HAKUIN'S "SONG OF MEDITATION"
Sentient beings are primarily all Buddhas:
It is like ice and water,
Apart from water no ice can exist;
Outside sentient beings, where do we find the Buddhas?
Not knowing how near the Truth is,
People seek it far away,--what a pity!
They are like him who, in the midst of water,
Cries in thirst so imploringly;
They are like the son of a rich man
Who wandered away among the poor.
The reason why we transmigrate through the six worlds
Is because we are lost in the darkness of ignorance;
Going astray further and further in the darkness,
When are we able to get away from birth-and-death?
As regards the Meditation practised in the Mahayana,
We have no words to praise it fully:
The virtues of perfection such as charity, morality, etc.,
And the invocation of the Buddha's name, confession, and ascetic discipline,
And many other good deeds of merit,--
All these issue from the practice of Meditation;
Even those who have practised it just for one sitting
Will see all their evil karma wiped clean;
Nowhere will they find the evil paths,
But the Pure Land will be near at hand.
With a reverential heart, let them to this Truth
Listen even for once,
And let them praise it, and gladly embrace it,
And they will surely be blessed most infinitely.
For such as, reflecting within themselves,
Testify to the truth of Self-nature,
To the truth that Self-nature is no-nature,
They have really gone beyond the ken of sophistry.
For them opens the gate of the oneness of cause and effect,
And straight runs the path of non-duality and non-trinity.
Abiding with the not-particular which is in particulars,
Whether going or returning, they remain for ever unmoved;
Taking hold of the not-thought which lies in thoughts,
In every act of theirs they hear the voice of the truth.
How boundless the sky of Samadhi unfettered!
How transparent the perfect moon-light of the fourfold Wisdom!
At that moment what do they lack?
As the Truth eternally calm reveals itself to them,
This very earth is the Lotus Land of Purity,
And this body is the body of the Buddha.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
SELECT ZEN QUOTES
SELECT ZEN QUOTES
Whatever is material shape, past, future, present, subjective or objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or near — all material shape should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as it really is: "This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self." Whatever is feeling, whatever is perception, whatever are habitual tendencies, whatever is consciousness, past, future, present, subjective or objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or near — all should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as it really is: "This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self." Zen Quotes by Buddha Gautama (born 563 B.C.)
Externally keep yourself away from all relationships, and internally have no pantings in your heart; when your mind is like unto a straight-standing wall, you may enter into the Path. Zen Quotes by Bodhidharma (470-543)
Just think of the trees: they let the birds perch and fly, with no intention to call them when they come and no longing for their return when they fly away. If people's hearts can be like the trees, they will not be off the Way. Langya
One single still light shines bright: if you intentionally pursue it, after all it's hard to see. Suddenly encountering it, people's hearts are opened up, and the great matter is clear and done. This is really living, without any fetters -- no amount of money could replace it. Even if a thousand sages should come, they would all appear in it's shadow. Chuzhen
When you're deluded, every statement is an ulcer; when you're enlightened, every word is wisdom. Zhiqu
The living meaning of Zen is beyond all notions. To realize it in a phrase is completely contrary to the subtle essence; we cannot avoid using words as expedients, though, but this has limitations. Needless to say, of course, random talk is useless. Nonetheless, the matter is not one-sided, so we temporarily set forth a path in the way of teaching, to deal with people. Qingfu
Neither is there Bodhi-tree, Nor yet a mirror bright; Since in reality all is void, Whereon can the dust fall?....Hui Neng (638-713)
You cannot describe it or draw it. You cannot praise it enough or perceive it. No place can be found in which to put the Original Face; it will not disappear even when the universe is destroyed....Mumon.
No thought, no reflection, no analysis, no cultivation, no intention; let it settle itself....Tilopa.
If I am holding a cup of water and I ask you, "is the cup empty?" you will say "No, it is full of water." But if i pour out the water and I ask you again, you may say, "yes, it is empty." but, empty of what?....My cup is empty of water, but it is not empty of air. To be empty is to be empty of something..... When Avalokita [Kuan-Yin, or Kannon, the bodhisattva who embodies Compassion] says [in the Heart Sutra] that the five skandas are equally empty, to help him be precise, we must ask "Mr. Avolikta, empty of what?" The five Skandas, which may be translated into english as the five heaps, or five aggregates, are the five elements of that comprise the human being.....In fact, these are really five rivers flowing together in us: the river of form, which means our body, the river of mental formations, the river of feelings, the river of perceptions and the river of consciousness. They are always flowing within us... Arvalokit looked deeply into the five skhandas... and discovered none of them can be by itself alone....Form is empty of a separate self, but it is full of everything else in the cosmos. The same is true with feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. Thich Nat Hanh The Heart of Understanding
The heart Sutra teaches that "form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. "Many people don't know what that means--even some long time students of meditation. But there is a very easy way to see this in our every day lives. For example, here is a wooden chair. It is brown. You sit in the chair, and it holds you up. You can place things on it. But then you light the chair on fire, then leave. When you come back later, the chair is no longer there! This thing that seemed so solid and string and real is now just a pile of cinder and ash which the wind blows around. This example shows how the chair is empty: It as no independent existence. Over a long or short time, the chair will eventually change and become something other than it appears. So, the brown chair is complete emptiness. But though it always has the quality of emptiness, this emptiness is form: you can sit in the chair, and it will hold you up. "Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form." ....Zen Master Seun Sahn, The Compass of Zen
The process of practice is to see through, not to eliminate, anything to which we are attached. We could have great financial wealth and be unattached to it, or we light have nothing and be very attached to having nothing. Usually, if we have seen through the nature of attachment, we will have a tendency to have few possessions, but not necessarily. Most practice gets caught in this area of fiddling with our environments or our minds. " My mind should be quiet". Our mind doesn't matter; what matters is non attachment to the activities of the mind. And our emotions are harmless unless they dominate us 9 that is, if we are attached to them)---then they create dis-harmony for everyone. The first problem in practice is to see that we are attached. As we do consistent, patient zazen we begin to know that we are nothing but attachments; they rule our lives. But we never lose an attachment by saying it has to go. Only as we gain true awareness of its true nature does it quietly and imperceptibly wither away; like a sandcastle with waves rolling over, it just smoothes out and finally Where is it? What was it? ..... Charlotte Joko Beck, Everyday Zen
1. Don't wish for perfect health. In perfect health, there is greed and wanting. So an ancient said, " Make good medicine from the suffering of sickness."
2. Don't hope for life without problems. An easy life results in a judgmental and lazy ind. So an ancient once said, "Accept the anxieties and difficulties of this life".
3. Don't expect your practice to be clear of obstacles. Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out. So an ancient once said, "Attain deliverance in disturbances". Zen Master Kyong Ho [ 1849-1912], in Thousand Peaks
Summer at its height-- and snow on the rocks! The death of winter-and the withered tree blossoms!....Zen Quote.
Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of flames....Zen saying.
I cannot tell if what the world considers 'happiness' is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness....Chuang-tzu.
All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence....The Buddha's last words.
Let your mind wander in simplicity, blend your spirit with the vastness, follow along with things the way they are, and make no room for personal views-then the world will be governed....Chuang-tzu.
Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you....Sheng-yen.
Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation....Tibetan Saying. Buddha said, "If you are going to practice giving to yourself, how moocher to your parents, wife, and children." Therefore you should know that to give to yourself is a part of giving. To give to your family is also giving. Even when you give a particle of dust, you should rejoice in your own act, because you correctly transmit the merit of all buddha's and for the first time practice the art of bodhisattva. The mind of an sentient being is a difficult thing to change. You should keep on changing the minds of sentient beings, from the first moment they have one particle, to the moment that they attain the way. This should be started by giving. For this reason giving is the first of the six paramitas ( perfections ). Mind is beyond measure. Things are given beyond measure. Moreover, in giving, mind transforms the gift and the gift transforms mind. Zen Master Dogen, (1200-1253).
Whatever is material shape, past, future, present, subjective or objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or near — all material shape should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as it really is: "This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self." Whatever is feeling, whatever is perception, whatever are habitual tendencies, whatever is consciousness, past, future, present, subjective or objective, gross or subtle, mean or excellent, whether it is far or near — all should be seen by perfect intuitive wisdom as it really is: "This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self." Zen Quotes by Buddha Gautama (born 563 B.C.)
Externally keep yourself away from all relationships, and internally have no pantings in your heart; when your mind is like unto a straight-standing wall, you may enter into the Path. Zen Quotes by Bodhidharma (470-543)
Just think of the trees: they let the birds perch and fly, with no intention to call them when they come and no longing for their return when they fly away. If people's hearts can be like the trees, they will not be off the Way. Langya
One single still light shines bright: if you intentionally pursue it, after all it's hard to see. Suddenly encountering it, people's hearts are opened up, and the great matter is clear and done. This is really living, without any fetters -- no amount of money could replace it. Even if a thousand sages should come, they would all appear in it's shadow. Chuzhen
When you're deluded, every statement is an ulcer; when you're enlightened, every word is wisdom. Zhiqu
The living meaning of Zen is beyond all notions. To realize it in a phrase is completely contrary to the subtle essence; we cannot avoid using words as expedients, though, but this has limitations. Needless to say, of course, random talk is useless. Nonetheless, the matter is not one-sided, so we temporarily set forth a path in the way of teaching, to deal with people. Qingfu
Neither is there Bodhi-tree, Nor yet a mirror bright; Since in reality all is void, Whereon can the dust fall?....Hui Neng (638-713)
You cannot describe it or draw it. You cannot praise it enough or perceive it. No place can be found in which to put the Original Face; it will not disappear even when the universe is destroyed....Mumon.
No thought, no reflection, no analysis, no cultivation, no intention; let it settle itself....Tilopa.
If I am holding a cup of water and I ask you, "is the cup empty?" you will say "No, it is full of water." But if i pour out the water and I ask you again, you may say, "yes, it is empty." but, empty of what?....My cup is empty of water, but it is not empty of air. To be empty is to be empty of something..... When Avalokita [Kuan-Yin, or Kannon, the bodhisattva who embodies Compassion] says [in the Heart Sutra] that the five skandas are equally empty, to help him be precise, we must ask "Mr. Avolikta, empty of what?" The five Skandas, which may be translated into english as the five heaps, or five aggregates, are the five elements of that comprise the human being.....In fact, these are really five rivers flowing together in us: the river of form, which means our body, the river of mental formations, the river of feelings, the river of perceptions and the river of consciousness. They are always flowing within us... Arvalokit looked deeply into the five skhandas... and discovered none of them can be by itself alone....Form is empty of a separate self, but it is full of everything else in the cosmos. The same is true with feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. Thich Nat Hanh The Heart of Understanding
The heart Sutra teaches that "form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. "Many people don't know what that means--even some long time students of meditation. But there is a very easy way to see this in our every day lives. For example, here is a wooden chair. It is brown. You sit in the chair, and it holds you up. You can place things on it. But then you light the chair on fire, then leave. When you come back later, the chair is no longer there! This thing that seemed so solid and string and real is now just a pile of cinder and ash which the wind blows around. This example shows how the chair is empty: It as no independent existence. Over a long or short time, the chair will eventually change and become something other than it appears. So, the brown chair is complete emptiness. But though it always has the quality of emptiness, this emptiness is form: you can sit in the chair, and it will hold you up. "Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form." ....Zen Master Seun Sahn, The Compass of Zen
The process of practice is to see through, not to eliminate, anything to which we are attached. We could have great financial wealth and be unattached to it, or we light have nothing and be very attached to having nothing. Usually, if we have seen through the nature of attachment, we will have a tendency to have few possessions, but not necessarily. Most practice gets caught in this area of fiddling with our environments or our minds. " My mind should be quiet". Our mind doesn't matter; what matters is non attachment to the activities of the mind. And our emotions are harmless unless they dominate us 9 that is, if we are attached to them)---then they create dis-harmony for everyone. The first problem in practice is to see that we are attached. As we do consistent, patient zazen we begin to know that we are nothing but attachments; they rule our lives. But we never lose an attachment by saying it has to go. Only as we gain true awareness of its true nature does it quietly and imperceptibly wither away; like a sandcastle with waves rolling over, it just smoothes out and finally Where is it? What was it? ..... Charlotte Joko Beck, Everyday Zen
1. Don't wish for perfect health. In perfect health, there is greed and wanting. So an ancient said, " Make good medicine from the suffering of sickness."
2. Don't hope for life without problems. An easy life results in a judgmental and lazy ind. So an ancient once said, "Accept the anxieties and difficulties of this life".
3. Don't expect your practice to be clear of obstacles. Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out. So an ancient once said, "Attain deliverance in disturbances". Zen Master Kyong Ho [ 1849-1912], in Thousand Peaks
Summer at its height-- and snow on the rocks! The death of winter-and the withered tree blossoms!....Zen Quote.
Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of flames....Zen saying.
I cannot tell if what the world considers 'happiness' is happiness or not. All I know is that when I consider the way they go about attaining it, I see them carried away headlong, grim and obsessed, in the general onrush of the human herd, unable to stop themselves or to change their direction. All the while they claim to be just on the point of attaining happiness....Chuang-tzu.
All conditioned things are impermanent. Work out your own salvation with diligence....The Buddha's last words.
Let your mind wander in simplicity, blend your spirit with the vastness, follow along with things the way they are, and make no room for personal views-then the world will be governed....Chuang-tzu.
Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you....Sheng-yen.
Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation....Tibetan Saying. Buddha said, "If you are going to practice giving to yourself, how moocher to your parents, wife, and children." Therefore you should know that to give to yourself is a part of giving. To give to your family is also giving. Even when you give a particle of dust, you should rejoice in your own act, because you correctly transmit the merit of all buddha's and for the first time practice the art of bodhisattva. The mind of an sentient being is a difficult thing to change. You should keep on changing the minds of sentient beings, from the first moment they have one particle, to the moment that they attain the way. This should be started by giving. For this reason giving is the first of the six paramitas ( perfections ). Mind is beyond measure. Things are given beyond measure. Moreover, in giving, mind transforms the gift and the gift transforms mind. Zen Master Dogen, (1200-1253).
Friday, February 6, 2009
ZARATHUSTRA:THE MYSTICAL PROPHET
Zarathustra – The Mystical Prophet
As terms like consciousness, spirit, soul and similar cannot be defined in precise terms, so is mysticism. In wider sense, we could reckon for mystical any philosophy that brings into the focus faith in preference to science and rationalistic way of thinking. Nevertheless, there have been many philosophers whose teaching included both.
Mysticism in philosophy and in religion quite often is indistinguishable from the poetic mysticism, because many mystical philosophers have been at the same time writers and poets, especially those from Eastern philosophies and religions. For all that, mystical philosophy speaks about the union of man with the divinity, in a mystical trance or ecstasy.
