The following passage (not including images) is from the
second chapter of
my book The Rose Priory
Dialogues published by Imagier Publishing 2010
A discussion is in progress. . . .
“last week you said many spiritual texts were written using allegories and metaphors. I’m hoping that you’ll expand on that subject this evening; that is if everyone is ok about it.” Most nodded in agreement and a few voiced their approval of the subject. Marcus closed his eyes, for a moment looking within; then looked up and said: “A marvellous choice, Erik, and a subject difficult to exhaust, but first let me ask you all a question, what is an allegory and what is a metaphor?”
“last week you said many spiritual texts were written using allegories and metaphors. I’m hoping that you’ll expand on that subject this evening; that is if everyone is ok about it.” Most nodded in agreement and a few voiced their approval of the subject. Marcus closed his eyes, for a moment looking within; then looked up and said: “A marvellous choice, Erik, and a subject difficult to exhaust, but first let me ask you all a question, what is an allegory and what is a metaphor?”
A young Kenyan woman, whose name I later
found out was Ruth, spoke out: “As I understand it the word ‘allegory’ suggests
the use of a narrative to explain or give greater meaning to a perplexing story
or a puzzle. Whereas the term ‘metaphor’ is more symbolic, it involves using a
word or an expression in place of something else, for example; ‘it’s a pain in
the neck’, is a metaphor for something that is troublesome, or ‘to cast your
bread on the waters’, is a metaphor for taking a risk, and a story about
someone taking a risk would be an allegory.” I thought Ruth was going to
continue but she seemed to think better of it and fell silent. No-one seemed
prepared to add to her definition so Marcus spoke: “Thank you Ruth, that’s as
good a definition as any, and it serves our purpose well, because it is
important for us to comprehend the distinction between them if we are ever to
understand the subject.”
Marcus fell silent for a moment, the crackling fire and the
ticking of the old clock were the only sounds in the room as everyone focussed
on their own thoughts. After a minute or so, although it seemed to me that time
had lost all sense of meaning and it could easily have been an hour, Marcus
said: “Christ often used allegorical tales called parables as a means of
teaching people. The phrase: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like unto…’ is often
used by the Lord to introduce the listener to something that cannot be touched
or seen with the physical senses, but may be perceived with the mind if it is
attuned correctly, and parables enable us to do just that; moreover,
occasionally they can turn into metaphors, for example, the story of the
wedding feast at Canaan, where Jesus, at the request of his mother turned water
into wine - which is in itself an allegory concerning the alchemy of love - gives
us the metaphor ‘turning water into wine’, signifying an amazing accomplishment
or deed, and there is no deed more amazing than the transformation of the soul,
which is not only the main theme of the allegory but also the central theme of
the Bible. Indeed, in ancient times the employment of metaphor and allegory was
common in many religious systems.
For example, in ancient Egypt the Lotus was used as a
metaphor of spiritual accomplishment; its life-cycle serving as an allegory of
the way of spiritual attainment. Buried in the sediment at the bottom of the
Nile, or perhaps a lake, the Lotus seed was understood to correspond with the
soul and its existence in the physical body. At some point the soul like the
Lotus seed must quicken or germinate and begins its ascent towards the surface
and the presence of the sun. The first obstacle that presents itself to the
Lotus seed is the sediment that presses down upon it, much as the affairs of
the body and the world press down upon the soul restricting its progress. In
breaking through the sediment the new Lotus shoot must traverse the waters
above it, being careful not only to draw nourishment from the world through its
roots, but also to draw nourishment from the sunlight filtering through the
waters above.
In much the same way the soul, overcoming the obstacles of
the mundane world must traverse the psychic world. Water has long been used as
a metaphor for the psychic world, which at the lowest level is full of negative
and destructive thought-forms and associated feelings. Metaphorically, these
may be seen to correspond with the sediment that concentrates at the bottom of
large bodies of water such as a river or lake. Here the metaphor becomes
extremely interesting, because the water at the bottom of a river or lake is
full of sediment, making it far murkier than at the surface, much like the
lower, more bestial aspects of our life in this world. It is something we must
rise above if we are to experience the clearer waters of consciousness that lie
above the dross of our imagination.
