by Renato Costa.
Juana Ramírez de Asbaje was born on November 12, 1648 (see note) in the small town of San Miguel Nepantla, not far from Mexico City, as an illegitimate daughter of Captain Pedro Manuel de Asbaje and Isabel Ramirez de Santillana. Having Juana’s father abandoned her mother when she was still very young, she was brought up by Pedro Ramirez, her grandfather on her mother’s side, a learned and well-mannered man, in his farm located in Pandován.
She was precocious in her studies, having written her first verses when she was 5 years old. When she was 8 she learned Latin in 12 lessons and Portuguese on her own while she was living with her aunt in the Capital. Aged 16 she accepted an invitation by the Viceroy, Don Antonio Sebastián de Toledo, Marquis of Mancera and became lady in waiting to his wife Leonor at the Viceroy’s court in Mexico City. Juana’s biographers tell us that her many talents were causing so many jealous comments in the Court that the Viceroy ordered that she was submitted to a public examination by 40 wise men, an event where she succeeded in answering correctly to all the questions. She was 17 years old then.
Living in the Court, admired by some people and persecuted by others due to her beauty and wisdom, she was advised by her confessor to enter a Convent. In 1667 she entered the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of Saint Joseph. The ascetic rigidity of the Convent, however, made her fall sick within a few months. She entered then the Convent of the Order of Saint Jerome, where she found the time that she needed to dedicate to literature and science.
At Saint Jerome Juana adopted the religious name of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Well established and surrounded by books and several instruments that she used in her studies, Sor Juana wrote poetry, essays and religious dramas and plays, besides composing Christmas songs and sacred music. She was visited in her Convent’s cell by several intellectual men from Spanish America and by others, who came from Spain, delighted with her beauty and profound understanding in all areas of knowledge.
Sor Juana’s writings and behavior made her represent an important milestone for Spanish America’s culture, a culture that was then dominated solely by men. Sor Juana was referred to in her time by the pseudonyms “The Tenth Muse” and “America’s Phoenix” and she is recognized nowadays as the first feminist in America.
When Sor Juana’s literary career was in its climax, Dom Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz, Bishop of Puebla, asked her to write a critique on the Second “Sermão do Mandato”, a sermon which had been preached by the brave and erudite Jesuit priest Antonio Vieira – Portuguese with a long stay in Brazil – in the Royal Chapel of the Portuguese Court in the year 1655, about 40 years before. Sor Juana wrote the critique as brilliantly as ever pointing out some theological errors Vieira had written in his famous sermon. After receiving the critique, Dom Manuel published it without Sor Juana’s permission, not without first preceding it with a forward written by himself under the pseudonym of Sor Filotea de la Cruz and giving to Sor Juana’s work the provocative title of “Carta Atenagórica” (“Letter Worthy of Athena”). In the preface, while “Sor Filotea” highly praised Sor Juana’s critique, “she” also subtlety criticized the comprehensiveness of Sor Juana’s studies, advising her to from that moment on dedicate herself entirely and only to religious matters.
If we want to better understand the disguise assumed by the Bishop, it is important for us to know that the Viceroy and his wife had returned to Spain thus leaving Sor Juana without powerful enough protectors in the court to deter the tenacious anti feminism of the Archbishop of Mexico, Don Francisco de Aguiar y Seijas. The Bishop of Puebla had to obey the instructions of his superior and attack Sor Juana. However as he was Sor Juana’s friend he decided to disguise as another nun so that, deprived of his title and masculine condition, he left Sor Juana at ease to make a reply defending her position.
At that time only the most powerful members of catholic clergy, who were all men as they still are today, were entitled to write on theological matters. So, the publication of the “Carta Atenagórica” promoted a great scandal in the religious community waking up far from Christian feelings in the heart of its powerful members
Sor Juana replied to “Sor Filotea” by means of a long autobiographic message where she supported in an eloquent and brilliant manner everyone’s need to study all branches of knowledge to better understand God and the Creation, arguing that such was a need for women as much as for men.
Not a long time after Sor Juana’s magnificent “Respuesta a Sor Filotea”, however, she put to sale the four thousand books of her library as well as her musical and scientific instruments, making thus a huge change in her life.
The reason for a so radical change remains obscure. After having researched several sources on Sor Juana’s life, I was left in doubt between two hypotheses. Was the “Respuesta” a way the erudite nun, author and scientist used to open her heart, after having resisted for a long time to the opposing attacks from jealous censors? Or was it the very fuse that ignited an explosive avalanche of criticism and pressure to which Sor Juana was unable to react, considering their source? No matter which the reason was the fact is that a sudden and surprising change took place and the focus of our dear Joanna in that memorable life was moved to charity.
After selling all her belongings Sor Juana used the money she obtained in charity, making donations to the poor and to the hungry people. Four years later when a plague hit the region she dedicated her body and soul to caring for the sick nuns in the Convent ending by getting sick herself and finally passing away. She was discarnate on April 17 when she was aged 44.