Mysticism as religious experience par exellance, has been a subject of study of American psychologist and philosopher William James. He views personal religious experiences at the center of mystical states of consciousness. In defining the term 'mysticism' James refers to four basic distinctions which include – unutterableness, noetic quality, transience and passiveness. The first connotes the fact that the quality of mystical experience must be experienced personally and in a direct way, and it cannot be communicated to others. The distinction of noetic quality enables a deep intuitive insight in these states, sometimes called enlightenment, revelation and the like. The third characteristic concerns these states of consciousness, i.e. transience. This does not seem to be universal, because in case of some mystics these states can last for a long period of time, and by some they can even turn into a continuous state, without returning into everyday, normal state of consciousness. The fourth characteristic is passiveness. James views that concentration exercises or physical exercises (he meant probably yoga) help entering into a mystical state of consciousness. So passiveness can be regarded as essential characteristic just conditionally. The passiveness in fact originates when one has already transcended the normal waking state of consciousness, and then he experiences the feeling of being taken by some 'higher force'.
James omitted one very essential characteristic, that is love and desire for the union with the absolute, the striving to reach the very origin of the being, as says French theologian Louis Gardet. However, he makes difference between oriental religions, where the path to the absolute leads through the immanence of the mystics of one's own self, and monotheistic religions, where this path leads through the union and access to depths of 'God of faith'.
The first beginnings of mystical philosophy could be attached to the names of great philosophers and founders of religions-- Zarathustra, Hermes and Moses.
Zarathustra – The Mystical Prophet
The name of Zarathustra is mentioned for the first time in Plato's work Alcibiades, where he calls him the son of Ormuz. The teachings of Plato and Platonists were under the direct influence of Zarathustra, especially Plato's teaching about the ideas. In Proclus' commentary of 'Parmenides', this philosopher cites Zarathustra's work, where are mentioned ideas.
Legend tells us that at the age of 30, Zoroaster had a heavenly vision in which an angel brought him to the deity Ahura Mazda, who instructed him to found a new religion .The visions continued over a 10-year period. He rejected many of the ritual practices of the Aryan-derived religion, especially the sacrificial slaughter of cattle and the drinking of intoxicating haoma.
The basic element of his belief system is the duality between good and evil which is the result of a choice initiated by Ahura Mazda, the world's creator. One of the twin spirits engendered by Ahura Mazda, named Spenta Mainyu ("Beneficent Spirit") chose good and life, while the other, Angra Mainyu ("Destroying Spirit," or Ahriman), chose evil and death. As a result, humans must make the same choice, since they will be judged accordingly upon their death. The just will be rewarded with entrance into paradise, or the "House of Song," and the wicked condemned to the "House of Evil."
In an ancient hymn, Zoroaster declares:
Truly, there are two primal Spirits, twins renowned to be better and the bad. And those who act well have chosen rightly between these two, not so the evildoers. (Yasna 30:3).
Besides this, Zarathustra is also the predecessor of monism in philosophy. The first principle of all things he called monad. Under this term he understood that, which in itself contains all, and which at the same time is not contained by anything.
This monism is seemingly in contradiction with the duality of two supreme principles in Zarathustra's religion – the creator Ormuz and destructive spirit Ahriman. But the fact is, there is no real contradiction, because these contrasts find resolution and reconciliation in one highest unity.
In Zoroastrism, Ahriman is not considered as born of God, not even as the 'fallen angel'.This is because by that, God would become responsible for evil alone. Ahriman is seen as entirely independent evil spirit, who wants to destroy the perfection of God's creation. In spite of this seeming dualism, we could consider Zoroastrism as monotheistic religion. For Ormuz is the supreme divinity. He is the creator of heaven, earth and man, as well as of divine beings, that can be compared with archangels and angels. This God is the principle of truth and good. Beside him there are no other gods.
Prophet Zarathustra regards this world as good in its essence, but the attacks of Ahriman do corrupt him. People have their personal responsability to choose between good and evil. According to their free will in choice they make, they will be judged on the other world. Zarathustra speaks of the cosmic battle between good and evil, which will last for three thousand years, according to the prophecy. After that, the evil will be destroyed, Ahriman disabled, and then will take place the renewal of the creation. The earth and heaven will be merged then, to create what is best in both worlds. That, in short, is Zarathustra's teaching. It, in fact, has its roots in the ancient religion of Indo-Iranian (or Aryans), i.e, people that settled in India and Persia, about 3000 BC. We can get only the approximate picture, by comparison with Vedas. While there are numerous resemblances with Hindu religion, there are differences too.. As just one example, the word 'do-eva', in sacred script of Zoroastrism 'Avesta' denotes evil spirits, while in Hindu religion 'devas' mean divine spirits,or spirits of light.
Zarathustra's religion passed from generation to generation, by oral tradition. The first attempts of systematic collection of old tradition took place during the Parthian dynasty, which ruled over Persia from the 2nd century BC to 3rd century AD. So it was made up 'Avesta', the sacred book. Here in the book prophet Zarathustra is represented in a mythical manner, as a man endowed by supernatural powers. However a part of the book includes his eulogies, gatha. They seem authentic Zarathustra's words. Distinct from this, in the rest of 'Avesta', the words are only ascribed to the prophet. In the eulogies gatha, Zarathustra points at divine mystical tradition. He yearns for acquisition of the divine knowledge. He teaches that achievement of wholeness and immortality leads to enlightenment, where one can attain the knowledge of God alone.
The relation between man and God, to Zarathustra, is based upon love. To achieve the pure love of God, it is necessary to live Zarathustra's words: ‘I yearn for your figure and union with you, come to me alone and grow inside me”. From these quotes, of the sacred book, one can see the importance of mysticism for this religion. The purpose of man is union with God. According to the Prophet, that man, by good thought, fairness and piety, and through the perfection of his being can unite himself with God.
As terms like consciousness, spirit, soul and similar cannot be defined in precise terms, so is mysticism. In wider sense, we could reckon for mystical any philosophy that brings into the focus faith in preference to science and rationalistic way of thinking. Nevertheless, there have been many philosophers whose teaching included both.
Mysticism in philosophy and in religion quite often is indistinguishable from the poetic mysticism, because many mystical philosophers have been at the same time writers and poets, especially those from Eastern philosophies and religions. For all that, mystical philosophy speaks about the union of man with the divinity, in a mystical trance or ecstasy.
Mysticism as religious experience par exellance, has been a subject of study of American psychologist and philosopher William James. He views personal religious experiences at the center of mystical states of consciousness. In defining the term 'mysticism' James refers to four basic distinctions which include – unutterableness, noetic quality, transience and passiveness. The first connotes the fact that the quality of mystical experience must be experienced personally and in a direct way, and it cannot be communicated to others. The distinction of noetic quality enables a deep intuitive insight in these states, sometimes called enlightenment, revelation and the like. The third characteristic concerns these states of consciousness, i.e. transience. This does not seem to be universal, because in case of some mystics these states can last for a long period of time, and by some they can even turn into a continuous state, without returning into everyday, normal state of consciousness. The fourth characteristic is passiveness. James views that concentration exercises or physical exercises (he meant probably yoga) help entering into a mystical state of consciousness. So passiveness can be regarded as essential characteristic just conditionally. The passiveness in fact originates when one has already transcended the normal waking state of consciousness, and then he experiences the feeling of being taken by some 'higher force'.
James omitted one very essential characteristic, that is love and desire for the union with the absolute, the striving to reach the very origin of the being, as says French theologian Louis Gardet. However, he makes difference between oriental religions, where the path to the absolute leads through the immanence of the mystics of one's own self, and monotheistic religions, where this path leads through the union and access to depths of 'God of faith'.
