The Complete Works of Yogy Ramacharaka. William Walker Atkinson
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things we enjoyed yesterday, seem crude and gross to us to-day, and so it will always be, as we pass onward and upward in the scale of life. We must cease to be tied to the gratification of the senses—the soul has higher pleasures awaiting it. The pleasures of the senses are all right in their place—they have their ones to perform in the evolution of the soul—but the soul must beware of allowing itself to be tied to them, as its progress will be retarded if it does so—useless baggage must be cast aside as the soul mounts the upward path—light marching order is the proper thing. The ties which bind you to sense gratification must be boldly cut, that you may go on your way. Therefore "Kill out desire for sensation." Re-member, the precept does not say that you should kill out sensation—only the desire for sensation. Neither desire sensation, nor ran away from it as an evil thing. Turn sensation to good account, by studying it, and learning its lessons, that you may see it for what it is really worth, and thus be able to drop it from you. As the eighth precept tells you: "learn from sensation, and observe it; because only so can you commence the science of self-knowledge, and plant your foot upon the first step of the ladder."
This does not mean that you should yield to sense—gratification in order to learn its lessons—the advanced soul should have passed beyond this stage. Sensations may be studied as if from the outside, and it is not necessary to indulge a sense in order to learn the les-son it has to teach you. The real meaning of this last precept is that when we find that we experience certain sense feelings—sensations—we should weigh. measure, gauge and test them, instead of viewing them with horror, These things are a part of us—they come from the Instinctive Mind, and are our heritage from our previous lowly states of existence. They are not bad in themselves, but are simply unworthy of us in our present stage of development. They are the shadows of our former selves—the reflection of things which were proper and natural in us in our more animal state but which we are now outgrowing. You may learn great lessons by noting the symptoms of these dying sense—manifestations, and thereby will he enabled to cast them away from you sooner than if you allow yourself to fear them as the manifestations of an evil entity outside of yourself—the temptings of a personal Devil. In time you will outgrow these things, their places being filled with something better and more worthy. But in the meantime, view them as you would the instinctive desire to perform some trick of childhood, which while once natural is now unnatural and undesirable. Many grown persons have had much trouble in getting rid of the old baby trick of sucking the thumb, or twisting a lock of hair between the fingers, which while considered as quite "cute" in the baby days, nevertheless brought upon the growing child many reproaches and punishments, and in after years, often required the exercise of the will of the adult to cast it aside as an undesirable thing. Let us so view these symptoms of the baby—days of our soul-life, and let us get rid of them by understanding them, their nature, history, and meaning, instead of fearing them as the "work of the Devil." There is no Devil but Ignorance and Fear.
The seventh precept tells us to "Kill out desire for growth" and yet the eighth advises us to grow—"Grow as the flower grows, unconsciously, but eagerly anxious to open its soul to the air. So must you press forward to open your soul to the eternal. But it must be the eternal that draws forth your strength and beauty, not desire of growth. For in the one case you develop in the luxuriance of purity; in the other, you harden by the forcible passion for personal stature."
The writer of the above words has made so plain the meaning of this twofold statement of truth, that very little comment upon the same is needed, even for those just entering upon the Path. The distinction between the "desire for growth," and the unfoldment that comes to the advancing soul lies in the motive. "Desire for growth," in the relative sense, means desire for growth for selfglorification—a subtle form of vanity—and a refined form of selfish ambition. And this applied to spiritual, tends toward what occultists know as "black magic," which consists of a desire for spiritual power to use for selfish ends, or even for the mere sense of power that such development brings. The student of occultism cannot be warned too often against such desires and practices—it is the dark side of the picture, and those who pursue the descending path meet with a terrible punishment by reason of their own acts, and are often compelled to labor for ages be fore they find their way back to the Path upon which the sun of the Spirit shines brightly.
The natural growth of the soul—that growth which is compared to that of the flower—gradual and un conscious, but yet eager in the sense of opening up one's soul to the beneficient rays of the great CentralSun of Life—the growth which consists in "letting" rather than forcing, is the growth to be desired. This growth comes to us each day, if we but open ourselves to it. Let the soul unfold, and the Spirit will gradually manifest itself to your consciousness. Many students torment themselves, and their teachers, by their eager questionings, "what shall I do?" The only answer is "stand aside from your labored efforts, and just let yourself grow." And you will grow in this way, Every day will add to your experience—every year will find you further along the path. You may think that you are making no progress—but just compare yourself to the self of a year ago, and you will notice the improvement. Go on, living your life, the best you know how—doing the work before you in the manner that seems best for you, day-by-day—worrying not about your future life—living in the great and glorious Now—and allowing the Spirit to work through you in confidence and faith and love. And. dear student, all will be well with you. You are on the right road—keep to the middle of it—enjoy the scenery as you pass along—enjoy the refreshing breezes—enjoy the night as well as the day—it is all good—and you are making progress without feeling the strain of the journey. The man who counts the milestones and worries about how much farther he has to go, and how slow he is moving, makes his journey doubly tiresome, and loses all the beauty of the roadside. Instead of thinking about what he is seeing, he is thinking merely of miles, miles, miles, and many more miles ahead. Which is the course of wisdom?
9. “Desire only that which is within ye.”
10. “Desire only that which is beyond you.”
11. “Desire only that which is unattainable.”
12. “For within you is the light of the world, the only light that can be shed upon Path. If you are unable to perceive it within you, it is useless to look for it elsewhere. It is beyond you; because when you reach it, you have lost yourself. It is unattainable, because it forever recedes. You will enter the light, but you will never touch the flame.”
These four precepts form another of the many paradoxes contained in the wonderful little manual upon which we are commenting. To those who have not found its key, these four precepts seem strangely contradictory and "wild." To he told to desire a thing that is within you—and yet beyond you—and which is unattainable, seems ridiculous to the average man on the street. But, when one has the key, the teachings seem very plain and beautiful. The four precepts refer to the unfoldment of Spiritual Consciousness—Illumination—which we attempted to faintly describe in our first series of lessons (The Fourteen Lessons). This is the first great attainment before us on the path. It means everything to the occultist at this stage of the journey, for it takes him from the plane of mere "belief" or intellectual acquiescence, on to the plane where he knows that he IS. It does not endow him permanently with universal knowledge, but it gives him that consciousness of real spiritual existence, compared to which every other experience and knowledge sinks into nothing. It brings one face-to-face (perhaps on1y for a moment) with the Real Self, and the great Reality of which that Self is but a part. This state of consciousness is the great prize which is awaiting the efforts of the race to free itself, and it is a reward worth many lives of unfoldment to attain.
"Desire only that which is within you"—for the Spirit is the only reality, and it is within each of us. As the text says: "Far within you is the light of the world, the only light that can be shed upon the Path. If you are unable to perceive it within you, it is useless to look for it elsewhere." Why do not these anxious seekers after truth take this advice and look within themselves for that which they seek, instead of running hither and thither, after teachers, prophets, seers, and leaders
—exhausting first one strange teaching, and then another. All this is useful—because it teaches us that that which we seek is not to be found in this way. And you will never find what you seek, in such ways. You may get a hint here, or a suggestion there—but