St. Hildegard of Bingen & Sri Ramakrishna

Mary T. Malone writes in her "Four Women Doctors of the Church" that whereas chastity & celibacy had been strongly recommended to the clergy from the early days of the Church, it was almost universally ignored, so that by the early Middle Ages, most clergy, including bishops & even Popes - not to mention the lower clergy - were legitimately married, according to the norms of the time. Pope Gregory reformed the Church by making marriage out of bounds for the clergy.

St. Hildegard of Bingen was a passionate supporter of the Gregorian Reform, still under way in her lifetime. In the notion of hierarchy as divinely ordered, there was no doubt whatsoever in her mind that those who lived chaste & celibate lives were, in this world, at the peak. All others, especially all the married, were much further down the ladder in God's design.

Sri "M", the authorised recorder of the conversations & teachings of the nineteenth century Indian spiritual teacher, Sri Ramakrishna, writes that on one of his early encounters with the saint, Sri Ramakrishna was horrified to know that 'M' was married & still more horrified to know that he had children. Later the order carrying Sri Ramakrishna's name was set up by his monastic disciples led by Swami Vivekananda.

The same idea was later expressed by Sri Sarada Devi, who said "A celibate person is half liberated even if he/she doesn't pray to God. If such persons are attracted even slightly to God, their further progress will be rapid."

So the 11th Century Christian Saint & the two 19th Century Hindu Saints had remarkable confluence in their views.

Contemporary Saints' "Loss of Faith"

St. Therese of Lisieux (1873 - 1897) has been an influential model of sanctity because of the simplicity & practicality of her approach to spiritual life. She is one of the most popular saints in the history of the Church. 

She felt an early call to religious life, & at 15, became a nun, & joined her two older sisters at the convent. After nine years, having fulfilled various offices, in her last eighteen months, she fell into a "night of faith", in which she is said to have felt Jesus was absent & been tormented by doubts that God existed. She died at 24 due to tuberculosis. The Basilica of Lisieux is the second most visited place of pilgrimage in France after Lourdes.

In "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", the author, 'M', writes about a conversation he had with Narendra (later called Swami Vivekananda) on April 21, 1886. It was during the last days of Sri Ramakrishna, who, it should be noted, had already bestowed many spiritual experiences on Narendra.

Narendra: "There is no such thing as God."

M: "Sri Ramakrishna has seen God."

Narendra: "It may be his hallucination. Sri Ramakrishna told me some people call
him God. I replied, let a thousand people call you God, but I shall not call you so as long as I do not know it to be true."

Later of course, Swami Vivekananda (1863 - 1902) overcame his reservations & brought Hinduism to the world stage in the Parliament of Religions at Chicago.

It is intriguing that these two contemporary saints had a crisis of faith at about the same time.

Zena Hitz & Kashiyatra

"Lost in thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life" by Zena Hitz, Professor of Classical Philosophy (Published by Princeton University Press) examines the supreme delights of an intellectual life. But she posits a preparation of an ascetic way of life, shorn of all modern trappings, to enter this life. The rewards are the fruits of human life flourishing in peace & leisure; study & reflection, art & music, prayer & celebration.

She also celebrates a love of learning for its own sake as opposed to learning to acquire wealth or status. The supposed "uselessness" of the liberal arts education actually make humans truly realise their potential as human beings & not as mere animals.

Interestingly, the same idea of learning as an end in itself, is embodied in the "Kashiyatra" ceremony before a South Indian Marriage. The groom is supposed to travel to Kashi (Varanasi), the centre of Hindu learning to embark on a life precisely similar to that described by Prof. Hitz above! It is to be noted that it was considered a life of learning was the default option for the young man rather than a married life, which is a (necessary?) compromise.

Before dismissing this as an Utopian pipe dream, one can observe the purely spiritual companionship of Yagnavalkya & his two wives, Katyayani & Maitreyi. Nearer our own time, Sri Ramakrishna & Sri Sarada Devi formed an ideal couple. Though they were not of course married, Sri Aurobindo & The Mother complemented each other's spiritual work.

