LIVING THE LIFE
By
B. P. WADIA
THEOSOPHY COMPANY (INDIA) PRIVATE LTD.
40 NEW MARINE LINES, BOMBAY 1, INDIA
1962
FOREWORD
The important articles by the late B. P. Wadia gathered together in this book
have all appeared at different times in the magazine The Theosophical Movement.
His contributions on Theosophical themes to this and other periodicals would
fill volumes, and the few contained in this book are but representative of his
style and his way of Theosophical thinking--the way H. P. Blavatsky showed.
Though each of these articles is complete in itself, the careful reader will
notice a thread running through them all. Those who aspire to change and to
improve their mode of living, to follow the Divine Discipline advocated not only
by Theosophy but by all the great Teachers who have appeared on the world-scene,
and to walk the Way that leads to Those Great of Soul, will find in the pages of
this book valuable help and instruction.
On the subject of the Higher Life much misunderstanding prevails, and it is the
duty of every student of Theosophy, not only to himself but also to the great
Theosophical Movement, to set an example in right living. But, as was always
stressed by Shri Wadia, practice without study and understanding is impossible;
and mere study and intellectual understanding without proper application are in
the long run not only futile but also dangerous.
What the world has always needed is the living of the Life according to the
precepts of the Great Teachers, the practice of the One Religion of Life, the
One Science of the Soul and the One Art which can create harmony and beauty in
the Kingdom of Man.
THE PUBLISHERS
HOW TO REACH MASTERS
Strangle thy sins, and make them dumb for ever, before thou dost lift one foot
to mount the ladder.
Silence thy thoughts and fix thy whole attention on thy Master, whom yet thou.
dost not see, but whom thou feelest.
CONTENTS
The Living Power of Theosophy ... 3
Defence of Theosophy ... 7
The Vow of Silence ... 13
The Greatest of All Wars ... 17
On Getting Ready ... 23
Help the Work ... 27
Esoteric and Exoteric ... 33
How to Reach Masters ... 39
The Path of Woe 45
True Self-Expression ... 48
The Tests ... 52
The Desertion of Discipline ... 57
The World of Shells and of Soul ... 60
A Man Is Born ... 65
Divine Ethics ... 71
The First Step ... 75
"Blend Thy Mind and Soul" ... 79
Prepare to Answer Dharma ... 84
Celestial Experience in Mundane Duties ... 90
The Bonfire in the Brain ... 93
"By That Sin Fell the Angels" ...99
Lust for Power ... 102
Anger ... 108
The Way Downward ... 113
Genii, Genius and Geniuses ... 117
Let Us Regenerate Ourselves ... 123
Theosophical Reformation
... 130
Loyalties ... 134
Discipleship ... 140
Sacrifices and Sacrifice ... 146
One of the difficulties under which students of Theosophy labour is the
practical and therefore one-sided or distorted view they take of the
Wisdom-Religion. For some, Theosophy takes the place of an outworn creed; for
others it provides a better field for philosophic speculation; for a third class
it is the interesting study of a new science which instructs where modern
knowledge breaks down; for still others it affords, through the many and varied
associations which exist in its name and for its sake, avenues of some
altruistic expression. Only a few seem to recognize the synthetic character of
Theosophy, viz., that it is the religion of the Spirit, free and immortal; that
it is the philosophy of the Heart, to be practised universally by us all the
time; that it is the Science of Life which instructs us in the self-devised
methods of never-dying energies moving in the direction of Universal
Self-Consciousness; that it is the teacher of the Higher Altruism which calls
for self-correction and growth from within, on the part of every being, resulting
in the growth of all.
It is curious that the science of the Self is made applicable by many to every
other thing but the Self and the operation of its laws is seen in all other
beings but our own being. Everyone lives by some power within himself, whose
influence is so eclipsed and even obliterated that it remains non-recognizable.
This takes place because in the sphere of deeds other people's will guides our
organs of action; similarly on the plane of feelings our heart is energized by other people's emotions; our thinking too
is done by proxy while our
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heads often are replete only with the thoughts of other men.
The student should recognize to the full two fundamental principles: that
Theosophy is a great synthesis of religion, philosophy and science; and that it,
as a synthesis, primarily concerns itself, touches and affects the causal forces
of the Self producing as effects myriad forms; then his task will become less
difficult.
Such a recognition will inevitably lead him to study every Theosophic truth from
three points of view spirit, mind, matter; also to apply every truth in three
distinct spheres of heart, head, hands. Such study and practice will convince
him very soon that the synthesis is rooted in and proceeds from within his own
spiritual Being, but affects through his actions the deeds of others; through
his likes and dislikes, the pleasures and pains of others; through his thoughts,
the minds of others; and that in turn he is so affected by others. If Theosophy
in study reveals itself as a synthesis of religion, philosophy and science, in
applying its tenets and doctrines we soon begin to sense that an additional or
fourth factor exists a kind of over-soul, which is the Higher Altruism.
Altruism is the Absolute whose three aspects are the religion to be lived, in
terms of the philosophy to be learnt, and of the science to be practised. To
practise, to learn, to live, for and as the ALL is to manifest the Living Power
of Theosophy.
This living power of Theosophy lies latent, buried deep down, in the heart of
every man. Therefore everyone who is not a Theosophist is a Theosophist in
embryo. It ought to be clear to an intelligent student that his task, however
difficult, is not complex. Theosophy advocates the simple life by insistently
pointing out in a, hundred
p. 5
ways that the power by which we live is of a simple character, both in its
origin and in its operations. Men have strayed away from this simplicity and
have assumed a million complexes by looking for knowledge outside of the
Self, for divinity in other than the Self. Thus started on the inclined plane of
retrogression we see division where a solidarity exists division between science
and religion, between inanimate and animate, between secular and sacred. In
place of "the immanence of God and solidarity of man" is proclaimed God in the
heaven and men the children of dust and worms on earth. This blunder and its
correction which Theosophy puts forward has to be understood and applied by each
student to himself in his own life. Unless this is done Theosophy will remain a
religion, a philosophy, a science, a mode of charity, a method of philanthropy in
contradistinction to other religions, philosophies, sciences, modes and methods
of altruistic efforts.
H. P. Blavatsky has recorded her complaint in more than one place that
solidarity in the ranks of Theosophists did not exist in spite of the fact that
they were able to preach religious truths, and to put before the scientific
world wonderful information in an instructive way. The religion of Universal
Spirit fails to inspire most of us when our feelings are hurt by a fellow
Theosophist, or to give us courage to stand by him when he is unjustly attacked.
Our philosophy of the One and Impartite Self evaporates into impracticality when
we have to say that the moral leper, the intellectual prostitute, the
psychically drunk, are our brothers. This will continue as long as the Synthesis
of Theosophy is not applied by us to purify our lower nature and to create a
higher perception of altruism.
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The Living Power of Theosophy must become the power by which we live. As we have
a material instrument and an energizing mind, and as we are in being spiritual,
we must live as spiritual beings our Religion of Joyous Immortality which
ensouls and illumines the mind. Aided by the philosophy of Theosophy we must let
that mind energize our house of flesh, so that the latter is no more a palace of
pleasure, but a Temple of the Living God, the Ruler who rules from within.
One of the
causes which led to the disruption of the forces drawn together by
H.P.B. in her body politic of Theosophy was the failure of those who surrounded
her to support the movement against the criticism of an opposing world. Another
aspect of the same feature was responsible for the disintegration which followed
the death of Mr. W. Q. Judge.
The power of the faith which is in us can be truly gauged by the strength with
which we defend it against attack. What our faith really means to us is shown by
our power of sacrifice on its behalf. To walk by our Goddess of Faith when she is
popular, to follow her as she trails in glory an acclaimed heroine, to take
pride
in her name and fame, is no proof that we are her true votaries. When she is
defamed and despised, when all that men throw at her are scorn and contempt,
when dressed in rags she walks unnoticed or abused in that hour the heart meets
its true test. To defend what we hold to be true at any cost, and defend it with
justice to our own convictions as well as sympathy for the sincere beliefs of
other men, is an experience which
very human soul has to pass through.
The faculty of being true to ourselves is the resultant of a process by which we
show our fidelity to what we deem to be true, either by the power of thought and
reason or by the force of instinct and feeling. Even through the vice of
fanaticism the immortal soul of man acquires the virtue of faithfulness to
truth. The process is slow and painful, as are all processes of Nature. To be
aggressively faithful to what appears to us
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to be correct is the beginning of a slow and exhaustive ascent to the serene,
indomitable and conquering altitude, where one stands unshaken in defence of
Truth perceived, devoid of aggressiveness, enmity or hatred; actuated by the
spirit of helpfulness towards those against whose adverse criticism such defence
is offered ; permeated by devotion and energized by knowledge.
H. P. B. was an exemplary defender of the Faith. It was her invariable habit to
defend Theosophy against all odds even at the cost of dear friendships. She
sacrificed everything when her Goddess of Faith was attacked, and never for an
instant did she hesitate. Not satisfied with the splendid example set, she
taught the necessity of such action as a spiritual exercise; and when her
students and pupils proved weak in this defence, her fire and zeal, in
themselves a salutary lesson, urged them to perform their duty.
Like other characteristics pertaining to H.P.B.'s being and teaching, this
attitude is met with in the lives and labours of all true teachers of the
Wisdom. It is to be found in the teachings and activities of Mr. Judge. Damodar
K. Mavalankar earned his grace, among other things, by a similar offering. The
lessons which emerge from the observation and study of this characteristic are
valuable for the aspirant of today.
The new enthusiast in Theosophy goes through the octave of fanaticism, from
aggressive abuse to the passive superciliousness of a "superior" person. Just as
the embryo passes through all the phases of its long past evolution of millions
of years in the short period of antenatal life, the Theosophic embryo runs the
gamut of his own psychological experiences, when in this incarnation he takes up
the thread of his own inner growth and the outer service of other souls. One of
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these experiences is related to the defence of his own faith which may be mere
belief or the direct perception of acquired knowledge, which carries its own
natural conviction. Few of us can help being Theosophical fanatics for the
simple reason that we have been un- theosophical and then non-theosophical
fanatics in the past. The duration of such fanaticism depends on the unspent
force of that ante-natal fanaticism, and on our own efforts, now and here, to
embody in ourselves the living power of Theosophy. In this second feature the important practice of self-correction is involved.
What is the best way to ward off attacks on Theosophy, its Teachers and
students, its movement and activity? Attacks are the result of ignorance; when
not directly rooted in abject prejudice, they are the outcome of the fear and
hatred of people whose vested interests Theosophy threatens or exposes. As all
vested interests thrive on the ignorance of well-meaning men and women, we are
in truth face to face with one mighty enemy-Ignorance, a foe against which we have to have
a weapon of defence.
There are two main methods which can be employed; H.P.B., Mr. Judge and other
true followers of the Wisdom used both of them. The first consists in a
counter attack on the offensive and offending attackers to pick holes in their
methods and movements and to show their admirers how faulty and false these
are; at the same time and in this very process to show what there in is true
and genuine, which holds fast admirers to them, and how that which is true is
taken amiss and that which is genuine is mishandled. This procedure, however,
requires a deep knowledge of those methods and movements and also the capacity
to deftly use the weapons of attack. An offensive demands greater
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preparation, for it includes schemes of self-defence in case of defeat, and also
the plans to bestow order and good government in the enemy's land when victory
is won. The second method is this: Do not expose the vagaries, inconsistencies,
fictitiousness, and falsehoods of the offender against Theosophy, but unveil the
utility, the consistency, the beauty and the truth of our own philosophy and
position. Such a picture will radiate its own benign influence and work its own
magic on the multitude who are victims of ignorance and vested interests.
The Masters of Wisdom fight ignorance century by century, by the unique process
in which these two modes resolve themselves in full harmony.
In our early struggles on the plane of Theosophy we often suffer from an
unbalanced enthusiasm and are apt to launch ourselves on the stormy tide of the
first method. In copying her noble example in attacking science or theology,
spiritualism or neo-theosophy, we forget that we do not possess H.P.B.'s
knowledge, not only the positive knowledge of the facts, but also the insight
into what is false or fictitious, and why. It is the way of wisdom, therefore,
to learn to utilize first the second of the two courses above mentioned. Nothing
can defend Theosophy as well as Theosophy itself. Let her speak for
herself--through us. Let us spread the good tidings of Theosophy and present to
all those we contact the strength, the beauty, the encompassing truth of
Theosophy. Under this method some are bound to shed their scales of ignorance
and prejudice. When through repeated efforts our own knowledge has grown and
our insight has unfolded, we will be ready to wield the weapons of the first
method.
It is a practical craft-spread the teachings of Theosophy far and wide so that
the power of Wisdom will act
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as its own defender.
First, comprehend that the defence of Theosophy and the active effort to spread
broadcast its message go hand in hand. Assimilating the teachings we should make
ourselves radiators of the power of Theosophy. This achieved, remains the
undertaking to help others readjust their mental contents. It is wrong to
suppose that it is absence of knowledge which produces antitheosophical
attitudes or expressions; often it is the existence of wrong ideas, of false
thoughts, of incorrect reasoning. Our task
would be comparatively easy if we had only ignorant babes to deal with; we have
to work with human beings whose minds are already energized by non-theosophic
notions. It is much more difficult for such minds to make readjustments.
Let us remember that the vigorous demonstration of anti-theosophic feeling
follows an accumulation, in silence and passivity, of non-theosophic views. To
counteract this silent accretion we must needs work in silence for the
accumulation of Theosophic feeling.
Belief in false creeds should not be met
with make believe in theosophical principles--thus err many of our young
enthusiasts. Knowledge must disband belief and enlightened conviction disrupt
unintelligent faith. To obtain knowledge and possess such conviction, study and
reflection and hearing the doctrine retold are necessary, not only for our own
personal advancement, but as
an institution which helps in readjusting
the minds of others less" advanced" than we are. The acquiring of knowledge by
persevering study should not be undertaken in self-interest, but as a duty to
the evolution of the race itself.
Next to study of the doctrines is the task of bringing others to that study.
Discrimination is to be used in
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the circulation of right books. Excellent books are available for enquirers, for
beginners, as well as advanced students. Let us not err by a rigidity of rule in
recommending these books. It is the part of wisdom to determine which particular
book will help a particular person. If we can ascertain the impulse which has
brought him to approach Theosophy, if we can gauge his bent of mind, his
capacity to think and reflect and his temperament, we can find out the book
which will most appeal to him. There is a line of least resistance for him, as
well as an avenue of response.
By our own study, individually or in classes, and by living our own lives
according to the teachings, we are accomplishing the positive work of collecting
the sinews of war. By the second step of spreading correctly the true teachings
of Theosophy we have already carried war into the enemy camp of ignorance; every
mind readjusted by the books means a loss for that enemy. Vigorous assault is
bound to come upon us and then our success will depend on our genuineness as
students. Make-believers, or those who learned by rote, or those who failed to
assimilate, or those who played a memorized role, and their like, will desert.
Those who learned for the sake of teaching, who obtained and amassed to offer it
in loving and intelligent service--they will stand to the greater glory of Man.
One, if not the greatest, of evils by which modern society is corrupted, is that
of gossip. Injurious speech, or small talk ensouled by the spirit of
competition, not only ruins other people's character, but corrupts our own.
This is not recognized. Small talk has become and is studied as an art, and the
infamy of gossip has emerged as an institution of social amusement. Its infamous
nature is forgotten, its dire effects fail to impart their lesson
and it has assumed for modern men and women the place of a necessity of life.
Social
avocations in cultured drawing-rooms as also in abusive slums pursue the path of small talk
and mean gossip.
The first requirement of the spiritual life is to learn the value of silence.
The conservation of spiritual energy demands that the frittering away of
soul-forces be stopped. There are very few avenues through which man's
divinity goes to waste as through sound and speech. The dirt and dregs of our kamic
nature often find their outlet in useless or injurious speech. There is a close connection and more than mere metaphorical
analogy in the statement which refers to what is put in the mouth as food and
what comes out of it as words. through the process of eating, assimilation of
food and elimination of waste product take place; the health of the body
improves or suffers with every morsel we take in.One of the main ways of determining the condition
of the body is to examine the disposition of the process and product of elimination. Our psychic nature
has its own ways of
assimilation and elimination, of
sustaining itself in good or ill health. One of the modes
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of elimination is related to the power of speech.
In spiritual growth, learning and listening go together; they precede teaching
and speaking. In ancient India the moment the seeker of the peace of wisdom
resolved to follow in the footsteps of the guru, the pupil gained the name of
Shravaka, a listener. In ancient Greece he was named Akoustikos. He was not
even permitted to ask questions; bija-sutras, seed-thoughts, were given him to
ponder over and understand to the best of his ability. These thoughts were
intended as purificatory food which, if adequately assimilated, would cleanse
his kamic nature; not only remove the accumulated poisons of the past but reveal
to the pupil the correct alchemical process of transforming within his own
constitution passion into compassion, lust into love, antipathy into sympathy.
Once started on this highway, he was ready to become an exerciser, a positive
doer, Shramana, the Asketos of the Greeks.
Our modern Theosophical student has not fully recognized the occult significance
of silence. A vow of silence does not mean to become mute and not to speak at
all. It consists in: (1) self-imposition of periodic silence; (2) not indulging
at any time in injurious and untruthful speech; (3) not giving way to useless
speech; (4) not asking questions on philosophy or practice till what has already
been taught or is before us is fully scanned and thoroughly looked into from the
point of view of our particular questions; (5) not indulging in ahankaric speech, i.e., not making statements about the Divine Self or Ego in terms of our
kamic or lower nature; (6) not indulging in injurious speech regarding our lower
nature, our own faults and weaknesses, lest by speaking of them we lend them the
strength which ensues from the power of speech; (7) not to speak even
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that which is true unless at proper times, to proper people, under proper
circumstances.
While this sevenfold exercise is practised secrecy has to be observed about it.
To refer to or speak about the exercise we have undertaken and are
practising, is to vitiate it altogether and make it worse than useless. Such
an indulgence gives birth to conceit and enhances it where it already exists. Secrecy and silence are
needed and a
contemplation on their kinship should precede the sevenfold exercise.
There is a general desire "to sit for meditation and to practise yoga," but
this very first rule, this primary regulation, is found irksome and its
desirability quested. No doubt it is difficult, well-nigh impossible, for
the moderns to attain this control over speech; but if not fully and wholly at
least partly and partially it can be and should be practised.
Deliberate speech will be the first result. It will not be rooted in kama-passion,
but in buddhi-compassion. There are two types of criticism: one is
fault-finding; the other is perception of virtue in meritorious expressions as also the perception of virtue behind vice,
demerit and weakness. The deceit of the dice is Sri Krishna, and the power to
perceive that comes from the second type of criticism. The first is criticism by words
of kama, the second is by words of understanding; the first is on the plane of
words, the second on the plane of ideas; the first is of head-learning, the
second of soul-wisdom ; the first praises or condemns the lower nature, the
second imports into it the strength of the higher, causing readjustment; the
first has behind it the superior spirit of teaching, the second the sublime
spirit of learning and propagating
that which is learnt.
How different would be the world if even in some
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measure the power of this practice went into the doings of our civilization!
Reviewers and critics would then not look for points to condemn, but for beauty
and goodness and worth in the books they review. In all affairs of thought,
feeling and action our tendency is to look for our thoughts repeated,
our
feelings reproduced, our actions imitated. We regard ourselves as the model for
all examination; we the pattern whereby right and wrong is to be determined.
Such an attitude is not blatantly expressed, but veils itself in a subtle form
of humility, which is mock modesty.
There are a hundred who plunge into the waters of the ocean for pleasure or
profit to only one who dives for the pearl of great price. The latter proceeds
to his work in the secrecy of silence and his art in the ocean is of a very
different kind from that of the ordinary swimmer. Those who are in search of the
pearl of wisdom must acquire the strength of muscle, the control of breath and
the finesse of stroke necessary against the stormy billows of this ocean of samsara. These lie securely hidden in the Power of Silence. That power must be
invoked, not by a pledge to some other being, but by a vow silently sung and
silently registered in the sanctuary of the Heart. Thus the path begins in
silence and secrecy and ends in the hearing and the chanting of the Soundless
Sound.
All family feuds, all class struggles, all national wars,
all religious crusades are but ramifications of the eternal strife between the higher and the lower
selves of man. For the student; of
Occultism, one of the earliest lessons to be acquired is a realization of the
fact that battles in the outside world are but shadowy replics of those which
are fought within ourselves. The meaning and import of
wars, small and great, will ever be missed as long as this great truth is not
perceived. International wars would not precipitate themselves if class
struggles, creed hatreds, caste prejudices, did not exist in nations;
competition between youth and age, man and woman, would not take place in a
society if family relations of the right order and kind subsisted; and thus, we
reach the individual who is at war with his neighbours and next of kin because
his hands war against his head, or his mind against his heart, or his pride
against his principles.
A struggle between our material and spiritual selves is constantly going on.
Students of Theosophy learn of the nature of this struggle, and the thoughtful
among them acquire the knowledge of the relative strength of the combatants and
their respective sources of recruitment and recuperation while the battle lasts.
We all know that the triumph of Spirit over Matter, of Wisdom over Nescience, of Love
over Hate must ultimately be ; but this theoretical understanding is of little
avail while hatred is consuming love, is fanning the fire of lust in our own
nature.
Not only is there a constant struggle going on within
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us, but we are recommended to maintain it till victory is won, till Wisdom-Light
streams forth from our hearts, dispelling the darkness of ignorance, till Love
radiates its justice and bliss from our minds, revealing the order in the midst
of chaos. An enlightened heart, a compassionate head are the marks of the
Spirit-Man, higher, greater and nobler than the good man of intelligent mind and
sympathetic heart. It is necessary to make this distinction between the good man
and the spiritual man. As earnest appliers of Theosophic teachings we have left
the life of actual vice behind us and we distinguish between it and the higher
life. We are, however, apt to mistake the life of negative goodness for the life
of the spirit. "It is not enough that you should set the example of a pure,
virtuous life and a tolerant spirit; this is but negative goodness and for chelaship will never do," wrote a Master once. Other and higher than negative
goodness is positive spirituality.
Our virtues and vices make us by turn good and bad.
The equipoise whereby these are controlled and resolved into faculties of growth
and service has to be attained if positive spirituality is to be manifested.
Just as human love is higher than and superior to lust, and lust by constant
feeding on itself cannot become love, so also Divine Spirituality is of a
quality more profound and rare than is human goodness, which also, merely
augmented, does not give birth to Spirit-Wisdom. The difference between good and
bad is one of kind; the gulf between goodness and spirituality is not one of
mere degree.
A clear intellectnal perception of this fact is helpful.
A soldier receives an added impetus for fighting if he theoretically understands
the inherently vicious nature of his enemy; he fights with more heart if he
assimilates
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that understanding. This assimilation is a wonderful asset, without which it is
almost impossible to win the victory over our lower nature. The constancy and steadfastness so necessary to maintain the struggle come to birth in our hearts.
Understanding our philosophy by mind does not bring us the vitality that
understanding by heart bestows. Assimilation of teachings is a phrase very
commonly used ; its psychological significance is not so generally sensed. Let
us grasp by the power of the heart the vital difference between
the good man and the spiritual one.
The struggle between the good and the spiritual in the outer world is represented
in us by the conflict of duties. There are those who do Duty's "work and know it
not," for in them the conflict of duties has not ever arisen. The good people of
the world though devoid of ideas about soul growth and spiritual progress
glimpse the verities of life better than the one in whose own universe a
conflict of duties takes place. Only then arise the perplexing questions-" What
am I?" " What are my relations to others?" A good mother will continue to be
only good till circumstances compel her to consider the wisdom or unwisdom of
her attitude to her own child, or the justice or injustice of her attitude to
others' children. Conflict of duties opens a vista of the world of Spirit.
A proper balance struck and sustained between different and conflicting duties
transforms our goodness into spirituality. The higher life consists in right
adjustment of our different duties into a harmonized Dharma, whereby the
property of our Ego becomes manifest. Everything and all beings have their
respective properties, some aspects of which have become patent, other aspects
of which are still in a condition of
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latency. As latent aspects of our property manifest they often clash with those
which have already found objective expression. Thus arises conflict of duties.
Our dharma--a great word on which meditation is necessary--is the means of our
becoming. We are what we are because of our dharma; by the fulfilment of dharma
we grow, we become different from what we are. Herein lies the basis of inner
growth--the conflict between opposing and enduring forces.
