Swarnendu Dam
Visiting Professor, Sister Nivedita University
Abstract: Doris Lessing, in The Memoirs of a Survivor, presents a dystopian future where society has broken down due to the Crisis. My paper explores the possibility of reading Memoirs as a visionary fiction by analyzing (1) how spirituality can bring the necessary equilibrium or harmony in a socially degenerative and psychologically chaotic dystopian society and (2) the Sufi allegory through the narrator’s mystic and visionary excursions into the other world. My paper re-reads the Sufi allegory of The Memoirs of a Survivor in an elaborate manner while exploring the resonances of Hindu and Baul notions as well. The Hindu Baul understanding of Memoirs complements the Sufi understanding of the novel and guides the readers to a world of spiritual harmony.
Keywords: Dystopia, Spirituality, Science fiction, Visionary fiction, Mysticism
I. Introduction:
“Who am I?” and “What does my existence mean?” These are two eternal questions that have perplexed every self-aware individual since time immemorial. Although these questions arguably were at the core of both the scientific and literary disciplines, these disciplines are still commonly regarded at loggerheads with each other. There is, however, another domain of knowledge which addresses the same two questions; that is spirituality. In the twenty-first century science fiction is explored under various subgenres like dystopia, cyberpunk, biopunk, ecopunk, solar punk and so on. My paper studies Doris Lessing’s The Memoirs of a Survivor [which is considered, read and interpreted as a proto-science fiction] as visionary fiction. Visionary fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates New Age or mind, body, and spirit themes and viewpoints, such as mysticism, consciousness expansion, and parapsychology (Langstaff).
Fredric Jameson claims that “[one] of the most significant potentialities of SF as a form is precisely [its] capacity to provide something like an experimental variation on our own empirical universe” (Jameson 270). Damien Broderick claims that science fiction is fundamentally metaphorical and metonymic, employing these techniques to create a sense of simultaneous verisimilitude and estrangement (Roberts 12). Darko Suvin’s concept of cognitive estrangement, which he defines as the interaction between cognition, which helps us grasp the text, and estrangement, which separates us from our empirical experience, forms the basis for this understanding of the forces at play in science fiction (Suvin 37). Science fiction is “increasingly recognized for its ability to articulate complex and multifaceted responses to contemporary uncertainties and anxieties, and metaphors drawn from SF have acquired considerable cultural resonance” (Wolmark 156). Agnieszka Podruczna, thus, opines “the genre opens itself to re-presentation and symbolic reimagining, and, by extension, lends itself particularly well to counter-discursive practices” (Podruczna 112). All these definitions and interpretations of science fiction as a genre are perfectly suitable to define and interpret visionary fiction which I am going to explore in detail soon. Just like science fiction, spirituality and visionary fiction too are based on the speculations of [super]human capabilities human beings which though empirically unproven, are believed to be experientially true by many [emphasis added]. While science fiction speculates the external capabilities, visionary fiction tends to speculate the internal realities.
Contemporary authors forming Visionary Fiction Alliance define visionary fiction as:
“[it] embraces spiritual and esoteric wisdom, often from ancient sources, and makes it relevant for our modern life. Gems of this spiritual wisdom are brought forth in story form so that readers can experience the wisdom from within themselves. Visionary fiction emphasizes the future and envisions humanity’s transition into evolved consciousness. While there is a strong spiritual theme, it in no way proselytizes or preaches” (“Visionary Fiction Alliance” para. 1).
The phrase “visionary fiction” was first proposed by Renée Weber, a philosophy professor at Rutgers University, and adopted by John Algeo in a 1982 paper presenting modern examples and earlier precursors, even though identical themes and substance may be found in the literature of many countries and eras (Algeo 149–152). By the year 2000 visionary fiction had recognition as a distinct genre (Langstaff). In an interview the writer and activist Walidah Imarisha differentiates visionary fiction from science fiction (Exangel):
“Part of the reason I wanted to create this term was to be able to talk about science fiction (and the other genres mentioned) and be able to differentiate from mainstream science fiction which so often just replicated the power inequalities of this world and grafts them onto the future” (para. 2).