In this allegory, it is implicit that the
growing Lotus, which is synonymous with the aspiring soul, rises slowly through
the waters of the psychic world, avoiding being waylaid by the phantasmagoria
therein, and keeping its attention focussed on the light. Inevitably then, as
it ascends it becomes increasingly aware of the presence of the light and
warmth of the sun, which is synonymous with the presence of the Divine.
Eventually, sustained more and more by the Divine Light the soul breaks through
the waters of the psychic world into the spiritual world represented by the
clear light of the sun, where it spreads its leaves, as it were, and begins to
flower. It is a beautiful allegory, and I have done little justice to it with
this brief description. You should reflect upon it; it has much to tell you.
Also, you should take note that spiritual allegories and metaphors are rarely
static, dealing as they do with the rhythms of life that constitute the
life-song of the soul.
Another, more complex example is the Graces or Charities,
the constant companions or children of Venus Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty.
Opinions differ about whether they were her companions or her children, but
they are generally portrayed as being three sisters dancing with their hands
interlocked, and were a favourite subject for many artists, particularly during
the Renaissance. They represent a synergy of movement that rests on the
spiritual and cosmic dynamics of Emanation, Fixation and Return, more commonly
described in terms of Procession, Rapture and Return. As the companions of
Venus they denote the circle of Divine Love manifesting in the sphere of human
life through Beauty, which corresponds with Procession, Love with Rapture and
Joy with Return. This cycle of giving, receiving and returning expresses an
underlying cosmic imperative that is observable in the laws of thermodynamics,
but is more poetically expressed in the astrological principles of Cardinal,
Fixed and Mutable signs.”
“What?” said a quiet voice from the back of the room, “I’m
sorry to seem so dumb but would you please explain what you mean by that last
statement, especially that bit about the cycle of giving, receiving and
returning expressing an underlying cosmic imperative; and how does that relate
to the Laws of Thermodynamics or Astrology?” “Patrick, it’s good to see you
again, how’s the leg?” “healing very well thanks, the plaster’s off and I’m
walking with the aid of a stick.” Patrick waved his walking stick in the air to
show it off. “but seriously, brother Marcus, I didn’t really understand what
you were saying a moment ago; please explain?” “I’m glad you asked,” replied
Marcus with a smile on his face. “Thermodynamics is concerned with the study
and science of energy. We receive our energy from the sun which in the form of
light enters our atmosphere and is transformed through photosynthesis into many
different life-forms. It then returns to its source via the complex path of
evolution.
The same principle can also be said to apply to ‘life’ which emerges
from God and evolves through many different forms on its return to its source.
In astrological terms all things consist of one or more of four elements;
Earth, Water, Air and Fire, and each element follows the same cosmic process of
emanation, fixation and return. This is clearly demonstrated in the concept of
Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable. The Cardinal Sign is the primary emanation of an
element; the Fixed sign is the consolidated expression of the elemental
archetype; and the Mutable sign demonstrates the process of entropy in the
disassembling of the form and the return of the energy to its source. Does that
make sense, Patrick?” “Some of it does, but I guess I’ll have to think about
the rest, thanks.”
“That’s inevitable, Patrick, it’s a profound subject
requiring a great deal of thought. However, consider the following, it might
help you to understand. In the sphere of the soul, Beauty is the manifestation
of the Divine, it acts as a beacon or light to which the soul is drawn; Love
enraptures the soul with the object of its desire, and Return brings the soul
back to the Divine in a state of Joy via the object of its love. However,
before such an elevated state can be achieved the soul must evolve beyond the
carnal drives of the instinctive nature and develop the innate but undeveloped
faculties of discrimination and compassion. An interesting description of that
development may be found in Plato’s Symposium, where Socrates discusses the
evolution of love. It is well worth reading, and you should not be put off by
the different ideas he covers. It is not so much the detail involved as the
concept of the evolution of human ideals from the carnal to the spiritual that
is important.
