As I showed you, Cynicism, Stoicism, and Epicureanism all had their roots in the teaching of Socrates. They also made use of certain of the pre-Socratics like Herac.l.i.tus and Democritus.
But the most remarkable philosophic trend in the late h.e.l.lenistic period was first and foremost inspired by Plato"s philosophy. We therefore call it Neoplatonism.
The most important figure in Neoplatonism was Plotinus (c. 205-270), who studied philosophy in Alexandria but later settled in Rome. It is interesting to note that he came from Alexandria, the city that had been the central meeting point for Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism for several centuries. Plotinus brought with him to Rome a doctrine of salvation that was to compete seriously with Christianity when its time came. However, Neoplatonism also became a strong influence in mainstream Christian theology as well.
Remember Plato"s doctrine of ideas, Sophie, and the way he distinguished between the world of ideas and the sensory world. This meant establishing a clear division between the soul and the body. Man thus became a dual creature: our body consisted of earth and dust like everything else in the sensory world, but we also had an immortal soul. This was widely believed by many Greeks long before Plato. Plotinus was also familiar with similar ideas from Asia.
Plotinus believed that the world is a span between two poles. At one end is the divine light which he calls the One. Sometimes he calls it G.o.d. At the other end is absolute darkness, which receives none of the light from the One. But Plotinus"s point is that this darkness actually has no existence. It is simply the absence of light-in other words, it is not. All that exists is G.o.d, or the One, but in the same way that a beam of light grows progressively dimmer and is gradually extinguished, there is somewhere a point that the divine glow cannot reach.
According to Plotinus, the soul is illuminated by the light from the One, while matter is the darkness that has no real existence. But the forms in nature have a faint glow of the One.
Imagine a great burning bonfire in the night from which sparks fly in all directions. A wide radius of light from the bonfire turns night into day in the immediate area; but the glow from the fire is visible even from a distance of several miles. If we went even further away, we would be able to see a tiny speck of light like a far-off lantern in the dark, and if we went on moving away, at some point the light would not reach us. Somewhere the rays of light disappear into the night, and when it is completely dark we see nothing. There are neither shapes nor shadows.
Imagine now that reality is a bonfire like this. That which is burning is G.o.d-and the darkness beyond is the cold matter that man and animals are made of. Closest to G.o.d are the eternal ideas which are the primal forms of all creatures. The human soul, above all, is a "spark from the fire." Yet everywhere in nature some of the divine light is shining. We can see it in all living creatures; even a rose or a bluebell has its divine glow. Furthest away from the living G.o.d are earth and water and stone.
I am saying that there is something of the divine mystery in everything that exists. We can see it sparkle in a sunflower or a poppy. We sense more of this unfathomable mystery in a b.u.t.terfly that flutters from a twig-or in a goldfish swimming in a bowl. But we are closest to G.o.d in our own soul. Only there can we become one with the great mystery of life. In truth, at very rare moments we can experience that we ourselves are that divine mystery.
Plotinus"s metaphor is rather like Plato"s myth of the cave: the closer we get to the mouth of the cave, the closer we get to that which all existence springs from. But in contrast to Plato"s clear two-fold reality, Plotinus"s doctrine is characterized by an experience of wholeness. Everything is one-for everything is G.o.d. Even the shadows deep down in Plato"s cave have a faint glow of the One.
On rare occasions in his life, Plotinus experienced a fusion of his soul with G.o.d. We usually call this a mystical experience. Plotinus is not alone in having had such experiences. People have told of them at all times and in all cultures. The details might be different, but the essential features are the same. Let us take a look at some of these features.
Mysticism
A mystical experience is an experience of merging with G.o.d or the "cosmic spirit." Many religions emphasize the gulf between G.o.d and Creation, but the mystic experiences no such gulf. He or she has experienced being "one with G.o.d" or "merging" with Him.
The idea is that what we usually call "I" is not the true "I." In short glimpses we can experience an identification with a greater "I." Some mystics call it G.o.d, others call it the cosmic spirit, Nature, or the Universe. When the fusion happens, the mystic feels that he is "losing himself"; he disappears into G.o.d or is lost in G.o.d in the same way that a drop of water loses itself when it merges with the sea. An Indian mystic once expressed it in this way: "When I was, G.o.d was not. When G.o.d is, I am no more." The Christian mystic Angelus Silesius (1624-1677) put it another way: Every drop becomes the sea when it flows oceanward, just as at last the soul ascends and thus becomes the Lord.