Spirit forces endure. These are superior to forces of evil as well as goodness.
The struggle against our lower nature is often construed as a struggle against
vicious tendencies. It is not always recognized that we suffer from the defects
of our qualities--a very hard type of obstacle to overcome, because as a rule we
find and make excuses for it. Downright wrong-doing we condemn even in
ourselves. If by Karmic propensity or for other reasons pertaining to the domain
of the occult, evil precipitations take place in our everyday life we are able
to recognize them as such. We have enough decency left in us to perceive that
evil is evil, and wrong-doing is wrong. But there are precipitations of exaggerated virtues and malformed habits
and. it is very difficult to see these
exaggerations and malformations. Conflict of Theosophic duties arises in
reference to these, and the only power that can save us from erring is
heart-understanding of our philosophy.
In our eagerness to learn the various phases of the philosophy we sometimes
forget that there is a practical method of undertaking study itself. Of course
we must possess adequate knowledge of our general principles and propositions;
but that ought not to preclude our undertaking a close study of those specific
Theosophical teachings which form answers to our intimate and
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personal problems. We have a personality which is learning the ways of the
Impersonal; it has tendencies which we desire to demolish; it has modes of
expression which we desire to change. An earnest man who wants to live the life
should learn to choose from the vast body of our teachings those specific ones
which will help and enable him in his struggles against his lower self. All our
problems, be they of the Ego or of the personality, of the Self of Spirit or of the self of matter, have
their solutions in our philosophy;
the infinite complexities of mind and morals are treated therein, and
discriminatingly we
ought to search for those which are medicine for our particular ailments.
The maintenance of a constant struggle against our lower nature ought to be a
scientific process; with many of us it is a matter of sentiment. A mere desire
to keep the body in health does not make it healthy, but a scientific
understanding and application of bodily laws prove effective and so it is with
psychic and spiritual health. Special study from this personal standpoint clears
the obstacles which conflicting duties create. Our lower nature is composed of
lives of a lower grade of evolution. Our higher nature organisms are built of
intelligences of a more elevated type. Each is trying to manifest its respective
property--dharma, and hence the eternal conflict.
Our bodily and sensuous nature cries for its own life; our feelings crave their
own self's expression; our minds suffer the very torments of Tantalus when we
curb and control their natural thirsts. These constituents of our lower self
have their own properties, and among them a war is raging as may be seen in the
dissatisfaction in full-blown personalities devoid of spirit-energization. When
the Fire of the Highest Self
p.22
with its Compassionate Reason, its Illuminating Intuition, its Creative
Will-Power touches the lower, grave discontent is felt. When the study and
practice of Theosophy make the fight more fierce, let us not surrender in
confused depression; let us not forget the propositions involved in the ethical
problem of the Conflict of Duties.
In work or play, in sport, men
prepare men prepare themselves by constant practice. The student-server of
Theosophy also realizes that he has to prepare for growth, and perceives the
fact that growth is through service. In gaining this perception and in practising he makes
mistakes. The ways of the higher life are so different, the mode of inner unfoldment at
such variance with the methods of what is called modern progress, that
invariably there ensues waste of time-the most costly of all commodities in any
market.
It is necessary to seize certain ideas which facilitate our endeavours at
preparation. The very first of these is like a mirror in which we can measure
the stature of our growing inner nature. The spiritual life is not one of subtle
rest but of increasing creative activity which begets real joy. Do we feel the
zest of life, and contentment in work? In all things and at all times do we feel
uplifted naturally, that is, without any effort? This is the test. We are apt to
judge ourselves from the praise or blame which others bestow; we often value our
work entirely in the light of the reputation which it evokes; this is not the
test. Spirit-unfoldment registers its strength in light to the mind, repose to
the ever active consciousness. If our thoughts and deeds enlighten our own minds,
bring peace and joy to our own hearts, they are the natural expressions of the
inner light. Discontent proceeds from absence of bliss, Ananda, which is the
very nature of Buddhi.
The affinity subsisting between our inner and outer natures provides the second
of the rules for our con-
p.24
sideration. Reliance on Atma grows with the denial of ahankara. In that word"
denial" lies one of the main practices of the life of the warrior-soul. The life
of the senses gives birth to Egotism. The powers and forces of mind are
prostituted for the gratification of desire in all relations of life. The
marital tie, sacred and beneficent, subsists between mind-powers and the human
Spirit, divine in nature. What happens in modern society is symptomatic of what
takes place in the life of many a student of Wisdom. The debasing of the
marriage life so rampant in our civilization flows from the same archetype
whence emerge the divisions in individual life whereby we live in turns the
lower animal and the higher divine lives. Between the two, however hidden or
obscure, there exists a sure relationship which is expressed in the second rule
we are examining.
In preparing ourselves for the Path of Holiness we have to practise denial of
ahankara-egotism by a constant appeal to Atma, the God within. Thus Self-reliance
grows. Atma is altruistic, in the small man as in the large universe. It is
everywhere because of its altruistic nature. To rely on It is to see in true
proportion the multitudinous effusions of ahankara-soul, the lower self. The
light of Atma enables us to determine the real values of the different component
parts of the lower self.
Hence contemplation on Atma becomes necessary; the pure Heart pervades not only
heaven but hell. The descent of Jesus into the nether regions is a dramatized
version of the psychological experiences every neophyte goes through. In the
conquest of flesh, in the holy crusade, the jehad of the Muslim, pure Atmic
altruism pervading the field of battle subdues both good and evil, heaven and
hell,. and rises superior to both. One of the
p.25
pairs of opposites, pleasure is often mistaken for Bliss for the same reason
that the lower self and ahanhara are mistaken for the higher self and Atma. In getting ready, the light of Atma which is Bliss, the love of Atma which is Wisdom, the Labour of Atma which is Sacrifice,
has to be seen as
superior to the pleasure, the knowledge, and the activity of the lower self.
With this perception comes the strenght to "slay," that is, regenerate the
animal-man.
The alchemical power to transform the baser metal of the lower self into the
gold of the higher abides in the Heart of man. This mighty Shakti-Power lies
dormant and asleep--a coiled Dragon of Wisdom. Elsewhere in the human
constitution is the venomous snake of self, that eternal foe of every aspirant
to Wisdom and Altruism. But snake and Dragon are of the same species and so the
injunction - "be merciful to the foe; against its treacheries be on guard." To
subdue the lower but avoid irritation to it is skilful action. The two
characteristics necessary for this enterprise are a sense of humour for the
foibles of the lower self, and a never-failing watchfulness over its insidious
ways.
In this holy war of regeneration the purifying power of knowledge has to be
used. This is where Theosophy, as a body of knowledge, sure and infallible,
founded and reared on the accumulated experience of the sages, proves useful.
Every decent-minded individual wants to better his life; many an enthusiast is
willing to practise rules of conduct which will bring success to him. But very
few indeed study the science of the soul, even theoretically, for the law of
reliance on Atma by the denial of ahankara frightens or discourages them. Those
who mentally understand the teaching often lapse into old ways and modes of
denial of Atma and
p.26
reliance on ahankara. Time is not allowed, such is the rushing nature of our
race, for the assimilation of what is studied. The spontaneous generation of the
Dragon of Wisdom in the cave of the Heart can take place only in the passage of
time. If in that period we are disturbed by events or are wearied to disgust
with things, we identify ourselves with those events and things. "Kala (time)
alone survives Yama (death) - Atma ( Self) is made of Kala (time)."
To be the better able to help and teach others we should use time to study, and
let time use us for the process of assimilation. Thus yoga with Time is
achieved.
Knowledge in the passage of time will purify the lower self of its dross and
give birth to compassion by the aid of which others can be truly helped.
Compassion replaces Knowledge with Wisdom, makes all actions sacrificial, all
existence blissful. Thus yoga with Space is attained;
By study of Theosophy we acquire Wisdom; by the practice of Theosophy we acquire
Compassion; these two lead to the attainment and realization of the Bliss of the
inner Life. To be blissful, to be compassionate, to be discerning-these
constitute the eternal triad of preparation for the life of Spiritual service.
In this attempt, speaks the Teaching, "Beware of settled security; it leads to
sloth, or to presumption."
There are various motives which
prompt students to serve the Cause of Theosophy.
The nature and extent of that service are according to the motive. The avenues
of service are definite
and limited just as the motives of service are. Some students are moved to service
by the desire of self-growth; others are inspired to be altruistic by the
compassionate longing to better the lot of their fellow men. Some serve to work
out the surplus energy of their natures; others energize themselves so that
service may result.
Whatever the starting point, a little study reveals a supreme fact -- service of
Theosophy, irrespective of time, place, circumstance, as well as friends,
relatives and strangers, is imperative, not only for growth but for very
existence.
Students of Theosophy prepare themselves by study and otherwise to serve
humanity; they seriously endeavour to fit themselves to be better able to help
and teach others. Theosophists do not make propaganda for the purposes of
gaining power, popularity and prosperity for Theosophy, but for bettering men
and women, for enlightening human souls and leading them on to peace and wisdom.
Our philosophy discourages proselytism and advocates the inner conversion of
each by himself.
When by dint of study an individual has remade himself he is, in a sense, as one
who is newly born. The great Initiations of the
Ancient Mysteries have their
projections in the hearts of mortals. As we learn to be born again and again we
come nearer to the Great
p.28
Birth of the Dwija, the Twice-Born, the Initiate. Just as daily bathing of the
body is the reflection of the Baptism by Water, so is seasonal renovation of the
mind and heart a symbol of the Baptism by Fire. For the health of the body
elimination of waste matter is a necessity, and there is a corresponding
elimination of the moral and mental dregs of our consciousness.
Service of Theosophy is the avenue whereby students of
Theosophy are reborn. It is the great clearing house of energies and ideas --
eliminator of false notions and retainer of the true. Thus students of Theosophy
do not confer any benefit on the philosophy or on the Movement by their service;
they oblige and benefit themselves. Columbus did not confer any benefit on
America by his discovery; he and his fellows have been bettered thereby.
America, undiscovered, would have continued
to live on, till human necessity compelled some Columbus to discover it. So with
Theosophy. Let us rid ourselves of the idea that by our helping the Cause we are
obliging Theosophy. We are helping ourselves. Further, that helping is a
necessity of existence, of our own existence.
All of us have three great possessions - Energy to Create,
Wealth to sustain,
and Time to renew ourselves. These are our three jewels. We make ourselves by
work, we preserve ourselves with wealth and we better ourselves in time. Work,
Wealth, Time are interdependent. In time work begets wealth; wealth in due
season energizes us to labour; time compels us to work so that we may enrich
ourselves; work whiles away time and time checks the destructive and wearing
power of toil. One without the other two, nay, even two without the third would
end in man's ruin and annihilation.
In the service of Theosophy, Time, Wealth and Work
p.29
all three are necessary. We must create ourselves by study; we must grow through
regeneration, in the passage of time. Under the Law of Periodicity, as cycles
run their round, Wisdom and Wise Men work to preserve Themselves in Ever-Green
Nature, by perpetual renovation. Nature labours and is born; her bounties sing
of her existence ; her ever continuing changes are an indication of her subservience to the
God of Time --- Kala.
The Theosophical Movement, in all eras and climes, is created by the work of
the Masters, is sustained by the Wealth of Their Wisdom, and is regenerated from
corruption, century by century and cycle by cycle. The Movement never dies
because this threefold process is kept up by the Great Ones and Their faithful
servants. The visible and organic incarnation of the Immemorial Movement decays
and perishes because its work, wealth and time through friction come to a close.
When those who belong to that visible expression of the Movement cease to work,
poverty overtakes them; famished, they cease to exist. When they labour and toil
but fail to share their earnings with the body through which they enriched
themselves, they perish and the body with them. When they create by work and
nourish by wealth, they sometimes fail to renew friendship with the Ever-Green
Source and suit themselves to the Motion of the Stars and then they live on,
corpses or shells, while the Life creates elsewhere the body of Truth.
Minor cycles are but replicas of major ones. The Law of Correspondence and
Analogy works perfectly everywhere and all the time. What is true of previous
ages and other bodies is true of this and the Lodge to which we belong. As a
voluntary association of students
p.30
we exist not for the glorification of that body; nor of ourselves who belong to
it. We exist to serve the Cause and are responsible for keeping it going as the
visible incarnation of the Invisible Movement. This can be done by Work, Wealth
and Time and in no other way.
Work which creates for the self is selfish; that which creates for Self is
Sacrifice.
Wealth which preserves the self causes poverty; that which preserves the Self
leads to Wisdom.
Time which renews the self begets pain; that which renews the Self is Bliss.
Therefore we must obtain the wherewithal for creative work, for preserving
wealth, for regenerating time. These consist of the Faculty of Sacrifice, the
Possession of Wisdom and the Energy of Bliss.
We must gain the faculty of sacrifice on the plane of action, of labour, of
work. This means that we should toil for the Great Sacrifice, exert ourselves by
the power of the Great Actor. We must come to possess the wealth of Wisdom on
the plane of mind, of study, of contemplation. This means that we must teach and
instruct and inspire by the power of the Great Teacher, offer the boon and the
blessing of the Great Contemplation. We must obtain the energy of Bliss on the
plane of life, of heart, of being. This means that we should grow by giving,
giving by the power of the Great Renovator, thus bestowing the Joy of the Great
Birth. Thus Sacrifice builds, Wisdom sustains and Bliss renovates life for ever
and ever. The sacrifice of all we have, the wisdom of all we are, the bliss
which is our Self---this is the triple offering which every student of Theosophy
should make on the altar of the Sacred Movement.
We create ourselves theosophically by work which is Sacrifice. Egotism is the
one source from which spring
p.31
the many excuses which keep us from being theosophically born. Often the
desire to work is wrongly identified with capacity to serve. The latter
really belongs to the second aspect: wealth. Most students fail to work not
because of lack of capacity but the absence of the desire to serve and help.
The one sure sign of theosophical birth is the Will to Work, which
seeks out "him who knows till less than thou." Ahankara-Egotism
manifests sometimes as conceit, at others as mock modesty. This false humility is more subtle and therefore
more insidious. It was not
through lack of capacity that Arjuna. cried, "I shall not fight, O Govinda,"
but because of the lack of Will to serve both the Pandus and the Kurus. He
who in the daily affairs of life loves and sacrifices gains the great
opportunity to enter the Path of Compassion, the Way of Altruism. To be born is
to manifest the power of the Inner Ruler --- however restricted in scope and small
in quantity. "Doing the King's work all the dim day long" is dependent on
the previous recognition of the King in the Chamber of the Heart.
It is only when we desire to serve and begin to work
that lack of knowledge is truly perceived. When people complain of their lack of
knowledge or their poor capabilities and refuse to work on that score, they are
not really aware of either. Only when we begin to teach do we truly find out
what we have to learn; only when we lift a weight do we know what burdens we
cannot bear; it is only by expressing what we do know that we become aware of
what we do not. It is work, the first aspect, that brings to us our wealth of
wisdom, by revealing to us how very poor we are. When the spirit of service
encounters the fact that we are poverty stricken it sets about accumulating
wealth.
p.32
Everyone possesses, however poor he be, the threefold wealth of Heart, Head and
Hands, the last of which has a double aspect of bodily health and money. If each
of us made the right and adequate use of what we have of (I) money, (2) health,
(3) knowledge and (4) devotion, we would get more of these and the Cause of
Theosophy would flourish. Spiritual poverty is the cause of all poverty. Poverty
and impurity go hand in hand and work side by side, and there is a very close
connection and interdependence between (1) bodily ill-health, (2) vital
impurity, (3) emotional deformity and (4) mental weakness. Once again we
actually know how poor we are only when we have found out how rich we are.
Lack of time is a very general complaint and as an excuse is very commonly
offered. But there is a universal saying to the effect that he who is the
busiest has time always at hand. Time and laziness are enemies and he who uses
time is ever the friend of Time. It is when our time is not used to the best of
our strength that stagnation sets in and death results. Time, the third aspect,
is the initiating power which brings to birth new and newer aspects of the God
within, the Inner Ruler immortal. "Every man is an impossibility, until he is
born." By the offering of Time on the alter of Theosophical Service we manifest
the radiance of Joy, we live and multiply ourselves till we find ourselves a
loved and loving member of the human family.
Thus work which is sacrifice creates the wealth which is the capacity to serve
wisely, and thus serving all the time we radiate joy for all, and help in
establishing the Kingdom of God, of Righteousness, of Theosophy.
Soul builds body. The nature of the one is occult, as that of the other is phenomenal. Of unchanging reality is, life, while form
is but the evanescent maya that is non-existent in fact. From1851 to 1871 Wisdom was
energizing in the inner planes of being propelling toward the outer world. Then H.P.B. emerged from theGreat Lodge for the service of our world
and ever since, : and especially after 1877 when her Isis Unveiled was published,
certain hitherto unfamiliar words came into prominence. Among
these were esoteric and esotericism, exoteric and exotericism.
She was the first since the days of the Alexandrian Neo-Platonists who
unhesitatingly and emphatically declared that a secret body of Teaching and
Teachers existed. From the very start she claimed a somewhat intimate
acquaintance with both. She laboured in the
cause for which those Teachings and Teachers stood, for 20 years-from 1871 to
1891. Among the important missions entrusted to her was the drawing of the attention of the world to the existence of the Teaching and the Teachers; only a part
of the former, under instructions from the latter, was put forward in discreet
instalments. This process was affected by the growth or the hindrance,
especially among the aspirants to Chelaship, in recognizing the truth of the
esoteric nature of both the knowledge imparted and its Wise Custodians. It is
apparent to the insight of the student of H.P.B.'s teachings that she tried to
prepare a body of students wise enough to value silence and learn the art of
assimilation of the philosophy and through it of its Master-
p.34
Proficients. H.P.B.'s mission was not only dissemination of knowledge to the
world at large and the service of the century which opened with 1875. She also
had to prepare a band of student-servers of the Sacred and Secret Wisdom, who
were capable of transmitting the same Charge to succeeding generations, and thus
purify by life and labour the mind of the race till her successors in 1975
arrived before the public to complete that which she began.
Men's minds had to be prepared for the reception of the Teaching. Grades of
students is what she aimed at; those knowing less, learning from the group who
knew a little more, till there would be two or three who in direct contact with
the perfected Adepts remained also in touch with the world through their
co-workers and helpers. A veritable Antahkarana-Bridge was planned to be erected
between the World of Masters and the world of mortals. For this purpose and
towards this aim she advised that the esoteric nature of matter and man be truly
recognized by her students and especially by her intimate pupils. The public
which perused her writings was callous to her hints and suggestions in
proportion as her intimate associates and students were heedless of her direct
and unequivocal injunctions. Indiscretions about the esoteric nature of the
Lodge of Masters and Its Wisdom among other things, led to the collapse of the
almost complete Bridge. A very small end of it which extended from the side of
the Masters' World remained and will ever remain intact. As modern students
purify themselves by the energy of study and ensoul themselves by the power of
service, more of the Bridge will be restored. Devotion and intelligence which
create are the necessary requisites and the few builders look, watch and
exclaim-"Who is on our side? Who will help us ? "
p.35
It is ssential that students should intelligently reconognize, that
Esotericism is a fact in Theosophy. Pythagoras termed it the gnosis of
things that are and spoke of it in secrecy to his inner circle while Confucius
refused to explain publicly his " Great Extreme." The Rishis of India,
the Magians of Persia and Babylon, the Heirophants of Egypt and Arabia the
Prophets of Israel taught as Fesus did in these strange
words to his elect:---
Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom
of God: but unto
them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing
they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven
them.
Ammonius Saccas obligated his disciples by oath not to divulge his higher
doctrines, except to those who had been "exercised." Our own H.P.B., following
in the footsteps of her Predecessors, warned: "Woe be to him who divulges
unlawfully the words whispered into the ear of Manushi by the First Initiator."
She affirmed, through hints, obscure yet broad, the intimate nature of Esoteric
Wisdom to be practised, while she loudly proclaimed that Primeval Knowledge and
the Heirs to the Ancient of Days lived and laboured for mankind. She gathered in
her writings the radiant jewels of the many mines---the diamond of India, the
sapphire of Buddhaland, the ruby of Persia, the opal of Chaldea, the emerald of
Egypt, the amethyst of Greece, the moonstone of Judea and set them all in
the exquisite platinum of our own era which she secured from her Masters. She
made this necklace for the daughter of time named the 19th-20th century.
H.P.B. pointed out that the secret teachings sanctuaries have not remained
without witness. They
p.36
have burst upon the world in hundreds of volumes full of the quaint phraseology
of the Alchemists; they have flown like irrepressible cataracts of Occult-mystic
lore from the pens of poets and bards. Whence did Ariosto, in his Orlando Furioso, obtain his conception of that valley in the moon, where after death we
can find the ideas and images of all that exists on earth? How came Dante to
imagine the many descriptions given in his Inferno of his visit and communion
with the souls of the seven spheres? The dark secrets of the Wisdom were allowed
to see the light of day as people learnt to use them with genuine
discrimination, with selfless dispassion. It is personal selfishness that
develops and urges man on to abuse his knowledge and power. Thus during the last
few centuries, as human selfishness grew, the Light of Wisdom diminished and
those few Elect whose inner natures had remained unaffected by the march of the
world became the sole guardians of the Esoteric Knowledge, passing it only to
those fit to receive it, and keeping it inaccessible to others.
H.P.B. burst upon the world with her direct message. It was not poetical
imagery, nor symbolic tales nor dramatized versions of Esoteric Truths. She
wrote in the language of precision, simple and clear cut, as one having
authority. She appealed to those around her to preserve inviolable secrecy in
regard to certain information and teaching and await her cue from time to time
to declare exoteric that which hitherto was given to the few to learn and
assimilate. Her wise injunctions were disregarded; followed desecration of the
sacred; that which was holy was given unto the dogs of the press and the pearls
were cast before the swine of an egotistic, selfish public; press and public
trampled them under their feet, turned on H.P.B. and rent her.
p.37
With the return of the Cycle the responsibility of her true students and
followers assumes a grave proportion.
In this world of maya, Spirit and Matter are looked upon as two different
things and so are Esoteric Wisdom and exoteric Knowledge. Nature is one and so
is Theosophy. The secret of Nature is in particles of dust and in
constellations of stars and both are visible and yet--- invisible. The writings of H.P.B. are at once
exoteric and esoteric. Their occultism is perceived only by those whose inner
natures have unfolded.
One of the qualifications unfolding that inner faculty which reveals the hidden
side of the known phenomenal world is the power to keep inviolate the secrets
entrusted to us by Nature or otherwise. Often in the enthusiasm to help and
serve our fellows we scatter on the highway the seeds gathered from our study
of Theosophy and our meditations on the facts of the philosophy. This is due to egotism, often
of a very subtle type. To train them in the art of keeping secrets, many a wise
teacher has devised ways and means whereby innocuous facts and fictions were
given to students for the practice of keeping them private and learning how to
avoid revealing them directly and indirectly in answering questions and in
conversations.
It is a wise practice to impose on oneself the obligation of secrecy in reference to certain metaphysical and psychical teachings or
spiritual and mystical practices. In doing so care must be taken that the
student does not fall prey to the assuming of a mysterious attitude, which is
still another form of egotism. "What thou hast to do, do it in quietude though a
multitude surroundeth thee; what thy right hand receiveth or what thy left
hand giveth let only thy Hidden Heart know"---
p.38
such is the aphorism of old and the rules of the spiritual Path are the same
today as of yore.
Corpses exist, but a living body has always a soul.
Corpses of knowledge exist, but the Science of Life has the Master-Soul behind.
The mystery of the living body, the mysteries of the Science of Life, are
esoteric; these mysteries show themselves mystically in the visible body, in the
recorded Teachings of the Master-Souls. The esotericism of the Gita is within
the eighteen discourses and there is no need to look for a nineteenth
discourse. In the recorded message of H.P.B. all her Esoteric Wisdom lies
buried. Her students and pupils will discover in her teachings that which is
esoteric; silence and secrecy preserved will lead to further and nobler
knowledge of the Inner Temple. To gain entrance every student has to become the
Path which is Life Eternal. He has not only to find the Path but to make the
Path. Between the student and the Golden Wisdom of the Masters which he is
seeking there exists a gulf the abyss of separation. He has to find that Antahkarana-Bridge on which silently, secretly, faithfully, some may be building,
building, building
---who knows?
