Theme 5 - Developing a Mystical Consciousness

‘Only The Mystics Will Survive ‘

Theme  5     Responses to Question Part One   -

                     Developing a Mystical Consciousness

Facing the Questions

“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart.

Try to love the questions themselves,

like locked rooms and like
books written in a foreign language.

Do not now look for the answers.

They cannot now be given to you
because you could not live them.

It is a question of experiencing everything.

At present you need to live the question.

Perhaps you will gradually,

without even noticing it,

find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day.”
                                            ― Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Pre-Amble     Asking questions is a natural and important part of being human. Questions are often fuelled by our desire to explore, to understand and to gain knowledge. When we were children we learned a lot from asking questions. Any of us who have any experience of either raising and/or teaching children will know how they incessantly ask questions. They also ask a lot of WHY questions. Little do they realise that it is the Why   questions that are so often difficult to answer.

Only as we grow and mature do we begin to realise that definitive answers to difficult questions are rarely simple, straightforward or constant. Science and Technology can, and increasingly are, providing answers to the Who, What, Where, When , Which and How questions. However, many of the Why questions provide us with more challenge and mystery. Traditionally, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality have attempted, albeit with great hesitancy, to address the Why questions. Very often their tentative responses reveal the paradox of mystery and the Ultimate Mystery.

All the above reveals the wisdom of the poet Rilke’s quote that opened this reflection. Also, on the Spiritual Journey, which is a journey into the heart of awareness, a journey ultimately into our very soul and source, we are very often like children asking Why ? !  This leads me to the next quote from  CS Lewis, which I hope some readers will find comforting and re-assuring.

“When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather special sort of 'No answer.' It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waiving the question. Like, 'Peace, child; you don't understand.”
― C.S. Lewis

So this brings me to the wisdom, not only of Rilke and Lewis but also of Ishpriya, when, opening these sessions she reminded listeners that she could not provide answers’  but merely some ‘responses’.

In this  conference talk, Ishpriya responded to a series of questions from the audience. This is the first of 2 sessions  with responses to questions. In this the first session she ‘tackles’  several main themes. Initially she addresses questions on ‘What it is we mean by survival ,( a question implied in the Title of the Conference ‘ Only the Mystics Will Survive )

‘I can only give a response to questions and not an answer’

Sister Ishpriya

What Do you  mean by Survival?    Her response  addresses this question   on several levels. The first level is that  the physical survival of mankind and the planet. The 2^nd level is about the  psychological survival and the third,  and ultimately  the most important, is the survival of our awareness  of our responsibility for  spiritual survival. She reminded us that Creation has been unfolding for almost 15 billion years. This is vastly longer than the minute time span which encompasses the arrival of humanity. Addressing the first two levels , those of the body-psyche; Ishpriya  talked about the challenges facing humanity.

One World

 As a species, a human family, we are being severely challenged. This is because of the growth in  knowledge about  the perilous state of our planet and the amazing and remarkable story of our species- homo sapiens-sapiens. This growing understanding denies us the ‘luxury’ of feeling totally helpless and unable to do anything.

Certainly, in the vastness of the Cosmos and the remarkable diversity of our planet – Mother Earth-   we are small but not  we are not insignificant beings. We have the amazing gift and ability of self-reflection. This demands that we reflect  seriously our co-responsibility for the on-going evolution of creation, our planet and the Cosmos. We now have the technology and capacity to influence who or what survives.  Therefore, every individual has  some responsibility and we cannot opt out of this responsibility with an immature attitude that we can ‘just leave it to God’.   We have to face the challenge and opportunity that our role as  Co-Creators in this continuing evolution of Creation brings to us.

The third level of our survival involves the spiritual. This is ultimately the ‘real’ or ‘true’ level. This will be more fully addressed later in this reflection/session and in the next.

 But first it is important to return to the whole question of our responsibility. Arguably, a crucial challenge facing us all is that of RESPONSIBILITY. This requires us to be adult and to resist the temptation to regress into a childish refusal to accept responsibility. In fact, many stay in Child Mode and merely apportion Blame and Shame and fail to take responsibility. The great psychologist Viktor Frankl, the father of Existential Therapy and a survivor of 4 Nazi Concentration Camps, developed a form of psych-therapy that is primarily rooted and founded on responsibility. He contended, in a paper written in 1947, that man’s failure to accept responsibility would inevitably lead to a society that begins to lose meaning and purpose in life.

 He predicted that in a few generations, and particularly in Western Society, an epidemic ( that he referred to as the ‘ Psychotic Triad’  ) would engulf humanity. This triad would involve Aggression, Depression and Addiction. This has proved to be very prophetic , as any psychologist in our Health Services will attest to. We are currently facing an epidemic of these three ‘conditions’ in all our Mental Health Services. Arguably, as people either fail to take any responsibility or buy into the ‘big lie’ that they are totally helpless, then this provides a ‘breeding ground’ for meaningless and despair. But now to address another  question.

What about the Quality of Life ?    Ishpriya responded by affirming that we can influence the quality of life. Our gift of self-reflection is unique. She reminded us of the many ‘influences’ and ‘tyrannies’ ( consumerism, globalisation etc)  that have a bearing on the quality of life and to challenge these our world needs ‘prophets’  to help us to make good choices. We all bear a responsibility for the quality of life we pass on to our children and grandchildren. . Selfishness was a block but as she reminded us ‘If you have lost your fear of the differences   and your security is in the permanent and not in the impermanent, then you are not going to be selfish’ In this respect – i.e. the quest for the truly permanent-  we need to realise that religion, culture, possessions  etc cannot be relied upon – we all have a personal responsibility  which we cannot abdicate.

 Before moving on , it seems important to outline a few reflections on our quest for the Mystery. This involves personal reflections and some input from another Conference Talk given by Ishpriya at Die Quelle the International Satsang Association’s Sadhana Ashram.  The title of this talk was ‘Wake Up to the Reality’. In this talk Ishpriya reminded us of the fact that God, the Mystery or Ultimate Reality was both Immanent and Transcendent.

 Many of our great spiritual traditions and their mystics proclaim the Non- Duality of God the Ultimate Reality. That is that God can be both  Immanent and Transcendent at all times. Relating to this concept of both transcendent and immanent has been the struggle and search by the mystics of both East and West of Hinduism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The Transcendent tends to identify God as “out there” or normally distant, a ‘Big Man in the Sky’ This Transcendent God reveals himself  to us through big events and moments. ( note how in all our paternalistic religions this Reality is considered masculine) . This Transcendent God  can often end up being considered as  being other and not in any way related to us or creation. In summary,  a transcendent God is one who is beyond perception, independent of the universe, and wholly “other” when compared to us.

 The Immanent tends to identify God as “in here” . This is a God who is intimately related to us, present in every moment, every emotion , every thought  and action. This is the Indwelling Presence of Celtic Spirituality, the Holy Spirit of Christianity and the Atman of Hinduism.  In summary An immanent God, is one which exists within — within us, within the universe, etc. — and, a God that is  very much a part of our existence.  

 The following are the author’s notes on Ishpriya’s talk, they give one perception – or picture- of the essence of the theme – Wake Up to Reality.

For countless generations people have struggled with this concept as the tried to relate to the spiritual and to God. The following quote from the Bhagavad Gita ( The Song of the Lord)  – a classic if Indian Spirituality , demonstrates this perennial search, where Arjuna – the Indian Warrior- asks Krishna – an incarnation of Vishnu- the Lord- this question ..

Lord Krishna

Those who in oneness worship thee as God Immanent in all;

And those who worship the Transcendent,

The Imperishable

Of these, who are the best yogis ?

 Bhagavad Gita Chap 12: 1

 Note the duality or Either: Or nature of Arjuna’s question

The answer or response is then given in the remainder of the Bhagavad Gita. But to return to Ishpriya’s conference talk ‘ Wake Up to Reality ‘  and our way of relating with God.

Ishpriya reminded us of the difficulty we can have in relating with an abstraction. Our challenge is that as humans in this body-psyche , we are hard wired to relate to an Intimate Reality. But both the  Immanent and Transcendent , as the Bhagavad Gita points out, are necessary and essential parts of the imperishable God who is the  Ultimate Reality and Mystery.

She cautioned us about  the way we related. Relating ‘exclusively’ to either the Mystery or the Personal – the transcendent or immanent- can very often merely be a product of our emotions and thoughts and not necessarily of the spirit. In other words, we can be in danger of relating to the non-permanent, to the perishable. This results in us developing weak ‘spiritual’ roots. Consequently, when a crisis  of faith comes,  our weak roots cannot stand and our faith collapses and perishes.

 Speaking to a mainly Christian audience, she advised us ‘to wake up to Reality’ .Beware of developing an either: or faith  , either a faith based on a ‘totally human Jesus’ or  one that focused on an ‘ Ultimate Mystery’ – both can be false securities. Acceptance – or faith- rooted in hope can guide us through to the Reality which is ultimately Love and Trust.

 None of this is ultimately in our control. We are  rooted in hope but this is a hope that can guide us through the thoughts, emotions,  imaginations and fantasies of our human psyche to a firmer spiritual reality. She advised  us to be guided by the thousands of years of our universal inheritance – the spiritual writings and scriptures of the Faith Traditions. …. This section on Ishpriya’s  other talk – Wake Up to Reality- ends with two quotations which can provide us with useful guides to developing a non-dual relationship with God.

‘ If your capacity for love is not increasing, then you are probably creating a perishable ( i.e. non-permanent) God’                                                   Sister Ishpriya

‘It is You, the Innermost One, who awakens myself with deep hidden touches which I  learn to trust’ 
                                                                Rabindranath Tagore ( Hindu Poet and Mystic)

What about the importance of developing a Mystical Unconsciousness ?      

 In response to this question, Ishpriya briefly recapped the evolution of humanity until our present species – Homo Sapiens-Sapiens. She contended that the change in human consciousness ( our capacity for awareness or awake-ness) is the important start in developing a mystical consciousness. She reminded us not to make the mistake of thinking of the psychological terms of ‘consciousness’ and ‘unconsciousness’. It is better to think of AWARENESS or Mindfulness. She chose to expand on the concept of Awareness. She then looked at four  simple and  basic levels of awareness .

