In Search of Balance

In Seminary I had a Professor once explain balance as something very hard to find and achieve. While we all want balance and are in search of balance, finding such balance is very difficult.

The professor explained it this way….

“It’s like being on a boat,” he said. “You have everyone gathered to one side of the boat looking over the edge at something fascinating when suddenly the boat begins to pitch to one side.” Why does this happen? “Because everyone is on one side of the boat. As a result, there is no balance at all, and the boat begins to take on water.”

As a result of the situation, “Everyone screams and they suddenly run to the other side of the boat in an attempt to bring balance. While one would think we understand that balance comes from the middle, no one stops in the middle of the boat.” Actually, the opposite takes place! “Everyone keeps running to the other side of the boat in an attempt to stop the tipping sensation.” Of course simply running to the other side of the boat does not bring balance. “Actually,” declared the Professor, “in the search for balance, the boat suddenly starts to pitch in the other direction.”

Thomas Merton – The Real Thing

On July 23, 1964, Thomas Merton found himself reflecting on the life, experience and doctrine of Ramana Maharshi. I’m currently reading a devotional book entitled A Year with Thomas Merton. The book contains daily excerpts from his journal’s. Today Merton is really addressing the idea of balance. He says he’s fascinated by the life of Ramana Maharshi because his experience.

Merton writes;

“Whatever may be the deficiencies of the doctrinal elaboration, and the misleading effect of some of the philospophical concepts, this is the basic experience – ‘God is the ultimate ‘I’ Who is the Self of every self!’ It is this that Christianity too expresses in and through the doctrines of grace, redemption, Incarnation, Trinity. Sons in the Son by grace.”

For me, the fascinating aspect of those words is not found in the concept of discovering who we are in Christ. Instead, it’s the deeper thought Merton expresses here concerning experience. Merton goes on to say that while Maharshi has flawed doctrine, he has something many Christians don’t have – a true experience and understanding of who he is in God.

As Thomas Merton grew older, some inside the church accused him of heresy. It was statements like the above which started to get him into trouble. Did he really say Mararshi had a deeper understanding of God than Christians? No, that’s not what he’s saying. Instead, Merton is pointing out that in the midst of doctrine, some believers don’t truly experience who they are in God. On the other hand, on the other side of the boat, Merton points to Marashi saying “while his doctrine is flawed” he has an experience that many Christians do not have.

How do we find balance?

That’s really the heart of the matter here. Thomas Merton was once asked who the best Christian was he’d ever met. His response – “Ghandi. The only problem is, he doesn’t realize he’s a Christian.” Staggering words coming from a Monk in the Catholic tradition. What was he saying? Again, I believe Merton was addressing balance here. Was he saying Ghandi was a Christian? No. But he was saying he saw attributes of Christianity in Ghandi that he did not see in other believers.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – “Life is called a journey for a reason.” – As we journey through life, we find ourselves bombardered with many things. Through it all, we seek balance, so we might in turn discover truth.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus