BOOK I
INTRODUCTION TO BOOK I
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are in themselves
exceedingly brief, less than ten pages of large type in the
original. Yet they contain the essence of practical wisdom, set
forth in admirable order and detail. The theme, if the present
interpreter be right, is the great regeneration, the birth of the
spiritual from the psychical man: the same theme which Paul so
wisely and eloquently set forth in writing to his disciples in
Corinth, the theme of all mystics in all lands.
We think of ourselves as living a purely
physical life, in these material bodies of ours. In reality, we have
gone far indeed from pure physical life; for ages, our life has been
psychical, we have been centred and immersed in the psychic nature.
Some of the schools of India say that the psychic nature is, as it
were, a looking-glass, wherein are mirrored the things seen by the
physical eyes, and heard by the physical ears. But this is a magic
mirror; the images remain, and take a certain life of their own.
Thus within the psychic realm of our life there grows up an imaged
world wherein we dwell; a world of the images of things seen and
heard, and therefore a world of memories; a world also of hopes and
desires, of fears and regrets. Mental life grows up among these
images, built on a measuring and comparing, on the massing of images
together into general ideas; on the abstraction of new notions and
images from these; till a new world is built up within, full of
desires and hates, ambition, envy, longing, speculation, curiosity,
self-will, self-interest.
The teaching of the East is, that all these are
true powers overlaid by false desires; that though in manifestation
psychical, they are in essence spiritual; that the psychical man is
the veil and prophecy of the spiritual man.
The purpose of life, therefore, is the
realizing of that prophecy; the unveiling of the immortal man; the
birth of the spiritual from the psychical, whereby we enter our
divine inheritance and come to inhabit Eternity. This is, indeed,
salvation, the purpose of all true religion, in all times.
Patanjali has in mind the spiritual man, to be
born from the psychical. His purpose is, to set in order the
practical means for the unveiling and regeneration, and to indicate
the fruit, the glory and the power, of that new birth.
Through the Sutras of the first book, Patanjali
is concerned with the first great problem, the emergence of the
spiritual man from the veilsand meshes of the psychic nature, the
moods and vestures of the mental and emotional man. Later will come
the consideration of the nature and powers of the spiritual man,
once he stands clear of the psychic veils and trammels, and a view
of the realms in which these new spiritual powers are to be
revealed.
At this point may come a word of explanation. I
have been asked why I use the word Sutras, for these rules of
Patanjali's system, when the word Aphorism has been connected with
them in our minds fora generation. The reason is this: the name
Aphorism suggests, to me at least, a pithy sentence of very general
application; a piece of proverbial wisdom that may be quoted in a
good many sets of circumstance, and which will almost bear on its
face the evidence of its truth. But with a Sutra the case is
different. It comes from the same root as the word "sew," and means,
indeed, a thread, suggesting, therefore, a close knit, consecutive
chain of argument. Not only has each Sutra a definite place in the
system, but further, taken out of this place, it will be almost
meaningless, and will by no means be self-evident. So I have thought
best to adhere to the original word. The Sutras of Patanjali are as
closely knit together, as dependent on each other, as the
propositions of Euclid, and can no more be taken out of their proper
setting.
In the second part of the first book, the
problem of the emergence of the spiritual man is further dealt with.
We are led to the consideration of the barriers to his emergence, of
the overcoming of the barriers, and of certain steps and stages in
the ascent from the ordinary consciousness of practical life, to the
finer, deeper, radiant
consciousness of the spiritual man.
1. OM: Here follows Instruction in Union.
Union, here as always in the Scriptures of
India, means union of the individual soul with the Oversoul; of the
personal consciousness with the Divine Consciousness, whereby the
mortal becomes immortal, and enters the Eternal. Therefore,
salvation is, first, freedom from sin and the sorrow which comes
from sin, and then a divine and eternal well-being, wherein the soul
partakes of the being, the wisdom and glory of God.
