We are exploring meanings of holiness and in yesterday’s DM we meditated on some of the impact for good that Mahatma Gandhi has given the world, inspiring so many nonviolent movements for peace and justice by his teachings and his example.
There is a statue to Gandhi on the waterfront in San Francisco and years ago I was invited by Gandhi’s nephew I believe it was to speak at a ceremony at the statue. On the statue is this statement from Albert Einstein:
Generations to come it may well be will scarce believe that such a man as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.
In the DM video yesterday I returned to my Original Blessing book and was surprised by the major role Gandhi plays in that book—he even insisted we “combat the doctrine of original sin.” More of his teachings follow.
Says Gandhi: The secret of life is selfless service. The highest ideal for us is to become free from attachment.
This is not unlike Meister Eckhart’s call that we work and love and live “without a why–live in order to live….work for the sake of working….love in order to love.”
Gandhi declared that “real beauty is my aim.”
Alfred North Whitehead declares that beauty is the very aim of the universe itself:
The teleology of the Universe is directed to the production of Beauty…Apart from Beauty, Truth is neither good, nor bad…Truth matters because of Beauty.
Whitehead adds that “discord” is necessary to accomplish beauty in the universe. Discord is to be valued for without it there is no new beginning, no fresh start.
The contribution to Beauty which can be supplied by Discord—in itself destructive and evil—is the positive feeling of a quick shift of aim from the tameness of outworn perfection to some other ideal with its freshness still upon it.
Beauty and terror, Simone Weil observed, come together.
Beauty may be better understood as an adjective than as a noun. Rather than pursuing the question, “What is beauty?” It may be more useful to ask: “What are beautiful experience you have had? How can we forge more beauty from our common sharing of this planet?”
Beauty is simple and it is shareable. To restore the planet and save its creatures is to bring beauty back. With beauty, cynicism dies. Beauty is possible. Beauty is.
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Original Blessing, pp. 86, 150, 209f., 212f., 219.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video teaching, click HERE.
Banner Image: “(Mahatma Gandhi leading) the Salt March to the remote seaside village of Dandi, and the Civil Disobedience campaign it launched was the greatest nonviolent battle by history’s greatest nonviolent campaigner.” Photo by Jyoti Prakash Bhattacharjee on Flickr.
Queries for Contemplation
What is Beauty’s role in your life? Is service for you also the secret of life?
Recommended Reading
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
12 thoughts on “Further Wisdom from Gandhi: The Secret of Life & Beauty’s Role”
Today’s talk brings to mind one of my favorite books, Beauty by John O’Donohue. Thank you.
Thank you Brenda for lifting up O’Donohue’s creative contribution: Beauty!
DIVINE LOVE includes Wisdom~Truth~Peace~Justice~Healing~Transformation~Creativity~
Beauty~Joy~Compassion… PRESENT within, through, and among Us in our unique True Heart
Selves~Sacred Eternal Souls, our Compassionate relations: with one another, sacred Mother Earth and all Her living creatures, and with our sacred physical and non-physical multidimensional-multiverse Cosmos in our Creator~Source’s ongoing co-Creation~Incarnation~Evolution of LOVING ONENESS….
Thank you, Damian.
Loving Oneness!
Beauty is Spirit saying,”I love you.”
AHHHH!
When I was 6 years old, my family moved from beautiful natural surroundings in California to the drab concrete blocks of urban postwar Germany. Most of my life I’ve been trying to put my finger on exactly what it was that hurt me the most about that move, and there were many factors, but ultimately I came to the conclusion that it was the separation from beauty that gave me a wound so deep I almost didn’t survive. We should never underestimate the hunger of children for beauty – the beauty of nature, the beauty of wisdom, the beauty of balance. Like a seedling needs sunlight to grow, the spirit needs beauty to grow.
Deep Sigh!
Claudia,
Thank you for your felt experience of Beauty and Loss of Beauty! I would welcome hearing from you, how your tender young self and now your tender older self, compensated/compensates for that deep loss?
How do you satiate your heart’s longing?
This is a powerful sharing platform. One shared thought might heal another’s heart!
I’d like to share a little story of how beauty unites us. Several years ago my husband and I took a motorcycle road trip. After a long day of riding, we finally arrived at our first nights destination. We decided to go down to the lake to watch the sunset. There we found around a hundred people gathered and a man playing the bagpipes. The beauty of the sound of his song, the sun setting, painting the sky in hues of fushia, mauve, pinks, reds and blues, brought all of us gathered… together, uniting us in the present moment of simply being still.
No one spoke a word, for we all were drawn into the beauty of that which was unfolding gloriously before us. It was a sacred and holy moment of peace! Once the sun had fully set, quietly we all dispersed, going our seperate ways; yet somehow we also remained united forever, by that shared moment of being present to beauty and the blessed gift of peace that had been offered to us all. That moment of being present to the presence of beauty, is now a memory we all share, which unites us, in a small but sacred moment of time.
Beauty – Filled memory!
Rather than recount the gifts of incredible beauty that I’ve been given, I would ask people — all those who can hear sounds — to notice and accept, from God, a gift, a fine little amazing miracle:
that you, today, completely indulge in a deep immersion into some type of sound you encounter, whether some type of music, listening to waves of water in a lake or the ocean, listening to a loved one’s voice, or listening to birds, whatever, just any-old type of sound hanging around that you usually forget to pay attention to,
embrace it,
get intimate with it.
imbibe it
for a glorious, sacred, laser-focused short-long period of time. Dive deep into all of its delicious nuances and revelations. Explore every facet of the shape in that unfolding hearing-time. Revel in the divine wonder of so much beauty in an ordinary, casual throwaway sound-moment. Take hold of that gift to yourself and hold it tight. Treasure it with every cell of your being.
Do that for yourself. Give yourself that precious gift.
Do it again tomorrow.
Because, you see, hearing is a miracle, and it can vanish before you realize what’s happening. I learned that after I lost my hearing. But, you know, you can maybe enjoy the miracle of hearing for both of us.
So go listen to something amazing.
Melinda,
I am sitting outdoors on a small simple stone patio being hugged and repeatedly kissed by the breeze. She makes herself known in her touch, but most importantly in the skill she manifests in the sounding of the four sets of tuned chimes in the yard. I am doing as you suggested. I am hearing for you. I hope there is some deep place where you hold the memory of sound. I invite you to feel the gentle breeze and hear the chimes in the vibrations touching your skin.
Did you know that there have been studies done – I am no expert – suggest you check out Dr. Alfred Tomatis. I first heard of his work after Second Vatican Council – fascinating cures for depression in Abbey Monks due to the loss of the sound of Gregorian chanting from their daily routine. Now his work has blossomed into Therapeutic centers working with every manner of hearing struggle. Lots of info on You Tube.
I wish you well.
I continue to listen for you.
Thanks for the invitation to serve.
Best to you,
Carol