Bodily Transcendence in the Bible

The abundance of excruciating “love scenes” in cinema, crude, female-debasing song lyrics, and tasteless romance novels reveals a widespread obsession with sex. Society clumsily bumbles about in a variety of pop art mediums in an attempt to evoke what is arguably the most powerful bodily experience. But not only do hip hop and Hollywood reveal our generation’s obsession with sex, they indicate a decline in what Prothero called “religious literacy.” Without religion, or an understanding of it, society fails to understand bodily transcendence and completely misinterprets and conveys what really are beautiful human experiences as crude and primitive acts of lust.

As knowledge increases by leaps and bounds globally, religion and spirituality decline. What once served as one of the greatest common factors between nations now may crack and splinter nations internally. The splintering of religious sects has made connection and communication between peoples challenging. But people have always, and will forever eat, sleep, experience pain and procreate as long as the human race exists. Can’t these basic human experiences serve as common ground?

Not while society continually debases them.

In contrast with popular music today, the Bible glorifies procreation and pain in the female’s body.

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world” (John.16:21).

The Bible portrays the woman in child birth as one transcending her pain in the overwhelming beauty and good that comes from the new life she bears. The woman’s body essentially forgets its pain. Yes, a woman can recall that giving birth was painful, but her body cannot actually recall the sensation. Our bodies do not, in general, remember pain. Society’s “religious illiteracy” today causes widespread abuse and exploitation of what is a marvel of human existence.

The Bible continues to glorify the transcendence of the body with the crucifixtion of Jesus and the resurrection of Lazarus, to name just a few of many examples. Contemporary society's portrayal of the body reveals a failure to understand this concept. Jessica mentioned that she couldn't imagine being crucified, or giving up her body the way Jesus did in the Bible. Indeed, very few of us can. This ultimate sacrifice involves a level of detachment from our bodies that only those who have found passion and intense discipline can understand.


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The evident obsession with the body reveals a total ignorance in body transcendence and the current trend towards a lack of spiritual principles.


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Bernini’s “The Ecstasy of St Teresa” successfully communicated the thin line between mortal sensations and divine transcendence through a portrayal of a deeply religious experience. St Teresa’s eyes roll back into her head and she appears to be having a climatic encounter with God. The angel’s dart points somewhere other than her heart. Art patrons initially expressed shock at Bernini’s masterpiece, finding it lewd and vulgar. Upon first seeing “The Ecstasy”, one French art patron famously exclaimed, “Well, if that’s divine love, I know all about it.” But by bridging the chasm of worldly and unworldly experiences, Bernini evoked spirituality in a way that even laymen can relate to. It applied universally. And while hip hop does relate to the layman, it fails to communicate anything greater than primitive lust and often female debasement.

The American Repertory Ensemble:

An example of the ARE's collaboration of live music and dance in a social commentary of love.

Winter's Tryst

One line ironed out many of the wrinkles I had reading the Gita.

“He is in fact what his faith makes him” (131).

This line, I think, explains the destructiveness in passion, or love for anyone or anything other than the One. Krishna says that no matter what superficial motive a man may have for an action, the fundamental motive stems from his faith, whatever that faith may be. Therefore, when we fall in love, we should fall in love with the Purity inside a man, which is a part of every man. The glorified, Hollywood love that as Westerners we are taught to seek may more properly be called idolatry. We forget to attribute the deep and beautiful characteristics to the “faith” of an individual. Instead we idolize them, putting them on a pedestal of infatuation, and lose sight of the beauty of humanity. The Gita teaches that the most beautiful parts of people come from an inner element that can be found in everyone. Thus, the “love with detachment” concept teaches us to find love for every living thing, a lesson in tranquility.


