Notebooks of Paul Brunton > Category 2: Overview of Practicies Involved > Chapter : !

ncertainties of Progress
!ncertainties of Progress
Understanding the pace of development
"
If the purpose of life on earth be a wide and deep spiritual growth# and if one attends
above all else to that purpose# then whatever the future $ay bring it could only bring
fresh $aterial for such growth% Its own uncertainty cannot dissipate this certainty% One&s
growth is guaranteed# whether the future be pleasant or unpleasant# so long as one lives
in the present strictly according to his dedicated ideal%
2
'ife is a struggle and $an is frail% (indrances are around hi$ on every side and
li$itations are within hi$ on every occasion% )herefore# what is essential is that right
direction should always be present# and what is i$portant is that the ideal of the *uest
should never be abandoned%

)he direction in which we are to $ove and the purpose which is to engage our striving
are $ore valuable# $ore i$portant# than progra$ and plan% )hey are $ore fle+ible#
leave one freer%
,
-uch ai$s are not going to be achieved in a single day% )hey will take years# nay an
entire lifeti$e# even to approach% )he defects inside hi$self and the hindrances outside
hi$self $ay in the end prove too $uch for a $an% .hat then is he to do/ -hall he show
his hu$ility and realis$ by renouncing these lofty aspirations altogether and give up
trying to i$prove hi$self/ Or shall he carry on with a hopeless fight# one foredoo$ed
to unbroken defeat/ (e should do neither% (e should inwardly hold to his aspirations as
fir$ly as ever but he should outwardly defer his atte$pts to pro$ote the$ until the ne+t
birth% (e $ust fi+ the$ before his eyes as so$ething to work for one day or he will not
get nearer the$ at all% 0 sound ai$# a right intention# is of the first i$portance% 'et
personal li$itations and e+ternal circu$stances create what delays they will# he will
know at least that his feet are planted on the right path# his $ove$ent headed in the
right direction%
1
In $ost cases this *uest re*uires a change in the way of life# both $ental and physical%
But the aspirant $ay set his own pace if he is unwilling or unable to $ake the change
$ore drastically or $ore rapidly% )he essential point is that he knows and accepts the
direction and the ideal22both%
3
)he aspirant who gets discouraged because no light falls upon his path# no 4li$pse
flashes into his $ind# no $ystical e+perience co$es to delight his heart# no revelation
opens secret doors# $ay $ake a last atte$pt to secure one by threatening to leave the
*uest altogether unless it is received *uickly5 0 neophyte I knew practised a certain
e+ercise for about a year# then gave it up# folded his tent# and left6 another delivered a
challenge to the higher power# giving It two $onths in which to appear% Otherwise he#
too# would abandon the *uest# which he did when the ti$e passed% .hat was this second
$an doing but dictating to the Overself and de$anding that It confor$ to his little ego&s
re*uire$ents/ )he correct attitude would have been to declare that even if he died
before any encouraging e+perience occurred# he would still be faithful to the *uest% It is
still worthwhile for its own sake# *uite apart fro$ its rewards% If these i$patient
aspirants really understood its preciousness# they would then understand that it is not the
distance travelled but the direction taken which really $atters5
7
(e $ay believe that# with the $aterial he is born with# his *uest is unlikely to co$e
anywhere near success% But that is not the point% )hat is where grace enters the picture%
.hat he is concerned with is the atte$pt itself%
8
.hy beco$e $iserable because you have not reali9ed any or all of the hopes for your
inner life# or e+perienced the :oys of its successful fruition/ Is it nothing that you have
learnt the truths# found the direction# and taken the first steps on the road to such
reali9ation/
;
)he intuition cannot be co$pletely cultivated in a few weeks# the passions cannot be
overco$e successfully in a few $onths# the thoughts cannot be brought to a standstill
finally in a few years# the ego&s deeply rooted point of view cannot be changed
per$anently in $any years% )he disciple&s growth needs ti$e and therefore needs
patience% If he cannot shake the old 0da$ forever out of his $ind and heart as *uickly
as he would like to# there will be other births in which he can take up the work again
and continue it%
"<
.hat is i$portant is to $ove in the right direction# for then two things are happening%
=irst# one is $oving and# secondly# one is $oving near to the correct goal% But those
who are stuck fast in the worship of $aterial values are doing neither one nor the other%
""
)his >uest re*uires hi$ to set up certain standards% )hey are ideal ones# of course# but
at least they give hi$ right direction% If at ti$es looking at the$ and at his actual state
he gets a sense of failure# let hi$ use this sense as a re$inder that the standards are
ideal# are at the peak of the $ountain# and that he has yet to cli$b%
"2
)o the $an tied to a variety of desires# aware of his personal shortco$ings and
ignorance# hindered by circu$stance# environ$ent# society# and despondency# this $ay
see$ an unachievable goal% 0ll the sa$e it is there and so$e22ad$ittedly only a s$all
nu$ber22have achieved it% But I have said it often before# that even if it were true that
the feat is not possible for us# that co$plete peace of $ind is not within our personal
reach# either a partial or inter$ittent peace is% )his is why direction is i$portant# be the
starting2point however unpro$ising%
"
)he i$age of the sought2after goal which the aspirant is taught to strive for $ay# after a
certain effort of trying to attain it# re*uire revision downward% It $ay need ad:ust$ent to
beco$e $ore in align$ent with the reality of his present state of develop$ent% )he
$ost i$portant point is to get the right direction towards a noble goal# his higher self%
",
)o ask a $an to act with co$plete disinterestedness# think with utter i$personality# and
feel with perfect selflessness is to ask what is close to the i$possible% But to ask hi$ to
polari9e hi$self towards these goals so that he has direction# is to ask what is both
reasonable and desirable%
"1
)he way to spiritual attain$ent is ad$ittedly difficult and lonely but there are
co$pensations6 inner blessings and gli$pses of the goal will be given one fro$ ti$e to
ti$e% 0nd one should never forget the all2i$portant fact that he is progressing in the
right direction%
"3
.ith all hu$anity&s li$itations# it is enough for hi$ to know that he is $oving in the
right direction regardless of the rises and falls and of the periods of inner stor$ and
stress% )he path is tre$endously difficult and the Gita re$inds us that few succeed in
finishing it successfully% It is enough to know that we have found it and that we are
$aking valiant efforts to overco$e the adverse influences which surround $ankind and
see$ so deter$ined to keep us fro$ the goal% (owever# philosophy teaches that every
sincere seeker finds a certain co$pensation22in a beautiful and ethereal world after
death22for the failures# disappoint$ents# and $iseries which $ake up so $uch of the
stuff of the hu$an story%
"7
.hat is $ore i$portant than progress in $editation is one&s funda$ental attitude toward
life itself% If one can develop a sense of right direction# plus so$e a$ount of aspiration
towards a better and (igher -elf# one need not be concerned about the speed with which
he travels in that direction%
"8
'et us not say that the aspirant has set hi$self an i$possible task% 'et us say rather that
he has set hi$self a task whose acco$plish$ent is so distant that it $ust be looked for
in a later incarnation%
";
)he aspiration is a praiseworthy one but the atte$pt to reali9e it is a pre$ature one% )he
ti$ing is wrong%
2<
?any are the aspirants who co$plain that they have had no $ystical e+periences# no
rapt ecstatic e+altations# no great awe2inspiring enlighten$ents% @4ive $e :ust a single
4li$pse#@ they cry disheartened# @and I will then be sure that your path is correct# your
way is the one for $e% Otherwise % % % @ -o$e of the$ drift away to :oin sects# teachers#
cults# or to e$brace new doctrines# techni*ues# syste$s% -o$e re$ain but are
halfhearted# apathetic# and often critical% 0 few concern the$selves with funda$ental
issues and work patiently on# holding the view that this *uest $ust be followed to the
end for its own sake# whether 4li$pses do or do not co$e%
2"
0lways at the beginning# at intervals on the road# gli$pses are given us of this far2off
state% )hus we are guided as to the direction we are to pursue: @(e gives us so$e token
of (is i$$ediate presence# as if to assure the soul for a $o$ent# that (e was with it in
its tribulation% I say for a $o$ent# for it is of no service subse*uently as a support# but is
rather intended to point out the way and invite the soul to further loss of self#@ writes
?ada$e 4uyon# the =rench $ystic%
22
)here will always be opportunities for the follower of this path to put his philosophy
into practice% .hether pleasant or unpleasant# they should be welco$ed5 )he $ore he
tries# the $ore he is likely to acco$plish% (e should take care not to depend upon his
personal :udge$ent alone% If he $akes the beginnings of a right Athat is# i$personal and
egolessB response to each proble$# help $ay $ysteriously appear to guide hi$ to a right
solution% Cven tests and trials will provide hi$ with the chance to grow spiritually# and
to bring hi$ closer to his goal%
2
(e will be delighted when he feels that he is starting to $ake inner progress and that
spiritual currents are beginning to stir within his consciousness% But this is only a
beginning% )he road before hi$ has its ups and downs# its shine and shadow# and there
is no such thing as a $echanical# straight2line progress%
2,
.hilst we are walking by the broken la$p of personal thought and sensuous
intelligence# it is inevitable that our :ourney shall be troubled by slips and falls# by
$istakes and even disasters% I$pulses fro$ below will $as*uerade as intuitions fro$
above% Desire will even $eddle with the authentic pro$ptings of the Overself and thus
lead us into $i+ed deeds and tainted results% 0t best we shall only half2know whither we
are going and only when pain co$es shall we understand how we have gone astray%
(ence when we are uncertain we $ust learn to wait% Perhaps intuition is trying to tell us
what we have to do# but other voices# like blind self2interest or reason&s inability to
understand# are interfering with the trans$ission% .e have then to wait a day or two# a
week or two# so$eti$es a $onth or two# until the situation beco$es so$ewhat clearer#
as it usually does%
21
)he path $ay be long and hard# and he $ay lose $uch ti$e in negotiating its boulders#
pitfalls# snares# and obstacles% )he chances for a *uick sprint forward will be few and
rare% Nevertheless# he $ust continue to travel it% (e should let no person and no event
involving another person turn hi$ fro$ the *uest&s straight course% Is he to abandon
hope and discard an ideal because its reali9ation see$s too re$ote/ Is the finest ele$ent
of hu$an character doo$ed to acknowledge defeat/ =or what does it really $atter if the
ideal is not reali9able during his own lifeti$e/ Is not the struggle $erely to approach
such reali9ation part of a worthwhile way of living/ .ere these the only considerations#
