Sophia in Nature
by Roar Bjonnes
An interview with poet Robert Bly on ecology, spirituality, and the
capitalist market-place.
Bjonnes: You have written extensively about the descending path of
spirituality--our love for nature--whereas the ascending path focuses on our
love for God. Wouldn’t it be good to find a balance between the two?
Bly: Well, that’s obvious. But the ascending path has been so strong that
people often forget what the descending path is all about.
Bjonnes: Through eco-psychology, spiritual ecology and eco-feminism, the
descending path is getting a new renaissance.
Bly: Yes, I agree. The metaphor for the descending path is the descent of
Sophia. According to the Gnostic religion, Sophia looked down upon this planet
of ours and decided to descend into it. She entered inside the stones, the
trees, the birds, and the water. She went into fire and air. This is the story
of Sophia.
Bjonnes: This reminds me of the Tantric concept of Shakti.
Bly: Yes, exactly. Sophia--like Shakti--is an active, powerful force,
all-encompassing and all-pervading energy in nature. So why do people look for
the spirit only in the heavens? The descent of Sophia is the first stage of the
later ascent of Jesus. These two are companions. It is therefore important for
us to follow the descending path of Sophia, down into nature, before attempting
to ascend.
The ecology movement, then, is a response to the inability of the capitalist
world to understand that Sophia is also in the rainforest.
Through the loss of the story of Sophia, the Christian Church has given
permission to the capitalists to destroy nature. This was done partly by
translating the word ‘Sophia’ as ‘wisdom’. This destroys the story and takes
away the feminine quality. There have been many such errors in translating the
Old Testament, and we are suffering from those mistakes today.
You see the same kind of energy in the Lady of the Mountain as when you look at
statues of Shakti in the form of Kali. Shiva is the passive energy. In those
statues, Kali often stands on top of Shiva. In the masks of Kali, you are
looking at tremendous spiritual energy.
Bjonnes: A ferocious kind of energy.
Bly: Yes, and why is it ferocious? Because it tries to defend nature,
which is the embodiment of Sophia.
Bjonnes: Since nature is a manifestation of Shakti or Sophia, she is
conscious and intelligent, but not having as much self-consciousness as humans.
What is your perception of consciousness in nature?
Bly: I was actually thinking about Wordsworth’s praise today: “Nature
never did betray the heart that loved Her.” So, yes, it is true that there is
greater self-consciousness in humans, but humans are also full of betrayal. We
betray each other all the time. The reason why Japanese poets go to nature, for
example, is because “Nature never did betray the heart that loved Her.”
And that’s why Taoists like to move toward that which has an affectionate
consciousness, and which will not betray you. So, by destroying nature, we are
destroying the one thing in the universe that will not betray us.
Bjonnes: I have heard you also spend a lot of time in nature, especially
when writing poetry.
Bly: Oh, yes. I leave the city to be in nature because it nurtures my
soul. William Blake said: “The important thing is to live in the moment during
the day when the devil cannot find you.” It is the moment in nature when the
devil cannot find me--it is the moment I write my poems.
Blake also said: “The robin red-breast in his cage/ puts all of heaven in a
rage.” In other words, our habit of imprisoning nature in a cage is felt by
heaven as a real betrayal. There is an important awareness in these words, a
deep understanding of the harmony between both the ascending and descending
path.
Bjonnes: So how does modern technology fit into all of this?
Bly: Well, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to think that the computer will
bring some kind of renaissance. Technology used to move much slower before. A
Japanese poet recently said: “We have moved from walking to the rickshaw to the
horse-carriage to the airplane without taking time to stop or pause.” And that
is terrifying. The speed with which technology has developed is demonic.
I recently read a book in which the author said something like this: “We used to
build great houses, beautiful bridges and roads, but today we build only
markets.” So, the only thing that can become bigger now is the capitalist
market-place. We have simply given up on our pride in building great and
beautiful things.
Roar Bjonnes is editor of Prout Journal and associate editor of New Renaissance.
Robert Bly is a poet, translator and essayist. Some of his latest books are:
Meditations on the Insatiable Soul, What Have I Ever Lost by Dying?, Morning
Poems, and Eating the Honey of Words. [www.robertbly.com]
This article was printed in New Renaissance, Vol. 11, No. 3
Posted on the web on May 15, 2006 |
