Meditation on the Imitation of Christ - A Vedantic interpretation

This book brings together the Christian and Indian perspectives of spirituality and the general goals of humankind; it shows how they can enrich and complement each other, and that in spite of the great differences that time and space may forge between dissimilar cultures, when we come to the spiritual dimension and the higher values of life these differences begin to lead to a common point that ends on the immutable principles of Love and Truth.

It is the very first time that any author ventures to write a commentary on this classic Christian best seller from a Vedantic perspective.

This is a short preview of the book. 

Meditation on The Imitation of Christ

CONTENTS

Book I

Practical advice about the spiritual life

Book II

Considerations inviting us to live an interior life

Book III

On inward consolation

Book IV

About the blessed Sacrament

A devout encouragement to receive holy Communion

Book one

PRACTICAL ADVICE ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

CHAPTER I

WE MUST TAKE CHRIST FOR OUR MODEL AND DESPISE THE SHAMS OF EARTH

1. He who follows me can never walk in darkness,[1] our Lord says. Here are words of Christ, words of warning; if we want to see our way truly, never a trace of blindness left in our hearts, it is his life, his character, we must take for our model. Clearly, then, we must make it our chief business to train our thoughts upon the life of Jesus Christ.

True to the very title of his book, Kempis begins by telling us that it is Christ whom we must follow, that it is Christ we must imitate in order to become Christ-like.

One of the most important characteristics of our mind is that it can, consciously and unconsciously, absorb the nature and qualities of any object on which it thinks with real intensity. We see this working in our daily lives. When a man and a woman fall in love, for instance, they gradually begin to absorb the good and even the bad qualities of the partner. This constant engrossment in each other tends to transform each one of them into the other. Such is the power of thought! And when the object of our meditation is a divine personage, or even a holy symbol, the result is a transformation of our life and character from the human to the divine.

“He who follows me can never walk in darkness.” Those are not only words of warning, as Kempis says, they are also words of great comfort and hope, because they assure us that if we follow the spirit of Christ’s teachings and make a sincere effort to emulate his life - however small that effort may be in the beginning - a gradual transformation is sure to come into our lives.

2. Christ’s teaching – how it overshadows all the Saints have to teach us! Could we but master its spirit, what a store of hidden manna we should find there! How is it that so many of us can hear the Gospel read out again and again, with so little emotion? Because they haven’t got the spirit of Christ; that is why. If a man wants to understand Christ’s words fully, and relish the flavour of them, he must be one who is trying to fashion his whole life on Christ’s model.

When we study the history of mankind, we find that the life and teachings of certain characters, like Buddha, Jesus and Ramakrishna, have made a tremendous impact on the course of human life, altering the thought current of millions with an impulse that lasts for thousands of years. In the Vedantic tradition, these luminaries are called Avataras, special manifestations of the Divine, the purest manifestations of God on earth.

The life and teachings of these Avataras are the models that humanity has followed for ages. They give the message that is fit for that particular place and time, and also for humanity at large; they make religion simple and accessible to all.

Yet, even though they come to make religion easily available to all, we won’t be able to derive much benefit from merely reading their teachings unless we are, as Kempis tells us, “one who is trying to fashion his whole life on Christ’s model.”

3. Talk as learnedly as you will about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, it will get you no thanks from the holy Trinity if you aren’t humble about it. After all, it isn’t learned talk that saves a man or makes a saint of him; only a life well lived can claim God’s friendship. For myself, I would sooner know what contrition feels like, than how to define it. Why, if you had the whole of Scripture and all the maxims of the philosophers at your finger-tips, what would be the use of it all, without God’s love and God’s grace? A shadow’s shadow, a world of shadows[2] - nothing matters except loving God and giving him all your loyalty. And the height of wisdom is to set your face towards heaven by despising the world.

