The Decision

Actio personalis moritur cum persona -

A personal action dies with the person.

The best part of man is indistinguishable from the least part of God.

Most atheists and agnostics, when they seek to dismiss religion, make assumptions based on popular notions of who or what "God" is. They satisfy themselves as to the foolishness of a particular sect, or perhaps only the foolishness of the most exoteric, often unintended, interpretation of that sect's beliefs, and proceed to imagine that they have effectively proven the foolishness of all religion.

They do not understand: If we wish to know what religion is, we will have to study the mystics, and not the masses. 

Science is not debunked simply because the average man on the street, who believes in it, cannot demonstrate the scientific method. Nor do we conclude that his inept demonstration is an actual demonstration of that method. It is simply one man's foolishness. If he is a common man, then it is a common foolishness, but however prevalent wrong views may be, they do not suffice to blacken the things they distort. Truth remains what it is, and if we wish to know it, we must go to those who have made the sincerest and most expert efforts at realization; more precisely, we must go the way they went.

Now, the true mystics have always asserted that "God" is simply a word, a name, for something which defies description, and which may only be hinted at through actions, images, and ideas.

The greatest mystics have found, through the experience and practice of deep meditation, a level of consciousness so secure, so peaceful, and so profound, that they were able to experience a complete transcendence of the personality, the body, and all sense of separateness; with the input of the mind and senses hushed, they were able to sink, and to settle, into the very seat of their being; to actually experience their connectedness with everyone and everything. The love and fearlessness this inspires has made these individuals beacons of virtue. They have become symbols for something greater than themselves; historical guideposts, signifying the revelation of the purest truths and mysteries.

Not surprisingly, many of them have chosen to articulate their insights in poetic (i.e. symbolic (i.e. religious)) language, and to refer to this ultimate ground of being as "God", since it seemed worthy of the greatest name, and since there was apparently no greater name available than the name of "God". Likewise, many things in their experience are described as sacred, holy, or divine, because no lesser words seemed fitting. This is, of course, a value judgment, and not open to dispute.

"So, then, why all the chaos?" we ask.

The world is a great mystery because of God, and God is a great mystery because of the world. At the mystical level, where God is encountered, there is an experience of absolute order, yet chaos seems to reign in the "fallen" world. Many have come up with various explanations for this apparent discrepancy between the perfectly ordered core of being and the chaos of outward manifestations. Not all of them have called this world the creation of God, and most of them have seen man as somehow responsible for his fallen nature. But, then, this is not inconsistent, if we consider that man is also a part of God, with the peculiar freedom to dwell as an individual in a realm of chaos, or to choose a life of devotion to something infinitely greater than himself.

If you really want to know God, renounce your personal will. With absolute, unflinching faith, accept and approve all that happens to you in this present moment.  Genuine faith depends on nothing. It is not "faith in something"; rather, it is an aspect of God; a face of God; in the sense that it stands alone, as love does. Love of God is only Love alone -- Love of Love; pure Love. Likewise, true faith exhibits a sovereignty; the flame of faith is King; He requires nothing, answers to no one, and does not condescend to explain himself. "...he who seems most kingly is king." (~Thomas Hardy) It is the responsibility of subjects, if they are loyal, to bring themselves into accordance with this unflinching fire; reason, experience, action, imagination, passion, personality, -- all these do not justify faith, but may be utilized in the service of faith. We are talking about the will to push forward, to aspire, to ascend, and to receive with dignified acceptance everything this present moment has to offer; seeing that what is happening in this moment is the best possible thing -- because it is the only possible thing -- and affirming the hell out of it; pun intended.

Faith stands naked, as it were, in a wilderness of silence, and discovers something here which may be fittingly called "the presence of God". If you do not wish to make this sacrifice, please, do not blame God, or the vacuum of space, or any other thing. You choose to live at this level, and you agree (consciously or not) to endure all that comes with this decision, -- including experiences which may be called hellish; where all hope is lost and, therefore, one experiences a kind of anguish which seems as if it would go on for all eternity (though it only lasts a moment or two). On some level, you accept all of this as a natural consequence, and the just price for being an individual apart from God. On some level, you apprehend an order in this chaos, and a chaos in this order.

The other option, we know, is to seek order in order itself; to seek that Truth, Love, Faith, and Higher Sense which may only be found in the most silent places of the heart; knowing that, in order to make this journey, we will have to leave behind our cherished sense of separateness, along with all our thoughts, emotions, desires -- in short, everything we are, or believe we are. No matter, we will receive them all again, ten-fold, transformed, once "the first thing" is accomplished. First, we must surrender. There is no room for pride. Narrow is the way. Few will find it. Fewer will follow it. And fewer still will remain faithful to it. This is a path of absolute commitment.

But, if we decide not to sit in meditation, to stand in prayer, to walk in contemplation, -- in short, not to look for God, -- then we must not be surprised when we neither see nor understand "Him"; when, instead, we see a universe devoid of God, and full of our own egoistic projections. Let us go ahead and enjoy the show, -- or else, get down to the real work. The choice is ours. There is no judgment. Love beyond our wildest dreams is offered and waits for us to accept the invitation. All we need is the faith to enter that stillness, to stay there, and to wait while the process of becoming merged with God deepens, and deepens, and deepens, ad infinitum.

To generate such faith, the study of saints and great mystics throughout history is recommended; those who have given abundant evidence of their love, including the willingness and ability to be martyred; to endure every imaginable suffering out of compassion for others. If any man would mock religion, let him begin by mocking these paragons of virtue -- but, if he would not mock virtue itself, then let him not mock religion, which alone has given rise to such heroes.

Again, the mystics are themselves religious symbols, and therefore portals into the contemplation of the most profound virtues, truths, mysteries, and paradoxes. Like all truly religious symbols, they are charged, through and through, with significance and wonder. They cannot help but communicate their gifts, at least in part, to anyone who applies his heart attentively to their words and lives.

Let us begin, if we will, by cultivating a love of virtue, endeavoring to see the rarest beauty exhibited in the form of virtue, and no beauty where virtue is not. Truly, substance is the height of style, and good form takes the form of the good. If we love virtue, and find her beautiful, then we cannot fail to keep company with saints; in our reflections; in our studies; in our most deeply cherished aspirations and dreams.

Build a fire! Devote your heart to God and you will find what you seek; your own heart will become the treasure.

Sooner or later, in this life or the next, love itself will seduce you. And you will want to know, "Who have been the true lovers, among men?" You will look for the ones who loved. And when you find the philosophers, you won't stop, but mount up to the saints, and look for just one who might become, for you, an unwavering example of love's highest wisdom. And maybe you will find Jesus, a man of the highest creative genius, whose words outstrip Shakespeare, yet, who made his life a work of love and, dying, forever became a perfect symbol of sacrificial love. A man who contradicts himself only in doing more than he promises, for he says, "There is no greater love than this: that a man gives his life for his friends," but then he gives it even for his enemies. The spectacle of such a love seduces all hearts, carries all of us together with it to heaven.

Indeed, it is the surest proof of heaven; the very substance thereof. That love exists -- that even the notion of love exists -- is proof that God exists, and that He loves us.