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17. The Testimony of the Best and the Brightest
Another way to catch a glimpse of the importance of the unseen order to human experience is to look for guidance from those who have been viewed as the most accomplished among us, the exemplars of the highest human possibilities. If we look to these heroes and heroines of human history, we discover that a very high percentage believed that they derived their wisdom, their authority, and their creativity from a source greater than their individual talents and abilities.
In Chapter Two we looked briefly at the importance of this belief in the field of science, so let us turn now to some of the other realms of human creativity and achievement. Beginning with philosophy, let us note that grounding their thought in some understanding of an unseen order is one of its main building blocks. In fact, much of philosophy in every culture and every age has been intertwined with theology and metaphysics—with the attempt to understand the transcendent dimension and our relation to it. Most of philosophy begins there—where else could it begin? And even the philosophers known for their focus on our worldly lives—how we might best live in this world—based their teachings on assumptions about the unseen order.
For instance, Socrates spoke of the realm of the Good, which, if we only knew it, we would certainly follow, because it was the source of our true fulfillment. Aristotle was primarily concerned with understanding and categorizing the everyday world, but he held that this everyday world had arisen from a “First Cause” that was transcendent to the everyday, material world. Kant, although arguing that we could not directly know the transcendent dimension, based his morality on the assumption that it did exist, and on the possibility that we could come to know the “holy will” within ourselves. Confucius, although especially concerned with the practical aspects of human life, argued that there was a moral law, the Will of Heaven, which was the only basis upon which humans could know how to live their lives. Rene Descartes, one of the founders of modern philosophy and science, held that our minds partook of the spiritual dimension, and he proposed his ontological proof for the existence of God. And Georg Friedrich Hegel, whose ideas were one of the building blocks for the theories of Karl Marx, argued for the existence of an Absolute Mind, which gave rise to the rationally structured material universe.
Turning to the world of art, an incredible number of those recognized for the greatest achievements in all of its branches believed that their genius sprang from a source transcendent to themselves. As discussed in his book Higher Creativity, Willis Harmon notes that Beethoven and Brahms “took pains to point out that certain inspirations, more valued than others, seemed to come from some place other than what they normally thought of as their self.” George Eliot said “that in all of what she considered her best writing, something that was ‘not herself’ took possession of her, and that she felt her own personality to be ‘merely the instrument through which this spirit . . . was acting’." And Johannes Brahms proclaimed, "Straightaway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God, and not only do I see distinct themes in my mind's eye, but they are clothed in the right forms, harmonies, and orchestration. Measure by measure, the finished product is revealed to me. . . "
Journalist Christine Cox reports that the poet Shelley “spoke of his inspired moments as ‘visitations of the divinity in man’." She goes on to observe that “Philosophers, artists, the enlightened of all times and places—from Plato to Ching Hao, Tagore to Beethoven—have made similar claims: that true art is inspired by the divine.” And the prominence of these transcendental themes and ideas in novels, plays and movies continues right down to the present day. Novelists such as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Melville are presented as models of great literature, and still read by millions—and all had transcendental themes. Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Miserables—with its underlying theme of giving one’s life over to the unseen meaning in which the world is held—has been turned into one of the most popular plays of all time.
And consider the great poets: Emily Dickinson—whose writings are imbued with an assumption of a transcendent dimension—is still very popular, and against all logic or easy understanding, the 12th century mystical Sufi poet Jelaluddin Rumi is the best-selling poet in America at the start of the 21st century. Even the ever-popular Walt Whitman, who is more identified with a humanist perspective than a transcendental one, penned these lines:
I see something of God in each hour of the twenty-four,
and each moment then,
In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the
glass;
I find letters from God dropped in the street,
and every one is signed by God's name,
There is that in me.... I do not know what it is.... but I know it is in me.
I do not know it.... it is without name.... it is a word unsaid,
It is not in any dictionary or utterance or symbol.
To it the creation is the friend whose embracing awakes me.
Do you see O my brothers and sisters?
It is not chaos or death.... It is form and union and plan...
....it is eternal life.... it is happiness.
And in movies. Just a few years ago the most watched movies of all time were the Star Wars movies, with their invocation of “the force be with you”—referencing a transcendental field in which we exist and which acts for the good when we can access it. Currently we have Harry Potter in his world of many unseen forces, and countless discussions about the underlying spiritual message that these movies and novels convey. Then there is the overwhelming success, in novel as well as film, of the spiritual message embedded in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. These currents are so strong that noted scholar of religions Huston Smith concluded simply, “art is spiritual technology.”
