虔信或奉爱
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中文
个人神的观念几乎在所有宗教中都占有一席之地，只有极少数例外。除佛教和耆那教之外，世界上几乎所有宗教都持有个人神的观念，随之而来的便是虔诚与礼拜的理念。佛教徒和耆那教徒虽无个人神，却以与他人礼拜个人神完全相同的方式，礼拜各自宗教的创始人。这种对某一更高存在的虔诚与礼拜——那个能够将爱反映回馈给人类的存在——是普世共有的。在各种宗教中，这种爱与虔诚以不同程度、不同阶段展现出来。最低的阶段是仪式主义，在这一阶段，抽象观念几乎无从把握，被拉入最低的层面而具象化。形式由此登场，各种象征符号也随之而来。纵观世界历史，我们发现人类始终试图通过思维形式或象征符号来把握抽象。宗教的一切外在表现——铃铛、音乐、仪式、典籍与圣像——皆属此列。凡诉诸感官之物，凡能帮助人将抽象形成具体意象之物，都被人抓住并加以礼拜。
从古至今，每一宗教中都出现过改革者，他们反对一切象征与仪式。然而他们的反对徒劳无功，因为只要人依然如其所是，广大民众就总会想要某种具体之物可以依附，某种可以将其思想置于其上的核心，某种成为其心中一切思维形式的中心之物。穆罕默德教徒和新教徒的伟大尝试，都指向同一目的：废除一切仪式。然而我们发现，即便在他们之中，仪式依然悄然潜入。仪式不可阻挡；经过漫长的抗争，民众不过是以一种象征取代了另一种。穆罕默德教徒认为，非穆斯林所使用的一切仪式、一切形式、圣像或典礼皆为罪恶，然而当他来到自己的圣祠——天房（卡巴）——时，却不这么想。每一位虔诚的穆斯林无论在何处礼拜，都必须想象自己正站在天房面前。当他前往那里朝圣时，必须亲吻圣祠墙壁上的黑石。数以百万计的朝圣者在那块石头上留下的每一个吻，将在末日审判之日作为信徒的见证。此外还有渗渗泉：穆斯林相信，凡从泉中汲取少量泉水者，其罪将得赦免，并于复活之日得新生之躯，永生不朽。在另一些宗教中，我们发现象征以建筑的形式呈现。新教徒认为教堂比其他地方更为神圣——教堂本身即是一种象征。还有圣典。在他们看来，圣典的观念比任何其他象征都更为神圣。
反对使用象征符号是徒劳的，我们又何必去反对呢？人类使用象征符号，自有其道理，那便是用以代表其背后的观念。这整个宇宙便是一种象征，我们正透过它、经由它，试图把握其背后那所象征之物。精神是目标，而非物质。形式、圣像、铃铛、蜡烛、典籍、教堂、神庙以及一切神圣的象征符号，对于灵性这棵正在生长的幼苗而言，都极为有益，极有帮助——但仅止于此，不可越界。在大多数情况下，我们发现这株幼苗并未成长。生于教堂是一件好事，但死于教堂则是一件坏事。生于某些有助于灵性幼苗成长的形式之内是好事，但若一个人死于这些形式的束缚之中，则表明他未曾成长，灵魂毫无发展。
因此，若有人说象征、仪式与形式应当永久保存，他便错了；但若他说这些象征与仪式对灵魂在其低级、未发展状态下的成长有所助益，他便是对的。然而，你切勿将灵魂的这种发展误解为任何智识层面的意义。一个人可以拥有巨大的才智，然而在灵性上他可能仍是一个婴孩。此刻你们便可以验证这一点。你们都曾被教导相信一位无处不在的神。试着去思考这一点——你们当中有多少人能真正理解无处不在意味着什么！若你们努力思索，或许会得到类似海洋、天空、一望无际的绿色大地或沙漠的意象。这些全都是物质意象。只要你们无法将抽象把握为抽象本身，将理想把握为理想本身，就必须借助这些形式、这些物质意象。这些意象是在心内还是心外，并无多大差别。我们生来皆是偶像崇拜者，而偶像崇拜是好的，因为它契合人的本性。谁能超越它？唯有完人，唯有神人。其余众人皆是偶像崇拜者。只要我们眼前仍见这个充满形形色色的宇宙，我们就都是偶像崇拜者。我们所礼拜的，是一尊巨大的象征。凡自称是身体的人，便是天生的偶像崇拜者。我们是精神，是没有形式与形状的精神，是无限的精神，而非物质。因此，任何无法把握抽象、无法如其所是地思考自身——只能通过物质、通过身体来认识自我的人，都是偶像崇拜者。然而人们相互争斗，彼此称为偶像崇拜者，这是何等可笑！换言之，每个人都说自己的偶像是正确的，别人的是错误的。
因此，我们应当摆脱这些幼稚的观念。我们应当超越那些认为宗教不过是一堆泡沫文字的人的饶舌——对他们而言，宗教不过是一套教义体系；宗教不过是一点点智识上的赞同或异议；宗教不过是他们的神职人员所告知的某些话语；宗教不过是祖先所信奉的某些东西；宗教不过是某种他们因其是民族迷信而紧紧抱持的观念与迷信之集合。我们应当超越这一切，将人类视为一个正在缓慢走向光明的宏大有机体——一株奇妙的植物，正在缓缓舒展，走向那被称为神的奇妙真理——而走向这一目标的最初旋转、最初运动，始终是通过物质与仪式的。
在所有这些仪式主义的核心，有一个观念凌驾于其他一切之上，那便是对名号的礼拜。研究过基督教较古老形式的人，以及研究过世界其他宗教的人，或许已经注意到，这一观念普遍存在于各宗教之中：对名号的礼拜。名号被认为极其神圣。在《圣经》中，我们读到神的圣名被视为无与伦比的神圣，神圣于一切之上。它被认为是最神圣的名号，据说这道话语本身即是神。这是完全正确的。这个宇宙不就是名与形吗？没有文字，你能思考吗？言语与思想不可分割。试试看，你们当中有谁能将两者分开？每当你思考，你都是通过言语形式来进行的。二者相互召唤：思想带来言语，言语带来思想。因此，整个宇宙，可以说是神的外在象征，其背后矗立着祂宏伟的名号。每一个特定的身体是一种形式，其背后是它的名号。当你一想到某位朋友，他的形象便浮现；当你想到朋友的形象，他的名字也随之而来。这根植于人的本性之中。也就是说，从心理学的角度看，在人的心理活动中，名的观念与形的观念、形的观念与名的观念不可分离地联系在一起。它们是同一波浪的内外两面。因此，名号被全世界的人们自觉或不自觉地尊崇礼拜——人们发现了名号的荣耀。
再者，我们发现在许多不同宗教中，神圣人物受到礼拜。人们礼拜奎师那，礼拜佛陀，礼拜耶稣，如此等等。还有对圣徒的礼拜：世界各地有数以百计的圣徒受到礼拜，这又何妨？光的振动无处不在，猫头鹰在黑暗中能看见它，这证明它确实存在，尽管人无法见到。对人而言，那振动只在灯、太阳、月亮等处才可见。神无处不在，祂在每一个存在中显现自己；然而对人而言，祂只在人之中才是可见的、可认知的。当祂的光、祂的临在、祂的灵在人的脸庞上闪耀时，人才能理解祂。因此，人类自古以来就是透过人来礼拜神的，只要人还是人，就必然如此。他或许会反对，或许会挣扎，但一旦他试图认识神，就会发现将神视为一个人，乃是思维的必然需求。
由此我们发现，在几乎所有宗教对神的礼拜中，都有三种基本要素：形式或象征、名号、神人。所有宗教都具备这些要素，然而却相互争斗。每一方都说："我的名号是唯一的名号；我的形式是唯一的形式；我的神人是世界上唯一的神人；你们的不过是神话传说而已。"在现代，基督教神职人员已变得宽容了一些，他们承认在较古老的宗教中，不同的礼拜形式是基督教的预影——当然，他们认为基督教是唯一真正的形式。神在古代考验自己，通过将这些事物整合成形，最终在基督教中达到顶峰。这至少是一大进步——五十年前，他们甚至连这一点都不会承认；除了他们自己的宗教，其他一切皆非真实。这种观念并不局限于任何宗教、民族或阶层；人们总是认为别人所应做的唯一正确之事，就是他们自己正在做的事。正是在这里，研究不同宗教对我们大有裨益：它告诉我们，我们一直认为属于自己、只属于自己的那些思想，数百年前便已出现在他人之中，有时甚至以比我们更为精彩的表达方式呈现。