2. Union, spiritual consciousness, is
gained through control of the versatile psychic nature.
The goal is the full consciousness of the
spiritual man, illumined by the Divine Light. Nothing except the
obdurate resistance of the psychic nature keeps us back from the
goal. The psychical powers are spiritual powers run wild, perverted,
drawn from their proper channel. Therefore our first task is, to
regain control of this perverted nature, to chasten, purify and
restore the misplaced powers.
3. Then the Seer comes to consciousness in
his proper nature.
Egotism is but the perversion of spiritual
being. Ambition is the inversion of spiritual power. Passion is the
distortion of love. The mortal is the limitation of the immortal.
When these false images give place to true, then the spiritual man
stands forth luminous, as the sun, when the clouds disperse.
4. Heretofore the Seer has been enmeshed in
the activities of the psychic nature.
The power and life which are the heritage of
the spiritual man have been caught and enmeshed in psychical
activities. Instead of pure being in the Divine, there has been
fretful, combative. egotism, its hand against every man. Instead of
the light of pure vision, there have been restless senses nave been
re and imaginings. Instead of spiritual joy, the undivided joy of
pure being, there has been self-indulgence of body and mind. These
are all real forces, but distorted from their truenature and goal.
They must be extricated, like gems from the matrix, like the pith
from the reed, steadily, without destructive violence. Spiritual
powers are to be drawn forth from the }'sychic meshes.
5. The psychic activities are five; they are
either subject or not subject to the five hindrances (Book II, 3).
The psychic nature is built up through the
image-making power, the power which lies behind and dwells in mind-
pictures. These pictures do not remain quiescent in the mind; they
are kinetic, restless, stimulating to new acts. Thus the mind-image
of an indulgence suggests and invites to a new indulgence; the
picture of past joy is framed in regrets or hopes. And there is the
ceaseless play of the desire to know, to penetrate to the essence of
things, to classify. This, too, busies itself ceaselessly with the
mind-images. So that we may classify the activities of the psychic
nature thus:
6. These activities are: Sound
intellection, unsound intellection, predication, sleep, memory.
We have here a list of mental and emotional
powers; of powers that picture and observe, and of powers that
picture and feel. But the power to know and feel is spiritual and
immortal. What is needed is, not to destroy it, but to raise it from
the psychical to the spiritual realm.
7. The elements of sound intellection are:
direct observation, inductive reason, and trustworthy testimony.
Each of these is a spiritual power, thinly
veiled. Direct observation is the outermost form of the Soul's pure
vision. Inductive reason rests on the great principles of continuity
and correspondence; and these, on the supreme truth that all life is
of the One. Trustworthy testimony, the sharing of one soul in the
wisdom of another, rests on the ultimate oneness of all souls.
8. Unsound intellection is false
understanding, not resting on aperception of the true nature of
things.
When the object is not truly perceived, when
the observation is inaccurate and faulty. thought or reasoning based
on that mistaken perception is of necessity false and unsound.
9. Predication is carried on through words
or thoughts not resting on an object perceived.
The purpose of this Sutra is, to distinguish
between the mental process of predication, and observation,
induction or testimony. Predication is the attribution of a quality
or action to a subject, by adding to it a predicate. In the
sentence, "the man is wise," "the man" is the subject; "is wise" is
the predicate. This may be simply an interplay of thoughts, without
the presence of the object thought of; or the things thought of may
be imaginary or unreal; while observation, induction and testimony
always go back to an object.
10. Sleep is the psychic condition which
rests on mind states, all material things being absent.
In waking life, we have two currents of
perception; an outer current of physical things seen and heard and
perceived; an inner current of mind-images and thoughts. The outer
current ceases in sleep; the inner current continues, and watching
the mind-images float before the field of consciousness, we "dream
Even when there are no dreams, there is still a certain
consciousness in sleep, so that, on waking, one says, "I have slept
well," or "I have slept badly."
