If you see the modern world as the result of a rebellion against authority, you are not mistaken. First there is the rebellion against God, then against established hierarchy. There is rebellion against nature, rebellion of woman against man, of youth against age and so on all leading to an overturning of the natural order of reality, and all based on ego.
But not only based on ego. Ego is a major driving force but there is also the legitimate search for freedom which is part of the general evolution of the human being. The problem is how do you allow for one without falling into the excesses of the other? That is a major question of the present day because at the moment it is certainly the rebellion of ego that is determining conditions, and it is doing so because there is too little understanding of what there is that is more than ego.
The parallel with adolescence is obvious and it is not too far -fetched to see contemporary humanity as in an adolescent stage. The worry is this though. Adolescence is something that should be got through relatively quickly but we appear to have got stuck in it. We think it is natural for adolescents to throw off the shackles of their elders, and so it is to a degree, but we are probably over-influenced in this view by the recent past. Traditionally, adolescents did not completely reject the wisdom of their elders nor did they have as much freedom to go wrong as we give them now. There was more of a balance between authority and the need for self-expression. That balance is being lost and needs to be rediscovered.
But where can it come from? Where will we find wisdom in this day and age? We cannot return to traditional religion because it belongs to an earlier age of complete submission to authority. Those that do seek so to return run the risk that they do so artificially, as a self-conscious rather than a natural act. The freedom we are developing, while it has many problems due to our spiritual immaturity, is nonetheless essential for our development. We can certainly be inspired by tradition but cannot wholeheartedly re-embrace it. We can seek inspiration from the past but must apply that to an inner awareness that seeks to know God more directly. As so often, it's a question of choosing the middle way.
Real spiritual authority must ultimately come from within, from a personal connection to God. That is what we must all strive to develop, and it is why Christianity, as it stands, is no longer enough. It can even be conceived of as restrictive. However, before you have developed this connection you do need external guidance, and if you throw that off prematurely, you lose the centre and can go very wrong. See the world today for a perfect example of that.
Here is my suggestion. We need, first and foremost, to return to Christ, the Christ of the gospels, but especially that of St John because it is in St John that we best see Christ in his dual form as both the external Light of the World and also as the inner light that lights every man that comes into the world. This is the balance we are looking for, Christ out there as the incarnate Son of God who reveals both truth and law in his person, and Christ within who shines in our hearts when we acknowledge his presence there.
Remember, though, that we do need both. Those who restrict their spiritual approach to one or the other will fall short. If you look for Christ only beyond yourself, you will remain on the outside of spiritual reality looking in. If you seek Christ only within, as many who follow Eastern paths effectively do, you risk isolation in a spiritual vacuum which may seem peaceful but ends up by being narcissistic and potentially illusionary. We need to follow higher authority, as in the true spiritual pole star, and inner realisation to be complete.
Contemporary humanity has rejected traditional authority which had its roots in revelation but it has replaced that, because replaced it must be, with its own authority. But this is not an authority that comes from an inner connection to truth. It is unsupported authority based on nothing substantial since you cannot understand the totality of reality by focusing only on its outermost aspect any more than you can know what an apple tastes like by examining the peel. We do have a personal connection to truth but we have cut ourselves off from that by misidentifying with the outwardly expressed parts of our being. The way back is through Christ, first by following him as the living image of truth and the touchstone to reality, and then by finding him within ourselves. But the two go together. If you think you have found spiritual truth within but don't recognise Christ as the real source of that inner reality, this can only mean that your vision is still blurred and your journey incomplete. Certainly there are other spiritual paths but they must all end, one way or another, in Christ.
For Christ is at the centre of all true spiritual paths and, if there is not something in your soul that recognises that, it is probable that your soul is not in harmonious relationship with reality. Christ is the point at which authority meets truth.
7 comments:
William: Many mystics have found the "Christ" within, and with that often become post-religious and see no need for Christianity or any other formal path. They see Jesus as just another sage among many. What would you say to such a person, and why they should return to Christ as authority?
"If you seek Christ only within, as many who follow Eastern paths effectively do, you risk isolation in a spiritual vacuum which may seem peaceful but ends up by being narcissistic and potentially illusionary."
Dear William, Very insightful and challenging column. Regarding the quotation above, many have had this experience (myself included). It was when I married and started having children that I sought a way to position myself in society and find a path on which to direct my sons. I returned to traditional Catholicism, mixed with my own readings of John of the Cross and Eckhart. The patchwork held for a time, but now all of my children have let what I tried to give them fall away. I, too, was lost for a time, sinking into Vedanta, finding it wanting, and returning to Christ, but without any external support in the form of creed or Church. I relate all this not because these are remarkable experiences, but because they are probably quite common to spiritually serious seekers. There is no way to circumvent Christ. Of this, I am certain. But without an external structure, such as a spiritual community of some sort, one seems compelled to live in relative isolation, letting the inner light of the Lord shine through you in private encounters, without explicitly stating beliefs, and remaining content with personal growth and whatever spillover it affords. Perhaps we are indeed in a time of transition, a period in which a new balance needs to be found. But it must grow from within and find its place in the world as Providence deems fitting. Patience and modesty are trust are needed.
ted, what I would say is this. How do you know you have found the Christ within? You may have found something but what gives you the right to assume it is Christ or the fullness of Christ anyway? The risk is that if we rely only on our own inner awareness we can fall into self-deception. What is our yardstick, what is our objective point of reference? We are frail mortals. Even if we have a spiritual centre how can we really know we have reached that unless there is something true and real to tell us so? This is Christ who represents, who is, the only absolute completion of the spiritual circle. This is a matter of faith you might say but i would maintain that a fully functioning intuition tells us that it is so too. The inner Christ is a reflection of the outer Christ who comes first. You shouldn't reverse this relationship.
edwin, your experience is similar to mine in that I too thought that the inner path was enough and took one as far as one needed to go in spiritual terms. That's why I can make these criticisms. I am criticising myself!
But it's clear that there can be a lack of real humility in this way. You rely on yourself. Ultimately you are God, and that's not a good thing for anyone. So I realised that the inner path does not supplant the outer way completely. The two must go together for a proper balance. And then I saw that Christ is not just a realised soul. He is what he says he is. And that's a great relief because to be honest who wants to be the pinnacle of spiritual perfection and not feel there is something beyond oneself? For that is what Vedanta and similar paths imply. You are God and there is nothing more. What a horrible thought!
@William. Maybe the necessary phase of rebellion against external authority was corrupted into a permanent state of rebellion against objective reality?
Yes, I think that's exactly right, Bruce.
"Here is my suggestion. We need, first and foremost, to return to Christ, the Christ of the gospels, but especially that of St John because it is in St John that we best see Christ in his dual form as both the external Light of the World and also as the inner light that lights every man that comes into the world. This is the balance we are looking for, Christ out there as the incarnate Son of God who reveals both truth and law in his person, and Christ within who shines in our hearts when we acknowledge his presence there."
Yes - agreed.
I find this metaphysical interpretation of John 1 amplifies what you are saying:
https://www.truthunity.net/mbi/john-1
Tobias
Post a Comment