A Copernican Revolution

                           What we want to propose here is that much before Nicholas Copernicus was even born     ( 1473 A.D.), Jesus introduced a total revolution of life pertaining to the whole man that turned upside down our usual way of thinking and living. Copernicus challenged the common view that the earth was static and it was the Sun that revolved around the earth. Instead, he said that it was the earth that revolved around the Sun although we do not feel it and is against our usual perception. Similarly, Jesus advocated a total revolution ( self-transformation through repentance) for each and everyone in order to reach our full potential summarized in the expression 'Kingdom of God'. This is the way to our perfect happiness, though on the outset it may not appear to be so.
                           While Copernicus shook up the empirical sciences, it was the German philosopher Immanuel Kant who created reverberations in Philosophy similar to the Copernican revolution. Not only in Philosophy, the modern revolutions in science have their grounding in Kant's Epistemology or Theory of Knowledge. Albert Einstein's thinking too sounds out Kant's influence on him in many ways as Einstein was familiar with the writings of Kant in his younger days.
                            Our knowledge of Philosophy and of science is of immense value to humanity and yet we are not to be limited by their power as our capacity for self-development is unlimited. In this context, the invitation of Jesus to us to wake up and open our eyes to reality is worth considering. In our day to day life, we are mesmerized so much by the world we are living in that we are unable to discern wakefulness from sleep. Here we are not talking about our daily sleep and waking up, but about our usual ordinary life as against the fuller reality of life as a whole. When we live in the world unmindful of the possibility of realizing our full potential, we are asleep to reality.
                             How do we recognize, in this sense, a sleeping person from a wakeful one? We do it by looking at the life actually lived by each individual person and not by what he or she professes or says about
life and oneself. We are reminded here of the words of Jesus: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord. Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew,7: 21). The kind of life we live in the world tells us if a person has integrated higher realities into the actual living or not.  At this point, an immediate danger of judging others has to be avoided as it is meant for each one's self-examination. We are not allowed to judge others usurping thereby an authority that belongs solely to God. There is nothing wrong, for example, in legitimately acquiring wealth and using it modestly as a trustee of the assets one possesses. At the same time, for real happiness and self-development, no one is exempt from being poor in spirit (see the next post).
                            Jesus connected repentance (complete reversal of our outlook on the world and incorporating the internal riches usually ignored by us) with the Kingdom of God. Does it mean that we cannot meaningfully live in the present world with its attractions and distractions that are inevitable? Not at all! We may live joyfully in the world without being sucked into its trappings that make us slaves to those attractions. This is achieved through detachment from all worldly things even when we enjoy them (see the post on 'Detachment'). Those who have chosen an ascetic or monastic life also may do the same within the ambit of the rules followed by them.
                            The revolution of life in us needed for perfect happiness, therefore, involves discernment of our real self from the apparent one (see an earlier post on 'Our Real and Apparent Self'). As it is, we are inclined to be led solely by our five senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste without any further thought. It is bad enough to be lazy about employing our intellect and will ( the Mind) correctly, on top of which our soul is completely ignored. The soul or our spirit is the life-giving principle of our personality that is vivified by the Divine Spirit. It is not for nothing that Jesus raised a momentous question like: "What good is it to you if you gain the whole world and lose your own soul?" (Mark, 8:36; Matthew,16:26; Luke, 9:25). A question that caused a Copernican revolution in St. Francis Xavier who left his teaching post in the University of Paris to become a disciple of Jesus and people like him. Just to spare a thought for these deeper realities in order to re-order our lives would be a beginning for our personal Copernican Revolution.  