In order to establish Memoirs as a visionary fiction, my paper studies (1) how spirituality can bring the necessary equilibrium or harmony in a socially degenerative and psychologically chaotic dystopian society and (2) the Sufi allegory through the narrator’s mystic and visionary excursions into the other world. My analysis will explore the philosophical connection between mystical / spiritual ideas of Sufism on the one hand and Hinduism as well as Sahajiya Baul tradition of Bengal, India on the other – as Lessing herself observes “all religions and types of mysticism say the same thing in different words” (Lessing: 1989, 460). Seen through the Hindu Baul lense, Lessing’s own crisis seems familiar, relatable and might be seen as metaphors for states of mind not just of people living in a post industrial world but metaphors for what the mind can become when enmeshed in the material / Maya. The spiritual fantasy mode supports the narrative to be placed in a dystopian world which is an objective correlative of a disturbed human mind moving to another astral level by learning to activate the kundalini and thereby achieving necessary harmony. The Hindu Baul understanding of Memoirs complements the Sufi understanding of the novel and guides the readers to a world of spiritual harmony.
II. Sufi Mysticism & Lessing:
Lessing seeks a harmonious interaction between the rational, psychological and spiritual modes of perceiving “reality” in both her personal life and her writings (Fahim 17). Lessing’s narrative techniques correspondingly encompass realistic modes as well as speculative and mythic techniques. Lessing’s fiction is commonly divided into three distinct phases. During her Communist phase [1944-1956] of writing, she concentrated on how one’s view of reality is influenced by the intellectual, social, and material circumstances of the period. In her psychological phase [1956-1969], she elaborates on the necessity of a shift inward – a descent into the unconscious. In her Sufi phase [1970s], in which Memoirs is written, Lessing realizes that the only way for human beings to break free from predetermined repetition and avoid catastrophe is via the fullest development of all their faculties – the rational, psychological and intuitive.
From the Age of Enlightenment through various iterations of Marxism, humanistic thought has been based on the belief that the power of reason may lead to human liberation. The idea that there may be a system of social organization in which each individual’s potential can be fully realized is the main theme of Marx’s strategy. According to Marx, an individual’s troubles will be solved if his life circumstances let him fully realize his potential as a social creature. On the other hand, humanistic psychology has looked to the unrealized potential of the unconscious, which it claims is the root of an individual’s estrangement and sense of helplessness. We may draw the logical connection from this and determine the justification for Lessing’s partial adherence to Marxism and Jungian psychodynamics.
Lessing uses the motif of descent, which refers to the psychological descent into the unconscious to come to terms with its dark dimensions – that part of the potential unconscious that must be gradually assimilated into consciousness if the personality is to achieve integration and balance. This procedure, which Jung called the “process of individuation” (Fahim 7), illuminates the efforts made by Lessing’s characters to strike a balance both inside themselves and between the ego consciousness and the collective unconscious. As a first step toward a positive and harmonious relationship with the community, the goal of descent is to confront and acknowledge the underlying divide in the personal and collective unconscious.
Lessing’s steadfast pursuit of the balancing route led her to investigate Jungian and Laingian psychology and ultimately brought her to Sufism. The notions of Jungian psychology are complemented by Laing’s view that Western man is estranged from society and divided within himself and can only be saved through an inner journey. The fact that psychiatry is restricted to the domain of science limits the work of Laing and Jung from exploring the realm of “the higher consciousness” (Bakhtiar 106). It is that realm of “higher consciousness” explored by Sufi philosophy which according to Shadia S. Fahim is the motif of ascent to higher levels of perception – to a transcendental realm referred to by the Sufis as tajalli – a state “indicating a breakthrough of the limitations of time and space” (Bakhtiar 28).
