In Winchester cathedral, on a wall near Jane Austen’s remains, there is a lovely quotation from Psalms, “She openeth her mouth with wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness.’ She was mentioned in the same sentence as Shakespeare more often than any other writer. She was mistress of wit, humor and irony and also much truth and wisdom. Her heroines speak philosophy (“philo” or “love of” with “sophia” or wisdom). Wise words are even spoken by flawed characters. Very realistic since most of us are flawed characters, yet we sometimes get insights. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett (our heroine) begins to understand herself as she pieces together the cause of her past prejudice which keeps her ignorant of Mr. Wickham’s duplicity and blind to Mr. Darcy’s worth. She analyzes herself in this way:
Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away, where either were concerned. Till this moment I never knew myself.” –Elizabeth Bennett, Chapter 36
It can be challenging to face our flaws and to really know ourselves and besides that we have to deal with the effects of the modern world. Honestly, when does modern social media or any media promote wisdom? Trusting political propaganda and materialistic leaders who lead us further from the truth, in their quest for a bigger slice of the ‘pie,’ then what force is there to bring us back from the edge of complete illusion? Where do we find knowledge related to consciousness? How do we get access to wisdom and philosophical contemplations? We are far from being interested in this kind of knowledge, due to misunderstanding ourselves to be the body. People are also slogging so hard that they are almost too tired and stressed to stop and think about what a peace life would look like.
It’s very sad to see entire populations so misled. Here we are, these amazingly beautiful eternal beings and yet we are bombarded by idiotic materialistic messages. How can we become a little more rational and really know ourselves? (By the way, if you are interested in either Jane Austen’s novels or the Bhagavad-Gita, please scroll down to the bottom, or you can click on links to order them!(
Consider the probabilities if self-delusion in the modern world. when virtually every moment, we are encouragedto be as narcissistic as possible, We are told that we are perfect and flawless (or plastic surgery can make us flawless). Another example? No problem! Many universities now coddle students in so-called ‘Safe Spaces’ because some of them, like infants, still believe that they are the center of the universe and are unable to encounter anyone holding a different opinion from their own! Hearing an opposing opinion becomes a medical emergency. Universities have always been places where the open exchange of ideas was an a learning opportunity. Jane would not approve of this kind of lame intolerant attitude towards new ideas. What is happening to our culture and how does society become so warped and irrational? Our rational faculties are being weakened, controlled and blinded by vanity. It was, “vanity working on a weak mind” that misleads Harriet in the novel, Emma. Absorbed in vanity, we forget truth and intrinsic values, such as those found in philosophy. We become easy targets for the flattery of advertising agencies, social media and social acceptance. The soul is full of knowledge and real happiness. We simply need to reconnect. How do we return our minds to a state of objectivity and the force of honest evaluation of ourselves? For truth seekers, there is a spiritual practice. Bhakti-yoga.
I compare finding the path to self-knowledge to Lizzy Bennet’s getting that important letter from Mr. Darcy. Before the letter she was positively consumed in thoughts about his apparent incivility, and after the letter she is finally able to do away with all her ignorant notions and prejudiced ideas and sort out her heroes from her villains. Mr. Darcy’s good information gave her the roadmap to finding her way back to the truth, and to finding her way to happiness. She even declares, “Til this moment I never knew myself.” Exposure to the truth is such a cathartic experience! From this moment Lizzy “could only think of her letter”…and of course the happy ending follows. When one gains this knowledge of self understanding, the effect is something like being obsessed by the happiness of knowing. Otherwise, like Lizzy, before her letter, the mind spins us round and round, and we never arrive at a solution
My own teacher-mentor introduced me to dear Jane and it changed my life. Before that, I had persistent yet vague intuitions in the department of self-understanding and knew that my life was not proceeding in a positive direction yet I had no idea how to actually live and to change my consciousness. It was like being stuck on that train “going nowhere. I was sincere and did a lot of praying yet there was a bad experience with a bad teacher-mentor and there were also people who tried to convince me to give up my search. They only wanted to control and exploit me and were not my friends. I sometimes compared my experience to poor Catherine Moorland in Northanger Abbey, who was tormented by the conniving (Isabella and John) Thorpe siblings who were shamelessly manipulating her. After a while she became aware of their schemes and was able to escape them. In this world there are many who have similar agendas, despite being educated. Northanger Abbey teaches us that we may have to fight against such people to attain our freedom and that we must appreciate and search out good society. Catherine stays the course and recognizes her real friends (Mr. Tilney and his sister), and the ‘happily ever after’ follows, of course. There is a relevant verse from Bhagavad-gita (Ch. 2. verse 41) which says that those who are sincerely following this path of self-knowledge are ‘single-minded’ and their ‘aim is one.’ It is the focused determination of the yogi (or yogini in the case of ladies engaged in this process).
Like many Americans, I had a desire to be rational and scientific about existential questions and yet science cannot explain consciousness, and scientists are also becoming more and more aware of the irrationality of claims that life is explained by chemical processes and pushing back. Here is an amazing lecture by James Tour (a brilliant, serious organic chemist) explaining the impossibility of life happening by chance. Bumping into this meditation practice and meeting my teacher was truly my good fortune. Now, I am so interested in Jane Austen’s novels and the spiritual science of yoga that is found in the teachings of Bhagavad-gita. Both books are gifts that help us gain better awareness of ourselves. The honest scientist must be open to a serious exploration of consciousness, and to a rational journey into higher consciousness. I hope you will continue with us in our path to self-knowledge (self-realization) and if you are then please do Like and subscribe.
- Buy Bhagavad-Gita here! From Barnes & Noble
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Jane Austen Yoga 