Sense of Separation in Mystic Life

There is a characteristic state or stage of mystic life, whose central feature is a sense of separation from the object of mystic quest. In Western Mysticism such a sense of separation has been discussed in several well-known conceptions: for example, St. John of the Cross’ ‘the Dark Night of the Soul,’ Truc’s ‘etat mystique negatif,’ De Sanctis’ ‘period of spiritual aridity,’ St. Teresa’s ‘the great dereliction,’ and Father Barbanson’s ‘state of privation and interior dereliction.’

In the mystico-devotional literature of India, the consciousness of Divine Separation has received an elaborate treatment under the head, the ‘viraha’ of the ‘gopa’ for Krsna, a classical example of this phase of mystic life. Again, the phase of separation (‘biraha ko anga’) forms an integral part of the writings of almost all the medieval Hindi poet-saints of Northern India. It also figures prominently in the ‘abhangas’ of the saints of Maharashtra. The record of Sri Chaitanya’s last twelve years of existence, the period when he suffered intensely from a sense of separation from Krsna, provides a most comprehensive and detailed account of this aspect of mystic life and development.

Islamic mysticism too abounds in descriptions of this mood of the mystic. Relevant passages from the mystic poetry of Ibnu’l Farid, Hafiz, Jalaluddin Rumi, Attar, and Jami will readily occur to all lovers of Arabic and Persian poetry.

A sense of separation from the object of mystic quest may occur at any stage of mystic life. It has been noted as a characteristic feature of pre-conversion consciousness. The mystic pines for the vision of God, and prays to Him to reveal Himself. The consciousness of privation from God in this case seems to be antecedent to a joyous experience of union with the Beloved. The heart-rending outbursts of Namadeva, Jnandeva’s pain of God, Tukarama’s longing to see the four-handed vision of God illustrate this type of ‘viraha.’ Hear Tuka’s plaintive cry:

A beggar at thy door,
Pleading I stand;
Give me alms, O God,
Love from thy loving hand.
Spare me the barren task,
To come, and to come for nought,
A gift poor Tuka craves,
Unmerited, unbought.

More often, the feeling of privation is involved in the stage of purification and purgation of the Self. In this type of ‘viraha,’ the absence or loss of the mystic reality alternates, or is dotted with illuminative experiences of mystic union. Such an oscillation between periods of sheer joy and sheer darkness has been interpreted as a "hide and seek" sport of God in the game of Love. For example, exclaims Daya Bai:

Tearing away the net, you have hidden yourself;
handsome, dark-complexioned Form,
where have you settled down?

The sense of privation and desolation manifests itself, how-ever, more fully as the Dark Night of the Soul,’ This type of ‘viraha’ is characterised by a feeling of being totally cast away and abandoned by God. The Night becomes hopelessly dark, so that the self loses all hope of a future reunion with the Divine Being. Jnanadeva’s exlamation, "Let thy will be done, for my supplications are all useless," exemplifies such a mood of the mystic.

The sense of separation in mystic life is seen to be a recurring experience, from the time of conversion to the attainment of the unitive state. Miss Underhill rightly remarks that every apparent negation or set-of mystic development is a natural consequence of every affirmation of mystic life. "Progress in contemplation, for instance, is marked by such alteration of light and shade; at first between ‘consolation’ and ‘aridity’; then between ‘dark contemplation’ and sharp intuitions of Reality."

The sense of separation in mystic life may continue, not for weeks or months only but even for years, Suso suffered for about ten years from such a sense of desolation and loneliness, of abandonment by God. In the case of Sri Chaitanya, the period was as long as twelve years. The metaphysical conception of the ultimate identity of the ‘Jiva’ and the ‘Brahman’ has led some to regard bodily existence in itself as a state of separation. For them, deliverance from the cycle of births alone can terminate the state of separation. For then the ‘Jiva’ is free from its bodily captivity and reunited with the ‘Brahman’. Sings Rai Dasa:

For many births have I been separated from Thee, O God;
This birth is on thine own account;
Saith Rai Dasa, putting my hopes in Thee, I lived;
it is long since I have seen Thee.

The state of separation in mystic life appears to be a negation or an arrest in the growth of mystic life. In consequence, this stage is characterised by a sense of spiritual aridity and even by a descent to lower planes of desires and phantasies, and in extreme cases by a sort of spiritual paralysis. There usually sets in at first a mood of intellectual doubt about the value and reality of the things and the life of the spirit. "The good appeared evil" to Mme. Guyon. Again, as the consciousness of God gradually fades away, a mental and moral chaos invades the life of the mystic who therefore experiences "appalling confusion" and blankness. Such a state of spiritual lassitude when "devotion weakens and the self languishes sadly in prayer, occasionally terminates in an inability to practise spirituality, to lift the soul to God." Writes Mme. Guyon: "I could not speak of Thee, Oh my God, for I became utterly stupid; nor could I even grasp what was said when I heard Thee spoken of...I found myself hard towards God, insensible to His mercies." The times of darkness of the anonymous authoress of ‘The Golden Fountain,’ similarly, were joyless, flat, ungracious, "when a kind of paralysis of the soul and dreary torpor set in."

