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    "num": 11,
    "slug": "10-chapter-xi",
    "title": "CHAPTER XI.",
    "of": 12,
    "words": 5531,
    "text": "## CHAPTER XI.\n\nMan's Ascent.\n\nSo stupendous is the ascent up which some men\nhave climbed, and some are climbing, that when we\nscan it by an effort of the imagination we are apt to\nrecoil, wearied in thought by the mere idea of that\nlong journey. From the embryonic soul of the low-\nest savage to the liberated and triumphant perfected\nspiritual soul of the divine man — ^it seems scarcely\ncredible that the one can contain in it all that is ex-\npressed in the other, and that the difference is but a\ndifference in evolution, that one is only at the begin-\nning and the other at the end of man's ascent. Be-\nlow the one stretch the long ranks of the sub-human\n— the animals, vegetables, minerals, elemental es-\nsences ; above the other stretch the infinite grada-\ntions of the superhuman — the Chohans, Manus, Bud-\ndhas. Builders, Lipikas ; who may name or number\nthe hosts of the mighty Ones? Looked at thus, as a\nstage in a yet vaster life, the many steps within the\nhuman kingdom shrink into a narrower compass,\nand man's ascent is seen as comprising but one grade\nin evolution in the linked lives that stretch from the\nelemental essence onwards to the manifested God.\n\nWe have traced man's ascent from the appearance\n\n2g2 THE ANCIENT WISDOM.\n\nof the embryonic soul to the state of the spiritually\nadvanced, through the stages of evolving conscious-\nness from the life of sensation to the life of thought.\nWe have seen him re-tread the cycle of birth and\ndeath in the three worlds, each world yielding him\nits harvest and offering him opportunities for pro-\ngress. We are now in a position to follow him into\nthe final stages of his human evolution, stages that\nlie in the future for the vast bulk of our humanity,\nbut that have already been trodden by its eldest chil-\ndren, and that are being trodcien by a slender num-\nber of men and women in our own day.\n\nThese stages have been classified under two head-\nings — the first are spoken of as constituting \"the\nprobationary Path, \" while the later ones are included\nin \"the Path proper\" or \"the Path of discipleship. \"\nWe will take them in their natural order.\n\nAs a man's intellectual, moral, and spiritual natture\ndevelops, he becomes more and more conscious of\nthe purpose of human life, and more and more eager\nto accomplish that purpose in his own person. Re-\npeated longings for earthly joys, followed by full\npossession and by subsequent weariness, have gradu-\nally taught him the transient and unsatisfactory na-\nture of earth's best gifts ; so often has he striven for,\ngained, enjoyed, been satiated, and finally nauseated,\nthat he turns away discontented from all that earth\ncan offei, \" What doth it profit?\" sighs the wearied\nsoul. \" All is vanity and vexation. Hundreds, yea,\nthousands of times have I possessed, and finally have\nfound disappointment even in possession. These\n\nTHE CRY FOR LIBERTY. 293\n\njoys are illusions, as bubbles on the stream, fairy-\ncolored, rainbow-hued, but bursting at a touch. 1\nam athirst for realities ; I have had enough of shad-\nows ; I pant for the eternal and the true, for free-\ndom from the limitations that hem me in, that keep\nme a prisoner amid these changing shows.\"\n\nThis first cry of the soul for liberation is the re-\nsult of the realization that, were this earth all that\npoets have dreamed it, were every evil swept away,\nevery sorrow put an end to, every joy intensified,\nevery beauty enhanced, were everything raised to\nits point of perfection, he would still be aweary of\nit, would turn from it void of desire. It has become\nto him a prison, and, let it be decorated as it may, he\npants for the free and limitless air beyond its in-\nclosing walls. Nor is heaven more attractive to him\nthan earth ; of that too he is aweary ; its joys have\nlost their attractiveness, even its intellectual and\nemotional delights no longer satisfy. They also\n\"come and go, impermanent,\" like the contacts of\nthe senses; they are limited, transient, unsatisfying.\nHe is tired of the changing; from very weariness he\ncries out for liberty.\n\nSometimes this realization of the worthlessness of\nearth and heaven is at first but as a flash in con-\nsciousness, and the external worlds reassert their em-\npire and the glamour of their illusive joys again laps\nthe soul into content. Some lives even may pass,\nfull of noble work and unselfish achievement, of\npure thoughts and lofty deeds, ere this realization of\nthe emptiness of all that is phenomenal becomes the\n\nTHE ANCIENT WISDOM.\n\npermanent attitude of the soul. But sooner or'Tlo\nthe soul once and for ever breaks with earth and\nheaven as incompetent to satisfy his needs, and this\ndefinite turning away from the transitory, this defi-\nnite will to reach the eternal, is the gateway to the\nprobationary Path. The soul steps off the highway\nof evolution to breast tbe steeper climb up the moun-\ntain side, resolute to escape from the bondage of\nearthly and heavenly lives, and to reach the freedom\nof the upper air.