1
The concept of the Overself is foundational. It
provides meaning for life. (22-3.111)
2
Here is the focal point of all spiritual searching,
here man meets God. (22-3.316)
3
The Overself is not merely a mental concept for all
men but also a driving force for some men, not merely a pious pleasant feeling
for those who believe in it but also a continuing vital experience for those who
have lifted the ego's heavy door-bar. (22-3.202)
4
When man shall discover the hidden power within
himself which enables him to be conscious and to think, he will discover the
holy spirit, the ray of Infinite Mind lighting his little finite mind.
(22-3.181)
5
The Overself is the point where the One Mind is
received into consciousness. It is the "I" freed from narrowness, thoughts,
flesh, passion, and emotion--that is, from the personal ego. (22-3.317)
6
No one can explain what the Overself is, for it is
the origin, the mysterious source, of the explaining mind, and beyond all its
capacities. But what can be explained are the effects of standing consciously in
its presence, the conditions under which it manifests, the ways in which it
appears in human life and experience, the paths which lead to its realization.
(22-3.203)
7
The fact that we know our bodies is a guarantee that
we can know our souls. For the knowing principle in us is derived from the soul
itself. We have only to search our own minds deeply enough and ardently enough
to discover it. (22-5.14)
8
When you begin to seek the Knower, who is within
you, and to sever yourself from the seen, which is both without and within you,
you begin to pass from illusion to reality. (22-5.15)
9
The mind's chief distinguishing power is to
know--whether the object known is the world around or the ideas within. When
this is turned in still deeper upon itself, subject and object are one, the
thought-making activity comes to rest, and the "I" mystery is solved. Man
discovers his real self, or being--his soul. (22-5.16)
10
That point where man meets the Infinite is the
Overself, where he, the finite, responds to what is absolute, ineffable and
inexhaustible Being, where he reacts to That which transcends his own
existence--this is the Personal God he experiences and comes into relation with.
In this sense his belief in such a God is justifiable. (22-3.318)
11
Because of the paradoxically dual nature which the
Overself possesses, it is very difficult to make clear the concept of the
Overself. Human beings are rooted in the ultimate mind through the Overself,
which therefore partakes on the one hand of a relationship with a vibratory
world and on the other of an existence which is above all relations. A
difficulty is probably due to the vagueness or confusion about which standpoint
it is to be regarded from. If it is thought of as the human soul, then the
vibratory movement is connected with it. If it is thought of as transcending the
very notion of humanity, and therefore in its undifferentiated character, the
vibratory movement must disappear. (22-3.390)
12
Overself is the inner or true self of man,
reflecting the divine being and attributes. The Overself is an emanation from
the ultimate reality but is neither a division nor a detached fragment of it. It
is a ray shining forth but not the sun itself. (22-3.319)
13
The Overself is utterly above all personality yet
is not bereft of a kind of individuality.
14
It is that part of man which is fundamental, real,
undying, and truly knowing. (22-3.209)
15
It is a state of pure intelligence but without the
working of the intellectual and ideational process. Its product may be named
intuition. There are no automatically conceived ideas present in it, no
habitually followed ways of thinking. It is pure, clear, stillness. (22-3.204)
16
It is true that the nature of God is inscrutable
and that the laws of God are inexorable. But it is also true that the God-linked
soul of man is accessible and its intuitions available. (22-3.320)
17
What we are ordinarily conscious of are the
thoughts and feelings of the ego, but there is much more in us than that. There
is the true self, of which the ego is only a miserable caricature. If we could
penetrate to this, the fundamental element of our selfhood, we would never again
be satisfied with a wholly egoistic life--the call of the Quest would come again
and again in our ears. And indeed it is through such rare glimpses, such exalted
moments, when they become conscious of a presence, higher and more blessed than
their ordinary state, that men are drawn to the Quest in the effort to recapture
those moments and those moods. The recapturing is done, not by taking possession
of something but by allowing oneself to be possessed, not by a positive and
affirmative movement of the will, but by a yielding to, and acceptance of, the
gentlest and most delicate thing in man's psyche--the intuition. (22-7.221)
18
Knowledge of the facts concerning man and his
nature, his general destiny and spiritual evolution, can be gained by the
intuition; but information concerning the details of his personal history must
be gleaned, if at all, by the psychical faculty. (22-1.32)
19
Whereas we can reach the intellect only through
thinking, we can reach the spirit only through intuition. The practice of
meditation is simply the deepening, broadening, and strengthening of intuition.
