Ignatian Insights 7: Consolation

Inigo was in touch with what was happening to himself, from the time of his convalescence at the castle of Loyola, after he was wounded at the battle of Pompalona. He could recognize two kinds of movements as he dreamed of the lady of high position, whom he desired to marry, and as he reflected about the life of Christ and of saints. In his ‘autobiography’ he states that some thoughts left him dry, while some others left him happy and peaceful. He was already sifting the movements of his heart, and that would become the foundation of his understanding on the movements of the spirit. But for now we shall concentrate on his understanding on consolation, the movement of the spirit which led him to inner peace and joy.

He goes on to explain this concept when he deals with Discernment of Spirits for Week I. The way he had given the title for this chapter in the Spiritual Exercises is quite interesting. He writes, ‘Rules to aid us toward perceiving and then understanding at least to some extent, the various motions which are caused in the soul: the good motions that they may be received, and the bad that they may be rejected’. The numbers that deal with consolation are 316, 323-24. First let us understand what he means by consolation.

By this kind of consolation I mean that which occurs when some interior motion is caused within the soul through which it comes to be inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord. As a result it can love no created thing on the face of the earth in itself, but only in the Creator of them all (SpEx 316:1). It is important that we realize that consolation is an “interior motion” and therefore it cannot be associated with external experiences, and the result is the soul being inflamed with the love of God, leading to love him alone! It is a spiritual experience, which cannot be roused by ourselves. God is the origin of all consolation.

Inigo observes yet one more vital aspect to mean consolation : “every increase in hope, faith and charity, and every interior joy which calls and attracts one toward heavenly things and to the salvation of one’s soul, by bringing it tranquillity and peace in its Creator and Lord” (SpEx 316:4). Therefore when we experience an increase in the evangelical virtues of faith, hope and charity, we know that we are experiencing consolation, and the fruit of this experience will be evident in the interior joy, attraction towards heavenly things, tranquillity and peace. It is not that only spiritual persons experience consolation; at some time or other every one of us go through this kind of experience, though we may not realize that this is consolation.

Every consolation may lead us to desolation, and therefore while experiencing consolation, one should prepare to face desolation (SpEx 323), and one should conduct oneself humbly (324). It is a wonderful feeling to experience consolation, but one should not forget that there is no perpetual consolation; everyone has to go through dark nights of the soul, desolation in the terminology of Inigo. He goes on to show the origin of consolation: without a preceding cause (SpEx 330), by means of a preceding cause acting for the progress of the soul (SpEx 331). Therefore Inigo invites us to examine if the consolation actually proceeds from God, or if it actually comes from the evil one.

Marichjhanpi

Probably I will never forget this name, and there are still more than a thousand men and women who too will never forget this name. The massacre of hundreds of men and women of this lonely island in the Sundarbans in 1979 may not find much mention in the history book of West Bengal, but if we go slow going through the history of Bengal in that year, we may be shocked to know that the voiceless men and women who could be dispensed just because they received the patronage of an opposition party, which was not in power. Police joined the vile tactics of a political leader who has his name in the Guinness Book of records as the longest surviving chief minister in the world. Did the people deserve such a gruesome treatment just because they were refugees?

What can power do to a person is so very conspicuous in the story of Marichjhanpi; human beings are pawns who can be bought and sold, made use of to reach one’s selfish gains. If this game on the lives of people were to continue, there may be hardly enough people to inhabit this world. What the guru had done about 30 years ago, that is what precisely his faithful disciple tried to do in Singur, Nandigram. But if the chief minister was an opportunist, who wanted to remain in the seats of power at the expense of the people, the opposition leader was no different; with her sentimentality going beyond all reasonable limits, she too was trying to sell the sweats and blood of the peasants to get into ministerial berth in Delhi.

The world we live in today seems to be so corrupt that no one can be easily spared; each one of the leaders we have today have a dream which is sure to put the lives of the speechless, voiceless and sightless people into danger. The leaders of today have no hearts; all they have in front of their eyes is power, prestige, and wealth. They would do anything in order to get their dreams fulfilled. It may be hard to find a leader who is prepared to shed his/her sweat, leave alone the blood, for the sake of the people they work for. In that case, I take my hats off for such people’s leader as Medha Patkar, who may sit in hot sun with voiceless people, to stand by the peasants and farmers.

