The typical discourse from mystics and saints surrounding their relationship with God, the Divine, Source, whatever name they have for it, is one of unconditional love, deep devotion, and reverence. Hafiz, Rumi, and the rest wax poetic about dancing mad in the streets with a love like they’ve never felt before. You know what’s far less common? Unbridled hatred.
People don’t usually talk about how they’re so mad at God that their skin flushes red and curse words spill from their mouths. They don’t talk about their bellies burning with hatred so intense that if God were to coalesce into one person, they should be scared to walk into a dark alley at night because God would be beaten into a bloody pulp.
Perhaps some people worry that if they hate God, they’ll be struck down by lightning like in the Old Testament. For others, maybe they’re scared if they hate God, they’ll be abandoned and their lives will become unlivable.
I know fire is more associated with anger but I think it fits with hatred too. Photo by Cullan Smith on Unsplash
I don’t fall into that camp and neither does my spiritual teacher. He’s very clear that hatred of others is a kind of psychic bondage and must be opposed through reasoning and intellect. Hatred of people? A no-no. Hatred of God? Totally allowed.
In the ancient Hindu epic, the Ramayana, there’s a Very Bad Man named Ravana. He’s like the ultimate sinner, the ultimate evil-doer, but once he dies, he attains liberation and no longer has to reincarnate. He’s free from all bondages and merges with the Cosmic Consciousness. How could that be so? Here’s a long passage from my spiritual teacher about why:
“On whom was Ravana always meditating? Who was he always thinking about? Remember that Ravana was thinking about Rama [a Hindu deity] twenty-four hours a day. People generally think about their enemies more than they do about those whom they love. Suppose you have a bitter quarrel with someone. When you sit down to eat later on, you will find that you don’t feel like eating. The image of your enemy will come up again and again in your mind. And you will be thinking: ‘I should have hit him a couple of good ones!’ On that day, you will have no appetite at all. If you have love and affection for anyone, you will have a good appetite, but if you have enmity with anyone, you will have no appetite at all. Because on that day, your mind will be fully occupied with thoughts of your enemy.
“Now, what was the state of Ravanaʼs mind prior to his fight with Rama? He was thinking only of Rama, discarding all other thoughts. His kingdom was lost, the happy and prosperous Lanka was burnt to ashes, and all of his sons and grandsons had been killed. Everything was finished. Yet even then, Ravana went on fighting Rama, thinking all the time only of Rama. The scriptures say: ‘With reverence or with indifference.’ If you think about [Cosmic Consciousness] with reverence, that is good; but if you think about Him with disdain, your mind will be the same as if you are thinking about Him with reverence. You will be continuously revolving around [Cosmic Consciousness].”
In other words, it doesn’t matter if you love God or hate God. As long as you’re thinking of Him/Her/It, you’ll still progress spiritually. I appreciate that perspective because it gives me full permission to feel whatever I feel in my relationship with the divine. I don’t have to worry that I’m a “bad” person or going to hell or deserve judgment. I’m being authentic, and that, too, will lead me where I want to go.
I dream of a world where we understand all of our emotions are allowed in our relationship with the divine. A world where we don’t censor ourselves for fear of something bad happening. A world where we recognize hating God doesn’t make us bad people because it, too, will lead to liberation.
Another world is not only possible, it’s probable.
I’m upset right now. I’m upset by callousness, by selfishness, and the expression of various -isms (racism, classism, antisemitism, etc.). It hurts my heart to hear people say things like, “All homeless people should be euthanized for their own good,” or “I don’t care if other people suffer because I’m fine.” Someone on my Facebook feed even said, “I don’t like Jews. They’re not trustworthy.” As a Jewish woman, that one in particular hit home.
I’ve literally cried about all of these statements. I have so much grief that people can be this mean. My first impulse is to argue, to point out statistics and news articles that counter the person’s point of view. However, as you likely already know, that doesn’t work. That’s why there are so many memes about how arguing on the internet accomplishes nothing. If anything, once you start arguing with someone, they only become more entrenched in their point of view.
I’m seeking this too. Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash.
I brought all of this sorrow to my meditation, holding the question, “What can I do about all of this?” and the answer that came back was the peace prayer that is often misattributed to St. Francis. I’m sharing it in full here:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.
We see that this sentiment works. It’s the story of former KKK Grand Dragon Ken Parker who left the group after repeated encounters with people who he used to consider his enemies. It’s the story of ex-KKK member Chris Buckley who befriended Dr. Heval Kelli, a cardiologist, civil rights activist, and oh yeah, a Muslim.
It’s also in line with my spiritual philosophy. My teacher said genuine love for humanity is the only way to solve problems great and small.
“This love will give people guidance; it will show them what to do and what not to do,” he said. “It is not necessary to study great numbers of books or to rely upon those who speculate with the future of the silent masses. The only essential requirement is to look upon humanity with genuine sympathy.”
That feels both easy and difficult right now. I have lots of sympathy for marginalized groups, but not so much for people who are antisemitic, for instance. However, I know that people who have been hurt themselves hurt other people. This woman who said Jews aren’t trustworthy is also coming from a place of wounding, and me railing against her will only calcify her opinion that Jews are terrible. The best thing I can do for anyone is continue to love them, to show them kindness, and remind them we aren’t so different after all.
I dream of a world where we embody the peace prayer as much as we can. A world where we sow love instead of hate. A world where we bring harmony in the time of discord. A world where we bring light into darkness. A world where we become the type of person we want others to be.
Another world is not only possible, it’s probable.