21st Century Curse: "Paucity of Time"

The uniqueness of the twenty-first century is that people have no time. Things have come to such a pass that even couples have no time for each other (let alone for parents or children). This may arguably be one of the causes for higher divorce rates & problem children.

A leading cause for this may be the longer work hours & increased commuting time in the urban areas. The pioneer of the "Eight Hour Workday" was not a labour leader as can be expected, but a visionary Welsh Mill Owner, Robert Owen, in the early nineteenth century. This was gradually accepted as a universal norm. Before this, especially after the Industrial Revolution, workers, not even  sparing women & children were overworked, so that three generations of workers were used up in one generation.

The horrendous working hours existing in the pre-Robert Owen era, seem to be making a comeback in the twenty-first century with a vengeance. Employers are exhorting employees to forget about work/life balance & be available 24 X 7 hours, seven days a week, little imagining the future catastrophe awaiting. This hare-brained extolling of workaholism hits at the very base of society as a recent report of alarming decline in birth-rate in Japan has proved. Japanese workers are known to be workaholics.

Some form of (perceived useless!) cultural activity daily, repeat "daily!" is essential for humans to distinguish them from animals, who exist, feed, reproduce & die. The very "uselessness" of cultural activities is what makes us human & not mere animals. Some fondly imagine that these "useless" activities can be taken up after retirement. But unless these are cultivated & persevered with from a young age, it is too late to develop an interest in them when old. One may even have developed Alzheimer's disease by then. That is why the ancients had an adage "All work & no play makes Jack a dull boy"!

Bertrand Russel, mathematician & philosopher, & an extremely productive man had advocated a four hour workday in his celebrated essay "In Praise of Idleness." But then, who has time to read Russel now?

"Crate digging" in Bangalore 1960 - 90

Vinyl LPs began to arrive in the market in the 60's. Bangalore had a chain of record stores, about 3-4 of them, within a few kms! Apart from this, there were a couple of Indie stores on Brigade Road & Commercial Street each. There were also record shops in B.V.K. Iyengar Road & Balepet (near the iconic eatery U.K.B.) There were even branches in the suburbs to cater to the local buyers.

To keep the record collectors informed, classified ads were placed in local newspapers whenever new important LPs arrived, including the niche genre of Classical (both Indian & Western.) In addition the Russian label Melodiya used to conduct sales not only in record shops but in the foyer of the West End Hotel, selling the records at affordable prices.

To play these records, the equipment available then was the (now much derided) suitcase type players. The arrival of HiFi separates began only in the late 70's. But hardly had listeners settled down to enjoy these, than the LPs began to disappear from the market to be replaced by the then more expensive CDs. As the Indian manufacturers were one of the first to introduce the 78's, now they were the first to shut down the record making factories in unseemly haste.

Now most LPs have to be imported, making them insanely expensive. But as one Vinylhead (obsessive LP fan) put it "Listening to music via streaming is like fast food whereas listening via Vinyl is like dining in a Michelin starred restaurant on gourmet food."

Similarity in Spiritual Disciplines

Thoughts & practices may vary wildly among organised religions giving rise to strife, but spiritual truths are strikingly similar across the board universally.

In Patanjali Yogasutras. Yoga is defined as primarily mind control. 

Astanga Yoga prescribes eight steps.

1. Yama consisting of non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy & non-acceptance of gifts.

2. Niyama includes cleanliness, contentment, austerity & study.

3. Asana or posture.

4. Pranayama (breath control)

5. Pratyahara (withdrawal)

6. Dharana (concentration)

7. Dhyana (meditation)

8. Samadhi (total absorption)

The ten perfections of Buddhism.

