THE NEW BIRTH; WHAT IT IS; INSTANCES DESCRIBED
The religions and philosophies of the Orient and the Occident compared;
their chief difference; The mistaken idea of death. Cosmic Consciousness
not common in the Orient. Why? What the earnest disciple strives for. The
Real and the unreal. Buddha's agonized yearnings; why he was moved by them
with such irresistible power; the ultimate victory. The identity of The
Absolute; The Oriental teachings; "The Spiritual Maxims of Brother
Lawrence;" The seemingly miraculous power of the Oriental initiate; does
he really "talk" to birds and animals? How they learn to know and read "the
heart of the world." The inner temples throughout Japan. The strange
experience of a Zen (a Holy Order of Japan), student-priest in attaining
_mukti_. The key to Realization. An address by Manikyavasayar, one of the
great Tamil saints of Southern India. The Hindu conception of Cosmic
Consciousness. The Japanese idea of the state. The Buddhist "Life-saving"
monasteries; how the priests extend their consciousness to immeasurable
distances at will. The last incarnation of God in India. His marvelous
insight. The urge of the spiritual yearning for the "Voice of the Mother."
His twelve years of struggle. His final illumination. The unutterable bliss
pictured in his own words. What the Persian mystics allusion to "union with
the Beloved" signifies; its exoteric and its esoteric meaning. The "Way of
the Gods." The chief difference between the message of Jesus and that of
other holy men. The famous "Song of Solomon" and the different
interpretations; a new version. A French writer's evident glimpses of the
new birth. Man's relation to the universe.
CHAPTER II.
MAN'S RELATION TO GOD AND TO HIS FELLOW-MEN
The great riddle and a new solution. The persistence of the ideal of
Perfected Man; Has it any basis in history? The superlative faculty of
spiritual sight as depicted by artists, painters and sculptors. Symbols of
consciousness. The way in which the higher consciousness expresses itself.
Certain peculiar traits which distinguish those destined to the influx. The
abode of the gods; The conditioned promise of godhood in Man. What is
Nirvana? The Vedantan idea. The Christian idea. Did Jesus teach the kingdom
of God on earth? Is there a basis for belief in physical immortality? A
new explanation. The perilous paths. Those who "will see God." Evolution
of consciousness from prehistoric man to the highest developed beings.
CHAPTER III
AREAS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
The Divine spark. Consciousness the essence of everything. Axioms of
universal Occultism. The great central light. The teachings of Oriental
seers regarding the ultimate goal. Different stages of mankind. Births in
consciousness. Physical consciousness: its limitations. Mental
consciousness: the jungles of the mind. Soul consciousness; whither it
leads. The irresistible urge. Why we obey it. Sayings of ancient
manuscripts. Perfecting Light. The disciple's test. Awakening of the divine
man. Is he now on earth? What is meant by the awakening of the inner Self.
Is the _atman_ asleep? The doctrine of illusion; its relation to Cosmic
Consciousness.
CHAPTER IV
SELF-NESS AND SELFLESSNESS
The Dark Ages. The esoteric meaning of religious practices. The penetrating
power of spiritual insight. The mystery of conversion. The paradox of
Self-attainment and the necessity for selflessness. The Oriental teachings
regarding the Self. The wisdom of the Illumined Master. The test of fitness
for Nirvana. What caused Buddha the greatest anxiety? Experiences of
Oriental sages and their testimony. What correlation exists between
Buddha's desire and the attainment of Cosmic Consciousness among
Occidental disciples.
CHAPTER V
INSTANCES OF ILLUMINATION AND ITS AFTER EFFECTS
The wonderful brilliancy of Illumination. Dr. Bucke's description of the
Cosmic Light; his opinion regarding the possibility of becoming more
general. Peculiar methods of producing spiritual ecstacy, as described by
Lord Tennyson and others. The Power and Presence of God, as a reality. The
dissolution of race barriers. The effacement of the sense of sin among the
Illuminati. What is meant by the phrase "naked and unashamed." Will such a
state ever exist on the earth? Efforts of those who have experienced Cosmic
Consciousness to express the experience; the strange similarity found in
all attempts. Is there any evidence that Cosmic Consciousness is possible
to all?
CHAPTER VI
EXAMPLES OF COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS, WHO HAVE FOUNDED NEW SYSTEMS OF RELIGION
The simple religion of early Japan. The inner or secret shrine: its
esoteric and its exoteric office. The Mystic Brotherhoods. Why the esoteric
meanings have always been veiled. The great teachers and the uniformity of
their instructions. Philosophy as taught by Vivekananda. The fundamental
doctrine of Buddhism. Have the present-day Buddhists lost the key? Is
religion necessary to Illumination? The fruits of Cosmic Consciousness.
CHAPTER VII
MOSES, THE LAW-GIVER
The salient features of the Law as given by Moses to his people. Had the
ancient Hebrews any knowledge of Illumination and its results? The symbol
of liberation. Its esoteric meaning.
CHAPTER VIII
GAUTAMA--THE COMPASSIONATE
Prenatal conditions influencing Buddha. His strange temperament. His
peculiar trances and their effect upon him. Why Buddha endured such
terrible struggles; is suffering necessary to Cosmic Consciousness? From
what was Buddha finally liberated? The simplicity of Buddha's commandments
in the light of Cosmic Consciousness. The fundamental truths taught by
Buddha and all other sages. Buddha's own words regarding death and Nirvana.
Last words to his disciples. How the teachings of Buddha compare with the
vision of Cosmic Consciousness. His method of development of spiritual
consciousness.
CHAPTER IX
JESUS OF NAZARETH
The astonishing similarity found in all religious precepts; the
distinguishing feature of the teachings as delivered by Jesus. His repeated
allusion to "the light within." The great commandment he gave to his
disciples. Love the basis of the teachings of all Illumined minds. The
"Second Coming of Christ." The signs of the times.
