The news about the rich and the famous has only entertainment and curiosity value for those who follow them. Unfortunately, we who are fortunate enough to live in democracies give greatly disproportionate importance to one’s origin or birth. It is part of the slavish mentality inherited, perhaps, from our archetypal, collective unconscious as a famous psychologist like Carl Jung would have it. The other day I saw a news item in a prominent place of a newspaper related to the birth of a grandchild of the queen of England. On the following day there was a suspense related to the name of that child. Both news items were totally irrelevant to me as she is just one of the many thousands of children born into the world every day. I firmly believe with Martin Luther King, Jr., a great human rights leader, that a person needs to be judged on the basis of the content of one’s character and not on the basis of one’s birth or origin. I suppose there are enough persons with nostalgia and interest in these news items in order for the news media to spend money to provide the coverage.
Another recent news item, totally relevant, related to the view of the Pope regarding the ordination of women. Pope Francis, quite refreshing in many ways, does not believe in the ordination of women. He believes, I suppose, that he has a divine mandate to express such views. Interestingly, I myself with long training like the Pope had in the Jesuits held this view some years ago. I now hold that such a view has no divine sanction, and that it is based on a bad tradition. Many denials of human rights were based on bad traditions, and subjugation of one sex or race or caste. I do not intend to say that many women in the Catholic world are ready for the change. History also tells us that there were blacks in the USA who were not prepared for the emancipation proclamation from slavery. There is no credible theological support for the Pope’s view. I also like to give my unsolicited view to the Pope as a fellow traveler to find the mind of the Church through a general council.
As we analyze world’s problems and as we examine ourselves, I see only one criterion or one question that is pertinent and inescapable for all. Am I saying and doing everything according to God’s will and my conscience? For a person with a well-formed conscience, there is no difference between one’s conscience and God’s will. All the great teachers of the world ask us to search for the truth, and live a life of the spirit loving and caring for all humans. The way of the world may not be our way or a way that promotes spiritual life.
Swami Snehananda Jyoti
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