A mystical experience is simply a prolonged intuition. (22-1.282)
20
The intuition appears indirectly in aesthetic
ecstasy and intellectual creativity, in the pricking of conscience, in the
longing for relief from anxieties, or peace of mind. It appears directly only in
mystical realization. (22-1.33)
21
Intuition tells us what to do. Reason tells
us how to do it. Intuition points direction and gives destination. Reason
shows a map of the way there. (22-1.38)
22
There is no single pattern that an intuitively
guided life must follow. Sometimes he will see in a flash of insight both course
and destination, but at other times he will see only the next step ahead and
will have to keep an open mind both as to the second step and as to the final
destination. (22-1.261)
23
Intuitive guidance comes not necessarily when we
seek it, but when the occasion calls for it. It does not usually come until it
is actually needed. The intellect, as part of the ego, will often seek it in
advance of the occasion because it may be driven by anxiety, fear, desire, or
anticipation. Such premature seeking is fruitless. (22-1.71)
24
The intuition comes from, and leads to, the
Overself. (22-1.34)
25
It is the strength or feebleness of our intuition
which determines the grade of our spiritual evolution. What begins as a gentle
surrender to intuition for a few minutes, one day resolves into a complete
surrender of the ego to the Overself for all time. (22-1.35)
26
The intuitive faculty can be deliberately
cultivated and consciously trained. (22-1.70)
27
The secret is to stop, on the instant, whatever he
is doing just then, or even whatever he is saying, and reorient all his
attention to the incoming intuition. The incompleted act, the broken sentence,
should be deserted, for this is an exercise in evaluation. (22-1.66)
28
Wrong personal intention may be negated by right
intuitive guidance, but it is not easy to recognize the latter as such. The
difference between a mere impulse and a real intuition may often be detected in
two ways: first, by waiting a few days, as the subconscious mind has then a
chance to offer help in deciding the matter; second, by noting the kind of
emotion which accompanies the message. If the emotion is of the lower kind, such
as anger, indignation, greed, or lust, it is most likely an impulse. If of the
higher kind, such as unselfishness or forgiveness, it is most likely an
intuition. (22-1.198)
29
When one has reviewed a problem from all its
angles, and has done this not only with the keenest powers of the mind but also
with the finest qualities of the heart, it should be turned over at the end to
the Overself and dismissed. The technique of doing so is simple. It consists of
being still. In the moment of letting the problem fall away, one triumphs over
the ego. This is a form of meditation. In the earlier stage it is an
acknowledgment of helplessness and weakness in handling the problem, of personal
limitations, followed by a surrender of it (and of oneself) to the Overself in
the last resort. One can do no more. Further thought would be futile. At this
point Grace may enter and do what the ego cannot do. It may present guidance
either then, or at some later date, in the form of a self-evident idea.
