Ignatian Insights 5 : Salvation

Salvation had been one of the predominant themes at the time Inigo lived, and this notion had a deep impact on the man who had great dreams. The human salvation had been one of the preoccupations of Inigo throughout his life. When he was stuck by the cannon ball of the French army at the battle of Pampalona, he was least bothered about his salvation, leave alone of others. But as he was convalescing at the Loyola Castle, and reading the lives of Christ and of saints, he realized a need to ask himself what he was seeking in life, and that led him to a life-long quest, searching for ways of achieving his salvation and that of others.

The quest of personal salvation and that of others has been a major concern for Inigo, as he avowed to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, after his health was restored at Loyola. This he put down at the Principle and Foundation in his little book, The Spiritual Exercises (no. 23). He had realized that the goal of human existence was to praise, reverence God and by doing this to achieve one’s own salvation, and that of others. The notions of vain glory, honor and pride, the three cardinal vices which Satan’s camp advocated, could only prevent him from achieving his salvation.

We may wonder why Inigo was preoccupied with this notion almost from the very beginning of his new life; though he had occasionally experienced the fear of the fires of hell for his past sins, his main reason for paying close attention to personal salvation was to find avenues where he would find lasting peace, joy and consolation. The day dreaming about vain glory and the noble lady whom he desired to marry, only left him high and dry. He realized Christ and the saints alone could open the gates of his personal salvation.

As soon as he embarked on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, with no moneyand possessions, but fully trusting in the providence of God, he felt deep within an urge to share his spiritual insights with others. He engaged himself in spiritual conversation with people who were attracted to his piety and holiness. This was not an attempt on the part of Inigo to parade his spiritual insights, but he was keenly interested in influencing others to come back to the Lord and find their own salvation in him. He felt he could positively influence others who were inclined to his sharing, and thus drew them closer to God. He was not always successful in bringing people back to God, but he made sincere attempts to help others find their own salvation.

It would be quite irrelevant to ask ourselves if Inigo was successful in achieving the salvation of himself and that of others. He realized that after his conversion he was a changed man, who was committed to the Lord, and he could never think of getting back to his earlier times of chivalry or royal service. The fact that he had several significant spiritual experiences, especially at river Cardoner, at St Paul outside Rome, we know that he was placed with Christ carrying his Cross, as a true son and servant of God. Inigo wished to remind us that part of our salvation also depends on the salvation of others we are living with. And herein lies yet another unique contribution of Ignatius of Loyola.

Subduing the Bull within

If I were to evaluate my performance as for as self-control is concerned, I would not be able to give more than 40 points out of one hundred! I understand that the points gained are rather low, which means in self-control, I am below average, and yet I might look quite in control over what is happening to me. It is difficult to assess how one is in control over one’s feelings and emotions, both positive and negative, because there are hardly any external criteria to evaluate a person; all the vital criteria are experienced interiorly. Therefore one might seem quite in control over one’s emotions, but in fact might be quite out of control regarding emotions.

Therapeutically several ways of approaches are suggested to achieve self-control, and one of the very ancient techniques is deep breathing. Often we breathe from the upper part of our chest, and seldom does the air go deep into our lungs, and come out. When we begin to breathe deeply, consciously taking the air inside, letting it rest inside the lungs for a second or two, and again consciously letting it out, we become aware of what is happening not only to our body, in our body, but also in the mind and the spirit. At that moment we become a third person, standing outside of our selves, and observing what is happening to our bodies, minds and spirits. This is a magic moment, when we are able to pick up many of the things which we would otherwise not be aware.

I am reminded of this anecdote which is told of in the context of the means of achieving self-control. Johny had been notorious in losing temper, and so his mother had taught him to take deep breath, close his eyes, and count slowly one to ten, whenever he would feel angry. So whenever he felt angry, he would close his eyes and start counting, and it was expected when he finished ten, he would be quite sober to take control over himself. But one day Johny returned home from school with a swollen face. When his mother asked what had happened, Johny said: You had told me to count one to ten, but Paul’s mother had taught him to count upto five, and so after completing five, he smashed my face and ran away!

That was only an anecdote, a joke, which should not be stretched beyond its length. But deep breathing can really help us get in touch with our inner self. Associated with this is meditation! Here by meditation I mean to imply, calming and quieting the mind. Eckhart Tolle would say in The Power of Now, that if we are able to overcome “thoughts”, then we are very close to the divine. The moments in between two thoughts is a sacred moment, and by placing ourselves as a third party, we may be able to stretch these moments, and meditation may help us achieve this. Like all disciplines, meditation will also need to be cultivated.

There is no quick solution to achieving self-control; one may have to undergo long hours of sadhana, discipline in order to bring an absolute unison between the body, the mind and the spirit. This has been one of the most often sought after salvation for many a rishis and munis. For the persons who had achieved perfect self-control can achieve anything they would wish. There is nothing impossible for them; even what is impossible becomes possible to them. It is possible that external reality has not changed much, but their minds have been moulded in such a way that they find it easy to accept whichever means takes them to perfect union of body, mind and spirit.