1. Generosity 

2. Virtue 

3. Renunciation

4. Wisdom 

5. Effort 

6. Forbearance

7. Truth 

8. Resolve 

9. Loving kindness

10. Equanimity.

Works on Yoga depict also depict ten chakras, namely ida, pingala, susumna, muladhara, svadisthana, manipura, anahata, visuddha, ajna & sahasrara which is the final destination of the Kundalini Shakti, on reaching which the Yogi will go into Samadhi.

In her book "Interior Castle", St.Teresa of Avila describes the Castle as made up of seven mansions (or rooms) through which the soul progresses towards divine communion with God. The door of the Castle is opened by prayer. The first mansion enjoins penance & mortification. The second encourages faith & perseverance. The third, humility. In the fourth, health may fail, soul may become melancholy & one may be tempted to even give up prayer. If one persevers, in the fifth mansion, one glimpses some of the delights & favours bestowed by God & should abhor all selfish thoughts. In the sixth, one should think only of God & is attended with great bodily infirmities. In the seventh, the soul, which was like a caterpillar, transforms into a beautiful butterfly or in other words, consummates the spiritual marriage with God.

In "The Ladder of Divine Ascent" by St. John Climacus, there are 30 rungs.

1. Renunciation 

2.Detachment 

3.Pilgrimage 

4.Obedience 

5.Repentance 

6. Remembrance of Death 

7. Joy-making mourning 

8.Freedom from anger 

9.Forgetting wrongs 

10. No slander 

11.Silence 

12.Truthfulness 

13.Avoid despodency 

14.Restrain appetite 

15.Celibacy 

16.No avarice 

17. Non   possessiveness 

18.Insensibility to body 

19.Little sleep 

20.Practice vigil 

21.Avoid cowardice 

22.Avoid vainglory 

23.Avoid blasphemous thoughts 

24.Meekness 

25.Destroy passions 

26.Be discerning 

27.Stillness of body & mind 

28.Blessed prayer 

29.Dispassion 

30.Concerning the supreme Trinity.

Rabia, a Muslim Saint, said "Marriage is for those who have a phenomenal existence. In my case, existence has ceased & I have passed out of self. My existence is in Allah & I am altogether His." A rich man, seeing her house dilapidated, built a new house for her. She came, saw the new house & told the man that she feared she may get attached to the house & take her mind away from Allah & refused the gift. Here one can see Rabia practising celibacy & "aparigraha" (regarding the house) which is a cardinal virtue especially in Jainism.

Suffering for Salvation

In all religions, mortification is a part of religious activity. From fasting to more severe forms of penance are observed. Especially mortification is important in Jainism, including "Sallekhana", i.e., fasting to death at the end of life. But mystics took this to a new high level as detailed below.

"Make me lame so that I can't wander

Make me blind so that I can't see

Make me deaf so that I can't hear

Let me not think of anything

Except You, Kudala Sangama Deva."

Basavanna

Make me beg for food at every house

If begged for, make them refuse.

If given, make it spill on the ground.

If I bend down to pick the split food,

Make a dog snatch it before me

Chennamallikarjuna!

Akka Mahadevi

Rabia of Basra desired to be rather cast into the pit of hell & excluded from heaven but vouchsafed with love of Allah.

Taking this mentality to the extreme limit, St. Julian of Norwich actually wanted to experience the pain of crucifixion to totally identify with Jesus Christ!

"Suddenly it came to my mind that I should desire that He would fill my body & mind with the feeling of his blessed Passion (crucifixion). With Him I desired to suffer living in my mortal body, as God would give me Grace.

From "Revelations of Divine Love."

Semantics of Fundamentalism

Currently fundamentalism has come to mean the fanatic, fringe elements of any religion. This raises the doubt as to whether these extreme, intolerant views are "fundamental" to the religions in question. That they are not, is evident if their scriptures are taken in their true context.

Hinduism has always preached "Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu" irrespective of their religion. Also conquering the world was never the goal for Hindus like for Alexander & Napoleon.

