Poetry

For the poetry buffs, here's an excerpt from Mister God, This is Anna again...

"Do you like poetry?" he asked.

Anna nodded. Old Woody settled the glowing tobacco in his pipe with his thumb.

"Do you," he said, sucking away, "do you know what poetry is?"

"Yes," replied Anna. "It's sort of like sewing."

"I see," Old Woody nodded, "and what do you mean by sewing?"

Anna juggled the words around in her mind. "Well, its making something from different bits that is different from all the bits."

"Um," said Old Woody, "I think that is rather a good definition of poetry."

The same chord

I've posted this excerpt a long time ago, but reading this book again, I was struck once more by the profound simplicity of the message.

So here, again, is an excerpt from the absolutely delightful Mister God, This is Anna.

"Fynn," her voice was a squeak of amazement, "Fynn, we're all playing the same chord."

"I'm not surprised," I said. "What are we talking about?"

"Fynn, its all them different names for churches."

"So what's that got to do with chords?" I asked.

"We're all playing the same chord to Mister God, but with different names."

It was this kind of thing that was so exciting about talking to Anna. She had this capacity for taking a statement of fact in one subject, teasing it until she discovered its pattern, then looking around for a similar pattern in another subject. Anna had a high regard for facts, yet the importance of a fact did not lie in its uniqueness but in its ability to do service in diverse subjects. Had Anna ever been given a convincing argument in favor of atheism, she'd have teased it about until she got a firm hold of the pattern, viewed it from all sides, and then shown you that the whole argument was a necessary ingredient in the existence of God. The chord of atheism might be a discord, but then discords were in Anna's estimation "thrilly," but definitely, "thrilly".

"Fynn, them names of them chords," she began.

"What about them?" I asked.

"The home note can't be Mister God because then we couldn't call them different names. They would all be the same name," she said.

"I guess you're right at that. What is the home note then?"

"It's me or you or Ali. Fynn, it's everybody. That's why it's all different names. That's why it's all different Churches. That's what it is."

It makes sense, doesn't it? We're all playing the same chord, but it seems we don't know it. You call your chord a C major, while I call the same notes A minor seventh. I call myself a Christian, what do you call yourself? I reckon Mister God must be pretty good at music, he knows all the names of the chords. Perhaps he doesn't mind what you call it, as long as you play it.

Weighing the consequences

While musing in the shower today, I had a bit of an insight into why, when having to choose between two activities, one materially beneficial, and one spiritually beneficial, we often tend to choose the former rather than latter. For example, if one has to choose between attending a weekly study circle that furthers my spiritual growth, and taking that extra hour to study for an exam tomorrow, I've realized that one is more likely to skip the study circle and prepare for the exam. Or, if one has to choose between spending an hour meditating and using that hour to work on a class/work project, one is more likely to give up the hour of meditation, rationalizing that the project deadline is more important. Why does this happen? I believe there are two reasons - the first obvious, the second not so obvious.

1. The consequences of material choices of usually much more apparent and immediate than spiritual choices. So I believe that if I dont spend that time studying for the exam, I'm more likely to fail. Of course, I could have sacrificed an hour of sleep and used that to prepare for the exam, and still attended to that which is spiritually beneficial to me - but that would have other material consequences on the next day, such as more fatigue, etc. And so I'm willing to forgo the spiritual action as I don't see any immediate consequences of NOT going to my study circle or meditating this week.

2. Material consequences can be both positive and negative, while spiritual consequences can only be positive or less positive. I think this is an important, but not often appreciated reason why we make the choices we do. We've normalized our expectations such that our minimum degree of material comfort is at a non-zero value. And so deviations from that minimum level of comfort can be both positive and negative. And so I want to score at least a certain amount on an exam; anything below that would be a travesty. However, such is not the same with spiritual actions - if I don't read a prayer today, it will only mean I don't progress as fast as I might have. If I don't study the spiritual text I've been reading regularly today, it only means I finish it a day later. We are therefore prepared to accept a less positive spiritual consequence in favor of devoting time to ensuring a positive, rather than negative, material consequence.

What, then, I wonder, might happen if we were able to renormalize our spiritual expectations, so that we set our minimum level of desired progress at a nonzero level? If we viewed the consequence of one lost hour of prayer/meditation as being as negative (and as immediate/apparent) as one lost hour of sleep? How then, would we prioritize our choices?

Silence - a tranquil conscience within

Create in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope! Through the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved, and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my desire! Through the power of Thy transcendent might lift me up unto the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of my being, 143 and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me, O Thou Who art my God! Let Thine everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity on me, O my Companion, and let the riches of Thine ancient countenance deliver me from all except Thee, O my Master, and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible Essence bring me joy, O Thou Who art the most manifest of the manifest and the most hidden of the hidden!

-- Baha'u'llah

Silence - refraining from idle talk

That seeker must, at all times, put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, must detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vain-glory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endureth a century.

-- Baha'u'llah

Silence - the essence of faith

The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds

-- Baha'u'llah

Silence - the mark of humility

It behooveth you to remain silent before His Throne, for indeed of all the things which have been created between heaven and earth nothing on that Day will be deemed more fitting than the observance of silence. Moreover, take ye good heed not to be reckoned among those of the past who were invested with knowledge, yet by reason of their learning waxed proud before God, the Transcendent, the Self-Subsisting, inasmuch as on that Day it is He Who is the All-Knowing, the Omniscient, the Source of all knowledge, far above such as are endued with learning; and it is 165 He Who is the Potent, the All-Compelling, the Lord of power, in the face of those who wield power; and it is He Who is the Mighty, the Most August, the Most Glorious before such as display glory; and on that Day it is He Who is the Lofty, the All-Highest, the Source of exaltation, far above those who are elevated in rank; and it is He Who is the Almighty, the Source of glory and grandeur, far above the pomp of the mighty; and it is He Who is the Omnipotent, the Supreme Ruler, the Lord of judgement, transcending all such as are invested with authority; and it is He Who is the Generous, the Most Benevolent, the Essence of bounty, Who standeth supreme in the face of such as show benevolence; and it is He Who is the Ordainer and the Supreme Wielder of authority and power, inconceivably high above those who hold earthly dominion; and it is He Who is the Most Excellent, the Unsurpassed, the Pre-eminent in the face of every man of accomplishment.

-- The Báb

The body and blood

The orthodox interpretation of the practice of communion followed by many Christians always puzzled me a little - many believe that the process of eating the wafer and drinking the sip of wine truly means you are eating the body and blood of Christ. Two things always made me wonder - first, why would one believe that the wafer and the wine actually, physically transforms into Christ's body and blood? Second, why would one want to eat the body and blood of one's prophet at all?

I found the clearest explanation for this practice in the gospel of John:

⁵³Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

⁵⁴Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

⁵⁵For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

⁵⁶He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

⁵⁷As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

⁵⁸This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

-- John 6:53-58

These verses, looked at literally, seem to confirm the orthodox Christian belief that one should et the body/blood of Christ in order to be saved. But is this what Christ really meant? I believe a clue to what the "bread" he talks about is can be found in some preceding and succeeding verses.

³⁵And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

³⁶But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

³⁷All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

³⁸For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

³⁹And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

⁴⁰And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

-- John 6:35-40

and

⁶³It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

-- John 6:63

Once we take all these verses together, I think it becomes clear that by "bread" is meant spiritual food, the teachings of God. And as Jesus clearly says above, "the flesh profiteth nothing" - and so in the earlier verses when he talks about people "eating his flesh", he must mean it metaphorically, not literally. It is therefore not his body/flesh that is the bread people are meant to eat, but his teachings and words that they are meant to imbibe.