The first beginnings of mystical philosophy could be attached to the names of great philosophers and founders of religions-- Zarathustra, Hermes and Moses.
Zarathustra – The Mystical Prophet
The name of Zarathustra is mentioned for the first time in Plato's work Alcibiades, where he calls him the son of Ormuz. The teachings of Plato and Platonists were under the direct influence of Zarathustra, especially Plato's teaching about the ideas. In Proclus' commentary of 'Parmenides', this philosopher cites Zarathustra's work, where are mentioned ideas.
Legend tells us that at the age of 30, Zoroaster had a heavenly vision in which an angel brought him to the deity Ahura Mazda, who instructed him to found a new religion .The visions continued over a 10-year period. He rejected many of the ritual practices of the Aryan-derived religion, especially the sacrificial slaughter of cattle and the drinking of intoxicating haoma.
The basic element of his belief system is the duality between good and evil which is the result of a choice initiated by Ahura Mazda, the world's creator. One of the twin spirits engendered by Ahura Mazda, named Spenta Mainyu ("Beneficent Spirit") chose good and life, while the other, Angra Mainyu ("Destroying Spirit," or Ahriman), chose evil and death. As a result, humans must make the same choice, since they will be judged accordingly upon their death. The just will be rewarded with entrance into paradise, or the "House of Song," and the wicked condemned to the "House of Evil."
In an ancient hymn, Zoroaster declares:
Truly, there are two primal Spirits, twins renowned to be better and the bad. And those who act well have chosen rightly between these two, not so the evildoers. (Yasna 30:3).
Besides this, Zarathustra is also the predecessor of monism in philosophy. The first principle of all things he called monad. Under this term he understood that, which in itself contains all, and which at the same time is not contained by anything.
This monism is seemingly in contradiction with the duality of two supreme principles in Zarathustra's religion – the creator Ormuz and destructive spirit Ahriman. But the fact is, there is no real contradiction, because these contrasts find resolution and reconciliation in one highest unity.
In Zoroastrism, Ahriman is not considered as born of God, not even as the 'fallen angel'.This is because by that, God would become responsible for evil alone. Ahriman is seen as entirely independent evil spirit, who wants to destroy the perfection of God's creation. In spite of this seeming dualism, we could consider Zoroastrism as monotheistic religion. For Ormuz is the supreme divinity. He is the creator of heaven, earth and man, as well as of divine beings, that can be compared with archangels and angels. This God is the principle of truth and good. Beside him there are no other gods.
Prophet Zarathustra regards this world as good in its essence, but the attacks of Ahriman do corrupt him. People have their personal responsability to choose between good and evil. According to their free will in choice they make, they will be judged on the other world. Zarathustra speaks of the cosmic battle between good and evil, which will last for three thousand years, according to the prophecy. After that, the evil will be destroyed, Ahriman disabled, and then will take place the renewal of the creation. The earth and heaven will be merged then, to create what is best in both worlds. That, in short, is Zarathustra's teaching. It, in fact, has its roots in the ancient religion of Indo-Iranian (or Aryans), i.e, people that settled in India and Persia, about 3000 BC. We can get only the approximate picture, by comparison with Vedas. While there are numerous resemblances with Hindu religion, there are differences too.. As just one example, the word 'do-eva', in sacred script of Zoroastrism 'Avesta' denotes evil spirits, while in Hindu religion 'devas' mean divine spirits,or spirits of light.
Zarathustra's religion passed from generation to generation, by oral tradition. The first attempts of systematic collection of old tradition took place during the Parthian dynasty, which ruled over Persia from the 2nd century BC to 3rd century AD. So it was made up 'Avesta', the sacred book. Here in the book prophet Zarathustra is represented in a mythical manner, as a man endowed by supernatural powers. However a part of the book includes his eulogies, gatha. They seem authentic Zarathustra's words. Distinct from this, in the rest of 'Avesta', the words are only ascribed to the prophet. In the eulogies gatha, Zarathustra points at divine mystical tradition. He yearns for acquisition of the divine knowledge. He teaches that achievement of wholeness and immortality leads to enlightenment, where one can attain the knowledge of God alone.
The relation between man and God, to Zarathustra, is based upon love. To achieve the pure love of God, it is necessary to live Zarathustra's words: ‘I yearn for your figure and union with you, come to me alone and grow inside me”. From these quotes, of the sacred book, one can see the importance of mysticism for this religion. The purpose of man is union with God. According to the Prophet, that man, by good thought, fairness and piety, and through the perfection of his being can unite himself with God.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
GAYATRI:THE PERENNIAL VEDIC HYMN
GAYATRI,THE MOTHER OF ALL MANTRAS
Om,
what precedes everything under the Sun,
what sustains varied orders of creation,
what guides us to Truth’s Sacred Mansion.
Om,
the origin of all speech,
the first emanation of Nad Brahm
that shall last till the end of time.
Om,
the ultimate Power Supreme,
manifest in myriad orders sublime
encompassing every order of creation.
Om,
whence all mantras are born,
what spans three planes of existence,
the earth, heaven, the space in-between.
Om,
the three powers of Great Being:
creation, preservation , dissolution,
the beginning, the middle, the end.
Gayatri,
the hymn to Savitur, the Sun,
the Light of Universal Intelligence
pervading every form of being and thing.
Gayatri,
the Mantra of Mantra,
the essence of all Revelation,
the key to God-realization.
Gayatri,
capsuled in Gayatri Chhand,
the vedic metre of twenty four syllables
what to sage Vishwamitra was revealed.
Gayatri,
the original revelation,
personification of perfection,
the golden egg that contains all isness.
Gayatri,
the primal chant
consecrated to the splendorous Sun,
emanating from the realm of Savitri.
Gayatri, the mother
whose gentle foot is this cosmos,
her chariot is the Sun,
the source of all hymns.
Gayatri,
the celestial harmony
blowing upon all men
hymning creations upon creations.
Gayatri, the primordial power
the supreme felicity and light,
of all that is, has been, shall be.
Gayatri ,
the all-creating intelligence,
the dawn of Self’s illumination
irradiated by Truth’s Sun.
Gayatri,
the Creator’s hymn to the Sun,
the primordial waters,
the Beginningless Being.
Gayatri,
the primal offering to cosmic fires
that feed fires of oblation,
make whole creation an endless sacrifice.
Gayatri!
the perennial Vedic hymn,
the ultimate in speech,
ineffable harmony.
Cosmic Resonance is your Song,
as the Nad Udgeet
in every particle it reverberates.
Your meter and diction
flow from some invisible source
in all-pervading silence.
Your every syllable stirs celestial waters
musicalising every speck and sphere
with Brhaspati’s sonorous voice.
Gayatri!
The five-faced one, the goddess
seated on the lotus throne,
with crown on each of her five heads.
The four heads are the four Vedas,
the fifth one is the Lord Himself
Whose loved symbols her ten hands adorn.
Nine gems she wears in her crown
irradiating Light Divine
beckoning all to her golden throne.
O Gayatri!
You oversee the cosmos with your ten eyes
keep track of revolving spheres and skies
the countless star-systems in spangled heaven.
O Gayatri ,
the primal prayer to Savitur
pervading every speck and sphere
as the Light of Pure Intelligence.
When Agni bellows
but pierces not the wood,
half-burnt are oblations,
it’s time to invoke
the four-footed Gayatri,
the Shakti beind the Sun.