“Religion is realization,” said Swami Vivekananda. Theories are good to begin with, but they can never give us lasting satisfaction, nor the knowledge of God or the ultimate Reality. It is only when we have experienced at least a glimpse of God that we can claim to be truly religious. Before that we only speak about it.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say that an ounce of practice is better than tons of theory. In the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (hence GSR) we read the following story:

“Once several men were crossing the Ganges in a boat. One of them, a pundit, was making a great display of his erudition, saying that he had studied various books - the Vedas, the Vedanta, and the six systems of philosophy. He asked a fellow passenger, ‘Do you know the Vedanta?’ ‘No, revered sir.’ ‘The Samkhya and the Patanjala?’[3] ‘No, revered sir.’ ‘Have you read no philosophy whatsoever?’ ‘No, revered sir.’ The pundit was talking in this vain way and the passenger sitting in silence, when a great storm arose and the boat was about to sink. The passenger said to the pundit, ‘Sir, can you swim?’ ‘No,’ replied the pundit. The passenger said, ‘I don’t know the Samkhya or the Patanjala, but I can swim.’”[4]

So unless we are ready to be practical and follow the teachings of a particular religion and verify by direct experience its validity, we have no right to say whether they are true or false.

4. What folly, to hunt for riches that will not last, and put your trust in them! What folly, to set your heart on worldly honours, and scheme for your own advancement! What folly, to obey the promptings of sense, and covet the prizes that will soon cost you dear! What folly, to pray for a long life, without caring whether it is lived well or badly; to think only of your present existence, instead of making provision for the world to come; to fall in love with what passes in a moment, instead of hurrying on to the goal where eternal happiness awaits you!

           We are what we are inside. This life, which can be a wonderful opportunity for our spiritual development, would be simply wasted if we make money, fame, etc., the goal of our existence. This does not mean that they are evil things to be avoided at all cost. What we do need to understand is that they only provide a momentary comfort or thrill that has no chance to make us truly happy and bring us durable peace.

For those who have mastered their minds, for those who have learned to live consciously, these worldly goods can be wonderful tools that they can use for the good of society and for their own advancement in spiritual life, or, if they so wish it, they can live a perfectly contented life without them.

It is said that when Alexander the Great returned to Greece after one of his conquering campaigns, the whole city went to receive him and render him honour. Everyone but one was present. There was an old philosopher living on a nearby hill who didn’t bother to attend the celebration. When Alexander heard of this he was enraged, and went with a small retinue of soldiers to meet the old philosopher who dared to ignore him. When they reached his house, they found him outside, lying on a couch and enjoying the sunlight. Alexander approached him and asked why he had not gone to receive him, but the old man remained silent without even opening his eyes to look at him. The emperor became angry and threatened him in many ways, but got no response. Then changing his tactic Alexander told him, “I can give you anything you want, ask me anything.” Then the old man opened his eyes for the first time and told him, “Can you move aside, please? You are obstructing the sunlight.” Such is the difference between a life well-lived and one that is devoted to the search for power and fame.

Swami Brahmananda, a monastic disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, said to a young monk, “Give your body and mind to worldly enjoyments, and the world will destroy them both. Devote them to God and his service, and you will enjoy bodily health, peace of mind, and spiritual joy.”[5]

5. There is one proverb of which we cannot remind ourselves too often, Eye looks on unsatisfied; ear listens, ill content.[6] Make up your mind to detach your thoughts from the love of things seen, and let them find their centre in things invisible. Those who follow the call of sense only soil their consciences, and lose the help of God’s grace.

The mind is constantly searching for happiness, but permanent happiness cannot be found in the pleasures of the senses. When the enjoyment of the sensory world is experienced as a mere reaction, as a mere response to an impulse, we find that after a brief period of satisfaction the desire to enjoy returns, and only frustration remains.

So we must live our lives in such a way that it will make it possible for us to use the tendencies of our mind in our favour. And the easiest way to do that is by associating all our actions and enjoyments with God, or our spiritual ideal, whatever this might be. By offering, for instance, the fruit of our actions and pleasures to God, by feeling that all the things we enjoy are enjoyed by the Divine within us, we gradually sublimate the selfish and sensual tendencies of the mind, and our actions become a way to constantly keep in mind the presence of God in us and in all around us.

