Can there be joy and pain at the same time? According to Assagioli, spiritual joy or bliss is the keynote of spiritual ascension. It can coexist with the pain that the purification process entails.
By Roberto Assagioli, MD Translation, Britt Jakielski
Source: The Beacon, June 1942
When spiritual life and development are viewed from a traditional perspective, it is often associated with a perception of renunciation, suffering, hard work, sorrow and pain. This is not fair, because it places too much emphasis on a single aspect. It creates confusion and even reluctance and discouragement in the beginner on the spiritual path.
Suffering is only a predominant and characteristic element of one phase, at one level of the Spiritual life – the phase of purification, which follows the awakening of the soul; the first revelation of our indwelling Spirit. This awakening is full of joy and jubilation, and joy sets the tone for the phase following the purification, in which the soul is illuminated. After the “Dark Night of the Soul”, this new period of shadow, hard work and sorrow, comes the glorious goal, the transfiguration of the soul into God, the conscious union of the person with the universal Spirit. In the East this is called Moksha and Vinmuhti (liberation, Nirvana), and in the West we call it the Alchemical Wedding and the United Life.
In this state the soul is filled with bliss and an abiding and inexpressible joy. This should not surprise us, for bliss is the fundamental quality of the Supreme Spirit; something which is affirmed both in the East and in the West. According to the Hindus the three fundamental qualities of the Supreme Spirit are Sat, Chit, Ananda; ie being, knowledge, bliss. Other authorities such as the Manduka Upanishad call these characteristics of the Atman, the Supreme Self, “shantam, shivam, advaita,” or peace, bliss, unity.
According to Christians, union with God in this and the next life brings conscious joy about Him, about His glory, and His bliss.
Spiritual joy should not be confused with the pleasure and joy of another nature. It has a quality that enables us to distinguish it easily and surely. Spiritual joy is first and foremost permeated with peace. It gives a feeling of calm, security, perfect stillness, which is quite lacking in the unstable joys and violent excesses of another nature. Its effects are different and even often opposite. Selfish joys and pleasures shake our whole being and drain us of energy, and are followed by a feeling of weariness, depression and lack of vitality. On the other hand, Spiritual Joy gives us strength instead of consuming it. It does not provoke reactions, but gives us a feeling of energy and courage, and often of real physical relief. Finally, where selfish pleasure tends to separate us from others and make us forget the whole world in our own little personal satisfaction, Spiritual Joy is by nature expansive. It makes us more loving, more compassionate, and inspires us by making us want to help others share in our joy.
Spiritual joy has another feature which at first may seem strange and paradoxical, but which on closer examination is found to be natural and appropriate to that joy, namely, that it can exist side by side with pain. Such an apparent contradiction cannot be explained in the way that materialistically minded people who know nothing of the Spiritual life try. They regard it as an anomaly, something abnormal, a perversion or a kind of psychic masochism. But it can be easily understood in the light of the spiritual anatomy and complex inner structure of man. This understanding has been – and continues to be – strengthened by recent developments in analytical and synthetic psychology.
Man, at the present stage of development, is not a harmonious and coherent whole. We are made up of a multitude of similar and contradictory elements, centered around different centers on different planes, independent of each other. In this article, our purpose is not to examine the more subtle differences between these elements and centers. It is sufficient to remember that they can be divided into two main groups. Those which constitute the normal human personality, and those which constitute our higher being, the Soul. Whereas the ordinary joys and pleasures are experienced by the personality, Spiritual Joy is the property of the Soul. The ordinary man lives enclosed in his personality and does not sense the existence of the higher elements at all. On the other hand, in the man who has experienced a complete awakening, in the liberated Spirit, in the soul which is completely and permanently united with God, the personality is dissolved, and its elements are resurrected and transferred to the individuality, whereby the whole being is united.
The person who is in an intermediate state, in whom the Spiritual consciousness has been awakened, but who still contains many of the elements of the ordinary person, experiences a more or less conscious duality of feelings and reactions. We can thus understand how it is possible that the personality suffers mechanically, but the person rejoices in the light of the Spirit.
We should further note that the stages of Spiritual development are not sharply separated from each other, but are often interconnected. Thus, the purification phase continues throughout the illumination process, and it is the presence of both of these factors that allows joy and pain to coexist.
The illuminated soul, which has deeply experienced the purifying and uplifting function of suffering, will not only no longer seek to escape it, will not only patiently endure and accept it from a state of good will, but will ultimately rejoice in it. The strength of the Spirit illuminates the cross, the light of the Spirit makes the cross luminous.
There is nothing abnormal in this, but rather something supernormal. It is a beautiful and noble experience, and those who ignore or condemn it do not understand that “suffering and being unhappy are not in any way the same thing.” They are the blind ones who should not be taken note of, but should be pitied.
It is true that there have been some cases, especially in the last few centuries, where there has been an excessive craving for and enjoyment of suffering in an unhealthy way. However, these are deviations from the true Spiritual path, so-called impure influences, and a hypocritical imitation of the pure, mystical experience.
An ability to distinguish between the self-absorbed joys of the personality and the Spiritual Joy of man also helps to explain the error of those who (as we pointed out at the outset) on the basis of an overly strict, dualistic and pessimistic view of life and religion place emphasis exclusively on sacrifice and suffering. They look with suspicion and condemnation on everything that speaks for the joy of the soul. In reality, Spiritual Joy is not only permitted to all, but is truly a duty, and there are many reasons for this. Most importantly, it promotes the outpouring of gratitude and the voluntary surrender that constitutes the soul’s best response to the influx of light poured upon it from on High. Spiritual Joy also promotes the transformation and sublimation of all the elements of the personality; a work that the soul must accomplish in ever-increasing proportions on the spiritual path.
Finally, Spiritual Joy is a duty towards others. We should at every step of the way help our brothers to share in the treasure we have discovered, in the joys that have been poured out upon us, and in the powers that are developing within us. Thus the immutable law of justice and of love is the direct expression of the fundamental unity of all beings. Those who thus receive the first illuminations therefore have the duty to share them with others. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to radiate our joy to them.
Poor humanity, tormented by a thousand sorrows, weighed down by endless fears, led astray by a nagging doubt, anxiously (whether we know it or not) seeking peace, certainty, and a calm and stable joy, is invariably attracted to everyone who shows by his example and his quiet radiance that he has contacted the inner point of peace, harmony, and deep contentment.
It is only when we have verified the positive results and realized the value and benefit of the spiritual life that one is willing to submit to the necessary discipline and pay the price that at first seems too great, but which later proves justified and even insufficient for such an invaluable treasure that is ours for all eternity.
In this place, it is fitting and our simple duty to ourselves, to others, and to God not only to freely receive Spiritual Joy, but also to consciously awaken it within ourselves and to preserve and increase what we have achieved.
Let us therefore take to heart St. Paul’s brilliant motto and every day passionately seek to live it –
“ Rejoice in the Lord always, and I repeat, Rejoice .”
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Also read the article Psychosynthesis an Integral Psychology and the biography of Roberto Assagioli
Read the introductory article about integral meditation