 These are simplistically outlined in an attempt to form a common ground for further reflection. They are not meant to provide a detailed psychological explanation of human awareness.

1.  Pre- Consciousness: - This is our early (infant) state of consciousness. This is very often dominated by  undifferentiated awareness. Very often we can ‘cling’ to this state in adult life.

2.  Magical or Dreaming World: -    As we grow throughout childhood we  develop the ability to create a ‘world of imagination’.  This is a world of heroes and heroines of fairy tales and fantasy .

3.  World of Abstractions: -    Then our awareness moves on and grows into ‘the world of abstraction’. This results in the development of  the ability to be aware of intellectual abstractions.

4.Trans-personal Awareness: -  This begins when we develop  a sense of being ‘not just this body’. We begin to have moments when  we get a sense of being something other. These are moments of transcendence.

Mystical Consciousness      In this part of the session she focused on the importance  Developing a Mystical Consciousness and , to assist in this, she  outlined the  Indian Yogic traditions  that emphasised the different levels of consciousness.

Now mystical consciousness goes beyond the personal, the physical and the psychological to a much deeper and more truly ‘permanent’ level. This is the level of consciousness that  we all need to develop.  Because, as we do,  eventually we develop an awareness that is beyond the ‘psyche’. This leads to further levels of human consciousness – and eventually leading to a collective consciousness.  As people  we have lost that sense of ‘connectedness’ towards the environment and each other. This is something we urgently need to re –discover. This was the next ‘ Quantum Leap’ for humanity , it was a leap within, into the centre of our being. It was a leap that could take us into a new consciousness.

Ishpriya then  reminded  us of the 4 Indian Yogic levels of consciousness and very  briefly outlined these as:

1.   Our Awake State – This is mistakenly thought to be the most aware but it’s the least ‘wakeful’ state!  In fact we can spend most of our life asleep!

2.   Dream State - This is a state that enters inner consciousness. It is a state that can allow ‘hidden’ and ‘unaware’ reality to surface in our lives.

3.   Beyond Dreams & Images -  This is a deeper state where we no longer require images.

4.   Beyond all the Above -           Beyond all these is mystical consciousness.

One way of reaching this 4th state is through Meditation – but  there are other ways.

She then went  on to make some initial comments upon the importance of Meditation Practice 

( Silent Prayer ) . ‘We cannot wake up mystically by ourselves. God has to wake us up from within’ Sister Ishpriya

This topic or theme of Meditation / Silent Prayer will  be covered  more fully in the next   post (Theme 6)  However, before we look at a summary or postscript , a longer quote from the Hindu Upanishads on the 4 Levels of Consciousness is provided.

 This is taken from the Mandukya Upanishad where the Seer or Spiritual Guide is attempting to explain that Brahman ( God) is all – both Transcendent and Immanent – and also Brahman is nothing or no-thing. This lengthy quote is taken from the Penguin Classic – The Upanishads – translated by Juan Mascaro). This quote not only reveals the richness and depth of Indian Spirituality, it also pre-dates and reinforces much that Western Mystical sources intuit regarding the nature of God,.

‘Om -  the eternal Word is all: what was, what is and what shall be, and what beyond is in eternity. All is Om.

Brahman ( God)  is all and Atman ( the Spirit) is Brahman. Atman , the Self has four conditions.

The first condition is the waking life of outward moving consciousness ..

The second condition is the dreaming life on inner moving consciousness, enjoying the seven subtle inner elements in its own light and solitude.

The third condition is the sleeping life of silent consciousness, when a person has no desires and beholds no dreams.

The fourth condition is Atman in His own pure state: the awakened life of supreme consciousness. It is neither outer nor inner consciousness, neither semi-consciousness nor unconsciousness. He is Atman, the Spirit Himself, that cannot be seen nor touched. That is above all distinctions, beyond thought and ineffable.  In the union with Him is the supreme proof of His Reality. He is peace and love.’

( extract taken from Juan Mascaro – The Upanishads ISBN 0-14-044163-8)

Postscript   

Our understanding of who or what ‘God’ ( by ‘whatever name’ ) is,  is extremely important in our efforts to make sense of ourselves, our environment, creation and the cosmos. This then prepares us to be open to the signs of mysticism in our life, both within and without. We need to beware of duality – i.e, an either:or concept of God. This is not only a false dichotomy but also  can lead us into developing a ‘false ‘ or ‘idolatrous’ image of God.  Waking up to Reality is very important and involves an holistic journey.  This requires us to develop our  awareness  of, and access,  the 4 levels of consciousness  about which Hindu Philosophy teaches us.

Developing a reflective attitude can aid us in our quest to both better understand  and relate to the Mystery we call God. The more we begin to realise and know about the Mystery , we so easily call God, the less we either can or want to say. Ultimately, our mystical journey leads us into silence and solitude.

The next part of this series  on Only the Mystics Will Survive is Theme 6  :-   Responses to Questions Part 2 - Developing a Mystical Consciousness – The Importance of Meditation.  This  sixth ( 6^th)   part  will appear shortly. Meanwhile, if you are interested in the Spirituality of the Satsang then visit the following websites:

www.international-satsang.org

www.satsang-companionship.org.uk

Part 4: Our Common and Universal Inheritance

‘Only The Mystics Will Survive ‘

Theme 4 : –    Our Common and Universal Spiritual  Inheritance.

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father (The Source of all life)’

An important Pre-Amble

This topic and its conference talks were delivered to, and focused mainly on, a Christian audience. Consequently, the following theme draws mainly from the Christian Tradition and focuses on some of the reasons that the formal Christian Churches are struggling to retain members in the West and that many are either losing all contact or looking for spiritual wisdom in the East..

Another point about these reflections is that they are the author’s response to Ishpriya’s words. It is a well known fact, that if 30 people attend a talk, there are at least 30 different interpretations. These reflections are honestly made and directly connected with Ishpriya’s theme. However, they are filtered through the ‘cultural eyes and ears’ of the author. Where reflections are not directly rooted in Ishpriya’s talks, these are shown in brown type.

Finally, although these brief reflections focus on Christianity, readers from other Faith Traditions could find many of its points familiar with their lived experience and certainly the overall conclusions apply to all.

For what is Mysticism? It is not the attempt to draw near to God,  not by rites or ceremonies, but by inward disposition? Is it not merely a hard word for 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within'?   Heaven is neither a place nor a time.                                 Florence Nightingale

The Web of Life

Humankind has not woven the web of life; 
we are but one thread in it. What we do to the web,
 we do to ourselves. 
All things are bound together. All things connect.

–Chief Seattle a  Native American 1780-1866

The Early Christian Communities

In this part of her reflections, Ishpriya addresses some of the issues and reasons surrounding the fact that many Christians, and those from a Christian Culture, have turned to the East when searching for a spiritual path. She began by re-examining our common (Christian) Western spiritual inheritance, an inheritance which is very often unknown or forgotten.  She provided a ‘sketch’ of the growth in western spirituality and reminded us that (initially) it grew out of its Palestinian context, where ideas from   both Eastern and Middle Eastern mysticism were well known. Jesus was an itinerant Teacher who, like the Gurus of India, attracted the marginalised of society with his deeply spiritual, yet radical, teachings on love and a way of being.

The Bible

However, after 2 or 3 centuries the scriptures of the Christian Tradition were chosen, settled and closed. This led to what Christians now call the Bible, with its Old Testament, which is the heart of the Jewish Scripture and the New Testament which portrays the accepted ‘norms’ of the Early  Christian Church.  By this time, the followers of Jesus, who were first called ‘Followers of the Way,  had grown into a series of communities which together formed  a recognisable ‘Church’. This Church had its hierarchy and a set of sacraments, rites and rituals but with the Bible a central platform for teaching and spreading the ‘faith’.

All other books or scriptures, some reputedly written by disciples who knew Jesus were literally ‘suppressed’. The Council of Nicea in 325 a.d, convened to provide the Emperor Constantine which a formal Church doctrine, finally decided the books that were to be included or excluded. Thus the modern Bible was formed.  At the time of the Reformation, Protestant Churches refused to accept the Apocrypha and thus the Protestant Bible was formulated.  Only fairly recently with the discovery of the Qumran ( Dead Sea) Scrolls , a collection of 972 texts discovered in the mid 20^th Century,  which amongst other things , contain a series of alternative texts from the Jewish Scriptures ( Old Testament), have offered some new interpretations  which are now widely published on the Internet. Another significant find was that of ancient Coptic Scrolls. These were found in 1945 in the Nile Valley and are known as the Nag Hammadi Documents. These contain four Gnostic Gospels, plus other Christian writings,   which throw a more ‘mystical’ light of the life, teachings and life of Jesus.   

In addition, the ‘revelation’ of the Mystery, which can never be fully known by mere humans, is ongoing . Each generation is best advised to understand that much of Scripture is written in mythical language. Now a ‘myth’ is not a fairy tale, it is a mystical , symbolic , metaphorical form of writing about deep truths that need careful reading, contemplation and reflection. In every generation, each individual has to take the ‘text’ of the Scriptures and apply 4 modes of reading it. These are to first read  the literal text and then to test it out  by ‘reading’ it through  three further ‘lens’  These ‘lens’ are the  spiritual message of the text, then the moral  ( present day) message and finally the mystical message. This method of examining Scripture is very ancient and certainly goes back almost 2000 years. Unfortunately, many modern day readers of Scripture have lost this and rely solely on a literal reading of the text.

It is advisable to be aware that Scripture merely gives guidelines and these guidelines have to be interpreted in the light of other aspects of the unfolding revelation. For those who believe in Creation and the Mystery behind it, then we know that no words can fully describe this Mystery and that all revelation from whatever profession are part of the unfolding of Creation and the on-going revelation. Therefore, Science and Cosmology have a part to play in humanities understanding of the Mystery and therefore, they too are part of revelation. In short, modern science is re-telling the Creation story and adding to our understanding and awareness of the Mystery or Source of Creation.