The existence of Soul, which is, in fact, the Real Man, leads us to accept the fact of its unfoldment. The
growth of the Soul naturally leads us to the fact of the existence of the
Masters-Mahatmas, Great Souls, who unveil the Glory of Greater Souls in
ever-ascending scale---the ladder above, as also
the ladder of souls descending which has its base in the lower kingdoms of
nature. Then comes the realization of Brotherhood of all Souls.
In the work-a-day world of commerce, business, profit,
pain,, many forget
the Soul vision; a few earnestly materialize that vision, and often they
enquire about the Great Souls so that they may feel Their nearness. Master's
are essential facts in our soul-evolution, and unless the conviction is born in
us that without Their aid and intermediation we as human souls cannot
realize our identity with the Universal Soul, we do not make practical
effort at hastening our evolution.
Many are the questions asked about the Masters. It is often forgotten
that we cannot find Them by merely asking about Them, nor by geographically
travelling to where They in Their physical bodies. They must be found by an
altogether different process. Nor are They to be found by the comparative study
of philosophy, religio, and science, which takes us
into the intellectual world, for Their habitat is not the intellectual world,
either. But we can purify our intellectual nature and control our desires, and
if we consecrate this body of ours so that it becomes a Temple of the Living God
we are, then we shall be able to know the Masters.
p.40
Complete self-abnegation is necessary---the giving of ourselves to the Masters who
exist and who live in a world of Their own---the world of Spirit. The method is
that of Self-realization. Therefore, all our studies, all that we do, all our
life must be put in its entirety at the feet of the Masters that They may make
use of it, as They alone know how to do. Do not think that because we have
weaknesses and demerits we cannot be made use of. Masters are great alchemists.
They know how to transform seeming evils into powers for good. So, we must offer
Them not what we have but---all we are. People are willing to give part or the
whole of what they have, but there are very few who are courageous enough to
give themselves to the Masters. Fearlessness is required. That fearlessness
comes when we believe ourselves to be immortal, and not mortal, not as people
coming and going, living and dying, but as gods in the making---gods who are
unfolding their powers slowly and steadily, but-surely.
When we have gained an unshakable belief in our own powers, then we shall have
that first necessary virtue-fearlessness. At the present moment, mentally,
morally, and physically, we are all afraid of what may come to us from without.
That is so because the warrior within has not been recognized. When we see
ourselves as gods, willing to fight all evil, then we will not be afraid of what
comes from without, but remain steady in the midst of great storms. Therefore,
we must believe in ourselves, not in someone else; we must know ourselves, and
remember that knowledge comes from within, that peace and power abide within. It
is the Inner Power that we need---the Power that "fears no more the heat of the
sun, nor the furious winter's rages."
Those who have lived according to the teachings of
p.41
Theosophy have realized some of the glories of the divine life of the Masters;
and they living by the power of the Masters are able to bring others the
sunshine of peace and strength and wisdom so that minds become illuminated,
hearts purified, and we know---if only for a moment-that we are immortals of the
world of souls.
We are to study the teachings of Theosophy while having to live the life, thus
making continuous, not spasmodic, effort at every hour of the day to keep the
Masters and Their Messengers alive in our minds till we ourselves become
disciples possessed of the ardour of the Messenger. Such is the high destiny
that awaits every son of man. But it means acting like a man, by the control of
our lower nature and the showing forth of the glory of the higher. That serious
attempt makes it possible for the Masters to show Themselves to us ; but They
will come into our life on the one condition that we fit ourselves to be able to
reveal this Life to others. For unless we have made ourselves channels for Their
Life in order to help others we cannot touch that Life for ourselves. One
quality of the Masters' Life is its power of motion, its capacity to move on
and on. If we do not become channels through which the Life can pass on to
others, then that Life cannot flow into us; if it did, it would break us. The
Masters are the Masters of Compassion, and They give the gift of Their Life to
enrich and not to disturb our existence. And They speak to us through all men;
They also speak to others through us. As we walk the streets, as we greet our
friends, as we do our common task and go our daily round, as we read, as we
write, as we speak, They act through us, if we will only let Them.
The Masters Themselves are channels of Divine Power inherent in that Source-less
Source named in
p.41
Ancient India Maha Vishnu. Our own spiritual strength and bliss flow therefrom. They are Great Souls as we are lesser souls---but both are souls. To
live as souls, to help as souls, to toil as souls, to serve as souls other
souls, is to recognize the Soul of Souls in all places and at all times. Thus
rivers and streams and oceans reveal the splendour of the Soul; flowering shrub
speaks its own message as the giant mountain its; small and great lose
themselves in the identity of the One Spirit. The peace and power of realization
arise in the knowledge that Masters live and work and help by the Way of that
Love which is Compassion.
THE PATH OF THE MASTERS
Prepare thyself, for thou wilt have to travel on alone. The Teacher can but point the way. The Path is one for all, the means to reach the goal must vary with the Pilgrims.
Students of Theosophy, having grasped the tenets of Reincarnation, Karma, and
the Path to the Masters, naturally endeavour to make practical application in
their own lives and circumstances. They want to live. Earnestly they attempt to
manifest in their daily actions the results of their mental acquisitions of the
great teachings. Seeing the sweet reasonableness and merciful justice of the
laws of manifested Nature, they desire to co-operate with the Divine Will in
evolution. Let us apply Theosophy, they say, and forthwith they begin.
A dozen things instantly overpower their budding enthusiasm. A hundred small
things of life conspire to defeat their earnest purpose. Girding their loins and
more determined than ever they stand up, Arjuna-Iike, resolute to fight. Between
petty triumphs and many failures, blaming their own Karma and doing what they
can, most of them spend their days hugging small satisfactions and hoping that
something sure will happen some day---and they add, if not in this life, then in
the next.
Long experience and continued observation of such Theosophic efforts of earnest
and devoted individuals enable us to answer, albeit partially, the question that
is sometimes asked: "What is wrong with us? "
Let us try to find an adequate reply.
That the Spiritual Path is uphill and steep, that it is the Path of Woe, that
the gateway to it is strait and narrow, that it is sharp as the razor's edge and
can shave human natures all too fine, is not fully comprehended by the
enthusiastic neophyte. All have read
p.46
these statements but each one of us thinks that by some special decree of
Providence "it will be different with me." We profess belief in brotherhood, but
with most it is profession and not life; for in this, too, as in all else, we,
are brothers and the Path of Woe is for all; the razor, will shave all. When the
Buddha instituted shaving the head for his mendicants, he did not make himself
an exception, nor say to his favourite disciple, "Ananda, thou mayst retain thy
lovely locks." The Law of Brotherhood manifests everywhere at all times, but
more than at any other place does it, work its miracle in the heart of the
would-be aspirant to Perfection and Wisdom and Sacrifice and Service. That
great Law is at once the expression and the gauge of spiritual unfoldment. It
sings its perfect song in the Hearts of Compassion of the Great ;Ones. Next,
naturally, it envelops men and women who desire to be Their disciples and
servants. We who are resolved to tread that Path must expect not to be
exceptions; if our path is all smooth for us then it is not the Path of Woe.
Each one on the Path gets his share of woe, and it is an equal share; for all
those who are aspirants to Wisdom, who have resolved to tread the Path, have to
learn the initial lesson that there is but one melting-pot of Karma in which all
the Karma, good, bad and indifferent, of every true aspirant is thrown. To
"stand alone and isolated" but at the same time to "kill out all sense of
separateness" is a truth to be practised, and this is not grasped.
If at the very beginning the above is understood, many unnecessary
heart-burnings will be avoided. The way is difficult---the Path is the Path of
Woe. We need not take it if we do not desire. "None else compels." Each one in
his freedom of choice elects to tread it, and
p.47
it would be the part of wisdom to recognize that henceforth woes are our lot,
that when we have conquered our own woes, we have got to help others to conquer
theirs, and that under the Law of Brotherhood the individual weal is dependent
on the common weal and in proportion as we overcome our woes others are helped
to overcome theirs.
Thus we learn so to behave that the quantity and quality of Karma in the great
melting-pot of aspirant-ship may react to the benefit and advantage of all,
including ourselves. In this connection let us remember the admonition in the
Gospel of St. Matthew (xviii: 7): "Woe unto the world because of offences! for
it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence
cometh! " We often approach the problem of Karma from an individualistic point
of view and find it an appalling prospect. We gain a new confidence when we see
that there is a common woe and a common weal, that we affect and are affected by
comrades as weak as ourselves and as virtuous, too. We are united by the bonds
of brotherhood and the woes are our common property.
Thus spiritual life begins at once to unfold its basic Law-Brotherhood. As we
practise yoga, union, with the energy and activity of that Law we succeed. The
moment we give up the practice we are thrown out of the Occult world into the
visible world. " Come out of your world into ours," said a Master once. Here is
the first step-Recognition of the Law of Brotherhood as it touches the woes of
devotees, sacrificers, warriors for the Kingdom of the Spirit.
In our last article we spoke of the Path of Woe which all must tread without
exception, and indicated that it is a common and a universal experience. But
why, oh why, a Path of Woe ?---ask a hundred good friends. Why not share our joys
and our lights and calI it a Path of Weal?
It is the Path of Woe because what we have gathered in the past are seeds of
anguish from which pleasure and peace do not sprout forth. The Path of Woe is
the other half of the Path of Pursuit; to give up what we gathered with pain,
labour and mighty effort is a Karmic retribution and in proportion as we pained
others in gaining our ends, in securing our possessions, and using what was
gained and secured, pain now comes back to us.
There is, however, another factor; our sincere desire for spiritual living,
being an energy of the Occult World, where Life is eternal and immortal, forces
into smaller fields of space and shorter spans of time the process of quick
payment of debts incurred during generations of lives, all over the world.
Spiritual birth is attended with its pangs, and inner growth has its pains of
teething, walking and all the rest. For the earnest and enthusiastic aspirant
these uncomfortable experiences are crowded together, and thus the sum total of
previous Karma shows the balance in the currency of woe on our debit side.
The method of the payment of past debts is mercifully devised by Wisdom; it
enables us to transform woes into joys in the very process of payment. That
49:
method, to be pursued as we tread the Path of Woe, is living the life of
self-expression. In fact, the debt. in question cannot be met otherwise.
Deliberate practice at living differently than we have hitherto done has to be
undertaken. Leaving alone the life of the senses and the mind, refusing to be
energized by feelings and emotions, ever watchful, continuously heedful, to live
in terms of the soul is the high enterprise in which we are engaged. To pursue
that task by the old method of haphazard and ever-moving, ever-changing
existence is an error many of us commit. Self-collectedness is the watchword of
the new method. To move in a deliberate manner from within, which is the region
of the Soul, to the without, which is the sphere of sensuous existence, is the
first necessary qualification. To collect together the scattered forces, and to
reflect on them by the aid of the Light of the Higher Self, so that they are
animated and enlivened by it, is our Dharma. All of us understand this in some
measure, but what most of us do not seem to grasp is the fact that this process
has to be regular, persistent and continuous. They are not religious ceremonies
to be performed periodically nor are they like sacred festivals which fall on a
few occasions in the year. They are not even like unto heroic acts which men
perform to their glory and renown once, perhaps twice, in their lives. This
watchfulness and this self-collectedness have to be observed and applied every
hour of the day, fifty-two weeks in the Year; they must manifest their power in
all our labour undertaken for profit or pleasure, in work or recreation, in
small activities or in important ones. All the while to energize our environment
by the Power of Wisdom within us is the first step which aspirants have to take.
This no doubt is irksome, exhausting to the feelings
p.50
and fatiguing to the mind. To persist successfully is to pass the first great
test that the Wardens of the
Portals of the Occult World present to us; they do so, because of our resolve,
our enthusiasm, our earnestness, our sincerity---because we ourselves put
ourselves on the Path, and are attempting to "force" the Masters to accept us as
their pupils and servants.
We should so live and act, so love and labour that every experience is perceived
by our Inner Ruler and is forthwith assimilated by him. All our experiences
ought to be flowers from which the bee sucks the honey of knowledge and stores
it away for feeding in sweetness and in strength the hungry and the weak. Here
is another factor to be noted. Aspirants miss assimilating their experiences.
How many of us truly assimilate what we contact in the world? To assimilate in
as full a measure as possible what we contact, is a necessity of the spiritual
life ; thus the life of self-expression begins.
Then, welcome each rebuff
That turns earth's smoothness rough,
Each sting that bids nor sit nor stand but go! Be our joys three-parts pain!
Strive, and hold cheap the strain;
Learn, nor account the pang: dare, never grudge
the throe!
For thence-a paradox
Which comforts while it mocks-
Shall life succeed in that it seems to fail:
What I aspired to be,
And was not, comforts me :
A brute I might have been, but would not sink i'
the scale.
What is he but a brute Whose flesh hath soul to suit,
Whose spirit works lest arms and legs want play ?
p.51
To man, propose this test---
Thy body at its best,
How far can that project thy soul on its lone way?
Yet gifts should prove their use:
I own the Past profuse
Of power each side, perfection every turn:
Eyes, ears, took in their dole; Brain treasured up the whole;
Should not the heart beat once "How good to live and learn" ?
In these lines from Robert Browning's "Rabbi Ben Ezra" we come across the gospel
of self-expression which is a requisite of the spiritual life. Pondering over
them we see how mistaken are the notions in people's minds who glibly talk of
self-expression. It is not a matter of one of the fine arts---it is a matter of
daily life, which people name drudgery, and desire to run away from. The life of
self-expression is Drudgery made Divine.
Our fitness or otherwise to enter the Occult World and maintain our position
therein is tested definitely at an early stage of our inner Life. The test comes
from the Great Law, Sifter of man's Dharma, on the Path of Woe. The significance
of this process can be understood by a correct reading of a few verses in the
Gospel of St. Luke (Chapter 9). To different types of aspirants Jesus gives
different answers. He rejects one eager to "follow thee whithersoever thou goest"
by a diplomatic answer that. " the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
To a second he advises, "Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach
the kingdom of God." To the third he says, "No man having put his hand to the
plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Here are three
definite situations and all of us should enquire if we belong to any of them.
Are we only lip-professors, and is our earnestness rooted in selfishness or
egotism, and our devotion energized by personal ends and personal motives? For
us, then, there is no place in the Occult World. Or are we half-hearted, yet
desirous of trafficking in the shades of the shadow world of the dead? Have we
very definitely come out from among them? Or do we belong to the third
type---having abandoned earthly possessions we regret our step and yet are
attracted by the Ideal, possess a desire to be like Them, so that we might help
Them?
This test has to be passed.
Occultism speaks of the neophyte passing the tests of the elementals of earth,
water, air, fire, when he enters
p.53
the World of the Spirit. The correct understanding of this mystery emblem is
naturally beyond most of us. But let us try to understand as best we can what it
implies.
In the composition of our being are the four elemental forces which, on
their material side, are spoken of by the Ancients as Elements of Earth, Water,
Air, Fire. The four temperaments, phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric and
melancholic; the four types of Nature-spirits, gnomes, undines, sylphs and
salamanders; and several other quartets are related to and correspond with each
other. For the purposes of our study, it will suffice for us to honestly ask and
find answers in full and stern justice to these questions :---Are we of the earth
earthy, so full of worldly belongings that we are thrown out by ourselves from
the Occult World? Are we like unto that young man who" went away sorrowful"
(note, he was not sent away) "for he had great possessions"? Or are we watery
people, sentimental, goody-goody, wishy washy, desirous of observing customs and
manners of the world of the dead? Or are we self-opinionated folk who must air
our views in season and out of season and tell the world what we are doing or
going to do, what we think and feel and who, like unto the third aspirant of
Jesus, "first go to bid them farewell, which are at home, at my house," and
incidentally tell them what we are going to do, righteously and virtuously
follow the Lord, and air our views on the subject, and other matters besides? Or
are we the fiery type---who can burn up earth and dry up water, and whose only
enemy is the gale of fury which sometimes overpowers the weak flame and the
young fire?
There are fires which cannot be extinguished and there is the Spiritual Fire,
which so subdues the breeze
p.54
and gale of Ahamkara, that it burns steady and bright. This Fire is the
controller; it too is the manifester and expresser of its nature.
Young aspirants sometimes forget that self-control and self-expression are not
two processes but two phases of but one process. The co-ordination of these two
has to be achieved. To eliminate the earthy-rigidity of the senses, the
watery-mobility of the emotions, the airy velocity of the thoughts by proper,
adequate and all-round control, and to use them as channels of the Fiery Soul
which is our real Self, so that it can express itself in its true grandeur and
glory, is the double work of every aspirant. To make our body of senses and
limbs the stately mansion which puts forth the majesty and tenderness of Mother
Earth; to make our emotions start from the spring of Love, glide forth in the
river of gentleness and empty themselves in the Ocean of Compassion ; to make
our thoughts harbingers of goodwill and like birds rise in the Ether of Space,
singing their songs-joyous and clear and fresh; to transform ourselves into the
steady-burning Flame of Nachiketas's Fire-symbol of the Disciple; that is the
task that lies before us.
Self-made is the Path, Self-determined is the effort to tread it. Treading the
Path we realize the Self. In Self-realization we become the Path. Thus the
Truth, the Way, and the Life are one.
FIGHT OUT THE FIELD, O NEOPHYTE!
Prepare, and be forewarned in time. If thou hast tried and failed, O dauntless
fighter, yet lose not courage: fight on, and to the charge return again and yet
again.
The fearless warrior, his precious life-blood oozing from his wide and gaping
wounds, will still attack the foe, drive him from out his strong hold, vanquish
him, ere he himself expires. Act then, all ye ;who fail and suffer, act like
him; and from the stronghold of your Soul chase all your foes away--- ambition,
anger, hatred, e'en to the shadow of desire --- when even you have failed.
. . . The fortunate
Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves,
Whose slightest
action or inaction serves
The one great aim.
A verse in the Dhammapada says that no outer device can purify a person" who
has not solved his doubts." It is no exaggeration, then, for the poet to say
that "doubts are traitors."
People live so grossly centred in the without that they have no time to attend
to the within. Sometimes ---the without is full or sensuality of the, animal kind;
sometimes, of adventure devoid of wickedness; for many the without is full of
the humdrum passing of days and weeks into months and years; for a few that
without is absorption in outer ceremonialism of penance and prayer and even
asceticism, with many fasts and no festivals. But always it is preoccupation
with matters of the mundane spheres.
The newcomer to Theosophy begins in enthusiasm and with intuitive faith; he
becomes a student, then an aspirant, with devotion endeavouring to learn and to
serve; he blossoms into a neophyte. In due course he is overtaken by weaknesses
and the fear of difficulties. Above all he is lured by the gaiety, the pomp and
the power of the world, and he feels that his life is gliding by, untouched by
all that wonder. And then come failures and frustrations, followed by doubts
regarding the present mode of Theosophical living, a desire for escape or for
change of venue. Boredom leads to laziness as well as discontent and the
mischief is done.
p.58
" My life is marred; discipline is not for me; I must change all this. To gain
the soul is fine; but to lose the world for it? No."
We ought to clear our minds about the vital Esoteric teaching that the arising
of doubts in the consciousness of a neophyte, if not conquered by quiet study
and calm reflection, leads to desertion from the field of battle. Small slips or
great sins may occur, but the temptation to commit them is overcame when the
neophyte stands firm and gives battle. Even to speculate about desertion of
Discipline is to strengthen our doubts about the Wisdom and the Wise Ones,
about the Divinity within ourselves, about the true Altruism by which alone man
feels the Peace of the Occult World, sees the Light of the Hidden Ones, hears
the sound of the Spiritual Spheres. Therefore has doubt been mentioned in the
same context as hypocrisy, which is called an unpardonable sin in Occultism.
When one gives up the Fight he begins to forget the rules of the Discipline of
the Righteous Soldier; and in a short while he becomes careless, scoffs at the
Discipline, struggles anyhow and even fails to see himself as a deserter.
Neophytes talk of their weaknesses but they let go opportunities to learn and
to overcome them. What they are called upon to do is not to fail, not to be
broken, but to remain true to the Way of Discipline, to be faithful to the very
end. The only sin that Occultism condemns is the sin of desertion. Doubts of
the spiritual and higher life ever spring from the form of sin (papa-purusha)
of the personal man. Carnal forces sow seeds of doubt in us, tempt us to commit
follies, goad us on to desert the good, the true and the beautiful. The
temptation to desert does not come to the worldly man, for he has nothing to
be tempted
p.59
away from. He is free to " enjoy" his carnal appetites. But the neophyte is
tempted to desert the Discipline. What is the form of this temptation? Carnal
forces speak to him and say: "Why be a slave to the discipline you have
accepted? Be free; make your own discipline." This is the blackest of delusions.
The duty of the neophyte is to possess a direct ray of thought and of purpose
and to use the overcoming of his weaknesses, small or big, of body or of mind,
for the fulfilment of that purpose and for intensifying the power of that ray.
Says an aphorism :-
Selfishness will desert you, if you do not desert the Wisdom-Word.
How encouraging is the instruction :---
. . . . "each failure is success, and each sincere attempt wins its reward in time.
The holy germs that sprout and grow unseen in the disciple's soul, their stalks
wax strong at each new trial, they bend like reeds but never break, nor can they
e'er be lost. But when the hour has struck they blossom forth.
But where can reward come from if after any failure no sincere attempt is made?
When with some degree of failure the neophyte deserts and so is broken, is he
not lost? H.P.B. has explained in more than one place the declivity which
failure follows, and what this "loss" means. Failure to try and to keep on
trying is the one and only real failure. Can it be turned into a success? Not
until the temptation which enslaved the deserter, by the false notions of
personal freedom, is destroyed; not until the doubts which caused the desertion.
are removed. Only then restoration to the Path of Discipline is achieved.
THE WORLD OF SHELLS AND OF SOUL
. .
Hear what the Voices of the Silence say-
All joys are yours if you put forth your claim.
Once let the spiritual laws be
understood,
Material things must answer and obey.
While the swinging between pleasures and pains is allowed to go on, experiences
are gone through but the lessons are not learnt. The Esoteric Philosophy teaches
that after pleasure comes pain and that then virtue should follow. This happens
only when pain has led to honest inquiry as to its cause and to a sincere
search for it. Ignorance and illusion, low-mindedness and delusion are creators
of pain. Only when pain's educative value is sought do we hear the message of
the God of Pain. This is the initial step on the Path of Practice.
The pain that the neophyte undergoes is an experience and particular curve of
the ascending spiral of soul evolution. It begins in the personal karma of the
psychic nature. The probationer-chela of today is tested on the psychological
side of his nature. This test begins when personal Karma precipitates the forces
of accumulated destiny. The would-be chela has to learn that no Karma of his,
emerging from the near or the distant past and whether good, bad or
indifferent, is useless to him. When he proclaims that all life is probationary,
he soon comes, if he is earnest, to assume the position:
"I am willing to be tested." Immediately this statement of The Voice of the
Silence takes on a new meaning: " 'Great Sifter' is the name of the 'Heart
Doctrine,' O Disciple." Who and what will help him?
p.61
If his earnestness deepens his sincerity he will find this answer: The Esoteric
Philosophy and the true Instructors will help. The probationer has turned
into a neophyte on the Path and recognizes the place and the power of the
Hierophant. He need not depend on his own ingenuity to overcome his self-made
destiny in fact he should not. He has to acquire the art of seeking guidance at
every turn from his Discipline, his Rules and Precepts. Nothing else will aid
him to Victory.
At this stage his personal Karma takes a new shape: he sees it not only as
revealing defects to be deplored but also as affording avenues to quicker
progress. The powers of virtues and of knowledge come thick and fast and begin
to function within him, producing changes on the psychological as well as the
physiological side of his personal constitution. This necessitates the giving up
of some of his past habits, mannerisms and customs and the adopting of some
practices of real soul and mind asceticism. 'The Holy War is waged according to
plan and deliberately. Most of the time, most of the neophytes under tests and
trials do not see that the forces which bring varied afflictions on their whole
personal being are good and beneficial powers. "Why does only the evil come?"
each cries. If he were to inquire and to insist upon an answer he would learn
that he is able to perceive afflictions and weaknesses because of his inner
growth.