CHAPTER X
PAUL OF TARSUS
His undoubted experience of illumination and its effects. Was Paul changed
by "conversion," or what was the wonderful power that altered his whole
life? Why Paul sought seclusion after his illumination. Characteristics of
all Illumined ones. The desire for simplicity. Paul's incomparable
description of "the Love that never faileth." The safe guide to
illumination. The "first fruits of the spirit," as prophesied by Paul.
CHAPTER XI
MOHAMMED
Mohammed a predestined Leader. Condition of Arabia at his birth. Prophecies
of a Messiah. His peculiar psychic temperament; his frequent attacks of
catalepsy; his sufferings because of doubt; his never-ceasing urge toward a
final revelation. His changed state after the revelation on Mt. Hara. His
unswerving belief in his mission; his devotion to Truth; His simplicity and
humility. His claim to Cosmic Consciousness.
CHAPTER XII
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
Swedenborg's early life. His sudden change from materialism. The difficulty
of clear enunciation. His unfailing belief in the divinity of his
revelations. How they compare with experiences of others. The frequent
reception of the Light. The blessing of Cosmic Consciousness.
CHAPTER XIII
MODERN EXAMPLES OF INTELLECTUAL COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS: EMERSON; TOLSTOI;
BALZAC
The way to Illumination through intellectual cultivation; Emerson a notable
example; The Cosmic note in his essays and conversations. Emerson's
religious nature. His familiarity with Oriental philosophy; his remarkable
discrimination; the peculiar penetrating quality of his intellect. His
never failing assurance of unity with the Divine. His belief in a spiritual
life. Did Emerson predict a Millenium? His writings as they reflect light
upon his attainment of Cosmic Consciousness.
LEO TOLSTOI--RUSSIAN PHILOSOPHER
Tolstoi the strangest and most unusual figure of the Nineteenth Century;
His almost unbearable sufferings; his avowed materialism; his horror of
death; The prevailing gloom of his writings and to what due. Incidents in
his life previous to his illumination. The remarkable and radical change
made by his experience. To what was due Tolstoi's great struggle and
suffering? Why the great philosopher sought to die in a hut. His idea not
one of penance. The signal change in his life after illumination. What he
says of this.
HONORE DE BALZAC
Balzac's classification as of the psychic temperament. His amazing power of
magnetic attraction. His feminine refinement in dress. His power of
inspiration gave him his place in French literature. The dominant motive of
all his writings. His unshakable conviction of immortality. His power to
function on both planes of consciousness. The lesson to be drawn from
Seraphita. Balzac's evident intention, and why veiled. The inevitable
conclusion to be drawn from the Symbolical character.
CHAPTER XIV
ILLUMINATION AS EXPRESSED IN THE POETICAL TEMPERAMENT
Poetry the language of Cosmic Consciousness. Unconscious instruments of the
Cosmic law. The true poet and the maker of rhymes. The mission and scope of
the poetical temperament. How "temperament" affects expression. No royal
road to Illumination. Teaching of Oriental mysticism. Whitman's
extraordinary experience. His idea of "Perfections." Lord Tennyson's two
distinct states of consciousness; his early boyhood and strange
experiences. Facts about his illumination. The after effects. Tennyson's
vision of the future. Wordsworth, the poet of Nature. How he attained and
lost spiritual illumination. How he again received the great Light. The
evidences of two states of consciousness. Outline of his illumination.
Noguchi--a most remarkable instance of Illumination in early youth; Lines
expressive of an exalted state of consciousness; how it resulted in later
life. The strange case of William Sharp and "Fiona Macleod:" a perfect
example of dual consciousness; the distinguishing features of the self and
the Self; the fine line of demarcation. How the writer succeeded in living
two distinct lives and the result. Remarkable contribution to literature. A
puzzling instance of phases of consciousness.
CHAPTER XV
METHODS OF ATTAINMENT: THE WAY OF ILLUMINATION
The four Oriental methods of liberation. The goal of the soul's pilgrimage.
Strange theory advanced. Revolutionary results that follow. How to perceive
the actuality of the higher Self. Gaining immortality "In the flesh;" What
Revelation has promised and its substantiation in modern Science. The prize
and the price. Some valuable Yoga exercises to induce spiritual ecstacy.
What "union with God" really means. The "Brahmic Bliss" of the Upanashads.
The new race; its powers and privileges. "The man-god whom we await" as
described by Emerson.
THE SELF AND SYMBOL
Thou most Divine! above all women
Above all men in consciousness.
Thou in thy nearness to me
Hast shown me paths of love.
Yea; walks that lead from hell
To the great light; where life and love
Do ever reign.
Thou hast taught to me a patience
To behold whatever state;
However beautiful and joyful; however ugly and sorrowful.
To know that these are--all!--but
The glimmerings of the greater life--
Expressions of the infinite.
According to the finality of that moment
Now to come; in the eternal now, which thou
Sweet Presence, hast awakened me to--
I see the light--the way.
An everlasting illumination
That takes me to the gate; the open door
To the house of God.
There I find most priceless jewels;
The key to all the ways,
That lead from _Om_ to thee.
A mistake--an off-turn from the apparent road of right
Is but the bruising of thy temple,
Calling thy Self--thy soul--
The God within; showing thee,
The _nita_ of it all; which is but the half of me.
And as thy consciousness of the two
The _nita_ and the _ita_, comes to thee
A three is formed--the trinity is found.
Through thee the Deity hast spoken
Uniting the two in the one;
Revealing the illusion of mortality
The message of _Om_ to the Illumined.
--Ali Nomad.
ARGUMENT
Man is essentially a spiritual being.
The source of this spiritual Omniscience we may not, in our finite
intelligence, fully cognize, because full cognition would preclude the
possibility of finite expression.
The destiny of man is perfection.
Man perfected becomes a god.
"Only the gods are immortal," we are told.
Let us consider what this means, supposing it to be an axiom of truth.
Mortality is subject to change and death. Mortality is the manifest--the
stage upon which "man in his life plays many parts."
Immortality, is what the word says it is--godhood re-cognized in the
mortal. "Im" or, "Om"--the more general term--stands for the Changeless.
Birthless. Deathless. Unnamable Power that holds the worlds in space, and
puts intelligence into man.