In addition, like love , spiritual wisdom is a universal quality. The Scriptures and writings from other cultures and traditions form a vast reservoir of wisdom. They are a Universal Heritage. They form part of the vast banquet of spirituality which each culture and tradition offers. Christianity has its offerings to make but we need to feel free to make use of texts and teachings from this vast reservoir  and so we return to Ishpriya’s theme.

Priest and Sacraments

All this led to two reasonably unique aspects which underpin the Christian approach to mysticism. The first are its heavy reliance on Scripture, and acceptable Scripture at that. The second is its ecclesiastic tradition, which is one of structure, hierarchy, central control, sacraments and its sacraments and rituals which only the hierarchical priests can perform.

NB  This is not an exclusively Christian trait but is part of all the mainstream ‘patriarchal’ religions.

These two ways or  two main pillars ,  are seen as the almost exclusive means of accessing the mystical. Historically,  other approaches were, and are,  frowned upon or discouraged. This differs from the Eastern Tradition, with its emphasis on the relationship between the Guru and  the disciple and  its emphasis on the experiential nature of mysticism. In the Christian Tradition access to the immediate experience of God is through the two main doors of Scripture and the Ecclesiastical.

In addition, Christianity has always been cautious and wary of  an individual’s ‘ mystical experiences’ and frowned upon individuals experimenting in mysticism. It has, in this way,  blocked this avenue of access to the Mystery , albeit at times unconsciously. Therefore, unlike the East, we have not developed a tradition of spiritual guides and gurus and this may explain why westerners who are seeking guidance look to the Eastern Faith Traditions.

Note :-  There are exceptions in Western Christianity. These spring from Celtic Spirituality

( which is my cultural root). Celtic Christianity, which retained many of its pre- Christian roots, was less influenced by mainstream Roman Christianity. It retained the practice of encouraging the Spiritual Aspirant to find an Anam Cara  ( Soul Friend). These were people of wisdom and not necessarily members of the established Ecclesiastical order.

Many from the East feel that Christianity is merely involved and pre-occupied with ‘Sin and Social Work’ and less interested in how individuals can be guided and supported on and in their own unique spiritual journey. Increasingly, with the growth in our multi cultural society, Christians are being both challenged and enriched by their contact with other traditions. Part of this challenge is to find the roots of our own Christian mysticism and its tradition. This requires us to revisit Scripture and to realise that ‘ We find God in the life of Jesus the Christ.’

There are numerous examples of this tendency of the Institutional Church opposing and persecuting Mystics. Two famous ones are St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila. John of the Cross, a great Spiritual Master, was tortured and persecuted by his own Religious Order, because of his ‘mystical’ writings and teachings. Teresa, who recognised the great need for ‘reformation’ in both the Church and her Order, she too faced great opposition. Another example is that of Meister Eckhart. He is arguably the greatest mystic of the Medieval Christian Church. He  was persecuted and threatened with excommunication because of his radical teaching on the nature of the Mystery and how we can relate to and with this Mystery.

Eckhart preached about the paradox of the Mystery, there is nothing we can really say that defines the Mystery, his teachings have some resonance with those of Daoism, one of its great Teachers Lau Tsu wrote this ‘ The Dao ( the Way) that can be named cannot be the Dao’

Laughing God

Two of Eckhart’s quotes are shown below. These demonstrate his ‘radical’ theology and why many conservative and fundamental Christians, both in his time and now, find him challenging.

“My Lord told me a joke. And seeing Him laugh has done more for me than any scripture I will ever read.”

God cannot be referred to as "good", "better", or “best” because He is above all things. If a man says that God is “wise”, the man is lying because anything that is wise can become wiser. Anything that a man might say about God is incorrect, even calling Him by the name of God. God is "superessential nothingness" and "transcendent Being"..."beyond all words and beyond all understanding. The best a man can do is remain silent, because anytime he prates on about God, he is committing the sin of lying. The true master knows that if he had a God he could understand, He would never hold Him to be God.' 

Now to return to further points from Ishpriya.

Ishpriya suggested that we could begin this by examining three texts from Scripture. These were from the New Testament and St John’s Gospel, namely John 10:30, John 14:9 and John 16:7.  These , she contended, were ‘great sentences’ similar to the great sentences and sutras of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. Sentences that required study, reflection and contemplation, because they contained great truths and were examples of a mystical experience. She then focused on each of these in turn and examined them and their mystical meaning and context.

She then  both reminded  and emphasised to listeners that in  John’s Gospel the Source is referred to as Abba the Father.  But first the three texts which reveal great truths that are at the heart of revelation about the Mystery..

The Heart of Revelation

‘I and the Father (The Source of all life) are one’ 
John 10:30

‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father 
(The Source of all Life)                                                     John14:9                                                                                           

‘I must go (disappear) otherwise the Spirit will not come to you’            John 16:7

Ishpriya explored these  and suggested that they were deep and great mystical sayings. They demonstrated the mystical experiences of Jesus the Christ who felt a oneness with the Source (Abba – the Father).

