GNANY YOGA/PART 4
THE FOURTH LESSON
THE UNITY OF LIFE.
In
our First Lesson of this series we spoke of the One Reality underlying all
Life. This One Reality was stated to be higher than mind or matter, the nearest
term that can be applied to it being "Spirit." We told you that it
was impossible to explain just what "Spirit" is, for we have nothing
else with which to compare or describe it, and it can be expressed only in its
own terms, and not in the terms applicable to its emanations or manifestations.
But, as we said in our First Lesson, we may think of "Spirit" as
meaning the "essence" of Life and Being—the Reality underlying
Universal Life, and from which the latter emanates.
In
the Second Lesson we stated that this "Spirit," which we called
"The Absolute," expressed itself in the Universal Life, which Universal
Life manifested itself in countless forms of life and activity. In the same
lesson we showed you that the Universe is alive—that there is not a single dead
thing in it—that there can be no such thing as a dead object in the Universe,
else the theory and truth of the One underlying Life must fall and be rejected.
In that lesson we also showed you that even in the world of inorganic things
there was ever manifest life—in every atom and particle of inorganic matter
there is the universal life energy manifesting itself, and in constant
activity.
In
the Third Lesson, we went still further into this phase of the general subject,
and showed you that the Creative Will—that active principle of the Universal
Life—was ever at work, building up new forms, shapes and combinations, and then
tearing them down for the purpose of rebuilding the material into new forms,
shapes, and combinations. The Creative Will is ever at work in its threefold
function of creating, preserving and destroying forms—the change, however, being
merely in the shape and form or combination, the real substance remaining
unchanged in its inner aspect, notwithstanding the countless apparent changes
in its objective forms. Like the great ocean the depths of which remain calm
and undisturbed, and the real nature of which is unchanged in spite of the
waves, and billows of surface manifestation, so does the great ocean of the
Universal Life remain unchanged and unaltered in spite of the constant play of
the Creative Will upon the surface. In the same lesson we gave you many
examples of the Will in action—of its wondrous workings in the various forms of
life and activity—all of which went to show you that the One Power was at work
everywhere and at all times.
In
our next lesson—the Fifth Lesson—we shall endeavor to make plain to you the
highest teachings of the Yogi Philosophy regarding the One Reality and the Many
Manifestations—the One and the Many—how the One apparently becomes Many—that
great question and problem which lies at the bottom of the well of truth. In
that lesson we shall present for your consideration some fundamental and
startling truths, but before we reach that point in our teachings, we must
fasten upon your mind the basic truth that all the various manifestations of
Life that we see on all hands in the Universe are but forms of manifestation of
One Universal Life which is itself an emanation of the Absolute.
Speaking
generally, we would say to you that the emanation of the Absolute is in the
form of a grand manifestation of One Universal Life, in which the various
apparent separate forms of Life are but centers of Energy or Consciousness, the
separation being more apparent than real, there being a bond of unity and
connection underlying all the apparently separated forms. Unless the student
gets this idea firmly fixed in his mind and consciousness, he will find it
difficult to grasp the higher truths of the Yogi Philosophy. That all Life is
One, at the last,—that all forms of manifestation of Life are in harmonious
Unity, underlying—is one of the great basic truths of the Yogi Teaching, and
all the students of that philosophy must make this basic truth their own before
they may progress further. This grasping of the truth is more than a mere
matter of intellectual conception, for the intellect reports that all forms of
Life are separate and distinct from each other, and that there can be no unity
amidst such diversity. But from the higher parts of the mind comes the message
of an underlying Unity, in spite of all apparent diversity, and if one will
meditate upon this idea he will soon begin to realize the truth, and will feel that
he, himself, is but a center of consciousness in a great ocean of Life—that he
and all other centers are connected by countless spiritual and mental
filaments—and that all emerge from the One. He will find that the illusion of
separateness is but "a working fiction of the Universe," as one
writer has so aptly described it—and that All is One, at the last, and
underlying all is One.
Some
of our students may feel that we are taking too long a path to lead up to the
great basic truths of our philosophy, but we who have traveled The Path, and
know its rocky places and its sharp turns, feel justified in insisting that the
student be led to the truth gradually and surely, instead of attempting to make
short cuts across dangerous ravines and canyons. We must insist upon presenting
our teachings in our own way—for this way has been tested and found good. We
know that every student will come to realize that our plan is a wise one, and
that he will thank us for giving him this gradual and easy approach to the
wondrous and awful truth which is before us. By this gradual process, the mind
becomes accustomed to the line of thought and the underlying principles, and
also gradually discards wornout mental sheaths which have served their
purposes, and which must be discarded because they begin to weigh heavily upon
the mind as it reaches the higher altitudes of The Path of Attainment.
Therefore, we must ask you to consider with us, in this lesson, some further
teachings regarding the Unity of Life.
All
the schools of the higher Oriental thought, as well as many of the great
philosophical minds of the Western world, have agreed upon the conception of
the Unity of Life—the Oneness of All Life. The Western thinkers, and many of
the Eastern philosophers arrived at this conclusion by means of their
Intellectual powers, greatly heightened and stimulated by concentration and
meditation, which latter process liberated the faculties of the Spiritual Mind
so that it passed down knowledge to the Intellect, which then seized upon the
higher knowledge which it found within itself, and amplified and theorized upon
the same. But among the Eastern Masters there are other sources of information
open, and from these sources come the same report—the Oneness and Unity of
Universal Life. These higher sources of information to which we have alluded,
consist of the knowledge coming from those Beings who have passed on to higher
planes of Life than ours, and whose awakened spiritual faculties and senses
enable them to see things quite plainly which are quite dark to us. And from
these sources, also, comes the message of the Oneness of Life—of the existence
of a wonderful Universal Life including all forms of life as we know it, and
many forms and phases unknown to us—many centers in the great Ocean of Life. No
matter how high the source of inquiry, the answer is the same—"All Life is
One." And this One Life includes Beings as much higher than ourselves, as
we are higher than the creatures in the slime of the ocean-bed. Included in it
are beings who would seem as archangels or gods to us, and they inform that
beyond them are still higher and more radiant creatures, and so on to infinity
of infinities. And yet all are but centers of Being in the One Life—all but a
part of the great Universal Life, which itself is but an emanation of The
Absolute.
The
mind of man shrinks back appalled from the contemplation of such wonders, and
yet there are men who dare to attempt to speak authoritatively of the
attributes and qualities of "God," as if He, the Absolute, were but a
magnified man. Verily, indeed, "fools rush in where angels fear to
tread," as the poet hath said.
Those
who will read our next lesson and thus gain an idea of the sublime conception
of the Absolute held by the Yogi teachers may shudder at the presumption of
those mortals who dare to think of the Absolute as possessing
"attributes" and "qualities" like unto the meanest of
things in this his emanated Universe. But even these spiritual infants are
doing well—that is, they are beginning to think, and when man
begins to think and question, he begins to
progress. It is not the fact of these people's immature ideas that has caused
these remarks on our part, but rather their tendency to set up their puny
conceptions as the absolute truth, and then insisting upon forcing these views
upon the outer world of men, whom they consider "poor ignorant
heathen." Permit each man to think according to his light—and help him by
offering to share with him the best that you possess—but do not attempt to
force upon him your own views as absolute truth to be swallowed by him under
threat of damnation or eternal punishment. Who are you that dares to speak of
punishment and damnation, when the smell of the smoke of the hell of
materialism is still upon your robes. When you realize just what spiritual
infants you still are—the best of you—you will blush at these things. Hold fast
to the best that you know—be generous to others who seem to wish to share your
knowledge—but give without blame or feeling of superiority—for those whom you
teach today may be your teachers tomorrow—there are many surprises of this kind
along The Path. Be brave and confident, but when you begin to feel puffed up by
your acquirement of some new bit of knowledge, let your prayer—our prayer,
for we too are infants—be, "Lord, be merciful unto me, a fool!"
The
above words are for us, the students of the Yogi Philosophy—the teachers of the
same—for human nature is the same in spite of names, and we must avoid the
"vanity of vanities"—Spiritual Pride and Arrogance—that fault which
has sent many a soul tumbling headlong from a high position on The Path, and
compelled it to again begin the journey, chastened and bruised. The fall of
Lucifer has many correspondences upon the occult plane, and is, indeed, in
itself an allegorical illustration of just this law. Remember, always, that you
are but a Centre in the Ocean of Life, and that all others are Centres in the
same ocean, and that underlying both and all of you is the same calm bed of
Life and Knowledge, the property of all. The highest and the lowest are part of
the same One Life—each of you has the same life blood flowing through your
veins—you are connected with every other form of life, high or low, with
invisible bonds, and none is separate from another. We are speaking, of course,
to the personalities of the various students who are reading these words. The
Real Self of each is above the need of such advice and caution, and those who
are able to reach the Real Self in consciousness have no need for these words,
for they have outlived this stage of error. To many, the consciousness of the
One Life—the Universal Life—in which all are centres of consciousness and
being—has come gradually as a final step of a long series of thought and
reasoning, aided by flashes of truth from the higher regions of the mind. To others
it has come as a great illumination, or flash of Truth, in which all things are
seen in their proper relations and positions to each other, and all as phases
of being in the One. The term "Cosmic Consciousness," which has been
used in the previous series of these lessons, and by other writers, means this
sudden flash of "knowing" in which all the illusionary dividing lines
between persons and things are broken down and the Universal Life is seen to be
actually existent as One Life. To those who have reached this consciousness by
either route just mentioned—or by other routes—there is no sense of loss of
individuality or power or strength. On the contrary there is always a new sense
of increased power and strength and knowing—instead of losing Individuality,
there is a sense of having found it. One feels that he has the whole Universe
at his back, or within him, rather than that he has lost his identity in the
great Ocean of Life.
While
we are speaking of this phase of the subject, we should like to ask you if you
have ever investigated and inquired into the real meaning of the much-used word
"Individuality?" Have you ever looked up its origin and real meaning,
as given by the standard authorities? We are sure that many of you have no real
idea of the actual meaning of the term, as strange as this statement may appear
to you at first glance. Stop now, and define the word to yourself, as you have
been accustomed to think of it. Ninety-five people of a hundred will tell you
that it means something like "a strong personality." Let us see about
this.
Webster
defines the word "Individual" as follows: "Not divided, or not
to be divided; existing as one distinct being or object; single; one." The
same authority informs us that the word arises from the Latin word individuus,
meaning "indivisible; not divisible." Does not this help you to gain
a clearer idea of the Individuality that knows itself to be a Centre of
Consciousness in the One Life, rather than a separate, puny, insignificant
thing apart from all other centres or forms of Life, or the source of Life? We
think it will help to clear your mind of some of the fog that has not as yet
lifted itself.
And
while we are on the subject of definitions, let us take a little look at the
word "Personality," that is generally believed to be a synonym of
"Individuality," and is often so used. Webster tells us that the word
"Person" originated from the Latin word persona, meaning
"a mask used by actors," which word in turn arose from two other
words, per, meaning "through," and sonare,
meaning "to sound," the two combined words meaning "to sound
through." The same authority informs us that the archaic meaning of the
word was "a character or part, as in a play; an assumed character."
If you will think of Personality as "a mask used by an actor," or as
"a part in a play," or as something used to "sound through"
or to speak through, by the real Individual behind the mask of Personality,
then perhaps you will see a little further into the Mystery of Personality and
Individuality.
Oh,
dear students, be not deceived by the mask of Personality which you may happen
to be wearing at this moment, or by the masks which are worn by those around
you. Realize that back of your mask is the great Individual—the Indivisible—the
Universal Life, in which you are a centre of consciousness and activity. This
does not wipe out your identity—instead it gives you a greater and grander
identity. Instead of your sinking into a Nirvana of extinction of
consciousness, your consciousness so enlarges as you unfold, that you will in
the end feel your identity to be the identity of the Universe. Instead of your
gaining Nothingness, you gain Allness. All spiritual growth and unfoldment
gives you a constantly increasing sense of relationship with, and agreement with,
the All. You grow into Allness as you unfold. Be not deceived by this chatter
about Nothingness, and loss of Individuality, in the Oriental thought, although
some of the presentations of its teachings may so seem to mean at first
reading. Remember always that Personality is the mask, and Individuality the
Real One.
You
have often heard persons, claiming to be acquainted with the teachings of
Theosophy and other expositions of the Oriental Wisdom Religion (including our
own presentation), asserting that the Oriental mind was ever bent upon
attaining a final stage of Nothingness or Extinction in Nirvana. In addition to
what we have said, and to what we shall say on this subject, let us quote from
the inspired writer of the "Secret Doctrine" (a standard Theosophical
work) when she says, in that work on page 286, Vol. I: "Is this
annihilation, as some think? … To see in Nirvana annihilation, amounts to
saying of a man plunged in a sound, dreamless sleep—one that leaves no
impression on the physical memory and brain, because the sleeper's Higher Self
is in its original state of absolute consciousness during these hours—that he
too is annihilated. The latter simile answers only to one side of the
question—the most material; since reabsorption is by no means such a dreamless
sleep, but, on the contrary, absolute existence, an unconditional unity, or a
state, to describe which human language is absolutely and hopelessly
inadequate… Nor is the individuality—nor even the essence of the personality,
if any be left behind—lost because re-absorbed." As J. Wm. Lloyd says, in
connection with the above quotation, "This seems conclusive proof that
Theosophy does not regard Nirvana as annihilation, but as an infinite
enlargement of consciousness." And we would add that this is true not only
as regards the Nirvana of the Theosophist, but also of the consciousness of the
Unity of Life—the Universal Life. This too is not annihilation of individual
consciousness, but an "infinite enlargement of consciousness" as this
Western writer Lloyd has so well expressed it.
The
very consciousness of Life that every man feels within him, comes not from
something belonging exclusively to himself as a separate or personal thing. On
the contrary, it belongs to his Individuality, not to his Personality, and is a
phase of his consciousness or "awareness" of his relation to the One
Universal Life which underlies his existence, and in which he is a center of
consciousness. Do you grasp this idea? If not, meditate and concentrate upon
it, for it is important. You must learn to feel the Life
within you, and to know that it is the Life of the great Ocean of Universal
Life upon the bosom of which you are borne as a centre of consciousness and
energy. In this thought there is Power, Strength, Calm, Peace, and Wisdom.
Acquire it, if you are wise. It is indeed a Gift from the Gods.
In
this lesson we are not attempting to build up your idea of the Unity of Life by
a series of arguments taken from a world of phenomena in which separateness and
non-Unity is apparent. No such arguments would suffice, for it would be like
trying to prove the existence and laws of color to a man born blind, by
arguments taken from his world of darkness. On the contrary we are appealing to
that region of the mind in which is stored the capacity for intuitively
apprehending truth. We are endeavoring to speak in tones which will awaken a
similar vibration in that part of your mentality, and if these vibrations be
started into being, then will you be able to feel and know the
truth, and then will your Intellect eagerly seize upon the new idea that it
finds within itself, and will proceed to apply the same to the various problems
that have been bothering you in the past.
This
consciousness of Unity must come from the higher regions of the mind, for the
Intellect alone knows it not,—it is out of its field. Just as one may not know
that the earth is round by means of his senses which report quite the contrary,
but may and does know this truth by abstract reasoning and higher intellectual
effort; so may one know the truth that All Life is indeed One, at the last, and
underlying, by the higher faculties of the mind, although his senses and
ordinary intellectual processes fail to so inform him. The senses cannot inform
man that the earth is round, because they cannot see it as a whole, but
only in part—while the higher reasoning faculties are able to visualize the
earth as a whole, and know it must be round. And the Intellect, in its ordinary
field can see only separateness, and cannot report Oneness, but the Higher Mind
sees Life as a Whole, and knows it to be One. And it is the Higher Mind that we
are trying to bring into the field of consciousness in the appeal to you in
this lesson. We trust that we may be successful—in fact we know that
we shall be so, in many cases, for we know that the field is ready for the
sowing of the seed—and that the call has been heard, and the message passed on
to us to answer the call—else these words would not have been written.
The
consciousness of the Unity of Life is something that must be experienced before
the truth may be realized. It is not necessary for one to wait until he acquire
full Cosmic Consciousness before he may realize, at least partially, the
Oneness of All Life, for he may unfold gradually into the Cosmic Knowing,
experiencing at each stage a fuller conception of the underlying Unity of Life,
in which he is a centre of consciousness and manifestation. But there must be
at least a partial unfoldment before one is able to feel the
sense of Unity. To those who have not unfolded sufficiently to gain at least a
glimmering of the truth, everything appears separate from every other thing,
and there is no Unity of All. It is as if every leaf on a mighty tree were to
consider itself a being separate and distinct from everything else in the
world, failing to perceive its connection with the branch or limb, and tree,
and its unity in being with every other leaf on the tree. After a bit the
unfolding consciousness of the leaf enables it to perceive the stem that connects
it with the twig. Then it begins to realize certain relationships, and feels
its vital connection with the twig and the few other leaves attached to the
same twig. Later on, it unfolds sufficiently to perceive that certain other
leaf-bearing twigs are connected with the same branch, and it learns to feel
its relationship with all twigs and leaves springing from that branch. Then
again, a little later on, it begins to realize that other branches spring from
the same limb as its branch, and the sense of relationship and dawning Unity
begins to widen still further. And so it goes on, until at last, the tiny
leaflet realizes that the life of the tree is the life of all of its
parts—limbs, branches, twigs, leaves, blossoms, fruit, seed, etc., and that it,
itself, is but a centre of expression in the One Life of the tree. Does the
leaf feel less important and real from this discovery? We should say assuredly
not, for it must feel that behind its tiny form and limited strength is the
strength and vitality of the entire organism of the tree. It must know that the
tree is ever at work extracting nourishment from the earth, air, and water, and
transmitting that nourishment to its every part, including our little friend
the leaflet. It knows that the sap will rise in the Spring to renew the
manifestations of life, and it knows that although its leafy form may wither
and die, still the essence of its life—its real Life—does not die but remains
ever active and strong awaiting its chance for future expression and re-embodiment.
Of course this figure of the leaf and the tree fails us if we attempt to carry
it very far, but it will give us at least a partial idea of the relationship
between the life of the person, and the One Life.
Some
of the Oriental teachers have illustrated this idea to their students by
various familiar examples and figures of speech. Some bid the student hold up
his hand, and then point out to him that each finger is apparently separate and
distinct if one does not look down to where it joins the hand. Each finger, if
it had consciousness, might well argue that it was a separate individual,
having no relationship with any other finger. It might prove this to its own
satisfaction, and to that of its listeners, by showing that it could move
itself without stirring the other fingers. And so long as its consciousness was
confined to its upper two joints it would remain under the illusion of
separateness. But when its consciousness at last permeated the depths of its
being, it would find that it emerged from the same hand from which also sprung
the other fingers, and that its real life and power was vested in the hand
rather than in itself, and that although apparently separate and independent,
it was really but a part of the hand. And when its consciousness, through the
consciousness of the hand, broadened and widened, it would perceive its
relationship with, and interdependence with, the whole body, and would also
recognize the power of the brain, and its mighty Will.
Another
favorite illustration of the Eastern teachers is the stream of water flowing
over a rocky bed. They point to the stream before it comes to a rocky place,
and show the chela (student) that it is One. Then they will
move a little way down the stream and show him how the rocks and stones divide
the stream into countless little streams, each of which might imagine itself a
separate and distinct stream, until later on it again joins the main united
stream, and finds that it was but a form of expression of the One.
Another
illustration that is frequently used by the teachers, is that which bids the
student consider himself as a minute cell, or "little-life" as the
Hindus call it, in a body. It may be a cell in the blood performing the office
of a carrier or messenger, or it may be a working cell in one of the organs of
the body; or it may be a thinking cell in the brain. At any rate, the cell
manifests capacity for thought, action and memory—and a number of secondary
attributes quite wonderful in the way. (See "Hatha Yoga,"
Chapter XVIII.) Each cell might well consider itself as a separate
individual—in a certain sense it does. It has a certain degree of
something akin to consciousness, enabling it to perform its work correctly and
properly, and is called upon at times to manifest something like judgment. It
may well be excused for thinking of itself as a "person" having a
separate life. The analogy between its illusions and that of the man when seen
by a Master, is very close. But we know that the life of the cell is merely a
centre of expression of the life of the body—that its consciousness is merely a
part of the consciousness of the mind animating the body. The cell will die and
apparently perish, but the essence of it will remain in the
life of the person whose body it occupied, and nothing really dies or perishes.
Would the cell feel any less real if it knew that behind its Personality as a
cell, there was the Individuality of the Man—that its Real Self was the Man,
not the cell? Of course, even this figure of speech can be carried only so far,
and then must stop, for the personality of the man, when it is dissolved,
leaves behind it an essence which is called Character, which becomes the
property of the Ego and which accompanies it into after life according to the
Law of Karma, of which we shall speak in future lessons. But back even of these
attributes of Personality, is the Ego which exists in spite of Personality, and
lives on and on throughout many Personalities, and yet learning the lessons of
each, until at last it rises above Personality and enters into higher sphere of
Knowing and Being.
Still
another favorite illustration of the Hindu teachers is that of the sun beating
down upon the ocean and causing a portion of the water to rise in the form of
vapor. This vapor forms clouds which spread all over the earth, and which
eventually condense in the form of rain drops, dew, etc. This rain and dew form
streams, rivers, etc., and sooner or later every drop finds its way back to
Mother Ocean which is its Real Self. Separate though the dewdrop be, yet it is
a part of the Ocean, no matter how far distant it may be, and the attraction of
the Ocean will surely, and without fail, draw it back to its bosom. And the
dewdrop, if it could know the truth, would be so much happier and stronger, and
braver if it could know that it was superior to accident, time and space, and
that it could not escape its own good, and that nothing could prevent its final
triumph and victory when at last "the dewdrop glides into the shining
sea." How cheerfully it could have met its many changes of form. and the
incidents of its journey, if it could have gotten rid of the illusion of
separateness, and knew that instead of being a tiny insignificant dewdrop it
was a part of the Mighty Ocean—in fact that its Real Self was that Ocean
itself—and that the Ocean was continually drawing it toward it, and that the
many changes, up and down, were in response to that mighty power of attraction
which was slowly but irresistibly drawing it back Home to Rest, Peace, and
Power.
As
valuable as are all these illustrations, examples, and figures of speech, still
all must of necessity fall short of the truth in the case of the Soul of
Man—that wondrous something which has been built up by the Absolute after aeons
and aeons of time, and which is destined to play an important part in the great
Cosmic Drama which it has pleased the Absolute to think into existence. Drawing
its Life from the Universal Life, it has the roots of its being still further
back in the Absolute itself, as we shall see in the next lesson. Great and
wonderful is it all, and our minds are but illy fitted to receive the truth,
and must be gradually accustomed to the glare of the Sun. But it will come to
all—none can escape his glorious destiny.
The
Oriental writings are full of allusions to the underlying Oneness, in fact the
entire Oriental philosophies rest upon it. You may find it everywhere if you
will but look for it. The experience of Cosmic Consciousness, which is naught
but a sudden or gradual "awareness" of the underlying Unity of Life,
is evidenced everywhere in the Upanishads, that wonderful series of
teachings in the Hindu classics. Every writer in the collection gives his
evidence regarding this awareness of Unity and Oneness, and the experiences and
mental characteristics arising from the same. The following quotations will
give an idea of the prevalence of this thought:
"He
that beholds all beings in the Self, and the Self in all things, he never turns
away from it."
"When
to a man who understands, the Self has become all things, what sorrow, what
trouble, can there be to him who once beheld that unity."
The
Hindu father explains to his son that the One Life is in all forms and shapes,
points out object after object, saying to the boy: "Tat tuam asi,
Thou art that; That thou art."
And
the Mystics have added their testimony to that of others who have experienced
this consciousness. Plotinus said: "Knowledge has three degrees: opinion,
science, and illumination. The last is absolute knowledge founded upon the
identity of the knowing mind with the known object."
And
Eckhardt, the German mystic, has told his pupils that: "God is the soul of
all things. He is the light that shines in us when the veil is rent."
And
Tennyson, in his wonderful verse describing the temporary lifting of the veil
for him, has described a phase of Cosmic Consciousness in the following words:
"For
knowledge is the swallow on the lake That sees and stirs the surface-shadow
there, But never yet hath into the abysm, The Abysm of all Abysms, beneath,
within The blue of sky and sea, the green of earth, And in the
million-millionth of a grain Which cleft and cleft again for
evermore And ever vanishing, never vanishes.
And
more, my son, for more than once when I Sat all alone, revolving in myself That
word which is the symbol of myself, The mortal symbol of the Self was loosed, And
past into the Nameless, as a cloud Melts into Heaven. I touched my limbs, the
limbs Were strange, not mine—and yet no shadow of doubt, But utter
clearness, and through loss of Self The gain of such large life as matched
with ours Were Sun to spark, unshadowable in words,Themselves but shadows
of a shadow-world."
And
not only among the mystics and poets is this universal truth experienced and
expressed, but among the great philosophers of all ages may we find this
teaching of the Unity of Life originally voiced in the Upanishads.
The Grecian thinkers have expressed the thought; the Chinese philosophers have
added their testimony; the modern philosophers, Spinoza, Berkeley, Kant, Hegel,
Schopenhauer, Hartman, Ferrier, Royce, although differing widely in their
theories, all have expressed as a fundamental truth the Unity of Life—a One
Life underlying. The basic teachings of the Vedas are receiving confirmation at
the hands of Modern Science, which while calling itself Rationalistic and
inclining to a Materialistic conception of the Universe, still finds itself
compelled to say, "At the last, All is One."
And
in nearly every human soul there is a secret chamber in which the text of this
knowledge lies hidden, and in the rare moments in which the chamber door is
opened in response to poetry, music, art, deep religious feeling, or those
unaccountable waves of uplift that come to all, the truth is recognized for the
moment and the soul feels at peace and is content in the feeling that it is at
harmony with the All. The sense of Beauty, however expressed, when keenly
experienced, has a tendency to lift us out of our consciousness of separateness
into another plane of mind in which the keynote is Unity. The higher the human
feeling, the nearer is the conscious realization of the underlying Unity.
This
realization of the Unity of Life—the Oneness of Life—the Great Life—even when
but faintly experienced, renders Life quite a different thing to the person. He
feels no longer that he is a mere "part" of something that may be
destroyed—or that he is a tiny personal something, separate from and opposed to
all the rest of the Universe—but that he is, instead, a Unit of Expression—a
Centre of Consciousness—in the Great One Life. He realizes that he has the
Power, and Strength, and Life, and Wisdom of the Whole back of him, upon which
he may learn to draw as he unfolds. He realizes that he is at Home, and that he
cannot be thrust out, for there is no outside of the All. He feels within
himself the certainty of infinite Life and being, for his Life is the all Life,
and that cannot die. The petty cares, and worries, and griefs, and pains of
everyday personal life are seen for what they are, and they cease to threaten
and dominate him as of old. He sees the things of personality as merely the
costume and trappings of the part in the play of life that he is acting out,
and he knows that when he discards them he will still be "I."