Recognising metaphors and allegories is quite easy once you
get your eye in, but understanding them requires time and commitment; they were
generally devised as objects of meditation with many levels of appreciation.
Consider the following allegory from the New Testament. It is the story of the
nativity of Jesus Christ. The Gospels inform us that the angel Gabriel was sent
by God to a young virgin called Mary, to whom he announced that she was to
conceive by the Holy Spirit a child who would be called the Son of God. The
Gospels also inform us that her child, Jesus Christ, is “the true light which
lighteth the life of every man that cometh into the world,” that this light was
born not of the flesh or of the will of man, but of the will of God; thus
firmly indicating that the true nature of Jesus Christ is beyond the rationale
of the human intellect. The Gospels add that John the Baptist is the forerunner
of the Lord, that he baptised people and taught them Repentance as the
precursor to spiritual regeneration.
The allegory is suggesting that before we can become aware
of the spiritual reality that is the basis of our existence we must change our
ways, ways conditioned by nature and dictated by habit. To do so requires that
we first recognise that this life is not the apex of our evolution, or the end
goal of our existence. It then follows that we must give up being a reactive
creature subject to our carnal nature and take upon ourselves a new way of
life, a life of spiritual discipline signified by the washing away of sin in
the baptism of water. This new life of spiritual discipline will eventually
emancipate the soul from the bondage and influence of matter, and in doing so
it will become a pure or virginal soul. In this allegory the purified soul is
symbolised by the Virgin Mary, implying that before the Christ-Child can be
born, that is to say, before we can become aware of the presence of Christ, the
soul must be in a state of purity, that is to say, virginal. In the language of
the mysteries, when the sphere of sensation is free of all forms and movements,
then it is possible to become aware of the spiritual reality that is ‘the true
light which lighteth the life…’
The use of such stories to convey spiritual truths was
commonplace in ancient times. For the majority, who could neither read nor
write, a story or visual image was a very useful and practical means of
recollection, and therefore perfect for meditation. How many of us today
realise that before the turn of the twentieth century much of the population
could neither read nor write, or that before the eighteenth century few people
in Europe were literate. However, during
the eighteenth century Europe went through a revolutionary growth in commerce
and industry. We call it the Industrial revolution, but it was also a social
revolution and one of its major effects was to stimulate an equally
revolutionary development in the field of education as the need for a literate
and numerate population grew.
Previously, literacy was the privilege of the
nobility, the clergy, the professions and some merchants. The majority of the
population had little need or call for literacy as communities were generally
small and everyone knew everyone else. Generally, information was passed, and
agreements were made, by word of mouth, although in some instances arrangements
and contracts were written down. These apart, people generally communicated by
the spoken word and their word was their bond. Indeed at the turn of the
twentieth century many of the population still remained unlettered.
Spiritual teachings were also given verbally and more often
than not were given in the form of a story; indeed, the Bible is a collection
of such stories, stories that many accept as true historical accounts. However,
these stories also conceal great spiritual truths that were thought too
profound for the uninitiated; consequently many subtleties were employed in
maintaining and safeguarding them. They were designed in such a way that they
could be discussed and interpreted on different levels; each level giving a
deeper insight to the story, which for the sake of this discussion might be
understood as having four modes of interpretation: Literal, Allegorical, Moral,
and Mystical. This method of interpretation applies specifically to the life of
the soul on its path of spiritual regeneration, not to political or historical
secrets and intrigues; and when the scriptures were first written down in the
sixth century BC, an event necessitated by the Jewish exile in Babylon, the
same principles were employed in their construction.