Biologists, even though they were to succeed in reproducing life by
chemical processes from so-called "lifeless" (sterilized) _matter_, making
so high a form of manifestation as man himself, yet could never name _the
power by which they accomplished it_.
Always there must remain the Unknownable--the Absolute.
"Om," therefore, is the word we use to express this Omniscient, Omnipotent
and Omnipresent power.
The term "mortal" we have already defined. The compound immortal, applied
to individual man, stands for one who has made his "at-one-ment" with Om,
and who has, while still in the mortal body, re-cognized himself as one
with Om.
This is what it means to escape the "second death," to which the merely
mortal consciousness is subject.
This is the goal of every human life; this is the essence, the _substance_
of all religious systems and all philosophies.
The only chance for disputation among theologians and philosophers, lies in
the way of accomplishing this at-one-ment. There is not the slightest
opportunity for a difference of opinion as what they wish to accomplish.
Admitting then, that the goal of every soul is the same--immortality--(the
mortal consciousness cognizing itself as Om), we come to a consideration of
the evidence we may find in support of this axiom. This evidence we do
_not_ find satisfactory, in spirit communication; in psychic experiences;
in hypnotic phenomena; and astral trips; important, and reliable as these
many psychic research phenomena are.
These are not satisfactory or convincing evidences of our at-one-ment with
Om, because they do not preclude the probability of the "second death;" but
on the contrary, they verify it.
However, aside from all these psychic phenomena, there is a phase of human
experience, much more rare but becoming somewhat general, that transcends
phenomena of every kind.
The western world has given to these experiences the term "cosmic
consciousness," which term is self explanatory.
The Orientals have long known of this goal of the soul, and they have terms
to express this, varying with the many types of the Oriental mind, but all
meaning the same thing. This meaning, from our Occidental viewpoint, is
best translated in the term liberation, signifying to be set free from the
limitations of sense, and of self-consciousness, and to have glimpsed the
larger area of consciousness, that takes in the very cosmos.
This experience is accompanied by a great light, whether this light is
manifested as spiritual, or as intellectual power, determines its
expression.
The object of this book is to call attention to some of the more pronounced
instances of this Illumination, and to classify them, according as they
have been expressed through religions enthusiasm; poetical fervor; or great
intellectual power.
But we have also one other argument to make, and this we present with a
conviction of its _truth_, while conceding that it must remain a _theory_,
until proven, each individual, man or woman, for himself and herself. The
postulate is this: immortality (i.e. godhood) is bi-sexual. No male person
can by any possibility become an immortal god, in, of and by himself; no
female person can be complete without the "other half" that makes the ONE.
Each and every SOUL, therefore, has its spiritual counterpart--its "other
half," with which it unites on the spiritual plane, when the time comes for
attainment of immortality.
Sex is an eternal verity. The entire Cosmos is bi-sexual. Everything in the
visible universe; in the manifest, is the result of this universal
principle. "As above so below," is a safe rule, as far as the IDEA goes.
This hypothesis does not preclude _perfection_ above, of that which we find
below, but any radical reversion or repudiation of nature is inconceivable.
"Male and female created he them." This being true, male and female must
they return to the source from which they sprung, completing the circle,
and gaining what?
_Consciousness of godhood; of completeness in counterpartal union. Not
absorption_ of consciousness, but _union_, which is quite a different
idea.
Out of this counterpartal union a race of gods will be born, and these
_supermen_, shall "inherit the earth" making it a "fit dwelling place for
the gods."
This earth is now being made fit. This fact may seem a far distant hope if
we do not judge with the eyes of the seer, but its proof lies in the
emancipation of woman. Its evidences are many and varied, but the awakening
of woman is the _cause_.
This awakening of woman constitutes the first rays of the dawn--that
long-looked for Millenium, which many of us have regarded as a mere figure
of speech, instead of as a literal truth.
The argument is not that there has been no individual awakening until the
present time; but that never before in the finite history of the world has
there been such a general awakening, and as it is self evident that
conditions will reflect the idea of the majority, the fact that woman is
being given her rightful place in the sense-conscious life, proves that the
earth will be a fit dwelling place for a higher order of beings than have
hitherto constituted the majority.
The numerous instances of Illumination, or cosmic consciousness which are
forcing attention at the present time, prove that there is a
_race-awakening_ to a realization of our unity with Om.
Another point which we trust these pages will make clear is this: So-called
"revelation" is neither a personal "discovery," nor any special act of a
divine power. "God spake thus and so to me," is a phrase which the
self-conscious initiate employs, _because he has lost sight of the_ cosmic
light, or because he finds it expedient to use that phraseology in
delivering the message of cosmic consciousness.
If we will substitute the term "_initiation_," for the term "_revelation_,"
we will have a clearer idea of the truth.
Perhaps some of our readers will feel that the terms mean the same, but for
the most part, those who have employed the word "revelation," have used it
as implying that the plan of the cosmos was unfinished, and that the
Creator, having found some person suitable to convey the latest decision
to mankind, natural laws had been suspended and the revelation made.
It is to correct this view, that we emphasize the distinction between the
two words.
The cosmos is complete. "As it was in the beginning, it is now and ever
shall be, worlds without end."
A circle is without beginning or end. We, in our individual consciousness
may traverse this circle, but our failure to realize its completeness does
not change the fact that it is finished.
We can not add to the universal consciousness; nor take away therefrom.
But we can extend our own area of consciousness from the narrow limits of
the personal self, into the heights and depths of the atman and who shall
set limitations to the power of the atman, the higher Self, when it has
attained at-one-ment with Om?
It is not the purpose of this book to trace the spiritual ascent of man
further than to point out the wide gulf between the degrees of
consciousness manifested in the lower animals and that of human
consciousness; again tracing in the human, the ever-widening area of his
cognition of the personal self, and its needs, to the awakening of the soul
and its needs; which needs include the welfare of all living things as an
absolute necessity to individual happiness.
Altruism, therefore, is not a virtue. It is a means of
self-preservation--without this degree of initiation into the boundless
area of universal, or cosmic consciousness, we may not escape the karmic
law.