Ice sits on foot of hills,
all rivers are frozen,
not a blade of grass,
oceans cry for water,
louder grows their wails,
muted is the nature’s chant.
When ice melts
frozen treasures flow down
the belly of clouds cut open
by lightning thunder
in torrential rain
with your blessings you come.
Awaken the fiery Tapas
melt all piles of frozen hopes
burst forth in merciful showers
to the delight of clamouring oceans.
Release the impetuous chant
from captivity of Promethean Chains,
lend fire to my speech
touching my tongue with nectar flame.
When iceman sits on oblations
fire dies down,
all possibilities frozen,
When sterility strikes
every creative spring,
vision is locked up,
inspiration is imprisoned,
then on wings of fire you come
from the middle of the Sun
with breath of life.
To revive the dead
to set free
all visions and revelations,
all waters of inspiration.
To receive the offering
to bless the sacrifice,
to bring good cheer to the world.
O Mother !
by your gravitational pull impelled
in shining costumes they all come
stars and galaxies on the run.
By tapas they in cyclic orders move
on invisible tracks of ether
in celestial waters of space.
O Mother!
Your Cosmic Resonance
summoning fires from the Sun,
bestows heaven’s choicest boons.
O Mother!
Your breath leads to the Origin,
the abode where Self abides
in ecstasy of primeval harmony.
Gayatri, the crown of all mantric chants,
the invocation to Cosmic Intelligence,
bestows Bliss, Knowledge and Intuition.
Gayatri, the dawn effulging after midnight,
the soulful chant to the God of Light,
of All-pervading Beauty and Order in existence.
Constant repetition of Gayatri Chant
builds a stairway to heaven,
blazes the way to Lord’s Mansion.
Gayatri burns away all our karmic remains
Letting us see radiant Self in all beings,
the soul’s equipoise as a windless flame.
O the four-footed Gayatri!
Your one foot encompasses the Earth,
Your other three feet have their seat
above dark peaks on the Sun.
Obeisance to you, O Devi
you are the Shakti!
the manifest creation your one foot
invisible the other three.
Agni, Savitri, Soma in you merge
to become the eternal chant
of supreme ecstasy.
O mother! lift this chant
to clouds in dark skies
descend with dripping grace
on my life’s desert.
Obeisance to you.
O Shakti!
obeisance to you.
Word-in-flesh
of joyous Grace.
Bless.
Om,
what precedes everything under the Sun,
what sustains varied orders of creation,
what guides us to Truth’s Sacred Mansion.
Om,
the origin of all speech,
the first emanation of Nad Brahm
that shall last till the end of time.
Om,
the ultimate Power Supreme,
manifest in myriad orders sublime
encompassing every order of creation.
Om,
whence all mantras are born,
what spans three planes of existence,
the earth, heaven, the space in-between.
Om,
the three powers of Great Being:
creation, preservation , dissolution,
the beginning, the middle, the end.
Gayatri,
the hymn to Savitur, the Sun,
the Light of Universal Intelligence
pervading every form of being and thing.
Gayatri,
the Mantra of Mantra,
the essence of all Revelation,
the key to God-realization.
Gayatri,
capsuled in Gayatri Chhand,
the vedic metre of twenty four syllables
what to sage Vishwamitra was revealed.
Gayatri,
the original revelation,
personification of perfection,
the golden egg that contains all isness.
Gayatri,
the primal chant
consecrated to the splendorous Sun,
emanating from the realm of Savitri.
Gayatri, the mother
whose gentle foot is this cosmos,
her chariot is the Sun,
the source of all hymns.
Gayatri,
the celestial harmony
blowing upon all men
hymning creations upon creations.
Gayatri, the primordial power
the supreme felicity and light,
of all that is, has been, shall be.
Gayatri ,
the all-creating intelligence,
the dawn of Self’s illumination
irradiated by Truth’s Sun.
Gayatri,
the Creator’s hymn to the Sun,
the primordial waters,
the Beginningless Being.
Gayatri,
the primal offering to cosmic fires
that feed fires of oblation,
make whole creation an endless sacrifice.
Gayatri!
the perennial Vedic hymn,
the ultimate in speech,
ineffable harmony.
Cosmic Resonance is your Song,
as the Nad Udgeet
in every particle it reverberates.
Your meter and diction
flow from some invisible source
in all-pervading silence.
Your every syllable stirs celestial waters
musicalising every speck and sphere
with Brhaspati’s sonorous voice.
Gayatri!
The five-faced one, the goddess
seated on the lotus throne,
with crown on each of her five heads.
The four heads are the four Vedas,
the fifth one is the Lord Himself
Whose loved symbols her ten hands adorn.
Nine gems she wears in her crown
irradiating Light Divine
beckoning all to her golden throne.
O Gayatri!
You oversee the cosmos with your ten eyes
keep track of revolving spheres and skies
the countless star-systems in spangled heaven.
O Gayatri ,
the primal prayer to Savitur
pervading every speck and sphere
as the Light of Pure Intelligence.
When Agni bellows
but pierces not the wood,
half-burnt are oblations,
it’s time to invoke
the four-footed Gayatri,
the Shakti beind the Sun.
Ice sits on foot of hills,
all rivers are frozen,
not a blade of grass,
oceans cry for water,
louder grows their wails,
muted is the nature’s chant.
When ice melts
frozen treasures flow down
the belly of clouds cut open
by lightning thunder
in torrential rain
with your blessings you come.
Awaken the fiery Tapas
melt all piles of frozen hopes
burst forth in merciful showers
to the delight of clamouring oceans.
Release the impetuous chant
from captivity of Promethean Chains,
lend fire to my speech
touching my tongue with nectar flame.
When iceman sits on oblations
fire dies down,
all possibilities frozen,
When sterility strikes
every creative spring,
vision is locked up,
inspiration is imprisoned,
then on wings of fire you come
from the middle of the Sun
with breath of life.
To revive the dead
to set free
all visions and revelations,
all waters of inspiration.
To receive the offering
to bless the sacrifice,
to bring good cheer to the world.
O Mother !
by your gravitational pull impelled
in shining costumes they all come
stars and galaxies on the run.
By tapas they in cyclic orders move
on invisible tracks of ether
in celestial waters of space.
O Mother!
Your Cosmic Resonance
summoning fires from the Sun,
bestows heaven’s choicest boons.
O Mother!
Your breath leads to the Origin,
the abode where Self abides
in ecstasy of primeval harmony.
Gayatri, the crown of all mantric chants,
the invocation to Cosmic Intelligence,
bestows Bliss, Knowledge and Intuition.
Gayatri, the dawn effulging after midnight,
the soulful chant to the God of Light,
of All-pervading Beauty and Order in existence.
Constant repetition of Gayatri Chant
builds a stairway to heaven,
blazes the way to Lord’s Mansion.
Gayatri burns away all our karmic remains
Letting us see radiant Self in all beings,
the soul’s equipoise as a windless flame.
O the four-footed Gayatri!
Your one foot encompasses the Earth,
Your other three feet have their seat
above dark peaks on the Sun.
Obeisance to you, O Devi
you are the Shakti!
the manifest creation your one foot
invisible the other three.
Agni, Savitri, Soma in you merge
to become the eternal chant
of supreme ecstasy.
O mother! lift this chant
to clouds in dark skies
descend with dripping grace
on my life’s desert.
Obeisance to you.
O Shakti!
obeisance to you.
Word-in-flesh
of joyous Grace.
Bless.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
HYMN TO AGNI
HYMN TO AGNI
O luminous word!