they would be enough to :ustify his continuance# but they are not% ?an&s story is a serial
one% It proceeds through body after body# birth after birth% But the fact is that once he
really absorbs the spirit of this *uest he will be unable to desert it for $ore than an
interval# even should he wish to% (e will be ine+orably driven back to it by $ysterious
forces within his own psyche# $ade to re2engage hi$self in it22however unwillingly22by
a deep# silent# recurrent# inner void%
23
)he good in hi$ $ay bring hi$ to the $ount of wisdo$# but the evil in hi$ $ay take
hi$ away fro$ it% ?an is a co$ple+ creature: this is why his inner life is $arked by
different phases of rise and fall%
27
)hey will then find# as (i$alayan cli$bers often find# that after they have $ounted
what see$ed the steepest cliff and reached what see$ed to be its peak# the real su$$it
suddenly appears before the$% It was hidden because it was set back by an ice2covered
ridge% Once again they $ust bestir the$selves to arduous cli$bing and of a so$ewhat
different kind% =or theirs was an inconclusive achieve$ent# a partial and transitional
result% )his need not disappoint the$# for if their further cli$b brings the$ a new and
wider view# the pseudo2su$$it can still be seen because it still e+ists# even though it
will now appear s$aller and less i$portant%
28
)he notion that there will be a steady advance is not correct or at least is not reflected by
the cases e+hibited in life itself% Develop$ent is often slow and always uncertain#
enlivened at long intervals by brief spurts of growth in knowledge and $astery in power
but retarded by retreats# setbacks# failures# frailties# and shortco$ings%
2;
Progressive -tages of the >uest%
"% Glimpses and flashes of insight%
Consciousness is the uni*ue ele$ent in every e+perience%
Once we learn the secret of our true nature we begin to perceive%
0 ray fro$ the Overself will shine upon our nor$al $ind and transfor$ and transfigure
it% But $o$ents of spiritual ecstasy are heralds of the high state which is yet to co$e
when the Overself is taken fully into our councils and we have let go of the terrestrial
ego with its dwarfed personal viewpoint%
2% Surrender of the ego%
)o give up the @I@ is very hard# yet that is our one and only task% )he right attitude
eclipses the ego and brings peace# whereas the wrong attitude enhances the ego and
brings pain%
(abitually if unconsciously we split all e+perience into the world that is known and the
I that knows it# into the @not I@ and the @I%@
Consider what happens when we beco$e intensely interested in a story unfolding itself
on a cine$a screen% .hat happens during the deepest points of such concentration/ =or
the ti$e being we actually forget ourselves# and we drop the whole burden of personal
$e$ories# relations# desires# an+ieties# and pettinesses which constitute the ego%
)e$porarily the @I@ is transcended% )he attain$ent of the Overself is nothing $ore than
the ability to detach# not destroy# the ego at will%
Our sufferings arise out of our own failings# out of our inability to pass tests
unconsciously invoked by our entry into the orbit of this *uest% But even those
sufferings# like all which co$e out of such contacts# carry tre$endous spiritual lessons#
and we can# if we will# turn the$ to great profit and inner progress% =or what is progress
after all/ It is $ove$ent fro$ the standpoint of the ego to that of the non2ego# the
Overself%
)he personality is but a transient shadow6 a shadow presupposes a light6 the light of the
real self e+ists6 renounce living in the shadow and $ove over to the light%
Personal bias is often *uite unconscious and constitutes a hindrance on the path to truth%
Eesus said# @C+cept ye beco$e as little children ye cannot enter the kingdo$ of
(eaven%@ .hat did he $ean/ Consider the $inds of children in who$ the ego is but
little developed% (ow egoless they are% (ow spontaneous and i$$ediate is their
knowledge of the world around the$%
)he giving up of thoughts leads to the giving up of the personal self%
In his *uietest $o$ents a $an hears in the depths of his being a voice which tells hi$
that he co$es fro$ a country to which one day he $ust return%
% The lonely nature of the path%
-o$e co$plain that this *uest $akes the$ feel inwardly lonely and isolated% )hat is
true% In one sense the study of philosophy will conde$n the student to a forlorn solitude#
for he will find few that care for it and $any who despise it% But the loneliness is to help
hi$ to find and feel the presence of the best co$panion# the Overself% )his brings hi$
into sy$pathetic touch with all $ankind through its revelation of unity% )he feeling of
isolation is only the inevitable differentiation fro$ the self2deceived# the superficial# and
the intuitionally backward%
,% Preparation and tests%
Preparation $ust precede en*uiry% No student can profitably undertake Fedantic en*uiry
who skips through this earlier stage% (is en*uiries will always be li$ited in depth and
scope as well as ineffective in final result if he lacks the sound training of intelligence
which should co$e first%
Do not be i$patient% =or you are learning the alphabet of a higher life% .hen you have
$astered that you will begin to for$ words# and later sentences# and in ti$e whole
paragraphs% Gou $ust prolong through years# if needs be# this disciplining of $ind and
$ood%
)eak# which is a$ong the hardest woods in the world# is cut fro$ what is one of the
slowest growing trees in the world% Perhaps the teak tree which we have seen growing
in the =ar Cast and nowhere else has picked up so$ething of the Buddhistic at$osphere
of those lands# with their wonderful patience# as befits a faith which perceives life to be
beginningless and endless6 we do not know% 0nyway# the $oral is that the higher the
goal the longer it takes to reach# and that the better the goal the $ore patient the aspirant
$ust be in his struggles to reach it%
0n authoritative )ibetan te+t says# @)he best sign of spiritual progress is the gradual
lessening of passions and selfishness%@ But the e$phasis should be laid on the word
@gradual%@ )he student# like $ost earthborn $ortals# $ay suffer fro$ sporadic outbursts
of sudden passion or sha$eful anger% But this is insufficient reason for abandoning the
*uest% )he sincere student will always be conscious that the path must be followed
despite the grey hours of despondency and failure% It will always call hi$ back with
such insistency that he will now know life will grant hi$ rest only when the goal is
attained%
.e $ay well feel that we fall far short of that standard which should be attained by
enlightened people# but this does not $ean that the *uest is too difficult for us% It $eans
rather that we $ust patiently pursue our way undeterred by failures# knowing that what
is not achieved during the present incarnation will surely if gradually be achieved
during co$ing incarnations% It $eans that we are never to per$it hope to desert us but
only to te$per it with understanding%
?ost of us cannot help being $istaken at ti$es# but all of us can help being stubborn
after our $istakes have been pointed out to us# either by our own e+periences or by
another hu$an being%
.e start with psychology# proceed to episte$ology# and end with ontology% In other
words# we start with what is given to consciousness# we proceed to what is really
known# and we discover that knowing $ust end in being%
Heali9ation is not a $ere feeling because feeling is sub2rational% It is not a $ere concept
because concepts are finite% Get it fulfils the de$ands of both feeling and reason
inas$uch as it contains both categories% Parado+ically# however# it also transcends the$%
)he flu+ of life is transfor$ed into diviner shapes%
<
If he re$ains loyal to these ideals# then# through both dreary lapses and bright spurts
alike# his spiritual life will grow in strong intensity and *uality%
"
)he $an who announces his readiness to go upon this *uest usually looks forward to its
e+hilarations and illu$inations% Does he understand that he $ust be ready also for its
vicissitudes# $ust e+pect its depressions and darknesses/
2
-ince the whole of the hu$an entity has to be developed and not $erely a part of it#
there is no possible way of skipping the unfinished develop$ent and leaping to the goal
at a single bound% )hose who offer shortcuts deceive the$selves%

)he e+pectation that progress will be constant and steady fills $any beginners until ti$e
and e+perience teach otherwise% )hey have failed to allow for the possibility that there
$ay be steps back and aside as well as inter$inably long pauses% -o$e go still farther
and e+pect 4race# whether direct or through a $aster# to co$e pre$aturely or to work
so$e spiritual con:uring2trick and change their nature al$ost overnight% )he error of
these egoistic e+pectations should be replaced by the correct attitude# which is hope%
)his is inspired by nothing less than the Overself% It is a genuinely intuitive leading% But
it $ust be followed in patience and without i$posing the ego&s false e$otions upon it%
,
It would be welco$e indeed to learn that an aspirant could acco$plish this at a single
and sudden bound% But neither life nor the *uest is so easy as that% )here $ust be a
linked continuity between the goal and his preli$inary efforts% )he talk of -atori or
sudden enlighten$ent in Ien Buddhis$ often leads to $isunderstanding of this point%
1
It is true that the inner life of $ost aspirants usually proceeds after the first stirring
awakening on a so$ewhat $onotonous flat ground% )he advance# if any# is slow% But it
is also true that certain ti$es co$e at the end of these long intervals when it is possible
to $ake a definite spurt forward# rapidly and decisively% )he aspirant has to watch
vigilantly for such opportunity and $ake the $ost of it when it does co$e% )he $ost
noteworthy sign of its presence is a sudden# une+pected surge of deter$ination and
resolution to bring about certain changes in the inner life% .ith this e$otional arousing
there co$es so$e or all of the strength to effect the changes% )he ut$ost advantage
should be taken of these feelings while they te$porarily $anifest the$selves% =or the
e+tent of the advance will depend upon the :olting force# the spiritual violence# and the
positive and affir$ative character of the thoughts held at the ti$e# which are used to
i$ple$ent the new resolve% >uite often it $ay involve $aking a revolutionary decision
re*uiring so$e courage or at least enough to desert an old standpoint for a new one%
Naturally the e$otions which enter into such a change will be the higher ones% )hese
energetic spurts arise fro$ a brief arousal of the force called -pirit2=ire by the Orientals
and are induced by the accu$ulation and release of favourable kar$a or by the gracious
contact with an adept% )hey sti$ulate effort and energi9e the will beyond the ordinary%
Cvery advantage should be taken of these sti$ulations while they last for they usually
pass away after a ti$e%
3
If a $an has been following the >uest# but subse*uently deserts it# he will lose whatever
control he has over his personal welfare until he returns to the path again% )he $ore he
refuses to heed the sacred call# the $ore will he $ove to his own destruction% (is only
hope of $ending his fortunes is to return to the path which he has deserted%
7
)he sudden acceleration of progress which co$es at certain ti$es should be fully
e+ploited by hu$ble prayer# by further effort# and by resisting the tendency to rest
co$placently in it%
8
)he highest spiritual opportunities co$e only one ti$e in a $an&s life% 0lthough other
opportunities $ay co$e# they will not be of the sa$e $agnitude nor will the $an be
able to take advantage of the$ with the sa$e force%
;
Progress is not constant fro$ one year to another% Hather is it an erratic $ove$ent% )his
is because hu$an feelings are the raw $aterial being worked on# not wood or iron% It
$oves over long $onotonous plateaus where# apparently# no upward ascent is
happening# as well as over steep hills where height is gained with every step%
,<
No philosopher has ever turned away fro$ these teachings% No student of philosophy
has ever done so without returning again after# with ti$e and e+perience# he had $ore
thoroughly tested its co$parative worth or truth against whatever else he had tried%
,"
)here are long stretched2out intervals of spiritually i$potent# inspirationally lifeless
e+istence%
,2
It is i$portant to let everything happen naturally# not to try to force an inner $ystical
e+perience# not to be an+ious about its non2arisal%
,
(e $ay walk haltingly on this path and co$e into view of its $ore $eaningful phases
only belatedly%
,,
If blunders and falls appear in his own spiritual career# he $ay re$e$ber that they do so
in the career of $any other aspirants%
,1
)here is no universal e+perience which $akes the spiritual progress of all aspirants
e+actly the sa$e% .ith so$e it is slow and steady6 with others nearly i$perceptible or
apparently absent6 with a third group it is *uicker but followed by lapses and losses6
with a fourth group it is slight for long periods and then dra$atically advances by series
of forward leaps and abrupt awakenings6 with a fifth it shows hapha9ardly and
erratically6 with a si+th it is a powerful cli$a+ to aspiration and discipline# releasing
new and added energies for achieve$ent in a particular desired direction%
,3
.e $ake growth only by degrees because we separate ourselves fro$ the ego only by
degrees% )he notion that any $an can annihilate the ego overnight is an illusory one% (e
only see$s to do so% .hat actually happens in such a case is that the annihilation is the
final cul$inating event of a long# hidden process22hidden# that is to say# in for$er
incarnations and abruptly pushing its way into the surface consciousness of the present
reincarnation% No $an flies to such (i$alayan altitudes6 he can only cli$b to the$%
,7
.e do not ordinarily develop at an even# steady pace% ?ost of us# alas5 do not even feel
for long stretches that we are developing at all%
,8
Once the *uest throws its spell over hi$# he is its prisoner for life% (e $ay escape fro$
ti$e to ti$e% (e $ay shun its disciplines and deny its self2denials when fatigue or
circu$stance pro$pts hi$ to do so% But always its $ysterious fascination will force hi$
to return eventually% )he length of the period of his desertion $ay be a $onth or a do9en
years6 that is irrelevant%
,;
It is possible by a single day&s sudden and e+cessive reversal of the way of life to lose
part of the good results so far obtained%
1<
Progress on this path ought not to be i$agined as $oving in a direct# uninterrupted line%
In practice it follows a wavelike course% )he $ind rises vigourously to the crest of its
powers for a ti$e and then# tired# sinks into the trough% (ere it re$ains for a while
resting and then begins the sa$e alternation%
1"
)he path is punctuated by both setbacks and advances% It is hu$an to feel an upsurge of
alar$ when reverses occur# but it is philosophic not to let this beco$e panic% It is natural
to feel depressed when bad news co$es# but it is philosophic not to let this develop into
despair% )he student $ust not per$it hi$self to be bowled over by first reactions% )he
personal self $ust lay its tribute at the feet of the !niversal Being# and it $ust do this
no less during ti$es of $isfortune as during ti$es of happiness%
12
)he process which leads to this attain$ent is a long one% )hose who teach or believe
otherwise# who see it as a sudden and $agical one# dependent on the arbitrary grant of
so$e $aster&s grace or involving only a single stroke of effort# are refuted by the facts
of e+perience and observation%
1
)he aspirant should not e+pect that the enthusias$ which he feels in the beginning will
stay with hi$ all the ti$e% )here will be $oods when a cooler attitude will prevail and
when even the whole :argon used in $ystical and religious thought and discussion
see$s $eaningless%
1,
Ges# the >uest is a lengthy affair# and its slowness so$eti$es dries up the sap of
enthusias$%
11
.e all have kar$ic debts to $eet# self2earned penalties for sins and errors co$$itted in
for$er lifeti$es if not in this one% )herefore# the philosophic student should not be
surprised if a cycle of pleasant kar$a is followed by a difficult cycle% )his doesn&t $ean
the student should resign hi$self and do nothing about his troubles% On the contrary# he
$ust seek every practical $eans of overco$ing the$% By so doing# and if he does the
best he can# then there is a possibility that the debt $ay be $odified22so$eti$es even
cancelled% (e $ay always cling to hope%
13
(e will find in the course of ti$e that a$id all the advances and relapses# the
progressions and regressions# there will be a per$anent re$ainder of real growth%
17
(e $ust learn patience in the greatest of all *uests% (owever# he $ust re$e$ber that
there are co$pensations for protracted periods of weariso$e waiting# that periods of
progress into which he will enter will be *uite rapid by co$parison% 0bove all# he
should know that a sound basis for $ystical develop$ent $ust be built in the character%
It $ust be stable# sound# $oral# deter$ined# enduring# balanced# and reliable%
18
0 person $ay be unconsciously if inter$ittently aware of a sharp fall# a terrible contrast
between what he once was and now is% )here $ay be a resultant feeling of unused
potentiality# of not being in his original status# of not having found hi$self% )hese
$oods of thought and fits of feeling are $ost potent after he lets hi$self sink too deeply
and too vehe$ently into personal life# personal e$otions# and the dyna$is$ which $ay
be a part of his natural te$pera$ent% .hat $ay such a one do about his trouble/ (e is a
sick soul and needs a soul physician% (owever# it is $ost advisable that during the
periods of productive effort# of electrifying energy# he should try to $oderate his
actions# deliberately tone down his feelings# and cal$ his thoughts% )his stor$y
intensity should be displaced by abruptly re$e$bering its e+istence and breaking off
into $o$entary self2recollection# standing back suddenly fro$ his tre$endous
i$$ersion in the egoic life and holding in his thought its transience and evanescence%
-uch concentrated power is a tre$endous asset when directed rightly# but he has to pay
the price of its possession when the personality is unintegrated% (e should not work too
hard# neither in *uantity nor so intensely in *uality% (e should practise habitual
rela+ation in the very $idst of his productive periods%
1;
)he ups and downs through which so$e $ust pass are partly in the e$otional sphere
and partly in the sphere of reality% )he e$otional upheavals and $elancholy $oods are
the natural reactions on the lower levels to what has happened on the higher ones%
3<
It is not only that every thing# every activity# should be put in its proper place# graded to
its proper level# but also not done pre$aturely or belatedly# but with proper regard to the
ti$e2scale%
3"
)he theory of perpetual infinite and auto$atic progress is found to contradict itself%
32
(e can always begin anew# clear of the negative thoughts and disturbed e$otions which
beset his past% But he cannot always sustain the endeavour%
3
)he *uest follows both a 9ig9ag course as well as an up2and2down one%
3,
It has been said that too $any of the younger *uesters# in their early enthusias$#
undertake too $uch too fast# and later end in disappoint$ent and discourage$ent# so
that they abandon the >uest or else suffer deeply% )here is so$e truth in this criticis$%
31
-tagnation $ay be $istaken for content$ent or resignation%
33
0lthough he $ust travel this path at his own pace and under his own initiative# there
will be special periods when the $ove$ent forward $ust be *uickened# when the effort
$ade can be intensified% Destiny $ay provide these periods through terrible hurt or
tre$endous good fortune or through a guru%
Facing the problems of development
37
=ro$ the first $o$ent that he sets foot on this inner path until the last one when he has
finished it# he will at intervals be assailed by tests which will try the stuff he is $ade of%
-uch trials are sent to the student to e+a$ine his $ettle# to show how $uch he is really
worth# and to reveal the strength and weakness that are really his# not what he believes
are his% )he hardships he encounters try the *uality of his attain$ent and de$onstrate
whether his inner strength can survive the$ or will break down6 the sufferings he
e+periences $ay engrave lessons on his heart# and the ordeals he undergoes $ay purify
it% 'ife is the teacher as well as the :udge%APB
38
)he tests show whether he has beco$e sufficiently strong to translate his ideals into
action# whether he has con*uered his passions and ruled his e$otions at the bidding of
those ideals# whether he will be willing to take the path of self2denial when the lower
nature seeks to lure hi$ away fro$ the path%
3;
)hose who have $uch faith in the benevolent intentions of the ?ind behind the
universe# sooner or later find that faith severely tested% =or the cala$ities of hu$an life
co$e to all of us%
7<
'ife itself is today the hierophant who tests his character and $entality# his power and
endurance and responsiveness to intuitions% 'ife itself will sooner or later provide its
s*uare and co$passes whereby his character $ay be $easured# his earnestness proved#
and his ai$s known% It does this for all $en in a general sense# but it does this for
disciples in a special sense% .hoever engages hi$self to tread this path# in our own
ti$es# will find that every i$portant event beco$es a sign of the activity of either good
or evil forces% (e $ust be forewarned that# at certain stages# he will be e+a$ined by his
higher self and tested by the beneficent forces or te$pted by the adverse ones% =ro$ this
epoch2$aking date# the $a:or episodes of an aspirant&s life are purposely sent into it%
Both good and evil powers pay special attention# within his personal kar$a# to his
affairs% Once he has co$$itted hi$self to this *uest# he will find that events so arrange
the$selves as to indicate his sincerity# e+a$ine his $otives# display his weaknesses# and
find out his virtues% (is devotion to the philosophic ideal will be tested# his loyalty to
the goal will be tried%
7"
0nother danger of going astray at an early stage does not co$e fro$ the obviously evil
things% )his $ystical :ourney passes through a region where charlatans enter in pursuit
of dupes# where *uacks seek who$ they $ay deceive# and where $ental hallucination is
often $istaken for divine vision% (ence# danger e$anates fro$ those $en who take the
na$e of 4od in vain# who seek to e+ploit or enslave ine+perienced neophytes on the
clai$ of Divine attain$ent% )he *uest should lead to greater freedo$ and not less#
