulting to the negative implications of universalism, such as the socio-political or racial connotations, or even religious.

Here are a few examples of universalist religions that have a strong ethnic emphasis: Judaism; Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) — which maintains an Absolute reality principle, Brahman; and Druze, very interesting Levantine faith that is entirely ethnic and largely inspired by Platonism.