In you the origin
of every Tantric symbol,
of every Bija sound
of every mystic sign.
O luminous word!
My inspiration,
my priest,
take me to your realm
robed in flames.
O the flame-tongued!
Luminous your utterance,
the poet par excellence,
with a flowing pen you write
in letterings of fire.
Every sign you simulate
hides a hidden meaning,
the grand design
in which the world is wrought.
O son to Sun,
From your throne descend,
come in your one-wheeled chariot
with gifts laden
of milk, honey, fruits and flowers.
O Sun-bird!
You shuttle between earth and heaven,
sky-wide are your wings
the darling of the shining ones,
your final destination is the Sun.
O the Sun-bird!
You have created a ladder
from the earth to heaven
to bring Soma from the Sun,
just a drop of this makes one immortal.
O Sun-bird!
On your one-wheeled chariot come
from the land of the sun
bring from the highest heaven
the drink of gods.
O the Sun-bird!
You spread your wings
to warm the cooled of spaces,
the golden egg to fertilize
wombing a glowing chirping creation.
O bounteous giver !
By you is there god’s plenty,
pastures green, flowers and fruits,
by you is there the warmth and rain,
the autumn and spring.
O plenitude incarnate!
Come in your blazing costume
from the middle of celestial waters
rain on us the choicest boons
from your endless treasury.
O Agni!
You are the first three sticks
at the base of every sacrifice,
the little and big sparks that rise
to the glory of the highest flame.
O Agni!
I offer this oblation
of the fiery drink
of priests and of all those men
who rise to the splendor of the Sun.
O Agni !
This sacrifice unto you,
grant me the boon of shining speech,
replenish the parched roots,
turn the whole earth green.
O luminous word!
In you the origin
of every Tantric symbol,
of every Bija sound
of every mystic sign.
O luminous word!
My inspiration,
my priest,
take me to your realm
robed in flames.
O the flame-tongued!
Luminous your utterance,
the poet par excellence,
with a flowing pen you write
in letterings of fire.
Every sign you simulate
hides a hidden meaning,
the grand design
in which the world is wrought.
O son to Sun,
From your throne descend,
come in your one-wheeled chariot
with gifts laden
of milk, honey, fruits and flowers.
O Sun-bird!
You shuttle between earth and heaven,
sky-wide are your wings
the darling of the shining ones,
your final destination is the Sun.
O the Sun-bird!
You have created a ladder
from the earth to heaven
to bring Soma from the Sun,
just a drop of this makes one immortal.
O Sun-bird!
On your one-wheeled chariot come
from the land of the sun
bring from the highest heaven
the drink of gods.
O the Sun-bird!
You spread your wings
to warm the cooled of spaces,
the golden egg to fertilize
wombing a glowing chirping creation.
O bounteous giver !
By you is there god’s plenty,
pastures green, flowers and fruits,
by you is there the warmth and rain,
the autumn and spring.
O plenitude incarnate!
Come in your blazing costume
from the middle of celestial waters
rain on us the choicest boons
from your endless treasury.
O Agni!
You are the first three sticks
at the base of every sacrifice,
the little and big sparks that rise
to the glory of the highest flame.
O Agni!
I offer this oblation
of the fiery drink
of priests and of all those men
who rise to the splendor of the Sun.
O Agni !
This sacrifice unto you,
grant me the boon of shining speech,
replenish the parched roots,
turn the whole earth green.
MYSTICISM
MYSTICISM IN CHRISTIANITY
In the early centuries of Christianity, as we know from the writings of many of the Fathers, and more surely by the Occult Records, there existed in the bosom of the Christian Church the venerable institution of the Mysteries, in which the purified met superhuman Instructors, and learned from the lips of the Holy Ones the secrets of the 'Kingdom of Heaven'. After the Christ had thrown off His physical body, He taught His disciples for many years, coming to them in His glorified subtle body, until those who knew Him in the flesh had passed away. So long as the Christian Mysteries endured, Jesus appeared at them from time to time, and His chief disciples were constantly present at them. So long as this state of things continued, the exoteric and the esoteric teachings of Christianity ran side by side in perfect accord, and the mysteries supplied to the high places in the Church men who were true teachers for the mass of believers, being themselves deeply instructed in the "hidden things of God", and able to speak with the authority which comes from direct knowledge They, like their Master, "taught as having authority and not as the scribes".
But after the disappearance of the Mysteries, the state of affairs slowly altered for the worse, and a divergence between the exoteric and esoteric teachings showed itself ever increasingly until a wide gulf yawned between them and the mass of the faithful, standing on the exoteric side, lost sight of the esoteric wisdom. More and more did the letter take the place of the spirit, the form of the life, and there began the strife between the Priest and the Mystic that has ever since been waged in the Christian Church.
The Priest is ever the guardian of the exoteric, the recipient of the faith once delivered to the saints, the officiant of the sacraments, the custodian of the outer order, the transmitter of the traditions, becoming more authoritative from age to age. His to repeat accurately the sacred formulæ; his to watch over a changeless orthodoxy; his to be the articulate voice of the Church; his to hand on the unaltered record. Great and noble is his task, and invaluable his services to the evolving masses of the populace. It is he who consecrates their birth, sanctions their marriage,hallows their death; he consoles them in their sorrows and purifies their joys; he stands by the bedside of the sick and the dying, and gilds the clouds of mortality with the sun of an immortal hope. He brings into sordid lives the one gleam of poetry and of colour that they known; he enlarges their narrow horizon with the vistas of a radiant future; he gladdens the mother with the vision of the Immortal Babe; he saves the desperate youth with the tenderness of the celestial Mother; he raises before the eyes of the sorrowful the crucifix that tells of a sorrow that embraces and consoles their grief; he breathes into the ear of the dying the pledge of the Easter resurrection. How could Humanity tread the earlier stages of its journey without the Priesthood that directs, rebukes, and comforts ? The universality of the office tells of the universality of the need.
Far other is the Mystic, the lonely dweller on the mountain-side, climbing in advance of his race, without help from the outer world, listening ever for the faint whisper of the God within. Humblest of men as he faces the depths of Divinity around and the unsounded abysses of the Divinity within, he seems arrogant as he withstands the edits of external authority, and rebel as he bows not his neck to the yoke of ecclesiastical order. With his visions and his dreams and his ecstasies,with his gropings in the dark and his flashes from a light supernal that dazzles more than it illuminates, with his sudden irrational exaltations and his equally sudden and unreasoning depressions, what has he to oppose to the clear-cut doctrines and the imperial authority of the exoteric creed? Only an unalterable conviction which he can neither justify nor explain; a certainty which leaves him stuttering when he seeks to expound it, but remains unfaltering in face of all rebuke and al reprobation. What can the Priest do with this rebel, who places his visions above all scriptures, and asserts an inalienable liberty in the face of the demand for obedience? He has no use for him, no place for him; he disturbs with his curb less fantasies the settled order of the household of faith. Hence a continued struggle, in which the Priest for a while seems to conquer, but form which the Mystic emerges victor in the end.
The combat seems an unequal one, since the Priest has behind him the strength of a splendid tradition, of a centuried history, of a changeless authority, and the Mystic stands alone, unfriended. But it is not so unequal as it seems; for the Mystic draws his strength from That which gives birth to all religions, and he bathes in the waters that regenerate, in the flood of Eternity. So in the ever-recurring conflict, the Priest conquers in the world material, and is defeated in the world spiritual; and the Mystic, rebuked, persecuted, crushed, while dwelling in the body;, becomes the Saint after the body has dropped from him, and becomes a voice of the Church that silenced him, a stone in the walls that imprisoned.