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The first thing that calls our attention is the thirst of knowledge shown by Juana since she was a child. She didn’t only read theological works but studied with dedication all the branches of knowledge, skillfully arguing in her Reply to “Sor Filotea” (Don Manuel, Bishop of Puebla) on the need of such studies.
Therefore, let us not limit our studies to spiritist works on religious or moral issues. If that page of Genesis or of one of works by André Luiz seem difficult for us to understand, won’t it be the case that we lack scientific knowledge? If we fail to find an answer to a problem we have in the Codification works, who knows if we simply lack the necessary knowledge on sociology, history or philosophy?
We have eternity to learn. Nevertheless, Sor Juana showed us with her example that we must act as if we had a single life to learn everything. On the evolution path we must behave in each life as if it were the only one we had to reach perfection in spite of knowing that we have eternity to get there.
If our present evolution stage or our life’s present circumstances make such an approach seem impossible to us, let us do at least what is within our reach. It is true that each one of us had a different education in this life, some having studied more and others less. It is also true that the physical constitution of each person’s brain allows a greater or a smaller manifestation of the person’s mental capacity. However, if we have at least learned to read, there are several good works available only waiting that we take the initiative. So let us set out to work. Let us study the more we can and whenever we can.
If we can choose between a futile TV show and an educational telecast let us choose the educational option. If we can choose between a good book and a frivolous talk, let us either choose the book or make an effort to change the conversation to serious issues.
If reading was impossible for us to learn in this life or if our eyes are sick and reading is painful, even then we are not restrained to learn. Given that we can choose between staying at home complaining about our deficiencies and go to places where we can learn, let us be brave and make the better choice.
As I said before, if we still think that we are not prepared to imitate the example of Sor Juana, let us at least take the first steps on that direction.
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Sor Juana also taught us how to be detached from worldly possessions and have a sense of priority. When she decided to dedicate to charity she sell all her books and instruments and applied the money on helping the needed ones. She had those books and instruments to instruct herself and not to be in sick possession of them. Having decided to dedicate herself to charity she didn’t hesitate in giving them away.
In The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chap. VI, Item 5, the Spirit of Truth advises us: “Spiritists! Love one another, that is the first precept; educate yourselves is the second.”
If educating ourselves is the second percept, loving one another is the first one. So if we have to put by the urgent need to educate ourselves in order to practice Christian love let us not hesitate doing so.
Let us remember once more that many modest attitudes can be inspired in Sor Juana’s life. Let us imagine that a disturbed person borrows from us a book that we love and fails to return it. Let us accept that event naturally, thinking that the book in the person’s hand may turn out more useful than if it were in ours. If what pleases us most is studying and a chance happens for us to help someone in need, let us learn how to stop our study so that we can be useful to our brother or sister. If we have everything ready to attend a lecture by a famous spiritist speaker and we meet a person needing our love, wanting to talk to us or just to use us to breath our its problems, let us be patient, knowing, as Sor Juana did, that whenever Christian charity is needed, study can and has to be left for a later time. It is clear that we must have our feelings and reason alert so that we do not take hypocrisy or exaggerated emotions for real needs. Nevertheless, if we don’t take as a directive that charity prevails over study we run the risk of failing when more is expected from us.
Let us finally remember that charity isn’t only the act of giving alms or volunteering to help in a house for old people, an orphanage or some place like that. No, charity is something to be practiced always. Charity is having patience to listen and to give advice to those that know less than we do, either they are aware of it or believe that they are wiser than us. Charity is knowing how to listen, paying attention to what everyone has to say, no matter one’s age, sex, race or religion. Charity is developing unconditional love to all the beings around us, never doing harm to any of them and looking upon each one with love and consideration, acknowledging that we are all, with no exception, children of the same Father.
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Note: Authors disagree as to the year of Juana de Asbaje’s birth, something that all the events that follow depend on. Some sources mention year 1651 while other ones mention 1648. We have adopted 1648 in this work because it’s the one most frequently present in Sor Juana’s biographies available in the Web.
Bibliography
- Costa, Renato. Aprendendo com Joanna de Ângelis (Learning From Joanna de Ângelis). Lecture given at Instituição Espírita Joanna de Ângelis (Joanna de Ângelis Spiritist Institution), December 11, 2003.
- Expoentes da Codificação Espírita (Exponents of the Spiritist Codification). Curitiba: Federação Espírita do Paraná, 2002.
- Kardec, Allan. The Gospel According to Spiritism. London: The Headquarters Publishing Co., 1987
- Paz, Octavio. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz o Las Trampas de la Fé (Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz or The Traps of Faith). Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1985.
- Santos, Celeste e Franco, Divaldo P. A Veneranda Joanna de Ângelis (Venerable Joanna de Ângelis). Salvador: LEAL, 1998.
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. December 2003. URL: http://www.uni-mainz.de/~lustig/texte/antologia/sorjuana.htm
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Rincón Literário-Escritores. December 2003. URL: http://www.valvanera.com/rinconlit/sjicruz.htm
- The Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Project. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Dartmouth College. Hanover, New Hampshire. December 2003. URL: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sorjuana/
Source: The Spiritist Messenger, 14th Year, Number 69, December 2005