freedo$ to obey the voice of the soul inside rather than the voice of $an outside% Get
few beginners reali9e this and false guides sedulously sap the$ of what little reali9ation
of it they $ay instinctively possess% )he seeker $ust learn to beware of this type#
especially of those occultists who# unburdened by ethical principles# try to con*uer
weaker $inds by the perverted power of hypnotis$% )hey are in ugly contrast to true
sages# who try to liberate people by co$passionate and co$petent service% Christ&s
warning against false prophets and unauthentic pretenders is apposite here% )hus# if the
*uest calls for keen discern$ent# $etaphysical profundity# and $oral earnestness to
con*uer the opposing force# it also calls for $uch prudence and $ore vigilance%
72
It is not only that new circu$stances or new surroundings $ay draw out latent desires
but even fa$iliar ones $ay change sufficiently to do so%
7
Conflict not only tests the *uality of our inner life# it also enables it to assert the higher
will and develop its latent possibilities%
7,
Tests% )he $anner in which he will approach trying# painful# or hostile situations will
also betray the true $easure of his spirituality# his devotion to higher values# and his
co$prehension of what he has undertaken% (e has to show# by the way he $eets these
events and faces such conditions# what he really is and wants to be% (e will ad:ust
hi$self to such proble$s only according to the degree of $aturity attained%
0t certain ti$es# during his e+terior life# a crisis $ay occur which# though it $ay cause
agony# will also provide opportunity% )he challenge of opposition and adversity# of
difficulty and suffering# provides opportunities to $ake progress through the struggle of
overco$ing the$% But the art of rightly using these opportunities# instead of bungling
the$# is not easy to ac*uire%
)he cala$ity# the bitterness# the despair# and the fatigue# which he $ay have to endure
during these probationary years can all be turned to spiritual account# can all be $ade
profitable in ter$s of better self2control# ennobled character# and truer values%
C+perience can be turned into a source of strength# wisdo$# and growth6 or it can
re$ain a source of weakness# foolishness# and degeneration% It all depends upon the
attitude he adopts toward it and the way he thinks and feels about it% ?en have their
faults in te$pera$ent and their defects in intelligence% ?istakes in action and errors in
:udge$ent# although never acceptable# are originally e+cusable% But continuance of the
sa$e $istakes and the sa$e errors# despite repeated warnings in the shape of their
results# is always ine+cusable%
It is a painful process# this disentangle$ent fro$ the lower hu$an and $erely ani$al
natures# but it is a necessary one if inner peace is ever to be attained% Observation of
other students& lives will be helpful in lessening its painfulness% )he lessons he learns
fro$ the analytic conte$plation of his own errors are e+cellent but costly# whereas those
he learns fro$ the conte$plation of other $en&s errors are e+cellent and free% )he
chance to overco$e difficulties and fight te$ptations is the chance both to test character
and pro$ote growth% )he hours of trouble or distress shake up his psyche and# by
enabling hi$ to detect his weaknesses# by drawing attention to his faults# by forcing hi$
to practise a stark self2e+a$ination# afford hi$ the chance to get rid of the$% 0ll
through this *uest# but especially at certain critical periods# events will so happen and
situations will so arrange the$selves that the aspirant&s weaknesses of character will be
brought out into the open% )he e+perience $ay be painful and its results $ay be
saddening# but only by thus learning to know and discri$inate against his bad *ualities
can he set out to sub$it the$ to the for$ative discipline of philosophy% Only so can he
reali9e vividly what are the weak places in his character and strengthen the$% If these
incidents $ake hi$ aware how pitifully slender are his own resources# if they bring hi$
to reali9e how weak and faulty his character really is# then there is co$pensation for
their painfulness% It is easy for hi$ to believe he is virtuous or perceptive# but it is for
life itself to reveal how far he is above te$ptation or error% )herefore# those e+periences
and events# contacts and persons# who afford the opportunity for this to be done# are
indispensable% (e $ay be strong in $oral sincerity# but weak in critical :udge$ent% It is
his business now to beco$e aware of this deficiency# to set about re$edying it by
attending to a co2e*ual cultivation of the different sides of personality%
If he succeeds in passing this probation# he will e$erge stronger in the particular *uality
at stake than before% =or it will have found fuller e+pression22it will have affected his
practical will# his e$otional feelings# his logical thinking# and even his capacity to
receive and respond to intuitional guidance% )hus# to the e+tent that he is successful# to
that e+tent will he bring the *uality to a higher pitch of develop$ent% (e $ay even learn
to be grateful to ti$e which brings healing# to afflictions which bring wisdo$# and to
opposition which elicits strength% If he is properly oriented# every e+ternal e+perience
and every e$otional and intellectual adventure will then help hi$ towards a fuller and
truer attitude towards life% If he obeys the in:unctions of philosophy# in spirit as well as
in letter# those very situations which before aroused his lower nature will now awaken
his higher one% Cach trouble can beco$e a challenge to provoke the response of that
serene detach$ent which can handle it $ore wisely% Cach te$ptation can sound a call to
be active in that penetrative analysis which can $aster it $ore effectually% If this inner
life can sufficiently possess hi$# he will gain an independence of e+ternal things and
events which can carry hi$ unaffected and undisturbed through the severest ordeals%
But this inward detach$ent will not be the correct kind if it weakens his sense of
responsibility or causes failure in the carrying out of duties%
If a $an cannot be wise# let hi$ not therefore be foolish% No state$ent in the foregoing
pages should be $isconstrued as an in:unction to go seeking either te$ptations on the
one hand or tribulations on the other% No one is called upon to beco$e either an
e+peri$ental hedonist or a senti$ental $artyr% It is enough to ask anyone who thinks
otherwise: .hat guarantee is there that he will be able to stop at the point where he
proposes to stop/
(e who has once e$barked on this *uest# $ay be diverted fro$ it for a while# but he
can never be driven fro$ it forever% (is eventual return is certain% Cvery fresh
$anifestation of hu$an wrong2doing and hu$an wickedness of which he is the sufferer#
every new reverse of fortune and loss of possession# should only strengthen his
deter$ination to follow this *uest and cultivate its cal$ detach$ent because it should
strengthen his reali9ation of the futility of basing his happiness on earthly things alone%
(e needs always to re$e$ber that the ordeal is transient but its pri9e is per$anent# that
if he succeeds in e$erging fro$ its tests still loyal to the ideal# he will also e$erge with
ennobled character# greater power# and increased faculty% .hen he wins through# in the
end# then the long sufferings of past failures will bloo$ into pity for others and into
strength for hi$self%
(itherto# he has always been liable to $iss his steps or fall by the wayside% But when he
is established in the final stage# he is established in security% )he roots of evil have been
totally destroyed within hi$% Never again will they have the chance to grow and yield
bitter fruit% .hen $e$ories of his past life recur# he will find it hard to believe that they
did not happen to so$eone else rather than to hi$self% (e will look back with
astonish$ent at the $an he for$erly was# at the ignorance and weakness which held
hi$ in bonds%
Heaching this final paragraph and casting about in $ind for a valedictory thought# it is a
fact# and a $ost e+traordinary one# that after this beautiful entry into the higher level of
his being# the past loses its capacity to hurt hi$# $e$ory can no longer depress hi$#
and the host of old blunders# sins# or tragedies are blotted out as though they had never
been% )hus# at long last# those trying years of toilso$e e+ercises and studies# hard
sacrifices and disappoint$ents# show their pleasant# satisfying result% By his success in
passing these recurring tests# he has thereby shown that he fully deserves the higher and
holier consciousness which now follows the$%
71
=ro$ these reasons alone# we $ay see why philosophy declares that the $ystical
achieve$ent of peace is not enough and why we have to go $uch farther than that and
unfold wisdo$ also% )he $ystic&s peace does not protect hi$ fro$ the path&s pitfalls#
which are set at intervals along its sides%
)he gla$our which surrounds occultis$# continues# even as in re$ote anti*uity and in
$edieval Curope# to draw nu$erous hu$an $oths% )hey flutter agitatedly around its
cheap sensationalis$ and want to beco$e twentieth2century wi9ards or wonder2working
Oriental fakirs22only to live for years self2hypnoti9ed in vain hope rather than in actual
satisfaction% .ould2be $ystics have thus been sidetracked fro$ their original purpose#
have gradually lost sight of the diviner destination which once for$ed their goal# and
have bestowed the ti$e and energy of half a lifeti$e# perhaps# in dangerous dabbling
and futile striving to attain Afor the$B unattainable powers22an effort which# if put forth
towards loftier ai$s# $ight have brought worthwhile $ental possessions such as inward
serenity% )here are even cases where people have spent twenty years trying to find out
pseudo2secrets that are not worth the trouble of learning or which are even utterly non2
e+istent# when they $ight have gathered i$perishable life2giving truths into the nets of
their $inds within as $any $onths% )he wise seeker will leave this te$pting but
dubious pursuit alone22not all are fit to pry into dark occult corners or to grapple with
shadowy# eerie forces# which Nature has wisely veiled fro$ the unready%
?any waste their ti$e and energies seeking e+traordinary states of consciousness when
they have not done the re*uisite preparatory work upon their ordinary state of
consciousness% .ithout such preparation# it is either i$possible to achieve their goal or#
if partly achieved# it will be in so unbalanced a for$ that they will har$ the$selves and
spread error a$ongst others% Instead# therefore# of $editating upon the higher
consciousness# let the$ look to their lower faults of conduct# their undeveloped
intelligence and unawakened intuition# their ungoverned passions and uncontrolled
thoughts% 'et the$ ru$inate over the causes and conse*uences of these defects#
$editate over the proper re$edies# and cultivate the opposite *ualities% )hey $ust
i$prove self before they can really illu$ine self% )hey $ay not shirk this duty# which is
nothing less than a full2ti$e :ob in hu$an engineering% Eust as so$e of the alluring
te$ptations will try their sincerity of purpose to the utter$ost# :ust so so$e of the
inevitable tragedies of life will test the *uality of their character to the li$it% Eust as they
will have to learn how to overco$e te$ptation# so will they have to learn how to endure
tribulation%
73