The revelations, therefore, upon which are founded the numerous religious
systems, are comparable with the many and various degrees of initiation
into THAT WHICH IS.
They represent the degree which the initiate has taken in the lodge.
It may be argued that this fact of individual initiation into the
ever-present truth of Being, as into a lodge, offers no proof that this
earth is to ultimately become a heaven. It may be that this planet is the
outer-most lodge room and that there will never be a sufficient number of
initiates to make the earth a fit dwelling place for a higher order of
beings than now inhabit it. This may, indeed, be true. But all evidence
tends toward the hope that even the planet itself will come under the
regenerating power of Illumination.
All prophecies embody this promise; all that we know of what materialists
call "evolution" and occultists might well name "uncovering of
consciousness," points to a time when "God's will," "shall be done on earth
as it is in heaven."
All who have attained to cosmic consciousness in whatever degree, have
prophecied a _time_, when this blessing would descend upon every one; but
the difficulty in adequately explaining this great gift seems also to have
been the burden of their cry.
Jesus sought repeatedly to describe to his hearers the wonders of the
cosmic sense, but realized that he was too far in advance of the cyclic
end; but even as at that time, a number of disciples were capable of
receiving the Illumination, so to-day, a larger number are capable of
attainment. If this number is great enough to bring about the
regeneration--the perfecting--of the earth conditions, then it _must be
accomplished_.
We believe that it is. We make the claim that the Millenium _has dawned_;
and although it may be many years before the light of the morning breaks
into the full light of the day, yet the rays of the dawn are dispelling the
world's long night.
In his powerful and prophetic story "In the Days of the Comet," H.G. Wells,
tells of a _great change_ that comes over the world following an
atmospheric phenomenon in which a "green vapor" is generated in the clouds
and falls upon the earth with instantaneous effect.
As this peculiar vapor descends, it has the effect of putting every one to
sleep; this sleep continues for three days and when people finally awake,
their interior nature has undergone a complete change.
Where before they "saw dimly," they now see clearly; the petty differences
and quarrels are perceived in their true perspective. Instead of place, and
power, and influence, and wealth, being all-important goals of ambition as
before the change, every one now strives to be of service to the world.
Love and kindness become greater factors than commercial expediency and
business success.
In many respects, Wells' description of the great change and its effect
upon people, corresponds with the effect of Illumination.
The sense of entering into the very heart of things; of growing plants; the
birds and the little wood animals; the intense sympathy and understanding
of life described by him, sounds like the effect of cosmic consciousness,
as related by nearly all who have attained it.
How the world's activities are resumed after the change, and under what
vastly different incentives people work, form a part of the story, which is
written as fiction, but which contains the seed of a great truth.
This truth is expressed in science, as human achievement, and in religion
as fulfilled prophecy, but the truth is the same.
Both religion and science point to a _time_ when this earth will know
freedom from strife and suffering. Even the elements which have hitherto
been regarded as beyond the boundaries of man's will, may be completely
controlled; not _may be_, but _will be_. Manual labor will cease. National
Eugenic societies will put a stop to war, when they come to the inevitable
conclusion, that no race can by any possibility be improved, while the most
perfect physical species are reserved for armies.
Awakening woman will refuse--indeed they are now refusing--to bear children
to be shot down in warfare, and crushed under the juggernaut of commercial
competition.
Those who realize the signs of the times, look for the birth of cosmic
consciousness as a race-consciousness, foreshadowing the new day; the
"second coming of Christ," not as a personal, vicarious sacrifice, but as a
factor in human attainment.
"For I am persuaded," said St. Paul, "that neither death nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to
separate us from the love of God."
If we interpret this in the light of cosmic consciousness, we realize that
we shall know, and _experience_ that boundless, deathless, perfect,
satisfying, complete and all-embracing love which is the goal of
immortality; which is an attribute (we may say the _one_ attribute) of
God.
We are not looking for the birth of _a_ Christ-child, but of _the_
Christ-child; we are not looking for a second coming of _a_ man who shall
be as Jesus was, but we are anticipating the coming of _the_ man (homo),
who shall be cosmically conscious, even as was Jesus of Nazareth; as was
Guatama, the Buddha.
That there may be one man and one woman who shall first achieve this
consciousness and realization is barely possible, but the preponderance of
evidence is for a more general awakening to the light of Illumination.
"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in the twinkling of an
eye," said St. Paul.
The prophecy of "the woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under
her feet," is not of _a_ woman, but of Woman, in the light of a race of men
who have attained cosmic consciousness.
Nothing more is needed to make a heaven of earth, than that the great light
and love that comes of Illumination, shall become dominant.
It will solve all problems, because problems arise only because we are
groping in the dark. The elimination of selfishness; of condemnation; of
fear and anger, and doubt, must have far greater power for universal
happiness and well-being than all the systems which theology or science or
politics could devise. Indeed, all these systems are sporadic and empirical
attempts to express the vague dawning of Illumination.
In the fullness of its light, the need for systems will have passed away.
CHAPTER I
THE NEW BIRTH: WHAT IT IS: INSTANCES DESCRIBED
The chief difference between the religions and the philosophies of the
Orient and those of the Occident, lies in the fact that the Oriental
systems, methods, and practices, emphasize the assumption that the goal of
these efforts, is attainable at any moment, as it were.
That is, Oriental religion--speaking in the broad sense--teaches that the
disciple need not wait for the experience called death to liberate the
Self, the _atman_, from the enchantment or delusion, the _maya_, of the
external world. Indeed, the Oriental devotee well knows that physical
death, _mrityu_, is not a guarantee of liberation; does not necessarily
bring with it immortality.
He well recognizes that physical death is but a procedure in existence.
Death does not of itself, change the condition of _maya_, in which the
disciple is bound until such a time, as he has earned liberation--_mukti_,
which condition may be defined as immunity from further incarnation.
Immortality is our rightful heritage but it must be claimed,--yea, it must
be _earned_.
It is a mistake to imagine that death makes man immortal. Immortality is
an attribute of the gods. But since all souls possess a spark of the divine
essence of Brahman (The Absolute), _mukti_ may be attained by earnest
seeking, and thus immortality be _realized_.