11. Memory is holding to mind-images of
things perceived, without modifying them.
Here, as before, the mental power is explained
in terms of mind-images, which are the material of which the psychic
world is built, Therefore the sages teach that the world of our
perception, which is indeed a world of mind-images, is but the
wraith or shadow of the real and everlasting world. In this sense,
memory is but the psychical inversion of the spiritual, ever-present
vision. That which is ever before the spiritual eye of the Seer
needs not to be remembered.
12. The control of these psychic activities
comes through the right use of the will, and through ceasing from
self- indulgence.
If these psychical powers and energies, even
such evil things as passion and hate and fear, are but spiritual
powers fallen and perverted, how are we to bring about their release
and restoration ? Two means are presented to us: the awakening of
the spiritual will, and the purification of mind and thought.
13. The right use of the will is the
steady, effort to stand in spiritual being.
We have thought of ourselves, perhaps, as
creatures moving upon this earth, rather helpless, at the mercy of
storm and hunger and our enemies. We are to think of ourselves as
immortals, dwelling in the Light, encompassed and sustained by
spiritual powers. The steady effort to hold this thought will awaken
dormant and unrealized powers, which will unveil to us the nearness
of the Eternal.
14. This becomes a firm resting-place, when
followed long, persistently, with earnestness.
We must seek spiritual life in conformity with
the laws of spiritual life, with earnestness, humility, gentle
charity, which is an acknowledgment of the One Soul within us all.
Only through obedience to that shared Life, through perpetual
remembrance of our oneness with all Divine Being, our nothingness
apart from Divine Being, can we enter our inheritance.
15. Ceasing from self-indulgence is con-
scious mastery over the thirst for sensuous pleasure here or
hereafter.
Rightly understood, the desire for sensation is
the desire of being, the distortion of the soul's eternal life. The
lust of sensual stimulus and excitation rests on the longing to feel
one's life keenly, to gain the sense of being really alive. This
sense of true life comes only with the coming of the soul, and the
soul comes only in silence, after self-indulgence has been
courageously and loyally stilled, through reverence before the
coming soul.
16. The consummation of this is freedom from
thirst for any mode of psychical activity, through the establishment
of the spiritual man.
In order to gain a true understanding of this
teaching, study must be supplemented by devoted practice, faith by
works. The reading of the words will not avail. There must be a real
effort to stand as the Soul, a real ceasing from self-indulgence.
With this awakening of the spiritual will, and purification, will
come at once the growth of the spiritual man and our awakening
consciousness as the spiritual man; and this, attained in even a
small degree, will help us notably in our contest. To him that hath,
shall be given.
17. Meditation with an object follows these
stages: first, exterior examining, then interior judicial action,
then joy, then realization of individual being.
In the practice of meditation, a beginning may
be made by fixing the attention upon some external object, such as a
sacred image or picture, or a part of a book of devotion. In the
second stage, one passes from the outer object to an inner pondering
upon its lessons. The third stage is the inspiration, the
heightening of the spiritual will, which results from this
pondering. The fourth stage is the realization of one's spiritual
being, as enkindled by this meditation.
18. After the exercise of the will has
stilled the psychic activities, meditation rests only on the fruit
of former meditations.
In virtue of continued practice and effort,
the need of an external object on which to rest the meditation is
outgrown. An interior state of spiritual consciousness is reached,
which is called "the cloud of things knowable" (Book IV, 29).
19. Subjective consciousness arising from a
natural cause is possessed by those who have laid aside their bodies
and been absorbed into subjective nature.
Those who have died, entered the paradise
between births, are in a condition resembling meditation without an
external object. But in the fullness of time, the seeds of desire in
them will spring up, and they will be born again into this world.
20. For the others, there is spiritual
consciousness, led up to by faith, valour right mindfulness, one-pointedness,
perception.