(e should not desert the *uest in resent$ent because earthly sufferings have co$e upon
hi$% =or if he does so# then he is inviting still further sufferings to co$e as a
conse*uence of infidelity% 'et hi$ rather look upon the$ as $ostly of his own $aking#
through which he $ay learn lessons for the ulti$ate perfecting of his character# and
always as tests of the sincerity with which he e$barked on the *uest% (e $ust use these
trials as opportunities to show forth endurance# steadfastness# and faithfulness# as well
as to increase his wisdo$% )hey do not co$e by chance% Carthly sufferings are as useful
to hi$ if not $ore so than the earthly :oys which he so readily welco$es%
77
Co$pulsory association with a disliked or irritating person can be $et in the ordinary
way with negative e$otions or in the philosophic way with constructive ones% It is to be
regarded as a provocation to deny the for$er ones at the very $o$ent of their rising and
show forth later those of opposite character% )he instant practice of a -piritual
Declaration is a useful help for so$e persons and the i$$ediate concentration of
attention on the needed virtues is a help for others% )he longer the trial has to be
suffered Aand it is there under the law of destinyB# the $ore deeply and fir$ly rooted
will be the *ualities and controls developed by the correct attitude% )he test itself will
pass away into a fading $e$ory but those benefits will re$ain per$anent%
78
In $any situations you $ay put )ruth to the test# but in others )ruth $ay put you to the
test%
7;
)his *uest holds situations hidden in its eventual course which will stun hi$ with their
parado+ and a$a9e hi$ with their contradictions%
8<
)here is a period in the lives of so$e aspirants# but not all# when they look back at the
results of entering the >uest and beco$e dissatisfied with the$% )hey still have no
satisfying $ystical e+perience to record# or if they have it is too far back in ti$e and too
transient in nature% )hey are definitely unhappy about their present situation# afflicted
by $orbid discourage$ent and tor$ented by intruding doubts% It is a testing period# a
dark night not of the soul but of the e$otions and thoughts%
8"
If a $an is seriously e$barked on this *uest# he will understand that when a desirable
ob:ect is being put into his possession# or torn away fro$ it# his sincerity will be tested
by the i$personality with which he regards the event and deduces its $eaning%
82
.hy not apply creative i$agination to these testing periods/ .hen you know that you
are about to enter one of the$# i$agine that you will pass through it *uite successfully#
see yourself in your $ind&s eye $easuring up to ideal conduct%
8
If he wants to keep his earthly outlook and his ani$al desires# all society will co$e to
his side# to support and even strengthen the$% It has plenty to offer that will help hi$ do
so% But if he wants to $ake the$ subordinate to his higher *uest# then it $oves into
opposition% Cvery kind of sti$ulus will be provided to get hold of his heart and $ind6
attention will be drawn outwards%
8,
(e finds hi$self confronted with a critical choice: either i$posing control to eli$inate
wayward thoughts or confining hi$self to theoretical interest only%
81
.henever he co$es to a crucial turn in the road# where a personal choice $ust be $ade
with serious conse*uences# he finds a warning waiting for hi$%
83
=ro$ the day when the resolution for$s itself to live up# however partially# to the
philosophic ideal# until the day when he is near the threshold of its full reali9ation# the
aspirant will have to face and overco$e the opposition which this very attitude has
aroused not only in hi$self but also in those outside# not only through weaknesses in his
character and pro$ptings in his heart# but also through troubles or te$ptations in his
environ$ent%
87
It is easy to stray fro$ the path# hard to keep faithfully on it% -o$eti$es a thread&s width
alone separates the straightway fro$ the deviation%
88
In each test there e+ists the chance# through success# to gain strength and pass up in
Initiation to a higher level or# through failure# to display weakness and fall in conduct to
a lower one%
8;
)he tests will co$e# inevitably% Can he keep his serenity a$id crushing trouble# in
destructive loss# under sore bereave$ent/
;<
-o$eti$es he will be warned in so$e way# and thus prepared for it# that a test is
i$pending% 0t other ti$es he will not# and then his danger of being unsuspectingly led
astray fro$ the path will be greater%
;"
In the Cgyptian ?ysteries# his capacity to resist a se+ual te$ptation was deliberately
tested% If he failed# the initiator would dis$iss hi$# after addressing hi$ thus: @Gou
have yielded to the attraction of the senses% .hoever lives in the senses re$ains in
darkness%@ If he succeeded# he would be granted leave to attend the te$ple college and
receive instruction for so$e years in the $ysteries of $an and the universe%
;2
Cvery test successfully $et is rewarded by so$e growth in intuitive knowledge#
strengthening of character# or initiation into a higher consciousness%
;
.hat are the different kinds of tests which the disciple $ay reasonably e+pect to
undergo at different ti$es of his spiritual career/ )here will be the test of his faith% )his
will take different for$s# so$e of which will be easy to detect but others harder6 so$e
will be very obvious but others e+tre$ely subtle% )hrough the spoken voice or the
printed word# estee$ed authorities will tell hi$ that the ob:ects of his faith are $ere
chi$eras# utter delusions# or worse% During periods of distress and suffering he will tell
hi$self# through the e$otions of discourage$ent and $isgiving# the sa$e thing% If the
criticis$ of these ene$ies cannot dislodge hi$ fro$ his beliefs# the ridicule of his
friends $ay do so% (is trust in the truth of philosophic teaching# in the wisdo$ and
virtues of the spiritual guide# in the necessity of following $oral ideals# and in the
likelihood of advance$ent on the spiritual >uest# will be tried in a crucible of fire%
;,
It will depend largely upon the disciple how long his ter$ of probation lasts% It is true
that periods of one# three# five# or seven years have been $entioned in this connection
historically# but it would be *uite arbitrary to hold a $an to any such period# irrespective
of his character# circu$stances# and kar$a% .hen he is able to pass the basic
re*uire$ents of the >uest in $orality and loyalty# in intuition and co$prehension# his
ter$ will co$e to an end% )he ego will not hesitate to use even a pretense of spirituality
in order to keep its hold over hi$% It will persuade hi$ flatteringly to believe that he is
better than he really is% If he falls into this trap# he will not only beco$e ensnared in
spiritual pride# but also fall into various $istakes of :udge$ent and conduct because he
will be blissfully unaware of serious defects in hi$self%
;1
)hese issues $ust be faced and $astered% If he evades their recognition he $erely
confesses his co$plete failure# and if he delays dealing with the$# he only aggravates
the conse*uent danger% )he kar$ic forces which are at work in such a test are like an
irresistible tide% (e $ust $ake up his $ind to ad:ust hi$self prudently to the$ or else
sub$it to the certain fate of being in:ured by the$%
;3
>uite often# the aspirant will not be aware how far he has grown in virtue until so$e
crucial test arises in the sphere of everyday living% )hen# to his surprise and pleasure# he
$ay note the ease with which he passes it%
;7
)he test will co$e with every $a:or crisis# every $inor ordeal% If his inner work has
been well done he will be surprised at the cal$ness with which he $eets and passes the
event# astonished at his strength%
;8
Both wisdo$ and prudence call for an e+act appraisal of such situations6 he cannot
afford either to under2assess the forces to be dealt with or to over2assess the$%
;;
Before passing into a higher phase of his develop$ent# the disciple is usually confronted
by life with a situation which will test his fitness for it% (is success in $eeting this test
will open a gate leading to the ne+t degree%
"<<
In $ost cases ill2health troubles are traceable to ordinary causes# but in other cases their
origin $ust be largely sought for in the tests and ordeals to which advanced students are
sub:ected at so$e ti$e or other% )his does not $ean that every advanced student has to
e+perience ill2health but that he has to e+perience great ordeals as well as great
te$ptations towards the end of a phase of his develop$ent or after the beginning of a
new one% )he for$er $ay and do co$e in the shape of ill2health# but they $ay also
co$e in *uite different shapes%
"<"
If he is to beco$e a philosopher in the real sense# he $ust look upon the trials and tests
of these years as a $eans of helping hi$ to do this% )here are of course other and
pleasanter $eans too% But# as Light on the Path says# all steps are necessary to reach the
goal%
"<2
(e who has given his allegiance to this *uest# $ust be prepared for the sudden shocks of
revelation which $ay co$e to hi$ before# during# or after these tests% (e will find that#
spiritually viewed by his own true self# his inner life is not as he has thought it to be% (e
will find that the ego has tricked hi$ in the $ost i$portant things# whilst giving hi$ the
deceitful satisfaction of victory in the trivial ones%
"<
)he $ost i$portant ones co$e $ostly as soon as an i$portant develop$ent or change
happens in his life# his worldly fortunes# or his inner *uest%
"<,
Cvery test is a teacher to guide us to a higher level# a providential friend to give us the
*uality we $ost need%
"<1
0 test need not necessarily co$e on the physical plane of event only% It $ay also co$e
on the $ental one through i$agination or $e$ory or even in drea$s%
"<3
.e $ay take refuge in escapis$ fro$ a situation that is a sharp test of character% )he
ego $ay even lead us into failure to recogni9e it properly or to overco$e it rightly% But
if we are on the >uest we $ay be sure that one day it will return and trouble us later#
even if in another for$%
"<7
)he tests will necessarily have to co$e in various ways% One situation will have all the
circu$stances which provoke a passion like anger while another will have all those
which provoke an e$otion that is e*ually undesirable%
"<8
In every test he has the possible chance to reveal hi$self as he would like to be# as well
as the certain chance to reveal what he already is%
"<;
Cach test not only gives hi$ the chance to distinguish between truth and error# to
discern reality fro$ illusion# but also the chance to $ove beyond his present $oral
vacillation into $oral fir$ness%
""<
(e accepts this welco$e penitence but he does not trust this new2found allegiance% )hat
will need ti$e to prove itself%
"""
)he test represents the vanities# the passions# the greeds# the delusions# and the hatreds
of those to who$ it co$es% It can be looked upon as a test only by people in who$
these things are the$selves lying latent or half2present% (ence it would be wrong to
consider it as an utterly isolated pheno$enon in connection with their personal history%
It is the logical cul$ination of the de$and to enter the *uest% If it be argued that they are
innocent people led astray# then it should be answered that there $ust have been so$e
weakness in their character which itself tended to take the direction of the path down