A potential problem for Christians is that they could be so ‘blown away’ by Jesus and thus  become too pre-occupied with Him and his earthly life. This could result in our failure to both realise and thus  fail to see a mystical and deeply helpful and wonderful truth. This was, that through the life of Jesus  and His  way  of Being we could find a  medium through which we can see the Source, the Mystery, the God  Jesus referred to as Abba ( Daddy).

Ishpriya then looked at some of the signs and qualities of Jesus and His teaching, she particularly focused on compassion, hope and joy. She remarked on how, in their anxiety to find answers to the critical challenges facing them, Church Authorities and Leaders were frantically into re-organisation and trying to find more resources.  She ended we a reflection on what was really needed for ourselves, our world and our spiritual future.

What the world needed was people of compassion, hope, joy and understanding. It did not need re-organising or more resources etc.  It merely required each of us to develop our holiness (wholeness) and mystical awareness.

How aware am I of my  own spiritual inheritance and  do or could  I make use of this?

How helpful could I find  spiritual inheritance from other Traditions i.e. Universal Wisdom ? 

What else struck me about the concept/idea of  the phrase ‘Our Common Inheritance’?  

If I could only do one thing different in my spiritual practice, what ONE THING would I choose? 

Postscript   


Our understanding of who or what ‘God’ by whatever name we call it; is extremely important in our efforts to make sense of ourselves, our environment, creation and the cosmos. This then prepares us to be open to the signs of mysticism in our life. Ultimately, the more we begin to realise and know about the Mystery , we so easily call God, the less we either can or want to sayy. Ultimately, our mystical journey leads us into silence and solitude.

The next part of this series is Theme 5  :- ( <click link)   Responses to Questions Part 1 - Developing a Mystical Consciousness

This  fifth ( 5^th)   part  will appear shortly. Meanwhile, if you are interested in the Spirituality of the Satsang then visit the following websites:

www.international-satsang.org

www.satsang-companionship.org.uk

Film Night in aid of WIFRN

Wolverhampton Inter- Faith

and Regeneration Network

presents a special screening of

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Monday April 15th  at 6 p.m.

( 5.30 p.m. for light refreshments )

at the

Light House

Chubb Building, Fryer St

Wolverhanpton WV1 1HT

An opportunity to see, or see again., this critically acclaimed box office hit - funny, thoughtful, beautifully set in India, with a star studded cast including

Judi Dench,  Dev Patel, Bill Nighty,  Maggie Smith,Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie

Tickets £10 from WIFRN ( admin@wifrn.org.uk )  01902 427601 or from the Light House Box Officew ( 01902 716055)

Net proceeds will go to

Wolverhamton Inter-Faith and Regeneration Network

Signs of Mysticism - Part 3

‘Only The Mystics Will Survive ‘

Theme 3 : –    The Signs of Mysticism.

The Perennial Questions

Where the philosopher 

guesses and argues, 

the mystic lives and looks;
and speaks, consequently,

the disconcerting language 

of first-hand experience, 

not the neat dialectic of the schools.

Hence whilst the Absolute 

of the metaphysicians
 remains a diagram 

—impersonal an dunattainable—

the Absolute of the mystics 

is lovable, attainable, alive.” 

Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism                                             

  

                                                                                              

This is the third reflection in this series on Only the Mystics Will Survive. It continues the journey with Sister Ishpriya which started with Listen to the Spirit- A movement into Mystical Consciousness , then looked at our Face to Face Encounter with God  and  now begins to explore the signs of mysticism that exist in everyday life for every person. But first a simple quote from Sr. Ishpriya which sets this reflection in its context.

‘We need to remember that mystical moments happen every day’

Sister Ishpriya

Before we begin to focus on Signs of Mysticism it is important to return to some aspects of Part 2.  Part 2 focused on the natural balance of Chaos and Conservation in Creation. This impacted at all levels and certainly on humans and their Institutions. It focused on the tendency of people, when change occurs ,to give way to their fears and to try to cling on like limpets to old and familiar ways. This explains the growth in fundamentalism – not only in Faith Traditions but in Politics, Education and many Institutions. The ensuing struggle leads to a rise in intolerance and a tendency to adopt rigid thinking.

In the old days, when the Christian Church had real power, it had a simple way of dealing with ‘maverick’ thinkers. It either declared their ideas ‘heresy’  or used its self- acclaimed power to excommunicate them. There is nothing new in all this and today, many fundamental people in all the Faith Traditions are trying to do the same. The result is they can often 'project' their fear of change and chaos onto the other and in so doing demonise the other.

 However, Christians need to hold on to the fact that Jesus the Christ was a maverick preacher. In addition many of the great prophets and founders of other Faith Traditions were radical thinkers e.g Mohammed the Prophet ( Peace be upon him) , Guru Nanak the founder of Sikhism and of course Gautama the Buddha.   Most advances in human understanding, knowledge and wisdom have come from and through radical thinkers.  This reinforces the need for each and every person to face the challenge of facing their fears and core beliefs and seeking and reclaiming their inherent mystical spirit. Consequently, we need to be on the alert for signs of mysticism in our life. So now to return to Ishpriya and her reflections.

