3 2 S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 7 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 1 that which is other can only be understood within a metaphysical framework. Schuon (1981, 32) points out that, “the ego as such cannot logically seek the experience of what lies beyond egoity.” Relationships, as informed by metaphysics, comprise both horizontal and vertical dimensions, yet the horizontal is always subordinate to the vertical, that is to say, “the relationship between man and the world is premised on the primary relationship between God and man” (Lakhani 2010, 85). An effective and fully integrated psychology requires both dimensions. Relationships encompass an indefinite number of states of consciousness and levels of reality – a sacred unity both within the created order and of what lies beyond it, as the Lakota saying discloses: Mitakuye oyasin –“all my relatives” or “we are all related.” The Hindu tradition has as what is known as satsang, or an association with truth or reality, which consists of being in the company of saints and sages; however, it also signifies our ultimate encounter with the Self or the Supreme Identity. This is never truly the human confronting the human, but the Divine encountering the Divine; it only appears as the former from a relative point of view. However, from the aspect of Ultimate Reality or the Absolute there is none other than the Divine Itself. In other words, the pure Subject as the Self realizes the object within itself and its inherent oneness. If psychology returns to its origin in metaphysics, sacred science and spiritual principles, it can again become worthy of being called a science of the soul. The following verse frames the predicament in which contemporary psychology finds itself: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” (Psalm 118:22). This is the primacy of the Sprit that psychology needs in order to return to its origins in divinis. Coomaraswamy (1977, 378) not only urges us to adopt a framework based on humanity’s ancient wisdom traditions, but further adds, “[i]n conclusion, let us emphasize again that the perennial psychology is not a science for its own sake, and can be of no use to anybody who will not practice it.” This includes mental health professionals alike, who also need to engage in their own inner work as instructed in the following: “Physician, heal thyself.” (Luke 4:23). Again, without metaphysics no psychology can be a true psychology or a science of the soul. This confirms something that Schuon (1984, 14) has perceptively discerned: “There is no science of the soul without a metaphysical basis to it and without spiritual remedies at its disposal.” [15] We need to be vigilant about therapeutic modalities that do not treat the whole personality, seeing as they cannot provide a comprehensive diagnosis or treatment in keeping with our deepest human needs; rather, they can only offer ineffectual counterfeits: “[A]n illusory medicine to cure an equally illusory disease.” (Ta Hui 1977, 24). It is only metaphysics that allows for spiritually complete diagnosis, treatment and cure of “the diseases which affect the soul, indicate their treatment, and point out their remedies” (‘Alī Ahmad ibn Muhammad Miskawayh in Nasr and Aminrazavi 2008, 325). Anything less would not be a postcolonial or, rather, a perennial psychology – without which the modern West will never recover what it has long forgotten. As the old paradigm falls apart before our very eyes, no equally impotent replacement is required; what is needed to restore a science of the soul is to urgently turn to the universal and timeless wisdom that has reliably guided all humanity, for millennia, in its quest for true knowledge of who we really are. We ignore this remedy at our peril.
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