这些是人类必须经历的外在虔诚形式；但若一个人是真诚的，若他真心渴望到达真理，他便会超越这些，进入一个形式归于虚无的境界。神庙或教堂、典籍或形式，不过是宗教的幼儿园，使灵性的幼童强壮到足以迈出更高的步伐；而这些最初的步伐，对于想要宗教的人而言，是必要的。带着对神的渴求与向往，真正的虔诚、真正的虔爱之情便会降临。谁有这份渴求？这才是问题所在。宗教不在于教义，不在于教条，也不在于智识上的论辩；它是存在与成为，是亲证与实现。我们听到如此之多谈论神与灵魂、谈论宇宙种种奥秘的人，然而若你逐一询问他们："你们亲证过神吗？你们见过自己的灵魂吗？"——有多少人能够回答"是"？然而他们彼此争斗不休！曾有一次，在印度，不同教派的代表聚集在一起，开始争论。一人说唯有湿婆是最伟大的神；另一人说唯有毗湿奴才是，如此等等，争论无休无止。一位智者路过，被争论者邀请来裁决此事。他先问那位声称湿婆最伟大的人："你见过湿婆吗？你与祂相识吗？若不然，你怎知祂是最伟大的神？"继而问那位礼拜毗湿奴的人："你见过毗湿奴吗？"如此一一询问之后，他发现其中没有一个人真正知晓神的任何事情。这正是他们如此激烈争论的原因——若他们真正认识，便不会争论了。一只正在注水的罐子会发出声响，当它注满时，便归于无声。因此，这些教派之间的论争与争斗，恰恰证明他们对宗教一无所知。对他们而言，宗教不过是一堆写在书上的泡沫文字。人人争先写一本厚重的大书，写得越厚越好，从所能找到的每一本书中窃取素材，却从不承认自己的借鉴。然后他将这本书抛向世界，为原已存在的混乱再添一份扰动。
绝大多数人是无神论者。我很高兴，在现代，西方世界出现了另一类无神论者——我指的是唯物论者。他们是真诚的无神论者。他们优于那些宗教上的无神论者，那些人虚伪，争论、谈论宗教，却并不真正想要它，从不试图去实现它，从不试图去理解它。请记住基督的话："你们祈求，就给你们；寻找，就寻见；叩门，就给你们开门。"这些话是字面意义上的真理，并非比喻或虚构。它们是曾降临这个世界的最伟大的神之子之一的心血之流露，是出于亲证的真实之言，来自一个曾亲身感受并实证神的人——他与神言语，与神同在，其强烈程度百倍于你我所见的这座建筑。谁真正渴望神？这才是问题所在。你认为世界上所有这些人都渴望神却得不到祂？这不可能。没有外在对象，哪来内在渴望？人想要呼吸，便有空气可供呼吸；人想要进食，便有食物可以充饥。是什么创造了这些欲望？是外在事物的存在。是光创造了眼睛，是声音创造了耳朵。同样，人心中的每一种渴望，都是由早已存在于外在的某种事物所创造的。这种对完美的渴望、对到达目标并超越自然的渴望，若非某种力量已将其创造并深植于人类灵魂之中，又怎会存在？因此，一旦这种渴望在某人心中被唤醒，他便将到达目标。我们渴望一切，唯独不渴望神。你在周围所看到的，并非宗教。某位女士的客厅里摆满了来自世界各地的家具，如今流行摆放日本物品，于是她买了一个花瓶放在房里——宗教对绝大多数人而言就是如此。他们拥有各种享乐之物，若不添加少许宗教的味道，生活便不圆满，因为社会会批评他们。社会期待如此，于是他们必须有些宗教。这就是当今世界宗教的现状。
一位弟子去见他的上师，对他说："先生，我想要宗教。"上师看了看这个年轻人，一言不发，只是微笑。年轻人每天都来，坚持说他想要宗教。然而老人比年轻人更明智。一天，天气极热，他让年轻人和他一起去河边跳水。年轻人跳入水中，老人随后而入，用力将年轻人按在水下。年轻人挣扎了一会儿后，老人放开了他，问他在水下时最渴望的是什么。"一口气，"弟子回答。"你是否以那种方式渴望神？若是如此，你便能在片刻之间得到祂，"上师说。在那种渴求被唤醒之前，无论你如何用才智、用典籍、用形式来奋斗，都无法得到宗教。在这种渴求在你心中被唤醒之前，你并不比任何无神论者更强——只是无神论者是真诚的，而你并非如此。
一位伟大的圣人曾说："假设有一个小偷在一间屋子里，他以某种方式得知隔壁房间藏有大量黄金，两间房之间只有一堵薄薄的隔墙，这个小偷会是什么状态？他必定无法入睡，无法进食，无法做任何事。他整个心思都将放在如何得到那黄金上。你是说，如果世上所有这些人真的相信幸福、真福与荣耀的宝藏就在这里，他们会像在世上所做的那样，不去设法得到神？"一旦一个人开始相信有一位神，他便会疯狂地渴望接近祂。其他人或许走他们自己的路，但只要一个人确信存在着一种比他在此所过的生活更高的生命，只要他确信感官并非一切，这个有限的物质身体与真我[Atman]不朽、永恒、不灭的至福相比不过是虚无，他便会疯狂地寻求，直到他自己亲证这一至福为止。而这种疯狂、这种渴求、这种痴迷，便是所谓对宗教的"觉醒"；当它降临，一个人才算开始走上宗教之路。但这需要漫长的时间。所有这些形式与典礼、这些祈祷与朝圣、这些典籍、铃铛、蜡烛与神职人员，都是准备工作；它们洗去灵魂上的污垢。当灵魂变得纯净，它自然渴望走向一切纯净之源——神本身。正如一块被数百年积尘所覆盖的铁块，可能一直躺在磁铁旁边，却丝毫不被吸引；但一旦积尘被清除，铁块便被磁铁所吸引。同样，当人类灵魂——被历代积累的污垢、不净、罪恶与恶行所覆盖——在经历许多世的轮回[Samsara]之后，通过这些形式与典礼、通过施善于他人、爱护众生，变得足够纯净，其天然的灵性吸引力便会显现，它便会觉醒，奋力走向神。
然而，所有这些形式与象征符号不过是起点，并非对神真正的爱。我们到处都听到关于爱的谈论。每个人都说"爱神"。人们不知道什么是爱；若他们知道，便不会如此轻易地谈论它。每个人都说自己能爱，然后很快发现自己的本性中并无爱。每个女人都说自己能爱，很快也发现自己做不到。世界上充斥着爱的言辞，但爱是艰难的。爱在哪里？你如何知道有爱存在？爱的第一个考验是：它不知讨价还价。只要你看到一个人爱另一个人，只是为了从他那里得到某物，你便知道那不是爱；那是交易。凡有买卖之事，便无爱。因此，当一个人祈祷神："给我这个，给我那个"，那不是爱。怎么可能是爱？我向你献上祈祷，你给我某物作为回报——这便是它的本质，不过是买卖交易。
一位伟大的国王外出狩猎，在森林中偶然遇见一位圣人。他与圣人交谈片刻，心生欢喜，请求圣人接受他的馈赠。"不，"圣人说，"我对我的处境完全满足。这些树给了我足够的果实充饥，这些清澈美丽的溪流供我所需的饮水，我在这些山洞中安眠。我何须你的馈赠，纵使你是皇帝？"国王说："只是为了净化我、让我欢喜，请随我入城，接受些礼物。"圣人最终同意随国王而去，被带入王宫，其中金银珠宝、大理石与种种奇珍无所不有，财富与权力无处不在。国王请圣人稍候片刻，自己去角落里开始祈祷："主啊，赐我更多财富、更多子女、更多疆土。"与此同时，圣人起身准备离去。国王见状急忙追上，说："先生，您未取我的礼物就要离去了。"圣人转向他说："乞丐，我不向乞丐乞讨。你能给予什么？你自己一直在乞讨。"这不是爱的语言。若你求神给你这给你那，爱与交易之间又有何区别？爱的第一个考验是：它不知讨价还价。爱永远是给予者，而非索取者。神的子女说："若神所愿，我将我的一切奉献给祂，但我不向祂有任何索求。我在这宇宙中一无所求。我爱祂，只因我愿意爱祂，我不求任何回报。谁在乎神是否全能？我不向祂求任何力量，也不求祂权能的任何彰显。对我而言，祂是爱之神，这便已足够。我不再问更多问题。"
