OFF-CENTER

Mystics are the “spiritually gifted” among us, those “with spirit,” those who are “God’s own.”  They are recluses, misfits, and eccentrics many times, not unlike Byzantine hermits in the 4^th Century who lived in caves out in the desert, or like Buddhist and Taoist hermits who lived, and still live, in huts in a forest somewhere.  Mystics are off-center, in this way.

Many, to escape the labels of outsider, misfit, and eccentric, compromise with society, so that they are half in and half out, no longer off-center but off-and-on center.  These are mystics who join institutionalized religions as priests, pastors, and teachers.  They, accordingly, are able to help humanity in a direct way, which is good for those they serve, but also good for them personally, emotionally.

In Vedanta, Sri Ramakrishna was a prime example of such a compromise.  He was prone to dropping into Samadhi without a moment’s notice, during which he appeared quite insane, and probably was.  But he lived in a Hindu temple, with followers who considered him not only a mystic but a saint as well.  When he was not in Samadhi he seemed well-adjusted enough, despite having both feet in another world.

The dilemma for mystics, therefore, is whether to remain true to the full experience of their spirituality, weathering being stereotyped, or whether to compromise.  Yet, it is difficult to imagine a true mystic meeting the outside world halfway, or even a quarter of the way, even Ramakrishna. 
 
Trappist monk and mystic Thomas Merton wrote a book that may hold the answer.  It is called No Man is an Island.  Mystics may consider themselves islands, and indeed in the beginning may be islands, but over time, for a host of reasons, the condition loses its appeal.  More appealing is something in or near the center.