which they went astray% If not then# it would have shown itself at so$e later ti$e%
""2
)hose who take to this spiritual road have to endure its tests% It is not enough to have
faith or feel spiritual when life&s course is s$ooth and fortunate% )hey $ust learn to hold
their faith and feeling when its course runs through difficulties and sickness also% If the
test reveals that they lose their hold at such ti$es# then it shows their need of doing
further work on the$selves% =or this failure shows that they want good fortune and good
health even $ore than they want to fulfil the higher spiritual purpose of their
incarnation%
""
It is a curious fact and at first an incredible one that whenever an aspirant $akes so$e
effort and gets a little gain in conse*uence# and certainly whenever he $akes a great
effort and see$s near a great gain# so$ething happens in his outer life to defeat his
purpose and deprive hi$ of his gains unless he displays $uch discri$inative prudence
and $ore i$personal strength% In this way the evil forces and adverse destinies are
per$itted to test hi$% If they succeed in hindering hi$ he fails% If they fail to turn hi$
aside fro$ the i$$ediate ob:ective of his *uest# he succeeds in it%
"",
0t the very gate of this higher *uest# you will find certain obstacles obstructing your
entry% )hey are not alien to you# they are in your $ind% Gour pri$ary duty# therefore# is
to overco$e the$%
""1
If a beginner is conscious of his weakness# then it would be prudent for hi$ to avoid
those things and those people who e$phasi9e it%
""3
)he twelve trials of (ercules correspond with the twelve stages through which the
Cgyptian candidate had to pass% )he fable openly ad$its that before the last and $ost
difficult trial (ercules was initiated into the Cleusis ?ysteries%
""7
If after so$e years of constant yearning but fitful striving# he believes that no concrete
results have been obtained he $ay easily get tired and ad$it defeat% ?uch courage and
$ore patience $ust be e+ercised during such a rehabilitation period# and $ost of the
ti$e without any concrete help appearing% But this is part of his test%
""8
)he forces set in operation by his deter$ined atte$pt to approach the Overself in every
phase of his living habits eventually produce a vigorous effort on the part of his
subconscious $ind to cleanse itself of ancient accu$ulations of negative ani$alistic and
egoistic tendencies% 0lthough the process produces disagreeable and evil sy$pto$s# it is
not to be regarded as other than a self2purifying one# a natural way of vo$iting debris
fro$ the depths# re$oving and e+pelling it% )he $ore earnestly he takes to this *uest#
the $ore will his latent evil *ualities be stirred up and then $ake their appearance in his
character or conduct% (e# as well as others# $ay be surprised and perturbed at this result%
Get it is only an effort on the part of the inner forces to throw up the good for further
develop$ent and throw out the $orbid *ualities for ulti$ate e+pulsion% It $ay be an
unpleasant $ethod# its sy$pto$s an unpleasant surprise# but it is essential if these
tendencies are to be eradicated at all% Otherwise they will appear one by one in their
own ti$e and periodically block his path to the goal% Ordinarily they are suppressed in
self2defense by the conscious $ind# and their e+istence hidden because it has *uite
enough to deal with% But the candidate for illu$ination has flung out a challenge to
vigorous war%
"";
)he Overself will take hi$ at his word and will let his destiny bring hi$ not only those
e+periences which he earns but especially those which he needs% If he co$prehends this
situation i$personally he will reali9e that he $ust welco$e the$ all# and not single out
the pleasant ones alone for his favour% 0ll can beco$e his teachers if he will let the$# so
all should be received rightly and attentively% Hebellion and resent$ent $erely shut out
the lesson they have to teach hi$: if he $isses this lesson he will have to go through the
sa$e e+perience again at so$e future ti$e and repeat the sa$e suffering so needlessly%
"2<
)hose who have previously $ade satisfying spiritual advance often find the$selves
pulled up and unable to go farther# so$eti$es for years% )his is because the
undeveloped and i$perfect parts of their natures offer obstruction to further progress% If
the higher forces were to descend on the$ while they are purified only in parts and
developed only in so$e faculties# these forces would prove har$ful instead of helpful%
Conse*uently# these parts are brought up by events to the surface of his life in order that
they $ay be dealt with%
"2"
)here are those who possess a co9y feeling of what they take to be spiritual peace% )hey
$ay have arrived at this through various $eans# but life will put the$ to the test
whereby they can discover for the$selves whether this peace is the genuine article or
whether it is pseudo2peace which breaks down when the blows of fate ha$$er the
person%
"22
In one sense troubles are our teachers and the greater the trouble the greater the teaching
i$pressioned upon us%
"2
)he test $ust be whether he can withdraw at will fro$ his e+ternal activities# and
especially fro$ those to which he is $ost attached# or those which yield hi$ the $ost
pleasure or the $ost success% It is for hi$ to decide how $uch that he is in the habit of
doing every day should really be allowed to take up ti$e that could be given to higher
things% (e should pick a ti$e of the day when he can go into retreat# putting aside all
earthly interests# no $atter how busy# how filled# the re$ainder of that day is% If he fails
to devote to $editation the ti$e allotted to it# only because he sub$its to the pressure
and haste which tend to kill finer *ualities in $odern life# he fails# to that e+tent# in his
*uest%
"2,
(e $ay have to pass through a period when the idols in his $ind have to be broken up#
or when the i$age he carries of 4od or guru has to be given up%
"21
0ny inner e+cellence which is used to glorify the $an&s a$bition and self2flattery $ay
beco$e his test%
"23
)here is protection# there is guidance for the sincere# earnest# and sensible *uester6 but it
is not always apparent% Or# if perceived# it is so only long after the event% Both these
state$ents are true of so$e *uesters# but not true of those others who recogni9e the
warning for what it is# and who heed it in their subse*uent actions%
"27
)he changes within and without through which one is often called upon to pass usually
are not une+pected% )he aspirant# hi$self# involuntarily calls the$ into being as a result
of his work and study% )hey are useful as they test the spiritual growth so far attained#
revealing how $uch of it is fir$ly established# and in what directions one should apply
deeper effort toward building a steadier foundation%
"28
It is unfortunate but true that the spiritual path is beset with dangers# pitfalls# tests# and
oppositions% )hey never bear any placard to announce their real nature# but# on the
contrary# bear a deceptive appearance% )he average seeker is usually unaware of the$
and *uite often beco$es their victi$%
"2;
)he aspirant $ust never give way to e+cessive grief% 0ny period of grave difficulty $ay
be regarded# perhaps# as a test of his faith% 0t such a ti$e# he should constantly practise
his philosophy# while also praying for greater strength and understanding% In the
Overself there is no agony or pain6 these belong to the sphere of illusion%
"<
.hen one is up against an especially difficult situation for which no i$$ediate solution
can be found# it will help hi$ if he will use the ti$e while waiting for the change22
which will co$e22in order to deliberately cultivate greater patience and forebearance# as
well as a $ore ob:ective attitude%
""
0 difficult or frightening situation $ust be considered a challenge% 0t such a ti$e# the
student should seek even $ore intensely through prayer# $editation# and faith22while
also practising self2control to the best degree he is able22to achieve the needed spiritual
strength and understanding in order to endure and overco$e his troubles% In ti$es of
actual danger# the cal$ re$e$brance of the Overself will help to protect hi$%
"2
(e challenges the gods who takes the >uest so seriously and# let hi$ be warned# it will
ferret out his weakest spot and e+pose it for his ulti$ate benefit% (owever# all the
anguish through which he $ust pass can be converted into peace and strength if only he
will learn fro$ it and not allow hi$self to be bitter towards the $an who caused it%
"
)here are serious and even tragic tests on this path# the results of which are so$eti$es
different in the end fro$ what they were in the beginning% .e all need 4race% )he way
is so hard# the gloo$ so thick# and the adverse force so strong%
",
.hen a great crisis co$es# he should always try to re$e$ber the spiritual teachings
which the teacher has tried to i$part to hi$# together with the indissoluble character of
the inner tie that binds student and teacher together% 0$idst all the dangers and
hardships of the co$ing crisis# let hi$ strive to keep open the inner channels of
inspiration# protection# and guidance with the Divine Power% It will be very hard to do
so under great outer pressures but even two or three $inutes& thought of it each day will
be a help in this direction% )he i$portance cannot be overesti$ated of si$ple recurring
re$e$brance of AaB the Overself and AbB the teacher# and of trying to carry on in the
at$osphere of such re$e$brance% It is a yoga path of its own and is as good in its way
as any other% But if he cannot do $ore# even $ere recollection for a $inute of the
$ental i$age of the teacher will be a help%
"1
(is troubles $ay at ti$es leave hi$ with a sense of frustration and defeat% )his is
natural% It si$ply $eans that a difficult hand is being dealt out to hi$ by fate% (e should
appraise it philosophically as a general indication of the unsatisfactoriness of earthly life
in the Buddhistic sense% On this path he gets all kinds of vicissitudes and ups and
downs# partly to de$onstrate vividly that the inner reality is the only unchanging value
and thus co$pel a resort to its *uest# and partly to bring out latent *ualities% But he will
not be tried beyond what he can bear%
"3
)here is no need for pessi$is$ when his career see$s to $eet with insuperable
obstacles and when he see$s to co$e to an i$passe which brings out nothing but a
feeling of great frustration% 0t such ti$es# he $ust re$e$ber that kar$a $ay begin to
work out her own plans and that a reorientation of activities $ay be indicated% (e
should do all he can to create his specific opportunities and thus shorten the waiting
ti$e% )he developed aspirant does not fall into conventional categories and that is why
he has to strike out on a new path for hi$self% It needs courage# faith# i$agination#
intuition# and the ability to recogni9e kar$ic opportunities and $ake the $ost of the$%
"7
(aving found his spiritual path he should stick to it and not be te$pted aside by paths
which $ay suit other people but which are not for hi$% =or snares# pitfalls# illusions and
betrayals# tests and te$ptations are set at i$portant or critical periods and he needs his
intelligence# intuition# and loyalty to overco$e the$% It is easy to stray onto sidetracks
and then waste years before finding the way back again%
"8
Now and then kar$a unloads trials and troubles which are not pleasant to endure% 0ll