The American Repertory Ensemble's unconventional collaborations of varied mediums of art powerfully deliver messages similar to those in Bhagavad Gita.
http://www.americanrepensemble.org/index.html

Wiley’s video of the Kosmic poet reminded me of the power of art to evoke this sense of tranquility. I watched Winter’s Tryst at the Mccullough theater last night, which through the inspiration of Dr. David Justin, the professor I mentioned in previous RDBs, collaborated the works of a cellist, percussionist, mezzo-soprano, violist, flautist, pianist and four dancers. Though the dancers, all past the age of 35, had passed their physical peak, they had reached an artistic pinnacle so powerful that the performance became something much more than a display of athletic technique, a characteristic of many ballet performances today. One of the pieces in the sequence provided a commentary on love that in fact reflects the very “love with detachment” concept evoked in the Gita. The piece opens simply with the pianist entering the stage, bowing, and opening the lid of the piano. Two yellow balloons escape from under the lid and ascend as the pianist sits at the piano. She begins to play, and one danceur wearing a hat and one dancer holding a yellow balloon enter the stage acting as a caricatures or mimes. They meet and discover that the other has something that they want (either the hat or the balloon). Through a tousling dance, they switch possessions, then lose them both, finally falling in love. The comic naiveté of the dance provides a criticism of the nature of people’s attraction to material possessions and stereotypes. But when these elements are removed, we are able to see each other with precision and clarity. That man is, “…what his faith makes him” (131).

An example of the ARE's collaboration of live music and dance in a social commentary of love.

The Gita warns against this tendency.

“When Purity is in the ascendant, the man evolves; when Passion, he neither evolves nor degenerates; when Ignorance, he is lost” (115).

Our progression as individuals depends upon our ability to see through the superficial motives of others and recognize the good in humanity rather than the good in another individual.

Thanks for the Tall Cold One Prof

The Bhagavad Gita was by far my favorite text to have read in our class so far, partly because of my own, agnostic stance on religion. Opening the Bhagavad Gita with an open mind, its non-exclusive teaching deeply impressed me.

I found the proselytizing and condescension of the Baptist Christians in Boerne, Texas insulting. At times, I appreciated their concern for me, but often, their attempts to convert me only revealed arrogance and narrow-mindedness. My uncomfortable experience with southern Baptists peaked when I attempted to express my frustration with the community’s proselytizing. I wrote an article for the Boerne High School newspaper expressing my doubt of the constitutionality and education value of Baptist youth ministers on campus, especially when there was no representation of any other religion. The school administration heavily censored my article and even made their own additions, completely twisting the central message before printing it under my name without my consent.

This experience, as one of many, induced my deep cynicism of organized religion. Understanding that the Boerne Southern Baptists do not by any means represent Christianity, I did not completely dismiss its teachings.
As Gandhi said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians.” This statement sums up my stance on Christianity. Since my experience in Boerne, I have pursued my religious education alone, comparing the compatibility of several world religions with my own values.


The friends I made at Boerne High School were among the few tolerant, open-minded people who developed their own individual interests and beliefs, whether or not they paralleled that of the community.


Reading Gandhi's teachings provided some solace in my troubles at BHS. The overwhelming religious majority in Boerne created a deceptive bubble. I realized that I was one of many who found fault with their ideas.
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My religious (or irreligious) background, as one who has experienced several religions well prepared me for the Bhagavad Gita. To my delight, the text reflected many of my own opinions regarding organized religion. Never before have I read a religious text that so closely evoked an understanding of my frustration with many religion’s teachings.

“Consulting only their desires, they construct their own heaven, devising arduous and complex rites to secure their own pleasure and their own power; and the only result is rebirth.” (17)

Instead of stressing the importance of certain behaviors that have generated so many frivolous religious traditions, the Gita teaches a more basic, fundamental path to achieving Nirvana. Krishna describes two paths, named action and wisdom, and each emphasize achieving deep contentment within one’s Self, who fundamentally is Krishna.