The Sufis assert that in order to reach the state known as tajalli, in which a person surpasses the confines of ordinary experience, one must activate the latifa, an incipient organ of spiritual awareness. Lessing observes that man has the capacity for conscious self-development, becoming capable – with his own efforts and under a certain kind of expert guidance – of transcending common limitations. Lessing’s mysticism is not a retreat into a mode which is “regressive, irrational and religious” (Shah 348) as Ingrid Holmquist asserts, but on the contrary it indicates the seriousness of her commitment, because it is a means of deepening her understanding of “the nature of the world we live in” and strengthening hope in the potential of the individual “to serve mankind” (Shah 350).
Even though Marxist ideas and the Sufi transcendental experience are incompatible, both are concerned with realizing each person’s potential in connection to the rest of the world. Furthermore, the motif of fall into the unconscious is significant in both Sufism and psychology, but although it is seen as the conclusion of the psychological journey in psychology, it is seen as the first step in Sufism’s ascension to mystical heights.
From the beginning of her career Lessing has been interested in finding ways to help individuals reach their potential. It is the driving force behind her canon and acts as the link between her commitment to Marxist theory, the psychology of Jung and Laing and Sufi philosophical thought. In that context, maintaining the harmony or equilibrium between three poles of reality – the rational, psychological and intuitive – becomes a preferred way to view life from a multi-layered mode of perception.
III. Seeking Spiritual Harmony in Dystopian Cacophony:
Dystopia which is usually understood to be “utopia’s twentieth-century doppelgänger” (Gordin, Tilley, and Prakash) is best exemplified by science and political fiction. A dystopia is a hypothetical unwanted or terrifying group or culture. It is frequently used as an opposite of utopia, a term Sir Thomas More coined and which serves as the title of his best-known work. Published in 1516, Utopia outlines a plan for an ideal society with a minimum amount of crime, violence, and poverty. Environmental catastrophe, despotic governments, widespread anxiety or distress, and other traits indicative of a catastrophic fall in civilization are frequently present in dystopias.
The story of Lessing’s Memoirs takes place in a near-future Britain where society has broken down due to an unspecified disaster, referred to as “The Crisis”. By the start of the novel, the situation in the society is starting to deteriorate as the edifice of the past society crumbles. Many aspects of the old civilization are still there in the new society that develops after it collapses, but it is fundamentally different. Empty shelves and people leaving the city are two signs of a food scarcity mentioned by the narrator. There is rationing in place, and when gangs move block by block through the city, they target locals. The entity that functions as the post-crisis nation’s government is unable to solidify its power and has little influence over the public. While schools for the poor serve as an army apparatus and are created to control the populace, education is available to those who pose as the wealthier survivors. Although there is still little commercial activity, finding unusual products requires scavenging.
The equilibrium between the cognitive, psychological, and intuitive abilities is completely destroyed in a dystopian society. The first requirement for surviving in the dystopian society is to restore the lost balance. One can separate themselves psychologically from their environment through spiritual awakening, which helps him remain composed under pressure situations. Since one can neither control nor change the external reality, one might learn to reconcile the external reality by adjusting the internal one.
Lessing’s familiarity with Sufism began when she became a student of the Sufi master Idries Shah, following her completion of The Golden Notebook. Lessing, a writer with Sufi influences, believes that the only way for humans to break free from planned recurrence and avoid tragedy is through the fullest development and balancing of all their faculties. If we do not get our faculties back in balance, she fears the worst for the future of the human race – probably creation of a dystopia.
The fundamental principle of Sufi philosophy is to cultivate “intuitive” modes of consciousness to balance out the rational mode in order to attain harmony between the rational and non-rational modes of consciousness. The Sufis believed that when man’s understanding is one-dimensional and restricted to only intellectual ways of cognition. This one-dimensional mode prevents alternative forms of consciousness, which limits if not distorts our perception of reality. According to Lessing, the Sufi path is a source of wisdom that can help individuals overcome their limited cognitive abilities as a key to a deeper comprehension of reality, enabling them to act on reality more effectively. In “In the World, Not of It”, she quotes and praises Shah on that issue:
“…you cannot approach Sufism until you are able to think that a person quite ordinary in appearance and in life can experience higher states of mind. Sufism believes itself to be the substance of that current which can develop man to a higher stage in his evolution. It is not contemptuous of the world. ‘Be in the world and not of it’ is the aim” (qtd. Bakhtiar 10-15).