(22-1.72)
30
So subtle is the oncoming and so mysterious is the
working of the true intuition, so open and blatant is the fantasy that is false
intuition, that the first test of authenticity is indicated here. (22-1.202)
31
You may recognize the voice of wisdom when having
to make a decision by the fact that it proceeds out of deep inner calm, out of
utter tranquillity, whereas impulse is frequently born in exaggerated enthusiasm
or undue excitement. (22-1.199)
32
A compelling inner conviction or intuition need
not necessarily collide with cold reason. But as an assumed intuition which may
be merely a bit of wishful thinking or emotional bias, it is always needful to
check or confirm or discipline it by reasoning. The two can work together, even
whilst recognizing and accepting each other's peculiar characteristics and
different methods of approach. Hence all intuitively formed projects and plans
should be examined under this duplex light. The contribution of fact by reason
should be candidly and calmly brought up against the contribution of inward
rightness made by "intuition." We must not hesitate to scrap intuitively formed
plans if they prove unworkable or unreasonable. (22-1.200)
33
The promptings that come from this inner being are
so faintly heard at first, however strong on their own plane, that we tend to
disregard them as trivial. This is the tragedy of man. The voices that so often
mislead him into pain-bringing courses--his passion, his ego, and blind
intellect--are loud and clamant. The whisper that guides him aright and to God
is timid and soft. (22-1.201)
34
The commonest error is to try to produce and
manufacture intuition. That can't be done. It is something which comes to you.
Hence don't expect it to appear when concentrating on a problem, but if at all
after you've dismissed the problem. Even then it is a matter of grace--it
may or may not come. (22-1.73)
35
How can he tell if inner guidance is truly
intuitive or merely pseudo-intuitive? One of the ways is to consider whether it
tends to the benefit of all concerned in a situation, the others as well as
oneself. The word "benefit" here must be understood in a large way, must include
the spiritual result along with the material one. If the guidance does not yield
this result, it may be ego-prompted and will then hold the possibility of error.
(22-1.196)
36
An intuitive feeling is one untainted by the ego's
wishes, uncoloured by its aversions. (22-1.197)
37
Let no one imagine that contact with the Overself
is a kind of dreamy reverie or pleasant, fanciful state. It is a vital
relationship with a current of peace, power, and goodwill flowing endlessly from
the invisible centre to the visible self. (22-3.206)
38
To the extent that a man is conscious of the
presence of the Overself, he becomes inspired. To the extent that he is also
talented in any of the arts, his work also becomes inspired. (22-2.25)
39
His activity as a merely selfish person comes to
an end; his activity as a divinely inspired one begins. It is a transformation
from "works of the flesh" to "fruits of the spirit" in the Bible's phrase.
(22-2.54)
40
When the ego is displaced and the Overself is
using him, there will be no need and no freedom to choose between two
alternatives in regard to actions. Only a single course will present itself,
directly and unwaveringly, as the right one. (22-2.53)
41
To gain such an inspiration in all its untarnished
purity, his egoism must be totally lost and absorbed in the experience.
(22-2.55)
42
Inspired action becomes possible when, to speak in
spatial metaphors, every deed receives its necessary and temporary attention
within the foreground of the mind whilst the Overself holds the permanent
attention of the man within the background of his mind. (22-2.57)
43
Those critics who assert that we have lost our
mystical values because we teach that mystical contemplation is not an end in
itself but rather a means to action, have not understood our teaching. The kind
of action we refer to is not the ordinary one. It is something higher than that,
wiser than that, nobler than that. It is everyday human life divinized and made
expressive of a sublime FACT. We have indeed often used the phrase "inspired
action" to distinguish it from the blind and egotistic kind. He who practises it
does not thereby desert the contemplative path. This inner life is kept deep
full and rich, but it is not kept refrigerated and isolated. He reflects it
deliberately into the outer life to satisfy a twofold purpose. First, to be on
the earth, so far as he can, what he is in heaven. Second, to work actively for
the liberation of others. This cannot be achieved by inertia and
indifference--which are virtues to the mystic but defects to the philosopher.