the sa$e they have so$ething to teach us22if only the ancient lesson of the need to find
a $ore satisfactory inner life to co$pensate for the transiency and the vicissitudes of the
outer life% (e cannot escape fro$ these so long as he lives upon this earth but he can
hope to understand the$ and eventually to $aster his $ental reactions to the$% )herein
lies peace and wisdo$%
";
0lthough worldly desires are all right in their place and $ay be legiti$ately satisfied#
they $ust re$ain subordinate to the spiritual aspiration for self2reali9ation% )o help the
individual to agree voluntarily to such subordination# the Overself# which has been
invoked# deliberately arranges e+perience Aunder kar$aB in such a way as to underline
spiritual values% Once he is able to bring feelings into accord with such values# he will
find that the very things which eluded his grasp when he sought the$# now co$e to hi$
of their own accord% )hus sacrifices de$anded turn out to be $erely te$porary# whereas
the happiness obtained is double22both earthly and spiritual% )his is why Eesus said:
@-eek ye first the kingdo$ of heaven and all these things shall be added unto you%@
",<
In terrible ti$es of suffering and an+iety it is $ore necessary than ever to cultivate
receptivity to the divine forces within ourselves through spiritual studies and
$editation%
","
)he path is veritably a @ra9or&s edge%@ One with li$ited awareness cannot know how
grave his situation $ay be nor how narrow an escape he $ay# at so$e ti$e# have had%
If# at such a ti$e# great efforts are put forth for hi$ by so$eone highly advanced#
satisfactory results $ay still be achieved# notwithstanding the student&s $istakes% .hen
his weaknesses are counterbalanced by earnest aspiration and faith# if he never deserts
his Ideal no $atter what happens# if he clings to his desire for conscious attain$ent of
unity with the Overself as the highest goal life offers and $easures all other rewards
accordingly# then the student $ay always count on the assistance which brought hi$
safely through his ti$e of crisis%
",2
Cn:oy your successes but study your failures%
",
)he profit of errors co$es in when# and if# they are used to redraw the pattern of living%
",,
0n e+perience which ended in disillusion$ent is not necessarily a wasted one% It $ay
have its positive side: it $ay have contributed certain ideas%
",1
It is the belief# indignantly repeated in co$plaint# of so$e disappointed persons who
have lost $oney and years or failed to regain health by following such leaders or
teachings# that their aspiration and faith should have protected the$% But they do not see
that behind the deception or inco$petence of the leader# or error of his teaching# was the
fault of wrong :udge$ent in their own $entality which led the$ to hi$% ?erely to have
prevented the$ fro$ giving their allegiance would not have re$oved this fault fro$
the$# and would have hidden its e+istence fro$ the$% One day it would have led the$
into the sa$e $istake again% If their aspiration for self2i$prove$ent was *uite earnest
and their faith in the higher power *uite sincere# then a warning against the attach$ent
they were about to $ake $ust have co$e to the$ through so$e person# book#
happening# or inner feeling of doubt and unease# but they disregarded it%
",3
If their delusion collapses# their chance to win $ental profit fro$ their shattered hopes
and disappointed ideals is good22but only if they e+a$ine into the causes within
the$selves which led the$ into the situation% If they fail or refuse to do this# then the
sa$e causes will operate and still another delusion will rise up# first to capture# and
later# to punish the$%
",7
(e will be tested by e+periences which will show how far# or how little# he has travelled
above e$otion and beyond a$bition%
",8
Nothing but a great and une+pected upheaval will precipitate a change in their $ental
habits or i$pel a deviation fro$ their physical habits% If it does co$e# they look upon it
as a disaster# although when ti$e gives the$ a longer perspective they look upon it as
an enlighten$ent%
",;
)he particular proble$s which life has presented hi$ with are e+actly the ones suited to
his own personal develop$ent% In their solution by his own efforts and his own
thinking# lies his own advantage and growth% )o turn the$ over to so$eone else is an
evasive and undignified action# har$ful in the end%
"1<
-o$e are not deterred by opposition or obstacles# but actually sti$ulated by the$%
"1"
(e $ay be sure of one thing# that his fidelity to ideas and ideals# to teacher and
teachings# will be tested% )his is inescapable if his will is to be surrendered to the higher
will# if his character is to be purified and his attitude cleansed of its egois$%
"12
?eet your trials and te$ptations in the na$e and strength of your $aster# if you have
one# or of the Overself# if you have not% Do not depend on the little ego alone%
"1
)he aspirant $ay e+pect all kinds of tests and trials on his path# no less than te$ptations
at unpredictable ti$es# but invariably when he is successful enough so as to near the
gate of illu$ination he will be sub:ect to severe attacks by the adverse ele$ents in
nature which seek to prevent his attain$ent% In the old Indian books it is said that divine
knowledge2consciousness is very difficult to attain because even when one has got near
to it# adverse spirits $ake it their work to prevent one&s entry into that state%
"1,
It is during the periods of test that he $ust hold on to balance $ore than at other ti$es%
"11
0 $issed chance or a failed test in one year $ay lead directly# if the lesson be heeded# to
a used chance or a successful test in a later year%
"13
Defeat is only an alar$ clock calling you to get up and get going once $ore%
"17
0t every i$portant turn on his path the aspirant will find a choice awaiting hi$% (e will
find hi$self facing a set of circu$stances which test his $otive# strength# and
attain$ent% )hese periodical tests can be neither evaded nor avoided# and often they are
not recogni9ed for what they are% )e$ptation $ay ca$ouflage the$ under attractive
colours% Nevertheless the student&s conduct in regard to the$ will decide whether he
passes onward and upward# or falls back into pain and purification%
"18
'ong after the naJvetK of the novice has left hi$# he $ay yet fall victi$ to teachings or
teachers of an undesirable sort%
"1;
(e who has had to bear a great trial in the course of conducting his worldly business
$ust# at such a ti$e# look $ore than ever before to the higher power for sustenance and
co$fort% )he $ore he is tried the greater the inner reward will be if he holds to the faith
that is in hi$%
"3<
.hen one hits upon tragic ti$es and difficult circu$stances# the essential thing is to try
within his power# however hu$bly that $ay be# to live the spiritual >uest% )his is harder
to do than ever before# yet it is al$ost $ore necessary than ever before% (e $ust keep
up his endeavours to understand and to practise what is right% 0lthough great patience is
called for during such ti$es# great benefits will also show the$selves in the end%
"3"
(e is so$eti$es taken at his word and $ade to undergo what Light on the Path refers to
as the keenest anguish# which is brought to bear upon the disciple in order to lift hi$ or
her finally above the oscillations of e+perience% )he path is no :oke% It is as terrible as it
is beautiful at other ti$es%
"32
)here are ti$es when a $an is thrown back on his own inner resources% If they are few
and weak# fear spreads itself in hi$% But if he has taken the trouble to cultivate the$# he
will show a hard front to whatever the trouble is and $eet it with $ore cal$ and less
distress than others would%
"3
In painful or trying hours he should $ake it a serious point to re$e$ber that glorious
$o$ent when the skies parted# the veil was rent# and the -oul showed its lovely face to
hi$% (e should recall it in worldly distress or e$otional darkness and it will sustain#
co$fort# and guide hi$% =ro$ this secret source he will derive a strength to bear
whatever $ay happen to hi$# an understanding to lead hi$ aright throughout life%
"3,
'earn to penetrate within yourself# your deeper# al$ost unknown self% It will need
patience to return day after day# not stopping until the truth is reached# the peace is felt#
the blessing descends% It will need perseverance until the source of strength is found%
)hereafter it will take you over: this is grace% But re$e$ber22with each return fro$ the
day&s efforts you will be confronted by the world again# by its harsh reality yet glorious
beauty# its stark conflicts yet benign interludes% -o22know this world in which you have
to live# its petty $inds and noble souls% 'earn fro$ both% 0nd when you have seen
enough of the world&s surface ask for its tre$endous secret%
"31
)o produce a great result# a great effort is needed%
"33
It is a truth which can uphold the heart of a $an through the bitterest adversity or the
direst affliction% )here is no situation# however bad# in which it cannot give help%
"37
0s the aspirant progressively follows the pattern of this teaching two# three# and four
ti$es over# he will find the answers to $any *uestions which arose in his $ind at the
first study% )hose philosophical state$ents which were $eaningless at the first reading#
$ay now see$ $eaningful at the tenth% )i$e and trial and fa$iliarity will help solve
this abstruse doctrine%
"38
.hen Eesus declared# @Lnock# and it shall be opened unto you#@ he did not declare that
this would happen after a single knock# nor even after a hundred knocks% If he $eant
anything at all# he $eant ceaselessly repeated knocking%
"3;
)he $ore successful type of >uester is the one who can keep his interest# enthusias$#
and practices in a stable# unwaning condition%
"7<
'et hi$ persevere in efforts along the spiritual path# continue endeavours towards self2
i$prove$ent and character building# and keep up the regular practice of $editation and
prayer22all these are essential to develop$ent% Cvery effort he puts forward calls forth a
corresponding aid on the part of the Divine 4race%
"7"
(e $ay have his doubts# hesitations# criticis$s# and even rebellions later22they $ay
stretch out far in ti$e22but in the end they cannot alter his course% =or the *uest he was
born6 to the *uest he $ust surrender% )he obligation is a lifelong one%
"72
If the aspirant discovers after several years that Nature is still resistant# that the leopard
spots are too deeply dyed to change easily# and that his character keeps its weaknesses
despite all his efforts to dislodge the$# then the hopes with which he began the *uest
$ay begin to fade in this grey dawn% (e reali9es that they were over2e+ultant and over2
opti$istic% (e despairs of ever re$aking hi$self successfully% (e even has thoughts of
abandoning the *uest entirely% But does this discovery really call for such defeatis$ and
such despondency/ No# it calls for a resigned acceptance of the situation as it is# for a
realistic $easure$ent of what can be done within the li$its of a single lifeti$e# for a
recognition of the wisdo$ of Nature in providing hi$ with nu$erous future
reincarnations in which to achieve his purpose% (e $ust refuse to follow the co$$on
error and identify hi$self with this one physical body of the present incarnation% Hather#
he $ust identify hi$self with his $ental being and feel this as so$ething i$$ortal#
