St. John of the Cross
New Translation and Introduction
By Mirabai Starr
The first contemporary translation of a masterwork for all spiritual seekers.
from the introduction:
"The dark night is about being fully present in the tender wounded emptiness of our own souls. It's not about turning away from the pain but learning to rest in it. Rather than distracting ourselves from the simple darkness at out core, we sit with it, paying close attention. And opening our hearts to all that is left, which is love."
"The road to the divine encounter is not for the weekend adventurer... The dark night of the soul is for the seeker so on fire with love for God that she will get to him by any means necessary."
"This includes being willing to plunge into the abyss of the Unknown, the Unknowable. It is a path for the spiritually desperate."
"My own spiritual practice has always led me to a realization about emptiness, the core of consciousness. When all the forms of God fall away there is the essential sense of the sacred. That is the 'dark night' John is talking about. This work is an expression of the ineffable."
Mirabai quoted in an article in the Albuquerque Journal
Translator Puts Poetic Stamp on Mystic's Work (Carol Mell, ABQ Journal, 2/22/02)
Many people borrow the powerful phrase "dark night of the soul" to describe a period of suffering and confusion in their lives. Few are aware that the origin of these words lie with the great sixteenth century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz). For John, the dark night is an excruciating but necessary step of the spiritual journey wherein all familiar spiritual feelings and concepts of God dry up and fall into obscurity, leaving the seeker in a state of profound emptiness. This, says John, is the true beginning of the path to union in love with the Divine.
Mirabai Starr brings this mystical classic to a contemporary audience with her new translation and introduction: Dark Night of the Soul (Riverhead Books, Penguin Putnam, 2002). Using fresh language, Mirabai blends the sensibilities of a poet with the insights of a life-long seeker to render the subtle teachings of the contemplative path accessible to readers of all traditions. This translation offers people tangible guidance and hope during times of doubt and distress.
St. John of the Cross originally composed "One Dark Night" as a poem. At the age of twenty-nine, John was imprisoned by mainstream Carmelites as a consequence of his efforts to support his spiritual mentor, St. Teresa of Avila, in her reform movement. After nine months of torture, he miraculously escaped and took refuge among Teresa's nuns. Following an experience of mystical union, the poem flowed from John's quill as an ecstatic outpouring of divine love. Because the teachings of the mystical path were encoded in the intensely sensual imagery of poetry, the monks and nuns under his care begged Fr. John to interpret the verses in concrete theological terms that they could apply to their own spiritual progress. And so he wrote the brilliant prose commentary on the "dark night of the soul."
Walking the reader step by step through the poem, John describes the spiritual quest as a process of surrendering to radical unknowing. He points out that the first stage of the inner journey is frequently marked by dramatic religious phenomena and feelings of spiritual connectedness. One's path may appear to be clear and certain, one's strong faith bright. Then, often for no obvious reason, those juicy feelings that once accompanied spiritual practice begin to dry up. As this emptying progresses, the soul finds herself unable even to conceive of the God she once so effortlessly worshipped. This, says John, is when God sets the soul on her own two feet and invites her into the annihilating fire of love, where her deepest longings are fulfilled.
Until now, this masterpiece of mystical literature has been out of range to all but those willing to wade through the dense and archaic verbiage of the literal translations. With her lyrical style and universal approach, Mirabai Starr offers a version of Dark Night of the Soul that sings with the music that earned St. John of the Cross the reputation as one of the most beloved poets and mystics of all time.
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Riverhead Books
