Seeing with the Eyes of Love by Eknath Easwaran is a practical commentary on The Imitation of Christ, a Christian devotional classic of the early 15th century, believed to be the work of Thomas à Kempis. Easwaran's commentary emphasizes how to translate the Imitation into daily living with the aid of spiritual practices. Seeing with the Eyes of Love was originally published in the United States in 1991. A German translation was published in 1993, and a second U.S. edition was published in 1996. The book has been reviewed in newspapers,<ref name=bonsaint92/> magazines,<ref name=spbr92/> and websites.
Background At the time Seeing with the Eyes of Love was published in 1991, Eknath Easwaran had served as a spiritual teacher in California since the 1960s. Easwaran taught a nonsectarian method of meditation used by spiritual aspirants within many major religious traditions, both eastern and western. Easwaran's writings include commentaries on both easternEaswaran's eastern scriptural commentaries include Essence of the Upanishads and Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, and he has published spiritual biographies of Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. and westernFor western traditions, Easwaran has published a commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, and has commented on Saints Francis, Paul, Augustine, and Mother Teresa. scriptures and spiritual figures.
Raised in South India as a Hindu, Easwaran drew inspiration also from the Christian tradition, explaining that "the message of Christ first reached me" through the lives of individual Christians, such as his college headmaster, Father John Palakaran.Writing about Father John Palakaran, Easwaran explains that "I have had the good fortune to know quite a number of Christian men and women like him, both Protestants and Catholics, who led truly selfless lives... the lamp 'set high for all men to see'... they helped me to understand that the selfless life of which all the world's scriptures speak is also a life of beauty." (Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996 edition, p. 11) For spiritual inspiration, Easwaran reported that
Content Chapter Title Verse Discussed(from Imitation 3.5)The Imitation translation used in this book is nearly identical to the translation given by Easwaran in God Makes the Rivers to Flow, which he states (p. 321) is based on a translation by Anthony Hoskins (circa 1613).1.All Shall Rejoice Ah, Lord God, thou holy lover of my soul, when thou comest into my heart, all that is within me shall rejoice. Thou art my glory and the exultation of my heart: thou art my hope and refuge in the day of my trouble.2.Weak in Love But because I am as yet weak in love, and imperfect in virtue, I have need to be strengthened and comforted by thee...The full verse reads: But because I am as yet weak in love, and imperfect in virtue, I have need to be strengthened and comforted by thee; visit me therefore often, and instruct me with all holy discipline (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 38)3.Inordinate Affections Set me free from evil passions, and heal my heart of all inordinate affections...The full verse reads: Set me free from evil passions, and heal my heart of all inordinate affections; that being inwardly cured and thoroughly cleansed, I may be made fit to love, courageous to suffer, steady to persevere. (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 62)4.A Great & Thorough Good Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good...The full verse reads: Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good; by itself it makes every thing that is heavy, light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven. For it carries a burden which is no burden, and makes every thing that is bitter, sweet and tasteful. (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 78)5.Great Things The noble love of Jesus impels one to do great things.... Love desires to be aloft.... Love desires to be free...The full set of 3 verses reads: The noble love of Jesus impels one to do great things, and stirs one up to be always longing for what is more perfect. / Love desires to be aloft, and will not be kept back by anything low and mean. / Love desires to be free, and estranged from all worldly affections, that so its inward sight may not be hindered; that it may not be entangled by any temporal prosperity, or by any adversity subdued. (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 96)6.Nothing Fuller Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing more courageous, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant...The full verse reads: Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing more courageous, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller nor better in heaven and earth; because love is born of God, and cannot rest but in God, above all created things. (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 114)7.He That Loveth, Runneth He that loveth, flyeth, runneth, and rejoiceth; he is free, and cannot be held in.He giveth all for all, and hath all in all....He respecteth not the gifts....8.Love Feels No Burden Love oftentimes knoweth no measure, but is fervent beyond all measure.Love feels no burden....It is therefore able to undertake all things, and it completes many things...The full set of 3 verses reads: Love oftentimes knoweth no measure, but is fervent beyond all measure. / Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself and all things possible. / It is therefore able to undertake all things, and it completes many things, and warrants them to take effect, where he who does not love would faint and lie down. (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 146)9.Love is Watchful Love is watchful, and sleeping slumbereth not.Though weary, it is not tired...If any one love, he knoweth what is the cry of this voice....The full set of 3 verses reads: Love is watchful, and sleeping slumbereth not. / Though weary, it is not tired; though pressed, it is not straitened; though alarmed, it is not confounded; but as a lively flame and burning torch, it forces its way upwards, and securely passes through all. / If any one love, he knoweth what is the cry of this voice. For it is a loud cry in the ears of God, the mere ardent affection of the soul, when it saith, "My God, my love, thou art all mine, and I am all thine." (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 164)10.Sing the Song of Love Enlarge thou me in love...Let me be possessed by love...Let me sing the song of love....The full set of 3 verses reads: Enlarge thou me in love, that with the inward palate of my heart I may taste how sweet it is to love, and to be dissolved, and as it were to bathe myself in thy love. / Let me be possessed by love, mounting above myself through excessive fervor and admiration. / Let me sing the song of love; let me follow thee, my Beloved, on high; let my soul spend itself in thy praise, rejoicing through love. (quoted in Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996, p. 184)11.The Law of Love Let me love thee more than myself, nor love myself but for thee: and in thee all that truly love thee, as the law of love commandeth, shining out from thyself.12.Love is Subject Love is active, sincere, affectionate, pleasant, and amiable; courageous, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, manly, and never seeking itself.For in whatever instance one seeketh oneself, then he falleth from love....