This condition of awakening, is variously named among Oriental sages and
chelas, such for instance as glimpsing the _Brahmic splendor; mutki;
samadhi; moksha; entering Nirvana_; becoming "_twice-born_."
In recent years there have come to light in the Occident a number of
instances of the attainment of this state, and these have been described
as "cosmic consciousness;" "illumination;" "liberation;" the "baptism of
the Holy Ghost;" and becoming "immersed in the great white light."
Baptism, which is a ceremony very generally incorporated into religious
systems, is a symbol of this esoteric truth, namely the necessity for
Illumination in order that the soul may be "saved" from further
incarnations--from further experience.
The term cosmic consciousness as well describes this condition of the
disciple, as any words can, perhaps, although the term liberation is more
literal, since the influx of this state of being, is actually the
liberation of the _atman_, the eternal Self, from the illusion of the
external, or _maya_.
Contrary to the general belief, instances of cosmic consciousness are not
extremely rare, although they are not at all general. Particularly is this
true in the Orient, where the chief concern as it were, of the people has
for centuries been the realization of this state of liberation.
The Oriental initiate in the study of religious practices, realizes that
these devotions are for the sole purpose of attaining _mukti_, whereas in
the Occident, the very general idea held by the religious devotee, is one
of penance; of propitiation of Deity. This truth applies essentially to the
initiate, the aspirant for priesthood, or guru-ship. No qualified priest or
guru of the Orient harbors any doubt regarding the _object_, or purpose of
religious practices. The attainment of the spiritual experience described
in occidental language as "cosmic consciousness" is the goal.
The goal is not a peaceful death; nor yet an humble entrance into heaven as
a place of abode; nor is it the ultimate satisfying of a God of extreme
justice; the "eye for an eye" God of the fear-stricken theologian.
One purpose only, actuates the earnest disciple, like a glorious star
lighting the path of the mariner on life's troublous sea. That goal is the
attainment of that beatific state in which is revealed to the soul and the
mind, the real and the unreal; the eternal substance of truth, and the
shifting kaleidoscope of _maya_.
Nor can there be any purpose in the pursuit of either religion or
philosophy other than this attainment; nor does the unceasing practice of
rites and ceremonies; of contemplation; renunciation; prayers; fasting;
penance; devotion; service; adoration; absteminousness; or isolation,
insure the attainment of this state of bliss. There is no bartering; no
assurance of reward for good conduct. It is not as though one would say,
"Ah, my child, if thou wouldst purchase liberation thou shalt follow
this recipe."
No golden promises of speedy entrance into Paradise may be given the
disciple. Nor any exact rules, or laws of equation by virtue of which the
goal shall be reached. Nor yet may any specific time be correctly estimated
in which to serve a novitiate, before final initiation.
Many indeed, attain a high degree of spirituality, and yet not have found
the key of perfect liberation, although the goal may be not far off.
Many, very many, on earth to-day, are living so close to the borderland of
the new birth that they catch fleeting glimpses of the longed-for freedom,
but the full import of its meaning does not dawn. There is yet another
veil, however thin, between them and the Light.
The Buddha spent seven years in an intense longing and desire to attain
that liberation which brought him consciousness of godhood--deliverance
from the sense of sin and sorrow that had oppressed him; immunity from the
necessity for reincarnation.
Jesus became a _Christ_ only after passing through the agonies of
Gethsemane. A Christ is one who has found liberation; who has been born
again in his individual consciousness into the inner areas of consciousness
which are of the _atman_, and this attainment establishes his identity with
The Absolute.
All oriental religions and philosophies teach that this state of
consciousness, is possible to all men; therefore all men are gods in
embryo.
But no philosophy or religion may promise the devotee the realization of
this grace, nor yet can they deny its possible attainment to any.
Strangely enough, if we estimate men by externalities, we discover that
there is no measure by which the supra-conscious man may be measured. The
obscure and unlearned have been known to possess this wonderful power which
dissolves the seeming, and leaves only the contemplation of the Real.
So also, men of great learning have experienced this rebirth; but it would
seem that much cultivation of the intellectual qualities, unless
accompanied by an humble and reverent spirit, frequently acts as a barrier
to the realization of supra-consciousness.
In "Texts of Taoism," Kwang-Tse, one of the Illuminati, writes:
"He whose mind is thus grandly fixed, emits a heavenly light. In him who
emits this heavenly light, men see the true man (i.e., the _atman_; the
Self). When a man has cultivated himself to this point, thenceforth he
remains constant in himself. When he is thus constant in himself, what is
merely the human element will leave him, but Heaven will help him. Those
whom Heaven helps, we call the sons of Heaven. Those who would, by
learning, attain to this, seek for what they _can not learn_."
Thus it will be seen, that according to the reports offered us by this wise
man, that which men call learning guarantees no power regarding that area
of consciousness which brings Illumination--liberation from enchantment, of
the senses--_mukti_.
Again, in the case of Jacob Boehme, the German mystic, although he left
tomes of manuscript, it is asserted authoritatively, that he "possessed no
learning" as that word is understood to mean accumulated knowledge.
In "The Spiritual Maxims" of Brother Lawrence, the Carmelite monk, we find
this:
"You must realize that you reach God through the heart, and not through the
mind."
"Stupidity is closer to deliverance than intellect which innovates," is a
phrase ascribed to a Mohammedan saint, and do not modern theologians report
with enthusiasm, the unlettered condition of Jesus?
In the Orient, the would-be initiate shuts out the voice of the world, that
he may know the heart of the world. Many, very many, are the years of
isolation and preparation which such an earnest one accepts in order that
he may attain to that state of supra-consciousness in which "nothing is
hidden that shall not be revealed" to his clarified vision.
In the inner temples throughout Japan, for example, there are persons who
have not only attained this state of consciousness, but who have also
retained it, to such a degree and to such an extent, that no event of
cosmic import may occur in any part of the world, without these illumined
ones instantly becoming aware of its happening, and indeed, this knowledge
is possessed by them _before_ the event has taken place in the external
world, since their consciousness is not limited to time, space, or place
(relative terms only), but is cosmic, or universal.
