Spiritual Health Learning Community Center
Exploring Life's Horizons
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To everyone, We have appointed a Law and a Way. - [The Qur'an 5:48]
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Exoteric
Historically, there has been a tendency by many people to try
to set mysticism in opposition to those aspects of spirituality
which are doctrinally and methodologically more accessible
to the generality of people. The motivations for doing so are
varied but always in error.
There is no conflict or contradiction between, on the one
hand the so-called outer or exoteric practices, values and
beliefs of spirituality, and, on the other hand, the inner or
esoteric (mystical) practices, values and beliefs of spirituality.
There are, however, important differences of emphasis,
priorities, orientation and perspective between the two
dimensions of spirituality.
Some people, for their own reasons, have tried to interpret
these differences as evidence of a fundamental and
irrevocable opposition between the outer or exoteric
approach to spirituality and the inner or esoteric style of
engaging spirituality. In other words, differences of, say,
perspective have been transformed into irreconcilable
antagonisms, and these manufactured antagonisms have, in
turn, been escalated into polarized claims that only one of the
two broad streams gives expression to the truth.
There are those who have tried to maintain that the esoteric
or mystical dimension is nothing but a den of iniquity which is
leading people to spiritual destruction. Simultaneously, there
are others who attempt to argue that the exoteric or outer
dimension is nothing but an antiquated, fossilized museum of
empty rituals and institutionalized ignorance.
Both of the foregoing positions are, in general, incorrect.
Nonetheless, there may be particular instances in which there
is an element of truth to what each position is claiming.
More specifically, there are, in fact, some who claim to be
mystics who operate on the basis of certain practices, beliefs
and values which distort truth and lead its adherents away
from God. Therefore, these brands of "mysticism" have the
all-too-real potential for seducing individuals to their own
spiritual destruction.
Similarly, there are, in fact, some people who follow an
exoteric path which has been reduced to little more than a
series of empty rituals to which one pays lip-service. This
kind of exotericism is steeped in ignorance and, frequently,
degenerates into various institutionalized forms whose
primary function seems to be to transmit such ignorance and
emptiness from one generation to the next.
Notwithstanding the foregoing comments, exotericism and
esotericism should have a loving, caring, reciprocal
relationship with one another. They should be like two
friends who have many features in common but, nonetheless,
lead somewhat different lives as a result of variations in
interests, experiences, inclinations, goals and so on.
For instance, both friends may agree the defining essence of
the human being is spiritual in nature. On the other hand,
they may be committed to different perspectives concerning
the precise character of that spiritual nature and what
implications such nature has for issues of identity and
spiritual capacity.
One friend may be interested in seeking to attain heaven and
avoid hell. This person arranges his or her life accordingly.
The other friend may be preoccupied with seeking and
realizing Divine love and, consequently, de-emphasizes the
importance of heaven and hell as sources of motivation in
one's life, but without denying their reality. This individual
also organizes her or his life in a way which reflects the life
goal.
One friend may restrict herself or himself to only certain
practices of worship and remembrance of God. These
practices are the ones which this person finds most
meaningful and useful. These practices are the ones with
which the individual is happy and content. These practices
are the ones with which the individual feels most comfortable
and which are most consonant with his or her life.
The other friend enjoys the modalities of worship and
remembrance to which her or his friend is committed.
However, this friend has found other practices which also are
meaningful and of practical value.
These additional practices bring happiness and contentment
as well. This friend also feels comfortable with these other
modes of worship and finds them quite consonant with her or
his life. Moreover, this friend doesn't feel compelled to
choose one set of practices over the other, but, rather, she or
he uses them in complementary fashion.
One friend may feel no need to seek out a guide to assist one
in journeying toward God. This friend may feel sufficient
guidance already exists in the form of sacred texts or
commentaries and spends her or his time studying such
materials.
The other friend may want to work in close association with
a guide in order to understand how sacred texts can be given
expression in living form. This friend may feel the need to
seek out help to learn how to actively incorporate different
levels of meanings and principles of sacred texts into one's
day-to-day life.
This person also may realize that the more deeply she or he
delves into such matters, the process is fraught with possible
dangers involving the capacity of the ego to distort and bias
understanding. Consequently, this friend does not feel safe in
pursuing these issues without benefit of consultative expertise
from an active practitioner and not just a theoretician.
