What is the Grail?
Mar. 19th, 2008 05:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qosI'm surfacing this question from the comments on my previous Grail entry, because I had to be reminded that not everyone thinks about the Grail Quest the same way as I do. Most people in my daily life don't think about it at all, so I seldom have reason to consider alternative perspectives.
In common usage, a Grail represents whatever it is a person most longs for, particularly if it is difficult to achieve. To me, the Grail is a symbol for union with the Divine. The Grail Quest is the eternal, universal spiritual quest to gain deeper intimacy with the Divine, and from that intimacy being transformed in heart, soul, and mind to be a channel of Divine Love and Healing in the world.
Why do I even mention the common usage? Because Emanuel Swedenborg, one of my favorite mystical theologians, taught that we "worship" that which we love most. We worship with our time, our energy, our attention. People seek their fulfillment, their satisfaction, their "Grail", many different places. Personally, I believe the only true Grail is found at the heart of the Divine.
You can dress that up all kinds of ways, play a million variations on the theme, but to me that's the essence.
Do I believe that there is -- or was -- a Grail as an actual object that can be sought and touched?
Not in a way that's meaningful to my path.
Someone may have saved the cup which Rabbi Yeshua used at his last meal with his friends, and it may or may not have been preserved through some amount of time. It may even have been imbued with spiritual energies. But to me, the stories of a sacred cup are parable and allegory.
Did this same Rabbi Yeshua wed the Magdalene, and did she bear children who carry his blood? I'd like to think so, because I like the thought of a Christ who was fully human and who celebrated sexuality. But whether or not he had children has nothing to do with my spiritual quest.
The Grail Lore has many streams, and one of the things my own studies stressed was the many different forms the Grail takes in legend. I took from that the lesson that the Grail -- like the Divine itself -- takes different forms to different people and can be "found" at the end of many paths. There are also "false Grails" which are the goals people pursue in search of fulfillment but which are ultimately empty: power, money, fame, games, etc.
The true Grail can be found on any spiritual path, but it is a spiritual aspiration which can only be satisfied when we connect directly with the Divine. Nothing less will satisfy our souls and bring peace and healing to ourselves or our wounded world.
In common usage, a Grail represents whatever it is a person most longs for, particularly if it is difficult to achieve. To me, the Grail is a symbol for union with the Divine. The Grail Quest is the eternal, universal spiritual quest to gain deeper intimacy with the Divine, and from that intimacy being transformed in heart, soul, and mind to be a channel of Divine Love and Healing in the world.
Why do I even mention the common usage? Because Emanuel Swedenborg, one of my favorite mystical theologians, taught that we "worship" that which we love most. We worship with our time, our energy, our attention. People seek their fulfillment, their satisfaction, their "Grail", many different places. Personally, I believe the only true Grail is found at the heart of the Divine.
You can dress that up all kinds of ways, play a million variations on the theme, but to me that's the essence.
Do I believe that there is -- or was -- a Grail as an actual object that can be sought and touched?
Not in a way that's meaningful to my path.
Someone may have saved the cup which Rabbi Yeshua used at his last meal with his friends, and it may or may not have been preserved through some amount of time. It may even have been imbued with spiritual energies. But to me, the stories of a sacred cup are parable and allegory.
Did this same Rabbi Yeshua wed the Magdalene, and did she bear children who carry his blood? I'd like to think so, because I like the thought of a Christ who was fully human and who celebrated sexuality. But whether or not he had children has nothing to do with my spiritual quest.
The Grail Lore has many streams, and one of the things my own studies stressed was the many different forms the Grail takes in legend. I took from that the lesson that the Grail -- like the Divine itself -- takes different forms to different people and can be "found" at the end of many paths. There are also "false Grails" which are the goals people pursue in search of fulfillment but which are ultimately empty: power, money, fame, games, etc.
The true Grail can be found on any spiritual path, but it is a spiritual aspiration which can only be satisfied when we connect directly with the Divine. Nothing less will satisfy our souls and bring peace and healing to ourselves or our wounded world.
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OAG
Date: 2008-06-12 01:47 am (UTC)Re: OAG
Date: 2008-06-12 10:45 pm (UTC)Maybe it's something about the essentially solitary nature of the Grail path that makes it hard for
In any case, nice to see you, and thanks for commenting!