The Sweetest Taste

Recently, Ana and I attended Easter Mass at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Honolulu. The minister urged the congregants to go beyond simply believing the doctrines of Christianity and to actually encounter the risen Christ. He spoke of the first Easter when Mary Magdalene encountered Jesus in the garden three days after the crucifixion. The risen Jesus was initially unrecognized by the woman who was one of his closest disciples. Then the Master looked at her and said “Mary.” The veil was lifted from her eyes and she exclaimed “Rabbi!” Her beloved Teacher was not dead. Their relationship had not ended.

Religion—the deep intimate bond between a mortal and the Immortal—can never be experienced or understood through doctrine alone. The scriptures of the theistic religions describe ancient encounters between God and other beings, our own spiritual ancestors. But our saints of all faiths urge us to go beyond reading about the religious experiences of others to taste love of God for ourselves.

The tastes of the world can be sweet and varied. But they are ultimately short-lived and endlessly mixed with bitter tastes. Without tasting the fruits of religious experience, we will not be able to resist absorption, compulsion and addiction to the fleeting tastes of material life.

In the Vedic texts of India, God is described as Rasaraja—the King of all Rasas, or Tastes. This echoes the Psalmist who said, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.” The key to a sustained and motivated spiritual path in this Ashram of the World is to taste the immortal joy which is right before us. God is all around us, like the water which encircles a sea creature. As we serve the Highest through all our actions, we will taste the Goodness of God—a ‘food’ which nourishes the soul.

And as we learn to listen intently with our inner heart, one day we may hear God speak our name, as Jesus spoke to Mary so long ago. We will hear our name in a whisper on the breeze or amidst the bird songs of a forest or even rising above the noise of a crowded street. Our Master, our Friend, our Beloved calls us by name to taste the sweetness of a Relationship which has long been forgotten but never lost. This is the resurrection we seek—the revival of a deep, deep relationship with Divinity which brings the greatest joy and peace.