(22-2.32)
44
There are men who may be high in talent but low in
character. Notice that I use the word talent. I can not believe that it is
possible to possess true inspiration and yet deny it or fail to express it in
one's conduct. (22-2.22)
45
To the man who has come along the path of loving
devotion to God and finally gained the reward of frequent, joyous, ardent,
inward communion with God, equally as to the man who has practised the way of
mystical self-recollection and attained frequent awareness of the Overself's
presence, an unexpected and unpalatable change may happen little by little or
suddenly. God will seem to withdraw from the devotee, the Overself from the
mystic. The blisses will fade and end. Although this experience will have none
of the terror or isolation and misery of the "dark night" it will be comparable
to that unforgettable time. And although it will seem like a withdrawal of
Grace, the hidden truth is that it is actually a farther and deeper bestowal of
Grace. For the man is being led to the next stage--which is to round out,
balance, and complete his development. This he will be taught to do by first,
acquiring cosmological knowledge, and later, attaining ontological wisdom. That
is, he will learn something about the World-Idea and then, this gained, pass
upward to learning the nature of that Reality in whose light even the universe
is illusion. Thus from study of the operations of the Power behind the
World-Idea he passes on to pondering on the Power itself. This last involves the
highest degree of concentration and is indeed the mysterious little practised
Yoga of the Uncontradictable. When successfully followed it brings about the
attainment of Insight, the final discovery that there is no other being than
THAT, no second entity. (22-8.24)
46
Although we are divided in awareness from the
higher power, we are not divided in fact from it. The divine being is immanent
in each one of us. This is why there is always some good in the worst of us.
(22-3.14)
47
If a man asks why he can find no trace of God's
presence in himself, I answer that he is full of evidence, not merely traces.
God is present in him as consciousness, the state of being aware; as thought,
the capacity to think; as activity, the power to move; and as stillness, the
condition of ego, emotion, intellect, and body which finally and clearly reveals
what these other things simply point to. "Be still, and know that I am God" is a
statement of being whose truth can be tested by experiment and whose value can
be demonstrated by experience. (22-3.409)
48
Even while working in an office or factory or
field, a man is not prevented from continuing his search for the inner mind. The
notion that this quest requires aloofness from the commonplace utilitarian world
is one which philosophy does not accept. Distraction and action are not so
mutually exclusive as we may think. The student may train himself to maintain
calm and serene poise even in the midst of strenuous activity, just as he also
avails himself of the latest discoveries of scientific technique and yet keeps
his mind capable of browsing through the oldest books of the Asiatic sages. He
can discipline himself to returning from meditation to the turmoil, go anywhere,
do anything, if truth is carried in the mind and poise in the heart. He may
learn to live in reality at all times. The sense of its presence will need no
constant renewal, no frequent slipping into trance, no intermittent escape from
the world, if he follows the philosophic threefold path. (22-2.27)
49
The question whether someone is a mystic or yogi
can be answered easily enough once we understand what is his state of
consciousness and what the mystical condition really is. All the annals of the
vanished past and all the experiences of the living present inform us that
whoever enters into it feels his natural egotism subside, his fierce passions
assuaged, his restless thoughts stilled, his troubled emotions pacified, his
habitual world-view spiritualized, and his whole person caught up into a
beatific supernal power. Did he ever have this kind of consciousness? His words
and deeds, his personal presence and psychological self-betrayal should proclaim
with a united voice what he is. No man who habitually enters such a blessed
state could ever bring himself to hate or injure a fellow human being.
(22-7.198)
50
If he feels this presence, and can do his work
without deserting it, then his is a sacred function, no matter whether it be an
artist's or an artisan's. (22-2.26)
51
Although it is true that the Overself is the real
guardian angel of every human being, we should not be so foolish as to suppose
its immediate intervention in every trivial affair. On the contrary, its care is
general rather than particular, in the determination of long-term phases rather
than day-by-day events. Its intervention, if that does occur, will be occasioned
by or will precipitate a crisis. (22-3.207)
52
If we are to think correctly, we cannot stop with
thinking of the Overself as being only within us. After this idea has become
firmly established for its metaphysical and devotional value, we must complete
the concept by thinking of the Overself as being also without us. If in the
first concept it occupies a point in space, in the second one it is beyond all
considerations of place. (22-3.391)
53
When we realize that the intellect can put forth
as many arguments against this theme as for it, we realize that there is in the
end only one perfect proof of the Overself's existence. The Overself must prove
itself. This can come about faintly through the intuition or fully through the
mystical experience.