This power is not comparable with what Occidental Psychism knows as
"clairvoyance," or "spirit communication."
The state of consciousness is wholly unlike anything which modern
spiritualism reports in its phenomena. Far from being in any degree a
suspension of consciousness as is what is known as mediumship, this power
partakes of the quality of omniscience. It harmonizes with and blends into
all the various degrees and qualities of consciousness in the cosmos, and
becomes "at-one" with the universal heart-throb.
A Zen student priest was once discovered lying face downward on the grass
of the hill outside the temple; his limbs were rigid, and not a pulse
throbbed in his tense and immovable form. He was allowed to remain
undisturbed as long as he wished. When at length he stood up, his face wore
an expression of terrible anguish. It seemed to have grown old. His _guru_
stood beside him and gently asked: "What did you, my son?"
"O, my Master," cried out the youth, "I have heard and felt all the burdens
of the world. I know how the mother feels when she looks upon her starving
babe. I have heard the cry of the hunted things in the woods; I have felt
the horror of fear; I have borne the lashes and the stripes of the convict;
I have entered the heart of the outcast and the shame-stricken; I have been
old and unloved and I have sought refuge in self-destruction; I have lived
a thousand lives of sorrow and strife and of fear, and O, my Master, I
would that I could efface this anguish from the heart of the world."
The _guru_ looked in wonder upon the young priest and he said, "It is well,
my son. Soon thou shalt know that the burden is lifted."
Great compassion, the attribute of the Lord Buddha, was the key which
opened to this young student priest, the door of _mukti_, and although his
compassion was not less, after he had entered into that blissful
realization, yet so filled did he become with a sense of bliss and
inexpressible realization of eternal love, that all consciousness of sorrow
was soon wiped out.
This condition of effacement of all identity, as it were, with sorrow, sin,
and death, seems inseparable from the attainment of liberation, and has
been testified to by all who have recorded their emotions in reaching this
state of consciousness. In other respects, the acquisition of this
supra-consciousness varies greatly with the initiate.
In all instances, there is also an overwhelming conviction of the
transitory character of the external world, and the emptiness of all
man-bestowed honors and riches.
A story is told of the Mohammedan saint Fudail Ibn Tyad, which well
illustrates this. The Caliph Harun-al-Rashid, learning of the extreme
simplicity and asceticism of his life exclaimed, "O, Saint, how great is
thy self-abnegation."
To which the saint made answer: "Thine is greater." "Thou dost but jest,"
said the Caliph in wonderment. "Nay, not so, great Caliph," replied the
saint. "I do but make abnegation of this world which is transitory, and
thou makest abnegation of the next which will last forever."
However, the phrase, "self-abnegation," predicates the concept of
sacrifice; the giving up of something much to be desired, while, as a
matter of truth, there arises in the consciousness of the Illumined One, a
natural contempt for the "baubles" of externality; therefore there is no
sacrifice. Nothing is given up. On the contrary, the gain is infinitely
great.
Manikyavasayar, one of the great Tamil saints of Southern India, addressed
a gathering of disciples thus:
"Why go about sucking from each flower, the droplet of honey, when the
heavy mass of pure and sweet honey is available?" By which he questioned
why they sought with such eagerness the paltry pleasures of this world,
when the state of cosmic consciousness might be attained.
The thought of India, is however, one of ceaseless repudiation of all that
is external, and the Hindu conception of _mukti_, or cosmic consciousness,
differs in many respects from that reported by the Illumined in other
countries, even while all reports have many emotions in common.
Again we find that reports of the cosmic influx, differ with the century in
which the Illumined one lived. This may be accounted for in the fact that
an experience so essentially spiritual can not be accurately expressed in
terms of sense consciousness.
Far different from the Hindu idea, for example, is the report of a woman
who lived in Japan in the early part of the nineteenth century. This woman
was very poor and obscure, making her frugal living by braiding mats. So
intense was her consciousness of unity with all that is, that on seeing a
flower growing by the wayside, she would "enter into its spirit," as she
said, with an ecstacy of enjoyment, that would cause her to become
momentarily entranced.
She was known to the country people around her as _Sho-Nin_, meaning
literally "above man in consciousness."
It is said that the wild animals of the wood, were wont to come to her
door, and she talked to them, as though they were humans. An injured hare
came limping to her door in the early morning hours and "spoke" to her.
Upon which, she arose and dressed, and opened the door of her dwelling with
words of greeting, as she would use to a neighbor.
She washed the soil from the injured foot, and "loved" it back to
wholeness, so that when the hare departed there was no trace of injury.
She declared that she spoke to and was answered by, the birds and the
flowers, and the animals, just as she was by persons.
Indeed, among the high priests of the Jains, and the Zens (sects which may
be classed as highly developed Occultists), entering into animal
consciousness, is a power possessed by all initiates.
Passing along a highway near a Zen temple, the driver of a cart was stopped
by a priest, who gently said: "My good man, with some of the money you have
in your purse please buy your faithful horse a bucket of oats. He tells me
he has been so long fed on rice straw that he is despondent."
To the Occidental mind this will doubtless appear to be the result of keen
observation, the priest being able to see from the appearance of the animal
that he was fed on straw. They will believe, perhaps, that the priest
expressed his observations in the manner described to more fully impress
the driver, but this conclusion will be erroneous. The priest, possessing
the enlarged or all-inclusive consciousness which in the west is termed
"cosmic," actually did speak to the horse.
Nor is this fact one which the western mind should be unable to follow.
Science proves the fact of consciousness existing in the atoms composing
even what has been termed _inanimate_ objects. How much more comprehensible
to our understanding is the consciousness of an animate organism, even
though this organism be not more complex than the horse.
There is a Buddhist monastery built high on the cliff overlooking the Japan
Inland sea, which is called a "life-saving" monastery.
The priests who preside over this temple, possess the power of extending
their consciousness over many miles of sea, and on a vibration attuned to a
pitch above the sound of wind and wave, so that they can hear a call of
distress from fishermen who need their help.
