The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life (48 page)

the path of love 231

“By transcending the duality of thought (even of intuition) the calm, sober Nous

extends beyond itself and enters a state experienced as
inebriation
: drunk on divine nectar, or on the love of the Good.”

This divine inebriation is a frequent theme in the poetry of mysticism, such as that of Rumi:

Look at my body’s poor leaking shelter, regard

The proper element of my soul, Love has made

The one drunk and has dismantled the other.

…

Suddenly, my heart is laid open, penetrated by Love

It sees Love’s ocean; like a springing gazelle it leaps up

Dancing away to that waiting diamond sea, shouting:

“I can’t stay, I must find the way. Come, come now

Follow me!” …

(Raficq Abdulla, trans.264)

“Your soul,” Hypatia explains, “through identification with the Nous, comes into im-

mediate contact with the Good, although they are still two (as subject and object, or lover and Beloved). You experience this as the all-consuming happiness, bliss, and joy of love. This illumination appears suddenly and usually does not last for long, since it can be maintained only so long as you don’t become conscious of it. Here are some

practical suggestions.”

Love of the Good:
In the final stage of Illumination, you reside in a state of intense and intoxicating love for the Good, of which Ideal Beauty in an emanation.

You may find yourself in this state, sooner or later, while practicing
Contem-

plation of Ideal Beauty
. Experience it without trying to focus on it, for if you think about it you will drop back to the level of distinct Ideas (the determinate

Mind), or even down to the Soul level. (As soon as you think, “Wow, I did it!”

you’re not doing it anymore.) With practice you will get better at remaining in

this state, and at allowing incipient thoughts to dissolve before they interrupt

your contemplation.

232 the path of love

Hypatia remarks, “At this level Providential Love and Returning Love nearly coin-

cide; both depend on the duality of lover and Beloved, who have drawn into contact,

embracing one another. But the Path of Love leads not to distant adoration of the Divine, but to intimate union with it. The final stage, Perfection, achieves complete unity in a state of Abiding Love.”

Perfection—The One

The last stage of the ascent is traditionally called Perfection, which sounds pretentious to say the least, and would seem to undermine the humility required for spiritual progress.

Of course we can call these stages whatever we like, but it is worth explaining the meaning of “perfection” in the context of the Ascent to The One.

“Perfection” translates the Greek word
teleiôsis
, which is related to a verb (
teleô
) meaning to complete, fulfill, or accomplish. It is also related to the word
telos
, which means the
end
of something, both in the sense of its final state but also in the sense of its goal or purpose (as in “means and ends”). Therefore, something is “perfect” (
teleios, teleos
) when it is fulfilling its natural function in the most complete way possible. In particular, the “perfect”

human is someone who lives a
human
life to the fullest extent possible.

There is a significant parallel between the stages of the ascent and the degrees of initiation in the ancient mystery religions, such as the Eleusinian Mysteries: Initiation, Illumination, and Vision. The English word “initiation” comes from the Latin verb
initio
, to initiate, which comes from
initium
, “a beginning or entry into,” for the initiate has entered a new life. The Greek word for initiation and sacred mystery is
teletê
, which refers to the fact that the initiate has been completed, fulfilled, or perfected (
teleô
). In his
Phaedrus
, Plato describes the philosopher who has achieved union:

initiated (
teloumenos
) into perfect (
teleios
) mysteries (
teletê
) he becomes truly perfect (
teleos
).265

Hypatia takes a drink of water and a deep breath before continuing. “How then

can one live the human life completely and fully? Ancient sages teach us that this

requires being in conscious communion with divine reality, for that is the way we may best express the human Form. This may be accomplished by returning to our source

the path of love 233

and seeking union with it. Therefore the state of Perfection is also called
Union
and
Deification
.”

Deification may sound even more pretentious than Perfection, even to the point of madness, but in the context of ancient philosophy it means to become godlike to the greatest extent possible to humans. Perfection is equivalent to psychological
individuation
, which means to become complete, whole, and undivided (Lat.
individuus
), a genuine individual, but Jung emphasizes that this is not so much a state or accomplishment as a process of continually trying to live the godlike life.

Petrus, one of Hypatia’s Christian students, is visibly upset. “This talk of perfection and deification is sacrilegious. We are all sinners; only God is perfect! The serpent said

‘You shall be as gods’, and now he crawls on his belly in the …”

Hypatia holds up her hand to stop him. “Certainly, as you say, we all make mistakes

and do things we regret. Nevertheless, our master Plotinus said,

Our goal is not to be flawless, but to be god.266

“What do you think he means?”