The Tree of Puzzles

Ishpriya opened with an intriguing question when she asked ‘What does the experience of the Mystery do?’   Ishpriya answered this rhetorical question by suggesting that it could help if we ‘looked  at some ‘signs’ of being a mystic’.   She made it plain that the signs she intended to briefly explore did not constitute a definitive list .  However, these were signs to be found for and in  all of us.  So she suggested that we relax, listen deeply and then reflect on how these could apply to,  or be experienced by,  each of us  .  She then began to outline and reflect  on some of the signs of Mysticism.

Some Signs of Mysticism

The first of these was sense of harmony at certain moments. These moments of  harmony resulted in a sense of union, wholeness or completion.  Experiences like this begin in childhood.  It is an experience that can be likened to and summarised as ‘ a sense of being at home with my source’ . These experiences   both demand  and require that we wake up and  ‘get rid of our sense of separateness’    She quoted the great Christian Mystic, Lady Juliana of Norwich  concerning our failure to realise just how inter-connected we were with the Mystery and all creation. Juliana said,  ‘ Between God and me there is no between’ . She then reminded us of a famous  Hindu saying ‘God is  closer to me than myself ‘ .

 Both of these quotations, one from a Western and the other from an Eastern Faith Tradition,  speak of a sense of oneness, union and completion between human beings and the Mystery or Source.  They tell of a relationship of oneness.

Hide and Seek with God

This reminds me of the story by Anthony De Mello – an Indian Jesuit from his book One Minute Wisdom

 The master became a legend in his lifetime. 

It was said that God once sought his advice: “I want to play a game of hide-and-seek with humankind.  I’ve asked my angels what the best place is to hide in.  Some say the depth of the ocean.  Others say the top of the highest mountain.  Others still the far side of the moon or a distant star. 

What do you suggest?”

Said the Master, “Hide in the human heart.  That is the last place they will think of!”

 Each of us could pause and respond to the following question :- What is our chosen or favourite ending to the game of Hide and Seek we too can play with God ?  

It can help if we use immediacy and respond to the question quickly and write down our response. This can often lead to intriguing, surprising and challenging responses. This question is not designed to imply that we deliberately avoid the Oneness, that is the Mystery – although it is a common and shared universal response. No, it is to encourage us to face our fears about being too intimate with God the Mystery.

The Jewish Scriptures have this wonderful phrase  ‘ It is terrible ( awesome) to fall into the hands of the living God’  As in many human relationships, we can all struggle with the issues and dilemma of the intimacy and its ‘dangers’ or ‘anxieties’ regarding its restriction on our sense of independence.

 Permanence – Non- permanence      The second of these signs required us to look at our experiences of permanence. She reminded us that we needed to avoid the mistake of ‘looking  for the permanent amongst the non-permanent’.  We all too often place our trust and energy in the wrong places. We are on a journey back to the Source and if we cling onto earthly and ego-centred things they can so often turn to dust in our hands.

 Students of either Hinduism or Buddhism will readily recognise the importance of the teaching about permanence and non-permanence. Certainly this is a central teaching of Buddhism, where the Buddha taught that ‘ all is Dukka( suffering)’ and that seeing life and ‘things’ as permanent was essentially a poison. Although we can intellectually accept that nothing in life is ‘permanent’ the truth is we can so easily live our life as if it is permanent. He Buddha was wise when he suggested that we could all benefit from reflecting on our own death.

 Then  there is the experience of relaxing into  loving others    This is that the experience and result of true love is one that  enables us to bond with others but NOT try to possess them.

This is not an easy thing because love takes us out of the ego and encourages us to think of the other and not just our own selfish needs or wants.

 In my work as a Relationship Therapist I often am guided by and also use this lovely quote on love by Kahil Gibran – author of  The Prophet.

Love never possesses

Love possesses not

nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love.

 And think not

you can direct the course of love,

if it finds you worthy,

it directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself."

A further sign was  a  keen awareness of  the inter-dependence of all things .

Both the Mystics and modern science have revealed both the wonder of the on-going creation and the inter-connectedness of all things. Everything has come out of star dust and our understanding of DNA etc reveals that we share more than we realise with everything in creation. As humans we are all  Inter-related and come from a common source. This challenges and reduces to insignificance all the ‘barriers’ we erect of culture, creed , ethnicity and even gender. This returns us to the wisdom and truth of the Triple Commitment of the Satsang . In addition, I am reminded of the famous quote from Hinduism ‘ He who sees only the diversity and not the underlying Unity, wanders on from death to death’  

Ishpriya reflected on how Buddhism   recognises the underlying unity and calls this ability compassion ( karuna). She pointed to the Buddhist example of the Buddhi Satva (  this is one who has achieved enlightenment but remains to help others on their way). This was an excellent example of this sense of inter-connectedness and oneness with all.    