This fact being admitted, might be accounted for by the uninitiated, as a
wonderfully "trained ear," which by cultivation and long practice detects
sounds at a seemingly miraculous distance.
But the priests know how many are in a wrecked boat, and can describe them,
and "converse" with them, although the fishermen are not aware that they
have "talked" to the priest.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the latest incarnation of God in India, and
the master to whom the late Swami Vivekananda gives such high praise and
devotion, lived almost wholly in that exalted state of consciousness which
would appear to be more essentially _spiritual_, than _cosmic_ in the
strict sense of the latter word, since _cosmic_ should certainly imply
all-inclusiveness, rather than wholly _spiritual_ (spiritual being here
used as an extremely high vibration of the cosmos).
We learn that Sri Ramakrishna was a man comparatively unlettered, and yet
his insight was so marvelous, his consciousness so exalted that the most
learned pundits honored and respected him as one who had attained unto the
goal of all effort--liberation, _mukti_, while to many persons throughout
India to-day, and indeed throughout the whole world, he is looked upon as
an incarnation of Krishna.
It is related of Sri Ramakrishna that his yearning for Truth (his mother,
he called it), was so great that he finally became unfit to conduct
services in the temple, and retired to a little wood near by. Here he
seemed to be lost in concentration upon the one thought, to such an extent
that had it not been for devoted attendants, who actually put food into his
mouth, the sage would have starved to death. He had so completely lost all
thought of himself and his surroundings that he could not tell when the day
dawned or when the night fell. So terrible was his yearning for the voice
of Truth that when day after day passed and the light he longed for had not
come to him he would weep in agony.
Nor could any words or argument dissuade him from his purpose.
He once said to Swami Vivekananda:
"My son, suppose there is a bag of gold in yonder room, and a robber is in
the next room. Do you think that robber can sleep? He cannot. His mind will
be always thinking how he can enter that room and obtain possession of
that gold. Do you think, then, that a man firmly persuaded that there is a
reality behind all these appearances, that there is a God, that there is
One who never dies, One who is Infinite Bliss, a bliss compared with which
these pleasures of the senses are simply playthings,--can rest contented
without struggling to attain it? No, he will become mad with longing."
At length, after almost twelve years unceasing effort, and undivided
purpose Sri Ramakrishna was rewarded with what has been described as "a
torrent of spiritual light, deluging his mind and giving him peace."
This wonderful insight he displayed in all the after years of his earthly
mission, and he not only attained glimpses of the cosmic conscious state,
but he also retained the Illumination, and the power to impart to a great
degree, the realization of that state of being which he himself possessed.
Like the Lord Buddha, this Indian sage also describes his experience as
accompanied by "unbounded light." Speaking of this strange and overpowering
sense of being immersed in light, Sri Ramakrishna described it thus: "The
living light to which the earnest devotee is drawn doth not burn. It is
like the light coming from a gem, shining yet soft, cool and soothing. It
burneth not. It giveth peace and joy."
This effect of great light, is an almost invariable accompaniment of
supra-consciousness, although there are instances of undoubted cosmic
consciousness in which the realization has been a more gradual growth,
rather than a sudden influx, in which the phenomenon of _light_ is not
greatly marked.
Mohammed is said to have swooned with the "intolerable splendor" of the
flood of white light which broke upon him, after many days of constant
prayer and meditation, in the solitude of the cavern outside the gates of
Mecca.
Similar is the description of the attainment of cosmic consciousness, given
by the Persian mystics, although it is evident that the Sufis regarded the
result as reunion with "the other half" of the soul in exile.
The burden of their cry is love, and "union with the beloved" is the
longed-for goal of all earthly strife and experience.
Whether this reunion be considered from the standpoint of finding the other
half of the perfect one, as exemplified in the present-day search for the
soul mate, or whether it be considered in the light of a spiritual merging
into the One Eternal Absolute is the question of questions.
Certainly the terms used to express this state of spiritual ecstacy are
words which might readily be applied to lovers united in marriage.
One thing is certain, the Sufis did not personify the Deity, except
symbolically, and the "beloved one" is impartially referred to as masculine
or feminine, even as modern thought has come to realize God as
Father-Mother.
In all mystical writings, we find the conclusion that there is no _one way_
in which the seeker may find reunion with The Beloved.
"The ways of God are as the number of the souls of men," declare the
followers of Islam, and "for the love that thou wouldst find demands the
sacrifice of self to the end that the heart may be filled with the passion
to stand within the Holy of Holies, in which alone the mysteries of the
True Beloved can be revealed unto thee," is also a Sufi sentiment, although
it might also be Christian or Mohammedan, or Vedantan.
Indeed, if the student of Esotericism, searches deeply enough, he will find
a surprising unity of sentiment, and even of expression, in all the variety
of religions and philosophies, including Christianity.
It has been said that the chief difference between the message of Jesus
and those of the holy men of other races, and times, lies in the fact that
Jesus, more than his predecessors, emphasized the importance of love. But
consider the following lines from Jami, the Persian mystic:
"Gaze, till gazing out of gazing
Grew to BEING HER I gazed on,
She and I no more, but in one
Undivided Being blended.
All that is not One must ever
Suffer with the wound of absence;
And whoever in Love's city
Enters, finds but room for one
And but in Oneness, union."
These lines express that religious ecstacy which results from spiritual
aspiration, or they express the union of the individual soul with its mate
according to the viewpoint. In any event, they are an excellent description
of the realization of that much-to-be-desired consciousness which is
fittingly described in Occidental phraseology as "cosmic consciousness."
Whether this realization is the result of union with the soul's "other
half," or whether it is an impersonal reunion with the Causeless Cause, The
Absolute, from which we are earth wanderers, is not the direct purpose of
this volume to answer, although the question will be answered, and that
soon.
From whence and by whom we are not prepared to say, but the "signs and
portents" which precede the solution of this problem have already made
their appearance.
Christian students of the Persian mystics, take exception to statements
like the above, and regard them as "erotic," rather than spiritual.