Such methods have been in continual use for countless
generations. Philo Judaeus, who lived in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in the
first century AD, wrote extensively about the allegorical interpretation of
scripture. Much later, Moses de Leon, who lived during the late thirteenth
century, likened the scriptures to a nut, a nut with a shell of literal meaning
on the outside and an essence or mystical meaning within. He taught that the
word Pardes, which means Garden or ‘paradise’, is a cipher concealing an
esoteric understanding of existence.
Each consonant of the word PaRDeS denoting
one of four levels of interpretation and meaning; thus: P stands for the
literal meaning; R stands for the allegorical meaning, particularly in the
moral sense; D stands for the metaphorical meaning, particularly in the
symbolic sense, and S stands for the mystical meaning. Arthur Edward Waite, an
English mystic, whose writings spanned the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, describing the same thing, said that P equals the literal, R the
symbolic, D the allegorical, and finally S signifies the mystical sense.
However, the literal interpretation of Scripture should not
be set aside as we seek the deeper teachings; for the literal interpretation
contains a code for living a wholesome life, a life that forms the platform for
the more subtle work of the spirit. Sadly, many people waste their time seeking
codes and ciphers that might reveal material treasures and knowledge of great
secrets, and doubtless many more will lead themselves up the same garden path
in search of the same.” Marcus hesitated, then added; “Yet, there are ciphers
and there are treasures, treasures far greater than fame or fortune, but they
are all directed towards self-knowledge and the path of spiritual
regeneration.”
Marcus stopped talking; he could see people thinking about
his words, and that soon enough one would speak out. Sure enough, a moment
later a woman in her mid-thirties leaned forward and spoke; “Hi, my name is
Paula; what I would like to know is this, are you saying that all religious
texts are composed in the manner you described – as allegories?” “I can’t speak
for all,” replied Marcus, “but many of the scriptures of the world’s religions
that I have examined have been, most certainly.” “Even Hindu texts such as the
Upanishads?” queried Paula. “Oh yes, especially the Bhagavad-Gita. It is said
that it embodies at least seven levels of interpretation, and the Upanishads,
although they present a beautiful spiritual teaching that is in many ways
unveiled, have buried within them profound mystical teachings that are not so
obvious. Sometimes they are presented in allegorical form and sometimes as
metaphors; the Katha Upanishad is a wonderful example.”
Paula thought for a
moment, then said; “What is the use of such allegories; why not just write what
you mean, plain and simple? It seems to me that a rational explanation and
common-sense guidance is all we really need.” “There are some things,” replied Marcus, “that the rational
mind just cannot deal with. It is after all a creature of duality designed to
deal with the space-time environment. The experience of the spiritual reality,
which is the subject matter of our meetings, lies beyond the rational mind
because it is of the nature of Unity. We can think about it, we can talk about
it, but our rational mind cannot comprehend it, it just does not have the
tools. Spiritual allegories are useful devices the soul may use in meditation
to transcend the limitations born of the rational mind, and understand through
inference and non-rational experience something of the spiritual reality. This
has long been known in the schools. ”
“What do you mean by inference and non-rational experience?”
said Paula in a puzzled voice. “What I mean is that we may experience spiritual
reality in the form of an all encompassing love, in the form of a ‘peace that
surpasses all understanding’, or in the form of a presence that cannot be
articulated, or, occasionally, in the form of an inspiration that slowly
percolates into our everyday experience. By such experiences we may know with a
certainty that defies explanation, or we may infer from our experience
something of the transcendent nature of the Divine. In either case the
experience generally leaves no room for doubt. That’s what I mean.” “Thank you
for that,“ Paula replied, “I don’t wish to seem difficult, but I come from a
background where the literal interpretation is the only interpretation. I shall
give some thought to your words.”