Even the early non-Vedic religions like Buddhism & Jainism preached non-violence  as one of their important creeds. Buddhism's goal of achieving the ten perfections could be followed by any one. Jain monks & nuns so abhorred inhaling micro-organisms & causing their death, that they were wearing masks even in pre-Covid days!

With the advent of Jesus Christ, a new religion based on love & forgiveness dawned among the Semitic religions, replacing the "eye for an eye & tooth for a tooth." His Sermon on the Mount exhorted Christians to be virtuous like God. He stopped the stoning of a woman by asking the first stone to be cast by a perfect person. He even went to the extent of asking to "turn the other cheek." But all this was given the go-by during the Spanish Inquisition. But even during that time, the silver lining to the cloud was St.Teresa of Avila who gathered a group of women & practiced austerities to attain Salvation.

"That which you have been given is but the fleeting pleasure of this life. Better & more enduring is God's recompense to those, who when angered, are willing to forgive. He that forgives & seeks reconcilement shall be recompensed by God." (Surah 42, Verse  35) of the Holy Quran. 

Unfortunately, like the Spanish Inquisition, many have overlooked this dictum.

When Rabia of Basra was born in a very poor family, the Prophet reputedly appeared in a dream to her father & said "Do not be sorrowful for this daughter who is born is a great Saint." Her famous prayer, enjoins unconditional love of God, like St. Teresa's or Akka Mahadevi's or Meera's.

"O my Lord,

If I worship you from fear of hell, 

Burn me in hell.

If I worship you from hope of Heaven,

Exclude me thence.

But if I worship you for your own sake,

Then show me Your Eternal Beauty."

(But she has not achieved the renown of St. Teresa of Avila.)

Can not the above examples be considered as "fundamental" to the respective religions?

Perils of Dogmatism in Religion, Politics & Law

In law, when a case is argued in court, an extremely one-sided (dogmatic) view is taken by the prosecution, followed by a similar opposite view taken by the defence. Hopefully, the judge, after examining evidence, takes an even-handed view, deciding the case on its merits.

Unfortunately, a similar polarised view is taken in politics, with each party claiming it's infallibility & utter ulterior motives of the other parties. How ridiculous this is, becomes evident when even the much criticised "Papal Infallibility" is restricted only to theological affairs. This has gone to such an alarming extent that parties claim an ideal perfect country can be achieved only if other parties are exterminated, forgetting the fact that a responsible & strong opposition is the only protection against tyranny in a democracy.

Even in the case of religions, all religions agree about Divine Omnipotence & that everything occurs because of God's will, conveniently overlooking the fact that this  includes the creation of religions other than their own, for God's own inscrutable purposes. The very idea of a single "true religion" is absurd as all religions have supposedly evolved for different human needs at different countries at different times.

This lamentable way of thinking can be partly ascribed to the lack of reading habit, as without extensive reading of seminal books in all ouvres, one cannot make magisterial pronouncements as if one is  born omniscient.

Even if one does not want to follow Richard Dawkins, one can surely read Thomas Paine & Bertrand Russel!

Centenary of an unique symphony

Last year marked the centenary of Ralph Vaughn Williams'  Symphony 3, subtitled "Pastoral" (1922), an unique piece in the symphonic world in that none of the 4 movements are fast or have overt rhythms. 

The four movements are:

1. Molto moderato

2. Lento moderato

3. Moderato pesante

4. Lento.

Even though it is called "Pastoral", it is actually a beautiful elegy for the dead of WW I, (in which the composer served in the Royal Army Medical Corps) & a meditation on the sounds of peace.

David Cox writes "The opening theme is harmonised in chords following the contours of the melody like Debussy." The listener is always aware of the impressionist nature of the music throughout the work. Constant Lambert writes of "The creation of a particular type of grey, reflective,  English landscape mood."

The symphony has a playing time of around 35 minutes & scored for a large orchestra & a wordless soprano in the final movement. Unfortunately it is the least performed of Vaughn Williams' symphonies.