Mahmud Shabistari employs the following symbolism, but unquestionably seeks
to express the same emotion:
"Go, sweep out the chamber of your heart,
Make it ready to be the dwelling-place of the Beloved.
When you depart out, he will enter in,
In you, void of your_self_, will he display his beauty."
The "Song of Solomon" is in a similar key, and whether the wise king
referred to that state of _samadhi_ which accompanies certain experiences
of cosmic consciousness, or whether he was reciting love-lyrics, must be a
moot question.
The personal note in the famous "song" has been accounted for by many
commentators, on the grounds that Solomon had only partial glimpses of the
supra-conscious state, and that, in other words, he frequently "backslid"
from divine contemplation, and allowed his yearning for the state of
liberation, to express itself in love of woman.
An attribute of the possession of cosmic consciousness is wisdom, and this
Solomon is said to have possessed far beyond his contemporaries, and to a
degree incompatible with his years. It is said that he built and
consecrated a "temple for the Lord," and that, as a result of his extreme
piety and devotion to God, he was vouchsafed a vision of God.
As these reports have come to us through many stages of church history and
as Solomon lived many centuries before the birth of Jesus, it seems hardly
fitting to ascribe the raptures of Solomon as typifying the love of the
Church (the bride) for Christ (the bridegroom).
Rather, it is easier to believe, the wisdom of the king argues a degree of
consciousness far beyond that of the self-conscious man, and he rose to the
quality of spiritual realization, expressing itself in a love and longing
for that soul communion which may be construed as quite personal, referring
to a personal, though doubtless non-corporeal union with his spiritual
complement.
Although the pronoun "he" is used, signifying that Solomon's longing was
what theology terms "spiritual" and consequently impersonal, meaning God
The Absolute, yet we suggest that the use of the masculine pronoun may be
due entirely to the translators and commentators (of whom there have been
many), and that, in their zeal to reconcile the song with the
ecclesiastical ideas of spirituality, the gender of the pronoun has been
changed. We submit that the idea is more than possible, and indeed in view
of the avowed predilections of the ancient king and sage, it is highly
probable.
He sings:
"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth
For his love is better than wine."
Again he cries:
"Behold thou art fair my love, behold thou art fair, thou _hast dove's
eyes_."
The realization of _mukti_, i.e., the power of the _atman_ to transcend the
physical, is thus expressed by Solomon, clearly indicating that he had
found liberation:
"My beloved spoke and said unto me, 'Rise up my love my fair one, and come
away. For lo, the winter is passed, the rain is over and gone.
"'The flowers appear upon the earth; the time of singing of birds has come,
and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.
"'The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vine with the tender
grapes gives a goodly smell. Arise my love, my fair one, and come away.'"
It is assumed that these lines do not refer to a personal hegira, but
rather to the act of withdrawing the Self from the things of the outer
life, and fixing it in contemplation upon the larger life, the
supra-conscious life, but there is no reason to doubt that they may refer
to a longing to commune with the beautiful and tender things of nature.
Another point to be noted is that in the spring and early summer it is with
difficulty that the mind can be made to remain fixed upon the petty details
of everyday business life. The awakening of the earth from the long cold
sleep of winter is typical of the awakening of the mind from its hypnotisms
of external consciousness.
Instinctively, there arises a realization of the divinity of creative
activity, and the mind soars up to the higher vibrations and awakes to the
real purpose of life, more or less fully, according to individual
development.
This has given rise to the assumption, predicated by some writers on cosmic
consciousness, that this state of consciousness is attained in the early
summer months, and the instances cited would seem to corroborate this
assumption.
But, as a poet has sung, "it is always summer in the soul," so there is no
specific time, nor age, in which individual cosmic consciousness may be
attained.
A point which we suggest, and which is verified by the apparent connection
between the spring months, and the full realization of cosmic
consciousness, is the point that this phenomenon comes through
contemplation and desire for love. Whether this love be expressed as the
awakening of creative life, as in nature's springtime, or whether it be
expressed as love of the lover for his bride; the dove for his mate; the
mother for her child, or as the religious devotee for the Lord, the key
that unlocks the door to illumination of body, soul and spirit, is Love,
"the maker, the monarch and savior of all," but whether this love in its
fullness of perfection may be found in that perfect spiritual mating, which
we see exemplified in the tender, but ardent mating of the dove (the symbol
of Purity and Peace), or whether it means spiritual union with the Absolute
is not conclusive.
The mystery of Seraphita, Balzac's wonderful creation, is an evidence that
Balzac had glimpses of that perfect union, which gives rise to the
experience called cosmic consciousness.
It is well to remember that in every instance of cosmic consciousness, the
person experiencing this state, finds it practically impossible to fully
describe the state, or its exact significance.
Therefore, when these efforts have been made, we must expect to find the
description colored very materially by the habit of _thought_, of the
person having the experience.
Balzac was essentially religious, but he was also extremely suggestible,
and, until very recently, Theology and Religion were supposed to be
synonymous, or at least to walk hand in hand. Balzac's early training and
his environment, as well as the thought of the times in which he lived,
were calculated to inspire in him the fallacious belief that God would have
us renounce the love of our fellow beings, for love of Him.
Balzac makes "Louis Lambert" renounce his great passion for Pauline, and
seems to suggest that this renunciation led to the subsequent realization
of cosmic consciousness, which he unquestionably experienced.
Nor is it possible to say that it did not, since renunciation of the lower
must inevitably lead to the higher, and we give up the lesser only that we
may enjoy the greater.
In "Seraphita" Balzac expressed what may be termed spiritual love and that
spiritual union with the Beloved, which the Sufis believed to be the result
of a perfect and complete "mating," between the sexes, on the spiritual
plane, regardless of physical proximity or recognition, but which is also
elsewhere described as the soul's glimpse of its union with the Absolute or
God.
The former view is individual, while the latter is impersonal, and may, or
may not, involve absorption of individual consciousness.
In subsequent chapters we shall again refer to Balzac's Illumination as
expressed in his writings, and will now take up the question of man's
relation to the universe, as it appears in the light of cosmic
consciousness, or liberation.