IV. Mystic Allegories in The Memoirs of a Survivor – Sufi, Hindu & Baul Traditions:
After exploring the need for spirituality in the attainment of equilibrium, it is important to analyze the mystic subtext in Memoirs. My analysis includes a re-reading of the mystic allegories in the context of Hindu and Sahajiya Baul traditions. My study explores not only the independent Hindu and Baul ideas in Lessing’s novel but also the philosophical connection between Sufi and Hindu Baul thoughts. Whereas Hinduism is an Indian religion or dharma, a religious and universal order or way of life, the Baul are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam’s Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitute both a syncretic religious sect of troubadours and a musical tradition. Bauls are a very heterogeneous group, with many sects, but their membership mainly consists of Vaishnava Hindus and Sufi Muslims.
The narrator of Memoirs is a nameless middle-aged woman. According to Hindu spiritual philosophy, discarding one’s birth name and becoming nameless is the very first step of one’s spiritual journey. ‘My name is _____’ and ‘I am _____’ give us epistemological and ontological security which in turn feeds our aham or ego with false knowledge (for everything we ‘know’ about ourselves is taught by our parents or other authority figures). Discarding one’s name and embracing the question ‘Who am I?’ is the beginning of spiritual seeking in Hinduism as “embarking on the spiritual path in earnest is like being re-born in a way – like taking on a new identity” (Savitri). The nameless narrator of Memoirs is indeed in the path of spiritual seeking which I am going to explore now.
Nancy S. Hardin in her article “Doris Lessing and the Sufi Way” comments that there are two groups of characters in Memoirs: firstly, those who are acutely aware of the tragedy and its terrible effects and who perceive their current existential predicament as a bondage that they must escape, and secondly, those who are unaware of this bondage. The female narrator falls under the first category. She is not only aware of the apparent collapse of civilization as a result of some sort of natural catastrophe, but she is also perceptive enough to see its true root, which is not so much the natural disaster as it is the inhabitants’ ignorance of and incapacity to escape from their bonds. This relates to the idea of maya [illusion] that is found in the mystic branches of Hinduism.
Maya having its roots in Rig Veda (X.177.1-3) and Atharva Veda (VIII.10.22) has multiple meanings in Indian philosophies depending on the context. Maya connotes that which “is constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal” (Hiriyanna 25) [in opposition to an unchanging Absolute, or Brahman], and therefore “conceals the true character of spiritual reality” (Foulston and Abbott 14-16). In the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, the potent force known as maya is what gives rise to the cosmic delusion that the phenomenal world is real. Lynn Foulston states, “The world is both real and unreal because it exists but is ‘not what it appears to be’” (14-16). According to Wendy Doniger, “to say that the universe is an illusion (maya) is not to say that it is unreal; it is to say, instead, that it is not what it seems to be, that it is something constantly being made. Māyā not only deceives people about the things they think they know; more basically, it limits their knowledge” (119).
As the narrator is isolated from her two neighbors by walls, Lessing uses walls as one of the symbols to represent the bounds of space. The narrator has unique sentiments for them and is acutely aware of their symbolic significance. This wall creates a threshold between two worlds: the personal world, the world of “puppets” (Lessing: 1974, 136) and prisoners, and the “impersonal” (Lessing: 1974, 41) world, the world of “lightness, freedom, and possibility” (Lessing: 1974, 41). The female protagonist’s travel between the two worlds is suggestive of a person who is developing original connections between various levels of perception and who has subsequently found a favorable way of survival. In Hinduism this kind of movement represents the mystic idea of “astral projection” while one is in a meditative state.
