XXXII. Led by the Spirit
While
this book is intended to treat solely upon the care of
the physical body, leaving the higher branches of the Yogi Philosophy to be
dealt with in other writings, still the leading principle of the Yogi
teachings is so bound up with the minor branches of the
subject, and is so largely taken into account by the
Yogis in the simplest acts of their lives, that in
justice to the teachings as well as to our
students, we cannot leave the subject without at least
saying a few words about this underlying principle.
The Yogi Philosophy, as our students doubtless know, hold
that man is slowly growing and unfolding, from the lower
forms and manifestations to higher, and still
higher expressions of the Spirit. Spirit is in each man, although often so obscured by the confining sheaths of his lower nature that it is scarcely discernable.
It is also in the lower forms of life, working up and ever seeking for higher forms of expression. The material sheaths of
this progressing life-the bodies of mineral,
plant, lower animal and man-are but instruments to
be used for the best development of the higher
principles. But, although the use of the material body is but temporary, and the body itself nothing more than a suit of
clothes to be put on, worn, and then
discarded, yet it is always the intent of Spirit to provide and maintain as perfect an instrument as possible. It
provides the best body possible, and gives the impulses toward right living,
but if from causes not to be mentioned here,
an imperfect body is provided for
the soul, still the higher principles strive to adapt and accommodate themselves to it, and make the best of it.
This
instinct of self-preservation-this urge behind all of
life-is a manifestation of the Spirit. It works through
the most rudimentary forms of the Instinctive Mind up through many stages until
it reaches the highest manifestations of that mental
principle. It also manifests through the Intellect,
in the direction of causing the man to use his reasoning
powers for the purpose of maintaining his physical
soundness and life. But, alas! the Intellect docs not
keep to its own work, for as soon as it begins to be conscious of itself it begins to meddle with the duties of the
Instinctive Mind, and overriding the
instinct of the latter, it forces all
sort of unnatural modes of living upon the body, and seems to try to get as far away from nature as possible. It is like
a boy freed from the parental restraint, who goes as far contrary to the
parents' example and advice as
possible-just to show that he is independent But the boy learns his
folly, and retraces his steps-and so will the Intellect.
Man
is beginning to see now, that there is something within him that attends to the wants of his body, and which
knows its own business much better than he docs. For man with all his
Intellect is unable to duplicate the feats
of the Instinctive Mind working through
the body of the plant, animal or himself. And he learns to trust this mental principle as a friend, and to let it work out its own duties. In the present modes of
life which man has seen fit to adopt, in his evolution,
but from which he will return to first principles sooner or later, it is
impossible to live a wholly natural life, and physical existence must be more or less abnormal as a consequence. But nature's instinct
of self-preservation and accommodation is great,
and it manages to get along very well with a considerable of a handicap, and
does its work much better than one would expect
considering the absurd and insane living habits and
practices of civilized man.
It
must not be forgotten, however, that as man advances
along the scale and the Spiritual Mind begins to
unfold, man acquires a something akin to instinct- we call it Intuition-and this leads him back to nature. We can see the
influence of this dawning consciousness, in the
marked movement back toward natural living and the
simple life, which is growing so rapidly the last few
years. We are beginning to laugh at the absurd forms,
conventions and fashions which have grown up around our civilization and which,
unless we get rid of them, will pull down that
civilization beneath its growing weight.
The
man and woman in whom the Spiritual Mind is unfolding,
will become dissatisfied with the artificial life and
customs, and will find a strong inclination to return to
simpler and more natural principles of living, thinking
and acting, and will grow impatient under the
restraint and artificial coverings and bandages with which man has bound himself during the ages. He will feel the homing instinct-"after long ages we are coming
home." And the Intellect will respond, and seeing
the follies it has perpetrated, will endeavor to "let go" and return
to nature, doing its own work all the
better by reason of having allowed the Instinctive Mind to attend to its own work without meddling.
The whole theory
and practice of Hatha Yogi is based upon this idea of return to nature-the
belief that the Instinctive Mind of man
contains that which will maintain
health under normal conditions. And accordingly those who practice its
teachings learn first to "let
go," and then to live as closely to natural conditions as is possible in
this age of artificiality. And this little
book has been devoted to pointing out nature's ways and methods, in
order that we may return to them. We have
not taught a new doctrine, but have merely
cried out to you to come with us to the good old way from which we have
strayed.
We are not
unmindful of the fact that it is much harder
for the man and woman of the West to adopt natural methods of living, when all
their surroundings impel them the other way, but still each may do a little each day for himself and the race, in this
direction, and it is surprising how the old artificial habits will drop
from a person-one by one.
In this our concluding chapter, we wish to impress upon you the fact that one may be led by the Spirit in the physical life, as well as in the mental. One may implicitly
trust the Spirit to guide him in the right way in the matter of everyday
living as well as in the more complicated matters of life. If one will trust in
the spirit, he will find that his old
appetites will drop away from
him-his abnormal tastes will disappear- and he will find a joy and pleasure in the simpler living which will make life seem like a different
thing to him.
One should not attempt to divorce his belief in the Spirit
leadings from his physical life-for Spirit pervades
everything, and manifests in the physical (or rather through it) as
well as in the highest mental states. One may cat with the Spirit and drink
with it, as well as think with it. It will not do to say "this is spiritual, and that is not," for all is
spiritual, in the highest sense.
And
finally, if one wishes to make the most of his physical
life-to have as perfect an instrument as may be for
the expression of the Spirit-let him live his life all the
way through in that trust and confidence in the spiritual part of his nature.
Let him realize that the Spirit within him
is a spark from the Divine Flame-a drop
from the Ocean of Spirit-a ray from the Central Sun. Let him realize that he is an eternal being-always growing, developing and unfolding. Always moving toward the great goal, the exact nature of which
man, in his present state, is unable to grasp with his imperfect mental vision. The urge is always onward
and upward. We are all a part of that great Life which is manifesting itself in an infinitude of
infinitude of forms and shapes. We are all a part of IT. If we can but grasp the faintest idea of what this
means, we will open ourselves up to
such an influx of Life and vitality
that our bodies will be practically made over and will manifest
perfectly. Let each of us form an idea of a Perfect Body, and endeavor to so
live that we will grow into its physical
form-and we can do this.
We have tried to tell you the laws governing the physical body, that you
may conform to them as near as may be-interposing as little friction as
possible to the
inflow of that great life and energy which is anxious to flow through us. Let
us return to nature, dear students, and allow this great
life to flow through us freely, and all
will be well with us. Let us stop trying to do the
whole thing ourselves-let us just LET the thing do its
own work for us.' It only asks confidence and non-resistance-let
us give it a chance.
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