Spiritual Discipline by St. John of the Cross

As I went through some of the books of St. John of the Cross, a 16^th century Spanish Monk I was spell-bound. He was a Carmelite priest, contemporary of St. Teresa of Avila to whom I have devoted a blog earlier. He was a major figure in Counter Reformation, a Spanish mystic, a Roman Catholic Saint, a Carmelite Friar and a priest and a poet of acclaim. 

Just to give an outline of his life, he was born in 1542 near Avila in a place called Fontiveros. His father died when he was barely two years old, and his mother, being penniless and not being able to support her two living children with her job in weaving, sent John to a school for the poor, where he started his studies.

He takes the Carmelite habit in 1563 at the age of 21, and is ordained a priest in 1567. He is supposed to have met St. Teresa of Avila at that time, who convinced him to join the order of monks being started by her.

Taking deep interest in the Counter-Reform movement of the Catholic church which came in after the storm of Reformation, St. John starts to found monasteries of the Reform along with St. Teresa, as the Discalced Carmelites, consisting of barefooted monks of Carmelite order.

In a conflict between Discalced and non-discalced Carmelite orders, he was imprisoned in Toledo in 1577, where he was confined to a very small cell in the jail of the monastery, and was fed with just water and bread, and was brought out to be given lashings in the public every week.  

It was here when he was in the prison, he wrote his now famous poems, stanzas which he later expanded and wrote commentaries on. Prison is an infamous place where people of repute have penned their masterpieces. Think of Paul, the Apostle, Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime minister and so on, who wrote from their prison cells.

He escaped after 8 months and was nursed back to health by the Carmelite nuns and went ahead to be active in the Reformed church, founding more monasteries of the Discalced order. He at the age of 49 in 1591 at Ubeda. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726 and as declared Doctor of the Church Universal by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

While in prison, St. John composed some 17 stanzas of “Spiritual Canticle,” which are masterpieces of Christian Mysticism. In his writings, he expounds the dark night, the night of doubt, confusion and despair, that the soul passes through in order to receive the Divine light of the perfect union with the love of God.

I tried my luck with the book, “Ascent of Mt. Carmel,” which was the first of the books written by the Saint. It gives an account of the soul from its first determination to seek to rise from the earth and soar upward towards the union with God. It is a systematic study of the ascetical endeavour of a soul looking for perfect union with God.

As I ploughed through the book, which was difficult to read, just to say the least, I was also plagued with doubts whether this is the same concept as the merger and union of a soul, Atma with that of Paramatma, the Absolute Brahman, a Hindu concept codified elaborately in Upanishads of Hinduism.

I broke off reading and restarted it after almost 8 months and completed it, but to my surprise, it wasn’t about a merger like in the Hindu concept. It is about reaching perfection through prayers and meditation leading to transformation in God through love.

Just like Apostle Paul has written in Romans 12: 2, “And do not e conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” The writings are resplendent with the word of God from the Bible strewn throughout the narrative, which is a pleasure to read.  

The next treatise, “Dark Night of the Soul,” which I am reading now, describes what the soul encounters in its journey to seek the ultimate in God, a continuation of the Ascent of Mount Carmel. Here the first stanza of the poem talks of the first night of purgation of the sensual part of the soul. Then comes the spiritual part, the purification which is a night obscure, dark and terrible, the Dark Night.

In the Dark Night, it is God who takes the initiative and purges the soul of its senses and faculties, nudging the soul towards its goal of merger in the love of God and be transformed completely. The treatise talks about the seven deadly sins, including pride, avarice, luxury, wrath, gluttony, envy and sloth and the need to be purged off these.

All these discipline is to ensure the soul will remain in peace and quietness, content with loving attentiveness toward God, depicting the various stages of ascent to the Mount, which culminates in the union with God. St. John also describes the ten steps or degrees of love, which is known as St. Bernard’s mystical ladder.

The other two books of the Saint which I am yet to lay my hands on are The Spiritual Canticle and The Living Flame of Love. I am sure I will do so soon and be delighted in the account of the Saint who had climbed the Mountain himself and has written about his experience.  

Spiritual Canticle is said to be about a bride, the soul, searching for her bridegroom, and is anxious at having lost him. When they find each other, they are filled with joy.

It sounds like the Songs of Solomon in the Bible, where the Shulamite girl, smitten by the love bug, pines for her lover to come and claim her as his bride and the mutual joy they experience once they unite in love.

The Living Flame is supposed to describe the greater intimacy as the soul responds to God’s love, the final Union with God.

Well, it seems to be a tall order in today’s world to lead such a life of not even wearing shoes/sandals and seek the Lord continually, but even without such a rigorous asceticism, it is possible to be in the Lord all the time, continually to remember him, pray for people who are in difficult straits, and ‘be in Christ.’ Writings such as these inspire us to do so, which are achievable for any ordinary human being.

