Lesson IV. 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 docs 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. Rut 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 AH 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.
AH
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 AH 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 us 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 Lite, 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 acording 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 cither 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
docs 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 \vc 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 knowthat 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 writtenn. 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 teams 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. Docs 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-docs 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. Hut 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 bea 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 docs.
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 Vises
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 dew-drop, 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
pood, 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
scries 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 tvam 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 dippt 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, Rut 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, Hlartman, 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 chandler
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 separatencss 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 d7vells the Consciousness of the One Life, underlying. Enter into
the Silence of the Shrine within.
|