CHAPTER 2

ON TAKING A LOW VIEW OF ONESELF

1. As for knowledge, it comes natural to all of us to want it; but what can knowledge do for us, without the fear of God? Give me a plain, unpretentious farm-hand, content to serve God; there is more to be made of him than of some conceited University professor who forgets that he has a soul to save, because he is so busy watching the stars. To know yourself – that means feeling your own worthlessness, losing all taste for human praise. If my knowledge embraced the whole of creation, yet left me lacking in the love of God, what good would it do me in God’s sight? It is by my actions that he will judge me.

Sri Ramakrishna used to say:

“Vultures soar very high in the sky, but their eyes are fixed on rotten carrion on the ground. The book-learned are reputed to be wise, but they are attached to ‘woman and gold.’[7] Like the vultures, they are in search of carrion. They are attached to the world of ignorance. Compassion, love of God, and renunciation are the glories of true knowledge.”[8]

There are two types of knowledge: the knowledge of the world – the external knowledge, which allows us to understand and improve our physical, material life; and spiritual knowledge, which enables us to discern and manifest our real nature, our divine dimension, or as Jesus Christ explained it: the Kingdom of Heaven in us. This latter knowledge is the highest, for the former is the knowledge that relates to our perishable psychophysical personality; whereas the latter is the knowledge of our immortal, real Self.

2. Why not take a rest from this exaggerated craving for mere knowledge which only has the effect of distracting and deluding us! People are so fond of passing for learned men, and being congratulated on their wisdom – yes, but what a lot of knowledge there is that contributes nothing to our souls’ welfare! And there can be no wisdom in spending yourself on pursuits which are not going to promote your chances of salvation. All the talk in the world won’t satisfy the soul’s needs; nothing but a good conscience will help you to face God unashamed.

Similarly, Sri Ramakrishna said:

“Can one find God in the sacred books? By reading the scriptures one may feel at the most that God exists. But God does not reveal Himself to a man unless he himself dives deep. Only after such a plunge, after the revelation of God through His grace, is one’s doubt destroyed. You may read scriptures by the thousands and recite thousands of texts; but unless you plunge into God with yearning of heart, you will not comprehend Him. By mere scholarship you may fool man, but not God.”[9]

Real knowledge, spiritual knowledge, depends upon no book; after all, books are only an attempt to explain that knowledge. Intellectual knowledge is no proof of spirituality; no amount of theoretical knowledge can give us peace and happiness. When we are hungry, what we need is food, and no amount of conversation about food can satisfy our hunger. Religion is not in theories: it is realization, direct experience.  Intellectual knowledge gives only intellectual pleasure of short duration. When we experience that we are divine, that we are not limited by anything, then lasting peace and happiness are ours.

3. The wider, the more exact your learning, the more severe will be your judgement, if it has not taught you to live holily. No art, no science should make a man proud of possessing it; such gifts are a terrifying responsibility. Meanwhile, however well satisfied you are with your own skill or intelligence, never forget how much there is that remains unknown to you. Let us have no airs of learning; own up to your ignorance; what is the use of crowing over some rival, when you can point to any number of Doctors and Masters who can beat you at your own game? If you want to learn an art worth knowing, you must set out to be unknown, and to count for nothing.
 
         Once yudhisthira and Duryodhana were asked to judge four men that had commited murder. Duryodhana immediately said that they should all be sentenced to death, but Yudhisthira, who was much wiser, asked the men to what cast they belonged. He learned that all were of different casts: sudra (servant), vaishya (merchant), kshatriya (warrior) and brahmin (one who makes spirituality the goal of life). So he gave to each a different sentence, according to their degree of knowledge and responsibility. To the sudra he gave four years of prison, for he was illiterate and ignorant; to the vaishya eight years, for he had some education and understood better what he was doing; to the kshatriya he gave 15 years, for he was a warrior and his duty is to protect the people, not to murder them; and to the brahmin he gave the death sentence, for he was a learned man whose duty was to dedicate his life to God, and he knew fully well the sacredness of life.

