The Goal of a Spiritual Life
For most, the goal of the spiritual life is, at best, unclear. Many would say that the goal is to be a good person and to lead a moral life. Some translate this as an imperative to work for social justice. Others try to improve their personal lives, but many who do so are rather vague about what is necessary. All of these approaches remind me of the story of Jacob and his brother, Esau. Esau ‘sold’ his patrimony as the firstborn son for a bowl of gruel.
Our spiritual destiny has to do with behavior change – yes – but this kind of thinking is way too small. Do you really think that your Creator wants you to be ‘nice’? Do you really think that’s important?
What God wants from us is far more radical, so if you are standing, please sit down and hold onto something solid. Here it is, short and simple: The goal of the spiritual life is that you become God!
After you get over your shock, I hope you will give me a chance to explain. Let me start with examples from the holy writings of my own faith, Christianity. In the gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14.20). Take a moment and let the meaning of these words resonate in your chest. God is in you. The Divine has always been in you and with you. The purpose of Christ’s Incarnation, and the purpose of all the great spiritual teachers, is to show us that God is right here, with us, every single moment of our existence, and to invite us to step into that holiness, into the Divine. In case you don’t believe St. John, let me refer you to 2 Peter 1.4 where the author states we should become “partakers of the Divine nature.”
The technical ‘church’ term for this is Theosis, and it is best summarized by St. Athanasius of Alexandria, who lived from 296-373 CE. He said, “(Jesus) was made man that we might be made God.” Again, let these words resonate in your heart: the reason Jesus took on his mortal body was for you, yourself, to let go of your felt limitations and realize that you are called to the fullness of Christ.
In the early Christian communities, this notion was clear and widespread. We hear it in the New Testament scriptures, in the early Church Fathers, beginning with St. Irenaeus of Lyon in the early 2nd century, and beyond. We hear it in mystics like John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, and in the Eastern Orthodox theologians like Vladimir Lossky.
And this notion is not limited to Christianity alone; it is clearly present in the Eastern religions as well. Ramana Maharishi of Hinduism said, “The Self [the Source or God] is not reached. You are the Self. You are already That. The fact is that you are ignorant of your blissful state.” We find it in Buddhism as well, in the words of those Zen masters who say that we are all enlightened, we just don’t recognize it. In Islam, we hear the great mystic al-Hallaj, who said, "I have seen my Lord with the eye of my heart, and I said: 'Who are You?' He said: 'You.'" (Of note, al-Hallaj was executed for blasphemy, just like Jesus, for saying “I am the Truth.”)
The deepest truth of all the great religions is this: the spiritual quest is one of recognizing we are already one with the Divine. Thus, there is no journey per se. Rather, there is a series of awakenings or realizations about the nature of Reality and the nature of Truth.
As you can well surmise, this is a mystical journey – a journey that takes you deeply into the nature of yourself, and thus into the nature of God. Think of the journey like an onion, with concentric layers. This journey is about moving through the layers until we reach the center. There, the great spiritual masters say we will find the Divine. Depending on your faith, you might describe it as the Kingdom of Heaven, Enlightenment, self-realization, or Fruition Consciousness. But who really cares what we call it! What is important is following the course of that Inward Way and realizing the fullness of the Unseen Presence.
While all of this might be interesting, it hides something even more important. Something I would say is of crucial importance. From our human perspective, we think we are trying to move towards God. We think we are the ones doing the work. What most of us do not yet realize is that God is the one doing the heavy lifting. God is working constantly in every moment of our lives to draw us closer and closer. What we call ‘our journey’ is simply a response to the Divine initiative.
1 Ramana Maharshi, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, Talk 251
As the great German theologian Karl Rahner once said, “In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic (one who has experienced God) or nothing at all."
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Thank you for joining me today. Next week, you can expect a discussion of the mystical path and how it differs from more conventional understandings of religion. And coming in a few more weeks, we will explore our first spiritual practice, which will be the foundation of our work together.
Faithfully yours,
Ken Kaisch, PhD