At this stage of soul evolution the Guru and the Hierophant teach the
Antahkaranic being in him, not his Kama-Manasic being. The Manasic being or the
Inner Ego brooding over that Antahkaranic being stirs up in him the muddy waters
of Kama Loka. Unwisely he identifies himself, with his egotism and pride, his
selfish ambitions and, alas! he knows not that he is
p.62
making the task of his Inner Ego doubly difficult. Unconsciously to himself he
spurns the aid near at hand, looking in the opposite direction for succour and
solace. This is the very first lesson that the neophyte who has dedicated
himself to the treading of the Path must learn: (There are probationers who have
not dedicated themselves; such are cleaving to mundane existence in varying
degrees and the trials of such were referred to in the preceding article of this
series. ) But the Esoteric Philosophy teaches the dedicated ones to cease to
worry and be anxious about their bad Karmic precipitations, and to identify
themselves with that which is beneficently powerful on the causal plane
within. That which comes down and out is of the past---so much fæcal matter,
useless for building health, useful only as an indicator of our present inner
state of aspiration to build a centre of strength and calm and dispassion.
How can we know that such a centre is emerging in our Antahkaranic being? By
observing what dirt and dust and filth is being thrown out, causing no doubt
pain and shame to us. One of the temptations of this stage is, "Let me change my
environment." At this stage there is no question of deserting the Path of the
Masters, of giving up the accepted Discipline, but the temptation is, "Let me
change my environment! "---as if we were not going to carry along with us our
Kama-Manasic forces and as if these were not going to continue to throw out
our fæcal matter!
The fight of the neophyte in this stage is not in the outer sphere of
environment; it is between his Kama Manas and his Antahkaranic being on which the
radiation of his Inner God and his Guru is focused. He is that being, and not
the Kamic tendencies, propensities
p.63
and impulses. Whatever the nature of his moods and ebullitions, they are not
caused by anyone or anything outside. Outer persons and events are not even the
real agents of his probationary testing. These outer persons and things do not
try him. The inner Kamic forces of the Elemental world are the primary and the
real agents of his testing. This inner process is so complicated that it takes a
long period to fathom the meaning of the process, to get over the ensuing evil.
In this stage the neophyte is learning to discern, not yet even to endure. The test of endurance will follow only when he has learnt that his foes are
within, are of his own household, and that it is of no use to blame secondary
causes.
How unequivocal and emphatic is The Voice of the Silence :---
Think not that breaking bone, that rending flesh and
muscle, unites thee to thy
"Silent Self." Think not that
when the sins of thy gross form are conquered,
O
Victim
of thy Shadows, thy duty is accomplished by nature and by
man. (pp.
32-33)
Pertinent is the distinction made between the inner and the outer. Sins of the body are effects of the sins of the Kama-Manasic being. The destruction of the
outer sins is not to be achieved by seeking a new environment but by fighting
the Tanhaic Elementals .and the skandhaic Lives which are within. These produce
the sins of the gross body.
In this stage we must learn the art of being present at our own funeral---a very
important stage in the---developing life of the neophyte. When he dies the death
as a Kama-Manasic being and witnesses that funeral he knows something profoundly
fundamental. To be present and watchful at that funeral he must
p.64
focus his sight on the corpse; and as a spectator he must witness the death
of his papa-purusha, his form of former sins. It is the calm, courageous;
persistent identification with the God within which enables him to discern that
his enemy is not created by Mother Earth but by his own Kamic actions. Among the
mourners he will not find his companions but a vast concourse of living Kamarupic beings. His companions will rejoice at his freedom from bondage to
the lower, his attaining the light of the Higher. He surveys the Kingdom of the
Dead from the altitude of the Kingdom of the Quickened, on his way upwards to
the Kingdom of the Living.
Love thyself last. The Vastnesses
above thee
Are filled with Spirit-Forces; strong and pure
And fervently these faithful
friends shall love thee:
Keep thou thy watch o'er others and endure.
In the Righteous War which every chela has to wage and win, the probationer must
not err by measuring only the strength of the enemy---his personal nature. We have
seen in the preceding article how he should recognize the strength of his own
godlike nature and the powerful allies of his own Divine Ego. Not only is his
own Eternal Self by his side but, as a Divine Ego, he is helped by the hosts of
Friends of the Eternal
Self.
The first lesson in practical Occultism which the neophyte has to learn is that
he is indissolubly linked with the whole of nature, that he is the Microcosmos an
exact replica of the Macrocosmos. His Eternal Self is the Supreme Spirit of the
universe, and every power of that Supreme is possessed by him. His human Soul,
the Higher Mind, is an aspect of the Divine Mind-Soul, Mahat or Maha Buddhi.
Further, the constituents of his personality are derived from the Spiritual
Forces acting in Matter. This lesson of the Occult Philosophy has to be learnt
and assimilated by the neophyte. The first task is that of extricating his Manas
from Kama and establishing the Antahkaranic Centre, looking upwards or inwards
towards its parent and watcher, Manas, the Divine Ego.
The second lesson is to perceive that the powers in great Nature are his
helpers; Sages or Rishis, Gods or
p.66
Devas, Nature Spirits or Devatas are ready to help. By knowledge and awakened
will that Antahkaranic Being is able to command the Nature Spirits or
Elementals. The Esoteric Philosophy teaches that there are four types of
Elementals related to the four great elements---earth, water, air and fire; next,
that the Gods or Devas presiding over these great elements are among the
builders of man---the sevenfold being. By acquiring special knowledge of the
science of Occultism under the guidance of its Professors and Doctors, the
neophyte learns how to conjure them and to invoke their help for winning the war
in which he is engaged. Then there are the Sages and the Seers, the Mahatmas and
the Nirmanakayas, the Silent Directors of the probationer's Divine and Eternal
Self. These Living Mahatmas are Siddha-Purushas, Perfected Beings who hold the
powers of Life in Their own strong hands. Their Philosophy-Science contains all
the necessary knowledge for living the life of the Warrior-Soul, the fortune's
favoured soldier. Even theoretical knowledge of the major principles of the
Esoteric Philosophy purifies the lower man; as he ponders over the great
teachings, assimilation takes place and this elevates him and thus enables him
to see the light of his Divine Ego, to hear the voice of that Silent Speaker.
However indirect and short-lived this experience of seeing and hearing, it
confirms the neophyte in the firm position he has taken with the end in view, of
being a helper of Nature on her path of Life and Light.
The neophyte must learn the truth that the army on his side is made up of pure
Intelligences of Sages, Gods and Elementals; further, that in the army on the
other side (his lower nature) there are also some pure forces, which are there
captured by the lower and dark aspect
p.67
of Nature---and that they help the neophyte in their own peculiar manner. Thus in
the Gita allegory, Bhishma and Drona and Kama contributed each his own share to
the great victory of Arjuna. This aspect of the war the help to the true
Warrior-Soul from both the light and the dark sides of Nature---is difficult to
comprehend. But it is well for the neophyte to know of it, at least in theory,
and to strengthen his soul with the truth that in a real sense the whole of
Nature is on his side, as he wages the war against human darkness and evil.
The Sun, the Moon, the Stars; air, fire, water, earth; gold and silver; flowers
and fruits; birds and beasts; slum-dwellers and geniuses; saints and sages---all
befriend the Warrior-Soul, all become his educators. As he transmutes his lower
nature, he brightens up the sub-human universe, and becomes more and more a
channel of the super-human Intelligences and of the Most High. In transmuting
his personality he has become a Personage---a Man who has realized the truth that
he is one with the indivisible Macrocosmos.
Unity is the Law; Rhythm, the Motion of Life. Man, in his ignorance, does not
recognize this fact. Man is a Spirit-being, a Mind-being, a Body-being. He does
not know this. But Theosophy gives him this knowledge. In his illusion and
delusion man fights man. Theosophical wisdom alone gives a complete and
satisfying exposition of the injunction of the Oracle at Delphi---"Man, know
thyself."
Says Light on the Path (pp. I2-I3) :---
Having obtained the use of the inner senses, having conquered the desires of the
outer senses, having conquered the desires of the individual soul, and having
obtained knowledge, prepare now, O disciple, to enter upon the way in reality.
The path is found: make yourself ready to tread it:
p.68
Inquire of the earth, the air, and the water, of the secrets they hold for you.
The development of your inner senses
will enable you to do this.
Inquire of the holy ones of the earth of the secrets they hold for you. The
conquering of the desires of the outer senses will
give you the right to do this.
Inquire of the inmost, the one, of its final secret which it holds for you
through the ages.
The great and difficult victory, the conquering of the desires of the individual
soul, is a work of ages; therefore expect not to
obtain its reward until ages of
experience have been accumulated.
THE DIVINE DISCIPLINE
Restrain by thy Divine thy lower Self.
Restrain by the Eternal the Divine.
Aye, great is he, who is the slayer of desire.
Still greater he, in whom the Self Divine has slain
the very knowledge of desire.
Guard thou the Lower lest it soil the Higher.
The way to final freedom is within
thy SELF.
That way begins and ends outside of Self.
In its practical bearing, Theosophy is purely divine ethics.
(The Theosophical Glossary, "Theosophia")
All that was great, generous, heroic, was, in days of old,
not only talked about and preached from pulpits as in our own
time, but acted upon sometimes by whole nations.
( The Key to Theosophy, 2nd Indian ed., p. 226)
In numerous places H.P.B. emphasizes the importance of
the practice of Theosophical ethics by students. Theosophical ethics are not
something unique and special--- they are ancient, like the metaphysical and
philosophical doctrines of Theosophy.
"These ethics are the soul of the Wisdom-Religion, and
were once the common property of the initiates of all nations," wrote H.P.B. Not
only did Gautama and Jesus preach the ancient ethics, but with every attempt at
Theosophizing any race or civilization---e.g., the movement founded by Ammonius
Saccas---these old ethical principles were promulgated. The modern Movement
founded by H.P.B. in 1875 follows the ancient pattern in this as in all things.
In The Key to Theosophy she points out that "Theosophy has to inculcate ethics,"
and in presenting moral teachings she uses the same principle as in offering
philosophical teachings. Just as she synthesized the teachings of every ancient
school of philosophy, so also in the sphere of ethics. The second of the Three
Objects of her Society, she declared, was
the serious study of the
ancient world-religions for purposes of comparison and the selection therefrom
of universal ethics.
(Glossary, "Theosophical
Society")
p..72
The exercise of these ethics in daily living unfolds "the latent divine powers
in man" referred to by H.P.B. in formulating the Third Object.
And in her Key to Theosophy she explains :---
They are the essence and cream of the world's ethics,
gathered from the
teachings of all the world's great reformers.
Therefore, you will find
represented therein Confucius and
Zoroaster, Laotze and the Bhagavat-Gita, the
precepts of
Gautama Buddha and Jesus of Nazareth, of Hillel and his
school, as of Pythagoras,
Socrates, Plato, and their school.
The Moral Philosophy of the Wisdom-Religion, like
its living science and its universal metaphysics, is the time-honoured
expression of the Great Kosmos. The Kosmos is not only visible and material but
is also energic and moral. If man's mind is derived from the Divine Mind, his
soul is a ray of the Universal Soul and
lives by Moral Laws which manifest as Virtues.
In her Five Messages to the American Theosophists H.P.B. states :---
. . . the essence of Theosophy is the perfect harmonizing of
the divine with the
human in man, the adjustment of his
god-like qualities and aspirations, and
their sway over the
terrestrial or animal passions in him. (p. 6)
And in promulgating Theosophy it is necessary to bear this in mind :---
The function of Theosophists is to open men's hearts and
understandings to
charity, justice, and generosity, attributes
which belong specifically to the
human kingdom and are
natural to man when he has developed the qualities of a
human being. (Ibid., p. 9)
So we have the task of unfolding our humanity and helping our fellow men to do
likewise. That this mission is not something chimerical is explained thus:---
p.73
The life of altruism is not so much a high ideal as a matter
of practice.
Naturally, then, Theosophy finds a home in
many hearts and minds,. and strikes a
resounding harmony as
soon as it reaches the ears of those who are ready to
listen.
There, then, is part of your work: to lift high the torch of
Liberty of
the Soul of Truth that all may See it and benefit
by its light.
Therefore it is that the Ethics of Theosophy are even more
necessary to mankind
than the scientific aspects of the
psychic facts of nature and man. (Ibid., p.
12 )
But how is this task different from what every church pulpit and every
social-service programme is trying to accomplish? First, ours is not a creedal
or organizational appeal. Other institutions refer to Christian ethics and Hindu
morality, and sometimes mix up religious ritualism and social customs with moral
principles. How can churches preach Universal Ethics any more than can a
political party? They are like business houses with their chants, exploiting the
self-interest of their adherents for sectarian purposes. The practice of the Law
of Universal Brotherhood is not encouraged.
Secondly, while it is true that good conduct is stressed and ethical values are
discussed, the pure first principles of morality rooted in the soil of universal
philosophy are unknown. True philosophy is absent where salaried priests are
present. In the scientific researcher, too; altruism, pure and genuine, is
absent. It has taken our civilization over half a century to recognize what
Mahatma K.H. taught in 1880 :---
Exact experimental science has nothing to do with morality,
virtue,
philanthropy---therefore, can make no claim upon our help until it blends itself
with metaphysics.
( U.L.T. Pamphlet No. 29, p. 6)
The use of the atom bomb to destroy two Japanese
p.74
cities shocked the conscience of almost the entire world and demonstrated man's
inhumanity to man, which the researches of modern science encourage. Even today
the secrecy enveloping the progress of the manufacture of destructive bombs
remains unbroken---this is not a manifestation of Universal Brotherhood on which
Universal Ethics are founded. Where are the scientists and where is the nation
which will break this black secrecy and compel the destruction of this dark,
destructive use of weapons? Will our India do it refusing to use the knowledge
gained by its researchers in the newly established research institutes, for
nefarious, destructive purposes? Will its scientists use their knowledge openly
for the constructive development of a peace-loving civilization---not national
but international?
Not knowledge but heart enlightenment of a large number
of men and women will compel the national States to stop the destructive use of
the discoveries of modern science, and a similar phenomenon must follow in the
sphere of organized, creedal religions.
The emergence of the international State implies
international citizenship. This must not be along politico-economic lines only,
but fundamentally along moral and spiritual lines. Politics and economics will
continue to be nationalistic unless the real significance of Universal
Brotherhood is perceived. And for its full perception some practice of Divine
Ethics is necessary. Human beings must aspire to feel the Divinity within and
begin to act like shining gods, not as political animals.
In the ocean of
worldly life man strives for happiness. His knowledge and experience of the past
years of the present incarnation are consubstantial with the longings of his
desires and ambitions, the urges of his senses and organs. Faith and religious
feeling spring from and are subservient to the forces of his environment. Many
men live in this state of waking life and their dream state is but an extension
of their mundane strife and striving. Then death comes and the incarnation is
over. Of such The Voice of the Silence says:---
Behold the Hosts of Souls. Watch how they hover o'er
the stormy sea of human
life, and how, exhausted, bleeding,
broken-winged, they drop
one after other on the swelling
waves. Tossed by the
fierce winds, chased by the gale, they
drift into the eddies and
disappear within the first great vortex.
The real nature of life on earth is not sought after by
millions; they are either lulled into the belief that the mysteries of god and
gods are not to be questioned or they accept blindly the dictum of the modern
agnostics ---" Not known so far. "
In every age Gnostics have existed and in their
dictionary the terms "unknown" and "unknowable" have no place.
The Gnosis is Theosophy; the Esoteric Philosophy
is recondite, profound, vast, but man's mind and heart are fully capable of
understanding its elementary principles. Those human souls who, hovering "o'er
the stormy sea of human life," feel, as they grow" exhausted, " that there must
be a meaning to life, a purpose in
p.76
the universe, a way out of this Cimmerian darkness, begin a search. Soon or late
they come upon the teaching epitomized in Isis Unveiled ( II. 124), that
1. everything
existing, exists from natural causes;
2. that virtue brings its
own reward and vice and sin their own
punishment; and 3. that
the state of man in this world is probationary.
All life is probationary. The glimpsing of this truth
is the beginning of wisdom. Study of and reflection on these three fundamental
principles of human evolution test the enquirer's zeal, the seeker's
persistency. If these three principles appeal to reason and the heart's
instinct, what next? The notions of creeds, of customs, of scientific agnosticism
and of materialistic psychology have to be abandoned. The seeker has to admit
that he himself and no one else is responsible for the conditions of life,
physical, mental, moral, in and through which he must struggle to emerge on the
surface, where the sunlight is met. In this effort he will soon come upon the
important truth given in The Voice of the Silence :---
This earth, Disciple, is the Hall of Sorrow, wherein are set
along the Path of dire
probations, traps to ensnare thy EGO
by the delusion called"
Great Heresy."
Be it noted that the acceptance of the fact that all
life, and therefore one's own, is probationary, and the resolve to learn more,
bring one to that stage where one recognizes that he is a pupil, a learner, and
that the Master is within himself. Says H.P.B. :---
The" great Master" is the term used by Lanoos or Chelas
to indicate one's" HIGHER
SELF." It is the equivalent of
Avalokitesvara,
and the same as Adi-Budha with the Buddhist
Occultists, ATMAN
the" Self" (the Higher Self) with
the Brahmans, and CHRISTOS
with the ancient Gnostics. .
p.77
The overcoming of the defects born of personal and environmental knowledge, and
the development which brings perception of the traps which ensnare the Ego by a
disregard of the true philosophy of Universal Brotherhood---these cause the God
in us to become our guide and friend. The Master within is patient to wait and
watch for the awakening of the personal man; and compassionate to warn, to
encourage and to guide him once that the personal man accepts the Master as the
Inner Ruler. Study of and meditation on the nature of the Self bring the pupil
and learner to the stage described thus in The Voice of the Silence :---
The light from the ONE MASTER, the one unfading golden
light of Spirit, shoots
its effulgent beams on the Disciple
from the very first. Its rays thread through
the thick, dark
clouds of matter.
Now here, now there, these rays illumine it. like sun-sparks
light the earth
through the thick foliage of the jungle
growth. But, O Disciple, unless the
flesh is passive, head
cool, the Soul as firm and pure as flaming diamond, the
radiance will not reach the
chamber, its sunlight will not
warm the heart, nor
will the mystic sounds of the Akasic
heights reach the ear, however eager, at
the initial stage.
The personal man is enveloped by "the thick, dark clouds of matter"; through
that envelope the Light penetrates because of loyalty to the truth perceived and
faith in the Master within. However dim the rays which penetrate the jungle
growth of animalism and the separative tendency of cold intellectualism, the
pupil is appealed to undertake further exercises for his inner development.
Flesh "passive," "head cool," Soul "firm and pure" ---. the achieving of these
calls for arduous effort and takes the practitioner a long time. The flesh
represents the urges of the senses and the organs; they are active in the
personal man; they are
p.78
in command; they rule. They are positive; they have to become passive or
receptive. When they are active they heat the head, and confuse the thinking
principle and enslave it. Only a cool head, a calmed mind, a tranquil heart, can
control the flesh and make it listen to truth, to reason, to righteousness. To
develop a cool head we need" the gentle breezes of Soul-wisdom to brush away the
dust of our illusions," i.e., appropriate study to learn how to make the head
cool. The Soul within is firm and pure and the strength and . steadfastness of
that Soul must be appealed to. This necessary appeal, made with faith and
conviction, brings the response to our lower mind and makes it cool and
concentrated.
It is indispensable that the learning aspirant and practitioner apply the basic
idea of Occultism, that true growth is an unfoldment from within without. We
have to grow as the flower grows, from inwards outwardly.
This prolonged exercise constitutes the first step in its completeness. It may
take many years; it may take a lifetime. In attempting to learn the full lesson
implicit in the taking of the first step, we are also learning that time has to
be conquered. Not past, present and future, but only that aspect of the present
which is the Eternal Now, need be our concern.
The Book of the Golden Precepts advises the aspiring devotee to "search for the
Paths." The Inner Life begins with enquiry and search (cf. the Bhagavad-Gita,
IV. 34). The roads of a city like all material ways lead outwards, and the
rotundity of our earth brings the wayfarer back to the place he started from.
The religious pilgrim bound for Kashi or Mecca also returns to his home to
continue the routine of his former living.
The Esoteric Philosophy confirms the intuition of the mystic that the Path to
Soul-life is an Inner Path. Sages have taught in allegories that the Inner Ways
exist, and that there are milestones in the inner world as in the outer.
The Voice of the Silence refers to the Path of Liberation and of Renunciation;
also to the Paramita Path and the Aryahata Path. The would-be chela is asked to
begin the" search for the Paths "; but there are conditions for the very search
:---
Search for the Paths. But, O Lanoo, be of clean heart
before thou startest on
thy journey. Before thou takest thy
first step, learn to discern the real from
the false, the ever-fleeting
from the everlasting. Learn above all to separate
Head-learning
from Soul-wisdom, the "Eye" from the "Heart" doctrine.
Preparation for the Inner Pilgrimage should not begin unless we have cleansed
our heart in needful measure. The" heart" of the embodied soul is his "
discerning power," which is tamasic, dull and befogged, obscure and mistaken; or
rajasic, incapable of deciding what should be eschewed and what accepted; or sattvic,
p.80
having knowledge of what to do and how, and also of how to hold fast and how to
set the soul free. Therefore the cleansing of the heart consists in purifying
our perceptions, in acquiring the pure and true power of discernment.
Now our passage names three pairs: (I) the real and the false; (2) the
ever-fleeting and the everlasting; and (3) Head-learning and Soul-wisdom, or
the" Eye" and the" Heart" Doctrine.
To overcome the limitations of worldly perception and to unfold higher
discernment is the preliminary task; this preparation for the journey is
necessary before the first step is taken on the Path that winds uphill all the
way. This preliminary task involves the discarding of useless belongings that
would make the journey almost impossible, and the making ready of our mental
luggage.
Self-purification depends upon Discrimination, Viveka, which is the first
necessary mental quality named by the great Shankara in his Crest-jewel of
Wisdom. What is the Real? The Changeless is the Real. Truth is changeless; it is
everlasting; it does not pertain to the past, the present or the future, but to
timeless duration, the Eternal Now.
There are two types of knowledge, designated as Head-learning and Soul-wisdom.
The former is called the "Eye" Doctrine, for the personal man uses his mind
depending upon the data his senses supply. Soul-wisdom is called the" Heart"
Doctrine, for it is In the Heart that the inner Wisdom of the Soul, the Silent
Thinker and Watcher, springs up spontaneously. The Man" for whom the hour shall
never strike" " knows, for it is knowledge." The great Meister Eckhart's
statement is illuminating in this context :---
p.81
Hearing draws in more, seeing leads out more, the very act
of seeing. In eternal
life we are far more happy in our ability
to hear than in our power. to see,
because the act of hearing
the eternal Word is in me, whereas the act of seeing
goes
forth from me: hearing, I am receptive; seeing, I am active.
Ignorance is a hindrance and a handicap for the mundane man who desires to get
on in this world. To compete and win the race in ordinary life---that is his
objective. Correspondentially, Head-learning is a handicap for the aspirant who
strives to obtain Soul-wisdom, to retreat within to the cave of the Heart.
An ignorant man can get at his innate ideas and divine intuitions, but a man of
Head-learning cannot do so. His false knowledge, relative knowledge, partial
knowledge, is different in kind from Soul-knowledge. The latter is not an
extension of Head-learning. Head learning hinders the aspirant; for him it is
worse than ignorance. There is one aspect of relative knowledge which may aid
the mind seeking Soul-wisdom. The latter can act as a guide and an illuminator
by showing what is true in relative knowledge.
The seeds of Wisdom cannot sprout and grow in airless space.
To live and reap
experience, the mind needs breadth and depth
and points to draw it towards the
Diamond Soul. Seek not those
points in Maya's realm; but soar beyond illusions,
search the eternal
and the changeless SAT, mistrusting fancy's false
suggestions.
The unified wisdom is registered in Akasha, the Divine Astral. Its beams
reflected on earth are the seeds of Wisdom. Every human mind is a ray of the
Soul, and in every incarnated existence that mind carries within itself the
seeds of Wisdom. The weeds of passions, prides and prejudices prevent their
sprouting. The atmosphere necessary for the action of the seminal
p.82
principle in the seed is absent. Men and women do not live; they only exist and
go through life; they pass through numerous experiences but fail to learn the
lessons. The mind requires the breadth of vision resulting from the assimilation
of universal ideas. It also requires the depth and the insight born of noble
feelings which are impersonal. Thirdly, the mind needs the beneficent influence
of the Magnetic Star of the World of Spirit. The navigator using his compass is
aided by the polestar; the incarnated soul must learn to use the Spiritual
Firmament, Akasha or the Divine Astral, which moves majestically and infallibly
round the Spiritual Magnetic Pole, the Logos, Verbum, Shabda Brahman. There flow
to humanity on earth from the Akashic firmament rays of Wisdom-Light which
issue from the Diamond Soul. "the Lord of all Mysteries." These rays may well be
called Lines of Force. Just as from the sun innumerable beams stream forth, so
from the Diamond Soul rays of Wisdom radiate. Their collective manifestation is
Akasha.