The Ways of God

                          Our humble attempt to know the ways of God may not be taken as an audacious curiosity into where the angels tread to enter since the Word of God gives us some hints that are required for our self-transformation. " 'My thoughts', says the Lord, 'are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and thoughts above yours'" (Isiah,.55:8-9). In accordance with this, the psalmist acknowledges that " Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding" Psalm, 139: 6). We cannot know God's ways, unless God's Spirit reveals them to us ( 1Corinthians, 2: 11-13). Starting to walk in God's ways known to us opens our eyes more and more so that we may know His ways more fully as the days pass.
                           God's ways reveal who God really is. We know God's ways by understanding His Word, which is not something separate from Him. The best way to know God's ways is to study God's Word in contexts that bring out their meaning. Out of context, if we examine each word or sentence we may easily be misled. Since God has spoken to us in human words, all the rules required for understanding human language apply also to God's Word. However, here we have to guard against preconceived ideas that may influence our understanding the Word of God. If the intention of the human author of the Word of God can be correctly gauged, the meaning God intends to communicate would be none other than what the human author tries to express. This, however, does not negate the possibility of a fuller meaning of the texts intended for future generations.
                          Meditating on God's Word is a powerful means to know His ways. This kind of meditative prayer helps us to know God more personally as well as ourselves. This happens because if prayer is talking to God, meditation is listening to Him. God's ways and their meaningfulness will shine forth in our inmost hearts and minds transforming us according to His own heart and mind. Then we are able to say consciously: " Thy Will be done". This is the difference between knowing God's ways and knowing just what God does. While the former transforms our life, the latter may be a first step towards it. When we know God's ways we become attuned to them, rather than knowing in detail the reasons for them. We are happy and have no complaints about God's ways. On the contrary, our self-surrender to God is complete and self-fulfilling. The psalmist expressed it thus: " My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord, my God" (Psalm 63). The personal experience of St. Augustine reminds us: " Whatever way the soul of man turns, it is fixed upon sorrows any place except in you" (Confessions, chapter, 9). 
                        Heart-felt prayer to God is the best way to be attuned to His ways. "Teach me your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to your truth, for you are my God, who saves me. I always trust in you" ( Psalm, 25: 4-5). St. Paul wondered about the ways of God and the depth of His wisdom and knowledge (Romans,11: 33-34). Jesus rebuked St. Peter when he tried to obstruct God's plan of salvation by his own world-view. Peter was unable to think in God's ways and he tried to substitute them with his own human way of thinking (Matthew, 16:23). The response of Jesus was swift and vehement, having recognized the tactics of the enemy who had left Jesus only for the time being after the temptations in the desert. Peter, however, learnt  his lessons in due course as may be seen from 2 Peter, 3:8-9 where he says: "And here is one point, my fiends, which you must not lose sight of: with the Lord one day is like thousand years and a thousand years like one day. It is not that the Lord is slow in fulfilling his promise, as some suppose, but that he is very patient with you, because it is not his will for any to be lost, but for all to come to repentance".
                       Repentance is not only being sorry for our sins and to be resolved to renew our life, but involves a total internal revolution that transforms our life. This transformation alone will let us have an idea of the ways of God and the way He operates in the world. As is clear from the passage from Peter's Letter quoted above, our standard of measurement and views on life should be conformed to that of God Himself. In the light of this kind of accommodation of our thinking to that of God Himself, the ways of God will become clear to us. What is required for this purpose is a radical turn around of our life that was proclaimed by  Jesus as the essential pre-requisite for entering into the Kingdom of God. This is truly a re-birth in this very life, an onrush of life from the other world into this world effected by the Spirit of God Himself. Truly a Copernican revolution in our internal and spiritual life opening up new vistas of life in the very ways of God.
 

Our Real and Apparent Self

                         Here is a point that crops up now and then in our discussion on happiness. What is our real Self in opposition to the self that appears to be real and yet is not! In Indian Philosophy, the example of rope and snake is very much discussed to bring out the difference between the two. A person who sees a snake in front of him or her realizes on closer inspection that it was actually only a rope. What is real and what is apparent? Rope or snake? The person's first impression that it was a snake may have been due to lack of light or he or she was distracted at the moment etc. Thus, rope is real and snake was only apparent,i.e., it appeared to be real, though it was not. Yet, the person's fright was real though occasioned by an unreal thing. The underlying reality, i.e., the rope was real though it was not perceved as rope, but as a snake. The problem was with the perception of the person and when it was corrected, reality dawned upon him. In the same way, our way of understanding reality has to be examined in order to discern the real from the apparent.
                        Similarly, are our dreams real? Psychology would see them as the effect of our lived experience in the sense that what could not be manifested or attained in our conscious state is lived through subconsciously in our dreams. In dreams we are on the borderline between the conscious and the unconscious bringing out into the open what had been suppressed in our conscious life and stored in our subconscious level of the mind. As long as we are in dream, they are real to us and they become unreal the moment we wake up. Something similar happens in our spiritual life. When we are steeped in our daily concerns of life, usually we are asleep to the reality to perceive which we have to wake up. Jesus warned his disciples on many occasions to keep awake and at the garden of Gethsemane he cautioned Peter, James and John to keep watching and praying (Matthew 26:40). The reason for this injunction is that unless they do so they would enter into temptation as the flesh is weak though the spirit is willing. They proved him right by running away when Jesus was arrested.
                        What is the solution, then, for seeing things right in order to perceive reality as against appearances? Let us take another example of a traveller in the desert seeing a mirage. Being very thirsty, the traveller hastens to get some water to the place the mirage was seen. On reaching the spot, the person finds no water and is dismayed. This happens due to lack of scientific knowledge that would have explained what looked like water at a distance (mirage) was the result of heat waves rising up. This is also the case in our perception of the Sun going around the earth when science tells us it is the earth that goes around the Sun. From the above given examples, it is clear that to discern reality from appeance one should have understnding (Intellect that is like light) or awakening (Consciousness) or scientific knowledge (Reason).
                          When it is a question of attaining perfect happiness, we cannot be satisfied with piecemeal knowledge through understanding, awakening and scientific knowledge.Since the whole person is involved in perfect happiness, our method for discerning reality from appearance also has to be wholesome. This is achieved through a radical transformation of our own personality vis-a-vis our objects of perception. This kind of transformation of our personality is possible only through the action of the Divine Spirit. The only requirement from our part is the willingness to be open to the fulness of reality to invade us. If we are too attached to the attractions of this world, we are chained and are slaves to whatever has a hold on us. To be free from slavery and be masters of our own selves is the result of the action of the Divine Spirit in us. As a result, we would be able to see things as God sees them and in the process transforming our lives.(see next post on "The Ways of God"). As God sees everything as they are and not their appearances, we too would be able to see things as they are as against their appearances. Once this is achieved, perfect happiness is ours for ever inspite of unhappy happenings taking place in our lives. Jesus proclaimed the Gospel (meaning the Good News) saying that the Kingdom of God is at hand and that all must repent (be transformed). The perfect happiness we propose is comprehensively  realized in the Kingdom of God that starts in our life here and now to be completed in the life to come.           

Gaining and Losing or Profit and Loss

                            All of us are after gain or profit avoiding the possibility of any loss in our dealings. When we are involved in our everyday life with the things and affairs of the world, gain and loss are measured according to materialistic standards. Until we become conscious of a principle that transcends matter, our needs and desires are limited to our body and the surrounding world. In such a scenario, our happiness is equated with material gain that turns out to be unsustainable. The underlying reason for the dissatisfaction lurking even in our achievements is the fact that we are essentially more than matter and nothing finite can effectively quench our infinite thirst for more and more of everything.
                           In this perspective, we may try to understand the words of Jesus, the supreme master of spirituality, about the futility of gaining the whole world at the expense of one's own soul. What will we give in exchange for our soul? (Matthew, 16:26). The only way to gain our true self is to deny our apparent self (see the next post for the difference). This is the gateway to perfect and permanent happiness (Matthew, 16:24; Mark, 8:34; Luke, 9:23).
                           The subconscious objection in our minds to this proposal is that we would prefer to keep the one bird we have in our hands to the two in the bushes. What we see and perceive right in front of us seems to be more real than something invisible and attainable only throgh faith, hope and love. However, even in our daily life we gamble so much on uncertain and future gains, for instance, when we make investments. The money I could have lavished on a luxurious life now, I decide to invest in Bank, real eastate, stocks etc. Here happiness depends on uncertain future gains that may turn out to be a big loss and disaster. Besides, the objection arises from a misconceived notion about life in this world and the world to come and the interconnection between the two.
                           In the Old Testament story of Esau and Jacob, we see how Esau, the elder brother, sold his birthright to his younger brother, Jacob (Genesis, 25: 29-34). His logic for the same is irrefutable: what use is my birthright, if I die of hunger from which the pottage prepared by Jacob could save me? Esau's thinking was justifiable since the birthright and its advantages could benefit him only if he was alive in the first place. His fault was in despising his birthrigh(verse34). However, this is not the case with the needs of the body and the soul in view of perfect and permanent happiness. The Letter to the Hebrews 12:16 advises the faithful not to be immoral or  unspiritual like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. Jesus wants us to shed our fake and apparent self by losing ourselves inorder to gain ourselves. Our usual self in interaction with the world is body- centered ignoring our soul and so is not real. Our real self will shine forth when we allow our soul, that is the powerhouse vivifying our body and sense organs, is accorded its due place.This is the way to perfect and permanent happiness.
                         The upshot of the messge is that a person who amasses wealth without being rich in the sight of God is really a fool. The parable of the rich fool in Luke's Gospel,ch.12:13-21 conveys this truth beatifully. The context was the seemingly just demand of a man in the crowd for the intervention of Jesus for division of property with his brother. He was asking for his rights through the mediation of a repectable master for the property left by his father. Jesus asked the man who appointed him a judge to divide their property and warned the people to watch out and guard themselves from every kind of greed. The reason is that a man's true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be.
                         To illustrate this truth, Jesus told the parable of the rich fool whose land bore rich crops. The man was overwhelmed by the abundance of things that he was worried about the storage capacity for the produce. He calculated that building larger barns after pulling down the old ones with less capacity, he would be able to store all his grains and other goods. Then he would say to himself: "Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink and enjoy yourself" (12:19). But God had other plns for him as that very night he would have to give up his life. Who, then, was going to get all those things he had piled up?
                        The point here is not so much about his afterlife, but about this very life on which he trusted and for which he provided without any thought about his real welfare. He completely left out God and and the needs of his own soul from his scheme of things and that was his mistake, not that he provided for himself for his life in this world.
                             

Different Views of Life

                                               All our actions are determined directly or indirectly by the views we have on life and its nature. Those who believe that there is no life after death would be interested only in the material things of this world. Their concept of success and failure totally differs from someone who believes and hopes for life after death. Accordingly, two kinds of value systems rule the lives of those who profess them. As a result, their views on happiness in life too vary substantially. Jesus said that the children of this world are smarter (street-smartness) than the children of light ( Luke, 16:8).The reason for the same is that the former are ruled by apparent values that do not require any self-control, whereas the latter are governed by real values reaching upto the Kingdom of God.
                                               Jesus told the people a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven (Kingdom of God) that clearly brings out various attitudes and reactions of people when invited to enjoy a sumptuous wedding feast. Gospels according to Matthew (Ch., 22:1-14) and Luke (Ch., 14:15-24) report about the feast prepared for the invitees. Since the invitees were preoccupied with their own ways of enjoyment of life and declined the invitation, all types of people who were willing to take part in the feast were brought in. Those who were formerly and formally invited proved themselves to be unworthy for the enjoyment provided freely by the host at the dinner. On the contrary, those who were brought in at short notice did not cling to their preoccupations and pre-plans having understood the significance of the occasion that melted away all their petty concerns. Their minds were open to the invitation that was unexpected because they were not unduly attached to their own concerns. The first group of invitees exemplifies what happens to the people who do not believe in life after death as their minds are closed to the confines of this world alone.
                                               Those whose minds are not closed and are willing to consider the possibility of an after life, a whole world opens up before them. Being open to wider possibilities, their lives are set to be transformed reaching out to unlimited dimensions. The transformation and consequent perfect happiness start in this very life before its completion in the after life. On the contrary, those who repose their hope only in this world are limited by sheer finiteness and transitoriness that are characteristics of the present world.
                                                There is a detail added in Matthew's Gospel about a person at the feast without wedding clothes. It was a wedding feast of the king's son. When the king came to inspect the guests, he ws surprised that a person without the wedding clothes was able to enter the venue and asked him how he got in there without those special clothes. He was ordered out and thrown into the darkness outside of misery and unhappiness.
                                                  This detail is surprising in many ways. He was among those who were broght into fill the empty places in the king's palace because the formally invited guests refused to turn up. In a sense, he was forcefully brought in for the happiness of the king and his son and was ejected as he was not attired in wedding clothes. At such a short notice, how did the others manage to find the wedding clothes? Some interpreters say that the clothes were provided at the gate free and this one might have scaled the wall in a hurry to get in! The wedding clothes represent God's graces freely given to everyone.We have to only humbly accept them and order our lives accordingly for attaining perfect happiness. Again, the king seems to have gone overboard in punishing the person mercilessly who was brought in for the sake of the king's happiness.
                                                   The solution to the above problems need not be sought in particular interpretations of the texts in each detail.The intended effect of the parable is cumulative to induce its shock-value for greater truths. It should be seen in the wider contexts of the two world-views, for example, of those who believe in the after life  and those who don't. Perfect happiness reaching out to eternity as against sought after happiness bounded by the confines of this world!