One great consolation in the whole process is that there had been some leaders at the ground, who were prepared to face gun firing, lathi charge, teargas in order to get justice done to the people. They may not have succeeded in reaching their dreams; they may still have lots of grudge against the political systems of today and yesteryears, but one thing is true, their indomitable hope and trust had probably given the much needed stamina for people to face all opposition. These men and women are like stars who brighten up our lives, and thank God there are still men and women of such stature, and it is their sweat and blood which is the vital link between life in its fullness and our lives.

The dark pages of history cannot be easily burnt and be forgotten; they will have to be embraced with all their sweat and blood; it may be too hard for the people who had gone through those bone-chilling days and incidents, and still we have no option. We may only wish that history does not repeat in the case of our future generations. We need to open the dark chapters of each of our histories, full of tear and blood, and relive our past, because out of these pages may emerge phoenix, with new vigor and energy, and that may be enough to change the world. We each one then will have a greater responsibility to fulfill.

Not Finding the Silver Line…

It was a beautiful sight to see! About thiry men and women, young and old, surrounding a middle-aged man, and literally forcing him to act! I was part of the vocal men and women at Kolkata’s domestic airport, as we waited to catch a flight to Delhi, so that the next day we could board the flight to Brussels, via Munich. When we reached the airport at the reporting time, namely two hours before the scheduled departure, we were told by the Manager on duty of that particular airlines that the flight we had booked tickets in was cancelled, and they assured us of the full re-payment! But that was not the kind of arrangement we could ever think of. We had booked tickets through a different airlines from Delhi, and if we were to cancel the tickets at the eleventh hour, we may have to forfeit a large per cent of the ticket fare. Besides we had already informed several persons about our going, and necessary arrangments had already been made! Many of us found we were let down at the last hour by the airlines personnel.

After discussing with the manager on duty of the airlines for about thirty minutes, many of the passengers of the said flight became infuriated. We demanded the officer to start negotiating with personnel of other airlines, requesting them to offer some seats, so that at least those who were in dire need could take the flight the very day. After about an hour of coaxing and cajoling, the officer accepted to give a thought to it, thought some what indignantly. Deep within I knew we cannot afford to miss the connecting flight to international destinations, especially when the time period seemed quite difficult to make alternative arrangmenets. Helpless as I was, just like many of our co-passengers, I began to tell myself that there should be a way out, and we were going to travel the very day to Delhi, and catch the connecting international flights the next day. I was not sure if that was possible, and if the attempts of the airlines official would bear any fruit.

The fact was that there was utterly no hope; no silver lining. It was fully dark, but at such critical moments, we cannot afford to lose hope. Even if there was no chance, it was our sincere hope that things will turn out to our advantage that ultimately made it possible for 21 of us to board a later flight from a different airlines. Being part of the four hour drama, most of the time spent standing and listening to co-passengers, and occasionally clarifying a point or two, but at the end of it all, it was well worth. Even when many of my co-passengers said that ultimately everything may end up in an eye-wash, yet I was sure I was going to Delhi the very day. I did not even much care if others would go or not, but I had to go, and I would by all means go, come what may.

Just like me who had a connecting international flight, many other co-passengers too had connecting international flights, some were going to attend some international conferences. One young man made a plea with the official that his father was to be operated on the following day, and he had to be beside him. There was a young lady who was joining office for the first time after appointment on the following day, and she cannot afford to miss the first day in office. There was yet another young lady who was to meet some international business clients the following day, and she would not like to let down her partners. But more than pleas and requests, what really got us through was the sheer grit and will power that we have to be flying that very day.

Often in life it is so very easy to lose all hope, especially when we cannot see the silver line in the midst of darkest clouds, and when we give in to such hopelessness, then we end up at the dead-end. We end up more depressed and destressed. Today I would like to pause for a moment and recollect to mind the different moments when I had failed to hold on to my will-power and the hope that things will begin to smile, and the darkest clouds will begin to disappear. There could be quite a few events and incidents when I might have lost all hope, and in turn sank in disappointment. It requires a lot of guts and determination to hold on to one’s hope. We live in a world where to hold on to hope is something that is often laughed at, and frowned upon. Let me tell myself that tomorrow I will deliberately and consciously hold on to my storehouses of hope in the midst of hopelessness, and prove that there is nothing to lose for the one who hopes in the best in the worst of situations! (Munich Airport)