Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality
63 pages • 2-hour read
Anthony de MelloAwareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality
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Background
Authorial Context: The Life and Posthumous Controversy of Anthony de Mello
Anthony de Mello was the oldest son in his family and was born near Mumbai, India in 1931. He joined the Society of Jesus (commonly known as the Jesuits) when he was 16 years old. The Society of Jesus is a male order of Roman Catholic priests and “brothers” that was originally founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola and was officially approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. The organization is still widespread today, and its members take vows of “poverty, chastity, and obedience,” as well as committing to accepting any “worldwide mission” that the Pope requires (“About Us.” Jesuits.org).
After studying in Barcelona and Pune, de Mello was ordained as a priest in 1961 and went on to focus on pastoral work, developing a number of seminars, presentations, and retreats. Although he held fairly rigid religious views in his youth, his philosophy gradually expanded to incorporate aspects of Buddhism and other faiths, and he actively sought out the ways the religions of the world intersected with his own. In 1972, he founded the Institute of Pastoral Counselling, which later went by the name of the Sadhana Institute.
As his in-person talks grew in popularity, de Mello became known for taking an unconventional approach to spirituality, and he developed a wide following. His stance was to deconstruct common Christian beliefs, combining them with Eastern meditations on the nature of true “awareness” (or enlightenment) in an attempt to encourage people to discard their illusions and cultural programming. For this reason, many of his works, Awareness included, are geared toward challenging a distinctly Christian audience's preconceived notions, and his anecdotes and examples often rely upon a shared understanding of Christian principles, scriptures, and dominant historical figures.
Awareness is a posthumously published collection that is based on transcripts of his various live presentations. During his lifetime, he also penned several philosophical texts, including Sadhana: A Way to God (1978) and Wellsprings (1985). De Mello’s views have enjoyed lasting popularity long after his death of a heart attack in 1987, and he is credited with influencing other well-known spiritual teachers such as Eckhart Tolle and Adyashanti. The Heart of the Enlightened (1987) and Taking Flight (1988), like Awareness, were also published posthumously.
Some controversy arose in 1998 when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (then-leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, eventually to become Pope Benedict XVI), published a notice condemning some of de Mello’s teachings, claiming them to be “incompatible” with Catholicism and a potential cause of “grave harm” because they relied too heavily on teachings from various Eastern faiths. When the Vatican instructed all of its bishops to ensure that de Mello’s works would no longer be reprinted, other sources interpreted these measures as a widening of the rift between Rome and the established clergy in Asia. The Jesuits of Ireland pointedly note that the Vatican’s decision on this matter “was poorly received by many for whom [de Mello’s] teachings had served to strengthen and deepen their faith” (“Anthony de Mello.” Jesuits in Ireland. 31 May 2017.) Today, many of de Mello’s teachings are still readily available in book form, and videos of his conferences and retreats are also easily accessible online.
Spiritual Context: Parallels between de Mello’s “Awareness” and the Eastern Concept of “Enlightenment”
As his own philosophical stance matured, Anthony de Mello incorporated aspects of Buddhism and other Eastern faiths into his understanding of Christianity, and many of his stories and homilies reflect the Buddhist idea that by “eliminating all desires and ignorance within [oneself],” it is possible to become “awakened,” or enlightened, and no longer experience the suffering that arises from “craving” (“Religions and Philosophies in China: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.” Introduction to Buddhism. Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education). In de Mello’s view, it is possible to achieve this state by becoming fully “aware” of the reality of the world and seeking to change oneself—rather than attempting to change reality to suit one’s desires and preferences. Awareness thus defines authentic spirituality as the process of “waking up” and renouncing the mechanical, programmed behaviors that keep people trapped in an endless cycle of suffering.
In accordance with this view, Anthony de Mello presents a critical distinction between the true, observing self, which he calls the “I,” and the conditioned, constructed self, the “me.” As he explains, the “me” is merely a composite of external and internal labels that people mistakenly embrace as their core identity. The “me” includes a person’s name, career, nationality, religious beliefs, and even their shifting thoughts and feelings from one moment to the next. This conditioned self is a product of people’s past experiences, societal programming, and cultural expectations. Thus, De Mello argues that suffering is not an inherent part of reality; it is generated only when the timeless “I” mistakenly identifies with the transient and vulnerable “me.”
De Mello argues that people’s habitual lack of “awareness” provides them with a false sense of comfort, and as a result, they often prefer to remain “asleep” rather than risking the discomfort that comes with profound inner change or spiritual “enlightenment.” In his own work as a psychotherapist, he often experienced intense cognitive dissonance over the dilemma of which solution to offer his clients. In his view, psychology was merely a temporary balm for people’s suffering; it could not initiate true change and had a tendency to keep people “asleep.” By contrast, he felt that people who were forced to grapple with their suffering would eventually feel compelled to change themselves and realign their worldview with authentic reality, thereby causing their suffering to dissolve of its own accord. In de Mello’s view, true spirituality begins with the honest admission that one prefers the familiar dream to the unfamiliar reality; he saw this as a crucial first step toward finally seeing the world without distortions. Thus, although his presentations are couched in language that is designed to connect with a Christian audience, many of his most fundamental beliefs also contain strong ties to the influences of Eastern faiths and philosophies.
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