54
It would be unreasonable to expect anyone to give
up his worldly attachments until he sees something more worthwhile. Consequently
his soul gives him a foretaste, as it were, through these ecstatic moments and
brief enlightenments, of its own higher values. (22-8.25)
55
The point which has yet to be made is that these
glimpses are not supernatural superhuman and solely religious
experiences. When scientific psychology has advanced to the point where it
really understands the human being in all his height and depth, and not merely
his surface, it will see this. (22-3.410)
56
Although he is normally quite unconscious of this
connection with the Overself, once at least in a lifetime there is a flash which
visits him and breaks the unconsciousness. He has a glimpse of his
highest possibility. But the clearness and intensity of this glimpse depend upon
his receptivity. They may amount to little or much. (22-4.46)
57
Many people without pretensions to mystical
knowledge or belief have had this experience, this glimpse of timeless
loveliness, through Nature, art, music, or even for no apparent reason at all.
(22-4.47)
58
Without learning, studying, or practising yoga,
Heisenberg, famed nuclear physicist, formulator of the Law of Indeterminacy,
unwittingly entered what is a high goal to yogis, Nirvikalpa Samadhi. This
happened at times at the end of the deepest abstract thinking about his subject.
Thoughts themselves ceased to be active. He found himself in the Stillness of
the Void. He knew then, and knows today, his spiritual being. (22-5.17)
59
Those who have followed the Quest in previous
lives will generally receive a glimpse at least twice during the present one.
They will receive it in early life during their teens or around the threshold of
adult life. This will inspire them to seek anew. They will receive it again in
late life during the closing years of the reincarnation. This will be bestowed
as a Grace of the Overself. Those aspirants who bemoan the loss of their early
glimpse should remind themselves, in hours of depression, that it will recur
before they leave the body. In addition to those glimpses which attend the
opening and closing years of a lifetime, a number of others may be had during
the intervening period as a direct consequence and reward of the efforts,
disciplines, aspirations, and self-denials practised in that time. (22-4.48)
60
What are the signs whereby he shall know that this
is an authentic glimpse of reality? First, it is and shall remain ever present.
There is no future in it and no past. Second, the pure spiritual experience
comes without excitement, is reported without exaggeration, and needs no
external authority to authenticate it. (22-7.199)
61
Every man who passes through this experience and
holds its memory, verifies for himself that there is an Infinite Life-Power
pervading the entire universe--also that it is ever present, perfectly wise, and
all-knowing. Its point of contact with him is his Overself. (22-6.302)
62
Yes it is a wonderful feeling, this which
accompanies a glimpse of the higher self; but when it is also merged with a
knowing, a positive perception beyond the need of discussion, interpretation,
formulation, or judgement, it gives the philosophical seeker a certitude which
is like a benediction. (22-6.301)
63
In that sudden moment of spiritual awareness, or
that longer period of spiritual ecstasy, he identifies himself no more with the
projection from Mind but with pure Mind itself. In that severance from its
projection, the shadow becomes the sun. (22-6.303)
64
In this mysterious moment the two are one. He no
longer abides with the mere images of reality. He is now in the authentic world
of reality itself. (22-6.81)
65
I remember the first time I had this astonishing
experience. I was fond of disappearing from London whenever the weather allowed
and wandering alongside the river Thames in its more picturesque country parts.
If the day was sunny I would stretch my feet out, lie down in the grass, pull
out my notebook and pen from my pocket--knowing that thoughts would eventually
arise that would have for me an instructive or even revelatory nature, apart
from those ordinary ones which were merely expressive. One day, while I was
waiting for these thoughts to arise, I lost the feeling that I was there at all.
I seemed to dissolve and vanish from that place, but not from consciousness.
Something was there, a presence, certainly not me, but I was fully aware of it.
It seemed to be something of the highest importance, the only thing that
mattered. After a few minutes I came back, discovered myself in time and space
again; but a great peace had touched me and a very benevolent feeling was still
with me. I looked at the trees, the shrubs, the flowers, and the grass and felt
a tremendous sympathy with them and then when I thought of other persons a
tremendous benevolence towards them. (22-6.80)
66
Glimpses vary much in their nature. Some are soft,
mild and delicate, quiet and restrained; others are ecstatic, rapturous, and
excited. All give some sort of uplift, exaltation, enlightenment, or revelation
and also to varying degrees. (22-6.79)
67
The glimpse gives him a journey to a land flowing
not with milk and honey, but with goodness and beauty, with peace and wisdom. It
is the best moment of his life. (22-4.87)
68
When a man's consciousness is turned upside-down
by a glimpse, when what he thought most substantial is revealed as least so,
when his values are reversed and the Good takes on a new definition, he writes
that day down as his spiritual birthday. (22-4.88)
69
A glimpse may exalt the man and give him
inspiration, but above everything else it attests for him the fact that he is
fundamentally Spirit. This is the commonest kind of Glimpse but there is another
kind which, in addition to doing these things, opens mysterious doors and
provides inlooks to the working of secret laws and occult processes in Nature,
the world and the life of man. This kind of glimpse may fitly be termed "a
revelation." (22-6.305)
70
The glimpse does not necessarily have to come to
you during meditation, even though the work in meditation helps to bring about
its occurrence. It may come at any time. (22-5.87)
71
The sudden but gentle drawing away from outer
activity to the inner one, "the melting away in the heart," as Oriental mystics
call it, felt actually inside the middle-chest region, may make itself felt
occasionally, or, in an advanced or regular meditator, every day. In the last
case it will tend to appear at around the same hour each time. This is a call
which ought to be treated properly with all the reverence it deserves. But
before it can be honoured it must be recognized. Its marks of identification
must be studied in books, learned from experience, gleaned from the statements
of other persons, or obtained from a personal teacher. When it comes, the man
should heed the signal, drop whatever he is doing, and obey the unuttered
command to turn inwards, to practise remembrance, or to enter meditation.
(22-5.117)
72
The significant points in this matter are three:
first, it is a call to be recognized and understood; second, it is a command
from the highest authority to be obeyed instantly, as disregard brings its own
punishment, which is that the call may not come again; third, it is an offer of
grace. If the call is heeded and its meaning known or intuited, the aspirant
should first of all arrest his movements and remain utterly frozen, as if posing
for a portrait painter. Let the mind be blank, held as empty of thoughts as
possible. After a while, when adjusted to this sudden suspension of activity, he
may with extreme slowness and with utmost gentleness assume a bodily posture
where he will be more relaxed and more comfortable, or perhaps even a formal
meditation posture. He may then shut his eyes or let them stay in a steady gaze
as if he were transfixed, or he may alternate with both according to the urge
from within. If everything else is dropped and all these conditions are
fulfilled, then a successful meditation bringing on a spiritual glimpse is sure
to follow. (22-5.118)
73
The holy feelings generated by the Glimpse ought
to be protected against the world's disintegrating power and shielded against
your own tendency to dissipate them by hasty violent movements or needless
irrelevant chatter. (22-7.12)
74
The concentration upon the glimpse must be full,
complete, and sustained. If, for only a single moment, he allows his attention
to be diverted toward some outer thing or person, or to be divided with some
inner idea, the glimpse may instantly disappear. (22-5.168)
75
The Glimpse will be at its best when his ego is
not present to interfere with it. Such interference can not only come from its
misinterpretations and distortions, against which philosophy so constantly warns
its disciples, but also from the self-consciousness which wants him to notice
how the experience is happening, to analyse what effect it is having, and to
observe the reactions of other people to it. All these may be done but not then,
not at the same time as the glimpse itself. Instead, they may be studied
afterwards, when his consciousness has resumed its ordinary state. During the
glimpse, he must let himself be completely surrendered to it. (22-5.165)
76
During such unforgettable moments the Soul will
speak plainly, if silently, to him. It may tell him about his true relationship