        There is no doubt that the greater our knowledge, the greater is our responsibility, and the harder will be the account we must submit for its use. This does not mean that learning is bad in itself; it can be an asset to the spiritual aspirant who uses it to serve others unselfishly. Learning becomes a hindrance if it makes us proud and arrogant. If we are truly learned, it should make us humble.

4. There is no lesson so profound or so useful as this lesson of self-knowledge and of self-contempt. Claim nothing for yourself, think of others kindly and with admiration; that is the height of wisdom, and its masterpiece. Never think yourself better than the next man, however glaring his faults, however grievous his offences; you are in good disposition now, but how long will they last? Tell yourself, “We are frail, all of us, but none so frail as I.”

We should always remember that if we see faults in others it is because we have those faults in us. The person who has no evil inside, cannot see it outside. A child three years old cannot see wickedness in others, for his mind is still free from it. It is later, when he begins to develop the concept of wickedness within, that he starts to see it outside. So before judging our neighbour, we would do well to understand that we have ourselves that very fault we are about to judge.

In her last moments of life Sarada Devi gave this advice to one of her disciples: “If you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger, my child; the whole world is your own.”[11]

CHAPTER 3

HOW TRUTH IS TO BE LEARNT

1. Oh to be one of those to whom truth communicates itself directly – not by means of symbols and words, whose meaning changes with time, but in its very nature! Our own estimate, our own way of looking at things, is always putting us in the wrong, by taking the short view. And here are we, splitting hairs about all sorts of mysterious problems which do not concern us – we shall not be blamed, at our judgement, for having failed to solve them. Strange creatures that we are, we forget the questions which really matter to us, matter vitally, and concentrate, of set purpose, on what is mere curiosity and waste of time. So clear-sighted we are, and so blind!

 “To see once, is better than to hear a hundred times,” says the Chinese popular wisdom. And how true it is! There is a big difference between reading and hearing about spiritual truths in books and sermons, and actually seeing them and experiencing them directly through spiritual intuition. When we read or hear about spirituality, it makes us feel nice and it may move us for a while to try to live a better life; but a direct perception of these truths, a real spiritual experience, is a life-transforming event. A complete revolution takes place in the inner life and understanding of that individual. Externally he or she may look just the same to others, but internally a rebirth has taken place, a lifelong transformation that no learning, however great, can achieve.

Sri Ramakrishna said:

“One should learn the contents of the scriptures and then act according to their injunctions. A man lost a letter. He couldn’t remember where he had left it. He began to search for it with a lamp. After two or three people had searched, the letter was at last found. The message in the letter was: ‘Please send us five seers of sandesh and a piece of wearing-cloth.’ The man read it and then threw the letter away. There was no further need of it; now all he had to do was to buy the five seers of sandesh and the piece of cloth.”[12]

When St. Thomas Aquinas was writing his greatest work, the Summa Theologica, he had a profound spiritual experience that totally changed his understanding, opening an altogether new reality previously unknown to him. The result was so impressive that he stopped writing. When others complained about it, telling him that he should continue, that it was a marvellous work he was doing, he simply said that during that experience that he had, what he saw and felt was something so superior to anything he previously knew, that whatever he had written seemed irrelevant prattle to him.

          

2. Why should we be concerned to divide up things into “classes” and “families?” We get away from all this tangle of guess-work, when once the Eternal Word speaks to us. From him alone all creation takes its origin, and therefore all creation has but one voice for us; he, who is its origin, is also its interpreter. Without him, nobody can understand it, or form a true judgement about it. Until all things become One for you, traced to One source and seen in One act of vision, you cannot find anchorage for the heart, or rest calmly in God. O God, you are the truth; unite me to yourself by an act of unfailing love! I am so tired of reading about this and that, being lectured to about this and that, when all that I want, all that I long for, is to be found in you. If only they would hold their tongues, these learned folk! If only the whole of creation would be silent in your presence, and you, and you alone, speak to me!