The human mind is compared to a mirror. It is a ray of the Shining Soul. The
mirror would reflect the light, but the dust of false knowledge, the dirt of
passions, the ashes of moral death, are allowed to cover the mirror. Nothing but
knowledge of the Occult Science or the Esoteric Philosophy enables a man to
brush away the dust and wash away the dirt and the earnest neophyte can use the
very ashes of death to polish the mirror and make it reflect the True.
The beginner is advised to seek the process which will enable him to blend his
Mind and Soul. In this process the exercise of self-examination plays an
important part. It is said that "one looking at his face reflected in a dirty
mirror becomes anxious and opines,
'I am he.'''
p.83
When in self-examination we see our ugliness, viciousness and falsehoods, have
we the courage born of intellectual honesty and moral probity to face them? If
we have not, we shall fail. But if we say, "Out of this ugliness beauty shall be
created; out of this viciousness moral power shall arise; out of these
falsehoods the voice of truth will be heard," then the day of our redemption draweth nigh.
Theosophy is instinct with the grand Power of Masters' Ideation; in the recorded
writings of H. P. Blavatsky, William Quan Judge and Robert Crosbie is to be
found that Power, easily available for the men and women of this cycle. In these
writings we must not merely seek information, or even instruction; we must try
to tap the Power of the Great Ones enshrined in the records. And then we shall
be able to appreciate the heart-pouring of the devoted disciple :---
When I was blinded by the dark fiend of ignorance, Thou,
a Lord! opened my eyes
with the stick of Wisdom.
Salutations to Thee, a Master.
Many passages in The Voice of the Silence are so many direct messages to anyone
who belongs to "the sacred tribe of heroes" ; such are" the few" to whom the
Golden Precepts are dedicated. On pp. 55-57 is a compact passage which begins :---
Thou hast to be prepared to answer Dharma, the stern law,
whose voice will ask
thee at thy first, at thy initial step:
"Hast thou complied with all the rules, 0 thou of lofty hopes? .. "
The implication of the statement that one has to" be prepared," and not only
prepare himself, is significant. The Teachings of the Esoteric Philosophy and
the Great Teachers who are the custodians of those Teachings aid in preparing
the earnest aspirant who has resolved to serve the Cause and determined to live
the Life.
This passage emphasizes not the discharging of our debt---a huge one---to Karma but
the need for preparing ourselves to answer Dharma. It suggests a short cut---what
to do with and how to handle Karma.
Karma knows neither wrath nor pardon and seems blind in its justice; but what is
Dharma? It is called "the stern law." It is different from Karma; it reveals the
right way of overcoming Karma. Whatever our Karma, it can be overcome by Dharma.
Karma is related to the fate aspect; Dharma, to the free-will aspect. Karma
teaches us to say, "Endure, suffer. pay your debt"; but Dharma says, "This is
the way to learn, to pay your debt and ascend to heavenly heights."
Action which is duty is one aspect; action according
p.85
to the Code of Law and laws is another. In any state worthy of its name, a
citizen is free to live his own life as he pleases, but his country's codes of
law prevent his liberty from degenerating into licence. Similarly every soul is
free to act as he chooses, but the Voice of Dharma warns him if he chooses
wrongly, and if it is not heeded the soul loses his caste. The Code of Law of
Nature is there to help, not to hinder. It can be and should be used by the
person who has the perception that the universe is governed by moral principles
and is always maintained in order.
Our appreciation of the fact that we, no one or nothing else, are responsible
for our present state prompts us to seek the right way to determine our duty as
well as to discharge it. Ordinary men and women, even those who are well
educated, are more concerned with Karma, with what they call duties, and see
numerous conflicts of duties. The student of the Esoteric Philosophy and the
Science of Occultism learns not to regret his present Karma but to seek the
right way of action, whatever his Karma. He soon finds that Dharma, the stern
law, forms the inner religion of his heart.
The practice of this" stern law" implies discipline the discipline of raising the
self by the Self. Many rules of life ramify from this basic requirement. The
aspirant has" lofty hopes " and these hopes converge into the one grand hope to
gain the Great Wisdom of the Great Sacrifice necessary for the Great Service.
The principles and rules of the Esoteric Philosophy demand that we sincerely
attempt to live by the power of Theosophy; the strength of the knowledge of the
Wisdom-Religion should be built into our very Prana, Life or Vitality.
This knowledge cannot be acquired unless the aspiring practitioner honours the
principle of silence and secrecy.
p.86
Nature is silent; she observes profound secrecy and yet she opens her secret
chambers, lays bare her treasures before the gaze of one who works on with her,
and even makes obeisance to him. He who thinks too much of himself soon boasts
of himself before others, and that almost immediately tarnishes his brain, mind
and will. Man is a creator; by thought he creates words, and the rules of the
Inner Life demand that he be non-violent in thought and speech; more, that he be
loving in the recesses of the mind and polite, pleasant and truthful in the use
of words. To live the Life, therefore, requires a calm reflection of and
persistent attention to the practice of Universal Brotherhood. Therefore the
second question which follows the one about complying with all the rules is---"
Hast thou attuned thy heart and mind to the great mind and heart of all mankind?
"
The metaphysical aspect underlying the teachings implicit in the doctrine of
Universal Brotherhood should be grasped. H.P.B. states:---
Occultly and Kabbalistically, the whole of mankind is
symbolized, by Manu in
India; by Vajrasattva or Dorjesempa,
the head of the Seven Dhyani, in Northern
Buddhism; and by
Adam Kadmon in the Kabbala: All these represent the totality
of
mankind whose beginning is in this androgynic protoplast,
and whose end is in
the Absolute, beyond all these symbols and
myths of human origin. (Glossary:
"Humanity") ... the spiritual
Monad is One, Universal, Boundless and Impartite,
whose rays,
nevertheless, form what we, in our ignorance, call the" Individual
Monads" of men. (S.D" 1. 177 )
It is not difficult to comprehend, even with the lower mind, the fact that
Humanity is of the same substance, spiritually and morally. At the other end,
our bodies are composed of the same substances and essences that also is not
difficult for the lower mind to accept.
p.87
But the nature of the lower mind is combative and it is most difficult for it to
perceive that Humanity is a Brotherhood also intellectually. The aspirant to
Divine Wisdom in living his life must learn this teaching of the Occult Science
:---
Each human being has his Manodhatu or plane of thought
proportionate with the
degree of his intellect and his mental
faculties, beyond which he can go only by
studying and developing
his higher spiritual faculties in one of the higher
spheres of thought. (Glossary:" Manodhatu ")
The very essence of the discipline of the earnest practitioner is to fight those
aspects of the lower mind' which create selfishness and egotism, to consider the
good of " all that lives and breathes." The lower mind raises objections and
barriers to transmuting the selfish mind of desires into the mind which moves by
altruism, philanthropy and brotherhood.
The Secret Doctrine (I. 58) carries these beautiful and very useful words:---
If thou wouldst believe in the Power which acts within
the root of a plant, or
imagine the root concealed under the
soil, thou hast to think of its stalk or
trunk and of its leaves
and flowers. Thou canst not imagine that Power independently
of these objects. Life can be known only by the Tree of Life. . ..
(Precepts for Yoga)
These philosophical propositions are necessary subjects for reflection; they
brush away the dust of illusions and bring about the blending of Mind and Soul.
But who does not know that love for the whole, vast Humanity is an abstraction?
To love Humanity in the mass is as difficult as it is to feel the omnipresence
of Deity in the vastness of space. Deity is to be sought in the cave of the
Heart, and correspondentially our text pointedly refers to the "collective minds
of Lanoo Shravakas." For those who aspire to tread the Path of
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Chelaship this verse is not only important ; it is fundamental :---
Disciples may be likened to the strings of the soul-echoing
Vina; mankind, unto
its sounding board; the hand that sweeps
it to the tuneful breath of the
GREAT
WORLD-SOUL. The string
that fails to answer 'neath the Master's touch in dulcet
harmony
with all the others, breaks----and is cast away. So the collective
minds of Lanoo-Shravakas. They have to be attuned to the
Upadhyaya's mind---one with the
Over-Soul---or, break away.
Each disciple is a string of the Vina, capable of echoing the tunes of the Soul.
If a single string fails to answer appropriately to the touch of the Guru, it
"breaks---and is cast away." The mind of the learner and the listener must be
attuned to the Teacher's Mind; this implies assimilation of the minds of
co-disciples. The conductor of an orchestra demands harmony between the players
and himself. But this implies that each player, with his own instrument, must
play in due harmony with all other players. The unity and harmony between
co-disciples and co-workers may be called the horizontal unity, and the unity
controlled and used by the Master may be named vertical unity. This latter does
not end with the Master; from Him the ray of unity extends onwards and upwards
to His Peers and Superiors.
It is necessary to get away from diffusive and vague abstractions; otherwise we
shall not be attuned in our consciousness to "Humanity's great pain." To
facilitate our task a Great Compassionate One has given these highly practical
directions :---
A band of students of the Esoteric Doctrines, who would
reap any profits
spiritually must be in perfect harmony and
unity of thought. Each one
individually and collectively has
to be utterly unselfish, kind and full of
goodwill towards each
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other at least---leaving humanity out of the question.
At first sight this sounds strange. But Masters of Perfection are most practical
and fully aware of the nature, character and limitations of the mind of the
disciple. They try to bring the minds of the aspiring learners to a concrete
picture. And so it is added :---
There must be no party spirit among the band, no backbiting
no ill-will, or
envy or jealousy, contempt or anger. What hurts one
ought to hurt the other---that
which rejoices A must fill with pleasure B.
Masters have but a single Will; all of Them have a single feeling---Compassion; a
single Teaching, ancient and constant, is spread by each of Them, cycle after
cycle. One Lodge or Fraternity, One School of Wisdom, exists, and Its Mighty
Custodians are ever trying to reproduce a miniature copy of it in the mundane
world. This is the true inwardness of the institution of the "Path of Chelaship."
CELESTIAL EXPERIENCE IN MUNDANE DUTIES
Look to the future; see to it that the continual performance
of duty under the
guidance of a well-developed Intuition shall
keep the balance well poised. Ah!
if your eyes were opened, you
might see such a vista of potential blessings to
yourselves and
mankind lying in the germ of the present hour's effort, as would
fire with joy and zeal your souls! Strive towards the Light, all of
you brave
warriors for the Truth, but do not let selfishness penetrate
into your ranks,
for it is unselfishness alone that throws open all the
doors and windows of the
inner Tabernacle and leaves them unshut.
---MAHATMA K.H.
Every tyro in Theosophy knows that present actions mould our future character as
well as our environment. The performance of duty, day by day, has also its
immediate recompense. The Master implies, in the words quoted above, that such
performance would tend towards sustaining our balance and equanimity. The small,
plain duties of life hourly call upon us to acquire skill in action as well as
concentration of mind. Many have a discontented attitude to mundane tasks;
others are bored at peeling potatoes or writing accounts. To be of good cheer
during such occupations at home or at office is very necessary.
But the Mahatma points out that "the continual performance of duty" should be
"under the guidance of a well-developed Intuition." This may well be called "a
tall order." People are swayed by desires in small as in important affairs; most
of the time they fail to make proper use of their rational faculty. To expect
them to be guided by " a well-developed Intuition" is, so to speak, asking for
the impossible.
p.91
People often inquire: How can Theosophy help the common man to live a noble
life? Here is one answer:
What is going to help is not the doing of works forced upon him by his destiny,
with a long face, a wandering mind and a heavy heart, but a cheerful
acquiescence in the accurate and punctual doing of what has to be done. The Law
of Necessity provides the first help; for, it requires that that which is not
necessary to be done is not a duty. The mundane ways, customs and conventions
involved in the performance of duties take their toll from the earnest student,
and he is compelled to seek guidance from the doctrines of the Esoteric
Philosophy. Our perception and evaluation of the routine duties of life undergo
a fundamental change when we examine them in the light of Theosophy. But the
Mahatma advocates not a well-developed rationality but a well-developed
Intuition. Intuitive knowledge depends not on logic and reason; the faculty
related to Buddhi, the abode of intuitions, is the faculty of coordinating the
mundane and the material to the celestial and the spiritual. This means learning
the science of the laws of analogy and correspondence. The study of logic is
considered necessary for the correct use of the mind. The development of
intuition demands a study of the law of analogy and correspondence, so that we
perceive the" world in a grain of sand" and comprehend the profound and
mysterious knowledge enshrined in such a formula-" Oh ! the Jewel in the Lotus."
In the present hour are hidden great potentialities.
Can it be that the right, hourly performance of duties would bring us the vision
which would prove a blessing to ourselves and to mankind? Can it be that in the
" germ of the present hour's effort" there are possibilities of progress
undreamt of by us? The words of the
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Mahatma quoted above certainly point to such an idea. Are our souls fired with
joy and zeal during the doing of the small; plain duties of life? One such duty
for the Theosophical student is regular attendance at all U.L.T. meetings, once
again not with discontent and bored feelings but with a cheerful mind charged
with zeal and enthusiasm. Among our numerous small, plain duties there are those
which might be compared to the body; others, to the principle of Prana; others,
to the mind; and then there are duties which form the soul aspect of them all.
Regular, punctual attendance at U.L.T. meetings is the soul of mundane duties,
most helpful in revealing to us the celestial aspect of all events and
happenings. But intelligent preparation for such attendance at U.L.T. meetings
has to be made. Especially it seems that the Mahatma refers to this Theosophical
duty when He speaks of the "vista of potential blessings to yourselves [italics
His] and mankind lying in the germ of the present hour's effort."
In and through the small, plain duties, intuitively performed, we must strive
to catch the vision of the Light. But we must heed the warning: " . . . do not let
selfishness penetrate into your ranks"; we must note the pregnant words about
what unselfishness can and will accomplish.
The" inner Tabernacle" is mentioned by the Mahatma. Its doors and windows are
thrown open, not while we eat or walk or are engaged in mundane works, but, to
begin with, when we attend the U.L.T. meetings with a prepared heart.
The real value of U.L.T. classes and meetings is often not comprehended. The
student-aspirant's devotion elevates him at such gatherings, which make it
easier for him to pursue the principles of Unity, Study, Work.
Those enjoyments which arise through the contact of
the senses with external
objects are wombs of pain, since
they have a beginning and an end;
O son of Kunti, the
wise man delighteth not in these,---Bhagavad-Gita, V. 22
Said the Lama to Kim: "When I was a young man, a
very long time ago, I was
plagued with these vapours,
and some others, and I went to an abbot---a very holy
man and a seeker after truth, though then I knew it not.
Sit up and listen,
child of my soul ! My tale was told. Said
he to me, 'Chela, know this. There are
many lies in the
world, and not a few liars, but there are no liars like our
bodies, except it be the sensations of our bodies.' Considering
this I was
comforted."---RUDYARD KIPLING
It was once said by a teacher to a pupil, "Extinguish the bonfire in your brain
or you will develop into a human fire-blight." Wise words these. What is a
bonfire and what is a fire-blight?
A bonfire ordinarily is a large fire in the open air lighted at festivities;
time was when it was lighted for the burning of bones. So the teacher must have
meant the extinguishment of the fire of sense-pleasures and also of the dead
bones of old and crumbling thoughts and feelings. And if this is not done one
acts as a fire-blight, a bacillus destroying twigs and leaves, blossoms and
fruits-embodiments of beauty and of nourishment.
Sensations light bonfires in the brain now and again; sensations form the second
group of the five skandhas (vedana) which constitute the lower man, but which
affect the higher man or the Soul. Sensations are very closely related to the
senses and the organs. H.P.B. says that the senses are" the ten organs of
man" and
p.94
that" in Occultism they are closely allied with various forces of nature, and
with our inner organisms called cells in physiology."
(The Theosophical
Glossary)
Sensations are agreeable or disagreable, pleasurable or painful. They are caused
by the contact of the senses with outer objects; these stir the senses and
affect the personal consciousness. They are also caused by the desire-mind (kama-manas
)---the emotional urges which stir the senses. Sometimes we have no sensation; we
are indifferent, and indifference is reckoned as the fifth class of sensations.
Now, in living their lives ordinary men and women are affected by the numerous
pairs of opposites rooted in impressions, sensations and emotions. As the
senses and organs are living, they have a life of their own. This life engrosses
ordinary men and women ignorant of the truths about the Soul or of the very
existence of the Soul. They identify themselves with the life of the senses and
strengthen the false "I " which comes into being in the antenatal life and which
continues to grow after the birth of the body.
The inner life is of the Soul; the outer life is of the senses. The former is
the real man---the individual; the latter is the mask of the former---the
personality. The Inner Ego is the Immortal Thinker, one with the Supreme
Spirit---he calls himself" I am 1." The outer man is mortal, identifies himself
with the bodily self and says, "I am Mr. So-and-So" or "I am Mrs. So-and-So."
The beginning, the middle and the end of the Higher Life consists, first, in
overcoming the notion of " I am So-and-So" ; secondly, in the recognition of and
identification with the real "I," the Thinker, who controls sense-life; and,
thirdly in reflecting upon the profound nature and powers of that Thinker and
Soul.
p.95
" Knowest thou of Self the powers, O thou perceiver of external shadows? "
We chase the external shadows of wealth and fame, of power over others,
demanding love from others; the shadows of ambition, of comfort for the body,
and of home-life; we eagerly and zestfully pursue the desire for
sensation; we endeavour to fulfil emotional urges; we long for praise from
others. All such involvement in worldly tendencies wins for us the title "perceiver of external
shadows." It keeps us oblivious of the
very existence of the Soul ; and perchance if under good Karma a man or woman hears about the Great Self
and the Grand Hereafter, he does not cleave to the Self or reflect upon the Hereafter.
Let us quote the whole passage from The Voice of the
Silence which advises
the student-aspirant to master the mentaI changes in his Self and slay
the army of the thought sensations that, subtle and
insidius,
creep unasked
within the Soul's bright shrine,
If thou would'st not be slain by them, then must thou
harmless make thy own
creations, the children of thy thoughts,
unseen, impalpable, that swarm round
humankind, the progeny
and heirs to man and his terrestrial spoils. Thou
hast to
study the
voidness of the seeming full, the fulness of
the seeming void.
O
fearless Aspirant, look deep within the well of thine own heart,
and answer. Knowest thou of Self the powers,
O thou perceiver of external shadows?
If thou dost not---then art thou lost.
Originating from the ocean of jiva, Living Wisdom, these precepts vitalize, like
Prana, those "Few" to whom the Book of the Golden Precepts is dedicated. They
possess the durability, constancy, utility and shining power of the royal
meta--l-gold. They form most suitable frames for the priceless wisdom, the
diamonds of truth, the rubies of love and the sapphires of
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beauty-the jewels for the Higher Life.
Let us study the precepts enshrined in the passage quoted above.
We have a shrine in the Astral Body, the shrine of our sensations, built on the
pattern of the Akashic Temple of the Inner King, the Lord and Master, whose
ambassador we are. Instead of taking our residence in the embassy provided by
our royal master, we forget "the kindred points of Heaven and Home" and hire a
house where the sensations of pleasure and the dead and dying skeletons of old
beliefs and customs tempt us, and we fall prey to them. Thus, thoughts alien to
the Soul creep in insidiously, and a whole army of lower sensations is created.
The great Shankara has taught :---
Things of sense are more penetrating ill the hurt they
cause than the venom of
the black serpent. The poison
slays only him into whom it enters, but things of
sense
destroy through mere beholding.
Our thoughts are often cruel and hateful, retaliatory and violent, and, though
invisible to the naked eyes, they swarm round our fellow men, including those we
love and respect. When we are cruel to someone we dislike, not only is he
affected by our wrong emotion but all who come within the sphere of our
influence, and among them are our friends and kin and innocent children, our own
and our neighbours'. Our hate poisons us primarily and not only those we
dislike, and more vitiates the very air we and they inhale. Retaliation and
vengeance, like a boomerang, return to their originator. Violence may strike
fear in another who is weak or ignorant and even innocent, but that vice causes
psychic apoplexy in him who resorts to violence.
What is the remedy?
p.97
Says, once
again, the great Shankara:---
When a sick man rightly uses medicine he is restored to health,
but not through the right actions of another.
What medicine shall we use? Our Golden precept says : learn what is implict in a
profound metaphysical truth--- the interrelation
between the vacuum and the plenum. What seems empty is full :
standing on firm earth and gazing heavenwards at the sidereal orbs, man fancies
that he is able to see the shining bodies because there is no obstruction
between earth and heaven; he overlooks the fact that the ocean of air
is there and rays of light are there : that the seeming void is full. On
the other hand, a solid rock has nothing about it to suggest
voidness ; and yet the rock as a solid body is maya, says the ancient Sage,
and the modern physicist recognizes that illusionary character of the rock in
his own way: the rock is composed of atoms, electrons, protons, etc. ; that rock
is a seething body of motions, and the rock qua rock has a vacuous aspect.
The Majjhima Nikaya has this to say on the subject of the plenum and the
vacuum
;---
"By abiding in what (concept) are you now abiding in its fulness, Sariputta ? "
"By abiding in (the concept of) emptiness am I now abiding in its fulness,
Lord,"
. . . This is the abiding of 'great men: Sariputta, that is to say (the concept of)
emptiness."
In one way or another, by continuous study and meditation, the student-aspirant
should acquire that habit of mind which discerns "the voidness of the seeming
full, the fulness of the seeming void." But neither study nor meditation will
suffice. It is application leading to experience and realization which must
p.97
be valued and used. Therefore we have to "look deep within the well of [our] own
heart," and by self-examination, through purity and the exercise of virtue, we
come to examine the Self, Its powers, Its character, Its nature. If it is true
that we proceed from the Teachings to the Teachers, it is equally true that in
abandoning as worthless the" external shadows" we come to know " of Self the
powers."
The Self IS; it cannot be said of It that It was, is, or will be.
All else come
into existence, live and die to become different.
It is in the Well of the Heart that the Waters of Wisdom are
to be found;
drinking them, we become wise.
It is in the Well of the Heart that the Waters of Immortality
are to be found;
drinking them, we become immortal.
It is in the Well of the Heart that the Waters of Unity are to be
found;
drinking them, we shall become brothers to all men,
brothers to all women,
brothers to all children.
After
recording the four Preliminary and basic propositions with which real spiritual
life should begin, Light on the Path mentions the enemies of the neophyte,
the first of which is ambition. "Ambition," we are told, "is the first
curse : the great tempter of the man who is rising above his fellows," The whole
Note on this first Rule ---" Kill out ambition "---is important for every
aspirant who stands at the threshold of the closed door of the Temple of
Occultism. This great book advises the aspiring neophyte not to be
deceived by his own heart. It adds :---
For now, at the threshold, a mistake can be corrected.
But carry it on with you and it will grow and come to fruition,
or else you must
suffer bitterly in its destruction.
The intuition of the poet enabled John Keats to perceive this truth; in speaking
of the growth of the faculty of imagination---the power and faculty of the
Occultist---he wrote in his Preface to Endymion :---
The imagination of a boy is healthy, and the mature
imagination of a man is
healthy; but there is a space of
life between, in which the soul is in a
ferment, the character
undecided, the way of life uncertain, the ambition thick sighted: thence proceeds mawkishness . .
.
Between the age of puberty and the age of discretion imagination should be
healthy, unless corrupted by wrong education. But often, nowadays, imagination
wears itself out in fanciful ambitions about sex-love, wealth, fame and power.
How many men and women reach real discretion at the age of 21? At what age of
the body is mental and moral maturity attained?
p.100
Keats described correctly the psychology of the human personality during the
period between youth and maturity; but in our day and generation that period has
become extended. The mature mind and heart are often not visible even at the age
of 35. Thick-sighted ambition plays havoc, impoverishing the intelligence and
making it dull and gross, and also sapping the integrity of moral principles.
Are not the lives of hundreds sheer mawkishness, devoid of discretion, of
dispassion and of stability? Their ambitions are frustrated and, even when they
are fulfilled, there is frustration of another kind.
The astute politician Kautilya, in his Arthashastra, tells us of those whom he
calls ambitious :---
He who is impoverished; he who has lost much wealth;
he who is niggardly; he who
is addicted to evil propensities;
and he who is engaged in dangerous
transactions---all these
constitute the group of ambitious persons.
