Christianity as Bhakti Marga

He that cometh trom above is above all: he that is of the earth ts of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: he that cometh from heaven is above all. What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness. He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: tor he giveth not the Spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

This and the following chapter are necessary in order to complete our account of the doctrine of Bhakti as it is taught in the Gospel and Epistles of John. The way of Bhakti is the way of love. We have seen with what eagerness we should abide in God. This eagerness should mould our entire character Love for God should not be one of the many interests in our life lying somewhere in the margin of our consciousness but should always remain in the very focus of our thought. If we are to love God so intently, of what character is this love to be? Some religious teachers have insisted with tremendous power on the awfulness of God. They have taught us that God is a stern and righteous being and that the only fitting way of approach to Him is that of great fear. If we love God, should we love God always or should our love for Him give place on occasions to an awful consciousness of His overpowering might and unbending rigour? Should our love be deep and strong, free from all restraint, or should it be held in check by a consciousness of His holiness and majesty?

The first Epistle of John contains a verse which states John’s position in no uncertain language. “There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not’ made perfect in love.’* There is no mistaking the meaning of this emphatic utterance. It teaches most clearly that love and fear cannot exist together. Was John influenced in his thinking by Philo’s discussion of the relation between fear and love? According to Philo fear and love are two forms of piety. Fear springs from an idea of God which tends to stress the: human aspects of His character, and love out of a pure idea of God. Fear is the earlier and more original relation to God. Love is more difficult to attain and therefore comes later; it is possible only for those who are adorned with virtue.” Even if the Fourth Evangelist was not acquainted with the discussions in Philo, he:

might well have been acquainted with the discussions in the Apocryphal literature written between the Old and New Testaments..In this period the relation between fear and love is often discussed. The fear of the Lord comes first and is a gift from Him. It is the beginning, and love is the whole, of piety. Fear of the Lord and love for. Him are at first recognized as of equal value. Later love for Him comes to be regarded - as of greater importance. This is clear, for instance, from the anecdote told of a king who confides a secret to two of his servants, one of whom feared him and the other loved him. The one who loved him kept the secret better.. Such ideas may well have shaped John’s teaching on the subject.

But we must always try and understand the Johannine writings in the light of the fundamental character of the Old and New Testaments. We study an organ by itself as well as in its relation to the whole organism of which it is a part; the life of a particular fruit is best seen, its purpose and function are best understood, only when the vital relation which it holds to the rest of the tree is taken into account. Likewise the meaning of the Johannine writings is most clear when the fact that they form an integral part of the Bible is sufficiently and clearly recognized. If in this book we have not constantly referred to the teaching given by the other writers of the Bible who in one way or another illumine and support the teaching of John, it is mainly for lack of space. In order to see clearly the characteristic message of John jt has been necessary to separate him from the rest of the organism. But to understand him aright we should understand the entire organism.

Every student of his writings must agree that John was considerably influenced in his thinking by Hellenic philosophy. But in our eagerness to recognize the Hellenic strain in him we must not forget the Hebrew. If he had assimilated Hellenic culture, he was also at home in Hebrew religion and we have to accept the fact that in his writings we have evidences of both strains. Let us then recall for a moment the background of his Hebrew thought. From first to last the Old Testament is full of the glory of the Lord. Now it is a weird legend, now it is a stirring psalm, now it is a magnificent prophecy which brings before our minds the majesty and power of God. Moses prayed that he might see the glory of God, but that was denied him. David and the Psalmists have left in writing their reverent understanding of the awful power and holiness of God. Here is a Psalm:

Lord, my heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lofty;

Neither do I exercise myself in great matters,

Or in things too wonderful for me.

Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;

Like a weaned child with his mother,,

My soul is with me like a weaned child.

O Israel, hope in the Lord,

From this time forth and for evermore.”

Isaiah saw God high and lifted up, with His train filling the entire temple. This glimpse of the Divine, so pure and lofty, filled him with shame and penitence and he cried out in an agony for purity. ‘These and numerous other passages in the Old Testament reveal to us the exalted idea of God held by the Hebrew seers. They knew clearly that God is supremely high and holy and that the way of approach to Him is that of fear and trembling. No light-hearted, irreverent, unclean worship does He desire or tolerate. He Himself is an utterly righteous being working out His purposes for mankind with supreme power and it is the duty of all those who call themselves His children to cleanse themselves ‘and to approach His awful presence in a spirit worthy of Him. He does not permit any easy-going sentimental attitude from His worshippers but expects from them the deepest humility and the greatest reverence. Now John comes in the line of these seers. More than they he has realized the supreme power of love and expounded its workings with great depth and clearness of insight. For all ages his name is associated with the doctrine of love. But it is our task in this chapter to find out whether he has in any way retained a sense of this awe which impresses us in their writings and how he has changed or modified it so as to make it compatible with his doctrine of love.

