Eyes of Fire

This morning on the train, I was reading about the practice of yoga in Eat, Pray, Love-- that bestselling book about a woman's spiritual journey out of depression. She translates from sanskrit one of the morning prayer chants. It goes like this: "I adore the cause of the universe...I adore the one whose eyes are the sun, the moon and fire...you are everything to me."

Soon after reading that passage, I got to my office and I read the lessons for morning prayer (actually, I read the wrong lessons). There was this passage from the book of the Revelation to John. That's the trippy book with all the weird visions. This is part of the description of the heavenly city: "And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever."

I guess I prefer the yogic tradition-- I like seeing God in the universe, not transcending it. And it's hard for me to imagine light without a normal source-- sun, flame, bulb. I like images of God to be anchored in the concreteness of life. I can also understand the benefit of radically different imagination-- one so surreal and other than life. The community that received the Revelation to John as scripture was a community of people being persecuted for their faith. What was concrete to them was the danger of suffering the kinds of violence only Romans could devise-- being killed by wild animals or gladiators in front of cheering crowds. The fantastic imagery of that book probably offered some consolation-- a mind full of radiant divine light, rather than a bloody fate.

I find the Eastern religions so appealing-- they seem fresh and relevant, and even exotic sometimes. And it takes me some extra effort to connect with Christian ideas and to take care to remember why we believe what we do, and where our traditions come from. Sometimes being a Christian is like being married, and choosing not to have an affair with every guru that has something wise to say. And perhaps, when it comes right down to it, the One whose eyes are sun, moon and fire might be the same One that illumines the heavens without need of stars and electricity.