Moving to political and military leaders, for thousands of years in almost every human culture, the ruler was seen as either divine, or as a representative of the divine. Thus is Egypt, the ruler was considered God on earth, in China the ruler held the Mandate of Heaven, and in Europe there was the belief in the Divine Right of Kings. This association of leadership with the transcendent was common to most human cultures for thousands of years. And in those cultures that did not see the ruler as divine, or as cultures gradually broke away from this belief, most held that the “unseen order” would and could intervene in human affairs. Thus God was seen as speaking directly to Jewish leaders such as Moses, and was believed to intervene on the peoples’ behalf against their enemies (for instance at Jericho and against the Egyptians). Or the unseen order was believed to give the Jewish rulers and the Jewish people guidance through the voice of the prophets—thus the names of Elijah, and Isaiah, and Ezekiel, and Jeremiah echo down the halls of history in Judeo-Christian lands.
The transcendent was equally present for the people of ancient Greece. These ancients were not usually viewed as divine themselves, but the Gods on Olympus were experienced as frequently intervening in human affairs, helping those who made their case for assistance, and subverting those whom the Gods wished to punish or thwart. And on earth, the Oracle of Delphi was seen as a voice that spoke from a direct inspiration of the “unseen.” In India, the story is told of Krishna becoming the charioteer of the great warrior Arjuna, offering him advice and guidance during the great battle of the Mahabharata. From this story came one of the most sacred books in India, the Bhagavad-Gita. In ancient China perhaps the most important and formative book was the I Ching, a book of divination—a way to access the unseen, used by rulers and commoners alike to discover the right relationship to the transcendent dimension. And of course in the world of Islam, Mohammed was seen as the Prophet of God, bringing to the people the wisdom of the Koran.
As the belief that human rulers were divine slowly gave way to a more fallible view of worldly leadership, the importance of the unseen order did not necessarily wane in human culture. The belief that there was a transcendent dimension that could affect human affairs continued for most people everywhere. Only the belief that human leaders were divine, or could speak infallibly for the divine, came to be doubted. But in this new environment, many political leaders still based their message on an appeal to an “unseen order.” Thus Joan of Arc rallied the French with her divine vision. Thomas Jefferson grounded the creation of America on the phrase “they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.” And Abraham Lincoln led America through its most trying years with such words as: “Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms.” And “I have desired that all my works and acts may be according to his will.”
And this grounding in the transcendent by world leaders continues right down to the modern world. In the twentieth century, Mahatma Gandhi led the Indian subcontinent to independence with an appeal to ancient transcendental concepts of his native land, swaraj (freedom) and ahimsa (non-violence). Martin Luther King led the civil rights movement in America with an appeal to the capacity in all of us to act from a recognition of a higher good. And Nelson Mandela, the young radical who spent many years in prison—and who finally won political freedom for the people of his native land—uttered these words at his inauguration as President of South Africa: “We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.”
Once again, this overwhelmingly common belief among the best and brightest of all ages and cultures—that there is an unseen order—does not prove its existence, nor does it give any guidance as to which, if any, of these figures were truly in touch with it—if it does exist. Nor does it tell us which values and meanings have greater validity than others. But what this history does show is the extreme importance almost all the exemplars of human history have given to the “unseen,” and the crucial role they believed it played in their achievements, wisdom, and creativity. And if we cannot look to their combined and cumulative wisdom for guidance, where else, exactly, should we look?
Of Role Models and Teaching Stories
Turning to the spiritual and religious arena, we would naturally assume that most leaders and role models in this realm would believe in and place an emphasis on the unseen order. And this is certainly the case. All (or almost all) spiritual and religious figures throughout human history have held the belief that there is an unseen order, and that the most important thing in life is to get in the right relationship to it. One can find individual cases where significant doubt arose, but this doubt was usually about the doubter’s specific understanding of the unseen, not its existence—and often this doubt led to changes in their views about the nature of the unseen. In fact, many great religious and spiritual figures in human history have changed their views at different points in their lives about the nature of the unseen, and how best way to relate to it. (Sometimes these changes have resulted in dramatic effects on the history of a world religion— for instance, Paul and Augustine in the Christian tradition.) But almost none have ended their lives with a belief that the unseen did not exist.)
This point is so obvious that it would be redundant to list individual examples of spiritual and religious figures who believed there was an unseen dimension. But the point that is important to make is just how central to human life religious and spiritual figures have been as role models in many, many cultures—serving as the best image most societies had to offer as the best way to live. And it is equally important to recognize how valued choosing a religious or spiritual life was in many cultures—with the underlying assumption that this was the best way to find the right relationship to the unseen. Millions upon millions have given their lives to this quest—in every age and every land. Thus in Medieval Europe the best and brightest aspired to be monks or nuns, in Buddhist countries the monks and nuns were held in the highest esteem, in the world of Islam the imam or sheikh was revered and followed, in ancient Israel the prophets were deeply respected, in ancient China the seven immortals were the role models to be emulated, and in India the sadhus were considered to be the most advanced on life’s path.