The word “astral projection” is used in esotericism to refer to a purposeful out-of-body experience that presupposes the presence of an “astral body” – a subtle body – that allows human consciousness to operate independently of the physical body and move around the astral plane (Crow 691–717). Early concepts of the subtle body or in Sanskrit – sūkṣma śarīra – appeared in the Upanishads, including the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and the Katha Upanishad. The Taittiriya Upanishad describes the theory of five koshas or sheaths, though these are not to be considered as concentric layers, but interpenetrating at progressive levels of subtlety: the anna-maya kosha (“food body”, physical body, the grossest level), the prana-maya kosha (body made of vital breath or prana), the mano-maya kosha (body made of mind), the vijñana-maya kosha (body made of consciousness) and the ananda-maya kosha (bliss body, the subtlest level) (Mallinson and Singleton 184).
Similar ideas such as the Liṅga Śarīra are found in ancient Hindu scriptures such as, the YogaVashishta-Maharamayana of Valmiki. Astral projection is one of the Siddhis which are tangible, phantasmagorical, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that result from yogic advancement through sadhanas such as meditation and yoga (White and Wujastyk 34). It is achievable by yoga practitioners through self-disciplined practice. Paramahansa Yogananda, who allegedly saw Swami Pranabananda perform a miracle via astral projection, is one of the contemporary Indians who has supported the age-old concept of astral projection. (Yogananda Chapter 3). Meher Baba, an Indian spiritual teacher, described one’s use of astral projection:
“In the advancing stages leading to the beginning of the path, the aspirant becomes spiritually prepared for being entrusted with free use of the forces of the inner world of the astral bodies. He may then undertake astral journeys in his astral body, leaving the physical body in sleep or wakefulness. One can, at will, put on and take off the external gross body as if it were a cloak, and use the astral body for experiencing the inner world of the astral and for undertaking journeys through it, if and when necessary… The ability to undertake astral journeys therefore involves considerable expansion of one’s scope for experience. It brings opportunities for promoting one’s own spiritual advancement, which begins with the involution of consciousness” (Baba 90-91).
The wall separating the two worlds at the end becomes a screen of forest through which Emily, Gerald, her boyfriend, and their dog walk through into the other world – an open space under the “thunderous and glaring clouds” (Lessing: 1974, 212). The other world is the symbolic respresentation of the world after spiritual awakening. In a sufi context, by activating the latifa – an incipient organ of spiritual perception, it is possible to achieve the state called tajalli in which the characters of Memoirs ultimately transcends the limitation of physical time and space.
In Sufi spiritual psychology, lataif-e-sitta refers to particular organs of perception, to subtle human capacities for experience and action. The phrase lataif-e-sitta translates to “six subtleties”, and the underlying Arabic word latifa [singular] signifies “subtlety” [although the number of lataif can differ depending on the specific Sufi tradition]. All lataif [plural] together are understood to make up the human “subtle body”, known as the Jism Latif (Almaas 143). The realisation, activation, awakening, or illumination of each individual lataif’s experience [and, consequently, the Jism Latif as a whole] is regarded as a crucial component of the all-encompassing spiritual growth that results in the Sufi ideal of a Complete Man or Al-Insān al-Kāmil.
This concept of Sufism has a strikingly similar counterpart in Sahajiya Baul traditon. In Sahajiya Baul Parampara which is influenced by Tantric philosophy, Sahajiya Vaishnavism, Sakta yoga, and Sufism (McDaniel 27), the awakening of the supreme energy concealed in Kundalini is thought to hold the potential for the discovery of the inner self. The belief held that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions – firstly, sthula sarira [physical body] and secondly, sukshma sarira [psychological, emotional, non-physical subtle body]. It is believed that the body and the mind are interdependent and that the psyche or mental plane corresponds to and interacts with the physical plane. Following Professor Madhu Khanna, an eminent Tantric scholar from Oxford, Arup Kumar Bag in his article “Sahajiya Lalon Kavya: Exploring the Essence of ‘Kundalini Yoga’ (of Tantrism) with Special Reference to the Selected Lyrics of Fakir Lalon Shah” writes:
“Kundalini is a hierarchical astral structure that resides within the human body from the bottom of the spine to the brain. It contains Seven-Chakras [a particular pattern; each containing lotuses different in colours and petal numbers]… they are – Muladhar [The root chakra, situated at the base of spine) Swadhisthana [at genitals] Manipur [at naval], Anahala [at heart], Visudha [at throat], Ajna [between the eyebrows, considered to be the third eye] and Saharsrar [The Crown Chakra, at Head]” (23).
