What’s In A Word?
There once was a man – let us call him Earl – who liked to read
about mysticism, and, as a result of his studies, he knew a fair
amount about the theory of various esoteric traditions. Although
Earl, for reasons he had never been able to understand fully, was
intrigued by the teachings and stories of the mystics, nevertheless, he
had a lot of reservations about whether much of what he read was
actually true.
Because he lived in a rather remote region, Earl had very little
opportunity to come in contact with people who were actively
involved in mystical practices. Even when he went into some of the
more populated areas of his country, and despite persistent efforts
over many years, he had not been able to locate an actual spiritual
guide.
If he were able to meet with a mystical teacher, Earl had lots of
questions to ask. For the most part, the books he had read were good
-- at least as far as they went -- but there were many issues which
needed to be probed in a way that just wasn’t possible through
books.
Via snail mail and e-mail, Earl had tried to contact the authors
and publishers of several of the mystical books which he particularly
liked. However, in each of these instances, his attempts had gone
unrequited.
He was beginning to suspect that, perhaps, the reason why his
efforts had gone nowhere was because, in fact, there was really
nowhere to go. Maybe, the authors were hiding from him because
they knew the whole mystical idea was just a big hoax and didn’t
appreciate people asking embarrassing questions -- questions which
might affect their book sales should their answers prove inadequate
or implausible and, then, become known to the general public.
Still, Earl’s heart was restless. The doubts he had were very hard
to ignore, and, yet, he hoped, somehow, there was some element of
truth in the books he had been reading.
During one of his vacation periods, Earl had decided to visit a
famous resort along the west coast of his country. Between
difficulties at work and his constant vacillation about whether, or
not, to pursue the mystical path any further than just reading books,
Earl felt he needed to just get away from things for awhile, and since
he always had wanted to visit the resort area, he thought he would
try to accomplish several goals at the same time.
On the fourth day of his vacation, Earl was reading the local
paper in search of something interesting to do when an ad caught his
attention. A woman, from some place he had never heard of, was
going to give a lecture on mysticism that evening in the city’s main
library. Apparently, the woman was a highly regarded spiritual
teacher – although this might have been just promotional hype.
Because there was going to be a question and answer session
following the talk, Earl believed the event was tailored made for his
needs. Not only would he get a chance to listen to the answers given
to the questions asked by others, but, as well, he might even be able
to ask a question, or two, of his own. This was too good an
opportunity to pass up.
That evening, Earl found his way to the library’s auditorium
where the talk was to be given. While there were quite a few empty
seats, nonetheless, Earl was somewhat surprised at the number of
people who had showed up.
Although much of the material covered by the speaker already
was familiar to Earl from his previous studies of the literature, it was
quite informative and did supply some insights which were new to
him. The next portion of the program - that is, the question and
answer session – was the aspect which most interested Earl, and he
awaited it eagerly.
The first four or five questions which were raised by people in
the audience annoyed Earl for they could have been answered by the
people themselves if they had listened attentively to the speaker. Earl
was becoming frustrated because the time allotted for the Q & A
session was rapidly being consumed by unnecessary questions.
Ever since he had come across the ad in the paper, Earl had been
trying to think of what would be the best question to ask for he might
only get one opportunity to do so. He found it an excruciating
exercise to try to distill all his doubts, questions, worries, and
concerns down to one or two questions, but he finally settled on one
question.
Earl had decided to raise a question which would give expression
to his skeptical side. He knew the issue he wished to raised would be
rather confrontational, but, he felt justified in asking it, and, who
knows, other people attending the talk might be grateful to him for
broaching the subject.
When the speaker asked for another question, Earl raised his
hand and hoped the intensity of his body language might attract the
woman’s attention. His hopes were realized for the woman pointed
to him and waited for him to state his question.
Earl rose and began: “I enjoyed your talk and found it very
stimulating, but I must confess that I have many doubts about the
amount of truth that exists in what you have to say. Part of me would
like to believe you, but there is another part of me which finds much
of what is said to ... let us say ... strain credulity. So, here is my
question, and I would like you to answer me as truthfully as
possible.”
He paused for a few seconds, mentally composing his question
and, then, took the verbal plunge: “In your talk you mentioned the
idea of chanting the Name of Divinity and indicated this to be a very
important practice on virtually every mystical path. Now, why
should I, or anyone here, believe that merely repeating a few words
will be able to change our spiritual condition?”
The woman waited a few seconds to make sure that Earl had
completed his question, and when she saw that he had, she began to
respond. She looked directly at Earl and asked a question: “What is
your name, please?”
Earl spoke his name. She closed her eyes and was silent, as if
concentrating very hard on something.
A few moments passed, and, then she opened her eyes again.
Once again, she looked at Earl and spoke: “Your father was a
dishonest man. He cheated the people he worked for. He stole money
from several of the community organizations with which he was
affiliated. He lied to you about many things.
Moreover, your mother was unfaithful to your father. She had
numerous affairs with men from your father’s work place, as well as
with the husbands of some of the women in your neighborhood.”
The speaker was about to go on when Earl interrupted her. He
was more angry than he could ever remember being.
He shouted at her, spittle jettisoning from his mouth: “You have
no right to say those things. You don’t even know my parents.
You’ve never met them. I want – no, I demand an apology from you.
I really don’t know who you think you are, but I have never been so
hurt in all my life. I hoped to come here tonight and be enlightened,
and I have, because now I know that you and your kind, lady, are
nothing but con artists.”
The woman held up her hand, as if pleading for Earl to stop. But,
Earl was so beside himself with anger and outrage that it was a few
minutes before he stopped berating the speaker – and he stopped not
because his anger had dissipated but because he seemed to have run
out of words to express his feelings.
When he paused, the woman began to speak: “I’m very sorry
Earl. I really don’t know what came over me. I am quite certain that
your parents are very good, decent, moral people who never harmed
anyone in their lives. I am just as positive that they were, and are,
wonderful parents who are pillars of your neighborhood and
community.”
The more she lauded Earl’s parents, the more Earl’s earlier
anger began to lessen. Soon, Earl’s anger had subsided completely.
When the speaker saw that Earl had calmed down, she said:
“Earl, I am sorry for upsetting you, but I wanted to answer your
question, as you requested me to do so, in a very truthful, direct way.
I said negative things about your parents which you knew, and I
knew, were not true, and, yet, your condition changed dramatically.
Furthermore, when I began to praise your parents, even though I
have never met them and do not know what kind of people they are,
and you knew that I do not know them, nonetheless, your condition
changed again.
“Now, if the saying of a few words, which are either false, or not
based on true knowledge, can alter your condition in such a dramatic
fashion, don’t you think it is possible that repeating the Name of
Divinity can alter your spiritual condition just as dramatically, if not
more so?”
Horizons Menu
|