In the Roman Catholic Church this combat has been waged century after century, with the same result continually repeated. Teresa, rebuked and humbled by her confessor, arises as S. Teresa for unborn generations. Many a man and many a women, regarded askance, treated with scorn by their contemporaries, become the cynosures of countless millions of eyes, eyes of the faithful, descendants of the faithful who decried. And on the whole it is as well that it should be so, until the stern training of old is re-established; else would every dreamer be taken as a Mystic, and every hysteric as a Revealer. Only the true Mystic can walk unblenching through the fire of rebuke, "even in hell can whisper, 'I have known'".
Moreover the Roman Catholic Church alone has preserved a systematic training within the 'religious life', a real preparation for the occult life, ever recognized in theory even if challenged and suspected in practice. Hence has she so many Saints, and such grace and tenderness of spiritual beauty, that one is fain to pardon her the cruelties of her Priesthood for the sake of the rich streams of spiritual life poured by her Mystics over the arid deserts of the outer world. And one can understand, while reprobating, the fierceness with which she guarded the ground that made such growths of saintliness possible, and made her deem the superstition and bigotry of the masses but a small price to pay for the keeping sacred from profane touch the inner seeds which flowered out into the world as the Saints.
In Protestantism there has been no systematic training, and hence no soil in which the rare flower might readily root itself and grow. Few and far between are the Mystics in the Protestant community, though Jacob Boehme rises, splendid, gigantic, as though to show that even the absence of all training cannot stifle the Divinity of the Spirit which is Man. More than any other phase of Christianity does Protestantism need the presence of Mystics in its midst, the touch of the living Spirit to save it from the arid letter. But this is a subject that needs separate treatment, which elsewhere I hope to give.
Theosophy is the reassertion of Mysticism within the bosom of very living religion, the affirmation of the reality of the mystic state of consciousness and of the value of its products. In the midst of a scholarly and critical generation, it reproclaims the superiority of the knowledge which is
drawn from the direct experience of the spiritual world, and, facing undaunted the splendour of the accumulated results of research, historical and scientific, facing undaunted the new and menacing Priesthood of Science and of Criticism, it affirms he greater splendour of the open vision, and the royalty of the Kingdom into which may pass 'the little child' alone. The primary experience of Mysticism is direct communion with the unseen, the recognition of the odds without by the God within, the touching of invisible realities, the passing with opened eyes into the worlds beyond the veil. It substitutes experience for authority, knowledge for faith, and it finds its guarantee in the 'common-sense' of all Mystics, the identity of the experiences of all who traverse the grounds untrodden by the profane.
The results of mystic experiences show themselves in a method of interpretation applied to all doctrines and to all scriptures, a method which justifies itself by the light it throws on obscurities rather than by reasoned arguments. It is, in all ages, the method of the Illuminati.
An example will show the method better than efforts at explanation. Let us take the doctrine of the Atonement. The Mystic sees in this Christian doctrine one of the ways in which is told the ancient but ever new story of the unfolding of the human Spirit into self-conscious union with God. He sees the Atonement wrought by the unfolding of the Christ in man as the reflection in the human consciousness of the second Aspect in the Divine Consciousness, gradually shining out into clearness and beauty. As the Christ in man matures so is the atonement wrought, and it is completed when the Son, rising above separation, knows himself as one with Humanity and one with God, and in that knowledge becomes a veritable Saviour, a true Mediator between God and Man, uniting both in His own person, and thus making them one. The Mystic cares not to argue about the dead-letter meaning of any dogma; he sees the heart of it by the light of his own experience, and to him its true value lies in its inner content, not in its outer history.
So also with Scripture. It may, or may not, have an outer accuracy as history; its value lies in its exposition of the facts of the spiritual world. Whether a physical Israel did or did not wander through a physical desert seems to him to be of infinitesimal importance; many nations have wandered through many deserts. But the spiritual Israel wanders ever through spiritual deserts in its search for the Promised Land, and this is ever fresh, ever true, and he reads the story in the spiritual light and finds in it much that consoles, much that illuminates. He sees a Moses in every Prophet of humanity, pillars of fire and of cloud in every guidance of a nation. Nor is the Mystic without justification in thus reading the Scriptures; for S.Paul in Galatians iv. has thus dealt with the story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael; and all the early Fathers of the Church sought the inner meanings and care little for the outer words.
For the educated Christian of today, who would not cut himself wholly off from the old moorings, this method of interpretation is vital, and only by the direct knowledge gained in the mystic state of consciousness can he preserve his religion amid the changes brought about by modern research. The Higher Criticism is undermining all his authorities; subtly, but in deadly fashion, its burrowing's have taken the ground away beneath their feet; and only a thin crust remains, which at any moment may give way, and let the whole structure crash down into irretrievable ruin. The Church can no longer be built on historical authority; it must build itself on the rock of experience, if it would survive the tempest which roars around it. Mysticism can give it the surest certainty in all the world, the certainty of mystic experience continually renewed.
The Christ within is the only guarantee of the Christ without - but no further guarantee is needed. Because the Christ lives undeveloped in every human Spirit, the Christ developed is a historical fact; and those in whom the mystic Christ is developing can look across the gulf of centuries and recognize the historical Christ; nay, can transcend the limitations of the physical, and know Him in His living reality as surely, and more fully, than His disciples knew Him when He walked by the lake of Gennesaret.
by Annie Besant
In the early centuries of Christianity, as we know from the writings of many of the Fathers, and more surely by the Occult Records, there existed in the bosom of the Christian Church the venerable institution of the Mysteries, in which the purified met superhuman Instructors, and learned from the lips of the Holy Ones the secrets of the 'Kingdom of Heaven'. After the Christ had thrown off His physical body, He taught His disciples for many years, coming to them in His glorified subtle body, until those who knew Him in the flesh had passed away. So long as the Christian Mysteries endured, Jesus appeared at them from time to time, and His chief disciples were constantly present at them. So long as this state of things continued, the exoteric and the esoteric teachings of Christianity ran side by side in perfect accord, and the mysteries supplied to the high places in the Church men who were true teachers for the mass of believers, being themselves deeply instructed in the "hidden things of God", and able to speak with the authority which comes from direct knowledge They, like their Master, "taught as having authority and not as the scribes".
But after the disappearance of the Mysteries, the state of affairs slowly altered for the worse, and a divergence between the exoteric and esoteric teachings showed itself ever increasingly until a wide gulf yawned between them and the mass of the faithful, standing on the exoteric side, lost sight of the esoteric wisdom. More and more did the letter take the place of the spirit, the form of the life, and there began the strife between the Priest and the Mystic that has ever since been waged in the Christian Church.
The Priest is ever the guardian of the exoteric, the recipient of the faith once delivered to the saints, the officiant of the sacraments, the custodian of the outer order, the transmitter of the traditions, becoming more authoritative from age to age. His to repeat accurately the sacred formulæ; his to watch over a changeless orthodoxy; his to be the articulate voice of the Church; his to hand on the unaltered record. Great and noble is his task, and invaluable his services to the evolving masses of the populace. It is he who consecrates their birth, sanctions their marriage,hallows their death; he consoles them in their sorrows and purifies their joys; he stands by the bedside of the sick and the dying, and gilds the clouds of mortality with the sun of an immortal hope. He brings into sordid lives the one gleam of poetry and of colour that they known; he enlarges their narrow horizon with the vistas of a radiant future; he gladdens the mother with the vision of the Immortal Babe; he saves the desperate youth with the tenderness of the celestial Mother; he raises before the eyes of the sorrowful the crucifix that tells of a sorrow that embraces and consoles their grief; he breathes into the ear of the dying the pledge of the Easter resurrection. How could Humanity tread the earlier stages of its journey without the Priesthood that directs, rebukes, and comforts ? The universality of the office tells of the universality of the need.