           In the Chandogya Upanishad[13] we read the story of a boy named Satyakama,  who was sent by his guru to the forest to look after 400 lean and weak cattle with the instruction not to return till they became 1000. After some years of devoted service, Satyakama heard the bull telling him that they were already 1000 and it was time to return to the guru. The bull further gave him instructions about Brahman (God,[14] the Self, the Absolute). Then the fire, a swan, and a diver-bird gave him further instructions about Brahman, till Satyakama realized that the whole universe is but a manifestation of God. That God is the One reality that we are experiencing all the time, though to our eyes it appears as the material universe.

           Kempis, like all the great mystics, is giving us a hint of that oneness of existence, that one truth, which we call God and by many other names. And God, being the omnipresent existence of the universe, can choose to teach us in any way he wants. As Jesus Christ said, when some Pharisees asked him to stop his disciples because they were praising him as the envoy of God, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”[15]

           Too much talk distracts the mind, hence Kempis longs for that silence that calms the mind and fills the heart with God’s presence. Before the utterance of any word, there is silence, and after the word is spoken, there is still silence. Silence is the ever present voice of God from which divine revelations are heard, and in which the soul rejoices in God’s presence.

3. Once a man is integrated, once his inner life becomes simplified, all of a piece, he begins to attain a richer and deeper knowledge – quite effortlessly, because the intellectual light he receives comes from above. Freedom of heart is his, and simplicity of intention, and fixity of resolve, and he finds that he is no longer distracted by a variety of occupations; he acts, now only for God’s glory, and does his best to get rid of all self-seeking. There is no worse enemy to your freedom and your peace of mind than the undisciplined affections of your own heart. Really good and holy people plan out beforehand in their minds how they are to behave in given circumstances; the course of their lives does not sweep them away into following their lower instincts, they shape it for themselves, according to the dictates of right season. To be sure, the conquest of self demands the hardest struggle of all; but this has got to be our real business in life, the conquest of self – no day passed without beating our own record, without gaining fresh ground.

        This integration of the personality is a vital step in the life of a spiritual aspirant. In order to attain this it is necessary to unite all our actions, that is to say, what we think, what we speak and what we do must be the same. If we think one way but speak and act in different ways, that shows an immature and disintegrated personality.

           When the individual becomes integrated, concentration takes place; our inner and outer forces join together in a single purpose, and that leads to quick progress. Once this degree of sincerity is finally achieved, when there is no more hypocrisy in our effort, then the obstacles of self-seeking and self-assertion that were barring our way begin to crumble and spiritual progress becomes natural. A process of spontaneous growth starts to take place, and the personality finally surrenders to change; it embraces willingly the manifestations and promptings of the Divine.

           Meister Eckhart said that:

“Self-free is self-controlled, and self-controlled is self-possessed, and self-possessed is God-possession and possession of everything God ever made. This is known as self-mastery. He who for one instant wholly resigns self, unshaken and motionless in himself – that man is free.”[16]

4. We find no absolute perfection in this world; always there is a background of imperfection behind our achievement; and so it is that our guesses at the truth can never be more than light obscured by shadow. The humble man’s knowledge of himself is a surer way to God than any deep researches into truth. No reason why we should quarrel with learning, or with any straightforward pursuit of knowledge; it is all good as far as it goes, and part of God’s plan. But always what we should prize most is a clear conscience, and holiness of life. How is it that there are so many people who put knowledge first, instead of conduct? It means that they are constantly at fault, and achieve little – sometimes next to nothing. If only these people would take as much trouble to weed out their imperfections, and to cultivate good qualities, as they take over the learned theses they propound, we should hear less about sins and scandals, less about lax behaviour in religious houses. After all, when the day of judgement comes we shall be examined about what we have done, not about what we have read; whether we have lived conscientiously, not whether we have turned fine phrases. Where are they now, Doctor This and Professor That, whom you used to hear so much about when they were alive, and at the height of their reputation? They have handed over their chairs to other men, who probably never waste a thought on them; while they lived, they counted for something, now they are never mentioned.

