March 5, 2001
Are we human beings having a
spiritual experience, or spiritual beings having a human experience?
This question seems to pop up in many of my recent readings and I am not
certain who to give credit to for first committing it to writing.
One thing is for certain, it points out the separation and the connection
between the body and the spirit.
In the Christian faith, last Wednesday started the season
of Lent: the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter.
Growing up I never gave much thought to Lent.
Oh, I knew about it, as does any good protestant who has friends who are
Catholic. Those friends had to eat the fish sticks on Friday (prior to
Vatican II), and about this time every year talked about giving up something for
Lent. I just couldn’t understand
giving up television or candy or something equally important for this thing
called Lent. How in the world could
this make you a better person?
Lenten is an English word that
means springtime. In many churches,
a passage from the Bible, Luke 4: 1-14, is read which describes Jesus going to
the desert, fasting and being tempted by visions of a wonderful material life.
During this ordeal Jesus is described several times as being filled with or led
by the Holy Spirit. It leads one to
ask if there is merit to deprivation on our human side (both needs and wants) in
favor of spiritual insight.
When you set out to study this
notion it might lead you to other religions and traditions. In 6th
century B.C.E. India, Prince Siddartha Gautama left his privileged and sheltered
life when he discovered that others lived life with pain and suffering.
During his journey away from the material life, he fasted and gave up all
creature comforts. His journey led to “enlightenment” and henceforth he was
known as the Buddha.
The Prophet Muhammad, founder of
Islam, received his first revelation from the angel Gabriel while meditating and
fasting in the cave of Hirá. During
the celebration of Ramadan, which lasts an entire month, Muslims all over the
world abstain from food and drink from dawn to dusk.
Young Native Americans left
their tribe at the direction of their medicine man on what is known as a
“vision quest”. Again through
deprivation of food and their tribal comforts, they experienced spirituality
through their communion with nature.
A lesser known religion in
India, Jain, was founded by the prophet Mahāvīra who taught that
fasting should be conducted with great care and proceeded by confession and
repentance. This act invokes an
intense awareness and communion with “all that exists”.
There is a similar message in
these and many other examples not included here. This Lenten season, I am going to be mindful that the desires
and even needs of my body can sometimes block out the messages received by my
soul and interfere with discovering the spirituality I seek to discover.
Maybe I should follow my old Catholic friends after all these years.
No matter what your background, maybe you would like to join me.
Blessing to you,