This sense of Oneness at the Heart of Creation is  at the heart of spirituality and every major Faith Tradition. In Hinduism it is seen as the central concept and pillar of the Vedas  and particularly the Upanishads and that wonderful Scripture the Bhagavad Gita ( The Song of the Lord) Throughout these scriptures the underlying theme of Unit y at the heart of Diversity is propounded. A famous quote from the Kena Upanishad outlines this clearly.

 Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his own Self in all beings, loses all fears

 This clearly shows that having the courage to face ones fears will lead to a state of awareness where we see the underlying unity of the self in all beings. This is the real state of inter-connectedness humanity requires if it is to survive, live in harmony with self, others and the environment and safely navigate the quantum leap of change in consciousness.

This leads  to the realisation that my choices effect others.

Our Wonderful Universe

We are part of  the on-going evolutionary journey of creation. Our current knowledge, technology and understanding gives us answers that suggest our Universe is 13.5 billion years plus or minus 2 billion years.  This puts things in perspective. We as a species are, at the most 7 million years and homo sapiens – sapiens ,  modern humanity which is   part of a long line of descendants of Homo Erectus ,is a mere 350 - 500 thousand years. With this in mind we return to Ishpriya’s reflections.

                                                                                            

She suggested we pause and reflect on what is our, around, 85 years   of existing in this body-psyche compared to the 15  billion or so years of this Universe . And yet in this vastness of creation and time-space , each of us are unique, we will never occur again. Consequently, it gives rise to the importance of my choices.

The Joy of Silence

All this should ‘reduce us to silence’.  Bearing in mind all the preceding signs , she moved on to a further sign – a growing sense or need for solitude and silence. This also led to a reluctance to even attempt to describe our experience of the Mystery.  She quoted Theresa of Avila, who in commenting upon her mystical experiences merely said ‘I can’t describe this’.  Theresa also used the ‘butterfly’   as the symbol of mysticism, this is also  used in other Traditions.  Ishpriya then , focusing on all her points suggested that this combination of signs  inevitably leads us to a realisation that :-

‘ Silence is the fullness of all, it is Not the emptiness’ .   

Teresa of Calcutta

The fruit of Silence is prayer

The fruit of Prayer is faith.

The fruit of Faith is love.

The fruit of Love is service.

The fruit of Service is peace.

Silence of the eyes;
Silence of the ears;
Silence of our mouths;
Silence of our minds.
In the silence of the heart

God will speak.

These signs are always full of paradox and this is a comment often made by those mystics who have entered into the Mystery. In fact ‘paradox’ is at the heart of spiritual life and experience.

She then recounted the story of  Swami Chidananda  and Swami  Abishtiktananda , the first a Hindu Master , the second  a Christian  Monk, both renowned humble and holy people . At their infrequent meetings, they would look in silence  at each other and there they could sense  ‘the Joy which mystics have encountered’ . This led to them both laughing with each other. Both had tasted the silence, the unity, the compassion of that Face-to-Face encounter with the Mystery and this led to pure joy, or  the ananda , which is  Sanskrit for  bliss. ‘For God is joy’

Mystics are people who are not at war with anybody, they live in peace, justice and respect for others. They are prophets, who do not  set about forecasting the future, but can ‘read the signs of the times’ . In addition they possess great humility and this leads to great wisdom. Ishpriya reminded us that ,’there is a tendency ( certainly in Christianity)  to be more concerned with the doing than the being’ … and also    ‘Its not what I have done but how I have lived’ .  She reminded us of the richness of Buddhism and its Universal Wisdom and how Zen Buddhists have an approach which starts with the basic ethos that it is a mistake  to try to do something with our life instead of living it. ‘Life is for living’  is a  well known Zen saying.

 Raymundo Pannikar ( a renowned Christian Theologian) suggests that some signs of the mystic are ‘ that  they are people who make ineffective administrators, impossible ecclesiastics, unpredictable leaders and unreliable followers’ .  In short, they are mavericks, at peace with themselves and more  fully focused on the Mystery.

In conclusion, if we can recognise any of the above in us then we have reached  the beginning of wisdom. Ishpriya ended this theme by posing some questions to guide our reflections. Readers may find the following questions helpful :

 How alive have I been minute by minute in my life?

 How do I respond to the idea that mystics are counter-culture and are willing to take responsibility for their choices? 

 Which are and were the mystical moments of my life & do I recognise them? 

What are the experiences in my life that I never have to make an effort to remember? 

Postscript   
Our understanding of who or what ‘God’ by whatever name we call it; is extremely important in our efforts to make sense of ourselves, our environment, creation and the cosmos. This then prepares us to be open to the signs of mysticism in our life. Ultimately, the more we begin to realise and know about the Mystery , we so easily call God, the less we either can or want to say. Ultimately, our mystical journey leads us into silence and solitude.

The next part of this series is Theme 4 :-   Our Common and Universal Heritage.

This  fourth  part  will appear shortly. Meanwhile, if you are interested in the Spirituality of the Satsang then visit the following websites:

www.international-satsang.org

www.satsang-companionship.org.uk