We must keep in mind that Kempis is talking mainly to monks and to very sincere spiritual aspirants. So it should be understood that this advice, though it seems a bit radical at times and incompatible with practical daily life, it is meant for those who have made God-realization the goal of their lives.

Sri Ramakrishna also said:

“The one thing you need is to realize God. Why do you bother so much about the world, creation, science, and all that? Your business is to eat mangoes. What need have you to know how many hundreds of trees there are in the orchard, how many thousands of branches, and how many millions of leaves? You have come to the garden to eat mangoes. Go and eat them. Man is born in this world to realize God; it is not good to forget that and divert the mind to other things. You have come to eat mangoes. Eat the mangoes and be happy.”[17]

This can be practised not only in the monastery, but anywhere we are. It is not the place we live in that matters, or to what order of life we belong; it is our attitude to life that makes all the difference. As Jesus Christ said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”[18] We could be living in a monastery and be full of selfish desires and attachments, or we could live in the world without feeling that we belong to it, making use of all the things the world provides, but knowing fully well that they do not belong to us, that they are God’s. If our heart is attached to God, we can make spiritual progress anywhere.

When Meister Eckhart was asked, “What is needful to attain love of God?” He answered, “Four things: first, a real dispassion toward creatures; second, the right sort of active life; third, the right sort of contemplative life; fourth, an aspiring heart.”[19]

     

5. So soon it passes, our earthly renown. Well for them, if they had practised what they taught; then indeed they would have studied to good purpose. How often the worldly pursuit of useless knowledge brings men to ruin, by distracting their attention from God’s service! They must play the great man, they will not be content with a humble part, and it only leads to frustration. True greatness can only be reckoned in terms of charity; the really great man is one who doesn’t think much of himself, and doesn’t think much of rank or precedence either. The only clear-sighted man is one who treats all earthly achievements as dirt, because he wants to win Christ; the only educated man is one who has learned to abandon his own will and do God’s will instead.

Once a wandering monk went to see King Janaka.[20] While they were walking outside the palace, they saw from a distance that the palace had caught fire and was burning fiercely. The monk immediately started lamenting, for he had left his only extra loin-cloth inside the palace. But the king, who had no attachment to anything in this world, was simply watching calmly, knowing full well that nothing of his was burning. His heart was at rest; his interest was wholly centred in the spirit. His treasure was not of this world.

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[1] John, 8. 12.

[2] Eccles, I. 2.

[3] Different systems of Indian philosophy.

[4] The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, translated by Swami Nikhilananda, 392.

[5] The Eternal Companion, by Swami Prabhavananda (1970 edition), 64.

[6] Eccles, I. 8.

[7] By “woman and gold” Sri Ramakrishna simply meant “sex and money.”

[8] GSR, 101.

[9] GSR, 625.

[10] Two princes in ancient India.

[11] The Gospel of Holy Mother, by Her Devotee Children, XXXVIII.

[12] GSR, 475-76.

[13] The Upanishads – A new Translation, by Swami Nikhilananda, 261-265.

[14] Generally, people think of God as a separate being, supremely powerful and wise that governs the universe. That is a valid and accepted concept of God within the field of multiplicity. But the saints and mystics of all faiths have also used the term to indicate a deeper dimension to that being; they meant perfect Oneness, the Ultimate Reality, the Absolute. In other words, there is nothing that is not God. God is the only existence. And it is in this sense that the word God is understood here. [Author]

[15] Luke, 19:40.

[16] The Spiritual Athlete, by Ray Berry, 264.

[17] GSR, 672.

[18] Matthew, 6:21.

[19] The Spiritual Athlete, by Ray Berry, 266.

[20] A famous king of ancient India who was a spiritually enlightened person.

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