HOW DIFFICULT IT IS to define a "human being". In what does his humanity in fact consist? It cannot be confined to his body or even his reasoning mind and emotional nature. All these parts of his personality are in a state of constant change and fluctuation. In terms of the body and reasoning mind, man is merely a very intelligent animal who is far better equipped than any other animal to adapt himself to outer circumstances, because of his ability to manipulate the outside world. It is when we move in awareness beyond the selfishness of immediate gratification that we begin to experience other modalities of our hidden nature.
The glory of man is his isolation in a world of private experience and his ability to work towards meaning by the use of imagination. When the mind runs free and is not engaged in mere wish-fulfilling daydreams but is focusing on the world of ideals and aspirations, a wonderful opening occurs. Enclosure is transcended by hope, and the heart expands in joyful response.
We live in a world of darkness which is illuminated by our own courageous movements towards a light, which though within us, is concealed from the eye of reason. Yet in giving of ourselves in hope beyond reason-and this is a venture of faith-we glimpse a depth of reality in ourselves which is the true self, also called the soul. What we would aspire to if we only had the wisdom to do so, would be to live under the direction of the soul, for its dominion is free and joyous. To know your true self is life's quest. When it is known, you have indeed grown into life. But is there anything about myself that is really authentic, or am I merely the product of a number of influences working on me from the outside?
That I am the result of the conditioning received from the earliest period of my life, both parental and social, is undoubted. Without the conditioning of education, I would not be able to communicate effectively with other people, nor would I be able to engage usefully in any work. Furthermore, I am the product of my animal inheritance. The impulses driving me to self-preservation and sex are strong indeed, and much of what I believe is autonomous action, is really dictated by unconscious urges and impulses. The realm of depth psychology has explored this part of consciousness and behaviour so thoroughly that it need not be further discussed here. The great liberation of our present understanding is that the impulses derived from our animal background are not to be denied or decried. The body is indeed a sacred organism, and its growth both mirrors and modifies the development of the inner nature.
The great discovery that lies in promise for us all is the realisation of our true identity, that within each of us which is authentic. It makes itself felt during moments of choice, not the choice between two superficial actions so much as the choice between moral alternatives. The moment when I have to pass beyond the cosy existence of conforming with my social environment to a greater acknowledgement of my responsibility to the world at large is the moment of truth. There is pain for me and suffering for those about whom I care most when I make a moral decision that cuts across conformity towards the aspiration of a greater service in which I may be more fully myself. It is then that I register my authentic nature, a nature shining from the light of my soul and radiating through the trappings of personality so that the body itself is transmuted.
From all this we learn that man grows in stature through moral choice, and that the way to self-realisation is by suffering. This suffering is the result of false identification, which in turn is a product of conditioning by a society that prefers exigent advantage to spiritual enlightenment. The self that I identify in normal living is the fleeting ego that represents the present focus of my awareness. Not only is it a fluctuating point of awareness, but it is also deeply influenced by my animal inheritance from the unconscious mind and the conditioning that the environment constantly imposes on me.
It is a long way from this existential self to the true, or spiritual, self which is my real identity. The course of constructive living is to foster the light of the true self in such dedication that it may pervade the personality and raise up the ego to a consciousness of true being.
The main attributes of the soul are its all-embracing nature and its freedom within a vast range. Unlike the ego of the existential self, it is never alone or in isolation, but is in wordless communion with all the other souls and with the power that transcends and infuses the world. The soul does not seek for itself alone; if is never selfish. Its joy is the joy of all the creation, and it is complete only when the whole world has moved into completion. The body is the vehicle of the soul, and it mirrors the inner nature uncompromisingly. It is a sad thing when one is confronted by a body scarcely living, though technically fully alive, which radiates a sickly yellowish emanation from a mind full of apathy and fear. On the other hand, a body vibrant with life is a joy to behold. It speaks of a soul in command.
Not surprisingly, a soul-infused body is seen most often in little children. Subsequent experience soon dulls the soul's light and darkens the body and the mind unless love is also given to the child.
When we live in the enclosure of the personal, existential, self we are bound to circumstances. Our lives are controlled by outer events and inner bodily and emotional disquietude. Our actions depend on the affairs of the moment or the unconscious urges and drives that are deep within us. There is no freedom of inner choice, only a makeshift selection of possible responses to an overwhelming external presence that menaces us. When we live in the consciousness of the personal self, we work only to survive, but survival has the sole virtue of delaying death with its apparent annihilation of all we know. This is not the life that man was destined to lead. He has fallen from his high place in the hierarchy of nature. He has quitted his birthright, and has sacrificed his leadership of the world in order to gain comfort through possessions. The more insecure we are, the more we need to possess, to own, to master intellectually and emotionally. The freer we are in security, the less need have we for possessions, and the more aware are we of a constant relationship with the outside world that is consecrated to a mutual concern that unites commitment with freedom. The more I need to have, the less I am. The less concerned I am about my attributes and the more I flow out from the soul to the world, the richer I am. I am no longer merely myself; I embrace the other also as it embraces me. We are no longer entirely separate, but through the inner sharing we are both enriched to a greater experience of our true being.
If the other is a person, there is a communion of souls and a new birth into a greater reality for both. But even if the other is merely an object, it is still enriched by my love of it. This is the mystery of resurrection into life by a true relationship.
As I grow into a deeper awareness of what I might become if I were less self-enclosed, so I become more sensitive to the onward flowing power that pulsates through my personality and gives me full life. This is the spirit within me. It is the lord of my life, but usually I am so worn down by the cares, stresses, and exigencies of mortal life that I am scarcely aware of its promptings. When, however, I am tractable to a greater reality than myself, the spirit within me illuminates my soul, and gives me an intimation of the path to the life of abundance. It can, through a special grace, illuminate my mind with a knowledge of the being of God, and so lead me on to the most exciting quest in life, the spiritual ascent. This is the movement of the soul towards its fullness of being in God, Who makes Himself known to us in the highest point of the soul, called the spark, or apex, or better still the spirit. In or through His Spirit, God makes His immanence, or indwelling nature, known to us.
The spirit leads us into the truth about ourselves. When we are divested of personal craving, the spirit, which is of God, directs the whole personality Godward, but in the early stages of our awareness, when selfishness is uppermost, the power of the spirit is perverted into paths of self-seeking and aggrandisement. The path of man to the recognition of his spirit is the spiritual path, and spirituality is the movement of the personality to God. To move into spiritual reality is man's true end in life, for only in such reality is man authentic. To be oneself fully and gloriously is the greatest joy you can know, for at last you are free. This freedom is gained at a heavy price, but only when you are free can you enjoy your own being as well as the world around you. Thus man's concern for spirituality, often mistakenly equated with religion, speaks of the inner acknowledgement of his true nature and of his destination.
How can we move to a knowledge of God, Who alone can fill us with that meaning in life which makes all difficulties appear as nothing compared with His radiance? The answer is simple. It is by living in awareness of the moment and responding positively to the challenge of relationships with those around us. This is the basis of spirituality. It is no longer to be thought of as something reserved only for those who have dedicated their lives to silent contemplation in a religious community. The dedication is as fundamental as ever, but in the contemporary scene we have to participate actively in and partake wholeheartedly of every episode of the passing scene of life.
It is in the depths of the living mass that we glimpse the mountain of transfiguration. The journey downwards into our own inner nature is also the way of God. Nothing is valueless to him who can discern the divinity that manifests itself in all its creation.
In this realised divinity there is eternal joy.