As I write this, Christmas season is on us, and we are celebrating the birth of a child, who gave up everything to take up the human form, to achieve liberation for the human souls, from the captivity of sin and sickness and death. That is love and may we be enveloped by that love that will never leave us or forsake us or abandon us.

Let’s seek refuge in that Love.

Let our Lord’s love and intimacy keep our hearts and souls in love, with him and our fellow-human beings.

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Christmas in the Air!

It is the month of December already and eager anticipation of Christmas and the celebrations abound. Like you can smell the Spring season in the air, with its flowers and scents and the chirping birds, one can feel the excitement about Christmas. It is in the very air!

Programmes after programmes in the churches, musicals and skits by Sunday School students and the choir, cantata, Christmas carols, galore. Not to say the least about the preparations of plum cakes, Christmas puddings, sweets, rose-cookies, mince pies and fritters. Yes, it is the time to celebrate, a time of sharing and rejoicing, for Christ was born that day.  

But what is the significance of Christmas celebration? What are we really celebrating? It is just cakes and wine or is there something more?

Bible tells us that Jesus was born on that day, which we today celebrate as Christmas, may be around 3 BC. Some 2000 and odd years of traditions have become built around that event. At this point of time we are not too sure about the exact date or month or the season or the year of his birth. But we do know that a child was born in Bethlehem in a manger to Mary and Joseph.

Bible also tells us that the child that was being born will ‘save His people from their sins.’ Matthew 1:21. That seems to be the purpose of the birth. The child was born of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God fashioned the child as a human zygote and implanted it in the womb of the virgin Mary, betrothed to Joseph the carpenter. It developed into the embryo and the baby was born in the normal manner.

That was the First Advent – the first coming of Jesus, the Son of God coming as a boy child in to the world. Jews anticipated eagerly the birth of a Messiah, to save them, save them from foreign rule and oppression, including that of Roman’s. They missed the birth of Jesus completely, because he was born not to save them from foreign rule, but to save them from their sins! Of course, he was not born in a palace to a King, but to a carpenter in a manger.

During his life time on earth, the Jews tried to make him a king but he refused and avoided such a role. That angered them. They couldn’t accept Jesus, a mere carpenter as their Messiah. It was blasphemy to them, when Jesus called himself Son of Man and addressed God as his Father, who, he claimed, sent him to earth to fulfill a mission.

When he claimed to be a king, and Son of God and the Messiah, but refused to lift his little finger to fight against the Roman rule, the Jews finished him off on the cross.

While celebrating the birth of Jesus the baby, one’s mind is drawn inevitably to the cross, where Jesus the man died. Without the cross, there is no great significance to the manger. It was on the cross that the price was paid for the sin of mankind.

Jesus was the faultless lamb, lamb without blemish, offered as a sacrifice to ward off the judgement of God. Mankind’s rebellion against God, his life lived independent of God, his disobedience to God’s commandments, deserved penalty, the penalty of death, eternal separation from the goodness of God.

Jesus paid the penalty on the cross with his own life. He effected eternal rapprochement between God and man and restored the broken relationship between them. That was and is the real significance of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Well, it didn’t stop there, did it? The death on the cross was followed by the incredible resurrection, Jesus rose again! That gives hope to all mankind for now we know that we will also rise again after death in our spiritual bodies, and see each other.

This is a great hope that other religions do not offer. Mainly because of the absence of such a hope of being reunited with the loved ones after death, in future, people cling to life in this world. They do not let go of their old mothers and fathers. They are scared. They may not see them again at all!

Who knows in what shape and size and category they will be born in the next incarnation? For a Hindu, it will depend entirely on their Karma! That is scary. No wonder they do not want to let go of them. For an atheist, there is no life after death. That is all there is to it.  

To a believer, a Christian, there are no such fears. He or she will definitely moan the loss of a life, that of a father or mother or any other dear one, but has this great hope that one day we will see each other and meet them all in bodily form in the resurrection. What a great hope for mankind!

Greater hope and joy is that the resurrected Jesus will come back one day, this time in power and glory, to put down His enemies and rule the world in righteousness and justice. That will be the Second Advent. When we celebrate the First Advent, we cannot but be reminded of about the Second Advent, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ! Wow!

We are living in exciting times. First Advent is over and we are still celebrating it. And now it is almost time for the Second Advent to happen and the slain, but resurrected Jesus Christ to come back as the Lord and the true King of this world. What wonderful and adventurous times! 

Are you happy? Glad? Yes, Christmas cake and parties bring in excitement, but look beyond it to the resurrected Jesus, our Lord and Savior coming again and our own resurrection and meeting all our loved ones, who died and went ahead of us.

Are you ready for that great event? All set? Have you anchored your faith in Christ Jesus? Or are you still in doubt and debating? Decide fast for the day is almost done and the event is fast approaching.

Do not delay your decision for Jesus any longer. It might be too late. Cast the vote now and live.

Merry Christmas to all of you my dear friends and a very happy New Year.

God’s blessings be on all of you. 

What of Remarriage for women?

We were at Bible study, and I was trying to exegesis Romans chapters 6 and 7:1-6. In these chapters, Paul is raising an argument, whether it is alright to go on sinning, because we are under grace and God would lovingly forgive our sins. He answers by a vehement ‘No,’ and goes on to explain why we shouldn’t sin or couldn’t sin, once we have come to accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

To consolidate his point of view he gives three illustrations: one that of Baptism, where we die with Christ, buried in the water and rise again as a new person just like the risen Christ. Second, that of slavery. Once we were slaves to sin, but now that we have been liberated by the blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross, we are not slaves to sin anymore, but slaves to God through Christ.

The last example is that of marriage. This is what interested me. Paul says the law of marriage holds as long as the husband lives. Once he is dead, the wife is free of the bond and is free to marry whomever she wants or likes. Jesus died for us and set us free from Law, so we can marry Jesus, the new Husband, and follow His law of love and not the old Law of Moses.

When the husband is living, if she marries another person, Paul says, she will be considered as an adulteress; but on husband’s death, if she marries another, that is legitimate.

I was fascinated by this whole argument. That the wife can marry another on the death of her husband, was a very considerate arrangement in the Jewish society in the first century AD, when women were not financially independent and were totally dependent on their husbands for livelihood.

Such a person, when she loses her husband could end in penury or on the streets. So, the Law and custom made allowances that she could marry someone else, who continue to be supported.

Another great provision under Jewish Law and custom was that of Levirate marriage. When a man dies without a son, his widow has the right to marry the brother of the dead man. This ensured that the woman was continued to be looked after by her husband’s family.

Also, the first child of the brother of the dead man and the widow will be considered as the child of the dead man, so that his name was not extinguished but carried on to the next generation. His family line continued. It was seen as an obligation to be performed by the brother to his dead elder brother. Ruth of the Bible is an example of such a levirate marriage, by a near kin.

Romans also permitted their women to marry someone else, if her husband died. Widow remarriage was an accepted fact of life and there was no great fuss made of that. May be that is why we see that even today in the modern society of the West, remarriage, either after divorce or death of a husband is a normal thing.

In the ancient Indian society, widowhood was considered inauspicious and something dreaded. Women were burnt on the funeral pyre of her dead husband, so that she will die with her husband, rather than live the ignominy of a widow’s miserable life. Marrying someone else was not even to be dreamt of by the widow!

Even in the Twentieth century, remarriage of the widows was not common. Stigma was always attached to that. She was seen as a bad omen and someone to be avoided, especially while performing auspicious functions like a marriage.

Up until the turn of the Twentieth century, widowhood meant shaven head, a thin saffron coloured saree to be wound around the body and work like a donkey at the household that supported her. She became the unpaid servant of that household. Today such horrible situations have changed are not there at all.

Still traces of it are found in the country. For example, the Vrindavan widows, who are dumped by their relatives, including their children, at the temple town of lord Krishna, in Vrindavan to eke their living.

They sing bajans (religious songs) praising the god of that town, Krishna, almost the whole day for two chappaties[1] a day, which the poojaries (priests) of these Krishna temples dole out to them. That is a miserable life, and they are doomed to live like that till they die.[2]

Well, twenty first century girls and women of India need not really worry about these tribulations of yesteryear. They are educated, earn their own living, marry whom they want to and get out, when they don’t want to and call the shots. They might leave a lot of broken hearts on the way, but I suppose their own hearts are broken every time that happens. So, it will definitely not be a pastime they chose to indulge without valid reasons.

We still have female infanticide in the rural areas, abandoned girl babies at the cradles provided for by the government, and horrible dowry deaths, where women are literally burnt by pouring kerosene over them and lit by the in-laws, mutely watched by the husbands.

All the more need for girls to be educated, be self-dependent, stand on their own legs and take control of their lives and be fearless, so that others cannot exploit them physically or torture them mentally.

Brave-hearts do not take things lying down, but fight it out valiantly till the end. I remember the ‘Brave-heart’ in that Delhi bus on that horrible night four years ago, when she went out for a movie with her boyfriend. She did not take it lying down, but fought it until she died and in dying gave hope and courage to many.

A society is known by the respect it shows to its women and how it treats her. I wish India will rise up and be counted as a civilized society at least in the 21^st century.  

---

[1] Round and flat unleavened wheat breads common in India.

[2] William Dalrymple gives a succinct description of this City of Widows in his book, “The Age of Kali.”