People with deep spiritual conviction -- from religious fundamentalists to high Himalayan mystics -- possess the greatest existential gift of all: certainty. But these days, it's not a gift that we find it easy to appreciate. And for good reason. For the last 60 years or so, ever since the unthinkable devastation of the two great conflagrations of the 20th century (World War I and World War II) certainty has been seen by sophisticated intellectuals as being inherently dangerous and a sign of blatant ignorance. Communists were certain, as were Hitler's fascists.
Certainty, sooner or later, inevitably leads to death and destruction -- or so the most thoughtful and reasonable among us understandably tend to conclude. And when these thoughtful souls are sympathetic to spiritual realities, they generally will go only as far as agnosticism. An agnostic is one who is open to the idea of higher and deeper truths, but who resists and mistrusts anyone who is absolutely certain about just about anything. As a matter of fact, "not knowing" is considered by many philosophically sophisticated men and women to be the highest and most spiritually evolved position one could take in relationship to life's deepest existential questions.
I went to India as a spiritual seeker when I was 27 years old and I came back when I was 30 brimming with certainty and spiritual conviction. But as I began my newfound vocation as a spiritual teacher, I soon found that my powerful certainty about metaphysical truths often couldn't help me to come to terms with the confusing multidimensional complexity of postmodern life in a rapidly changing world. Because of this, I started a magazine called What Is Enlightenment? to help me bridge the gaping chasm between my existential conviction and my intellectual clarity. After many years of dialogue with some of the brightest and most illumined minds I could find, countless hours of thought, and endless discussion with my peers, I began to understand that certainty without intellectual clarity is sloppy at best and dangerous at worst.
Because of this, spiritual seekers often accused me of being "lost in my head." But agnostics were pleasantly surprised at the complexity of my thinking. I also observed that many spiritual seekers seemed to be afraid of acknowledging the incredible complexity of life because it threatens the reductionistic simplicity that they're often so identified with. At the same time, I saw, underneath all the open-mindedness of the agnostics, how terrified they seem to be of the unimaginable and unqualified freedom experienced in spiritual illumination.
After being a teacher of Enlightenment for more than 26 years, I'm convinced that it is only the profound discovery of certainty that has the spiritual power to liberate human consciousness at the deepest level -- the level of the soul. Indeed, it's only in those moments when we are absolutely sure that we can finally let go -- let go of the relentless distortion of duality, the endless pain of division and the haunting presence of doubt. That's why men and women of spiritual conviction, from high Himalayan mystics to religious fundamentalists, experience an ease of being that most of us don't have access to (for better and for worse!).
At the same time, agnostics and intellectuals tend to possess a well-developed capacity to recognize and embrace complexity, subtlety and nuance. And as we continue to evolve at the level of consciousness and culture, we desperately need this cognitive ability in order to more skillfully negotiate the ever-challenging and always-changing world that we live in. While there are indeed many exceptions, too often those of religious persuasion and spiritual conviction lack the intellectual and philosophical flexibility to hold more than one perspective at the same time -- whether it's the fundamentalist worldview of Osama bin Laden or the compelling naiveté of John Lennon's statement, "All we need is love."
My hope is for a new spirituality that is based equally on the attainment of existential certainty and the ability to embrace complexity, subtlety and nuance. For this profound higher synthesis in human consciousness and culture to arise within and between us, we need to do the hard spiritual and philosophical work that will actually make it possible. Most importantly, we need to transcend the predictable limitations that are almost always the consequence of human certainty, without losing the certainty itself. It is the spiritual conviction that comes from certainty alone that will give us the courage and heroic spirit to take big and creative risks with our imagination as well as with our actions.
This post was originally published on Andrew Coheh's BigThink.com blog, The Evolution of Enlightenment.
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If a person is 100% sure, they tend to act without further thought. They "know" and, therefore, stop pursuing knowledge and understanding.
This is what we often see (and have seen throughout history) with religion. People who are sincere, claim certainty, and a divine justification for that certainty.
That is a potent (and potentially destructive) combination. Now these people feel free, and even emboldened or compelled, if not outright obligated to act on their "certainty". After all, God has got their back and they "just know" they've got it right.
I wish someone could effectively market the virtues of simply admitting "I don't know". It is the anti-certainty. And it may not have the appeal of the major revealed religions or the self-help gurus, but I think it is probably the most honest spiritual mantra available.
Oh well.
Complexity is not only found in the intellectual gymnastics of speculative reason pondering the unknown contours of reality, but in living this life. Meeting life's exigencies entails a complex engagement with life. This complexity is inescapable but requires no philosophical or metaphysical construction. And this is the epitome of radical acceptance, this letting go to which you refer. Hence, the spiritual seeker seeks the ground upon which to view the world as well as his or her self. The intellectual, in your illustration, is simply wrapped up in thought.
Why a new spirituality when the seeker seeks that which is timeless?
Too true, and too rarely appreciated (by the Right, the Left, the Middles and the Nones/declines-to-state!)
Some of Cohen's former followers, including his mother, Luna Tarlo, have viewed Cohen as a manipulative spiritual teacher. Tarlo wrote an extremely critical book called Mother of God about her experience as one of his disciples. [12]
André van der Braak's Enlightenment Blues: My Years with an American Guru alleges that Cohen demanded large sums of money and extreme, unquestioning devotion from his students.[13]
American Guru: A Story of Love, Betrayal and Healing, by William Yenner and other former Cohen student contributors (foreword by Stephen Batchelor), documents authoritarianism, financial manipulation, physical and psychological abuse in Cohen's community, and discusses the challenges of healing after leaving the community.[14]
Website WhatEnlightenment.com contains first-hand accounts of ex-students, including several former editors of What Is Enlightenment? magazine (now EnlightenNext), chronicling manipulation, psychological and physical abuse by their then teacher, Andrew Cohen.
"Ye, shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free", Jesus said.
"Come unto me all ye that labor, and I will give you rest", He said.
Pastor John Hagee said, "God is too wise to make a mistake, and too loving to be unkind." Unfortunately, not so the world.
Life becomes rather simple when one discovers that science will never save anyone; never did and never will. Nor will governments.
Thank God for religious freedom in the USA or we'd all be lost. That said, it is slowly being eroded as are many of our constitutional freedoms.
Is this the God of the Bible that Pastor Hagee is discussing? The pastor must have overlooked that great flood, the killing of the Egyptian first-born, the 74,000-fatality plague that hit near Jerusalem when King David took an unauthorized census, the killing of the 50,000 folks who peeked into the Ark of the Lord, and the destruction of Jericho, Ai, Hazor, Midian, and many other cities.
I think his words are wise, as were yours. You simply gave the examples.
Thank you for sharing.
I do not believe that Jesus Christ is a myth, a popular subject, especially among liberals. I acknowledge and accept that He was real, that He did indeed suffer crucifixion, died, was buried, and ressurrected.
I believe that this event occurred some 2,000 years ago as depicted in the Gospels.
As to the Old Testament genocides, plagues, etc., I am as much concerned by the horrors that happened to individuals because of the insanitites, especially women and children of the religion and laws of all socieities, not just those that happened within any particular religion, and it is my view that this was why Jesus came; this is why He was crucified (he challenged their authority, their insanity and showed it for exactly what it was).
While it is popular to discuss the brutalities of Rome, it wasn't just Rome that was brutal.
I stand my my opinion that God is a necessary being and necessary in the name and personhood of Jesus Christ.
God is too wise to make a mistake, and too loving to be unkind.
Humans are not God, though we sure can act like it, and unfortunately have often been given a horrific example to follow.
I believe in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. I sure know that I need it, perhaps you don't.