When
one really feels the consciousness of the One Life underlying, he acquires a
confident trust and faith, and a new sense of freedom and strength comes to
him, for is he not indeed delivered from the bondage of fear that has haunted
him in his world of separateness. He feels within him the spiritual pulse of
the Universal Life, and at once he thrills with a sense of new-found power and
being. He becomes reconciled with Life in all its phases, for he knows these
things as but temporary phases in the working out of some great Universal plan,
instead of things permanent and fixed and beyond remedy. He begins to feel the
assurance of Ultimate Justice and God, and the old ideas of Injustice and Evil
begin to fade from him. He who enters into the consciousness of the Universal
Life, indeed enters into a present realization of the Life Everlasting. All
fear of being "lost" or "eternally damned" fades away, and
one instinctively realizes that he is "saved" because he is of the
One Life and cannot be lost. All the fear of being lost arises from the sense
of illusion of separateness or apartness from the One Life. Once the
consciousness of Unity is gained, fear drops from the soul like a wornout
garment.
When
the idea and consciousness of the Unity takes possession of one, he feels a new
sense of cheerfulness and optimism entirely different from any other feeling
that he has ever experienced. He loses that distrust and hardness which seems
to cling to so many in this age who have arrived at the Intellectual stage of
development, and have been unable to progress further. A new sense of peace and
harmony comes to one, and illuminates his entire character and life. The
bitterness engendered by the illusion of separateness is neutralized by the
sweetness of the sense of Unity. When one enters into this consciousness he
finds that he has the key to many a riddle of life that has heretofore
perplexed him. Many dark corners are illuminated—many hard sayings are made
clear. Paradoxes become understandable truths, and the pairs of opposites that
dwell in all advanced intellectual conceptions, seem to bend around their ends
and form themselves into a circle.
To
the one who understands the Unity, all Nature seems akin and friendly. There is
no sense of antagonism or opposition—everything is seen to fit into its place,
and work out its appointed task in the Universal plan. All Nature is seen to be
friendly, when properly understood, and Man regains that sense of harmonious
environment and at-home-ness that he lost when he entered the stage of
self-consciousness. The lower animal and the children feel this Unity, in their
poor imperfect way, but Man lost this Paradise when he discovered Good and
Evil. But Paradise Lost becomes Paradise Regained when Man enters into this new
stage of consciousness. But unlike the animal or child, which instinctively
feels the Unity, the awakened soul of man possesses the Unity consciousness,
coupled with intelligent comprehension, and unfolding spiritual power. He has
found that which he lost, together with the accumulated interest of the ages.
This new kingdom of Consciousness is before the race. All must enter into it in
time—all will enter into it—many are entering into it now, by gradual stages.
This dawning sense of Unity is that which is causing the spiritual unrest which
is now agitating the world, and Which in time will bring the race to a
realization of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, and his
kinship to Every Living Thing. We are entering into this new cycle of human
unfoldment, and the greatest changes are before the race. Ye who read these
words are in the foremost ranks of the new dispensation, else you would not be
interested in this subject. You are the leaven which is designed to lighten the
heavy mass of the world-mind. Play well your parts. You are not alone. Mighty
forces and great Intelligences are behind you in the work. Be worthy of them.
Peace be with you.
Carry
with you the Central Thought of this lesson:
CENTRAL
THOUGHT. There is but One Life—a Universal Life—in the world.
This One Life is an emanation from the Absolute. It infills all forms, shapes
and manifestations of Life, and is the Real Life that each imagines to be his
personal property. There is but One—and you are centres of consciousness and
expression in that One. There is a Unity and Harmony which becomes apparent to
those who enter into the consciousness of the One Life. There is Peace and Calm
in the thought. There is Strength and Power in the knowledge. Enter ye into
your Kingdom of Power—possess yourselves of your Birthright of Knowledge. In
the very center of your being you will find a holy of holies in which dwells
the Consciousness of the One Life, underlying. Enter into the Silence of the
Shrine within.
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