S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 8 - 1 S p r i n g 2 0 2 2 2 3 Gurpyari Bhatnagar unconventional and the experiences definitely not a subclass of religious experience at all. Further, Coelho himself questions the spiritual merit of psychedelically induced experiences in his most recent work, Hippie, through one of his characters in the novel who confesses that there are “other”, “better” methods to achieve the “same effect,” such as “meditation and yoga” but people do not have the patience to “try them out” and therefore prefer LSD (Coelho 2019, 256). Many studies have also argued that a mystical experience brings a realization and a transformation that is lasting while a psychedelic experience is only a temporarily altered state of consciousness. Kulwant Singh Gill refutes the notion that Eastern religions stress psychedelic experience as a means of mystical experience. He quotes the Bhagavad Gītā (9, 20), where “‘soma’ is referred to only in a single sloka,” and it does not enjoy any “specific importance as a means of God-realization.” Rather the Bhagavad Gītā stresses three ways to seek mystical experience: “the Karma Mārga (the way of action), the Jñāna Mārga (the way of knowledge), and the Bhakti Mārga (the way of love)” (Gill 1981, 604). Witchcraft, occult, and magic are other unconventional forms of mystical experience described by Coelho which hold a polemical relationship with religion. When the ideological differences between magic and religion should ideally widen with time, why is it that spiritual alternatives that exist in the modern world today subsist on the modes that are most primitive and regressive, such as the occult and the witchcraft? Magic being usually positioned lowest on the evolutionary hierarchy of magic-religion-science, it is said to be associated with everything that is not rational yet prevalent in the most educated circles today as a substitute to religion. The collapse of the boundaries in the religion/magic dichotomy can be ascribed best to James G. Frazer’s contention that primitive dimensions of life unceasingly and continually intrude into the veneer of civilization (Frazer 1890, 10). This perplexing religious development is not only evaluated but also legitimized in Coelho’s The Witch of Portobello and Brida. Both the above-mentioned novels symbolize, to use Anthony Giddens’s term, a culture of “individualistic reflexivity” (Giddens 1991, 20) as opposed to the established religious institutions in assigning an identity to the characters. Coelho (2006, 12) recognizes four archetypes with which, he believes, women identify themselves while searching for a meaning in their life: The Virgin is the one whose search springs from her complete independence, and everything she learns is the fruit of her ability to face challenges alone. The Martyr finds her way to self-knowledge through pain, surrender, and suffering. The Saint finds her true reason for living in unconditional love and in her ability to give without asking anything in return. Finally, the Witch justifies her existence by going in search of complete and limitless pleasure. However, as Coelho admits, the central characters of The Witch of Portobello and Brida, Athena and Brida, in search of their faith identities choose an alternative that has the characteristics of all the four identities enlisted above. He further asserts that their witchcraft does not emphasize self- glorification and power as has been standardized for this craft but has the values of a religion including humility. Coelho argues that the characters in the novel submit to the “magus” or wicca completely as in any religion and their complete surrender is directed not by manipulation of the “magus”. Their only objective of willful acceptance of the “magus” as their master is to learn the craft with all humility. As “magus” in Brida concedes, “[l]earning something means coming into contact with a world of which you know nothing. In order to learn, you must be humble” (Coelho 2008, 42). The concept of white magic emerges in the novel, wherein the members belonging to the group have positive, benevolent intentions and use their powers not out of malice as in the case of black magic. As in the case of other alternative spiritualties, witchcraft is also opted for as a religious identity when the characters get disillusioned with the mainstream religion of their parents. Brida, “rather young” to be “taught magic,” wishes to unlock her occult powers by learning magic from the “teacher,” either “magus” or wicca, in the hope of finding solutions to the most perplexing questions relating to life and faith which the priest at the church could not answer. On the other hand, Athena, a young divorced mother, realizes the orthodoxy and narrow-mindedness of the Church when she is refused communion by the priest. Consequently, she joins a group practicing witchcraft, where while dancing goes into a trance, she experiences a “profound ecstasy” and becomes conscious of her hidden powers. However, both the characters believe in the power of prayer to the Supreme Power and hence, when
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