Parzival at the castle of the Fisher King
The Wise One Within
There is, in different mythologies, a recurring theme of a wounded or ailing king whose sickness or corruption has blighted the land. The most familiar version of this myth occurs in the Arthur myth cycle, where the Fisher King suffers from what would normally be a slight wound, but does not heal, and he is crippled by constant pain. In myth, the king (which in his whole aspect includes feminine wisdom and compassion - often personified as his queen) represents the Soul Mind or True Self whose role is to guide, direct and support the lower self - the egoic self - to lead it with wisdom, compassion and clear sight into a higher state of being (that is, to rule justly and wisely so that the kingdom is peaceful and prosperous).
In some myths, the king-queen is corrupted rather than ailing, fallen into shadow or ‘forgetting’ its divine task, or through its own moral weakness, taken over by forces of evil. Unlike the wounded, forgotten or wrongfully deposed king, the corrupt, morally unfit king represents the ego claiming authority which it does not possess, a false king who must be deposed for he is not one with his kingdom.. but that is a whole different story.
This story is about kings like the Fisher King of the Arthurian myth cycle, Soul Kings who are wounded or fall ill or sometimes wrongfully deposed, causing the land to sicken and every part of the kingdom to suffer. In such stories, King and kingdom are one: the king suffering for his kingdom, the kingdom for its king, for like ego-mind and soul-mind, each with its own qualities and purposes, they are different aspects of one and the same thing. King or Soul Mind, inherently wise, just and true, is the natural authority; the true role of ego-mind is not to rule or make decisions, but to serve the King by conveying information about the world, and putting his decisions into action in the world.
On his first encounter with the Fisher King, and despite the wonders paraded before him, the perfect Arthurian knight, Parzival (his name means innocent fool), does all the socially correct things: he asks no questions, expresses no curiosity, and following courtly etiquette, pretends not to notice that something is very wrong with his host, the king, and that he is witnessing marvels that he does not understand.
When Parzival leaves the next morning, offended that everyone has disappeared in an apparent breach of hospitality, nothing has changed. The king is still ailing, the land still withered, and the holy grail, which he saw but did not recognise the night before, is still out of reach.
So it is when the ego believes itself to be all; acting on its limited, outer-focused, socially constructed knowledge, it ignores or is blind to the True Self, the ego’s true Overlord. It behaves like Parzival stuck in his ego, the ego which, without the guidance of its soul Overlord, is governed by the whims, passions and limited understanding of the material self with its past conditioning.
We see examples of this ego-stuckness all around us, people and even whole groups who run entirely on ego power, who are easily misled because they do not heed their inner guidance, who may be so detached from the Higher Self that they seem to lack any conscience at all. When the outer reality becomes on sole point of reference, the individual, having no inner principles of his or her own, blindly accepts the rules and laws of those in power, most of which have little to do with justice, truth, goodness or compassion.
To know the difference between right and wrong, we must learn to think for ourselves... and only the higher mind, that aspect of mind that is individual and unconditioned (Soul Mind) is capable of autonomous thinking.
We must be capable of, and willing to listen to our true ruler, our soul conscience, rather than the conscience of the superego, which is totally conditioned. Ruled by the ego-mind, we are like a sick kingdom whose citizens are lost, disoriented, and afraid, who in their confusion and fear, become selfish, harm each other, and blame everything and everyone ...except the true source of their misery, an ego that does not heed its soul.
Recently, here on the Gold Coast, two girls savagely beat an elderly man on a local bus, and at first not one passenger nor the bus driver came to his aid, until finally one man intervened. This incident made facebook, of course, where it elicited sadness and condemnation.
Yet I wondered, how many of those people said in their deepest hearts, ‘There too go I’, knowing that in a similar situation, they too would be afraid to go to another’s aid? How many of us remain silent even when there is no physical danger, only the risk of embarrassment, of acting alone, or of being sneered at for having done what is right and true?
Some say that we are built that way, that selfishness, self-protection, violence and fearfulness are built into our genes. Rubbish! We have an instinct for self-preservation, as does every living thing, even the tiniest microbe, and we have minds capable of making ethical, altruistic choices. Even microbes can act for the common good, but ...
We have the capacity to decide how we will live, and what kinds of behaviours we will or will not engage in.
The problem with humanity is not its inherent weaknesses and flaws. Those are part of being human. The problem is that we look to others, to social, political and religious institutions and processes for values and direction. But choice is not found there. We are responsible, each of us, for the choices we make, and for trying to make better choices.
"In the last resort man should not ask 'What is the meaning of my life?' but should realize that he himself is being questioned. Life is putting its problems to him, and it is up to him to respond to these questions by being responsible; he can only answer to his life by answering for his life"
(Victor Frankl, The Doctor and the Soul, xiii)
We are responsible to ourselves, to humanity and to the Creator (or to Life, if you prefer). We came into this world to learn, to make the difficult choices, and with the guidance of the Inner King or Queen, to withstand the pressures of the world and act with courage and integrity.
And when we do so, not just once but repeatedly, we change both our genetic blueprint and the neurological structure and functioning of the brain, helping to bring humanity further towards its necessary evolution.
Human beings are not inherently selfish; we choose to be, and we choose selfishness because we feel weak, confused, and fearful. Without the guidance and steady support of the True Mind, the Inner King, the ego is afraid to stand alone, it has no ethic of its own, and is easily cowed by the pressure of outside influences. And when it cowers, when it holds back from doing what is right and good, it quickly rationalizes its ethical cowardice.
What is the antidote to our egoic moral confusion and timidity? It is to turn within. To feel the guidance of the True Self within our hearts, and to trust it.
The Lesson of Parzival
After winning and then losing society’s highest admiration and approval, and finding that it means nothing, a deeply humbled Parzival finally returns to the castle of the Fisher King, and from his now humbled, compassionate, awakened heart, speaks true. He acknowledges the King's suffering, and also his curiosity about the grail, asking what it is for (Whom does the grail serve?). And so, the King is healed, and the land with him, for in order for the person to be healed, made whole, she/he must compassionately acknowledge the wounds of the soul and further, to seek to understand them so that the necessary course of action can be taken.
Now Parzival speaks from his True Self as a whole person. Soul and ego are no longer divided, but work together, wise King and faithful, competent servant. Of all Arthur's knights, the once 'innocent fool', Parzival, has at last proved worthy of the Holy Grail, and receives its grace.
So we, guided by the wisdom of the Higher Self, the inner King, may find the compassion and understanding that heal us, and that will, if we act on them, heal the wounds of the world.