a gem from the headless guy at headless.org :-)

[Guest guest]

Dear everyone,

 

Here is a real gem of a commentary on one of my favorite medieval

mystics by Richard Lang, who writes some of the most beautiful and

insigntful commentary. thank you Richard - I am forwarding this to the

Ramakrishna Vedanta list of which I am a member.

 

Namaste,

Karen

Westend Ashram

http://home.earthlink.net/~urbanashram

 

 

Dear westend_ashram, this is the " Mystical Quotations " redistribution as

 

you requested. If you want to , deselect its subscription at

http://www.spiritweb.org/cgi/member.cgi?login=karenev & password=rama & view=newslet\

ter

 

-- Note: This URL above contains your login & password

 

 

QUOTATIONS FROM THE MYSTICS

 

If I knew myself as intimately as I ought, I should have perfect

knowledge

of all creatures.

 

Meister Eckhart (c.1260-1328)

__________________

COMMENTARY

 

As we grow in self-awareness, as we come to know ourselves better as

people, so we gain more insight into others. Being honest with oneself

sheds light not only on one's own human nature, with its highways and

byways, its light and shadow, but on the inner workings of others too.

Though we are all unique people, we all partake of one human nature. And

as

we come to understand ourselves more deeply, hopefully self-acceptance

grows too, and compassion - towards ourselves and towards others.

 

And yet, however much we observe ourselves, we will never arrive at

perfect

knowledge of ourselves, never mind others. The human psyche is an

endless

labyrinth, and until our dying day will forever be revealing new

aspects.

We can come to some understanding of the vast world that we are, but the

 

circle of our knowledge is limited. The light shines, but the

surrounding

darkness is infinite.

 

So what did that great mediaeval theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart

mean

when he said that if he knew himself as intimately as he ought, then he

would have perfect knowledge of all creatures? All creatures he says -

not

just human ones.

 

Eckhart was speaking about a kind of knowledge deeper than psychological

 

knowledge. This is knowledge of spirit. Where do we find spirit? Well,

nearer to you than your psyche, nearer than any thought or feeling or

image, is spirit. Spirit is awareness, the still centre at the heart of

you, nearer to you than your breathing. Knowledge of This, of who you

really are, is knowledge of yourself as no-thing, as utter simplicity,

as

silence, as stillness. And such knowledge of yourself is perfect

knowledge.

Seeing This, there is no more to see, nothing more to know, nowhere else

to

go. You are home.

 

But why should this give you perfect knowledge of other creatures?

Because

this Simplicity is also the innermost nature of all creatures. To see

into

your own no-thingness is to see into the no-thingness of all. No-thing

cannot be divided, named, possessed, exist in one place and not in

another.

The no-thingness where you are is one and the same in all creatures

everywhere. When you see into your own being you realise this is so. It

is

self-evident. And though you now 'know yourself', this knowing is an

unknowing. It is a letting go into a mystery.

 

And so I find that the deepest barrier between myself and others

disappears. Though I know others from a distance and only myself from

inside, my own knowledge of who I really am opens the door to the

innermost

being of others too. Where before I was outside, now am I inside. In

this

moment of seeing, of knowing, the illusion of distance dissolves. Awake

to

being no-thing, to being the Godhead within all beings, I find all

beings

are within me. Now I know them as they really are - I know them as

myself.

 

Such knowledge shines light on one's human nature. The light and shadow

of

the psyche are revealed more clearly. Looking consciously from the

no-thingness that I am into the constantly changing landscape of my

self,

it is less necessary to pretend that this self is perfect. Manifestly it

is

not. The self I thought I was, but now see is not my truest and deepest

identity - this self is made of limitations. I am more likely to see and

 

accept these limitations when I am centred in who I really am than when

I

am identifying narrowly with my human self. The pressure to be perfect

is

reduced, for now I see where perfection alone lies - in God. With this

comes more room for understanding, for accepting my own humanity, and

more

room for compassion. Noticing my fears and anxieties, I realise this is

part of being human. What did I expect?

 

Overlooking my true nature, I become pre-occupied with my self - with my

 

happiness, my security, my past, my future. This distorts my view of

myself

and obscures my view of the world. I feel self-critical, unhappy with

myself, alienated. I feel as though I am standing on shifting sand,

lost,

not knowing who or what I can trust. The world is a dull and dreary,

meaningless and dangerous place. But then something changes. Awakening

to

who I really am a veil drops and the mist of obsessive

self-consciousness

begins to melt. The world now reveals itself in all its freshness and

glory

and brilliance. Sounds become clearer, colours spring more vividly into

awareness - not always, but so much more so than before. With this

awakening my sense of being a stranger in the world is gradually

replaced

by the feeling of being at home in the world - for I see now that the

world

is at home in me. And I begin to recognise that the Godhead within is

steady as a rock, ever available and trustworthy. It will always guide

me,

always give me what I really need.

 

I imagine Eckhart walking in a crowded mediaeval market-place, awake to

his

spaciousness, his no-thingness - wide-open for the people and the

stalls.

Empty in himself he contains this throng, faceless for himself he finds

every face to be his own, awake to the stillness at the heart of himself

he

revels in the busy life around him, that moves through him. Someone

calls

out and their voice lingers for a moment in the Silence, then vanishes.

Suddenly Eckhart stops and stands still, the sun warming his face. " All

this life is within me! " he whispers to himself. " All this life abides

within the Godhead here at the heart of my being. That little boy

playing

there plays here in the space of God. I, Meister Eckhart, do not live at

 

the centre of this spacious emptiness - only God lives here. To know

This

is to know who all these people really are. Even the stones over there

are

really This. " Touching a profound peace within himself, and a love that

embraces everyone and everything, he takes a deep breath. " What a

mystery

all this is, " he thinks. " How did all this come to be? How did God, from

 

which all this flows, come into being? " As the questions form in his

mind,

Eckhart knows it is actually the One asking, and that there are no

answers.

A boy calls out across the market place, a swallow swoops low over the

buildings in the summer sun.

 

Then Eckhart notices two people arguing over money, and the scene

unexpectedly reminds him of an experience from his own past - a moment

when

he also argued with someone, when he was himself selfish and mean. An

old

and familiar self-critical voice awakens in his ear, a feeling of

self-contempt and shame passes over him. For a moment he is that. His

heart

becomes heavier. But then with a start he awakens again - awakens to the

 

truth of who he really is. He sees that this shadow from the past has

arisen within the spaciousness of his true Self, that this voice of

criticism and self-doubt has spoken in the undefinable silence of being.

He

realises he is holding his breath, and he breathes, he lets go. From

this

true inner freedom, from this lightness of God's being, he now sees that

 

shadow differently, hears that voice differently. They no longer define

him. The victory of spirit over all limitations inspires and lifts his

heart. And what did he expect of his human nature after all? he thinks

to

himself. Like all things it is made of light and shadow. Now, seeing the

 

two people still arguing, he sees himself in both of them.

 

The clock in the marketplace strikes the hour and Eckhart, grateful

again

for the complete availability of the Godhead whenever it is needed,

whatever one's mood or circumstance, goes on his way.

__________________

Richard Lang

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