Far other is the Mystic, the lonely dweller on the mountain-side, climbing in advance of his race, without help from the outer world, listening ever for the faint whisper of the God within. Humblest of men as he faces the depths of Divinity around and the unsounded abysses of the Divinity within, he seems arrogant as he withstands the edits of external authority, and rebel as he bows not his neck to the yoke of ecclesiastical order. With his visions and his dreams and his ecstasies,with his gropings in the dark and his flashes from a light supernal that dazzles more than it illuminates, with his sudden irrational exaltations and his equally sudden and unreasoning depressions, what has he to oppose to the clear-cut doctrines and the imperial authority of the exoteric creed? Only an unalterable conviction which he can neither justify nor explain; a certainty which leaves him stuttering when he seeks to expound it, but remains unfaltering in face of all rebuke and al reprobation. What can the Priest do with this rebel, who places his visions above all scriptures, and asserts an inalienable liberty in the face of the demand for obedience? He has no use for him, no place for him; he disturbs with his curb less fantasies the settled order of the household of faith. Hence a continued struggle, in which the Priest for a while seems to conquer, but form which the Mystic emerges victor in the end.
The combat seems an unequal one, since the Priest has behind him the strength of a splendid tradition, of a centuried history, of a changeless authority, and the Mystic stands alone, unfriended. But it is not so unequal as it seems; for the Mystic draws his strength from That which gives birth to all religions, and he bathes in the waters that regenerate, in the flood of Eternity. So in the ever-recurring conflict, the Priest conquers in the world material, and is defeated in the world spiritual; and the Mystic, rebuked, persecuted, crushed, while dwelling in the body;, becomes the Saint after the body has dropped from him, and becomes a voice of the Church that silenced him, a stone in the walls that imprisoned.
In the Roman Catholic Church this combat has been waged century after century, with the same result continually repeated. Teresa, rebuked and humbled by her confessor, arises as S. Teresa for unborn generations. Many a man and many a women, regarded askance, treated with scorn by their contemporaries, become the cynosures of countless millions of eyes, eyes of the faithful, descendants of the faithful who decried. And on the whole it is as well that it should be so, until the stern training of old is re-established; else would every dreamer be taken as a Mystic, and every hysteric as a Revealer. Only the true Mystic can walk unblenching through the fire of rebuke, "even in hell can whisper, 'I have known'".
Moreover the Roman Catholic Church alone has preserved a systematic training within the 'religious life', a real preparation for the occult life, ever recognized in theory even if challenged and suspected in practice. Hence has she so many Saints, and such grace and tenderness of spiritual beauty, that one is fain to pardon her the cruelties of her Priesthood for the sake of the rich streams of spiritual life poured by her Mystics over the arid deserts of the outer world. And one can understand, while reprobating, the fierceness with which she guarded the ground that made such growths of saintliness possible, and made her deem the superstition and bigotry of the masses but a small price to pay for the keeping sacred from profane touch the inner seeds which flowered out into the world as the Saints.
In Protestantism there has been no systematic training, and hence no soil in which the rare flower might readily root itself and grow. Few and far between are the Mystics in the Protestant community, though Jacob Boehme rises, splendid, gigantic, as though to show that even the absence of all training cannot stifle the Divinity of the Spirit which is Man. More than any other phase of Christianity does Protestantism need the presence of Mystics in its midst, the touch of the living Spirit to save it from the arid letter. But this is a subject that needs separate treatment, which elsewhere I hope to give.
Theosophy is the reassertion of Mysticism within the bosom of very living religion, the affirmation of the reality of the mystic state of consciousness and of the value of its products. In the midst of a scholarly and critical generation, it reproclaims the superiority of the knowledge which is
drawn from the direct experience of the spiritual world, and, facing undaunted the splendour of the accumulated results of research, historical and scientific, facing undaunted the new and menacing Priesthood of Science and of Criticism, it affirms he greater splendour of the open vision, and the royalty of the Kingdom into which may pass 'the little child' alone. The primary experience of Mysticism is direct communion with the unseen, the recognition of the odds without by the God within, the touching of invisible realities, the passing with opened eyes into the worlds beyond the veil. It substitutes experience for authority, knowledge for faith, and it finds its guarantee in the 'common-sense' of all Mystics, the identity of the experiences of all who traverse the grounds untrodden by the profane.
The results of mystic experiences show themselves in a method of interpretation applied to all doctrines and to all scriptures, a method which justifies itself by the light it throws on obscurities rather than by reasoned arguments. It is, in all ages, the method of the Illuminati.
An example will show the method better than efforts at explanation. Let us take the doctrine of the Atonement. The Mystic sees in this Christian doctrine one of the ways in which is told the ancient but ever new story of the unfolding of the human Spirit into self-conscious union with God. He sees the Atonement wrought by the unfolding of the Christ in man as the reflection in the human consciousness of the second Aspect in the Divine Consciousness, gradually shining out into clearness and beauty. As the Christ in man matures so is the atonement wrought, and it is completed when the Son, rising above separation, knows himself as one with Humanity and one with God, and in that knowledge becomes a veritable Saviour, a true Mediator between God and Man, uniting both in His own person, and thus making them one. The Mystic cares not to argue about the dead-letter meaning of any dogma; he sees the heart of it by the light of his own experience, and to him its true value lies in its inner content, not in its outer history.
So also with Scripture. It may, or may not, have an outer accuracy as history; its value lies in its exposition of the facts of the spiritual world. Whether a physical Israel did or did not wander through a physical desert seems to him to be of infinitesimal importance; many nations have wandered through many deserts. But the spiritual Israel wanders ever through spiritual deserts in its search for the Promised Land, and this is ever fresh, ever true, and he reads the story in the spiritual light and finds in it much that consoles, much that illuminates. He sees a Moses in every Prophet of humanity, pillars of fire and of cloud in every guidance of a nation. Nor is the Mystic without justification in thus reading the Scriptures; for S.Paul in Galatians iv. has thus dealt with the story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac and Ishmael; and all the early Fathers of the Church sought the inner meanings and care little for the outer words.
For the educated Christian of today, who would not cut himself wholly off from the old moorings, this method of interpretation is vital, and only by the direct knowledge gained in the mystic state of consciousness can he preserve his religion amid the changes brought about by modern research. The Higher Criticism is undermining all his authorities; subtly, but in deadly fashion, its burrowing's have taken the ground away beneath their feet; and only a thin crust remains, which at any moment may give way, and let the whole structure crash down into irretrievable ruin. The Church can no longer be built on historical authority; it must build itself on the rock of experience, if it would survive the tempest which roars around it. Mysticism can give it the surest certainty in all the world, the certainty of mystic experience continually renewed.
The Christ within is the only guarantee of the Christ without - but no further guarantee is needed. Because the Christ lives undeveloped in every human Spirit, the Christ developed is a historical fact; and those in whom the mystic Christ is developing can look across the gulf of centuries and recognize the historical Christ; nay, can transcend the limitations of the physical, and know Him in His living reality as surely, and more fully, than His disciples knew Him when He walked by the lake of Gennesaret.
by Annie Besant
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)