Abhishiktananda Notes Chapter 6 - Christianity

This chapter develops A's thought on Christianity. It has a strongly mystical thrust with a focus on experience. It also places the doctrine of the Trinity at the center of A's worldview.

"There is but one Reality and one alone, the community of life which exists at
the heart of Being, between the Father and the Son, in the unity of the
Spirit. That alone is; and it is within this community of life that the
man who is has his existence." (150)

This central reality is radically mysterious. The entire creation points to this Mystery at the heart of creation and as the individual soul awakens to this ultimate reality, this soul percieves the mystery signified more and more clearly but all things and even in the soul itself. Ultimately, the soul is united with this Mystery,

"... there is no place left, no spot in which she may declare "I, Me."
Before ever this "I" is evidenced within her the abyss is already resounding
with the I which God utters to himself from all eternity." (152)

The Christians task is simply to radiate this ultimate reality more and more clearly to the world.

"He has no other raison d'etre in this world than to recieve and transmit to all
his powers of body and soul and extend through them to the whole world the
radiance of this glorious awakening-to-being in the depths of the self in the
blessed place of resurrection." (153)

This is a profound vision and I share it. The challenge I see is the individualism inherent in it. It is the individual soul which awakens to ultimate Reality. I think this is because it is, like all of A's work, an experiential approach. The individual experiences himself as an individual which as gradually drawn into the abyss of community.

The rest of the chapter spins out this vision in various ways. He uses the example of Francis of Assisi as someone who lived this vision by responding the the radical call of the Gospel. I struggled with this because, while Francis is clearly an example of following God's radical call, it is difficult to see how "normal" men and women can respond to this call. This example limits the applicability to a select few and I believe that is its fatal flaw. He does move beyond the example in stating that

"Only the one who has been reborn in the Spirit and has allowed himself in the
same Spirit to sound the very depths of God can bear witness to the mystery of
the Father and the Son, and can pass on the consuming fire of the Christian
message, which speaks at once of God's inaccessibility and of his nearness."
(156)

This broadens the vision to include anyone who takes the Gospel call seriously, no matter what there state in life.

This chapter also approaches the question of the uniqueness of Jesus and relativizes the question.

"If, as non-Christians maintain, Jesus is only a man, then whatever natural
endowments he possesses must necessarily be available to every man. And if
he is the Son of God, as Christians believe, then they must not forgete that,
according to their faith, Jesus shares with them by grace all that he possesses
by right of his divine Sonship." (158)

In other words, the theoretical question of Jesus ontological status doesn't matter on the practical level. The important thing is to follow His teaching and have a spirit of discipleship.

There is also much discussion in this chapter of Saccidananda (Sat=Being, Cit=Consciousness, and Ananda = Bliss). This provides a new perspective on Trinitarian doctrine. A states,

"... just as Judaism and Hellenism have made their contributions, so the divine
preparation of India in its turn will serve to lead believers to contemplate the
mystery in a new depth." (164)

The chapter concludes with a description of Mass celebrated with a friend on the banks of the Ganges.