The students are perplexed, but Hermias says, “I can’t make any sense of it, for the gods are flawless. Besides, you have just said that the goal of the ascent is Perfection.”

Aedesia, who is sitting close by Hermias replies, “Could he mean that one part of us is flawed, but another is divine?”

“What parts might they be?”

Aedesia ponders a moment before answering. “Could they be the soul and the

nous? For our souls are bound in time and space. They have limited information, their reason is imperfect, and they can make mistakes. They can be swayed—for good or

ill—by daimons who dwell in the world and in our souls. But my nous is an image of

the Cosmic Nous, the realm of the gods, and my true self, the inmost flower of my nous, is an image of The One. Is that what Plotinus means?”

“Very good, Aedesia! Indeed, so long as we are embodied, we have our souls, which

are subject to many influences and limited in their ability to learn, know, and understand. Although we need our souls to live, we can choose to focus our attention into the spark of divinity in each of us, and to dwell as a god among the gods. That is the goal of the ascent.”

234 the path of love

Permit me to interrupt Hypatia to put this in more contemporary terms. None of us is flawless; we all have finite cognitive abilities, limited knowledge, biases and prejudices, a host of complexes, and especially our Shadows, which lead us to make many mistakes and to fall short of our ideals.
Ecce homo!
(Behold, the human!) To believe you are faultless is indeed madness. Nevertheless, through the practices you are learning in the Third Degree of Wisdom you can contact the transcendent archetypal forces governing human life and your individual destiny. This is individuation. By consciously centering your life in the archetypal realm, your true self can indeed dwell as a god among the gods.

Back to Hypatia. “In the fourth and last stage of the ascent the soul advances from

her particular understanding, which cannot completely comprehend heavenly Beau-

ty, to universal understanding, which comes from union with divine Beauty. Some ex-

plain union with divine Beauty in this way. As the moth is attracted to the candle and is consumed by it, so the lover’s soul sacrifices herself as a burnt offering to Love. As common fire refines gold, so the holy fire of divine Beauty refines the soul, burning away her grosser elements. As the mortal parts are consumed and the immortal parts

purified, she becomes capable of uniting with divine Beauty so that, in the end, lover and Beloved become one. The soul is made divine and immortal, for she enjoys a feast of nectar and ambrosia with the gods. Heavenly Beauty is unveiled and the soul experiences the supreme ecstasy. This is the endpoint of desire, the remedy for all pain, sickness, and misery, and the refuge from all troubles; here is bliss; here, peace, gentle love, certainty, well being, ineffable delight. However, this union is imperfect and temporary, for true union cannot be achieved before death.

“Beyond Beauty is the Good, a place of tranquil blessedness beyond the intense

desire for Beauty. This is where the soul reaches her Beloved, now become bridegroom, and achieves union with him. The marriage of the soul and God is an old theme, hinted at by Plato, and explained by Philo of Alexandria, the Jewish Platonist. We find it in King Solomon’s ‘Song of Songs’ and in the Persians’ impassioned mystical poetry. It is also behind the well-known story of Cupid and Psyche (that is, Love and Soul) from the

Metamorphoses
by Apuleius, the Platonic philosopher. This is all I can suggest:

the path of love 235

Union with the Good:
There is really nothing that can be done to achieve this state of union, except to keep in mind that “like knows like,” and so to achieve union

with The One you should make yourself as like it as possible. That is, unified,

whole, stable, impassive, tranquil, and—especially for this practice—filled with

love. Then you must wait, for it is a grace that comes at the right time.

“Divine union is not a common event. Dear Synesius expressed this is a lovely

hymn that he wrote when he was first studying with me ten years ago:

‘Tis hard for man to rise with outspread wings,

Borne upwards by the love of heav’nly things.

Do thou but nerve thy heart with the desire

Of godly wisdom’s joy; to heaven aspire;

And soon thou’lt see thy Father near thee stand,

And, bending o’er thee, stretch a helping hand.

For a soft ray from heaven will run to guide

And light thy way, and show that boundless land

Where the noetic lights forever dwell,

And whence true beauty and true joy expand

From the deep fountains of God’s love which well.267

“Porphyry reports that his master Plotinus experienced union only four times in

the six years they studied together; the disciple experienced it only once, in his sixty-eighth year.”

Euoptius, Synesius’ younger brother, asks, “How many times have you achieved

union?”

“Modesty prevents me from reporting on myself,” Hypatia replies. “You should

be suspicious of anyone who boasts of their own spiritual accomplishments. That is

enough for today; next time you’ll learn the Ascent by Truth.” The students quickly

stand as Hypatia leaves.