The Imitation of Christ is a devotional book written in Latin ca.1418-1427,An introductory dictionary of theology and religious studies by Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff 2007 page 609 and believed to be the work of Thomas à Kempis. In Seeing with the Eyes of Love, Easwaran comments on a 30-verse section of The Imitation of Christ, a section "traditionally called 'The Wonderful Effects of Divine Love,'" (Book 3, chapter 5). To Easwaran, these verses "distill the essential teachings not just of Thomas a Kempis, but of Christianity itself."Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 1996 edition. Easwaran's 12 chapters discuss these verses in order, using them as points of departure for reflections on spiritual living and its fruits. Each chapter title is drawn from an Imitation verse (see table, right).
Easwaran' introduction explains that he regards the Imitation is "an entirely practical manual for sincere spiritual aspirants," The section discussed in Seeing with the Eyes of Love is a "soaring hymn of love" that appears in Book III, when the Imitation, now an "indisputably mystical treatise," has become a dialogue between God and the spiritual aspirant, with whom "each of us, clearly, is meant to identify." Easwaran's 20-page introduction also briefly summarizes his eight-point program of Passage Meditation.
Each chapter in the main commentary offers numerous ideas and metaphors. For example, starting in the first chapter, Easwaran comments on how a person's turn to the spiritual life can be much like falling in love: "just as great worldly romances often begin with a single, telling glance, so, very often does this one... deep within you something stirs...". Later, he draws on the metaphor of travel: "Getting ready for this inward journey is a lot like preparing for a trip... You may start by reading about it.... then slowly you begin to get serious.... you know you may have to carry your own bags, so you try to keep them light and portable...."
As the commentary proceeds in 12 chapters through the 30 Imitation verses, Easwaran often highlights what he regards as important implications of each verse. For example, with regard to the second verse in Chapter 5 ("Love desires to be aloft..."), Easwaran writes
Similarly, in Chapter 12, Easwaran addresses patience, writing that
Seeing with the Eyes of Love concludes with a 22-page afterword by Carol Flinders that profiles the Imitation's presumed author, Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 1471), and the times in which he lived.The introduction was 20 pages in the 1991 edition, and 18 in the 1996 edition. She states that the Imitation "is not so much the work of a single man as it is of an entire spiritual movement,"Carol Lee Flinders (1996). Afterword. In Eknath Easwaran, Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 2nd edition (pp. 259–280). the Brethren of the Common Life. Besides describing what is known about Thomas himself, the Afterword also profiles the founder of the Brethren, Geert Groote, as well as his chief disciple and successor, Florent Radewijns, who served as a mentor to Thomas. The Afterword also sketches the Imitation'''s influence on figures ranging from Therese of Lisieux (who memorized it) to Ignatius of Loyola to John Woolman to Dag Hammarskjöld, who carried it with him on the flight that ended in his death.The influence on Therese, Ignatius, Woolman, and Hammarskjöld is mentioned on page 259 of Carol Lee Flinders (1996). Afterword. In Eknath Easwaran, Seeing with the Eyes of Love, 2nd edition (pp. 259–280). An additional source for Therese's memorization is page 17 of An additional source for Hammarskjöld's carrying a copy when he died is page 77 of
An 8-page index is contained in the 1996 edition.
Reception
Reviews have appeared in the Prairie Messenger,BC Catholic,The Living Church,Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, (see also )The Small Press Book Review,Brothers, The 1992 issue was published by the National Assembly of Religious Brothers, which was renamed the National Association of Religious Brothers (1996), and then the Religious Brothers Conference (2000). The magazine was called Brothers in 1992, and was later called Brothers' Voice, with . and at the website "Spirituality and Practice."Frederic Brussat & Mary Ann Brussat. Untitled review of Seeing with the Eyes of Love, by Eknath Easwaran. Spirituality & Practice (website), accessed 13 September 2012.