The Complete Works of Yogy Ramacharaka. William Walker Atkinson
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so on. Again and again does pride, the tempter, come to bother us. Its existence is based upon the delusion of separateness, which leads us to imagine that we have no connection with other manifestations of life, and which causes us to feel a spirit of antagonism and unworthy rivalry toward our fellow beings, instead of recognizing the fact we are all parts of the One Life—some far back struggling in the mire of the lower stages of the road—others traveling along the same stage of the journey as ourselves—others still further advanced—but all on the way—all being bits of the same great Life. Beware of Pride—the most subtle enemy of advancement—and supplant it with the thought that we are all of the same origin—having the same destiny before us—having the same road to travelbrothers and sisters all—all children of God—all little scholars of Life's great Kindergarten. Let us also realize that while each must stand alone before he is able to pass the test of initiation—yet are we all interdependent, and the pain of one is the pain of all—the sin of one is the sin of all—that we are all parts of a race working toward race improvement and growth—and that love and the feeling of brotherhood is the only sane view of the question.
The brute instincts are still with us, constantly forcing themselves into our field of thought. Occultists learn to curb and control these lower instincts, subordinating them to the higher mental ideals which unfold into the field of consciousness. Do not be discouraged if you still find that you have much of the animal within your nature—we all have—the only difference is that some of us have learned to control the brute, and to keep him in leash and subordinate and obedient to the higher parts of our nature, while others allow the beast to rule them, and they shiver and turn pale when he shows his teeth, not seeming to realize that a firm demeanor and a calm mind will cause the beast to retreat to his corner and allow himself to be kept behind bars. If you find constant manifestations of the beast within you, struggling to be free and to assert his old power, do not be disturbed. This is no sign of weakness, but is really an indication that your spiritual growth has begun. For whereas you now recognize the brute, and feel ashamed, you formerly did not realize his presence—were not aware of his existence, for you were the brute himself. It is only because you are trying to divorce yourself from him, that you feel ashamed of his presence. You cannot see him until you begin to be "different" from him. Learn to be a tamer of wild beasts, for you have a whole menagerie within you. The lion; the tiger; the hyena; the ape; the pig; the peacock, and all the rest are there, constantly showing forth some of their characteristics. Do not fear them—smile at them when they show themselves—for you are stronger than they, and can bring them to subjection—and their appearance is useful to you in a way of instructing you as to their existence. They are an amusing lot, when you have reached the stage where you are able to practically stand aside and see them perform their tricks, and go through their antics. You then feel strongly that they are not YOU, but something apart from you—something from which you are becoming rapidly divorced. Do not worry about the beasts—for you are the master.
While the above quotation from "Light on the Path" includes all of the foregoing manifestations of the lower nature, it seems to dwell especially upon the delusion of the lower self—that dream of separateness—that exhibition of what has been called "the working fiction of the universe," which causes us to imagine ourselves things apart from the rest—something better, holier, and superior to the rest of our kind. This manifests in the emotion of pride—the peacock part of our mental menagerie. As we have said, this is one of the most dangerous of our lower qualities, because it is so subtle and persistent. You will note that the writer speaks of it as living "fruitfully in the heart of the devoted disciple, as well as in the heart of the man of desire." This may seem strange to you, but it is the experience of every advanced occultist that, long after he had thought he had left Pride behind him, he would be startled at it appearing in a new phase—the pride of power—the pride of intellect—the pride of spiritual growth. And then he would have all his work to do over again. Let us state right here that there is a kind of pride which is not a manifestation of the lower self—it may be called the absolute form of pride, if you will. We allude to that pride of that whole—that the intellect we manifest is part of that universal mind—that the spiritual growth we have attained is a bit of the great possibilities of the race, and that much more is ahead for all the race. But the danger line is reached when we begin to shut out some others from that universal pride—the moment that we leave out one other manifestation of life (no matter how lowly) from our universal pride, then we make it a selfish pride. The moment we erect a fence with anyone on the outside, then are we indulging in selfish pride. For there is no outside, at the last. We are all inside—there is no place outside of the All. When you feel a pride with all living things—with all of life—with all of being—then you are not selfish. But the moment you place yourself apart in a class—whether that class be composed of but yourself, or of yourself and all of mankind, except one individual—then you are yielding to a subtle form of selfishness. The last man must not be left out—cannot be left out. You are possessed of no quality or attainment that is not the property of the race—something that may be attained by all in time. all that you think is superiority is merely a little more age—a little more experience on this plane of existence. Your pride is the foolish infantile pride of the child who has just passed out of "the baby class" in the primary school and looks condescendingly upon the new flock of little ones who are just entering the class from which he has just passed. To the eyes of those in higher classes, the second grade scholar is a subject for a kindly, playing smile—but the little fellow does not know that—he feels "big" and gives the peacock quality full sway. Now, before we leave this illustration, let us say that the little fellow is justified in feeling proud of having accomplished his advancement—it is a worthy feeling—the peacock part comes in only when he looks down upon those below him. This is the substance of the folly of Pride—this feeling of superiority toward those still in the lower grade. A feeling of joy from work attained—heights scaled—is not unworthy, but let us beware of the attendant feeling of superiority toward those who are still climbing—there lies the sting of Pride. Extract the sting, and your wasp is harmless.
If you feel tempted toward self—glorification, sometimes, just remember that as compared to some of the intelligences, who have long since passed through your present stage of development, you are no more than is the intelligence of a black beetle as compared with your own intellect—that, to the eyes of some of the greatly developed souls, the everyday life of even the highest of our race on earth to-day is but as rare to us the antics and gambols; fights and tumbles; of a lot of Newfoundland puppies whose eyes have been opened but a few days—just remember this, we say, and you will get a better idea of just what place you fill in the scale of intelligence. But this does not mean self—debasement, either. Not at all. As low comparatively, as we may be, we are still well on the way of advancement, and great things are before us—we cannot be robbed of a single bit of life—we are going on, and on, and on, to greater and still greater heights. But, impress this upon your soul—not only are you going there, but all of mankind besides—yes, even that last man. Do not forget this. On the plane of the eternal, there cannot be such a thing as selfish pride—understanding has forever wiped it out—"this giant weed cannot flower there; this blot upon existence is wiped out by the very atmosphere of eternal thought."
We must carry over to the next lesson the remainder of our comments on the above quotation.
Lesson II.
Some More Light On The Path
Before passing to the consideration of the next precept, we must again call your attention to the quotation from "Light on the Path" which w had taken before us at the close of the last lesson, but which we were compelled to carry over to this lesson, because of lack of space. In the quotation referred to appears the sentence: "Live neither in the present nor the future, but in the eternal." This sentence has perplexed many students, in view of the fact that the teachings have impressed upon them the importance of living in the Now, and of looking forward to the future as the field for further development. And this sentence seems to run contrary to the previous teachings. But it is all a latter of absolute and relative point of view, again. Let us