第二个考验是：爱不知恐惧。只要一个人将神视为坐在云端之上、一手持赏赐一手持惩罚的存在，就不可能有爱。你能用恐惧逼迫人去爱吗？羔羊爱狮子吗？老鼠爱猫吗？奴隶爱主人吗？奴隶有时会模仿爱，但那是爱吗？恐惧之中哪里会有爱？那始终是一种虚伪。在爱之中，绝无恐惧的余地。试想，街上一位年轻母亲，若有一只狗向她吠叫，她便躲入最近的房子里。第二天，她带着孩子走在街上，若有一头狮子扑向她的孩子，她将身处何处？就在狮子嘴前，保护她的孩子。爱战胜了她所有的恐惧。对神之爱亦然。谁会在乎神是施赏者还是施罚者？这不是爱人的思想。想想一位法官回到家中，他的妻子眼中看到的是什么？不是一位法官，不是施赏者或施罚者，而是她的丈夫，她的爱人。他的子女眼中看到的是什么？是他们慈爱的父亲，而非施罚者或施赏者。同样，神的子女从不将神视为施罚者或施赏者。只有那些从未尝过爱滋味的人才会恐惧战栗。摒弃一切恐惧——尽管将神视为施罚者或施赏者的这些可怕观念，对野蛮人的心灵可能有其用处。有些人，即便是最有才智的人，在灵性上也是野蛮人，这些观念或许对他们有帮助。但对于在灵性上有所精进的人，对于灵性洞见已被唤醒、正走近宗教的人，这些观念不过是幼稚的，不过是愚蠢的。这样的人拒绝一切恐惧的观念。
第三个是更高的考验。爱始终是最高的理想。当一个人经过了前两个阶段，当他摒弃了一切交易心理，抛开了一切恐惧，他便开始认识到爱始终是最高的理想。在这个世界上，我们何其多次看到一位美丽的女子爱上一个丑陋的男人？何其多次看到一位英俊的男子爱上一个丑陋的女子！其中的吸引力是什么？旁观者所见的只是那个丑陋的男人或女人，但爱人不这么看；在爱人眼中，那被爱之人是这世间存在过的最美丽的生命。这是怎么回事？爱那丑陋男人的女子，将自己心中美的理想取出，投射到这个丑陋的男人身上；她所礼拜和爱的，不是那丑陋的男人，而是她自己的理想。那个男人不过是一个暗示，她将自己的理想投射在这暗示之上，将其覆盖，它便成为她礼拜的对象。如此一来，这便适用于我们所爱的每一种情况。我们许多人有着相貌平平的兄弟姐妹，然而他们是兄弟姐妹这一事实本身，便使他们在我们眼中变得美丽。
这背后的哲理是：每个人都将自己的理想投射出去，并加以礼拜。这个外在的世界不过是暗示的世界。我们所见的一切，都是从我们自己的心中投射出来的。一粒沙子被冲入牡蛎的外壳，令其感到刺激。这刺激在牡蛎体内产生一种分泌物，将沙粒包裹起来，美丽的珍珠便由此诞生。同样，外在之物为我们提供了暗示，我们将自己的理想投射其上，创造出我们的对象。邪恶之人将这个世界视为一个完美的地狱，善良之人则视之为一个完美的天堂。爱人看到的世界充满爱，恨人看到的世界充满仇恨；争斗者看到的只有纷争，平和之人看到的只有安宁。完人看到的只有神。因此，我们始终礼拜我们最高的理想；当我们到达将理想作为理想本身来爱的境界，一切论争与疑惑便永远消散。谁在乎神能否被证明？理想永远不会消逝，因为它是我的本性的一部分。我只会在质疑自己的存在时才质疑这理想，正如我无法质疑其中一个，我也无法质疑另一个。谁在乎神是否能同时全能与全慈？谁在乎祂是否是人类的施赏者，是以暴君还是以仁慈君主的眼光注视我们？
爱人已超越了这一切——超越了奖惩，超越了恐惧与疑惑，超越了科学或其他任何形式的论证。对他而言，爱的理想已足够；而这难道不是不言自明的吗——这个宇宙不过是这份爱的彰显？是什么使原子与原子结合，使分子与分子聚拢，使星球相互飞奔？是什么吸引着人与人、男与女、女与男、动物与动物，将整个宇宙，仿佛拉向同一个中心？这便是所谓的爱。它的彰显从最低等的原子延伸至最高等的存在：这份爱无所不能、无处不在。在有情与无情中、在个别与普遍中所展现出来的吸引力，便是神的爱。这是宇宙中唯一的动力。在这份爱的推动下，基督为人类献出生命，佛陀甚至为一头动物牺牲，母亲为孩子，丈夫为妻子。也是在同一份爱的推动下，人们愿意为国家献出生命——奇异的是，也是在同一份爱的推动下，盗贼偷窃，杀人犯杀人。即便在这些情形中，精神是相同的，只是彰显不同。这是宇宙中唯一的动力。盗贼爱黄金，爱是存在的，但方向错误了。因此，在所有罪行中，如同在所有美德之举中，背后都站立着那永恒的爱。假设有人在房间里为纽约穷人开出一张千元支票，同时在同一房间里，另一人伪造了朋友的签名。两人所借助的光是同一道光，然而每个人将对自己如何使用这光负责。光本身无需受赞美或指责。这份爱不执不著，却在一切中闪耀，是宇宙的动力；若无它，宇宙将在瞬间土崩瓦解。这份爱便是神。
"亲爱的，没有人为丈夫本身而爱丈夫，而是为了丈夫中的真我；亲爱的，没有人为妻子本身而爱妻子，而是为了妻子中的真我。没有人为任何事物本身而爱它，只为了其中的真我。"即便是那被许多人指责的自私，也不过是同一份爱的彰显。从这场游戏中退出，不要混入其中，而是看这奇妙的全景，这幕幕上演的宏大戏剧，聆听这奇妙的和谐——一切皆是同一份爱的彰显。即便在自私之中，那个自我也将倍增、成长、不断扩展。那唯一的自我，那唯一的人，结婚后成为两个自我，有了孩子后成为几个，如此成长，直至他感受到整个世界是他的真我，整个宇宙是他的真我。他扩展为一片普世之爱的汪洋，无尽的爱——那便是神的爱。
由此，我们进入所谓至高的虔爱——至高的虔诚，其中形式与象征皆已脱落。到达这一境界的人，不属于任何宗派，因为所有宗派都在他之内。他将属于什么？因为所有教堂与神庙都在他之内。有哪座教堂大到足以容纳他？这样的人无法将自己束缚于某些有限的形式。无边无际的爱——他已与之合而为一——又有什么限制？在所有以爱为理想的宗教中，我们都能看到表达这份爱的奋力尝试。虽然我们理解这份爱的意义，也看到了这个情感与吸引力的世界中一切皆是那无限之爱的彰显——不同民族的圣哲圣徒都曾试图表达——我们仍发现他们用尽语言的全部力量，甚至将最肉体性的表达升华为神圣的语言。
这便是在这些歌曲中寻求表达的爱的痴迷。人类最高尚、最深情、最有力、最具吸引力的爱，乃是男女之间的爱，因此，这种语言被用来表达最深沉的虔诚。这人类之爱的痴迷，不过是圣徒们那疯狂之爱最微弱的回声。神的真正爱人渴望变得疯狂，沉醉于对神的爱之中，成为"醉心于神的人"。他们渴望饮下那由各宗教的圣贤们所调制的爱之杯——那些人已将自己的心血倾注其中，其中汇聚着所有曾爱神而不求回报者的希望，那些只为爱而爱的人。爱的回报是爱，而那是何等的回报！它是唯一能消除一切忧愁的力量，是唯一饮之便令这世间病苦消散的灵药。人变得神圣般地疯狂，忘记自己是人。
最终，我们发现所有这些不同的体系，在终点都汇聚于同一点——那完美的合一。我们总是以二元论开始。神是一个独立的存在，而我是一个独立的存在。爱介于其间，人开始走近神，而神，可以说，也开始走近人。人在生命中承担种种关系——父亲、母亲、朋友或爱人——而最终一点到来，他与礼拜的对象合而为一。"我就是你，你就是我；礼拜你，我便礼拜了我自己；礼拜我自己，我便礼拜了你。"我们在那里找到了人类所始发之物的最高顶点。起初是对自我的爱，但这渺小自我的诉求使爱变得自私；到了终点，当那个自我已成为无限，便迸发出光辉的全貌。那起初只是某处的一个存在的神，仿佛已被融解为无尽的爱。人本身也转化了。他走近神，他抛弃了此前充斥其内的种种虚妄欲望。欲望消散之处，自私也随之消散；在顶峰，他发现爱、爱人与被爱者三位一体，合而为一。
English