“When the mind, completely controlled, is centered in the Self and free from all earthly desires, then is a person truly spiritual.” (51)

I appreciate Ryan’s statement, “…but I would prefer not to play battleship with my life,” in his search for the answers to his spiritual questions within himself. Often, I believe those involved in many organized religions succumb to their leaders’ pressures to take part in certain rites and rituals as false means to achieve some kind of salvation. Again, I was pleasantly surprised to find my own sentiment reiterated in Bhagavad Gita.

“As a man can drink water from any side of a full tank, so the skilled theologian can wrest from any scripture that which will serve his purpose.” (19)

In this way, organized religious has become a political battlefield, of which many followers are now the pawns, or “battleships” of Ryan’s metaphor. Nor do I want to be a battleship, Ryan.

But All Ways Are the Queen's Ways

No Aunt Miriam, I will not go into taxidermy.
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I’m pretty sure that almost all of us are familiar with the typical freshman interrogation scenario, where some aged relation asks what we are majoring in, and what good will that do us, and why don’t we do something useful, like become actuaries. I, for one, have become a master in anticipating what sort of dreary career track any one of my aged relations will suggest, and telling them that I plan to go into taxidermy or what have you, just to avoid the usual raised eyebrow. I flinch every time I see one.


The concept of higher education is older than Egypt, but the dilemma of not knowing what to do must be older than dirt. I’m not the least bit worried about not having a specific career track in mind yet, and I acquired this comfort with my indecision during the first semester. I was more or less a nervous wreck when faced with my family’s questions before I took Professor David Laude’s “Originality in the Arts and Sciences”. I admired people like Andrew, who refuse to let themselves be bothered by aged relations, and I still do. Props to the stress-free mentality, Andrew.

Professor Laude’s class and a personal meeting with him revolutionized my outlook on my ambiguous plans. An all-star cast of professors, including Laude, the most beloved chemistry professor on campus, Dr. Elizabeth Scala, an Arthurian literature scholar, Dr. Cameron Gordon, a famous mathematician, and Dr. Sheldon Eckland Olsen, known for his social science work regarding capital punishment, lectured about their ways of thinking and moments of inspiration. As students, we took no notes and had no exams, but were treated as graduate students and trusted to show up for class anyway. Instead of exams, we performed what Laude called “inquiries”, basically self-directed mini research projects. My first inquiry was garbage, I had no idea what I was doing and didn’t think critically enough to find out. But my second inquiry completely consumed me. I found that I could not stop talking about it and spent hours upon end researching in the libraries. I loved the material so much, I could hardly stop researching to sit down and write the paper.
I guess the thing about finding a passion is that it shows. Somehow, (probably because of my big mouth) word got around with the TAs that I loved what I was doing, and eventually Laude found out. Nearing the end of the semester, Laude set aside enough time slots to meet with each of the 100 students individually. So I went, naturally assuming that I would have to explain who I am, and what I did in his class that semester. I didn’t. Not only did Laude know me by sight, he knew all about my work. Apparently, and for a reason I still don’t understand, I was one of very few students who really enjoyed the class. Telling him about my indecisiveness and hinting that my family wanted to push me towards a practical field of study, he became angry, and said, “It would be real shame for someone who loves learning as much as you to throw away an engaging undergraduate education for pragmatic reasons.”


He's as goofy as he looks, but his advice is priceless.

I realized then and there that he was right. I was so fortunate to have found a passion in his class, and the task now would be to find out more about it, and how to make a career out of it. So many must go the safe way and use their undergraduate education like a trade school. I now have a reason to take a risk.

“I think you should consider staying in academia,” said Laude towards the end of the half hour. I had never considered it before, but I’ve given it much thought over the month, and I think, once again, he’s right.

I’m now pursuing a research apprenticeship in the Theatre and Dance department as well as the Jackson School of Geosciences as the next step to finding out where I’m going. What do the two have to do with each other? Nothing. I’m just reveling in my ambiguity.

A link to the paper I mentioned: https://webspace.utexas.edu/cmb2427/inquiry22.htm?uniq=4n1m9i">