When Kundalini is awakened, it can spread throughout the body and lift the soul to a higher spiritual plane. Kundalini is in an unconscious state that is under a Yoga [the eternal sleep] and can be awakened through strict, austere discipline. In order to distinguish between our astral and physical bodies, we use chakras. How to master these chakras is now the question. The chakras cannot be mastered by mental peace and austere devotion only. What is required is a flow, which is why yoga practitioners consider pranayama to be one of the best methods for mastering the chakras. Pranayama is described by Macdonell as “the suspension of breath” (185). Arup Kumar Bag writes:
“… through Pranayama, we can regulate our lives. The whole of the process of Pranayama is done by taking the air in and spitting the air out which is called Purak and Rechak respectively. Though there is another stage which is important – to hold the breath that is called Kumbhak… The Pranayama is a process where the air that is sucked in, goes into the Muladhar, the Root chakra; and from there it spreads to the other ones” (25).
Lataif are only experienced directly by those human beings who have undergone a spiritual evolution similar to that of Pranayama in the context of Kundalini. The spiritual process of activation or awakening or illumination of Lataif consists of various methods, singly or in combination. A unique form of muraqabah, or meditation, involves the seeker focusing concentration on the body part associated with a latifa. (Shah 332). The goal of the Islamic practise known as muraqabah is a transcendental connection with God. One gains insight into one’s relationship with creator and surroundings through muraqabah, which involves watching over one’s heart and soul (Ashraf 41).
The spiritual process of activation / awakening / illumination of lataif leads to tajalli. In Islamic theoretical mysticism, tajalli refers to the manifestation and revelation of God as truth. (Knysh). It is a method by which God manifests Himself in concrete forms. In “The Language of the Future Sufi Terminology”, Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi writes:
“[Tajalli] means Allah’s unveiling of Himself to His creatures… They are the lights of the Unseen which are unveiled to hearts. They are the signs which Allah has placed within ourselves in order that He may be seen. Each tajalli pours more light and still more light upon whomsoever it falls, for Eternity (emphasis mine)… those who have tasted know, and those who have not tasted do not know. Tajalli is beyond words. Tajalli is bewilderment” (para. 1).
The idea of tajalli is closely associated with the idea of enlightenment or kundalini jagaran or bodhi gyan. Attaining bodhi involves the knowledge that liberation is attained by mindfulness or dhyana, applied to the understanding of the arising and ceasing of craving. Yogic practices like Kundalini yoga enrich us through the inner sanctum of spirituality and enlighten us about self-knowledge which is the most important and hardest discipline of all. Virananda Giri, an Indian Tantric scholar, writes in his Constructive Philosophy of India (Tantra): “Indian spiritualism or Sadhna is directed towards self realization, or self-emancipation. Jiva or the individual self is no other than Siva in a state of self-obliviousness” (207).
The One carrying individuals over the “threshold” (Lessing: 1974, 213) into the other world is then seen to the narrator in a thousand brief flashes. As the final walls vanish into obscurity, the street thugs Emily, Gerald, and his kids all follow the One. Who is this mysterious One that “was showing them the way out of this collapsed little world into another order of world altogether?” (Lessing: 1974, 213). The One is perhaps the mysterious agent that guides the narrator on her spiritual journey of change. As a result of her guide’s spiritual inspiration, the narrator feels positive changes in her:
“Because of this feeling, born of the experiences behind the wall, I was changing. A restlessness, a hunger that had been with me all my life, that had always been accompanied by a rage of protest… was being assuaged” (100).