Now you might feel that it cannot be particularly pleasant to "lose oneself." I know what you mean. But the point is that what you lose is so very much less than what you gain. You lose yourself only in the form you have at the moment, but at the same time you realize that you are something much bigger. You are the universe. In fact, you are the cosmic spirit itself, Sophie. It is you who are G.o.d. If you have to lose yourself as Sophie Amundsen, you can take comfort in the knowledge that this "everyday I" is something you will lose one day anyway. Your real "I"- which you can only experience if you are able to lose yourself-is, according to the mystics, like a mysterious fire that goes on burning to all eternity.
But a mystical experience like this does not always come of itself. The mystic may have to seek the path of "purification and enlightenment" to his meeting with G.o.d. This path consists of the simple life and various meditation techniques. Then all at once the mystic achieves his goal, and can exclaim, "I am G.o.d" or "I am You."
Mystical trends are found in all the great world religions. And the descriptions of mystical experiences given by the mystics show a remarkable similarity across all cultural boundaries. It is in the mystic"s attempt to provide a religious or philosophic interpretation of the mystical experience that his cultural background reveals itself.
In Western mysticism-that is, within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-the mystic emphasizes that his meeting is with a personal G.o.d. Although G.o.d is present both in nature and in the human soul, he is also far above and beyond the world. In Eastern mysticism-that is, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese religion-it is more usual to emphasize that the mystic experiences a total fusion with G.o.d or the "cosmic spirit."
"I am the cosmic spirit," the mystic can exclaim, or "I am G.o.d." For G.o.d is not only present in the world; he has nowhere else to be.
In India, especially, there have been strong mystical movements since long before the time of Plato. Swami Vivekenanda, an Indian who was instrumental in bringing Hinduism to the west, once said, "Just as certain world religions say that people who do not believe in a personal G.o.d outside themselves are atheists, we say that a person who does not believe in himself is an atheist. Not believing in the splendor of one"s own soul is what we call atheism."
A mystical experience can also have ethical significance. A former president of India, Sarvepalli Radhak-rishnan, said once, "Love thy neighbor as thyself because you ore your neighbor. It is an illusion that makes you think that your neighbor is someone other than yourself."
People of our own time who do not adhere to a particular religion also tell of mystical experiences. They have suddenly experienced something they have called "cosmic consciousness" or an "oceanic feeling." They have felt themselves wrenched out of Time and have experienced the world "from the perspective of eternity."
Sophie sat up in bed. She had to feel whether she still had a body. As she read more and more about Plato and the mystics, she had begun to feel as though she were floating around in the room, out of the window and far off above the town. From there she had looked down on all the people in the square, and had floated on and on over the globe that was her home, over the North Sea and Europe, down over the Sahara and across the African savanna.
The whole world had become almost like a living person, and it felt as if that person were Sophie herself. The world is me, she thought. The great big universe that she had often felt to be unfathomable and terrifying-was her own "I." Now, too, the universe was enormous and majestic, but now it was herself who was so big.
The extraordinary feeling was fleeting, but Sophie was sure she would never forget it. It felt as if something inside her had burst through her forehead and become merged with everything else, the way a drop of color can tint a whole jug of water.
When it was all over, it was like waking up with a headache after a wonderful dream. Sophie registered with a touch of disillusionment that she had a body which was trying to sit up in bed. Lying on her stomach reading the pages from Alberto Knox had given her a backache. But she had experienced something unforgettable.
Eventually she pulled herself together and stood up. The first thing she did was to punch holes in the pages and file them in her ring binder together with the other lessons. Then she .went into the garden.
The birds were singing as if the world had just been born. The pale green of the birches behind the old rabbit hutches was so intense that it seemed as though the Creator had not yet finished blending the color.
Could she really believe that everything was one divine "I"? Could she believe that she carried within her a soul that was a "spark from the fire"? If it was true, then she was truly a divine creature.
The Postcards
...I"m imposing a severe censorship on myself...
Several days went by without any word from the philosophy teacher. Tomorrow was Thursday, May 17- Norway"s national day. School would be closed on the 18th as well. As they walked home after school Joanna suddenly exclaimed, "Let"s go camping!"
Sophie"s immediate reaction was that she couldn"t be away from the house for long. But then she said, "Sure, why not?"
A couple of hours later Joanna arrived at Sophie"s door with a large backpack. Sophie had packed hers as well, and she also had the tent. They both had bedrolls and sweaters, groundsheets and flashlights, large-size thermos bottles and plenty of their favorite food.
