Note from Guru Kurt: One more piece for the ages, but not today! As I sent this, I felt like I was purchasing a lottery ticket! They publish all kinds of malarkey in this magazine (see the article in question), but I remain unnoticed. Such is my fate!
I read with interest your story entitle The God Gene, in the Oct. 25, 2004 edition of your magazine. Like most articles written in the West, one gets the impression after reading it that “this is all very interesting, let’s see what science has to tell us.” That’s a good approach, since the scientific method is sound, at least within the realm where it applies, which is to say, the realm of matter and energy. The real question is whether there might be invisible things, that science can neither perceive nor measure, for instance the soul of man, or any divine agencies that may happen to be at work, behind the scenes. For all science can tell us, the material realm may be but the surface crust of a humongous edifice of spirit, each person supported from within by his or her soul, and the souls supported by a much larger Maker of these souls. Viewing the physical brain and performing experiments on it, for instance, might only show you the external manifestation of what is an essentially spiritual process, i.e. thinking, desire, emotions and the like. The possibility that what I say could be the truth is real, and it is irrational to deny it on prima facie grounds. For all we know today, science may uncover (or have already uncovered) evidence that what I say is the actual case, and what man is cannot be explained on the basis of purely physical and biochemical phenomena. I will try to be brief, but I merely wanted to comment on the first ten questions of the “Spiritual Quiz” appearing in this article. It is not entirely accurate, and is somewhat misleading as to the essence of true spirituality.
The West tells us that man has a soul, and that this soul has a Creator. The East tells us that everyone emerges from a common soul, the divine Self or Atman, and states that God is only within, not without. With three simple hypotheses, these two views can be seen from a unified perspective. First, if you hypothesize that the Atman in each person is separate, that each person has a divine Self, then the Eastern view can be seen to allow the existence of souls. Second, if you state that the Creator made man as “enlightenable entities,” i.e. with divine cores, then you introduce a God that man cannot himself experience, leaving the Eastern gurus as having discovered God within, and neglecting utterly God without. You will find that these hypotheses make a good deal of sense out of mystical experience worldwide, for the Catholics speak of “Christ within,” though the idea of merging into a common Self is rightly abhorrent to them. Reading the “Spiritual Quiz,” I see that Robert Cloninger has mingled East and West indiscriminately. For instance the first question is straight from the East, “I often feel so connected to the people around me that it is like there is no separation between us.” The Eastern view expressed here is truly diabolical, because to merge with others would indicate entering an eternal state of non-experience, something to be loathed and hated by rational entities. Thus answering this question “yes” is not spiritual, but irrational. The proper question is, “I often feel in such a state of harmony with those around me that I know we can live in peace.” That is real religion, which allows your soul to continue as a soul, while you become more divine by getting closer to your core.
The second question is “I often do things to help protect animals and plants from extinction.” This is a good question, but poorly worded, since there is very little people can do. The proper question is, “I often feel pangs of concern about the extinctions going on, and sometimes contribute to groups that help.” The third question is, “I am fascinated by the many things in life that cannot be scientifically explained.” This is foolishness, because science is surely still in its infancy! The questioner presumes that science is in a finished condition, a typical Western fallacy. The astronomers tell us we have many billions of years left on this planet, so the proper wording is, “I often wonder about the things that science does not yet explain.” The fourth question is a good one: “Often I have unexpected flashes of insight or understanding while relaxing.” In monasteries and convents in both East and West, spiritual practitioners strive to enhance their divinity, and theoretically as one gets close to THAT, one’s insight and understanding (wisdom) should increase. This is an area of mysticism that should be scientifically testable, and once people start to see that, religion and science may come closer together than they currently are. The fifth question, “I sometimes feel so connected to nature that everything seems to be part of one living organism,” alludes to the Eastern view that everything emerges from one spirit. This question is alright, but if you ever see those connections literally you are doomed, again to a dismal fate, merging with everything in the end, experiencing nothing.
The sixth question alludes to the “siddhis” or spiritual powers described in the East and said to come to a person advanced along the path to enlightenment. “I seem to have a ‘sixth sense’ that sometimes allows me to know what is going to happen.” I am not saying these powers are real or imaginary, only that there seem to be plenty of people (psychics for instance) practicing them in the West, and plenty of people believing it. Ramakrishna taught that siddhis may not always come to a spiritual adept, though. The seventh question is “Sometimes I have felt like I was part of something with no limits or boundaries in time and space.” A rational entity should be very frightened, experiencing something like this, because if this is true for all beings, you again face a merging with everybody, most to be hated and feared. According to my hypotheses, this is the Atman or divine core communicating its glory, of infinite possibilities and time, to a person. It would be better worded: “Sometimes I have feelings of limitless possibilities, and everlasting time to expand into them.” The eighth question bespeaks intense states of concentration, called dhyana by Patanjali. “I am often called ‘absent minded’ because I get so wrapped up in what I am doing that I lose track of everything else.” This also bespeaks the poverty of the Western worldview, in calling those capable of great concentration aberrant, when in fact they may be closing in on high enlightenment. The ninth question, “I often feel a strong sense of unity with all the things around me” is again better stated by replacing the word “unity” with “harmony.” But then again, perhaps all mankind really wants to merge with everyone else, and cease to experience eternally!
The tenth question is very anti-spiritual, stating “Even after thinking about something a long time, I have learned to trust my feelings more than my logical reasons.” The point of the questioner would seem to be to justify the fundamentalists, but they cannot be justified. The Catholics have stated it correctly, presuming there is indeed a real, living God, when they say that ultimately there can be no conflict between science and religion. People who answer “yes” to this question unreservedly are more likely superstitious, than spiritual. Spirituality is not letting go of reason, and what would religion be if not the eternal quest for what is real? And so I have shown, in fairly objective terms, what I wished to show, that this Quiz is not an adequate measure of a person’s spirituality. If my hypotheses are correct, then what you would find is the most rational people are the ones closest to their Atmans, and hence these would also be the most spiritual people. You cannot make the mistake of presuming that all those who go to church are spiritual, because what the churches promise is something too easy, that would attract almost anyone. My hypotheses, unifying East and West, suggest that all people are headed for enlightenment, through a process of rebirth, and this would mean a lot of work for everyone, which is something most may not wish to hear. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the third hypothesis. This is that the Creator embodies Himself from time to time, being known hereabouts as Avatar or Lord. The same One could have appeared as Krishna, Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed, which would explain the immense but yet very peculiar popularity of these singular figures; but I wouldn’t want to bore you, with any picayune details, about that!
Guru Kurt
Manitowoc, WI