3 4 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 3 The Wholeness with Which We Were Born The stopping of using substances or engaging in destructive behaviors does not resolve all of the issues, for the void within still exists and will not be satiated without engaging in a profound inquiry into Who am I? To be fully human is to recognize our fundamental relationship with the Divine, which is to say that our true identity in divinis is the “primordial nature” (Arabic fitrah), the “image of God” (Lat. imago Dei), “Buddha-nature” (Sa. Buddha-dhātu), or the “Self” (Sa. Ātmā). The doctrine of identity is unanimous across the traditions regarding our fundamental connection to the Divine, which is both transcendent and immanent. This is articulated in the Ashtāvakra Gītā of the Hindu tradition –“You are what you think” (1990, 3) – and in the Dhammapada of the Buddhist tradition, “[a]ll that we are is the result of what we have thought” (1965, 3), and additionally in the Christian tradition, “[a]s he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Both a horizontal and vertical understanding are needed to fully situate and comprehend the human psyche, yet mainstream psychology is for the most part confined to the horizontal dimension. Abstinence from self-destructive behavior is imperative but it is only the beginning. The notion that we are in absolute control of our lives must be reconsidered before we can acknowledge our impotence and our reliance on the Divine. Twelve-Step Programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous point out that: “We admitted [note: that] we were powerless over [note: our addiction] – that our lives had become unmanageable” (Anonymous 2001, 59) and the need to, first and foremost, “quit playing God” (62). In this way, we come to see our “spiritual bankrupt[cy]” (287) and the need we have for a power greater than ourselves. At this juncture, embracing a spiritual form becomes necessary in order not to fall into the trap of substituting one addiction for another, which can often make things worse. Wholeness and healing cannot be obtained by individual effort alone; they require an agency that is not subject to the profound limitations of the ordinary self. But neither should this suggest the opposite – that we ought to remain complacent and indifferent to any effort, which is yet another trap. Due to the many misunderstandings of what religion truly is, it is necessary to recall anew that the etymological root of the English word religion is the Latin religare, meaning to “to re-bind” or “to bind back”– by implication, to the Divine that is at once transcendent and immanent. As it has been expressed in the Christian tradition: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), but it is also said that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). There is a similar Qurʼānic verse that conveys the need to rely on the Divine: “Naught befalls us, save that which God has decreed for us” (9:51). Shin Buddhism makes the distinction between Other-Power (JPN. tariki) and self-power (JPN. jiriki), which is to say the distinction between reliance on the Primal Vow of Amida Buddha, as opposed to our own efforts, to attain Nirvana. This awareness will help seekers turn to the Divine: “When My servants ask thee about Me, truly I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls Me.” (Qurʼān 2:186). The Divine’s remembrance of us is conditional on our remembrance of the Divine: “Remember Me, and I will remember you” (Qurʼān 2:152). The Sage of Arunachala conveyed our dependence on the transpersonal dimension: “Divine Grace is essential for Realization” (Maharshi 1996, 33). Domination over oneself requires that which transcends the empirical ego or separate self. The futility of attempting to tame our desires by the ego alone was remarked by the 68th Jagadguru of Kanchi (1894–1994): “While desire fulfilled leads to further desire, desire frustrated turns into anger, like the rebound of a ball thrown at a wall” (2008, 138). It is through commitment to a spiritual form– and by adhering to its timeworn paths that – we can learn detachment. The Hindu tradition speaks of submitting ourselves completely to the Divine, in order to go beyond our temporal attachments: “Only by love can men see me, and know me, and come unto me. He who works for me, who loves me, whose End Supreme I am, free from attachment to all things, and with love for all creation, he in truth comes unto me.” (Bhagavad Gītā 11:54–55); and also, “[w]hen all desires that cling to the heart are surrendered, then a mortal becomes immortal” (Katha Upanishad 6:14). According
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzgxMzI=