Spirituality from Below

Spirituality as a path to find God is important to many people. Anselm Grün, a German Benedictine monk and author of around 300 books, offers deep insights on spirituality. In his book, Heaven Begins Within You: Wisdom from the Desert Fathers, the monk discusses two types of spirituality: spirituality from above and spirituality from below. Spirituality from above takes the form of moralized theology and operates from the top down. The monk says that the spirituality from above presents high ideals that we are supposed to translate into reality. Some typical ideals of spirituality from above are selfless love, self-control, freedom from anger, and mastery of sexual desire.[1] 

Often, spirituality from above can fail and lead one to inner division. The monk says, “We identify so intensely with our ideals that we repress our own weak points and limits because they clash with the ideal. That leads to inner division.”[2] The inner conflict created by the gap between the ideal and the reality leads one to cover up the shadow side and project it onto others. One often becomes hard against others. 

People following the spirituality from above can be very pious but may remain untransformed by their prayer. Some pious individuals take flight from their own reality into religion. They simply use piety and religion to lift themselves over others to confirm their superiority.[3] In the long run, such a state can make people rigid, arrogant, ritualistic, lacking in self-awareness, brutal, and hard to live with. 

In place of spirituality from above, Grün, drawing from the wisdom of the desert fathers, proposes the spirituality from below. The spirituality from below invites us to begin with ourselves and our passions. Evagrius Ponticus (c. 346-399 AD), a prominent figure in early monasticism, spent the last 14 years of his life in the Egyptian desert and wrote extensively on prayer, contemplation, and overcoming vices. He said, “If you want to know God, learn to know yourself first!”[4] The way to God is through self-knowledge. “Without self-knowledge we are always in danger of having our ideas of God turn into mere projections.”[5]  

The spirituality from below is grounded in reality and starts with self-awareness and acceptance, rather than abstract and perfect ideals. Can we begin our way to God by daring to look internally at ourselves and our passions? 

[1] Gruen, A. (1999). Heaven begins within you. A Crossroad Book. 

[2] Gruen, A. (1999). Heaven begins within you.

[3] Gruen, A. (1999). Heaven begins within you.

[4] Evagrius Ponticus in Gruen, A. (1999). Heaven begins within you.

[5] Gruen, A. (1999). Heaven begins within you.