Paradiso

At the beginning of Canto XXII, Beatrice comments to the Pilgrim: “Not know you, that you are in heaven?”

The Pilgrim had felt overwhelmed, but now he slowly understands that the Spiritual Power and Energy has been there all along the journey so far. From the spiritual substance within himself, in his life, in the world, his awakened state, and in his discovery of a mission. In all of this, there has been an element of the infinite spiritual power at work. And even more so in the eagle of Divine Justice, the cosmic force that works to sustain Reality and mitigate the damaging effects of free wills turning to vice and sin.

So, as so many time before, a new aspect in Paradiso is not merely “one more element on the list”, but it becomes a new insight that transforms every other earlier learning we’ve been through so far.

And it also energizes the whole of Paradiso, from an ethereal theological survey of doctrines and sentiments – to the animating force, the raw power that makes all of these aspects reality.

It’s a crucial insight more or less full absent in most presentations of Dante’s Paradiso and Comedy, but almost a glaringly obvious one once it is seen: there has to be a force that “does” all of this. And this is the force that the contemplatives, and you as a reader, can “tap into” and participate in, with the right training, and with focus and a patient approach in the Saturn aspect of your spiritual life.

A major revelation in Saturn is how the sphere of the contemplatives is not only about higher spiritual dwelling and introspection, but about the connection to infinite power and energy.

What partly seems like a withdrawal into internal exploration or deepening of the sense of being, and the more pure form of awareness before language and categories, is in many ways primarily about finding the source of infinite and divine spiritual power.

This also builds on the previous two spheres, with the mission and the bigger picture within which the mission amplifies its meaning. In a way, rather than stop reading the book and going “out into the world” proclaiming the spiritual riches and wisdom to help other souls, Dante suggests there is more: both for one’s own learning of the spiritual source and nature, and, to find the energy that can “fuel” and amplify this mission.

This would also align with Dante’s own process, and might indicate what lies underneath the Comedy and why it has its enduring effect over seven centuries.

It also connects back to the opening phrase in Canto III of the Comedy;

la divina podestate,
la somma sapienza
e ’l primo amore

These are the primary aspects of God.
Infinite Power, Wisdom and Love.

So right at the beginning of Canto XXI in Paradiso, we continue the journey into God, and Beatrice cannot smile, and there is no music. We need to recalibrate. The source is coming much nearer. And the Ladder is opening a cosmic torrent of energy, to be channeled into the mission, and into the deeper understanding of Being itself.

New Blog for Paradiso.