When Sophie"s mother got home around five o"clock, she gave them a sermon about what they must and must not do. She also insisted on knowing where they were going to set up camp.
They told her they intended to make for Grouse Top. They might be lucky enough to hear the mating call of the grouse next morning.
Sophie had an ulterior motive for choosing that particular spot. She thought that Grouse Top must be pretty close to the major"s cabin. Something was urging her to return to it, but she didn"t dare go alone.
The two girls walked down the path that led from the little cul-de-sac just beyond Sophie"s garden gate. They chatted about this and that, and Sophie enjoyed taking a little time off from everything having to do with philosophy.
By eight o"clock they had pitched their tent in a clearing by Grouse Top. They had prepared themselves for the night and their bedrolls were unfolded. When they had eaten their sandwiches, Sophie asked, "Have you ever heard of the major"s cabin?"
"The major"s cabin?"
"There"s a hut in the woods somewhere near here ... by a little lake. A strange man lived there once, a major, that"s why it"s called the major"s cabin."
"Does anyone live there now?"
"Do you want to go and see?"
"Where is it?"
Sophie pointed in among the trees.
Joanna was not particularly eager, but in the end they set out. The sun was low in the sky.
They walked in between the tall pine trees at first, but soon they were pushing their way through bush and thicket. Eventually they made their way down to a path. Could it be the path Sophie had followed that Sunday morning?
It must have been-almost at once she could point to something shining between the trees to the right of the path.
"It"s in there," she said.
They were soon standing at the edge of the small lake. Sophie gazed at the cabin across the water. All the windows were now shuttered up. The red building was the most deserted place she had seen for ages.
Joanna turned toward her. "Do we have to walk on the water?"
"Of course not. We"ll row."
Sophie pointed down into the reeds. There lay the rowboat, just as before.
"Have you been here before?"
Sophie shook her head. Trying to explain her previous visit would be far too complicated. And then she would have to tell her friend about Alberto Knox and the philosophy course as well.
They laughed and joked as they rowed across the water. When they reached the opposite bank, Sophie made sure they drew the boat well up on land.
They went to the front door. As there was obviously n.o.body in the cabin, Joanna tried the door handle.
"Locked... you didn"t expect it to be open, did you?"
"Maybe we can find a key," said Sophie.
She began to search in the crevices of the stonework foundation.
"Oh, let"s go back to the tent instead," said Joanna after a few minutes.
But just then Sophie exclaimed, "Here it is! I found it!"
She held up the key triumphantly. She put it in the lock and the door swung open.
The two friends sneaked inside as if they were up to something criminal. It was cold and dark in the cabin.
"We can"t see a thing!" said Joanna.
But Sophie had thought of that. She took a box of matches out of her pocket and struck one. They only had time to see that the cabin was deserted before the match went out. Sophie struck another, and this time she noticed a stump of candle in a wrought-iron candlestick on top of the stove. She lit it with the third match and the little room became light enough for them to look around.
"Isn"t it odd that such a small candle can light up so much darkness?" said Sophie.
Her friend nodded.
"But somewhere the light disappears into the dark," Sophie went on. "Actually, darkness has no existence of its own. It"s only a lack of light."
Joanna shivered. "That"s creepy! Come on, let"s go..."
"Not before we"ve looked in the mirror."
Sophie pointed to the bra.s.s mirror hanging above the chest of drawers, just as before.
"That"s really pretty!" said Joanna.
"But it"s a magic mirror."
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
"I"m not kidding, Joanna. I am sure you can look in it and see something on the other side."
"Are you sure you"ve never been here before? And why is it so amusing to scare me all the time?"
Sophie could not answer that one.
"Sorry."
Now it was Joanna who suddenly discovered something lying on the floor in the corner. It was a small box. Joanna picked it up.
"Postcards," she said.
Sophie gasped.
"Don"t touch them! Do you hear-don"t you dare touch them!"
Joanna jumped. She threw the box down as if she had burnt herself. The postcards were strewn all over the floor. The next second she began to laugh.
"They"re only postcards!"
Joanna sat down on the floor and started to pick them up. After a while Sophie sat down beside her.
"Lebanon ... Lebanon ... Lebanon ... They are all postmarked in Lebanon," Joanna discovered.
"I know," said Sophie.
Joanna sat bolt upright and looked Sophie in the eye.
"So you have been here before!"