In all these classes ambition is thick-sighted; moral cataract and mental myopia
are the joint cause.
The Theosophical student-aspirant is bound to develop ambition in proportion to
his own earnestness. Therefore the five classes of those who are ambitious,
mentioned by Kautilya, are to be found in Theosophical ranks. The more a
neophyte resolves and attempts, the more subtle is the way in which the force of
ambition invades him. "Well is it known that ambition can creep as well as
soar," wrote Edmund Burke in the first of his glowing Letters on a Regicide
Peace.
This double action of ambition (practised visibly to all as it soars and Practised
underground and invisibly like the creeping white ant) often succeeds in the
world of commerce and politics as well as in society; though very often
frustration mars the result because there is
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dissatisfaction and discontent. But in the world of Soul and Spirit ambition
always ends in failure. The neophyte may turn his back on the Path because of
his hurt pride, and he may wallow in the muck of worldly success. Having lost
the guidance of Theosophic Genius he will play with the genii which rule the
earth. This is a mistaken course. What, then, is the
right course? ,
.
. . from the stronghold of your Soul chase all your foes
away ---ambition, anger,
hatred, e'en to the shadow of desire
---when even you have
failed.
All power is a trust---we are accountable for its exercise.
From the people and for the people, all springs and all must exist.
---BENJAMIN DISRAELI
The life of a chela is made up of tests and trials.
The prosaic and ordinary acts one has to perform every hour offer opportunities
for the practice of the right discipline; otherwise they become future
hindrances. We allow ourselves to be robbed by our ambition.
" Ambition is the first curse; the great tempter of the man who is rising above
his fellows," says Light on the Path.
The illusory nature of ambition should be perceived.
Shakespeare calls it " a shadow's shadow."
One ambition leads to another; the ways and methods of achieving success in the
fulfilment of ambitions differ not only with different people but also within
one's own consciousness. There are persons who try to achieve what they desire
by hook or by crook; there are others who conscientiously labour with honest
motives and clean methods. Within one's own consciousness alterations and
adaptations of both motives and methods take place. All such changes point to
the illusory nature of ambition.
The ambition for money is very general, but the reasons for the ambition differ
with different people. The sordid motive of the miser, the motive to achieve
comforts in life for one's self and for near and dear ones, the motive to amass
wealth to do good works, etc., make people ambitious for material possessions
and
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wealth.
There is the ambition for fame which very often follows
the ambition for wealth.
Some become famous by honest, worthy and righteous means. Others elbow out other
men and women to get to the front rank.
Power is another goal for the ambitious---power to be a
political leader, to be a great social celebrity, to be acclaimed a mighty hero.
This power needs, for its real fulfilment, the power to love and to be loved.
This ambition calls for subtle ways and means for its realization. Soldiers must
love their general, whose influence on the mind and character of his soldiers
pronounces the general great or mediocre or unworthy. So in
political life a party leader must have the respect and love of his
followers, or he is a failure. The grande dame of social life must be loved and
respected by all men and women, or she is not the great lady she professes to
be,
The curse of ambition to which Light on the Path refers is no doubt engendered
by the longing for wealth and also for fame. The aspirant to the Higher Life
must "kill out" those ambitions. But he faces the most difficult of all his
trials when it comes to conquering the ambition for power. The other two
ambitions are easily detectable, however difficult their overcoming may prove to
be. They have their own masks; but the subtlety of the ambition for power is as
great as it is insidious.
The ambitions for wealth and fame make a pair; they affect each other as they
live in the hearts and minds of men. Similarly, the ambition to wield power and
the ambition to love and be loved are related.
Though ambition is "the great tempter of the man who is rising above his
fellows," yet" it is a necessary
p.104
teacher." For the man of the world this tempter and teacher functions in the
worldly way. But for one who aspires to bask in the warmth and the light of the
divine, the temptations and teachings are of a high and very different order.
It is recorded :---
. . . these vices of the ordinary man pass through a subtle
transformation and
reappear with changed aspect in the heart
of the disciple. It is easy to say, I
will not be ambitious; it is not
easy to say, When the Master reads my heart he
will find it clean utterly.
Ambition must be transmuted into altruism. The ambition for wealth and
possessions must be used for the service of all; but we must learn to regard
ourselves as trustees; in our trustworthy and altruistic hands all wealth is
placed.
The ambition for fame must be transmuted into the loving and altruistic, i.e.,
impersonal, service of all who gave us fame, who fulfilled our ambition for
fame. Fame is a mental possession for universal use; not for
self-aggrandizement.
Ambition for power requires a special knowledge of higher alchemy, of the
transmutation of the personal self into an impersonal power. "That power which
the disciple shall covet is that which shall make him appear as nothing in the
eyes of men."
This is spoken of as a crucial stage in the life of the disciple. The intuitive
poet, Browning, has spoken of it:---
There are flashes struck from midnights,
There are fire-flames noondays kindle,
Whereby piled-up honours perish, Whereby swollen ambitions dwindle.
Unless his good Karma, from some far-off past, comes to his aid, so that the
disciple is spurred to proceed from
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unselfishness to selflessness, the ambition and love for power will become lust
for power, and make him first a fault-finding and wrathful man of egotism, and if
he does not check himself he will enter the declivity that leads to the " loss
of all"
The ambition to be loved and respected can never be
transmuted into love for others till the lust for power is destroyed. The
instruction given to the disciple will never be accepted or approved by the worldly, even though they
possess much goodness of heart. Says
Light. un the Path:---
The ordinary man expects, not to take equal fortunes with
the rest of the world,
but in some points, about which he cares,
to fare better than the others.
This because the Law of Human Brotherhood is not understood and accepted. But
the disciple has understood and accepted it, and therefore he "does not expect
this."
The king rises and falls, the poet is feted and forgotten,
the slave is happy
and afterwards discarded. Each in his
turn is crushed as the wheel turns on.
The disciple learns that to rearrange the circumstances which arise out of the
forces of human nature itself will not avail.
When the disciple has fully recognized that the very thought of individual
rights is only the outcome of the
venomous quality in himself, that it is the
hiss of the snake of self which poisons with its sting his own life and the
lives
of those about him, then he is ready to take part in a yearly Ceremony
which is open to all neophytes who are prepared
for it. All weapons of defence
and offence are given up; all weapons of mind and heart, and brain, and spirit.
Never again
can another man be regarded as a person who can be criticized
or
condemned; never again can the neophyte raise his voice in
self-defence or
excuse. From that ceremony he
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returns into the world as
helpless, as unprotected, as a newborn child. That, indeed, is what he is. He
has begun to be born again on to the higher plane of life,
that breezy and well-lit plateau from whence the eyes see intelligently and
regard the world with a new insight.
The desire and the ambition to be loved can be
transmuted when the disciple acquires the Power to Love born of Dispassion,
Viraga, which, rising above fame and ignominy, pleasure and pain, also rises
above heat and cold. To love when one is beloved is comparatively easy; to love,
whether or not one's love is requited, and even when it is not returned, is not
so easy. "Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even
to the edge of doom," as Shakespeare's sonnet points out. His lines speak of
conditions which none can fulfil save one who is practising the discipline of
the disciple :---
Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove;
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Evil and evils are understood and valued differently by
the good man of the world and by the struggling disciple, determined to gain
victory over not only his personal evils but the corporate Evil which is
engulfing the entire human kingdom. Satan
is simply the personification of the abstract evil, which is the weapon of
Karmic law and KARMA. It is our human nature and man himself, as it is said that
"Satan is always near and inextricably interwoven with man." It is only a
question of that Power being latent or active in us. (The Secret Doctrine, II.
478 ))
p.107
To overcome Evil the disciple has to give up weapons
not only of offence but also of defence. This is felt to be a great hardship,
almost an injustice, by the progressing disciple. More, if we allow the rascal,
the robber, the exploiter, a free rein and do not oppose him and overcome him,
his rascality and hatred will overcome all of us. The Secret Doctrine ( 1. 643)
says that with" right knowledge" and" a confident conviction that our neighbours
will no more work to hurt us than we would think of harming them" the disciple
should proceed to practise the Law of Human Brotherhood. The consummation
devoutly to be wished is thus described :---
The disciple who has the power of entrance and is
strong enough to pass each barrier, will, when the divine message comes to his
spirit, forget himself utterly in the new consciousness which falls on him. If
this lofty contact can really rouse him he becomes as one of the Divine in his
desire to give rather than to take, in his wish to help rather than be helped,
in his resolution to feed the hungry rather than take manna from Heaven himself.
His nature is transformed, and the selfishness which prompts men's actions in
ordinary life suddenly deserts him.
The Vishnu Purana is said to be "equal in sanctity to the Vedas." In response to
his pupil Maitreya, Parasara tells the tale of all evolution. It is a great
work, and H.P.B. makes use of it to explain deep esoteric teachings.
Parasara is the son of Saktri or Sakti, and the grandson of the holy sage Vasishtha. In the
Adi Parva of the Mahabharata the story of the birth of Parasara is given. King Kalmashapara, meeting with Sakti, the son of Vasishtha,
in a narrow path in a thicket, desired him to stand out of his way. The sage
refused, on which the Raja beat him with his whip; Sakti cursed him to become a
Rakshasa, a man-devouring spirit. So the Raja having become a Rakshasa, killed
and devoured not only Sakti but his brothers also. But at the time of his death
Sakti's wife was an expectant mother; Parasara was her son and was brought up by
his grandfather Vasishtha. The son came to know of the manner of his father's
and his uncles' death; so he instituted a sacrifice for the destruction of all
Rakshasas. Thereupon the great sage spoke to his grandson:---
Enough, my boy. Let thy wrath be appeased. The Rakshasas are not culpable; thy
father's death was the work of Karma. Anger is the passion of fools; it becometh
not a wise man. By whom, it may be asked, is anyone killed? Every man reaps the
consequences of his own acts. Anger, my son, is the destruction of all that man
obtains, by arduous exertions, of fame and of devout austerities, and prevents
the attainment of heaven or of emancipation. The chief sages always shun wrath:
be not thou, my child, subject to its influence. Let no more of these unoffending spirits of dark-
p.109
ness be consumed. Mercy is the might of the righteous.
Self-evident is the truth of these noble words of the holy sage. The Purana
records the gift bestowed by the high gods on Parasara because of his
non-violent act: "You have exercised clemency; therefore you shall become
learned in every science."
Anger is named as one of the three gates of hell (Gita, XVI. 21). An angry man
lives in hell or kama-loka in waking life. A mad man does not recognize his
lunacy, nor does an angry man remember the saying of Horace: " Anger is
momentary madness, so control your passion or it will control you,"
There are men who suffer from irritation born of impatience or discontent, and
these soon gain strength and turn into wrath. The ultimate effect is that such a
person becomes one of those who, in the words of Shakespeare, "carries anger as
the flint bears fire." Then there are those who feel indignation (and some salve
their consciences by naming it "righteous indignation ") but refrain from
expressing it in words. The Christian scriptures have a telling proverb: "Can a
man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned ?"
The world is full of the force of violence and anger is a pronounced and
formidable expression of it. There is anger hotly expressed by words and with
fists and kicks. There is cold anger, like hard ice, which burns. From its
expression in slight displeasure which is merely shown by the face, to the
extreme variety which produces apoplexy---the human kingdom suffers from anger.
For all such Gandhiji's precept and example are excellent. He says:---
It is not that I do not get angry. I do not give vent to anger. I cultivate the
quality of patience as angerlessness. and generally speaking I succeed. How I
find it possible to
p.110
control it would be a useless question, for it is a habit that everyone must
cultivate and must succeed in forming by constant practice.
If wrath is bad for the ordinary mortal, it is one of the greatest of hindrances
for him who attempts to live the higher life. The violent shaking up caused by
anger in a practising neophyte is spoken of by W. Q. Judge in his "Culture of
Concentration" (U.L.T. Pamphlet No. I8, pp. II-I2). He concludes: " . . . anger
must be strictly avoided, and it cannot be avoided unless charity and
love---absolute toleration---are cultivated."
Those who study that article carefully and attentively will naturally wish to
know what is the force and the substance of anger. "Force or energy is a
quality; but every quality must belong to a something, or a somebody," says
The
Secret Doctrine ( I. 509). To say that it is disorderly motion, tending
towards inertia, hardness, darkness and tamas; or that the nature spirits or elementals act as the agents who arouse our anger, is not an adequate
explanation. The force of anger belongs to the dark side of Nature and emanates
from the mysterious source symbolized as Mara, Ahriman, Devil. The dark
intelligence pervasive in material ( Nature or Prakriti colours the Kama principle
in man, and something of this dark intelligence and its progeny can be
understood if we brood over these words of The Secret Doctrine ( I. 260 ) ;---
It is not molecularly constituted matter---least of all the human body (sthula-sarira
)---that is the grossest of all our "principles:' but verily the middle principle,
the real animal centre; whereas our body is but its shell, the irresponsible
factor and medium through which the beast in us acts all its life. Every
intellectual theosophist will understand my real meaning.
p.111
But all this is not as graphic as the words of Mr. Judge
who refers to the progressing neophyte : ". . . you may soon begin to get the
attention of the Black Magicians, who then begin to try to knock you
out, so beware." How is this knocking out done? "Attempts will be
silently made to arouse irritation and to increase it where it now exists" (Letters
That Have Helped Me, p. 115 ). Again, " No irritation should be let dwell
inside. It is a deadly foe. Sit on all the small occasions that evoke it and the greater ones will never arise to trouble you" (ibid. p. l37).
Irritation springs from impatience and grows into
anger. The root and the remedy are revealed by Mr. Judge. "The statements quoted above should
provoke thought in every earnest student-server.
The Mahatma K.H. has written :---
It is a meritorious act to extirpate with the roots all
feelings of anger,
so
as to never feel the slightest paroxysm of a passion we all consider sinful.
Here anger is designated as a sin, and in the Science
or Occultism sin is a
step to soul-less-ness. In that strange story Vathek, by the highly eccentric William
Beckford, occurs a
statement about the sin of anger. Vathek is an Oriental story of a
megalomaniac, an Arabian Caliph, who sells himself to Eblis, Satan. From
crime to worse crime he moves; the tragic end of his burning heart we
will not speak about. But at the very beginning of the story occurs this:---
When he was angry, one of his eyes became so terrible that no person would bear
to behold it; and the wretch upon whom it was fixed instantly fell backward, and
sometimes expired. For fear, however, of depopulating his dominions, and making
his palace desolate, he but rarely gave way to his anger.
p.112
The Old Testament wisdom should be remembered:
"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his
spirit than he that taketh a city."
Better that we close this outline study of anger with a reference to the
patient, spiritual eyes which bring peace and enlightenment. Says the pupil to
his Guru:---
Master, obeisance to thee. Save me sunk in the sea of life, bending on me thy
steadfast glance, which rains down righteousness and compassion.
Pious
but false is the belief that that the soul enjoys eternal happiness if the person dies holding
to the " right faith." By
right faith, belief in churchianity is is implied for the Christian, who dies
believing; the Muslim considers himself faithful if he dies with the words
on his lips:" There is no God but Allah and Muhammed is his prophett"; and so
on.
A wicked sinner, however, does not turn into a saint
because his body
dies; nor is an ignorant blunderer suddenly transformed by bodily death into an all-knowing
sage.
Contrariwise, people believe that a heathen, an infidel,
a durvand or a mlechcha is bound to suffer in hell, either
never-never-ending,
or terminating through metempsychosis as the sinner expiates through abject and
ghastly long long suffering.
Nature clearly indicates and Theosophy teaches that life-processes have the
character of perpetual motion. Eternal heaven or eternal hell for one
life's wickedness or religious belief is, on the face of it, unnatural,
against common sense and moral perception.
Among the numerous crimes of priestcraft the up-holding of this
false belief is a major one. But is there any basis and any explanation
for this crass and crude notion? There is. Nirvana and Avitchi are terms
which imply knowledge about the Eternal Bliss experienced by the emancipated Nirvanee, and the eternal torment
experienced in Avitchi by the lonely entity who, having lived many lives of increasing
wickedness, finds himself isolated with a peculiar type of memory which gnaws
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at him. Eternal Nirvana and eternal Avitchi are not eternal in the sense of
never-never-ending. Eternity, however long, begins and ends. Philosophy speaks
of sempiternity and eternity, and Theosophy distinguishes between Time and
Duration. Nirvana and Avitchi, however long", come to an end, and the Absolute
Power of Nature and Nature's Law spells continuous and never-ending progression.
Beginningless and endless is the process of Perpetual Motion---the symbol of the
Supreme Spirit.
What, then, do the downward path to Avitchi and the upward gliding to Nirvana
signify?
Every man and every woman is not immortal; each person has to win immortality.
Writes H.P.B.: "Personal virtue could claim no merit, unless it had passed
through the furnace of temptation."
The technique is given in the third of the Ten Items ---of Isis Unveiled:---
Man is also triune: he has his objective, physical body; his vitalizing astral
body (or soul), the real man; and these two are brooded over and illuminated by
the third the sovereign, the immortal spirit. When the real man succeeds in
merging himself with the latter, he becomes an immortal entity. (Isis, II. 588)
Progression and retrogression are the eternal ways which the human kingdom ever
encounters. If a man does not attempt, or attempting does not succeed, in
winning his own immortality he recedes and often enters the declivity which
leads to Avitchi.
How and where does this downward course begin?
Both in the Bhagavad-Gita and the Dhammapada the downward path to destruction is
described. The Gita succinctly speaks of the fatal descent :---
He who attendeth to the inclinations of the senses, in
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them hath a concern ;
from this concern is created passion,
from passion anger, from
anger is produced delusion, from delusion a loss of memory, from loss of
discriminatio, and from loss of discrimination loss of all :( II. 62-63 )
Musing on objects of sense creates a concern in them
and leads to a longing to possess them. By attachment we want to yoke ourselves
to them as intimately as possible. From
this longing, passion is born --- not only passion for those particular
sense-objects but passion for possessing the entire world of the senses
and the organs. A person has passion, not only for money, for example, but also for fame, power, etc., born of
passion for money. A person
does not have only sex-lust but there lusts akin to it---e.g., obscenity of
speech arises; and so on. Kama---passion---is the builder and sustainer of
egotism---the lower "I "---making tendency. Failure to secure the object of desire
produces anger; success in obtaining it produces covetousness; covetousness
ultimately, through frustration, produces anger. Anger results in Moha-Delusion. A deluded man
parts company with his memory, which is
closely allied to knowledge and experience. A man develops delusion, like any
other quality, gradually. Every indulgence in anger deepens delusion.
Delusion begets loss of judgment, through loss of Buddhi, and the entire life
process is one long line of destruction ---"loss of all"
So, by not controlling the senses and letting the desires and passions have
their way we lose the power to control and the guidance of the controller.
The 22nd chapter of the Dhammapada offers the same truth in a different way: An
evil deed is better left undone. Guard yourself within and without.
Speech which reports the untrue and refrains from expressing
p.116
the true drags a man downward. Better for a man to swallow an iron ball than to
live unrestrainedly, eating the food of other-dependence.
Of special value is the instruction to the practitioner: the psychological
demerit of false asceticism, of an act carelessly done, of a vow badly kept, of
disobedience to accepted discipline, is directly pointed out. A lax practitioner
scatters more and more the dust of his passions. False shame, false fear and
evil-seeing are contrasted with right shame, with what should be feared, with
right handling when real evil is perceived.
The Pythagorean downward track has four steps---Belly, Sloth, Luxury and Rage.
Whatever way we look, we find that the senses and organs arouse desires, for the
satisfying of which Kama presses the mind into its service and exploits it ;
loss of mental integrity causes further retrogression and delusion ensues,
destroying the Soul, the Thinker.
As my earthly part is a portion given to
me from certain earth, and that which is watery from another element, and that
which is hot and fiery from some peculiar source ( for nothing comes out of that
which is nothing, as nothing also returns to non-existance )
so also the intellectual part comes from some source.
---MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS
Two lines of evolving forces meet in man and on his
attitude to them and his action on them depends his own evolution. The Third Fundamental
Proposition describes them as: (1) Natural Impulse, i.e., the propelling force from within outwards, of Nature, Matter or
Prakriti ; (2) Self-Induction, i.e., the propelling of Spirit, Purusha,
Man, who guides the course of evolution of his own material or animal nature,
and of the entire assemblage called Nature.
This propelling force is Will---" that which governs
the manifested Universe in eternity. Will is the one and sole principle
of abstract
eternal MOTION, or its ensouling essence" (The Theosophical Glossary).
Therefore this Power or Force of Will has a dual aspect: that which functions as
the impelling motion in matter, and that which functions in the human kingdom as the mind
of man. Thus Will becomes free under the influence of the thinking feeling
principle in man.
Fohat, the Light of the Logos, is intimately related to
Will; it is the Divine Power which moves matter to build forms, using the three
attributes or Gunas, preserves those forms, and destroys them to recreate. All
that action is designated as Natural Impulse or
p.118
Fohatic Will.
But Fohat acts also as the Light of Wisdom. In the human kingdom, in man's
reflective self-consciousness, it is the power by which he is able to determine
for himself his own course of action, and in doing so he uses that aspect of
Will which is designated as Free Will. The root of Life and the root of Light
are the material and spiritual aspects of Fohat. These two are the lower and higher natures (apara
and para prakriti) of Krishna, the Logos.
In our lower nature the impulse of material life functions. Having arrived at
the stage of manhood, we find that the balance principle of the manifested cosmos
operates in our being. We are now weighed down in the scale of evolution and
gravitate matter-wards, and then by self-effort ascend spirit-wards. Our lower
nature is made up of the Genii which rule our earth; and they do not like to be
controlled by the Genius which is the centre of our higher nature.
There are Genii and Genii; and there are Geniuses and Geniuses. The terms are
now loosely used and the one class of intelligences and their functions are
mixed up with the other class and their functions. For the purposes of this
article we are using the term Genii for the powers of life which operate in
man's lower or divisible nature, and the term Genius for the Powers of Light
which shine as his higher nature, the Indivisible which informs and leads the
thinker, the Man, the Manushya, to perceive and realize his absolute Unity with
Perfected Men---Mahatmas, Perfected Seers---Rishis, Perfected Sages-Dhyanis or
Buddhas.
Man, by the right use of his Will, which implies the right knowledge acquired by
his mind, can become the master of the Genii of the earth and water, the air and
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fire, and can know the secrets of material life ; but this
is possible only when man sought and secured the company of the
Holy Ones of the earth---" the conquering of the desires of the outer
senses will give you the right to do this," says Light on the Path.
Standing as we do in the balance position, the seesaw play
between our two natures must be slowed down. The material life is not to be
destroyed; it has to be made the vehicle of the Spiritual Light. The Genius and
his
Peers and Elders must use the Genii to serve Nature. Nature, Prakriti,
Matter, Life, must not be feared or hated, must not be dirtied or degraded,
but must be served, cleansed and elevated to receive the Light of Soul
and Spirit. The Wisdom to use the Light emanates from the Divine Fohat,
which holds the Secret in the inmost abode of the Most High. Fohat, the Light
of Wisdom, is the Robe of Glory which veils the Logos. As we serve the Powers
of Life by the Powers of Light, the latter illumine our mind and we acquire
self-consciously the knowledge of the Supreme Secret---man attains to
the state of the Superior Man (Uttama Purusha of the 15th Chapter of the
Bhagavad-Gita).
We have used the term Genii to draw the student's attention to the highly
important words of Hermes Trismegistus quoted in The Secret Doctrine ( I.
294-5), On which H.P.B. throws light which is of great practical value to
every earnest Esotericist. Pertinent as they are to our subject, these words of
Hermes are more than a mere hint :---
All these Genii
preside over mundane affair's, they shake and overthrow
the
constitution of States and of individuals; they imprint their likeness on our
Souls, they are present in our nerves, our marrow, our veins, our arteries, and
our very brain substance." at the moment when each of us
p.I20
receives life and being, he is taken in charge by the genii ( Elementals )
who
preside over births ....
H.P.B. contributes an explanatory footnote of great practical value :---
The meaning of this is that as man is composed of all the Great Elements: Fire,
Air, Water, Earth and Ether---the ELEMENTALS which belong respectively to these
Elements feel attracted to man by reason of their co-essence. That element which
predominates in a certain constitution will be the ruling element throughout
life. For instance, if man has a preponderance of the Earthly, gnomic element,
the gnomes will lead him towards assimilating metals---money and wealth, and so
on. "Animal man is the son of the animal elements out of which his Soul (life)
was born, and animals are the mirrors of man," says Paracelsus.
Continues Hermes :---
They [ the Genii] permeate by the body two parts of the Soul, that it may
receive from each the impress of his own energy. But the reasonable part of the
Soul is not subject to the genii; it is designed for the reception of (the) God,
who enlightens it with a sunny ray. Those who are thus illumined are few in
number, and from them the genii abstain; for neither genii nor Gods have any
power in the presence of a single ray of God. But all other men, both soul and
body, are directed by genii, to whom they cleave, and whose operations they
affect. . . .
And to this H.P.B.'s priceless explanation must be added; the" God" referred to
above is
the God in man and often the incarnation of a God, a highly Spiritual Dhyan
Chohan in him, besides the presence of his own seventh Principle.
Now, what" god" is meant here? Not God" the Father," the anthropomorphic
fiction; for that god is the Elohim collectively, and has no being apart from
the Host. Besides, such a god is finite and imperfect. It is the high Initiates
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and Adepts who are meant here by those men "few in number," And it is precisely
those men who believe in "gods" and know no "God" but one Universal unrelated
and unconditioned Deity.
These extracts from The Secret Doctrine are not mere
metaphysical
teachings to be speculated upon; they touch the constitution of our brain and
blood, our bones and marrow. These Genii are the agents of the Fohatic Will
functioning in the Life of Nature or Matter. We contact them in our body and" they permeate by the body two parts of the Soul";
and only the higher aspect of the incarnated soul is not subject to the Genii,
for that higher aspect is " designed [italics ours J for the reception of the
influence of the Light of Genius and Geniuses as explained above.
Now H.P.B. has said that the mystery of the two minds is profound, intricate and
almost insoluble for us at our present stage. She has, however, given us enough
for practical application at our own stage of psychic development..
The lower mind is the seat of human free will, of our volition. This will
functions in freedom whenever the lower mind disconnects itself from kama ( "
Psychic and Noetic Action" : Raja-Yoga or Occultism, p, 59). Manas,
when extricated from kama, becomes Antahkarana. When Manas
extricates itself from kama it means that man has freed himself from the
enslavement of the Genii. It implies some knowledge of the subject of
elementals, but primarily man's recognition of his "God," the Being of Light, Rex Lucis,
who is the Genius keeping company with his peers and superiors. Antahkarana is "designed for the reception of the God"
in man, "a highly spiritual Dhyan Chohan in him."
The kama-manas in Vedantic classification is Mano-
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maya Koska and it is in close kinship with its Elder Brother, Vignanamaya Kosha,
a Being of Pure Knowledge; the Parents of both are Atma and Buddhi,
the Father and the Mother of the Human Soul.
The duty or dharma of every man is to begin to transmute the kamic nature of the
Genii by his own inherent Will, and look for and appeal to the Genius, Embodied
Knowledge, to help him to master the Genii --- the progeny of Gnomes, Undines,
Sylphs and Salamanders. The Religion or Dharma of the Genius being the spirit of
sacrifice and service, He will come to the aid of his little brother suffering
the torments of worldly passional existence.
And there is not only the Genius within us but there are also the Geniuses,
Those who have perfected Themselves---the Holy Ones who hold the secrets of Light
for us.
The goal is not only worth the effort. It is the Great
Necessity. And the Goal ---
Behold, the mellow light that floods the Eastern sky.
In signs of praise both
heaven and earth unite. And
from the fourfold manifested Powers a chant of love
ariseth, both from the flaming Fire and flowing Water,
and from sweet smelling
Earth and rushing Wind.
Hark! . . . from the deep unfathomable vortex of that
golden light in which the
Victor bathes, ALL NATURE's
wordless voice in thousand tones ariseth to
proclaim:
JOY UNTO YE, O MEN OF MYALBA.
A PILGRIM HATH RETURNED BACK "FROM THE OTHER SHORE."
A NEW ARHAN IS BORN.
PEACE TO ALL BEINGS.
The Theosophical neophyte values
The Voice of the Silence as a book of divine discipline. What type of discipline is divine
discipline? It may be
defined as archetypal discipline: it includes the discipline of the body and the
sensorium, of the mind and the heart; it is the discipline of the whole of the
personal man: what he should eat and how he should study; when he should put his
body to sleep, the why of dreams, the way of waking and the how of doing things.
This discipline affects his motives as well as his methods.
Who is the Disciplinarian?
( a) The Inner Self beyond the personal man.
( b) The Esoteric Philosophy or the Science of Occultism.
( c) The Instructor, representing the Guruparampara.
The Inner Self is divine
in essence as well as in substance; the Esoteric Philosophy is also divine in
origin and content; the real Chain of Teachers is made up of links, each a
possessor of Divine Wisdom, whose realization of the truths of the World of
the Spirit is genuine and deep enough to enable him to pour out Compassion in
the shape of instruction for the benefit of others.
There are worldly, ambitious and money-making gurus ;
there is worldly and false knowledge; but there are many good and earnest men
who desire to learn, to grow in power. The shadow
of divine discipline is mundane discipline.
In The Voice of the Silence there are two golden
precepts---sounds enshrined in words---whose reverbera-
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tions must be heard if their real meaning and import are to be osmosed :---
O Disciple, unless the flesh is passive, head cool,
the Soul as firm and pure as
flaming diamond,
the radiance will not reach the chamber, its sunlight
will not
warm the heart, nor will the mystic sounds
of the Akasic heights reach the ear,
however eager, at the initial stage.
Both action and inaction may find room in thee;
thy body agitated, thy mind
tranquil, thy Soul as
limpid as a mountain lake.
The radiance of the Spiritual Sun, the Light of the Logos, warms not the hearts
of men; it reaches not the chamber or cave of the heart; and naturally,
therefore, its radiance and voice are of no avail to the man of the world. The
divine discipline is the training of the personal man so that the Hidden Light
and the Soundless Sound are known. For this a prescription is given in the two
verses quoted above.
However, something more than eagerness is demanded to attain divine discipline.
Both action and inaction must find room in the learner; he must learn to act
without caring for the fruits of action; he must act and yet feel within himself
that he is not acting, i.e, that he is not the actor.
"The path of action is obscure," says the Gita (IV. 17). "Even sages have been
deluded as to what is action and what inaction." He who learns to see "
inaction in action and action in inaction" is described as a wise man.
The neophyte finds himself fettered by self-made fate; these fetters cannot be
broken or done away with; they have to be faced and transmuted. Each and every
fetter represents an effect, and care and knowledge are required in handling it. The right technique
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consists in examining our duties. The so-called conflict of duties can and
should be resolved by every neophyte at the initial stage. Duty spells
necessity; that which is necessary must be done; on the other hand, that which is unnecessary should
not be done. Practice of this rule of divine discipline takes us a long step towards freeing ourselves from the fetters of fate.
In deciding what is necessary and what unnecessary we must not succumb to the
demanding or persuasive voice of desires, or to the machinating and plausible
pleading of the mind; we must seek guidance from that in us which is unaffected
by the desires arising from the sensorium and from the mind. Within us is the
Guide, Philosopher and Friend called the Higher Manas. But he is far distant
from Kama-Manas which is ever busy with the senses and the organs, with the
flesh and the devil. Therefore we must seek aid from without: from the Divine
Teachings we can obtain help readily and easily. No one can become a neophyte
without aspirations, no one can become an aspirant without knowledge. To become
a learner, study is the first step; knowledge purifies and elevates spiritual
aspirations; Soul aspirations lead to the actual living of the higher life, and
thus the neophyte is born.
The performance of necessary duties and the strict avoidance of all unnecessary
actions develop both discrimination and detachment. Soon the neophyte is led to
perceive that his new knowledge points to higher necessity---the
doing of deeds which are not only personal duties or karmas. The Divine Virtues
of Charity and sacrifice call for deeds and not only for words, for actions and
not only for thoughts and feelings. Divine discipline requires that ideation and
imagination be used in speech and deeds, and harmony
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be established between words and acts so that no further room is left for Karmic
action.
Bearing all this in mind, let us return to the prescriptions offered in the
verses quoted above about the discipline of body, mind and Soul.
(a) The flesh to be passive; the body to be agitated.
( b) The head to be cool;
the mind to be tranquil. .
( c) The Soul to be firm and pure as a flaming diamond;
the Soul to be as limpid
as a mountain lake.
The flesh represents sensuous cravings, e.g., gluttony.
The worldly indulge the bodily appetites. The activity of the flesh and the
titillation of the senses produce bodily ailments, and even the signal of
disease is not heeded. Bodily health is necessary for discipleship. Therefore
the neophyte has to learn to distinguish between two types of corporeal
agitation. Even modern science recognizes that the body may be thrown into
agitation under a wave of strong feeling. Thus attractions of personal affection
which make people cling to life in the body, aversion to or fear of death, and
all other likes and dislikes agitate the brain and the body.
However, desires of the sensuous nature and aspirations of the Soul produce two
distinct kinds of agitation. Agitation in and of the body can be engendered ( a)
by the without---by the cravings aroused by the sights, sounds, etc., of the world
of objects; and (b) by the response of our higher nature to our aspirations
which are built around our ideation and imagination. The first type of agitation
of the body is a great hindrance in the living of the higher life. Therefore the
neophyte is told to make the flesh passive---i.e., inactive, so as to prepare it
to be receptive. The corpus must be made ready to be a receptacle. The
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second type of agitation has to be inducted into the brain and thus
into the whole sensorium. It is this second type of bodily agitation that
is referred to when we are asked to make our" body agitated,"
Next: Hot heads can never succeed in the neophyte's
life. In Letters That Have
Helped Me (p, 106, Indian ed.) Mr. Judge makes pointed reference to the heating
and cooling influences and to the excitement and calmness of the mind and of
the body, In the
neophyte's discipline the mind plays the most important part.
The starting point is the handling of the desire-mind. The head in the human
body is the organ par excellence of the lower mind, and the mind made
tranquil becomes the channel of the Soul.
The complexities of the lower mind or Kama-Manas are many, The Secret Doctrine
points out that" Mind is a name given to the sum of the states of Consciousness
grouped under Thought, Will, and Feeling" (I. 38). The part played by ideation
and by memory is also referred to. The Secret Doctrine ( II. 701 ) contains
also an important statement of practical significance to the neophyte: "The
ordinary man has no experience of any state of consciousness other than that to
which the physical senses link him."
The neophyte must come out from among them who are "cabin'd
cribb'd bound in" by their senses. He must recognize
the Manasic nature of his being and perceive the necessity of disciplining the
senses for which a prior disciplining of the mind is essential. A quiet
reflection on the two statements of The Secret Doctrine will bring him to
the realization that "matter, after all, is nothing else than the sequence of
our own states of consciousness, and Spirit an idea of psychic
intuition" (1. 542). Kama-Manas, Manas
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freed from Kama, and lower mind influenced and guided by the human Soul, the
Higher Mind, are three distinct states of consciousness, in each of which
thought, will and feeling function. The mind cannot become tranquil when swayed
by doubts and fears, attractions and aversions. Our disposition must be free
from the taint of sensuousness, agreeably inclined to pure reason based on
philosophical principles, and the will must be steadfastly resolute to follow
the dictates of our divine conscience. A tranquil mind is not a passive mind; it
is concentrated and is receptive to the influences and impresses of the Human
Soul, the Ego, the Inner Ruler ---a ray of the Divine Mind.
Theosophy teaches that the intimacy between the Divine Ego and the human
personality is not established in the man of flesh till the neophyte learns to
evoke, by purity, sacrifice and control, the power and the radiance of that
Divinity.
When the mind is freed from desire and then trained to unfold its inherent
latent powers, it becomes firm and pure under the benign influence of the Divine
Man; it reflects the firmness of the diamond, and sparkles steadily with the
colours of the Akashic heights. The second image shows that the personal soul
becomes like unto a mountain lake, limpid and translucent.
In the calm of the Soul lies real knowledge.
Experience of holy, celestial Joy is the real sign of true spiritual life.
The mountain symbolizes the far-sightedness of Prometheus himself reflected in
the purified waters of the astral personality which is capable of responding to
the Wisdom of the Great Lord who dwells on the high altitude of the plane of
Spirit.
Just as the worldly man reflects in his deeds and
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words worldly illusions and delusions, so the neophyte begins to reflect, in his
actions and speech, the sacrifices and wisdom of the Divine Man, The goal of the
neophyte is to become divine here, in his present embodied
state, purified of the dross and dregs of Kama, and shining with the Power of
the Immortal and the Eternal.
Our movement is a reform one, dealing with the very character of the race.
---W. Q. JUDGE
The U.L.T. seems to be very different from all other organizations in this (in
the words of W. Q. Judge) "that in others plenty of money is furnished by
members---clubs and churches can raise large sums of money because they offer
definite creeds ... where we offer nothing of that kind but demand real
altruistic work."
By application and work on ourselves we forward the cause of the reform of the
social order in which we live. That is of vital importance, and from one point,
of view this is the real reform. But Mr. Judge's words carry an implication of
corporate reform of human character.
Political reform, to which the world pays so much attention, is not highly
valued by the Esoteric Philosophy, for reasons well explained By H.P.B. in The
Key to Theosophy (see Indian edition, pp. 229-30). Similarly, social reform
through specially organized social service is not accorded the importance given
to it by the world.
In the words of Mr. Judge quoted above reference is made to the reform which
touches human character. The educative value of any reform consists in its
ability to change and elevate the citizen's character. Thus Prohibition
legislation in the U.S.A. in the '20s of this century degraded instead of
ennobling the character of citizens and a good reform proved a failure.
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There are numerous habits and customs which every
nation and race needs to alter. For example, already a 'great change has taken place in the employer's
behaviour towards the employee; more consideration is shown by the former
towards the latter, but it is not a real reform inasmuch as the changed behaviour is due
to Trade Unionism with its strike weapon. The outer
behaviour has changed but not the inner attitude. The same is true of the attitude of the employee towards
the employer. Similarly, the relation between the mistress of a house and her
servants has undergone a great change, mainly rooted in the plane of economics,
but on the social plane adjustments remain to be made in wealthy U.S.A. as
well as in poor India.
In both these instances relating to labour-capital
problems or the master-servant problem the old and real difficulty persists---lack
of friendliness, even though there be kindliness. Noblesse oblige on the part
of those who have wealth or power or knowledge, and gratefulness on the
part of those who are their beneficiaries,are not in evidence. Students of
Theosophy should deliberately make due adjustment in these spheres as Karma
offers them opportunities.
Or take another reform overdue in every country, penal
reform. The treatment of prisoners has improved in many countries and new
experiments are being tried. But as long as the truth of reincarnation is not
taken into account real reform cannot be achieved. In discussing penal reform
students of Theosophy should stress the fact that the criminal is a brother to
all men and that his treatment should be educative; and in planning his education
the aim should be to bring about a renovation in the consciousness of the criminal,
and what is better calculated to accomplish this than
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knowledge of Karma, the doctrine of responsibility? The true explanation of
fate and free will alone will start real reform.
Take the problem of the abolition of capital punishment. Facts about the
after-death state of the soul of the executed, the new menace to society when
execution takes place and cognate teachings should be popularized.
In all these matters students of Theosophy themselves fail to apply to their own
ideation what is implicit in the teachings of the Esoteric Philosophy, and this
Mr. Judge has pointed out in more than one place.
Then, there is the problem of what is known as the colour bar. Not only in the
present barbarous policy of South Africa but also elsewhere different aspects
of this problem are in manifestation. The Negro problem in the U.S.A. and the untouchability problem in India are but aspects of the basic problem of the
colour bar. Intermarriages between the Whites and the Negroes or between the
high-caste Hindus and the Harijans are only one aspect. Inter-dining, social
intercourse and intermarriage should be understood by the student in the light
of Theosophy and it will be a very different understanding. The study of races,
cycles, evolution, etc., will give the student basic principles for right
application.
The next pair of reforms we should consider is in the sphere of social customs
and religious orthodoxy which militate against the principle of Universal
Brotherhood. The superstition and dogmatism fostered by the priests in every
country and in every creed corrupt not only the mind but also the morals of the
people. Students of Theosophy should try not only to understand but also to
apply what is implicit in the closing clause of our Declaration: "The true
Theosophist belongs to no cult
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or sect, yet belongs to each and all " The student of Occultism must belong
to no exclusive creed or sect, yet he is bound to show outward respect to every
creed and faith if he would become an Adept of the Good Law. He
must not be bound by the prejudiced and sectarian opinions of anyone; he has
to form his own opinions and to come to his own conclusions in accordance with
the rules of evidence furnished to him by the Science to which he is devoted.
Thus, if the student of Occultism is, as an illustration, a Christian, then
while regarding Jesus Christ as a grand Adept he will regard Gautama Buddha also
as a grand Adept, an incarnation of unselfish love,
boundless charity and moral goodness; and so with other
Prophet-Philanthropists.. The student of the Esoteric Philosophy must abstain
from observing the rites, ceremonies and customs of the creed
into which his body was born; he
should study these rites, ceremonies and customs, rejecting what is chaff
and using what is grain; but he has a similar duty towards the rites,
ceremonies and customs of all other religious creeds.
To help persons or groups of persons by right reform
one must free
himself from the limitations of political, social and religious taboos. Spiritual freedom demands
mental freedom, and there can be no mental freedom unless the thinking principle
is extricated from desires and passions, from prejudices, prides and violence.
Friendship and brotherliness are the soul of every reform, for love understands
and the spirit of unity never fails to uplift.
It has been said that every man is a philosopher.
Each lives by his philosophy. He does so most often unconsciously to himself.
His inner attitude to life remains undefined to himself, till he progresses to
the point of inquiring about the purpose of the life which surrounds him. But
for any observant and thoughtful inquirer the philosophy of any man is not very
difficult to determine. It is the outer behaviour
which bespeaks the man's philosophy.
The outer behaviour
of a person has a myriad sides.
It is a congeries of the expressions of thoughts and feelings in words and
deeds. But there is one factor common to a man's many acts. His loyalties speak
loudly, revealing his defects and merits. He may have many or only a few
loyalties; he may have conflicting loyalties. Again, his loyalties may change,
bettering or lowering his status as a person in one or another phase of life.
His loyalty to his city was emphasized by the late Pherozeshah
Mehta, a man of great civic qualities; so it was by Joseph Chamberlain of
Birmingham; and by his superb loyalty to the City State of Athens Pericles has
come down to us as a great figure in history.
There is patriotism-loyalty to one's own country.
Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
This is my own,
my native land!
A very long list of names could easily be made of those coming in this category.
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A more
restricted sphere is the family, but as a field for more practice
of loyalty it plays a very significant part.
The peasant's
loyalty to his farm, the scholar's to his knowledge, the artist's to his
art, are all telltale expresions of the man's philosophy.
A man's loyalty is often very restricted and in that
measure defective. A man who praises his own city, exclaiming.
"Of no mean city am I," and condemns, the worth of
other cities shows a paucity of knowledge and a narrow-mindedness.
At the present hour, here in India, the champions
of the Adi Dravida
Movement, who claim for
Tamilnad special place and
position, show a lack of true and noble patriotism. A chauvinist who proclaims,
"My country, right or wrong," and who is therefore unjust to other nations is
less than man ; he acts like a beast of prey, unmindful of the destruction
that he causes.
Partial loyalties, like half-truths, bespeak moral
blindness and mental limitations.
Personal loyalties which hamper the growth of the
liberal mind, which harden the heart of love, which inhibit growth in the power to sacrifice, do not further
the progress of the human soul.
Great movements in human
history have resulted from the expansion of personal loyalties. Great men become
such by letting their loyalties in a restricted sphere grow and embrace vaster
loyalties..
The Indian village panchayat of old was not a constrictive institution;
it laid the foundation for the future district board, provincial state, united
India.
The village state evolved into the city state in world
history, as the feudal orders and dukedoms evolved into nations. A simple-minded girl from Domremy,
Jeanne d' Arc, changed history, not so much by compelling the
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English to raise the siege of Orleans as by raising the cry: "France for the
French." This was in the :Europe of the early 15th century. In our own times
Wendell Willkie's cry of "One World" has already evinced its great potency in
fashioning One World.
There is the famous statement of the Prince of statesmen and diplomats, Sri
Krishna, in the Udyoga Parva of the Mahabharata
:---
For the sake of a family, an individual may be sacrificed.
For the sake of a village, a family may be sacrificed.
For the sake of a
province, a village may be sacrificed.
And lastly, for the sake of the Self,
the whole earth may be sacrificed.
For enabling man's Great Self to perform its dharma to the Supreme Spirit, the
petty personal self should be subdued. That is
why Krishna called upon the blind Dhritarashtra
to bind his wicked son Duryodhana
and to avert the tragedy of war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
For every student of Theosophy there is more than one practical lesson
in the thesis presented by Krishna at the court of the Kaurava
King where he acted as the Ambassador of the Pandavas
in the cause of peace and to prevent the fratricidal war.
Our worldly loyalties should be used in the service of the spiritual soul; we
should not allow them to exploit the cause of truth, of virtue, of beauty. He
who loves his son ( Duryodhana
) more than his friend Krishna is an unworthy King, is an unworthy man.
The Esoteric Philosophy teaches that we should so love our parents and children
that the loyalty to our personal family may grow into the superb loyalty to the
spiritual family of all human souls. Our patriotic feeling for our motherland
should expand into loyalty to the One World when it comes into being.
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Every small loyalty should become an avenue to a
greater loyalty. For the love of the supreme Spirit one should not call his
father "householder"---that is reversing the process :making the Supreme
loyalty utter falsehood, become evil and express ugliness. Similarly religious
loyalty should expand from loyalty to a single sectarian creed to loyalty to the
Truth which manifests itself in living Nature as the
Most High.
Personal loyalty to the Pope should grow into loyalty
to Christ and to God. One cannot be faithful to the Pope and to Christ,
to Mammon and to God.
Traditional and historical
loyalties, spatial and geographical loyalties, when rightly considered and
evaluated give birth to universal
and eternal loyalties. He who is loyal to the dead past, or he who is loyal to
the passing
present, or he who is loyal to hopes of a future heaven, is bound to become a
narrow, dogmatic and fanatical person. But he whose loyalty grows to
embrace the ever-lengthening history of soul culture, to perceive the superb
beauty of the Eternal Now, who learns, to see the expanding universe in
a tiny grain of sand---his evolution brings to him the Vision of Truth, of
Light, of Joy.
What are the great thoughts of Theosophy which will enable
the student whose sphere of loyalties is limited to unfold them into eternal
loyalties? In The Key to Theosophy H.P.B.
speaks of the real nature of Theosophy as the Religion of Life: "Its creed is
Loyalty to Truth, and its ritual ' To honour
every truth by use.'" The seekers of Wisdom-Truth "in every age have more or
less clearly apprehended the Theosophical doctrines and wrought them into the
fabric of their lives."
Applying this to the present generation of earnest
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students, which truths of the Esoteric Philosophy should first be wrought into
the fabric of our lives?
( I) The Immanence of Deity clearly points to the positive practice of Universal
Brotherhood. Castes and classes, discriminations based upon the colour
of the skin and creedalism, and other factors which are upheld by modern
civilization do violence to the sacred idea of the omnipresence of Spirit. Such
a phenomenon as untouchability
in India clearly points to a denial of the wisdom taught by Krishna in the
Bhagavad-Gita, that He, as the Light of all lights, presides in the heart of
each and everyone---not in the
Brahmana only but in the
Mlechcha
also; in all men and all women dwells Hari,
the Divine, and St. Paul proclaimed that in God we " live and move and have our
being." The student of Theosophy refuses to call others heathens or heretics,
kafirs
or infidels. Recognizing the One Self in the many forms of life, he is able to
understand the diversity in Nature because he knows the doctrine of Emanations,
and in human nature because of the fact of Reincarnation.
( 2) The differences between the learned and the illiterate, the wise and the
foolish, the healthy and the diseased, the saint and the sinner, are easily
understood in the light of reincarnation and metempsychosis. The eye of wisdom
is the eye of love, and he who loves, understands. But what piece of knowledge
gives birth to love and understanding?
(3) The universe is governed by Law. Every event, every form, organic or
inorganic, so-called, is an effect from a cause. Justice works incessantly; but,
being divine and infallible, it ever and always adjusts, and its punishments are
opportunities for growth in harmony. Each man is the maker of his own destiny.
p.139
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in the
stars,
But in ourselves, that
we are underlings.
Also each man is, albeit unwittingly,
an agent of Karma for many, for the whole of Nature.
By the Law of Unity the many are linked by and in the One.
By correctly
applying the
three truths we shall be able to expand and elevate our small loyalties
and transform them into greater loyalties. Creedal beliefs learnt at home or at
school, to which we are loyal today, will become transmuted into the Religion of
Knowledge
which will enable us to endeavour
successfully to make Theosophy a living power in our lives. Karma spells self-improvement; there is no purifier like
spiritual knowledge. If we try to attain to spiritual wisdom. If we shall
draw to ourselves the help of the Wise Ones.
Expansion
of loyalties implies acquiring a more enlightened
faith. Loyalty to Truth means loyalty to many truths in the One Body of
Knowledge, and the Faith in our
Heart manifests itself in expressions of loyalty in the world of deeds.
Disciples may be likened to the strings of the soul echoing Vina
;
Mankind, unto its sounding board;
The hand that sweeps it to the tuneful breath
of the GREAT WORLD-SOUL.
The string that fails to answer 'neath
the Master's
touch in dulcet harmony with all the others, breaks---
and
is cast away, So the collective minds of Lanoo Shravakas.
They have to be attuned to the
Upadhyaya's mind----
one with the
Over-Soul---or, break away.
Among the Blessed Works of H.P.B.:.
unique importance attaches to the proclamation she made in the first sentence of
the first volume of her first
book, and the achievement which enabled her to give to the world The Voice of
the Silence, "Dedicated to the Few."
The old, forgotten Path in the jungle of this civilization was cleared by her,
so that the aspirant might walk it. But that aspirant has to unfold true
Devotion to Wisdom, to the Sages who are its Custodians, and to all who are its
students and pupils and whom he must recognize
as his companions.
The above quotation from the Book of the Golden Precepts enshrines a vital
instruction for all would-be Chelas. Those who have attained the sweet fruits of
Discipleship have done so by the actual practice of the truth contained in these
lines.
The Path to which H.P.B.
pointed can be trodden by the would-be disciples of this cycle. The inspiration
of the Esoteric Philosophy she taught culminates in the learner's heart as a
concentrated aspiration to walk that Way. The strength and loyalty with which a
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learner adheres to his resolve express his inner faith
and
vision. The depth of that faith and the purity of that vision are tested by the
Power of Time; in the life
of the devotee that Power flows, testing and trying, and it does not belong to
the past, the present or the
future, but to the Eternal Now. Chelaship
is a continuous
development toward Immortality and may be called an Immortal Process.
It is taught that Chelaship
begins with the inner attitude of mind: what one thinks and feels is of greater
importance than outer acts, though outer behaviour
has to conform to the inner perceptions; and the first task of the aspiring
devotee is to cultivate his
perception by the study of right
knowledge and the practice of right discipline.
In the measure in which he overcomes the five hindrances---(1) lust, (2) ill-will,
(3) torpor and languor, (4) restlessness and mental worry, and (5) doubt----does he
achieve the success to which the first statement of the above quotation points.
A would-be Chela
is but a string capable of echoing (there is an important idea in this word
"echoing") the Soul. In this world of personalities and persons the
aspirant-devotee has to become the echo of his own Soul, of the Divine Singer
within himself.
To become such an echo is not a negative but a positive process. How to achieve
the wonderful position of the true echo of the Soul-Singer in this noisy,
bragging, boastful, angry and greedy civilization of the dark cycle and
the iron age? In one place the Mahatma K.H.
has said these words which are exactly applicable to the stage
in Discipleship of which we are speaking :---
No men living are freer than we when we have once passed
out of the stage of pupilage.
Docile and obedient but never
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slaves during that time we must be; otherwise, and if we passed
our time in
arguing we never would learn anything at all.
Next, our echoed song is for mankind. Once again in the measure of our
assimilation of the Divine Song of the Higher Manas can we enable the voice of
our personal self to influence mankind. The service of humanity is therefore an
early sine qua non in the devotee's daily life.
In this quotation is stressed the idea of a special type of unity between the
minds of Lanoo-Shravakas---learner-listeners. Unless there is dulcet
harmony between co-students who are learning to listen and then to echo, the voice of the
solitary individual will be a voice lost in the wilderness of civilization. It
is a condition of Chelaship that each aspirant learn to be devoted to the
interests and welfare of co-aspirants, co-students and co-servers. It is the
collective minds of the learn which have to be attuned to the Master's mind.
All the strings of the soul-echoing Vina must be tightened to produce the song
for the help and service of mankind.
All tests and trials of the would-be Chela are directly related to his inner
attitude, which reflects itself in his outer behaviour. The neophyte's first
privilege is to be tried in the searching fire made up of his lower non-spiritual
attributes. He is tested on the psychological side of his nature---especially by
"Doubt, Skepticism, Scorn, Ridicule, Envy and finally Temptation---especially the
latter," said the Master K.H. The agents employed in this testing are" the
jealous Lhamayin in endless space."
These trials and tests have the effect of bringing out the evils of the lower
man, which coalesce to fight the
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effort of the would-be Chela to oust them. They make a deadly hard weapon of
iron smelted by the Lhamayin, who wield it against the erect integrity of the
neophyte. Asks the Master---"Why is it that doubts and foul suspicions seem to
beset every aspirant for chelaship?" The answers to this question are numerous,
but of fundamental importance is this one: In the strife between the Living and
the Dead, on the Battlefield of Dharma, the neophyte must see, face, fight and
conquer the conglomerate evil. This produces a two-sided experience: As water
develops the heat of caustic lime, so the honest and sustained endeavour of the
neophyte brings into fierce action every unsuspected potentiality latent in him;
but at the same time his vivid and vital, moral and intellectual forces are set
free for his constructive use. Every test passed, every trial faced, is a step
forward on the Path in the direction of the Master, which, one of them says,
"forces us to make one towards him."
This battle of the living portion of the personal man
against his dead
aspects with their nefarious, deadening effects produces despondency and despair, and Arjuna like the neophyte wants to
withdraw, does not desire to fight out the field. It is very necessary to
remember that the first chapter of the Gita which deals with this first real
experience in Chela-life is designated as a type of Yoga----" Vishad-Yoga."
Does it not imply "making union with despondency"? And what does it mean? Does
it mean that we should hug despair to our bosom and bolt from the field of
battle, refuse to engage in the greatest of all wars? Or, Arjuna-like, should
the neophyte make union with despondency with the purpose of taking a good look
at that fear-causing demon, of understanding its demoniac nature, of seek-
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ing the explanation about it from the Teachings and the Teachers? Real union
with despondency implies mastering and using the demoniac in the service of the
Divine.
Which virtue will enable the neophyte to continue to live his life aright?
Vishad---despondency---brings one to Vairagya, detachment---detachment from the self
of matter, from the pairs of opposites. Illusion has to be conquered if Truth is
to be perceived. Indifference to pleasure and to pain implies freedom from
"thirst for perceptible and scriptural enjoyments," says Patanjali.
Vairagya, indifference, desirelessness, detachment, is the very first
Paramita
which the aspiring and devoted neophyte should unfold. It involves a mental
abnegation, to begin with, and this is not agreeable to our modern mind; but it
must be acquired if discipleship is to be successful. This Paramita leads to the
flowering of the higher Resignation which has dauntless energy-prana as its heart
and patience sweet that nought can ruffle as its head.
There are two suggestive sayings by two Zen teachers :---
Gettan used to say: "There are three kinds of disciples: those who impart Zen to
others, those who maintain the temples and shrines, and then there are the rice
bags and the clothes-hangers. "
Gasan, the victorious disciple of Tekisui, remained when weaker fellows ran
away. Gasan remembered :---
" A poor disciple utilizes a
teacher's influence.
" A fair disciple admires a teacher's kindness.
"A good disciple grows strong under a teacher's discipline. "
To aid the earnest student to mould his mind in the
p.I45
new style of thinking and to acquire the right attitude we draw attention to a
collection of reprints in our Volume X, pp. 137-143, under the caption" Masters
and Their Companions."
O hapless race of men, when that they charged the gods with such
acts and
coupled with them bitter wrath! What groanings did they
then beget for
themselves, what wounds for us, what tears for our
children's children! No act
is it of piety to be often seen with veiled
head to turn to a stone and approach
every altar and fall prostrate
on the ground and spread out the palms before the
statues of the gods
and sprinkle the altars with much blood of beasts and link
vow on to
vow, but rather to be able to look on all things with a mind at peace.
---LUCRETIUS: On the Nature of Things, Book V.
The great text called the Bhagavad-Gita has a universal appeal to politician and
poet, philosopher and mystic, aspirant and Adept. Mr. Judge has referred to it
as the study of Adepts. To each mind the Gita has something to offer; and, what
is more, its deeply profound teachings have their simple aspect which touches a
person, however short-sighted or shallow-minded he may be. Among these teachings
there is one about the oft-cited triad of Dana-Tapas-Yagna. Charity; effort at
pure living and noble thinking, which is conveyed by the almost untranslatable
term Tapas; and Sacrifice, which stands generally for Yagna, are reiterated and
recommended for practice.
We want to consider the value and importance of Yagna-Sacrifice. The term has a
hoary background and the original concept forms a grandiose Mystery Teaching.
Today sacrifice is much extolled, but what prevails is a materialistic view
which misleads people. The social aspect of sacrifice with money (the
DravyaYagna referred to in the Gita, IV. 28) is today more a veneer than a
reality; the veneer strikes the eye of the
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populace but does not fool its heart. Sacrificing out
of one's abundance, a pittance of money, even with a good motive---though often it is coloured
by selfishness and the desire for recognition and reward---is not true
sacrifice. Similarly, the religious aspect of Yagna is today a
superstition, and sometime's a gross, degenerated superstition; e.g., animal
sacrifice, practised by the orthodox followers of several religions.
Great Teachers like Krishna and Buddha, Pythagoras and Plato, and others
in East and West alike, have ever attempted to bring men and women back to a
rational understanding of Dana, Tapas and Yagna, and to their
clean and correct practice. It is part of the mission of Theosophy to rescue the
grand concept embodied in these terms: in the writings of H. P. Blavatsky
much about them is offered for the consideration of students and for the
exercise of aspirants and devotees.
The prevailing notion of sacrifice which is respected in our civilization
is epitomized as service. Hospitals for the sickin body, asylums for minds
diseased, rescue houses for prostitutes, orphanages, homes for the aged and the
infirm, and such like, represent the services rendered by organized
bodies sustained by donations which the wealthy take out of their purse, but
which do not touch the quantity or the quality of their sumptuous breakfast,
their well-stocked wardrobes or their many forms of pleasures. In
his opening editorial in the very first number of The Path (April 1886),
W. Q.Judge; wrote:---
Prisons, asylums for the outcast and the magdalen,
can all be filled much
faster than it is possible to erect them.
All this points unerringly to the
existence of a vital error somewhere. It shows that merely healing the
outside by hanging a
murderer or providing
asylums and prisons, will never reduce the number of criminals nor the hordes of
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children born and growing up in hotbeds of vice. What is wanted is true
knowledge of the spiritual condition of man, his aim and destiny.
Once a Master wrote to a good-hearted German lady:---
You have offered yourself for the Red Cross; but, sister,
there are sicknesses
and wounds of the Soul that no Surgeon's
art can cure. Shall you help us teach
mankind that, that the soul-sick
must heal themselves? Your action will be your
response.
From one point of view such social service and sacrifice is superior to the
degrading forms of religious sacrifices---from the burning of candles at the
Roman Catholic altars to the killing of goats, etc., at Hindu temples. Jews,
Muslims and the followers of other sectarian creeds have similar superstitious "
sacrificing," some more, some less objectionable in method.
The present-day degrading superstition of animal sacrifice was practised as a
rite of magic in an earlier epoch. W. Q. Judge in his Notes on the Bhagavad-Gita
refers to the sacrifices established for the Jews by Moses (p. 87), and also
makes mention of the "peculiar explanation" that has been given of the same ( p.
88 ). That blood has certain occult properties, and that it has the power of
absorption and assimilation, was known, and so was made use of in certain magic
rites.
"Atonement through blood," says The Secret Doctrine (II. 699), "has been too
long in the way, and thus was universal truth sacrificed to the insane conceit
of us little men."
The knowledge of the magic rite was forgotten, but the evil practice of killing
doves and goats has persisted. Orthodox Jews may quote the example of Cain who
brought to God" the fruit of the ground" as sacrifice,
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which did not please the deity ; whereas Abel offered "the firstlings of the
flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Able and to his
offering ;but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect" (Genesis, IV :
4-5 ) To understand this teaching literally is wrong ; for to accept it
literally means favouring the vice of cruelty. The allegorical and mystical
interpretation should be sought. One such may be considered by the reader : it
is in a conversation between the boy Jesus and a rabbi, in the story Mary by the
well-known Jewish novelist Sholem Asch (pp, 260-61).
In India also the magic rites of blood offerings were
known and
practised; today the knowledge is gone but the practice continues
---a
degradation which brings home forcefully the teaching of Lucretius, from
which an extract is quoted at the beginning of this article.
Theosophy cannot but condemn every species of animal sacrifice. The
great Buddha, too, condemned such irreligious action. We quote some
beautiful verses of The Light of Asia:---
Round about the pile
A slow, thick, scarlet streamlet smoked and ran,
Sucked
by the sand, but ever rolling down,
The blood of bleating victims. One such lay,
A spotted goat, long-horned, its head bound back
With munja grass; at its
stretched throat the knife
Pressed by a priest, who murmured, "This, dread gods,
Of many yajnas cometh
as the crown
From Bimbisara : take ye joy to see
The spirted blood, and pleasure in the scent
Of rich flesh roasting 'mid the
fragrant flames;
Let the Kings sins be laid upon this goat,
And let the fire consume them burning it,
For now I strike."
But Buddha softly said,
"Let him not strike, great King!" and therewith
loosed
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The victim's bonds, none staying him, so great His presence was.
Then,
craving leave, he spake Of life, which all can take but none can give,
Life which all
creatures love and strive to keep, Wonderful, dear, and
pleasant unto each,
Even to the meanest; yea, a boon to all
Where pity is, for pity makes the world
Soft to the weak and noble for the strong . . .
. . . .still our Lord went on,
teaching how fair
This earth were if all living things be linked
In friendliness
and common use of foods,
Bloodless and pure; the golden grain, bright fruits,
Sweet herbs which grow for
all, the waters wan,
Sufficient drinks and meats. 'Which when these heard,
The
might of gentleness so conquered them,
The priests themselves scattered their altar-flames
And flung away the steel of
sacrifice.
This was some 2,500 years ago, but even today India reeks with the blood of
animals murdered for sacrifices or butchered for food. Cruelty is a sin against
God and Nature and of the many forms of this sin, the killing of beasts and
birds is not difficult to stop. In the name of sport also the sin flourishes,
and states and churches connive at it.
But go further back in India's history.
Tradition assigns Krishna a definite antiquity; he ends the cycle of the Dwapara
Yuga and his death marks the beginning of the Kali Yuga, 5,000 years ago.
Whatever the mode and procedure of yagnas---rites of sacrifice---in the previous
cycle what Krishna stressed in the Gita deserves most serious consideration.
Should not Krishna be regarded as one of the highest Planetary Spirits?
Theosophy teaches that the highest Planetary Spirits
appear on Earth but at the origin of every new human kind;
at the junction of,
and close of the two ends of the great
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cycle. And, they remain with man no longer than the time required for the
eternal truths they teach to impress themselves
so forcibly upon the plastic
minds of the new races as to, warrant them from being lost or entirely forgotten
in ages
hereafter, by the forthcoming generations.
The mission of the Planetary Spirit is but to strike the KEY NOTE OF TRUTH,
Once he has directed the vibration of the latter to
run its course uninterruptedly along the catenation of that race and to
the end of the
cycle---the denizen of the highest inhabited sphere disappears from the
surface of our planet---till the
following "resurrection of flesh."
Let us see what Krishna has to say about Yagna---Sacrifice.
In the Third Chapter the instruction of Prajapati, the Lord of all peoples
on earth, is quoted. The kinship of man to the other kingdoms, to the
invisible forces and with spiritual intelligences, is stressed. According to
what is said most of us are" thieves," robbing Nature and hoping to go
unpunished!
In the Fourth Chapter many kinds and modes of
sacrifices are referred to. Born of action are all sacrifice ; to gods godlings,
to archangels and angels, to Ameshaspentas and Yazatas, to the Supreme
Spirit under different names, objects are offered as sacrifices. Senses and
organs and vitality of body are sacrificed by one mode or another. But it is
taught that all such actions purified of their blemishes culminate in Wisdom.
Men and women offer their belongings and
possessions; such offering of objects are not enough, so some religious
practitioners offer their senses and organs and even breathing ; all such
ultimately, in one life or through many lives, come to see the value of study,
discipline and knowledge as objects of
sacrifice; ultimately they come to realize the basic verity:---
The sacrifice through spiritual knowledge is superior to
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sacrifice made with material things; every action without
exception is
comprehended in spiritual knowledge. (Gita, IV. 31)
And then, the soul of all practices in spiritual living is proclaimed---that
through enquiry and search, humility and service, the disciple is taught by the
Seers and Knowers of the Essence of things.
This is the sublime goal, and every man without exception is provided a chance
to realize it by bountiful Nature and by the merciful Law.
In the Seventeenth Chapter sacrifices of three types are described, according to
their characteristics, derived from the gunas, attributes of matter. Motives and
methods are involved in any act of sacrifice; Theosophy or the Wisdom-Religion
reiterates the teaching offered by the Knowers of Karma. In verses 11 to 13 very
definite words are used, and the aspirant to the Inner Life should perceive the
superiority of sattvic sacrifices, in which both body and consciousness are
involved. Dayaneshwar points to this in his commentary on the verse.
Orthodox Hindus have for long limited the term Yagna to religious sacrifices,
with mantras and mudras which have become mummery and gestures. Yagna as a
principle, as an institution to be used and applied in daily life to mental,
moral, verbal and bodily acts, is completely forgotten. Krishna tried to restore
its use by those who aspire to tread the Path which leads to the Temple of
Initiation.
Therefore we find that there is another teaching on "the subject of sacrifice
which the Gita puts forward in the Ninth Chapter which deals with the Secret
Science of Raja Yoga, the Royal---i.e., the Superior-Way of Living the Inner Life.
The prescription offered for the
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performance of sacrifices is simple and forthright. It is the way for those who
aspire to rise above the three gunas. The Gita recommends in more than one
place that we should rise above the effects of the gunas, including sattva guna.
This sacrifice of the Ninth Chapter, described in verses 26 to 28, follows a
very telling piece of instruction in the preceding verse; it is the fruition of
the different sacrifices previously mentioned:---
Those who devote themselves to the gods (Devas) go to the gods;
the worshippers
of the pitris go to the pitris; those who worship the evil spirits (Bhutas) go
to them, and my worshippers
come to me. (IX. 25)
The highest kind of sacrifice is that offered to "Me, " says Krishna. This " Me "
has two recognized aspects (a) Man's own Higher self, and (b) the real Guru, the
embodiment of the Supreme Spirit, the Most High.
The Adhi Yagna, the Great Sacrifice, has a psychological or microcosmical aspect
and also a Theogonic or Macrocosmical one; both can be better comprehended by
the metaphysical and the purely spiritual aspect.
As students and practitioners of the Secret Science, the life and labour of all
aspirants should be dedicated to rising above the three qualities of matter,
using the sattva quality as a stepping-stone to the higher state.
What state of consciousness should one have to observe the the simple-sounding
but profound injunctions of Verses 26 to 28 of the Ninth Chapter?
The striver for Supreme Renunciation should offer every
thought, word and deed to the Shining Self with-in. That Self is to receive, by the blessing of the
Gracious Guru, the Light from "the star which is thy goal," says The Voice of the
Silence; and H.P.B. explains in a footnote that " the star that burns overhead is
'the star of initiation.''' This initiation, it is said,
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reveals the Mystery of Compassion Absolute and its living expression in those
who are the embodied Great Renouncers. Our one aspiration and only hope should
be to attain to that vision by the Self of the True, the Real.
The effulgent end has a beginning. The first step is in front of us, to be taken
with knowledge and daring now, today. Leaves of small and passing acts, flowers
of beautiful acts and fruits of creative acts should become the offerings to the
Ishwara in man. That Lord within is ever intent on purifying and elevating the
many intelligences on whom he depends; they give him the opportunity to learn
and to teach. All these living intelligences, the deities presiding over our own
senses and organs, must be made pure by the baptismal water which
transubstantiates the gross into the subtle, and makes each deed, each word,
each thought, a vibrant sacrament.
Each aspirant has to perform daily actions in the natural course of his life,
using his own free will and knowledge. He has to eat to build his body as a
shrine of his soul; again, he has to sacrifice himself to fulfil his obligations
to his inner life and self-discipline; further, he voluntarily gives of himself
and his possessions as gifts---all these are acts of austerity of mortification,
resulting from his tapas-meditation, held out as silent, secret and sacred
oblations to the Inner Ruler, and to the Guru to whose bidding he has devoted
his life and whose Hand is extended in protecting love over him.
By this process the secular life is made holy; the performance of this
continuous Yagna or sacrifice is the means whereby the good and pious soul who
has hitherto undergone human evolution on the Path of Forthgoing, Pravritti
Marga, enters the Nivritti Marga, the Path of
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Return. No more need he propitiate the devas by rites and ceremonies, following
the precedent of Daksha, the Archetypal Ritualist and procreator of the good but
mortal man. He now comes under the regenerative power of the Egyptian Thoth, the
"Thrice-great Hermes," Shiva-Mahadeva, the Maha Yogi, the Patron Saint of all
Yogis, the Archetypal Renouncer, the Teacher par excellence of Immortality. He
is called "the first divine physician," "for he cures the disease called
mortality"; and so he is "the auspicious."
The highest aspect of Yagna-Vidya is described by H.P.B. in Isis Unveiled (I.
xliv) :---
"The Yajna" exists as an invisible thing at all times; it is like the latent
power
of electricity in an electrifying machine, requiring only the operation of
a suitable
apparatus in order to be elicited. It is supposed to extend from the
Ahavaniya or
sacrificial fire to the heavens, forming a bridge or ladder by
means of which the
sacrificer can communicate with the world of gods and spirits,
and even ascend
when alive to their abodes,
This Yajna is again one of the forms of the Akasa, and the mystic word calling
it into existence and pronounced mentally by
the initiated Priest is the
Lost Word
receiving impulse through
WILL-POWER.
But The Secret Doctrine ( I. 169) gives warning:---
Without the help of Atma-Vidya, the other three [YagnaVidya, Maha-Vidya and
Guhya-Vidya]
remain no better than surface sciences, geometrical magnitudes
having length and breadth, but no
thickness. They are like the soul, limbs,
and mind of a sleeping man: capable of mechanical motions,
of chaotic
dreams and even sleep-walking, of producing visible effects, but stimulated by
instinctual
not intellectual causes, least of all by fully conscious spiritual impulses. A
good deed can be given out
and explained from the three
first-named
sciences, But unless the key to their teachings is furnished by
Atma-Vidya,
they will remain for ever like the fragments of a mangled text-book, like the
adumbrations
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of great truths. dimly perceived by the most spiritual, but distorted out of all
proportion by those who
would nail every shadow to the wall.
The good man who lives the good life to the best of his ability and practises
sattvic sacrifices must in course of time understand the occult significance
of the Yagna of Raja Yoga taught in the Ninth Chapter of the Gita, and thus
begin his return journey. Whither will he turn? To the heavenly home of Pure
Bliss-Light, Peace or Nirvana? Or to the mysterious retreat of some Great
Renouncer of Nirvana itself, there to acquire the Secret of secrets, how to
render endless Service to Humanity through many yugas, many kalpas? There, too,
he will learn the hidden meaning and power of Yagna and also the right and
righteous use of it. The Secret of Service is supreme and is the continuous
living out of the Maha Yagna allegorized in The Voice of the Silence :---
Self-doomed to live through future Kalpas, unthanked and unperceived by men;
wedged as a stone with countless other stones which form the" Guardian Wall,"
such is thy future if the seventh Gate thou passest. Built by the hands' of many
Masters of Compassion, raised by their tortures, by their blood cemented, it
shields
mankind, since man is man, protecting it from further and far greater
misery and sorrow.