The brief passage quoted at the head of this chapter indicates John’s teaching on our present subject more clearly than any other in his writings. The words are put into the mouth of John the Baptist but as elsewhere they are strongly coloured by the Fourth Evangelist’s own vocabulary and thought. In this brief passage there is a progress of thought reaching its climax in the final declaration about the wrath of God. Asis usual with him, the writer here focusses all his thought and makes it illumine his central idea of the wrath of God. John the Baptist of the Synoptic Gospel preaches the message of burning wrath, but for other reasons than those of the Fourth Evangelist. The Baptist’s insistence on the wrath to come was a clear recognition of the sins of the people and of the doom that awaited them if they did not repent. He was keenly sensitive, aS a prophet should be, to the tailings of his countrymen, and this gave intensity and pathos to his consciousness of the terrible destiny that was before them. In his case it was a single moral conviction which threw into lurid light this thought of the awfulness of God. The Fourth Evangelist is more complex and more subtle in his thinking. He too has a lofty ethical standard in the light of which he sees the terrible punishment that awaits men, but he sees further aspects of the matter which we must try to analyse.

The first of these aspects appears in the verse, “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is of the earth, and of the earth he speaketh: he that cometh from heaven is above all.’ Here isa distinct and emphatic recognition of the exalted character of Christ. Translated into ordinary speech:

it means that Christ has a different kind of existence, a kind of existence which is far superior to ours. He is made of finer stuff. This thought finds frequent expression in the writings of John. ‘Ye are from beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world.* ‘Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I came forth and am come from God; for neither have I come of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do.’? This sharp distinction between Himself and the world does not, however, hold true in the same measure of Himself and His disciples. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.’ *

Bhakti is primarily a movement of love. But in our eagerness to enjoy God we should not forget that He is from above and that He is above all. He does not ‘belong to the earth. The constant recollection of this fact will infuse into our Bhakti a deep sense of reverence. We should not, we dare not, draw nigh unto God with the same easy familiarity with which we seek the company of aman. Far higher in purpose, far nobler in deed, the eternal Christ demands from us an allegiance that is at once loving and reverent.

THErE ELEMENT OF MYSTERY ‘What he hath seen and heard, of that he beareth witness; and no man receiveth his witness.’ The second aspect in the Johannine conception is his recognition /that Christ’s knowledge is higher than ours. What baffles us so often and fills us with such despair is our ignorance. On all sides we are surrounded by mystery. There are realities which seem hard and terrible but which we know have their meaning in the mind of God The fact of existence, so perplexing to us, must be wholly clear to the eternal God who has given rise to it. The more we contemplate the wisdom and knowledge of God, the more we feel our appalling ignorance. The complex history of human thought is a witness to the earnestness of man’s search into the dim beyond. From of old the best of men have forsaken all that the world prizes highly, and have sought earnestly to understand the why and the wherefore of life. The anxiety with which they worked at this task, the joy with which they have welcomed its solution, and the eagerness with which they have spread it among others reveal the longing of the human mind to understand the world. Now Jesus has a means of access to the Father of which we are not aware. All the illimitable knowledge and understanding of God is open to His gaze. He has Himself seen and heard and therefore He speaks with an authority which no one else has. The more we come to understand this, the more our souls will become subdued and overwhelmed in His presence and the deeper will be the reverence with which we shall draw nigh to Him.

‘He that hath received his witness hath set his seal to this that God is true.’ This gives us a further element in John’s thought. He believes that God has established a completely effectual moral order. This meets the need of man as a free agent. God has made the world a system in virtue of which the choice oi good inevitably leads to goodness and light and life, and the choice of evil to evil and darkness and death. God does not arbitrarily decide to send some men to life and others to death. He has placed before all the choice between life and death.

In primitive religion the caprice of the gods is a constant source of dread. Men on a low level of spiritual culture are apt to consider that the gods in whose hands they are held have theirwild whims. In their fear they offer sacrifices and oblations to ward off the strange fury of the gods.

On the other hand, the idea that we live under a fixed system working mightily and steadily towards its. ultimate purpose does not evoke craven tear but may well create a sense of awe. God’s love not only permits. but necessitates the liberty of man. The unfailing _ operation of the law which leads men now to life and now to death, according to the choice they make for themselves, inspires with awe our quest after the God who is its author. Our love for Him should not be sentimental and self-seeking but awful and reverent.