It was interesting to me as I continued to read Ursula King's book "Christian Mystics" last night that I found an 18th century English mystic who had much the same views as I on the subject - including the use of the words "spark" and "kindling" that I had put in the blog the day before. His name is William Law, and if I had ever heard of him before, I would not have been able to tell anyone what he meant to the world at large. Let me place a long quote from King's book to give one an idea:
"...the eternal Word is lying hidden within all human beings. It is a spark of the divine nature which gives the soul a depth, center and infinity that he calls the hidden 'pearl of eternity.' ...Law stresses the primacy of the will. When the human will turns to itself, it breaks off from divine harmony and falls into misery. Self is the root, tree and branches of all evil...When the will is rightly applied in prayer, it can be effective in creating new life, for 'the prayer of the heart, the prayer of faith, has a kindling and creating power, and forms and transforms the soul into everything that its desires reach after: it...brings us into real union and communion with God.' "
I could not have stated my own beliefs better - that all humans have an element of God within (shared by the Buddhists and Hindus), that it is through our will to self that we have fallen from knowledge and witness of God (similarly shared with Eastern religions), and that (willful) prayer, or meditation, can kindle this eternal spark (again, shared). It seems to me that I have come to Law's conclusions through a kind of 'back door', that of Eastern mysticism, to arrive at what he and others of his era had found through turning inward. But this is not surprising - although I know that this is something of a tautology, if God is indeed sought in this manner, and found at least partially, then the success of the method, and the knowledge learned by this success, would be apparent to all regardless of one's religion - a nod once again to the Traditionalists who claim that there is an underlying unity to all true religions.
That the individual contains this spark led Law's immediate predecessor, George Fox (who founded the Quakers), to conclude that personal sacred knowledge was more important than both creed and scripture, something that would have gotten him burned at the stake in Catholic Europe (and wasn't very welcomed in Protestant Europe). In other words, if one were led to God by grace and personal prayer alone, then one's experience was more true than the second-hand accounts from a religion or holy text. This was - and still is - a huge idea, and one that contains some dangerous turns. It not only means that one does not have to depend on official religious authority to understand scripture, or to have one sin's forgiven, or to reach God in any way; it also means that one's interpretation is (or might be seen) as good as the next. Which means it opens the doors for all manner of personal idiosyncrasies, including those of David Koresh of the Branch Davidians, whose bizarre and dark interpretation of the Bible led to the numerous deaths at Waco, Texas.
And so I am reminded - while the spark might reside within, there is still need for a standard to judge the insights that one might gain. This is known to the Eastern religions as well, and embodied in the well-known being of the 'guru.' While the guru can grant 'darshan' or special holy power, his real function is to help the seeker avoid the pitfalls that he will find within himself on his search for God (or the Absolute, Nirvana); that is, they well understand, as earlier Christians did, that one can be fooled, whether we call the deceiver Satan, demons, or the selfish will. Thus the need for a true religion as a template, necessary for nearly everyone until they stand before the face of God and have no need any longer of interpretation. And so it might be said that George Fox had the general idea right, but that he initially lacked something - something that I think the Quaker's found as they became established into a group.
Going back to yesterday's blog again, how might this stand up against the ecstasy of the deadhead at a Grateful gathering? Whether aided by acid or the drug ecstasy, or merely the music and vibes themselves, are we talking of a legitimate spiritual experience? I would say 'yes,' for the "spark within" is lit, no matter how temporarily or artificially. In fact, the context acts as something of an organized religion, guiding the experience towards community (something beyond the self) and a general feeling of love for all people and things. And yet - there is a very strong caveat. This form of experience is only the ice cream desert of the spirit, not the main meal. As the hippies found in the 60's, this diet cannot sustain one for long. Rather, one truly needs the ideal of renunciation (which Fox and Law had - making their ideas workable for them, and later, for their adherents) to make the spiritual insight lead to something more than an occasional treat. And in renunciation comes humility, moderation, charity - all the traits recommended by the true religions. And so Jerry Garcia's vibes do not get us off the hook; but if his genius has led one to feel the spark and feel the need to seek it further, he has done his job. That is, his talent, given by grace, has done its job.