The idea of a Personal God has obtained in almost every religion, except a very few. With the exception of the Buddhist and the Jain, perhaps all the religions of the world have the idea of a Personal God, and with it comes the idea of devotion and worship. The Buddhists and the Jains, although they have no Personal God, worship the founders of their religions in precisely the same way as others worship a Personal God. This idea of devotion and worship to some higher being who can reflect back the love to man is universal. In various religions this love and devotion is manifested in various degrees, at different stages. The lowest stage is that of ritualism, when abstract ideas are almost impossible, and are dragged down to the lowest plane, and made concrete. Forms come into play, and, along with them, various symbols. Throughout the history of the world, we find that man is trying to grasp the abstract through thought-forms, or symbols. All the external manifestations of religion — bells, music, rituals, books, and images — come under that head. Anything that appeals to the senses, anything that helps man to form a concrete image of the abstract, is taken hold of, and worshipped.
From time to time, there have been reformers in every religion who have stood against all symbols and rituals. But vain has been their opposition, for so long as man will remain as he is, the vast majority will always want something concrete to hold on to, something around which, as it were, to place their ideas, something which will be the centre of all the thought-forms in their minds. The great attempts of the Mohammedans and of the Protestants have been directed to this one end, of doing away with all rituals, and yet we find that even with them, rituals have crept in. They cannot be kept out; after long struggle, the masses simply change one symbol for another. The Mohammedan, who thinks that every ritual, every form, image, or ceremony, used by a non-Mohammedan is sinful, does not think so when he comes to his own shrine, the Caaba. Every religious Mohammedan wherever he prays, must imagine that he is standing before the Caaba. When he makes a pilgrimage there, he must kiss the black stone in the wall of the shrine. All the kisses that have been imprinted on that stone, by millions and millions of pilgrims, will stand up as witnesses for the benefit of the faithful on the last day of judgment. Then, there is the well of Zimzim. Mohammedans believe that whoever draws a little water out of that well will have his sins pardoned, and he will, after the day of resurrection, have a fresh body, and live for ever. In others, we find that the symbology comes in the form of buildings. Protestants hold that churches are more sacred than other places. The church, as it is, stands for a symbol. Or there is the Book. The idea of the Book to them, is much holier than any other symbol.