to the universe and to his fellow creatures. It will certainly tell him about
Itself. It may separate him from his body and let him gaze down upon it as from
a height, long enough to permit him to comprehend that the flesh is quite the
poorest and least significant part of him. And perhaps best of all it will
certainly fill him with the assurance that after his return to the world of
lonely struggle and quick forgetfulness, It will still remain beside and behind
him. (22-6.304)
77
It is a state of exquisite tenderness, of love
welling up from an inner centre and radiating outward in all directions. If
other human beings or animal creatures come within his contact at the time, they
become recipients of this love without exception. For then no enemies are
recognized, none are disliked, and it is not possible to regard anyone as
repulsive. (22-6.83)
78
We cannot see the Truth and still be what we were
before we saw it. That is why Truth comes in glimpses, for we cannot sustain
staying away from ourselves too long, that is to say, from our egos. (22-8.31)
79
There are three stages in each glimpse. The
initial one brings a soft feeling of its gentle approach. The second carries the
man to its peak of upliftment, enlightenment, and peace. The final one draws him
down again into a fading glow which occupies the mind's background and later
survives only in memory. (22-6.82)
80
A passing sign of progress in arousing latent
forces and a physical indication that he is on the eve of noteworthy mystical
experience may be a sudden unexpected vibratory movement in the region of the
abdomen, in the solar plexus. It usually comes when he has been relaxed for a
short time from the daily cares, or after retiring to bed for the night. The
diaphragmatic muscle will appear to tremble violently and something will seem to
surge to and fro like a snake behind the solar plexus. This bodily agitation
will soon subside and be followed by a pleasant calm and out of this calm there
will presently arise a sense of unusual power, of heightened control over the
animal nature and human self. With this there may also come a clear intuition
about some truth needed at the time and a revelatory expansion of consciousness
into supersensual reality. (22-6.11)
81
The glimpse also does in part for a man what
initiation did in some ancient mystical institutions. It sets him on the road of
a new life, a life more earnestly and more consciously devoted to the quest of
Overself. It silently bids him dedicate, or rededicate anew, the remainder of
his life on earth to this undertaking. It is a baptism with inner light more
far-reaching than the baptism with physical water. (22-7.200)
82
The insight, once caught, and however briefly,
will leave behind a calm discontent with the triviality of ordinary life, a
lucid recognition of its pathetic futility and emptiness, as well as a calm
dissatisfaction with the man himself. (22-7.74)
83
Once he has attained this inner realization, the
student should cling persistently to it, for the world's multifarious forces
will come to hear of it and seek to drag him away. (22-7.6)
84
If he is tempted by these sudden glimpses to
enquire whether there is a method or technique whereby they may be repeated at
will, he will find that there is and that it is called meditation. If he wishes
to go farther and enquire whether his whole life could continuously enjoy them
all the time, the answer is that it could and that to bring it about he needs to
follow a way of life called The Quest. (22-5.29)
85
In spite of itself the ego is drawn more and more
to the spiritual grandeur revealed by these glimpses. Its ties to selfishness,
animality, and materiality are loosened. Finally it comes to see that it is
standing in its own way and light and then lets itself be effaced. (22-8.55)
86
Another purpose of these glimpses is to show him
how ignorant of truth he really is, and, having so shown, to stimulate his
effort to get rid of this ignorance. For they will light up the fanciful or
opinionative nature of so much that he hitherto took to be true. (22-7.222)
87
It is important to remember that such experiences
may be expected only rarely in most cases, perhaps once or twice in a lifetime,
if the person is not consciously on the quest. It is natural to hope that it
will be repeated. The first glimpse is given to show the way, to throw light on
the path ahead, to give direction and goal to the person. But if the glimpse is
only temporary and rare, the metaphysical understanding to be derived from it is
the permanent benefit. So seek to get and clarify the understanding. (22-7.245)
88
That glimpse is his initiation into the spiritual
life and therefore into the sacrificial life. It is but the first step in a long
process wherein he will have to part with his lower tendencies, give up his
ignoble passions, surrender his baser inclinations, and renounce egoistic views.
