Commentary on the Odes of Solomon – by Swami Nirmalananda Giri
Avoiding Evil
My hope is upon the Lord, and I will not fear.
And because the Lord is my salvation, I will not fear.
And He is as a garland on my head, and I shall not be moved.
Even if everything should be shaken, I stand firm.
And if all things visible should perish, I shall not die.
Because the Lord is with me, and I am with Him. Alleluia.
(The Fifth Ode of Solomon)
There are two ways to “look at” Divinity. One is to see It as absolutely distinct from ourselves and therefore outside us. The other is to see It as absolutely one with us, and therefore within us. The results of these two views are quite different in their effect on us. One produces anxiety, insecurity, and even fear–though there may be occasional patches of “faith” and “hope” to artificially relieve the unease. The other produces confidence, tranquility, and inner strength. Those that subscribe to the “outside” view of God continually speak of the need for “trusting in” and “surrendering to” God, developing a total and pious dependence on God, firm in a conviction of their nothingness and valuelessness. Those that hold to the “inner” view are intent on the necessity for self-knowledge and the liberation of their inner potential to manifest the Divine. One group sees themselves as sinners, the other sees themselves as embryonic gods. What a totally different world these two live in! And more: what a totally different world is created or shaped by those who hold such views.
Some friends of mine had a very successful Montessori school. Quite a few of their students were “behavior problems” that were rejected by the public school system. One five-year-old had been expelled from as many schools as his age. In his second or third week of attendance he did something “bad.” He looked at one of the teachers and said: “I’m a little ‘devil’ aren’t I?” She smiled and replied: “Not to me. I think you are a little angel.” The poor boy was utterly flummoxed. “I am an angel?” he asked, his voice expressing total amazement. “Yes; you are to me,” she answered. And from that moment on his behavior was ideal. Because he really was an angel, but had not known it.
The real Gospel–Good News–of authentic Christianity is that of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Our Christ nature is potential and must be brought forth, but we have no other nature to manifest. It is just a matter of now or later.
Once we realize that the Lord is our inmost being, the words of the Ode become extremely clear. The only comment needed is this poem of Emily Bronte:
No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere:
I see Heaven’s glories shine,
And Faith shines equal, arming me from Fear.
O God within my breast,
Almighty, ever-present Deity!
Life, that in me has rest,
As I, undying Life, have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men’s hearts: unutterably vain;
Worthless as withered weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by Thy infinity,
So surely anchored on
The steadfast rock of Immortality.
With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and moon were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou wert left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou–thou art Being and Breath,
And what thou art may never be destroyed.
More on the Odes of Solomon:
Odes of Solomon – text
Commentary on the Odes of Solomon:
1. The Crown of Life
2. Clothed in Love
3. The Changeless God and Ever-changing Man
4. Love, Hope, and Joy
5. Avoiding Evil
6. The Song of the Holy Spirit
7. Rejoice in the Lord!
8. The Meeting of the Two
1) Colossians 1:27
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