It is vain to preach against the use of symbols, and why should we preach against them? There is no reason why man should not use symbols. They have them in order to represent the ideas signified behind them. This universe is a symbol, in and through which we are trying to grasp the thing signified, which is beyond and behind. The spirit is the goal, and not matter. Forms, images, bells, candles, books, churches, temples, and all holy symbols are very good, very helpful to the growing plant of spirituality, but thus far and no farther. In the test majority of cases, we find that the plant does not grow. It is very good to be born in a church, but it is very bad to die in a church. It is very good to be born within the limits of certain forms that help the little plant of spirituality, but if a man dies within the bounds of these forms, it shows that he has not grown, that there has been no development of the soul.
If, therefore, any one says that symbols, rituals, and forms are to be kept for ever, he is wrong; but if he says, that these symbols and rituals are a help to the growth of the soul, in its low and undeveloped state, he is right. But, you must not mistake this development of the soul as meaning anything intellectual. A man can be of gigantic intellect, yet spiritually he may be a baby. You can verify it this moment. All of you have been taught to believe in an Omnipresent God. Try to think of it. How few of you can have any idea of what omnipresence means! If you struggle hard, you will get something like the idea of the ocean, or of the sky, or of a vast stretch of green earth, or of a desert. All these are material images, and so long as you cannot conceive of the abstract as abstract, of the ideal as the ideal, you will have to resort to these forms, these material images. It does not make much difference whether these images are inside or outside the mind. We are all born idolaters, and idolatry is good, because it is in the nature of man. Who can get beyond it? Only the perfect man, the God-man. The rest are all idolaters. So long as we see this universe before us, with its forms and shapes, we are all idolaters. This is a gigantic symbol we are worshipping. He who says he is the body is a born idolater. We are spirit, spirit that has no form or shape, spirit that is infinite, and not matter. Therefore, anyone who cannot grasp the abstract, who cannot think of himself as he is, except in and through matter, as the body, is an idolater. And yet how people fight among themselves, calling one another idolaters! In other words, each says, his idol is right, and the others' are wrong.
Therefore, we should get rid of these childish notions. We should get beyond the prattle of men who think that religion is merely a mass of frothy words, that it is only a system of doctrines; to whom religion is only a little intellectual assent or dissent; to whom religion is believing in certain words which their own priests tell them; to whom religion is something which their forefathers believed; to whom religion is a certain form of ideas and superstitions to which they cling because they are their national superstitions. We should get beyond all these and look at humanity as one vast organism, slowly coming towards light — a wonderful plant, slowly unfolding itself to that wonderful truth which is called God — and the first gyrations, the first motions, towards this are always through matter and through ritual.
In the heart of all these ritualisms, there stands one idea prominent above all the rest — the worship of a name. Those of you who have studied the older forms of Christianity, those of you who have studied the other religions of the world, perhaps have marked that there is this idea with them all, the worship of a name. A name is said to be very sacred. In the Bible we read that the holy name of God was considered sacred beyond compare, holy beyond everything. It was the holiest of all names, and it was thought that this very Word was God. This is quite true. What is this universe but name and form? Can you think without words? Word and thought are inseparable. Try if any one of you can separate them. Whenever you think, you are doing so through word forms. The one brings the other; thought brings the word, and the word brings the thought. Thus the whole universe is, as it were, the external symbol of God, and behind that stands His grand name. Each particular body is a form, and behind that particular body is its name. As soon as you think of our friend So-and-so, there comes the idea of his body, and as soon as you think of your friend's body, you get the idea of his name. This is in the constitution of man. That is to say, psychologically, in the mind-stuff of man, there cannot come the idea of name without the idea of form, and there cannot come the idea of form without the idea of name. They are inseparable; they are the external and the internal sides of the same wave. As such, names have been exalted and worshipped all over the world — consciously or unconsciously, man found the glory of names.
Again, we find that in many different religions, holy personages have been worshipped. They worship Krishna, they worship Buddha, they worship Jesus, and so forth. Then, there is the worship of saints; hundreds of them have been worshipped all over the world, and why not? The vibration of light is everywhere. The owl sees it in the dark. That shows it is there, though man cannot see it. To man, that vibration is only visible in the lamp, in the sun, in the moon, etc. God is omnipresent, He is manifesting Himself in every being; but for men, He is only visible, recognisable, in man. When His light, His presence, His spirit, shines through the human face, then and then alone, can man understand Him. Thus, man has been worshipping God through men all the time, and must do so as long as he is a man. He may cry against it, struggle against it, but as soon as he attempts to realise God, he will find the constitutional necessity of thinking of God as a man.
So we find that in almost every religion these are the three primary things which we have in the worship of God — forms or symbols, names, God-men. All religions have these, but you find that they want to fight with each other. One says, "My name is the only name; my form is the only form; and my God-men are the only God-men in the world; yours are simply myths." In modern times, Christian clergymen have become a little kinder, and they allow that in the older religions, the different forms of worship were foreshadowings of Christianity, which of course, they consider, is the only true form. God tested Himself in older times, tested His powers by getting these things into shape which culminated in Christianity. This, at least, is a great advance. Fifty years ago they would not have said even that; nothing was true except their own religion. This idea is not limited to any religion, nation, or class of persons; people are always thinking that the only right thing to be done by others is what they themselves are doing. And it is here that the study of different religions helps us. It shows us that the same thoughts that we have been calling ours, and ours alone, were present hundreds of years ago in others, and sometimes even in a better form of expression than our own.
These are the external forms of devotion, through which man has to pass; but if he is sincere, if he really wants to reach the truth, he goes higher than these, to a plane where forms are as nothing. Temples or churches, books or forms, are simply the kindergarten of religion, to make the spiritual child strong enough to take higher steps; and these first steps are necessary if he wants religion. With the thirst, the longing for God, comes real devotion, real Bhakti. Who has the longing? That is the question. Religion is not in doctrines, in dogmas, nor in intellectual argumentation; it is being and becoming, it is realisation. We hear so many talking about God and the soul, and all the mysteries of the universe, but if you take them one by one, and ask them, "Have you realised God? Have you seen your Soul?" — how many can say they have? And yet they are all fighting with one another! At one time, in India, representatives of different sects met together and began to dispute. One said that the only God was Shiva; another said, the only God was Vishnu, and so on; and there was no end to their discussion. A sage was passing that way, and was invited by the disputants to decide the matter. He first asked the man who was claiming Shiva as the greatest God, "Have you seen Shiva? Are you acquainted with Him? If not, how do you know He is the greatest God?" Then turning to the worshipper of Vishnu, he asked, "Have you seen Vishnu?" And after asking this question to all of them, he found out that not one of them knew anything of God. That was why they were disputing so much, for had they really known, they would not have argued. When a jar is being filled with water, it makes a noise, but when it is full, there is no noise. So, the very fact of these disputations and fighting among sects shows that they do not know anything about religion. Religion to them is a mere mass of frothy words, to be written in books. Each one hurries to write a big book, to make it as massive as possible, stealing his materials from every book he can lay his hands upon, and never acknowledging his indebtedness. Then he launches this book upon the world, adding to the disturbance that is already existing there.
The vast majority of men are atheists. I am glad that, in modern times, another class of atheists has come into existence in the Western world — I mean the materialists. They are sincere atheists. They are better than the religious atheists, who are insincere, who fight and talk about religion, and yet do not want it, never try to realise it, never try to understand it. Remember the words of Christ: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." These words are literally true, not figures or fiction. They were the outflow of the heart's blood of one of the greatest sons of God who have ever come to this world of ours; words which came as the fruit of realisation, from a man who had felt and realised God himself; who had spoken with God, lived with God, a hundred times more intensely than you or I see this building. Who wants God? That is the question. Do you think that all this mass of people in the world want God, and cannot get Him? That cannot be. What want is there without its object outside? Man wants to breathe, and there is air for him to breathe. Man wants to eat, and there is food to eat. What creates these desires? The existence of external things. It was the light that made the eyes; it was the sound that made the ears. So every desire in human beings has been created by something which already existed outside. This desire for perfection, for reaching the goal and getting beyond nature, how can it be there, until something has created it and drilled it into the soul of man, and makes it live there? He, therefore, in whom this desire is awakened, will reach the goal. We want everything but God. This is not religion that you see all around you. My lady has furniture in her parlour, from all over the world, and now it is the fashion to have something Japanese; so she buys a vase and puts it in her room. Such is religion with the vast majority; they have all sorts of things for enjoyment, and unless they add a little flavour of religion, life is not all right, because society would criticise them. Society expects it; so they must have some religion. This is the present state of religion in the world.