Along with other characters, the narrator experiences spiritual growth as a result of these transformations, which helps her perceive the mystic alternatives to existence that are not based on the constraints of worldliness. It can be assumed that the unidentified agent who assisted the narrator in weakening and ultimately dissolving the wall is the same person who, at the book’s conclusion, brings Gerald, Emily, and others through the wall and into the other world.
In this sense, the novel’s larger suggestion is that the One is most likely the mysterious guide or guru found in almost all branches of spirituality – Sufism, Hinduism, Baul, Buddhism, Jainism – that not only has helped the characters survive the dystopia, but he/she has helped them break the symbolic bondage of walls to enter the new world of freedom. Even Lessing writes about the importance of a spiritual guide: “…in this area [spiritual path] one should have a guide, otherwise the journey can be dangerous” (Lessing: 1989, 460).
Both Sahajiya and Tantrism, for example, hold the supreme place for Guru as one cannot attain salvation in this hurdle path without the guidance of Guru (Dimock 199-200). The Tantric-philosophy and practices are Guru-mukhi which means they cannot be learned only through books; one needs a guide to pierce through the understandings. Guru is the guiding principle in all the Tantra traditions including the Vaishnav Sahajiya tradition. Edward Dimock writes:
“The Sahajiyas had of course more valid reason to keep their teaching5 secret, and thus for the elevation of the guru as one who has himself successfully negotiated the dangerous path of sadhana, and who can therefore reveal the true meaning of the esoteric texts” (198).
Similarly, in Sufism tawajjuh [transmission] which is a method of attaining tajalli, is an intentional interaction between Sufi teacher and seeker. Another special form of tajalli involves joint receptivity of a latifa by Sufi teacher and student together (Shah 145, 334, 340).
V. Conclusion:
Sahadia S. Fahim in her book Doris Lessing and Sufi Equilibrium comments “… whereas The Golden Notebook and The Summer Before the Dark chart personal equilibrium, and Briefing for a Descent into Hell examines the reductive results of personal disequilibrium, Memoirs takes a new step by placing personal growth within a social context” (87). Memoirs is the first novel in which Lessing explores the idea of equilibrium on both a personal and societal level, looking at how it affects both older and younger generations. The main characters’ fulfillment is for others as well. Memoirs in this way negotiates between ‘conscious evolution’, which is central to Sufism, and ‘return from exile’, which is another basic tenet to that philosophy. “Be in the world and not of it”, which Lessing quotes from Shah, is the narrator’s point of wisdom in Memoirs as she alternates between detachment and involvement in the social scene.
Lessing, in Memoirs, investigates a new conception of reality in which the “bizarre” and the “everyday” coexist. The female protagonist’s travel between the two worlds is suggestive of a person who is developing creative connections between various levels of perception and who has subsequently discovered a favourable way of survival. In this way, Memoirs establishes itself as a visionary fiction as Lessing speculates human being’s spiritual capability to counter dystopia with spiritual awakening.
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Swarnendu Dam is an independent researcher currently working on the marginalization of communities found in the Speculative Dystopian Narratives and its connection with socio-politico-material realities. He has been working as a visiting faculty in Sister Nivedita University since November, 2022. He completed his graduation from Bidhannagar Government College under West Bengal State University in 2020 and post graduation from West Bengal State University with a Gold Medal in 2022. He qualified UGC NET twice – during the 3rd and the 4th Semester of Post Graduation. He is an associate member of Centre for Studies in Gender, Culture and Media, West Bengal State University since 2021. He has worked as a Research Assistant under Dr. Abhijeet Paul, University of California, Barkley on the issue of Environmental and Community Justice.
Email: swarnendu.1998.sd@gmail.com
[Volume 5, Number 1, 2023]