The phase of separation in mystic life is essentially a state of suffering and pain. The mystic, firstly, suffers from a feeling of ineffable loneliness and desolation. Feelings of blankness and dryness, confusion and disorganization, impotence and paralysis contribute in their own way to the ‘quota of the mystic’s misery. His suffering further arises from his despair and inability to have experiences of mystic union. A sense of sin, of imperfections and shortcomings, which makes its appearance in this phase of mystic life, is also responsible for the mystic’s suffering.

The pain of separation is not only mental and moral, intellectual and volitional, it is also physical. In the role of the abandoned Radha, Chaitanya one day felt so fatigued and his body ached so much that he had to express his inability to move his limbs. Physical pain arises through strange transformations in the body, which are a characteristic feature of mystic life. It also results from the practice of penances and mortifications which the mystic undertakes in this phase of his life.

The medieval Indian mystics have invariably described their pain and suffering as an experience of being consumed in the fire of separation. So powerful and intense is this fire of separation supposed to be that Kabir is afraid of sitting under a tree, lest it should catch fire. Curiously enough the same analogy has been used by western mystics also.

Medieval Indian mystics, again, are unanimous about the indescribable nature of the pain of separation. It is believed to be a peculiar possession of the mystics. Its nature can be understood and appreciated only by those who are similarly afflicted. The pain of separation has been characteristically described as that arising from being struck or wounded by the dart or spear of love. In addition to this piercing pain, there are mentioned a gnawing or corroding pain, a rankling pain, and an enveloping pain. The pain, moreover, is said to be present at all times; it does not leave either by day or by night.

The phase of separation may be said to be initiated by a loss of interest in the external world. The mystic grows callous and indifferent to men and things. Nothing pleases or delights him. This lack of zest for the things and events of the world even assumes the form of a dislike for them. The mystic finds "no comfort in Heaven or Earth." Sadness overtakes him; "melancholy possesses him. He gives up all luxuries and pleasantries, casts away garments and ornaments, neglects his dress and appearance.

A desire for union or reunion with the mystic Reality is a natural consequence of the consciousness of separation from it. Among the medieval Indian mystics the desire for union is seen to be so intense as to occupy the whole field of consciousness. This desire of the mystic has been described in terms of several classical metaphors; for example, as the craving of the ‘cataka’ bird for the ‘svanti’ drop, of fish for water, of the ‘cakora’ for the moon, of the black-bee for the lotus, of the deer for music, of the moth for the flame, of the ascetic for the forest, of the ears for sound, of the eyes for form, of the tongue for taste, and so on.

The sense of withdrawal of God’s presence, or of desertion by Him is interpreted by the mystics as being due to their sinful life and spiritual shortcomings. Jnanadeva’s existence only filled him with shame. Namadeva believed himself to be an ocean of sin incarnate. Tukarama also became acutely conscious of his sins and imperfections at one stage of his ‘darkness.’

The consciousness of sin and imperfections leads the mystic to undertake various forms of mortifications and penances. Rulman Merswin and Rama Krishna practised exaggerated penances in their period of dryness.

The agony of separation makes existence a burden. Time hangs heavy. A moment assumes the proportions of an age. The mystic prefers and even prays for death, instead of the painful state of separation. Suicidal impulses make their appearance. Even actual attempts at ending life are made. Spiritually at the end of the tether, God not revealing Himself, Tukarama determined to commit self-slaughter.

Fits and seizures are known to occur in the phase of separation. Rulman Merswin was seized with paralysis of the lower limbs in his period of gloom. St. Teresa’s experience of the great dereliction was "accompanied by a kind of catalepsy, with muscular rigidity and cessation of the pulse." Fits of unconsciousness were very common in the life of Chaitanya. One of his fits has been described thus: The Lord lay distended and unconscious, without any in-flow or out-flow of breath. Rama Krishna, similarly, during his agony of separation from his Mother Kali, was seized with fits of unconsiousness, sudden collapses and putrefactions, when he lost the control of the use of his joints and stiffened into a statue…..His functions remained in a state of suspension.

The pangs of privation and the ceaseless striving for union deprive the mystic of all peace of mind and of bodily rest. Thus he grows restless, both mentally and physically. He moves about in agony. He writhes like a fish out of water. Physical restlessness, however, may be said to be only an outward expression of inner dissatisfaction and unrest.

The phase of separation has been held to be highly significant in mystic life and development. According to the author of the ‘Cloud of Unknowing,’ it is a necessary feature of spiritual experience. For he believes that there always hangs a darkness between the mystic and God so that the mystic "mayest neither see Him clearly by light of understanding nor feel Him in the sweetness of love." The French psychologist, Delacroix, considers it to be as necessary to mystic life a Ecstasy. It condenses the whole vision of things into a negative intuition, as Ecstasy condenses into a positive. The Very Rev. Dean Inge even distrusts a mystic who has not passed through this phase of mystic life, Father Barbanson in his ‘Secret Paths of Divine Love’ considers this state "as needful for the soul’s progress in her love as any of the former operations. It is necessary not only to cleanse her from the remains of sin, from all lingering insensible and all self-love, but also to prepare her for that fruition of God which ought forthwith to follow." This state, he adds, is the Purgatory of Love, where she will pay all arrears of her debts; the touch-stone which will prove of what metal she is! One writer goes to the extent of claming that

Consummation is the extinction of Sweet Love;
Privation is its soul;
Separation is its waking state;
Union its condition of somnolescence.