A disciple went to his master and said to him, "Sir, I want religion." The master looked at the young man, and did not speak, but only smiled. The young man came every day, and insisted that he wanted religion. But the old man knew better than the young man. One day, when it was very hot, he asked the young man to go to the river with him and take a plunge. The young man plunged in, and the old man followed him and held the young man down under the water by force. After the young man had struggled for a while, he let him go and asked him what he wanted most while he was under the water. "A breath of air", the disciple answered. "Do you want God in that way? If you do, you will get Him in a moment," said the master. Until you have that thirst, that desire, you cannot get religion, however you may struggle with your intellect, or your books, or your forms. Until that thirst is awakened in you, you are no better than any atheist; only the atheist is sincere, and you are not.
A great sage used to say, "Suppose there is a thief in a room, and somehow he comes to know that there is a vast mass of gold in the next room, and that there is only a thin partition between the two rooms What would be the condition of that thief? He would be sleepless, he would not be able to eat or do anything. His whole mind would be on getting that gold. Do you mean to say that, if all these people really believed that the Mine of Happiness, of Blessedness, of Glory were here, they would act as they do in the world, without trying to get God?" As soon as a man begins to believe there is a God, he becomes mad with longing to get to Him. Others may go their way, but as soon as a man is sure that there is a much higher life than that which he is leading here, as soon as he feels sure that the senses are not all, that this limited, material body is as nothing compared with the immortal, eternal, undying bliss of the Self, he becomes mad until he finds out this bliss for himself. And this madness, this thirst, this mania, is what is called the "awakening" to religion, and when that has come, a man is beginning to be religious. But it takes a long time. All these forms and ceremonies, these prayers and pilgrimages, these books, bells, candles, and priests, are the preparations; they take off the impurities from the soul. And when the soul has become pure, it naturally wants to get to the mine of all purity, God Himself. Just as a piece of iron, which had been covered with the dust of centuries, might be lying near a magnet all the time, and yet not be attracted by it, but as soon as the dust is cleared away, the iron is drawn by the magnet; so, when the human soul, covered with the dust of ages, impurities, wickednesses, and sins, after many births, becomes purified enough by these forms and ceremonies, by doing good to others, loving other beings, its natural spiritual attraction comes, it wakes up and struggles towards God.
Yet, all these forms and symbols are simply the beginning, not true love of God. Love we hear spoken of everywhere Everyone says, "Love God." Men do not know what it is to love; if they did, they would not talk so glibly about it. Every man says he can love, and then, in no time, finds out that there is no love in his nature. Every woman says she can love and soon finds out that she cannot. The world is full of the talk of love, but it is hard to love. Where is love? How do you know that there is love? The first test of love is that it knows no bargaining. So long as you see a man love another only to get something from him, you know that that is not love; it is shopkeeping. Wherever there is any question of buying and selling, it is not love. So, when a man prays to God, "Give me this, and give me that", it is not love. How can it be? I offer you a prayer, and you give me something in return; that is what it is, mere shopkeeping.
A certain great king went to hunt in a forest, and there he happened to meet a sage. He had a little conversation with him and became so pleased with him that he asked him to accept a present from him. "No," said the sage, "I am perfectly satisfied with my condition; these trees give me enough fruit to eat; these beautiful pure streams supply me with all the water I want; I sleep in these caves. What do I care for your presents, though you be an emperor?" The emperor said, "Just to purify me, to gratify me, come with me into the city and take some present." At last the sage consented to go with the emperor, and he was taken into the emperor's palace, where there were gold, jewellery, marble, and most wonderful things. Wealth and power were manifest everywhere. The emperor asked the sage to wait a minute, while he repeated his prayer, and he went into a corner and began to pray, "Lord, give me more wealth, more children, more territory." In the meanwhile, the sage got up and began to walk away. The emperor saw him going and went after him. "Stay, Sir, you did not take my present and are going away." The sage turned to him and said, "Beggar, I do not beg of beggars. What can you give? You have been begging yourself all the time." That is not the language of love. What is the difference between love and shopkeeping, if you ask God to give you this, and give you that? The first test of love is that it knows no bargaining. Love is always the giver, and never the taker. Says the child of God, "If God wants, I give Him my everything, but I do not want anything of Him. I want nothing in this universe. I love Him, because I want to love Him, and I ask no favour in return. Who cares whether God is almighty or not? I do not want any power from Him nor any manifestation of His power. Sufficient for me that He is the God of love. I ask no more question."
The second test is that love knows no fear. So long as man thinks of God as a Being sitting above the clouds, with rewards in one hand and punishments in the other, there can be no love. Can you frighten one into love? Does the lamb love the lion? The mouse, the cat? The slave, the master? Slaves sometimes simulate love, but is it love? Where do you ever see love in fear? It is always a sham. With love never comes the idea of fear. Think of a young mother in the street: if a dog barks at her, she flees into the nearest house. The next day she is in the street with her child, and suppose a lion rushes upon the child, where will be her position? Just at the mouth of the lion, protecting her child. Love conquered all her fear. So also in the love of God. Who cares whether God is a rewarder or a punisher? That is not the thought of a lover. Think of a judge when he comes home, what does his wife see in him? Not a judge, or a rewarder or punisher, but her husband, her love. What do his children see in him? Their loving father, not the punisher or rewarder. So the children of God never see in Him a punisher or a rewarder. It is only people who have never tasted of love that fear and quake. Cast off all fear — though these horrible ideas of God as a punisher or rewarder may have their use in savage minds. Some men, even the most intellectual, are spiritual savages, and these ideas may help them. But to men who are spiritual, men who are approaching religion, in whom spiritual insight is awakened, such ideas are simply childish, simply foolish. Such men reject all ideas of fear.
The third is a still higher test. Love is always the highest ideal. When one has passed through the first two stages, when one has thrown off all shopkeeping, and cast off all fear, one then begins to realise that love is always the highest ideal. How many times in this world we see a beautiful woman loving an ugly man? How many times we see a handsome man loving an ugly woman! What is the attraction? Lookers-on only see the ugly man or the ugly woman, but not so the lover; to the lover the beloved is the most beautiful being that ever existed. How is it? The woman who loves the ugly man takes, as it were, the ideal of beauty which is in her own mind, and projects it on this ugly man; and what she worships and loves is not the ugly man, but her own ideal. That man is, as it were, only the suggestion, and upon that suggestion she throws her own ideal, and covers it; and it becomes her object of worship. Now, this applies in every case where we love. Many of us have very ordinary looking brothers or sisters; yet the very idea of their being brothers or sisters makes them beautiful to us.
