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Date: 08 Oct 2000 00:00:00 GMT
Subject: One-Minute Wisdom
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Hello all,
I'm back! Had a wonderful trip to India, stopping over in Germany on the
outward journey, and in the U.K on the return. I went there on business, =
not in
search of a guru. Nevertheless, India being India, the topic of spiritual=
ity
did not fail to come up. A very dear Indian friend of mine presented me w=
ith a
book "One-Minute Wisdom" by an Indian Jesuit priest, Anthony de Mello.
Marvellous stuff. I was about to revise my opinion of Christianity based =
on
that book, when I read the insert entitled "Notification Concerning the
Writings of Father Anthony de Mello, SJ", issued by the Vatican, which
essentially repudiated the many words of wisdom in the book. Here is one =
to
which the Vatican took exception, not surprisingly:
My friend and I went to the fair. THE WORLD FAIR OF RELIGIONS=E2?=A6 At t=
he Jewish
Stall we were given hand-outs that said that God was All-Compassionate an=
d the
Jews were his Chosen People. The Jews, No other people were as chosen as =
the
Jewish People. At the Moslem Stall we learnt that God was All-Merciful an=
d
Mohammed is his only Prophet. Salvation comes from listening to God's onl=
y
Prophet. At the Christian Stall we discovered that God is Love and there =
is no
salvation outside the Church. Join the church or risk eternal damnation. =
On the
way out I asked my friend, "What do you think of God?" He replied, "He is=
bigoted, fanatical, and cruel." Back home, I said to God, "How do you put=
up
with this sort of thing, Lord? Don't you see they have been giving you a =
bad
name for centuries?" God said, "I didn't organize the Fair. I'd be too as=
hamed
to even visit it."
My friend is by no means Christian. He is Hindu, of the Kshatriya (warrio=
r)
caste. On a previous visit, I had presented him with a copy of "Song of t=
he
Stars" by Credo Mutwa, the famous Zulu "shaman". He said he quite enjoyed=
it,
and because of the subject matter was well disposed to tell me about some=
spiritual experiences that he had had growing up in a Hindu household. Hi=
s
aunt, he told me, could go into trance and become possessed of a deity
particular to his caste and family line. In trance, a red powdery substan=
ce
would issue from her palms, an indication that the deity was present. In =
that
state, if she would touch someone (presumably to give a blessing, he didn=
't
say), no trace of the red powder would be left attaching to the clothes o=
r body
of the person touched. And even though the powder would come gushing out,=
there
would be no trace of the red powder on the floor or anywhere after she ca=
me out
of trance. Amazing for sure, and totally believable to someone like mysel=
f who
has witnessed his share of for-real-for-real spiritual "miracles". The Hi=
ndu
deities are not unlike the orisha, and the Hindu religion is not unlike
traditional African religion. In fact, I have it from a Brahmin, who told=
me on
a previous trip to India that the traditional religions of the subcontine=
nt are
thought to have an African origin. I would not at all be surprised, for t=
he
parallels, both in terms of inner substance (the multiplicity of deities =
and
their diverse attributes making up a harmonious whole, plus the veneratio=
n of
ancestors), as well as outer forms (from lekes to the custom of going bar=
efoot
in sacred space to making ritual offerings), are too many to be mere
coincidence. And importantly, unlike the exclusivist religions of the
Judeo-Christian-Islamic sorts, Hinduism, like traditional African religio=
n,
recognizes that there are many paths to God, and wastes no time on doctri=
nal
debate resting on the logical and theological fallacy inherent in the (ve=
ry
Western) thinking that if my religion is right then yours must be wrong, =
and
moreover I'm going to have to bludgeon you into seeing the "error" of you=
r
ways=E2?=A6
Which is not to say that either Hinduism or traditional African religion =
is
free of error. All human endeavor is subject to human passions/frailty an=
d
therefore subject also to error. =
One which I think is often present in traditional African religion is the=
often
too-dependent relationship between the god-child and the god-parent -- th=
e very
terminology is revealing. Consider this piece from One-Minute Wisdom:
Again and again the Master would be seen to discourage his disciples from=
depending on him, for this would prevent them from contacting the inner S=
ource.
He was often heard to say, "Three things there are that when too close ar=
e
harmful, when too far are useless, and are best kept at middle distance: =
fire,
the government, and the guru."
Also this:
The Master had an allergy for people who protracted their stay at the
monastery. Sooner or later each disciple would hear the difficult words, =
"The
time has come for you to go. If you do not get away the Spirit will not c=
ome."
What was this 'Spirit', one particularly smitten disciple wished to know.=
Said
the Master, "Water remains alive and free by flowing. You will remain ali=
ve and
free by going. If you do not get away from me you will stagnate and die -=
and
be contaminated."
Another error into which traditional African religion seems to be falling=
is
that of thinking that there is any real meaning attached to terms such as=
"Yoruba priest", or "Akan priest", or "Zulu priest". In the old days, no
serious priest or priestess would limit themselves in the way implied by =
such
language. Credo Mutwa, for example, the aforementioned "Zulu shaman", sai=
d that
he sat at the feet of many masters from all over Africa in the learning o=
f his
craft. =
=46rom One-Minute Wisdom:
The Master never wearied of warning his disciples about the dangers of
religion. He loved to tell the story of the prophet who carried a flaming=
torch
through the streets, saying he was going to set fire to the temple so tha=
t
people would concern themselves more with the Lord than with the temple. =
Then
he would add: "Some day I shall carry a flaming torch myself to set fire =
to
both the temple and the Lord!"
And this:
A traveller in quest of the divine asked the Master how to distinguish a =
true
teacher from a false one when he got back to his own land. Said the Maste=
r, "A
good teacher offers practice, a bad one offers theories." "But how shall =
I know
good practice from bad?" "In the same way that the farmer knows good
cultivation from bad."
Finally, apropos a recent thread on the group:
The disciples were absorbed in a discussion of Lao Tzu's dictum: "Those w=
ho
know do not say; those who say do not know." When the Master entered they=
asked
him exactly what the words meant. Said the Master, "Which of you knows th=
e
fragrance of a rose?" All of them knew. Then he said, "put it into words.=
" All
of them were silent.
It's good to be back. I may or may not pick up some of the loose threads =
I left
behind. They are no longer on my server, but I might check out deja news,=
and
if I find I can regenerate the head of steam needed to propel further
engagement from me on whatever those points were, I will do so; otherwise=
not.
Arguing with folks in thrall to Eshu and his tricks is alternately wearyi=
ng and
maddening.
Peace,
Grisso
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