(22-8.26)
89
Under the emotional thrill of a religious
conversion, many people have thought themselves saved and have believed they
live in Christ. Yet how many of them have later fallen away! They thought the
conversion was enough to bring about a permanent result, whereas it was only the
first step toward such a result in reality. The same situation holds with those
who have undergone the emotional thrill of a mystical experience. The
illumination they have achieved is not the end of the road for them but the
beginning. It gives them a picture of the goal and a glimpse of the course to
it. It gives them right direction and an inspirational impetus to move towards
it. But still it is only the first step, not the last one. They should beware of
the personal ego's vanity which would tell them otherwise, or of its
deceitfulness, which would tell it to others. (22-8.27)
90
If illumination does not become permanent, if it
does not stay with its host, that is because it does not find a proper place
within him for such abiding stay. His heart is still too impure, his character
still too imperfect for the consciousness of the Overself to associate
constantly with him. (22-8.29)
91
Islamic mystics called Sufis differentiate between
glimpses, which they call "states," and permanent advances on the path, which
they call "stations." The former are described as being not only temporary but
also fragmentary, while the latter are described as bearing results which cannot
be lost. There are three main stations along the path. The first is annihilation
of the ego; the second is rebirth in the Overself; and the third is fully grown
union with the Overself. The Sufis assert that this final state can never be
reached without the Grace of the Higher Power and that it is complete, lasting,
and unchangeable. (22-8.28)
92
It must be remembered that the glimpse is not the
goal of life. It is a happening, something which begins and ends, but something
which is of immense value in contributing to the philosophic life, its
day-to-day consciousness, its ordinary stabilized nature. Philosophic life is
established continuously and permanently in the divine presence; the glimpse
comes and goes within that presence. The glimpse is exceptional and exciting;
but sahaja, the established state, is ordinary, normal, every day. The
glimpse tends to withdraw us from activity, even if only for a few moments,
whereas sahaja does not have to stop its outward activity. (22-8.23)
93
He must finish what he has started. He must go on
until the peace, the understanding, the strength, and the benevolence of these
rare uplifted moods have become a continuous presence within him. (22-8.30)
94
It is possible for a man who knows of the Quest
only through emotional faith or intellectual conviction to turn aside from it
for the remainder of his incarnation, but it is not possible for a man who has
enjoyed this Glimpse to do so. He may try--and some do--but each day of such
alienation will be a haunted day. The ghost will not leave him alone until he
returns. (22-7.243)
95
Where the Greek Orthodox Church regards the Light
experience as the highest point reachable by man, the Indian Philosophic
Teaching regards it as the last stage before the highest. For anything which is
"seen" implies the existence of a "seer" as separate from it. This is not less
so even in the case of the Holy Light. Not seeing but be-ing is the final
experience according to this Teaching. "You have to go beyond seeing and find
out who is the `I' who experiences this light," said Ramana Maharshi to a
disciple. (22-4.206)
96
Seeing the Light in front of him is one state;
being merged into it is another, and superior. (22-4.204)
97
What, it has been asked, if I get no glimpses?
What can I do to break this barren monotonous dreary and sterile spiritual
desert of my existence? The answer is if you cannot meditate successfully go to
nature, where she is quiet or beautiful; go to art where it is majestic,
exalting; go to hear some great soul speak, whether in private talk or public
address; go to literature, find a great inspired book written by someone who has
had the glimpses.
98
If the glimpse slips away from the great calm,
where does it go? Into the ever-active outward-turned thinking movement.
(22-7.42)