It is well to keep in mind these steps on the
path to illumination: faith, velour, right mindfulness, one-pointedness,
perception. Not one can be dispensed with; all must be won. First
faith; and then from faith, velour; from va lour, right mindfulness;
from right mindfulness, a one-pointed aspiration toward the soul;
from this, perception; and finally, full vision as the soul.
21. Spiritual consciousness is nearest to
those of keen, intense will.
The image used is the swift impetus of the
torrent; the kingdom must be taken by force. Firm will comes only
through effort; effort is inspired by faith. The great secret is
this: it is not enough to have intuitions; we must act on them; we
must live them.
22. The will may be weak, or of middle
strength, or intense.
Therefore there is a spiritual consciousness
higher than this. For those of weak will, there is this counsel: to
be faithful in obedience, to live the life, and thus to strengthen
the will to more perfect obedience. The will is not ours, but God's,
and we come into it only through obedience. As we enter into the
spirit of God, we are permitted to share the power of God. Higher
than the three stages of the way is the goal, the end of the way.
23. Or spiritual consciousness may be
gained by ardent service of the Master.
If we think of our lives as tasks laid on us
by the Master of Life, if we look on all duties as parts of that
Master's work, entrusted to us, and forming our life-work; then, if
we obey, promptly, loyally, sincerely, we shall enter by degrees
into the Master's life and share the Master's power. Thus we shall
be initiated into the spiritual will.
24. The Master is the spiritual man, who s
free from hindrances, bondage to works, and the fruition and seed of
works.
The Soul of the Master, the Lord, is of the
same nature as the soul in us; but we still bear the burden of many
evils, we are in bondage through our former works, we are under the
dominance of sorrow. The Soul of the Master is free from sin and
servitude and sorrow.
25. In the Master is the perfect seed of
Omniscience.
The Soul of the Master is in essence one with
the Oversoul, and therefore partaker of the Oversoul's all-wisdom
and all-power. All spiritual attainment rests on this, and is
possible because the soul and the Oversoul are One.
26. He is the Teacher of all who have gone
before, since he is not limited by Time.
From the beginning, the Oversoul has been the
Teacher of all souls, which, by their entrance into the Oversoul, by
realizing their oneness with the Oversoul, have inherited the
kingdom of the Light. For the Oversoul is before Time, and Time,
father of all else, is one of His children.
27. His word is OM.
OM: the symbol of the Three in One, the three
worlds in the Soul; the three times, past, present, future, in
Eternity; the three Divine Powers, Creation, Preservation,
Transformation, in the one Being; the three essences, immortality,
omniscience, joy, in the one Spirit. This is the Word, the Symbol,
of the Master and Lord, the perfected Spiritual Man.
28. Let there be soundless repetition of OM
and meditation thereon.
This has many meanings, in ascending degrees.
There is, first, the potency of the word itself, as of all words.
Then there is the manifold significance of the symbol, as suggested
above. Lastly, there is the spiritual realization of the high
essences thus symbolized. Thus we rise step by step to the Eternal.
29. Thence come the awakening of interior
consciousness, and the removal of barriers.
Here again faith must be supplemented by
works, the life must be led as well as studied, before the full
meaning can be understood. The awakening of spiritual consciousness
can only be understood in measure as it is entered. It can only be
entered where the conditions are present: purity of heart, and
strong aspiration, and the resolute conquest of each sin. This,
however, may easily be understood: that the recognition of the three
worlds as resting in the Soul leads us to realize ourselves and all
life as of the Soul; that, as we dwell, not in past, present or
future, but in the Eternal, we become more at one with the Eternal;
that, as we view all organization, preservation, mutation as the
work of the Divine One, we shall come more into harmony with the
One, and thus remove the barrier' in our path toward the Light. In
the second part of the first book, the problem of the emergence of
the spiritual man is further dealt with. We are led to the
consideration of the barriers to his emergence, of the overcoming of
the barriers, and of certain steps and stages in the ascent from the
ordinary consciousness of practical life, to the finer, deeper,
radiant consciousness of the spiritual man.
30. The barriers to interior consciousness,
which drive the psychic nature this way and that, are these:
sickness, inertia, doubt, lightmindedness, laziness, intemperance,
false notions, inability to reach a stage of meditation, or to hold
it when reached.
We must remember that we are considering the
spiritual man as enwrapped and enmeshed by the psychic nature, the
emotional and mental powers; and as unable to come to clear
consciousness, unable to stand and see clearly, because of the
psychic veils of the personality. Nine of these are enumerated, and
they go pretty thoroughly into the brute toughness of the psychic
nature. Sickness is included rather for its effect on the emotions
and mind, since bodily infirmity, such as blindness or deafness, is
no insuperable barrier to spiritual life, and may sometimes be a
help, as cutting off distractions. It will be well for us to ponder
over each of these nine activities, thinking of each as a psychic
state, a barrier to the interior consciousness of the spiritual man.
31. Grieving, despondency, bodily restless
ness, the drawing in and sending forth of the life-breath also
contribute to drive the psychic nature to and fro.
The first two moods are easily understood. We
can well see bow a sodden psychic condition, flagrantly opposed to
the pure and positive joy of spiritual life, would be a barrier. The
next, bodily restlessness, is in a special way the fault of our day
and generation. When it is conquered, mental restlessness will be
half conquered, too. The next two terms, concerning the life breath,
offer some difficulty. The surface meaning is harsh and irregular
breathing; the deeper meaning is a life of harsh and irregular
impulses.
32. Steady application to a principle is
the way to put a stop to these.
The will, which, in its pristine state, was
full of vigour, has been steadily corrupted by self-indulgence, the
seeking of moods and sensations for sensation's sake. Hence come all
the morbid and sickly moods of the mind. The remedy is a return to
the pristine state of the will, by vigorous, positive effort; or, as
we are here told, by steady application to a principle. The
principle to which we should thus steadily apply ourselves should be
one arising from the reality of spiritual life; valorous work for
the soul, in others as in ourselves.
33. By sympathy with the happy, compassion
for the sorrowful, delight in the holy, disregard of the unholy, the
psychic nature moves to gracious peace.
When we are wrapped up in ourselves, shrouded
with the cloak of our egotism, absorbed in our pains and bitter
thoughts, we are not willing to disturb or strain our own sickly
mood by giving kindly sympathy to the happy, thus doubling their
joy, or by showing compassion for the sad, thus halving their
sorrow. We refuse to find delight in holy things, and let the mind
brood in sad pessimism on unholy things. All these evil psychic
moods must be conquered by strong effort of will. This rending of
the veils will reveal to us something of the grace and peace which
are of the interior consciousness of the spiritual man.
34. Or peace may be reached by the even
sending f orth and control of the life-breath.
Here again we may look for a double meaning:
first, that even andquiet breathing which is a part of the victory
over bodily restlessness; then the even and quiet tenor of life,
without harsh or dissonant impulses, which brings stillness to the
heart.
35. Faithful, persistent application to any
object, if completely attained, will bind the mind to steadiness.
We are still considering how to overcome the
wavering and perturbation of the psychic nature, which make it quite
unfit to transmit the inward consciousness and stillness. We are
once more told to use the will, and to train it by steady and
persistent work: by "sitting close" to our work, in the phrase of
the original.
36. As also will a joyful, radiant spirit.
There is no such illusion as gloomy pessimism,
and it has been truly said that a man's cheerfulness is the measure
of his faith. Gloom, despondency, the pale cast of thought, are very
amenable to the will. Sturdy and courageous effort will bring a
clear and valorous mind. But it must always be remembered that this
is not for solace to the personal man, but is rather an offering to
the ideal of spiritual life, a contribution to the universal and
universally shared treasure in heaven.