so$ething reappearing on earth ti$e after ti$e and co$ing closer and closer# with each
appearance# to the goal% (e $ust believe in the truth of evolution# even while he
perceives that it takes ti$e# plenty of ti$e# for such evolution to beco$e a fact% (e $ust
ad$it that he is not left without signs by the way# nor without gli$pses to inspire hi$#
nor tokens to encourage hi$% 0gainst the pessi$istic $oan that the leopard cannot
change his spots# there is the opti$istic teaching of -ocrates that @virtue can be
learned%@ 0gainst the worldling&s sneer that the *uest sets itself an i$possible task# there
is the encourage$ent of every religious prophet and seer history has known% )he last
gift that lies waiting with cheerful patience in Pandora&s bo+# the voice of hope# is for
hi$% 0d$it that the discipline is hard# attain$ent is rare# and few are in a position to
turn their $inds away fro$ the pressure of environ$ent and circu$stance in which they
find the$selves% (owever# gli$pses# intuitions# uplifts do co$e at ti$es# even if after
long intervals% ?ost people can and should get a correct sense of general direction for
the course of their inner life% )his alone is a great gain%
"7
.hat things oppose his *uest/ In the end they all lead back to hi$self% (abits of
thought# directions taken by natural energies# turn hi$ outward through the body&s
senses% Helease fro$ past tendencies# return inwards# needs tre$endous sustained
deter$ination%
"7,
0 $an who sets out to wage war against his own thoughts and to constrain his own
i$pulses $ay properly be called a warrior% 'et hi$ not look for peace until the ene$y is
defeated# and since the ene$y will not yield for a long ti$e# but will resist with the
ut$ost desperation# the $an will need all the patience he can gather and all the
endurance he can $uster%
"71
If he is not willing to wait# this *uest does not offer $uch for hi$% It is not only in
$editation22although pri$arily in it22that patience is a re*uisite# but also in the work of
purifying and ennobling character%
"73
Pursue the *uest# practise its e+ercises# and undergo its disciplines with a patience that
does not halt for an instant% If you do this# the ti$e will co$e when the Overself can
hold out no longer% It will then no longer dwell in secret but in your heart%
"77
If he will re$ain steadfast in his faith and unshakeable in his ideal# the *uest will
beco$e easier than it see$s and $ore rewarding than it appears to be%
"78
Gou $ust never give up the *uest6 no $atter how long drawn out or how painful or how
$any disappoint$ents and deceivings# you $ust still keep up the search after 4od or
after a ?aster6 this deter$ination will receive its reward ulti$ately% Cven a $an who
has practised $editation all his life and apparently got no results# $ay very likely be
given the reward at the $o$ent of death%
"7;
0spirations should not be put into cold storage% (e need not stop trying because
so$ething2or2other that is either very pleasant or else very unpleasant has happened%
"8<
Cven if you have to wade year after year through all the spheres of doctrinal illusion#
through all the false ideas of $en about )ruth# only to find disappoint$ent in the end#
yet you $ust keep up that burning longing for it% Gou have to be unhappy about it# to
gru$ble and rage and despair# and the ne+t day go on with the >uest% If you can do this
you are fit to find )ruth in the end%
"8"
(e $ust e+pect to err# as so $any other hu$an beings will err# in ideas and actions% But
he will pick hi$self up and learn# will let hi$self be corrected# si$ply because he is on
this >uest%
"82
@(itch your wagon to a star@ was the advice of that s$iling opti$ist# C$erson% It
probably looked well on paper# and even better in print# but so$e of us grow i$patient#
and get a little tired of sighing for distant constellations% Ideals have an e+asperating
way of eluding us% .e begin to pursue the$ with fiery enthusias$6 we end with e$pty
hands and calloused feet% .e rise rapidly to lofty purposes# but before long the
parachute of inspiration $akes a sad descent% )he student $ust strive to keep his
:udge$ent unaffected by hectic enthusias$s# biased propaganda# a+e2grinding
advertise$ents%
"8
Gou $ay feel and think that such glory is for others# not for you22that the co$$on
hu$dru$ days re$ain unshining in your life% But try to *uieten thoughts every now and
then% He$e$ber that patience is a necessity in this inner work# re$e$ber too that it is a
$oral work also% Do not abate hope because the 4li$pse did not co$e so far% =ind out
what $ore is asked of you%
"8,
If he perseveringly works at trying to understand the teaching of true sages# however
difficult this $ay be in the beginning# ti$e added to the perseverance $ust bring so$e
positive result% )otal success re*uires an inborn capacity but partial success does not%
"81
No $atter how difficult the >uest $ay so$eti$es appear# nor how far down on its scale
the student feels hi$self to be# he $ay draw hope and courage fro$ the fact that his feet
are on it% (e $ust have faith and patience% )he Divine Overself is well aware of his
proble$s and takes into account his deficiencies%
"83
If one sticks to the >uest# co$e what $ay# he can be certain that his perseverance will
eventually bring results% -o$e of the $etaphysical studies and $ystical e+ercises see$
hard at first# but if one persists with the$# the ti$e will surely co$e when $uch which
was hitherto obscure will suddenly beco$e brilliantly clear and $eaningful in a single
instant before his eyes%
"87
0n aspirant on this >uest $ust hold on to his deter$ination to i$prove and discipline
hi$self even a$idst all the different te$ptations and difficulties which he co$es up
against fro$ ti$e to ti$e% =or this is the way he builds the foundation for his future%
-tudents are often apt to forget that it is their present thoughts# feelings# and actions
which are predeter$ining the favourable or unfavourable conditions of incarnations to
co$e# as well as the re$ainder of this one%
"88
)he aspirant should not give way to feelings of despair about the long road ahead of
hi$% (e $ay go far in this incarnation# particularly after he begins to recogni9e his
@failures@ for the stepping2stones they are# and to use the knowledge and discri$ination
gained fro$ these e+periences to safeguard his future progress fro$ si$ilar $ishaps%
Besides# he is not alone in his efforts and help is available%
"8;
)he aspirant $ust re$e$ber that even if he is deterred seventy ti$es fro$ achieving
higher ground and is seventy ti$es swept back by a flood of opposition# he $ust try
again a seventy2first ti$e and even again and still again# until at last he succeeds% 0t the
sa$e ti$e# he $ust take care never to give way co$pletely to feelings of despair or to
thoughts of failure% By holding on in this way# the day will co$e when he will receive
the $iraculous 4race of the Overself%
";<
)he aspirant $ust re$e$ber that it is the constantly applied efforts to i$prove hi$self22
see$ingly so tedious and unending22which provide the prere*uisite conditions for the
later# $ore dra$atic illu$inations%
";"
It is hard to get at the pure )ruth22harder still to find a reliable teacher whose conduct is
a worthy testa$ent of it% Perseverance is necessary in both cases%
";2
?ind puts great powers within our reach# but we have to work for the$ if we are to
obtain the$% )hey are not given free# nor provided arbitrarily by a capricious Creator or
supernaturally by a holy $an% I have *uoted C$erson before and it is worth *uoting hi$
again on this point: @)ake what thou wilt# but pay the price%@
";
If he will do the e+ercises regularly and carefully# apply the $ental and e$otional
disciplines honestly and perseveringly# his personal history will hardly be able to escape
a change for the better%
";,
It is inevitable that depressing failures and weariso$e defeats should harass the pilgri$
on this *uest% (e $ay grieve over the$ but he $ust not fall before the$% (e should
accept their practical lessons but not their negative effects% 0n intelligent patience# a
deep faith# and a *uiet hope $ust fortify hi$%
";1
.hoever wants *uick results had better not begin this path% 0 $an is willing to spend
five years to prepare hi$self to $aster engineering# but he is fre*uently unwilling to
spend $ore than five weeks to $aster $ind itself%
";3
(e has to strive tediously and seek loyally for an end which he cannot e+actly describe
and for a goal which he can only believe does e+ist%
";7
Philosophy asks the aspirant to strive earnestly and constantly to endow hi$self with
these *ualities# but it does not e+pect hi$ to be perfectly e*uipped with the$% If he
were# he would hi$self be a full2fledged philosopher and not a novice seeking to $aster
its wisdo$% 0l$ost every $ystical aspirant at first falls far below the philosophical
level# but he who tries to keep hi$self on it and who succeeds in doing so# even only
partially# will find sufficient reward in the proportionate $easure of wisdo$# strength#
cal$ness# and divine love that will accrue to hi$%
";8
Patience is the twin of hope%
";;
)o keep to this inner work steadfastly and persistently# to $ake of its e+ercises and
practices a regular routine# is to $ake the undertaking easier for oneself in the end# as
well as $ore successful in its results%
2<<
If the aspirant deserts the *uest in sheer fatigue or outer despair# he loses his way% =or
the world will satisfy hi$ only for a li$ited ti$e# and then discontent with it will erupt
afresh% If# however# he continues to persevere# then holy visitations will co$e $ore
fre*uently and re$ain longer% (e will lose nothing in reality unless and until he loses
heart% =or that is in the real$ of secret causes# while things are in the real$ of visible
effects% -o long as failure does not get inside a $an# so long is the road to victory still
open before hi$% )he patience which is re*uired of the aspirant is often tre$endous% (e
will be te$pted again and again to give up in despair% 0lthough conscious of his
ignorance# sensitive to his inade*uacy# and recogni9ing his incapacity# he will not
escape falling into $oods of despondency% (e will need the rare *uality of endurance
where even repeated defeats will not $ake hi$ give up the struggle% (e will probably
pass through various phases of enthusias$ for philosophy and antipathy for it# but
despite these alternations he will know in his in$ost heart that he can never forsake it%
Cventually# he will get the philosophic outlook which# although it sees his own hu$an
li$itations and knows his own hu$an possibilities# will refuse to despair%
2<"
If he is patient enough in the end the truth will clear his $ind% But patience is not to be
coupled with idleness%
2<2
)his search will not be given up so long as thought in*uires into its own e+istence# so
long as consciousness is continuously $aking itself known and felt# and so long as the
*ueries re$ain unanswered to our satisfaction%
2<
.hoever begins to seek in the $ind for that divine Heality which supports the $ind will
have to feel his way very carefully# very prudently# and very patiently% 0t first he $ay
get nothing back but his own thoughts and this $ay go on for *uite a long ti$e% )his is
one of the reasons why great patience is needed% (e $ay be led astray by feelings or
thoughts which are not true evidences of the divinity# and this is why prudence is
needed%
The Notebooks are copyright M ";8,2";8;# )he Paul Brunton Philosophic =oundation%