Erin Reese: J.D. Salinger, Advaita, and the New York Public Library

Live from New York, it's Tuesday night...

I’m working remotely from the Big Apple this week, alongside my beloved, on a trip that is part-biz, part-pleasure.

Yesterday we visited one of my favorite places in New York City: The New York Public Library. Honestly, I think I’m drawn to it primarily because of the two lions that guard the entrance. Their names are “Patience” and “Fortitude.” When I lived here in 2003-04, I worked very briefly in an office that overlooked these lions – and boy, did I need those two character traits to survive my time in the Big Apple. I’m super glad that I stuck it out.

After picking up a brand, spanking new NYPL library card (a non-NY resident is entitled to a card, which lasts 90 days before it must be renewed) to increase my e-book loaning options, we wandered around to gawk at the gorgeous main reading room and painted ceilings. Like my favorite building in Washington DC, the Library of Congress, this library has incredible scenes painted above that simulate being launched into heavenly realms.

I was thrilled to find out about a free exhibition lasting for just one more week: on J.D. Salinger! The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is one of my favorite books. I also loved Franny and Zooey (1961), which is markedly Zen (I can’t wait to reread it). I love reading books that I missed or underappreciated in high school, as an adult. I get so much more out of them.

Salinger was a genius. I am excited to read more about his life (already reserved his e-book biography with my library card!). I knew he was a total recluse for most of his life, and I think there are so many questions as to why. This exhibit clearly showed me one aspect of the bigger answer.

Salinger’s books, notes, manuscripts, photos were all on display. One thing stood out from the objects, which hummed with a high vibration. Salinger was a staunch Eastern philosophy devotee not primarily of Zen but of Advaita Vedanta. Non-duality. Advaita means “not two.” The premise that all is one. That we, as the appearance of an individual, separate self, are not separate from the Source, from All that Is. That we are, in fact, the Source, and the end of suffering lies in the dissolving of egoic identification.

There was a very sweet, rotating bookshelf on display at the Salinger exhibition. The description next to the case explained that these actual books were the ones that Salinger wanted to have by his side at his very last days. Among the few hundred titles of classics of literature, Eastern and Western philosophy and world religion, as well as natural health and healing, was a plethora of non-dual texts. I was humbled and touched when I saw dozens of books by my own master advaita teacher, Ramesh Balsekar, and Ramesh’s teacher, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, staring right back at me, alongside several by Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Ramakrishna.

I’ve got much to read about Salinger’s spiritual depth and life after literary fame. I’m excited. I feel I’ve met a kindred spirit.

When I lived in India, I would go through spells of reading classic literature with great concentration. I’d take a break from spiritual texts and hunker down and focus on a notable work from Henry James, Mark Twain, Sylvia Plath, Lewis Carroll, Emily Brontë... It is amazing how much overlap there is between a spiritual text and a classic piece of written art. After all, it is what makes it classic: it touches the Truth, brings it into the human element. Whether literature or a gita or a bible or a sutra, it is imbued, illuminated story. It is the finger pointing at the moon, directing our ignited, emotional hearts to the true nature of reality.

My partner and I received darshan (receiving transmission through a person's presence) at the end of our spontaneous Salinger pilgrimage. I had felt something alter in the airwaves as I’d seen the charismatic presence of a very tall, lanky, and strikingly handsome man in his late 50’s entering the hall. As we collected our coats, readying to leave the exhibit, the friendly attendant whispered to us, “That’s his son, Matthew, right there.”

And there he was – the bloodline of J.D. Salinger himself – his son – gracing us with his presence, in this sacred chapel of the of the revered and awesome New York Public Library.

In other news:
If you would like to participate in my online Tarot mentoring group, please sign up soon - the Wednesday night group and the Friday morning group are filling up fast.

Do you want to partake? More info and registration here. Email me with any questions!