Marcus sat back in his chair, a few went to the bathroom,
and I secured another coffee from the table. One man, I didn’t get his name,
said to Marcus; “You continually refer to the subject of meditation, I thought
it was an eastern discipline, not western, yet you refer to it as if it was
important if not central to the spiritual life of the western world. Is there
really any truth in that? If there is its news to me.” “It depends what is
meant by meditation,” replied Marcus. “In traditional terms meditation is a
discipline that enables us to withdraw from the world of the senses into the
interior realm of the soul, which according to most if not all spiritual
teachings is the starting point of spiritual regeneration.
Meditation requires
the development of two basic skills; to be still and to concentrate the mind.
To be still simply means being able to relax very deeply for an extended period
of time, it’s not so difficult. On the other hand, to concentrate the mind is a
much harder task, although not as difficult as you might think. It merely
requires a desire to engage with the interior world that is greater than the
desire to engage with the world of the senses. Unfortunately, it is an
imperative that cannot be avoided. However, if the desire to engage with the
interior world is sufficiently strong then the skills of concentration come
readily enough. It is essentially an introspective process, although it is
often undertaken in group settings.
Today many people have an interest in Meditation, but
traditionally it was never a discipline undertaken on its own, outside of the
parameters of a spiritual curriculum. Indeed, in Christian terms, although
meditation plays a central role, the path of spiritual perfection involves a
systematic programme of spiritual endeavour that begins with an unquenchable
desire for divine knowledge. It is a desire that is gradually realised through
the application of specific ascetic disciplines, such as the purification of
the instinctive nature through the education of the senses, appetites and
desires – a time consuming work.
Another important discipline is the control of
the tongue, learning not to speak unless absolutely necessary and developing
the ability to enquire and listen without interruption – a tricky undertaking
closely allied to another, the examination of conscience, which is perhaps, the
beginning of meditation in earnest.
However, the main discipline is meditation on the scriptures and the
maxims of faith embedded therein. This begins as a process of internal
reasoning based upon a given passage of scripture, leading eventually to a
higher state of consciousness, where the soul becomes aware of the presence of
the divine. Dwelling in the presence of the divine is, in fine, the art of
contemplation, a state which cannot really be described except, perhaps,
through prayer or through parables – which are, as we discussed earlier,
spiritual allegories.
These disciplines are very ancient; indeed, they were
ancient in apostolic times. No soul has ever transcended the limitations of
this world without engaging in the modification of consciousness that is
implicit in these and other such disciplines. Indeed, true contemplation rests
upon them in the same way as the lotus rests upon water. Furthermore, the
higher mysteries of the Sanctuary are meaningless without them. It is probably
true to say that from the earliest times the discipline of meditation has been
central to most, if not all of the religions of the world. No single religion
or religious system has had a monopoly of that discipline, although in recent
times some have acquired the reputation for being the supreme exponents of the
art. However, every culture has had need to develop its own system of spiritual
perfection in which meditation plays a central role, and it would be extremely
naive to assume that any one culture has precedence over the others.
Bearing that in mind, we can honour the Rishis of ancient
India, who long ago withdrew from the common life into the deeps of the forests
to engage in spiritual disciplines and further their spiritual aspirations, in
which meditation was central. The same is true of the prophets of ancient
Israel who in the wilderness of the deserts lived a strict life of Asceticism,
as did the desert fathers of the second and third centuries, who congregated in
the deserts of the Levant, and inspired the western world with the monastic
ideal, in which meditation was of critical importance. Indeed one of the
central methods of meditation handed down from the desert fathers, known to
monastics simply as ‘the ladder’ or ‘the way’ is still in use today. It is formally
known as Lectio Divina, or ‘Divine Reading’ and consists of the slow repetitive
reading of a passage of scripture until it is known by heart, followed by
meditating on its significance. . . ." #brothermarcusodp
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Details: The Rose Priory Dialogues, by Allan Armstrong;
ISBN: 978-0-910216-03-3
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ISBN: 978-0-910216-03-3
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