My old pal Jim, who readers might remember from personal essays, had a pile of R. Crumb comic books when we were in high school (still has them, as collector's items) that we thought were hilarious. In retrospect, Crumb seems a horrible man with more complexes than a floor at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, but he had some keen insights in his own perverse, cynical way. In one episode, his hapless character 'White Man' is succumbing to the impossibilities of "cosmic duality," moaning with his head in his hands, when Mr Natural smacks him on the head or some-such, and skips along on his merry way. No problem for Mr Natural, who takes it as it comes and just "keeps on truckin' '' (In one episode, Mr Natural receives oral sex from a baby and shrugs - 'Hey, it felt good.' Not exactly status quo.) Despite the cynical flair, Crumb had a good point: why stress over the unknowable?
Towards the end of Gerald May's book Will and Spirit, he rocks the reader's world with a lengthy discussion of evil. Why is there evil in a world made and ordered by perfect Goodness? As the author points out, in the non-dual state, everything seems perfect just as it is; while in the dual state (our ordinary way), evil certainly does exist. While we are frightened by his exposition of evil, and how we, too, are susceptible, May makes a very Mr Natural observation: the unitive and the dual exist, the latter within the former. Both are real. As F Scott Fitzgerald said, the hallmark of intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing views in mind at once. Here, we are being told to do just that - to hold both the notion of a perfect world and an imperfect world in mind at the same time, and stop trying to work it out logically. It will not, says May, be worked out logically. If you think you have worked it out, you have missed out on the unitive, which takes us to the threshold of God and his mystery, which is not knowable in any dualistic, human fashion.
Of course this it true. But it brings to mind the impossibility of normal life for a seeker of ultimate knowledge. May, following William James, believes that there are two types of spiritual people: the once-born and the twice-born. The once-born take their childhood Bible lessons seriously, and never doubt them in later life. Those of a more intellectual bent don't think much of these types, but May makes it clear that theirs is the easiest, and perhaps more blessed, path. The Twice Born, on the other hand, are forced to question that which cannot be known discursively. They are Crumb's "White Man," and they often tie themselves into knots trying to figure out what cannot be figured out. Their's is a long and tortured route through false humility, false spirituality, and very real intellectual pride. They are often open to the evil that is active in this world, and sometimes fall prey to it. They need, as do all of us, some form of spiritual guidance, but they often cannot accept this person or that religion because it falls short of a certain imagined perfection.
The Twice-Born are, of course, the seekers. The failings of the Once-Born are fairly obvious - they fall prey to self-righteousness and bigotry and, in some cases, to delusions and idolatrous worship of charismatic leaders who lead them into horror. But the pitfalls of the Twice-Born are greater in number and harder to unravel. These people, too, need direction, but find it difficult to give themselves to any one director or spiritual tradition. They are set up to fall, if not careful, into the gross cynicism of R. Crumb.
When I was young and hitching about the country, I hoped to find a guru, someone who would expose the mystery and make sense of it. But as the saying goes, a master comes to one when one is ready. For the seeker, however, when does he know that he is ready? For in becoming a student, one must succumb to the teachings of the master, and this requires a humility that is often not present in the intellectual pride of the Seeker. And so on and on it goes - the seeker struggles with everything, just like White Man.
Perhaps, then, for us Twice Born, it would be best to not struggle, but to accept both the teachings as they are presented to us, along with our intellectual doubts. The dual mind of the curious will never be satisfied with the answers that only come from Unity, for they conflict. Perhaps the seeker then must show real intelligence, to be able to hold two opposed thoughts in his mind, and get on with what is being offered beyond himself and his rationalizations. It is at least a good beginning - although, in the end, just a thought. FK
Towards the end of Gerald May's book Will and Spirit, he rocks the reader's world with a lengthy discussion of evil. Why is there evil in a world made and ordered by perfect Goodness? As the author points out, in the non-dual state, everything seems perfect just as it is; while in the dual state (our ordinary way), evil certainly does exist. While we are frightened by his exposition of evil, and how we, too, are susceptible, May makes a very Mr Natural observation: the unitive and the dual exist, the latter within the former. Both are real. As F Scott Fitzgerald said, the hallmark of intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing views in mind at once. Here, we are being told to do just that - to hold both the notion of a perfect world and an imperfect world in mind at the same time, and stop trying to work it out logically. It will not, says May, be worked out logically. If you think you have worked it out, you have missed out on the unitive, which takes us to the threshold of God and his mystery, which is not knowable in any dualistic, human fashion.
Of course this it true. But it brings to mind the impossibility of normal life for a seeker of ultimate knowledge. May, following William James, believes that there are two types of spiritual people: the once-born and the twice-born. The once-born take their childhood Bible lessons seriously, and never doubt them in later life. Those of a more intellectual bent don't think much of these types, but May makes it clear that theirs is the easiest, and perhaps more blessed, path. The Twice Born, on the other hand, are forced to question that which cannot be known discursively. They are Crumb's "White Man," and they often tie themselves into knots trying to figure out what cannot be figured out. Their's is a long and tortured route through false humility, false spirituality, and very real intellectual pride. They are often open to the evil that is active in this world, and sometimes fall prey to it. They need, as do all of us, some form of spiritual guidance, but they often cannot accept this person or that religion because it falls short of a certain imagined perfection.
The Twice-Born are, of course, the seekers. The failings of the Once-Born are fairly obvious - they fall prey to self-righteousness and bigotry and, in some cases, to delusions and idolatrous worship of charismatic leaders who lead them into horror. But the pitfalls of the Twice-Born are greater in number and harder to unravel. These people, too, need direction, but find it difficult to give themselves to any one director or spiritual tradition. They are set up to fall, if not careful, into the gross cynicism of R. Crumb.
When I was young and hitching about the country, I hoped to find a guru, someone who would expose the mystery and make sense of it. But as the saying goes, a master comes to one when one is ready. For the seeker, however, when does he know that he is ready? For in becoming a student, one must succumb to the teachings of the master, and this requires a humility that is often not present in the intellectual pride of the Seeker. And so on and on it goes - the seeker struggles with everything, just like White Man.
Perhaps, then, for us Twice Born, it would be best to not struggle, but to accept both the teachings as they are presented to us, along with our intellectual doubts. The dual mind of the curious will never be satisfied with the answers that only come from Unity, for they conflict. Perhaps the seeker then must show real intelligence, to be able to hold two opposed thoughts in his mind, and get on with what is being offered beyond himself and his rationalizations. It is at least a good beginning - although, in the end, just a thought. FK
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