“I’ve had to experience despair, I’ve had to sink down to the most foolish one of all thoughts, to the thought of suicide, in order to be able to experience the divine grace, to hear Om again, to be able to sleep properly and awake properly again.” (83)
It's so funny because I was thinking just this train of thought the other day. That people who have never sinned don't really know what it means to find redemption. How can you know what is good without there being evil in the world as well? I find this quote to match very nicely with the teachings of Protestant Christianity: that God can't save us if we don't sin in the first place. It's a weird combination between the Christian belief in salvation and a sort of yin-yang balance of more Eastern culture.
“Worthy of love and admiration were these people in their blind loyalty, their blind strength and tenacity.” (110)
I think it speaks a lot for mankind that humanity can be so beautiful because we act so simply. There's something special in a person who is wholly devoted to a cause. Some would consider them a fool but in a way they are more pure because of the single minded devotion. It also shows a lot of growth in Siddhartha that he can appreciate humankind like that instead of the haughty distance he displayed before. There's a definite shift from seeing all the faults in a life style to openly accepting that their actions are motivated by honest reasons.
 |
| This is the actual symbol of "om." |
http://www.layogaloca.com/om/
I don't mean to compare myself in equality to the spiritual journey that Siddhartha experienced but I feel I went though a rather similar metamorphosis over the past two years. When I was younger, I had the tendency to just generally hate people. They were loud, obnoxious, and usually in my way. I had trouble even fully accepting my friends because even they had annoying habits. It made me irritable to be around others for extended periods of time, hence my bookish nature though middle school and most of high school. But when I got older and started to take on a leadership role in the band, I started to see the good in people I previously disliked. Even if I didn't get along with the personality, I saw merit in their abilities. And then I started to realize that everyone had something special and unique to contribute. I know that sounds absolutely corny but I really did start to see the good in everyone. Even now when I get frustrated with a friend, I just remember all the things about them that amaze me. Since my change of heart, I haven't yet met a person whom I couldn't see some sliver of good in.
“Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.” (118)
 |
| We can be caught in the maze of life, looking for an unobtainable or non-existent goal. |
http://www.starwon.com.au/~cfrench/Maze.htm
I know in our last class we discussed the fear caused by detachment equating to apathy and I think the second half of the book addresses that concern quite nicely. It comes down to a simple definition between searching and finding. I think in our modern word we tend to search and to do so with very specific goals in mind. We must have the exactly right relationship or the absolutely perfect grades or some other precise requirement. Instead of being free to explore the world as a whole, we compartmentalize everything and will only accept the absolute best of it all. It's really a limiting way to live if we can never open up to new possibilities. Though I'm bound to certain responsibilities in school, I'm still working on allowing myself to drop expectations and having the discoveries come to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment