Logos, Psyche & the Karmic Bridge

Logos and psyche appear to be two sides of a coin, two warring factions within the documented realm of history. Whether legend or myth, truth or fable, parable or documentary, times present or times past, there has always been a perceived conflict between logos and psyche. Yet the two are opposite sides of the same coin, and the core of the coin, the ever present connection between what is wished to be and what is, cannot be named more aptly than "karma".

Before continuing this thesis, definitions of the three terms must be set forth. Logos can be defined as reason, the Divine Word or the Divine Word of God. Here, the definitions shall be combined to give logos the definition: Divine Reason. Psyche is defined as the soul, the mind, and that which is responsible for human thought. Again, the definitions will be combined to create "human reason". Finally, karma is defined as retributive justice, destiny, or fate. No consolidation of definition is necessary for karma.

Nearly from the beginning of Biblical time, there has ever been a conflict between God and man. This could intelligently be said to have started when the mother of mankind, Eve, inadvertently separated her will from God's will by partaking from the Tree of Life. Although not specifically mentioned, the constant conflict between logos and psyche became yet another aspect of the curse and banishment from the Garden of Eden, and, ever more, man has searched for the inner peace and the rest that can only come to him when psyche and logos are reunited. Nor, in our human state, once it is achieved, is it forever together. Not only did the separation of logos and psyche give us a life-long project, but it stripped the two wills (the will of man and the will of God) of the glue that so effortlessly held them together before that fateful day in paradise. So then, once united, one must be ever diligent to keep them together, because just by virtue of being human, when the eye looks down or to the left or right, psyche will once again slide away from logos.

From Greek, then, come the two words logos and psyche, and the latter from the myth about a maiden by the same name. In the myth, it is plain to see how psyche (and Psyche) is buffeted by the winds of whim, the words of jealousy and the seeds of desire. Even though her god husband often told her what was going to happen in the future and how she should react, Psyche's mouth pledged allegiance to logos, but the maiden let her eye stray and the fall came that her god husband warned her of.

Although suitable for this discussion, admittedly, the Greek gods and their Roman counterparts were not perfect beings and their whims also wafted back and forth, causing logos to change nearly as often as the sun skates the skies. In order to continue this essay constructively, we must return to the more steadfast Biblical God. Now, too, shall karma enter the discussion.

In the Bible, in all the myths and some legends, such as "The Quest of the Holy Grail", we see what happens to those who do not do as God wills. Some people argue there is no destiny; that life is not predetermined because we have our own will and we can form our own destiny. This is certainly true. However, karmic law comes into effect here. If the human will, psyche, is kept in line with the Divine Will, logos, evil is overcome and good things come to pass, such as how events unfolded with the perfect Sir Galahad. If we do not align psyche with logos, karma steps in to adjust the imbalance as can be seen with Sir Lancelot and Sir Perceval. In other words, payment is exacted for not doing God's will.

Using an analogy will make this clearer. There is a fork in the road and it is known that the proper path goes straight, but something enticing is down the left path. The left path diverges more and more from the straight path, of course. At whatever point the traveler realizes that the left path is frivolous and really leads nowhere, there is always an adjoining path leading back to the straight road. Yet this adjoining path is not traveled so easily. Perhaps it contains pitfalls, thorny bushes and heartache, and the longer it is, the more the traveler must fight to get back to the straight road. This path is karma. The path the traveler takes is always psyche and the straight road is logos. What then of the traveler who dies while psyche is diverged from logos? According to the Bible, he descends to the fiery depths of hell. According to some other religions, karmic law is still in effect and the traveler eventually rejoins physical existence, by way of reincarnation, to make amends: To join psyche with logos once again.

So the relationship is established between logos (Divine Reason) and psyche (Human Reason). There is a choice to be made, as the human has free will, but there is only one right choice: To maintain psyche in alignment with logos and thereby avoid having to cross the karmic bridge.