The philosophy in the background is that each one projects his own ideal and worships that. This external world is only the world of suggestion. All that we see, we project out of our own minds. A grain of sand gets washed into the shell of an oyster and irritates it. The irritation produces a secretion in the oyster, which covers the grain of sand and the beautiful pearl is the result. Similarly, external things furnish us with suggestions, over which we project our own ideals and make our objects. The wicked see this world as a perfect hell, and the good as a perfect heaven. Lovers see this world as full of love, and haters as full of hatred; fighters see nothing but strife, and the peaceful nothing but peace. The perfect man sees nothing but God. So we always worship our highest ideal, and when we have reached the point, when we love the ideal as the ideal, all arguments and doubts vanish for ever. Who cares whether God can be demonstrated or not? The ideal can never go, because it is a part of my own nature. I shall only question the ideal when I question my own existence, and as I cannot question the one, I cannot question the other. Who cares whether God can be almighty and all-merciful at the same time or not ? Who cares whether He is the rewarder of mankind, whether He looks at us with the eyes of a tyrant or with the eyes of a beneficent monarch?
The lover has passed beyond all these things, beyond rewards and punishments, beyond fears and doubts, beyond scientific or any other demonstration. Sufficient unto him is the ideal of love, and is it not self-evident that this universe is but a manifestation of this love? What is it that makes atoms unite with atoms, molecules with molecules, and causes planets to fly towards each other? What is it that attracts man to man, man to woman, woman to man, and animals to animals, drawing the whole universe, as it were, towards one centre? It is what is called love. Its manifestation is from the lowest atom to the highest being: omnipotent, all-pervading, is this love. What manifests itself as attraction in the sentient and the insentient, in the particular and in the universal, is the love of God. It is the one motive power that is in the universe. Under the impetus of that love, Christ gives his life for humanity, Buddha even for an animal, the mother for the child, the husband for the wife. It is under the impetus of the same love that men are ready to give up their lives for their country, and strange to say, under the impetus of the same love, the thief steals, the murderer murders. Even in these cases, the spirit is the same, but the manifestation is different. This is the one motive power in the universe. The thief has love for gold; the love is there, but it is misdirected. So, in all crimes, as well as in all virtuous actions, behind stands that eternal love. Suppose a man writes a cheque for a thousand dollars for the poor of New York, and at the same time, in the same room, another man forges the name of a friend. The light by which both of them write is the same, but each one will be responsible for the use he makes of it. It is not the light that is to be praised or blamed. Unattached, yet shining in everything, is love, the motive power of the universe, without which the universe would fall to pieces in a moment, and this love is God.
"None, O beloved, loves the husband for the husband's sake, but for the Self that is in the husband; none, O beloved, ever loves the wife for the wife's sake, but for the Self that is in the wife. None ever loves anything else, except for the Self." Even this selfishness, which is so much condemned, is but a manifestation of the same love. Stand aside from this play, do not mix in it, but see this wonderful panorama, this grand drama, played scene after scene, and hear this wonderful harmony; all are the manifestation of the same love. Even in selfishness, that self will multiply, grow and grow. That one self, the one man, will become two selves when he gets married; several, when he gets children; and thus he grows until he feels the whole world as his Self, the whole universe as his Self. He expands into one mass of universal love, infinite love — the love that is God.
Thus we come to what is called supreme Bhakti, supreme devotion, in which forms and symbols fall off. One who has reached that cannot belong to any sect, for all sects are in him. To what shall he belong? For all churches and temples are in him. Where is the church big enough for him? Such a man cannot bind himself down to certain limited forms. Where is the limit for unlimited love, with which he has become one? In all religions which take up this ideal of love, we find the struggle to express it. Although we understand what this love means and see that everything in this world of affections and attractions is a manifestation of that Infinite Love, the expression of which has been attempted by sages and saints of different nations, yet we find them using all the powers of language, transfiguring even the most carnal expression into the divine.
Thus sang the royal Hebrew sage, thus sang they of India. "O beloved, one kiss of Thy lips! Kissed by Thee, one's thirst for Thee increaseth for ever! All sorrows cease, one forgets the past, present, and future, and only thinks of Thee alone." That is the madness of the lover, when all desires have vanished. "Who cares for salvation? Who cares to be saved? Who cares to be perfect even? Who cares for freedom?" — says the lover. "I do not want wealth, nor even health; I do not want beauty, I do not want intellect: let me be born again and again, amid all the evils that are in the world; I will not complain, but let me love Thee, and that for love's sake."
That is the madness of love which finds expression in these songs. The highest, most expressive, strongest, and most attractive human love is that between man and woman, and, therefore, that language was used in expressing the deepest devotion. The madness of this human love was the faintest echo of the mad love of the saints. The true lovers of God want to become mad, inebriated with the love of God, to become "God-intoxicated men". They want to drink of the cup of love which has been prepared by the saints and sages of every religion, who have poured their heart's blood into it, and in which hare been concentrated all the hopes of those who have loved God without seeking reward, who wanted love for itself only. The reward of love is love, and what a reward it is! It is the only thing that takes off all sorrows, the only cup, by the drinking of which this disease of the world vanishes Man becomes divinely mad and forgets that be is man.
Lastly, we find that all these various systems, in the end, converge to that one point, that perfect union. We always begin as dualists. God is a separate Being, and I am a separate being. Love comes between, and man begins to approach God, and God, as it were, begins to approach man. Man takes up all the various relationships of life, as father, mother, friend, or lover; and the last point is reached when he becomes one with the object of worship. "I am you, and you are I; and worshipping you, I worship myself; and in worshipping myself, I worship you." There we find the highest culmination of that with which man begins. At the beginning it was love for the self, but the claims of the little self made love selfish; at the end came the full blaze of light, when that self had become the Infinite. That God who at first was a Being somewhere, became resolved, as it were, into Infinite Love. Man himself was also transformed. He was approaching God, he was throwing off all vain desires, of which he was full before. With desires vanished selfishness, and, at the apex, he found that Love, Lover, and Beloved were One.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。