37. Or the purging of self-indulgence from
the psychic nature.
We must recognize that the fall of man is a
reality, exemplified in our own persons. We have quite other sins
than the animals, and far more deleterious; and they have all come
through self-indulgence, with which our psychic natures are soaked
through and through. As we climbed down hill for our pleasure, so
must we climb up again for our purification and restoration to our
former high estate. The process is painful, perhaps, yet
indispensable.
38. Or a pondering on the perceptions
gained in dreams and dreamless sleep.
For the Eastern sages, dreams are, it is true,
made up of images of waking life, reflections of what the eyes have
seen and the ears heard. But dreams are something more, for the
images are in a sense real, objective on their own plane; and the
knowledge that there is another world, even a dream-world, lightens
the tyranny of material life. Much of poetry and art is such a
solace from dreamland. But there is more in dream, for it may image
what is above, as well as what is below; not only the children of
men, but also the children by the shore of the immortal sea that
brought us hither, may throw their images on this magic mirror: so,
too, of the secrets of dreamless sleep with its pure vision, in even
greater degree.
39. Or meditative brooding on what is
dearest to the heart.
Here is a thought which our own day is
beginning to grasp: that love is a form of knowledge; that we truly
know any thing or any person, by becoming one therewith, in love.
Thus love has a wisdom that the mind cannot claim, and by this
hearty love, this becoming one with what is beyond our personal
borders, we may take a long step toward freedom. Two directions for
this may be suggested: the pure love of the artist for his work, and
the earnest, compassionate search into the hearts of others.
40. Thus he masters all, from the atom to
the Infinite.
Newton was asked how he made his discoveries.
By intending my mind on them, he replied. This steady pressure, this
becoming one with what we seek to understand, whether it be atom or
soul, is the one means to know. When we become a thing, we really
know it, not otherwise. Therefore live the life, to know the
doctrine; do the will of the Father, if you would know the Father.
41. When the perturbations of the psychic
nature have all been stilled, then the consciousness, like a pure
crystal, takes the colour of what it rests on, whether that be the
perceiver, perceiving, or the thing perceived.
This is a fuller expression of the last Sutra,
and is so lucid that comment can hardly add to it. Everything is
either perceiver, perceiving, or the thing perceived; or, as we
might say, consciousness, force, or matter. The sage tells us that
the one key will unlock the secrets of all three, the secrets of
consciousness, force and matter alike. The thought is, that the
cordial sympathy of a gentle heart, intuitively understanding the
hearts of others, is really a manifestation of the same power as
that penetrating perception whereby one divines the secrets of
planetary motions or atomic structure.
42. When the consciousness, poised in
perceiving, blends together the name, the object dwelt on and the
idea, this is perception with exterior consideration.
In the first stage of the consideration of an
external object, the perceiving mind comes to it, preoccupied by the
name and idea conventionally associated with that object. For
example, in coming to the study of a book, we think of the author,
his period, the school to which he belongs. The second stage, set
forth in the next Sutra, goes directly to the spiritual meaning of
the book, setting its traditional trappings aside and finding its
application to our own experience and problems. The commentator
takes a very simple illustration: a cow, where one considers, in the
first stage, the name of the cow, the animal itself and the idea of
a cow in the mind. In the second stage, one pushes these trappings
aside and, entering into the inmost being of the cow, shares its
consciousness, as do some of the artists who paint cows. They get at
the very life of what they study and paint.
43. When the object dwells in the mind,
clear of memory-pictures, uncoloured by the mind, as a pure luminous
idea, this is perception without exterior or consideration.
We are still considering external, visible
objects. Such perception as is here described is of the nature of
that penetrating vision whereby Newton, intending his mind on
things, made his discoveries, or that whereby a really great
portrait painter pierces to the soul of him whom he paints, and
makes that soul live on canvas. These stages of perception are
described in this way, to lead the mind up to an understanding of
the piercing soul-vision of the spiritual man, the immortal.
