My Amritapuri Experience: Part 14

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Continued from Part 13...

 

The digression continues. Last time, I wrote mostly about the social

effects of the spiritual identity question. I made the point that the

identity project is suffused with some social tension even if it is

undertaken for the highest spiritual reasons. And when the reasons

are less sublime, it goes without saying that the results may even

turn out to be harmful. Some of my writing betrayed the bias I

entertained in my mind that identity redefinition, as commonly

encountered, revolves around base social reasons rather than exalted

spiritual ones. I want to acknowledge once again that I have been

guilty of over-generalization.

 

In this regard I have found Sister Premarupa's account (among others)

to be truly sincere and eye opening; it has shown me that many here

and elsewhere are actuated by the noblest motives in these matters. I

see now that the tendency to spot and comment on the negative aspects

of the world outside has an analogue, a precursor within myself.

There is negativity in my heart that I must examine and eliminate. So

this discussion has given rise to a little homework assignment for

me, a lesson for which I owe thanks. Negativity lurks like an iceberg

waiting for the Titanic, a tenth exposed to view in the form of

speech or action and nine-tenths hidden from view in the form of

thought and intention.

 

Now for an examination of some of the spiritual ramifications. As I

said before, I view the adoption of a spiritual name as one element

in the identity project. In essence, I see it as serving the function

of ritual ie. to represent the infinite in terms that are finite and

accessible. In common with other rituals therefore, its value is a

function of what the practitioner invests and what God/Guru/Amma adds

out of Grace. The more one invests, the greater the principal, and

larger the quantum of Guru's Grace that is invoked. Therefore it is

not right to judge the worth of a ritual merely on the basis of

appearance; what appears vapid externally could be packed with power

internally or conversely, it could be puffed up to look a lot more

impressive than it is actually worth.

 

It seems to me that what matters is not the particular practice one

adopts or chooses not to adopt but the investment one makes in the

default practice (For there is always a default practice, a default

representation as long as one is bound by Maya. True Jnanis may

operate from a default state of non-representation but the rest of us

are prisoners of paradigm). I might mention in passing, that my own

propensity to take up new forms has historically been low, although

it has probably gone up a notch in recent times. While it may be OK

for me to derive comfort from my own inertia in this context, I would

be in error if I were to look askance at the cross-cultural and/or

ritual-intensive impulses of others.

 

Coming back to the identity project, in its deepest sense, it must

necessarily be about identifying with the Divine. The ego is the main

obstruction to a total identification with the Divine and there are

only two ways to get around this. It is possible to merge with the

Divine by either shrinking one's ego to nothingness or by expanding

it to infinity. The former is the easier approach, suitable for most

people but a few spiritual giants have been known to do it the latter

way.

 

Sri Girish Ghosh a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna once described these

contrasting styles with reference to two other devotees. As Sri

Girish Ghosh explains it, when Mahamaya (The Mother of Illusion)

ensnared all beings in Her net of worldly existence, two beings

managed to escape. One, Sri Nag Mahashay (a great householder devotee

of Sri Ramakrishna) managed to make himself so small that he was able

to swim out through the gaps in the net like a minnow. The other, the

illustrious Swami Vivekananda, expanded himself so much that he broke

through the net and swam free like a great whale.

 

Another way to look at the change of name issue is to view it as a

manifestation of bhakti or devotion. Bhakti may manifest itself

secondarily in many hues but the primary colours are three: White for

Sattwa, Red for Rajas and Black for Tamas. In other words, the

particular expression of bhakti manifested by an individual depends

upon the mix of primary gunas in that individual. Sattwa is usually

regarded as being superior to Rajas which in turn is regarded as

being superior to Tamas, in the conventional conception.

 

However, Sri Ramakrishna explains how even the so-called 'bad' gunas

can be turned to advantage. He points to the existence of three

brands of bhakti - Sattwic, Rajasic and Tamasic. The Sattwic bhakta

(devotee) is like the quiet man who meditates at night under his

mosquito net. His devotion is unostentatious and recessed. The

Rajasic devotee in contrast, wears his devotion on his sleeve. This

is the kind of devotee who relishes public participation and wears

silk robes and huge rudrakshas (beads) around his neck. The Tamasic

devotee's bhakti is marked by the attributes of violence and

destruction. The Tamasic devotee is capable of going to extremes of

rage, anger, violence and other negative emotions in a bid to 'out'

the hidden God. He may threaten to harm himself if God does not

appear to him, or alternatively, he may vent his fury on the object

of his devotion. Such devotion, though Tamasic, and inherently

negative, nevertheless has the potential of catapulting the seeker

towards God. Thus Tamasic devotion can be very powerful.

 

The lesson I take away from the above is that it does not greatly

matter what mix of gunas a seeker has. Whatever be one's predominant

guna, all that is necessary is to turn that guna towards God. A

strong guna, even if negative, can be profitably deployed in the

spiritual enterprise by directing it to God. It does not matter

whether a devotee is quiet or flamboyant or prone to negative

emotion, so long as the fire of devotion rages in his heart. Or, as

the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said in a very different

context, "It does not matter what colour the cat is, as long as it

catches mice."

 

And now, I come to the end of this little intellectual (de)tour de

farce (misspellings deliberate). In subsequent chapters I shall

return to the comfort of chronology and linear narrative, though some

might view that as the tyranny of time. To phrase it with less

ellipsis and bombast, I shall tackle the question my daughter would

ask me if I were to tell her a story and she could comprehend enough

to ask, "What happens next?" But it appears to be Amma's will that

the child is a long, long way from ever being able to do that.

 

To be continued in Part 15...

 

Om Amriteshwaryai Namah

 

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