One friend may not be very adventuresome and may feel
most comfortable staying within certain parameters of
experience. The other friend may be more adventuresome
and want to see what is possible in the way of experience
and, yet, still be within the realms of permissibility. This is a
matter of temperament and inclination, nothing more.
One friend may have a need to experience things directly.
This friend may also want to be certain about the nature of
such experiences.
The other friend may not be as interested in direct experience
as his or her friend and is content with indirect modalities of
experience. In addition, this friend may have no need to seek
certainty concerning the nature of those experiences.
One friend may be prepared to wait until the next life to
realize the truth about identity, reality and so on. The other
friend may not be inclined to wait and, instead, this friend
may want to determine what can be known in this life.
One friend may wish to use his or her mind in the most
competent manner possible in order to worship God.
However, this friend may have no interest in learning how to
use other potential instruments within the human being in
order to enhance the range and intensity of one's manner of
worshiping God.
The other friend may not be satisfied with just developing the
mind as an instrument of worshiping God. This friend may
want to explore and develop other modalities as well.
One friend may feel that x hours of worship per day or week
is all she or he can handle. The other friend may want to
devote x + y hours per day or week toward worship.
One friend may find certain teachings difficult to understand
and, in addition, may have no interest in working at coming
to an understanding of those teachings. The other friend also
may find the same teachings difficult to understand but,
unlike her or his friend, is willing to struggle toward trying to
understand such teachings.
One friend may like the processes of meditation and
contemplation. The other friend may not like these processes.
One friend may have something inexplicable inside her or
him which is constantly urging the individual onward in
pursuit of various dimensions of spirituality. This friend
genuinely may be puzzled why her or his friend doesn't seem
to feel the same urge.
The other friend does not feel a constant inner urge to probe
further into spirituality. This friend genuinely may be puzzled
about why, to varying degrees, his or her friend does seem to
be driven spiritually.
In all of the foregoing considerations, exotericism and
esotericism are not in conflict with one another. They are not
in opposition to one another.
The fact of the matter is, one merely has two people with
differences in their respective modes of engaging spirituality.
The spiritual interests, goals, inclinations, degrees of
commitment, perspectives, priorities and needs of the two
friends are different.
These differences do not translate into forcing one to
conclude only one of the two can be true. These differences
are reflections of intention or the exercise of free will in
relation to the spectrum of possibilities to which spirituality
gives expression.
Both of these friends believe in truth and spiritual discipline.
Both friends orient their lives through spiritual values. Both
of these friends are drawn, in one way or another, to the
realm of spiritual transcendence. Both friends, each in his or
her own way, wish to actively seek submission to Divinity.
Both friends derive their sense of purpose, meaning and
identity from pursuing spirituality.
Both friends believe in spiritual commitment and in honoring
that commitment. The hearts of both friends are inclined
toward, and attracted by, qualities of generosity, kindness,
forbearance, forgiveness and love. Both friends make
mistakes and try to correct and atone for those mistakes.
The exoteric stream of spirituality is the one which almost all
of us start with in life. There is much to explore, understand,
implement and appreciate within this stream.
The esoteric stream of spirituality is one which not everyone
seeks out. However, generally speaking, the only way of
getting to it is by swimming in the exoteric stream.
These streams are not separate streams. They are
expressions of a much larger body of water, like mighty
rivers which flow in the ocean. These streams move through
one another in subtle and complex ways.
Eddies and vortices are shaped and formed by the
intertwining of dimensions from both streams. We are those
eddies and vortices.
Each of us has the responsibility of seeking to worship and
remember God in the way one believes God feels is most
appropriate for one. Each of us has the responsibility for
deciding to what extent one will pursue trying to realize one's
essential capacity and identity. Each of us has the
responsibility for deciding how far to pursue the different
dimensions of spirituality.
We ought to do all we can to be supportive of, and
encouraging to, and empathetic with, others who are
struggling with these choices and decisions. In the end,
however, it is God, not us, Who will judge the degree of
sincerity in our respective attempts to discharge our
responsibilities according to our capacities to do so.
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