44. The same two steps, when referring to
things of finer substance, are said to be with, or without, judicial
action of the mind.
We now come to mental or psychical objects: to
images in the mind. It is precisely by comparing, arranging and
superposing these mind-images that we get our general notions or
concepts. This process of analysis and synthesis, whereby we select
certain qualities in a group of mind-images, and then range together
those of like quality, is the judicial action of the mind spoken of.
But when we exercise swift divination upon the mind images, as does
a poet or a man of genius., then we use a power higher than the
judicial, and one nearer to the keen vision of the spiritual man.
45. Subtle substance rises in ascending
degrees, to that pure nature which has no distinguishing mark.
As we ascend from outer material things which
are permeated by separateness, and whose chief characteristic is to
be separate, just as so many pebbles are separate from each other;
as we ascend, first, to mind-images, which overlap and coalesce in
both space and time, and then to ideas and principles, we finally
come to purer essences, drawing ever nearer and nearer to unity. Or
we may illustrate this principle thus. Our bodily, external selves
are quite distinct and separate, in form, name, place, substance;
our mental selves, of finer substance, meet and part, meet and part
again, in perpetual concussion and interchange; our spiritual selves
attain true consciousness through unity, where the partition wall
between us and the Highest, between us and others, is broken down
and we are all made perfect in the One. The highest riches are
possessed by all pure souls, only when united. Thus we rise from
separation to true individuality in unity.
46. The above are the degrees of limited
and conditioned spiritual consciousness, still containing the seed
of separateness.
In the four stages of perception above
described, the spiritual vision is still working through the mental
and psychical, the inner genius is still expressed through the
outer, personal man. The spiritual man has yet to come completely to
consciousness as himself, in his own realm, the psychical veils laid
aside.
47. When pure perception without judicial
action of the mind is reached, there follows the gracious peace of
the inner self.
We have instanced certain types of this pure
perception: the poet's divination, whereby he sees the spirit within
the symbol, likeness in things unlike, and beauty in all things; the
pure insight of the true philosopher, whose vision rests not on the
appearances of life, but on its realities; or the saint's firm
perception of spiritual life and being. All these are far advanced
on the way; they have drawn near to the secret dwelling of peace.
48. In that peace, perception is
unfailingly true.
The poet, the wise philosopher and the saint
not only reach a wide and luminous consciousness, but they gain
certain knowledge of substantial reality. When we know, we know that
we know. For we have come to the stage where we know things by being
them, and nothing can be more true than being. We rest on the rock,
and know it to be rock, rooted in the very heart of the world.
49. The object of this perception is other
than what is learned from the sacred books, or by sound inference,
since this perception is particular.
The distinction is a luminous and inspiring
one. The Scriptures teach general truths, concerning universal
spiritual life and broad laws, and inference from their teaching is
not less general. But the spiritual perception of the awakened Seer
brings particular truth concerning his own particular life and
needs, whether these be for himself or others. He receives defined,
precise knowledge, exactly applying to what he has at heart.
50. The impress on the consciousness
springing from this perception supersedes all previous impressions.
Each state or field of the mind, each field of
knowledge, so to speak, which is reached by mental and emotional
energies, is a psychical state, just as the mind picture of a stage
with the actors on it, is a psychical state or field. When the pure
vision, as of the poet, the philosopher, the saint, fills the whole
field, all lesser views and visions are crowded out. This high
consciousness displaces all lesser consciousness. Yet, in a certain
sense, that which is viewed as part, even by the vision of a sage,
has still an element of illusion, a thin psychical veil, however
pure and luminous that veil may be. It is the last and highest
psychic state.
51. When this impression ceases, then,
since all impressions have ceased, there arises pure spiritual
consciousness, with no seed of separateness left.
The last psychic veil is drawn aside, and the
spiritual man stands with
unveiled
vision, pure serene |