In many lands, religious and spiritual leaders were also the most important counselors to the rulers, and they were sought out by common folk for their wisdom and guidance. For instance, in indigenous cultures throughout history, the shaman was seen as the most important and powerful of figures, the one to be listened to above all others, and the one to guide people in times of difficulty and crises. And what was the most important role of the shaman? To provide the all-important connection between the spirit world and the world of everyday life, to attempt to keep the right relationship with “the numinous powers that can either sustain or extinguish human life.”
This importance of religious and spiritual figures as guides, as counselors, and as role models did not come to an end some time in the past—it is still very much with us all over the world today. One thinks immediately in recent years of Billy Graham, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama (who sold more books in America in 2002 than any other non-fiction author), Bishop Desmond Tutu, Sai Baba, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, as well as numerous spiritual figures in the world of Islam.
Looking at the importance of those associated with the unseen in a slightly different way, one can travel to any land, and ask what figures from history are presented as examples to be emulated in life. In Christian lands, stories and books are full of images of Jesus, of the apostles, and of saints and martyrs. In Buddhist lands, one hears and reads over and over about the Buddha’s life, and of the thousands of monks and nuns who have carried the Buddhist tradition forward. In Jewish culture, it is the prophets, as well as Jewish religious figures throughout history. In India we here the stories of Krishna, and Rama, and Hanuman, and thousands of religious and spiritual figures through the centuries who are looked upon as the best models for human behavior. And in the world of Islam it is Mohammed and Rumi and the Sufis and the imams and sheikhs of history.
Then consider the books that people have bought through the ages, and are buying today. The best-selling books of all time are the Christian Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Koran, and the Bhagavad-Gita--and they are selling more copies today than they have ever sold. Probably the largest-selling category of books in the world today is the religious and spiritual category. Or if we turn to the list of best-selling biographies in any land or language, religious and spiritual figures are perennially at the top of the list. And this would probably be true in almost any place or any time in history one cared to examine.
In another vein, think of the teaching stories that have molded and shaped the beliefs of young people in every culture and every clime. How do values and beliefs become a part of a person’s internal system? —Through the stories they are told as they are growing up. Teaching stories, morality stories, and fairy tales have been used to shape the values and mold the lives of human beings since recorded history began. Think about the numerous parables and stories in the Bible, or the epic stories of India, of the American Indians, of Scandinavia—or any other culture you might care to name. Think of the Sufi, Zen, and Jewish teaching stories, or the plays of the Greeks and Romans. In every land, teaching stories molded the values and beliefs of the culture. And if you examine these stories, you discover that in almost every case, these stories carry an assumption of an unseen order.
The point I hope I have made is just how central the belief in an unseen order has been to human life and human history. Most of the people who were considered the best and brightest among us in every land believed in its existence, and relied upon their understanding of it to shape their lives and their actions. Those who gave their lives to following its teachings—as they understood it—have been our role models and guides. Most values and meanings have been understood as arising from it, and these beliefs have created the basis for human life as we know it.
Since there are so many different beliefs about the unseen and what it teaches, the above exposition of its importance in human history does not tell us what is true about it—but it should give pause to anyone who considers dismissing its existence entirely. As Carl Jung warned:
The nature of the psyche reaches into obscurities far beyond the scope of our understanding. It contains as many riddles as the universe with its galactic systems, before whose majestic configurations only a mind lacking in imagination can fail to admit its own insufficiency.
If, therefore, from the needs of his own heart, or in accordance with the ancient lessons of human wisdom . . . anyone should draw the conclusion that the psyche, in its deepest reaches, participates in a form of existence beyond time and space . . . he would have the inestimable advantage of conforming to a bias of the human psyche which has existed from time immemorial and is universal. Anyone who does not draw this conclusion, whether from skepticism . . . lack of courage, inadequate psychological experience or thoughtless ignorance . . . has instead the indubitable certainty of coming into conflict with the truths of his blood.
Deviation from the truths of the blood begets neurotic restlessness. . . . Restlessness begets meaninglessness, and the lack of meaning in life is a soul-sickness whose full extent and full import our age has not yet begun to comprehend."
These are only a handful of the living examples, and they are necessarily slanted toward the world I live in, and the books I have read. Someone living in another part of the world would find many other examples in their culture.
Willis Harmon, Higher Creativity, p. 23
Ibid, p.23-24
Ibid p. 46
Article in The Quest Magazine, Spring 1992, by Christine Cox, p. 66
Ibid P. 66
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), U.S. president. speech at Edwardsville, Illinois, Sep. 11, 1858. Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 3, p. 95, Rutgers University Press (1953, 1990).
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), U.S. president. letter to Eliza P. Gurney, Oct. 26, 1862. Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 5, p. 478, Rutgers University Press (1953, 1990).
1994 Presidential Inaugural Speech
The Spell of the Sensuous
C.G. Jung, Psychology, pp. 136-137 (Travels by Michael Crichton
p. 415)
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