Not to sound trite, but this leads to another truism in many Christian religions (I do not know about others concerning this): that we are all given a genius of sorts to positively affect others in their need to find the spark and bring it to flame. What's yours, and are you using it? A question I must ask myself. FK
"...the eternal Word is lying hidden within all human beings. It is a spark of the divine nature which gives the soul a depth, center and infinity that he calls the hidden 'pearl of eternity.' ...Law stresses the primacy of the will. When the human will turns to itself, it breaks off from divine harmony and falls into misery. Self is the root, tree and branches of all evil...When the will is rightly applied in prayer, it can be effective in creating new life, for 'the prayer of the heart, the prayer of faith, has a kindling and creating power, and forms and transforms the soul into everything that its desires reach after: it...brings us into real union and communion with God.' "
I could not have stated my own beliefs better - that all humans have an element of God within (shared by the Buddhists and Hindus), that it is through our will to self that we have fallen from knowledge and witness of God (similarly shared with Eastern religions), and that (willful) prayer, or meditation, can kindle this eternal spark (again, shared). It seems to me that I have come to Law's conclusions through a kind of 'back door', that of Eastern mysticism, to arrive at what he and others of his era had found through turning inward. But this is not surprising - although I know that this is something of a tautology, if God is indeed sought in this manner, and found at least partially, then the success of the method, and the knowledge learned by this success, would be apparent to all regardless of one's religion - a nod once again to the Traditionalists who claim that there is an underlying unity to all true religions.
That the individual contains this spark led Law's immediate predecessor, George Fox (who founded the Quakers), to conclude that personal sacred knowledge was more important than both creed and scripture, something that would have gotten him burned at the stake in Catholic Europe (and wasn't very welcomed in Protestant Europe). In other words, if one were led to God by grace and personal prayer alone, then one's experience was more true than the second-hand accounts from a religion or holy text. This was - and still is - a huge idea, and one that contains some dangerous turns. It not only means that one does not have to depend on official religious authority to understand scripture, or to have one sin's forgiven, or to reach God in any way; it also means that one's interpretation is (or might be seen) as good as the next. Which means it opens the doors for all manner of personal idiosyncrasies, including those of David Koresh of the Branch Davidians, whose bizarre and dark interpretation of the Bible led to the numerous deaths at Waco, Texas.
And so I am reminded - while the spark might reside within, there is still need for a standard to judge the insights that one might gain. This is known to the Eastern religions as well, and embodied in the well-known being of the 'guru.' While the guru can grant 'darshan' or special holy power, his real function is to help the seeker avoid the pitfalls that he will find within himself on his search for God (or the Absolute, Nirvana); that is, they well understand, as earlier Christians did, that one can be fooled, whether we call the deceiver Satan, demons, or the selfish will. Thus the need for a true religion as a template, necessary for nearly everyone until they stand before the face of God and have no need any longer of interpretation. And so it might be said that George Fox had the general idea right, but that he initially lacked something - something that I think the Quaker's found as they became established into a group.
Going back to yesterday's blog again, how might this stand up against the ecstasy of the deadhead at a Grateful gathering? Whether aided by acid or the drug ecstasy, or merely the music and vibes themselves, are we talking of a legitimate spiritual experience? I would say 'yes,' for the "spark within" is lit, no matter how temporarily or artificially. In fact, the context acts as something of an organized religion, guiding the experience towards community (something beyond the self) and a general feeling of love for all people and things. And yet - there is a very strong caveat. This form of experience is only the ice cream desert of the spirit, not the main meal. As the hippies found in the 60's, this diet cannot sustain one for long. Rather, one truly needs the ideal of renunciation (which Fox and Law had - making their ideas workable for them, and later, for their adherents) to make the spiritual insight lead to something more than an occasional treat. And in renunciation comes humility, moderation, charity - all the traits recommended by the true religions. And so Jerry Garcia's vibes do not get us off the hook; but if his genius has led one to feel the spark and feel the need to seek it further, he has done his job. That is, his talent, given by grace, has done its job.
Not to sound trite, but this leads to another truism in many Christian religions (I do not know about others concerning this): that we are all given a genius of sorts to positively affect others in their need to find the spark and bring it to flame. What's yours, and are you using it? A question I must ask myself. FK
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