\n\nThe work which has to be accomplished by the\nman who enters on the probationary Path is entirely\nmental and moral; he has to bring himself up to the\npoint at which he will be fit to \" meet his Master face\nto face\": but the very words \"his Master\" need ex-\nplanation. There are certain great Beings belong-\ning to our race who have completed Their human\nevolution, and to whom allusion has already been\nmade as constituting a Brotherhood, and as guiding\nand forwarding the development of the race. These\ngreat Ones, the Masters, voluntarily incarnate in\nhuman bodies in order to form the connecting link\nbetween human and superhuman beings, and They\npermit those who fulfil certain conditions to become\nTheir disciples, with the object of hastening their\nevolution and thus qualifying themselves to enter\nthe great Brotherhood, and to assist in its glorioua\nand beneficent work for man.\n\nThe Masters ever watch the race, and mark any\nwho by the practice of virtue, by unselfish labor for\nhuman good, by intellectual efforl turned to the ser-\n\nA MAN IS OBSBRVED. 29$\n\nvice of man, by sincere devotion, piety, and purity,\ndraw ahead of the mass of their fellows, and render\nthemselves capable of receiving spiritual assistance\nbeyond that shed down on mankind as a whole. If\nan individual is to receive special help he must show\nspecial receptivity. For the Masters are the distrib-\nutors of the spiritual energies that help on human\nevolution, and the use of these for the swifter\ngrowth of a single soul is only permitted when that\nsoul shows a capacity for rapid progress and can\nthus be quickly fitted to become a helper of the race,\nreturning to it the aid that had been afforded to\nhimself. When a man by his own efforts, utilizing\nto the full all the general help coming to him\nthrough religion and philosophy, has struggled on-\nwards to the front of the advancing human wave,\nand when he shows a loving, selfless, helpful nature,\nthen he becomes a special object of attention to the\nwatchful Guardians of the race, and opportunities\nare put in his way to test his strength and call forth\nhis intuition. In proportion as he successfully uses\nthese, he is yet further helped, and glimpses are\nafforded to him of the true life, until the unsatis-\nfactory and unreal nature of mundane existence\npresses more and more on the soul, with the result\nalready mentioned — ^the weariness which makes him\nlong for freedom and brings him to the gateway of\nthe probationary Path.\n\nHis entrance on this Path places him in the posi-\ntion of a disciple or chela, on probation, and some\none Master takes him under His care, recognizing\n\n296 THE ANCIENT WISDOM.\n\nhim as a man who has stepped out of the highway\nof evolution, and seeks the Teacher who shall guide\nhis steps along the steep and narrow path which\nleads to liberation. That Teacher is awaiting him\nat the very entrance of the Path, and even though\nthe neophyte knows not his Teacher, his Teacher\nknows him, sees his efiEorts, directs his steps, leads\nhim into the conditions that best subserve his pro-\ngress, watching over him with the tender solicitude\nof a mother, and with the wisdom bom of perfect\ninsight. The road may seem lonely and dark, and\nthe young disciple may fancy himself deserted, but\na \" friend who sticketh closer than a brother\" is ever\nat hand, and the help withheld from the senses is\ngiven to the soul.\n\nThere are four definite \"qualifications\" that the\nprobationary chela must set himself to acquire, that\nare by the wisdom ojE the great Brotherhood laid\ndown as the conditions of full discipleship. They\nare not asked for in perfection, but they must be\nstriven for and partially possessed ere Initiation is\npermitted. The first of these is the discrimination\nbetween the real and the unreal which has been\nalready dawning on the mind of the pupil, and\nwhich drew him to the Path on which he has now\nentered; the distinction grows clear and sharply\ndefined in his mind, and gradually frees him to a\ngreat extent from the fetters which bind him, for\nthe second qualification, indiflEerence to external\nthings, comes naturally in the wake of discrimina-\ntion, from the clear perception of their worthless-\n\nTHE REAL AND THE UNREAL. ig';\n\nness. He learns that the weariness which took all\nthe savor out of life was due to th3 disappoint-\nments constantly arising from his search for satis-\nfaction in the unreal, when only the real can con-\ntent the soul ; that all forms are unreal and without\nstability, changing ever under the impulses of life,\nand that nothing is real but the one Life that we\nseek for and love unconsciously under its many veils.\nThis discrimination is much stimulated by the rap-\nidly changing circumstances into which a disciple is\ngenerally thrown, with the view of pressing on him\nstrongly the instability of all external things. The\nlives of a disciple are generally lives of storm and\nstress, in order that the qualities which are normally\nevolved in a long succession of lives in the three\nworlds may in him be forced into swift growth and\nquickly brought to perfection. As he alternates rap-\nidly from joy to sorrow, from peace to storm, from\nrest to toil, he learns to see in the changes the un-\nreal forms, and to feel through all a steady un-\nchanging life. He grows indiflEerent to the presence\nor the absence of things that thus come and go, and\nmore and more he fixes his gaze on the changeless\nreality that is ever present.\n\nWhile he is thus gaining in insight and stability\nhe works also at the development of the third quali-\nfication — the six mental attributes that are de-\nmanded from him ere he may enter on the Path\nitself. He need not possess them all perfectly, but\nhe must have them all partially present at least ere\nhe will be permitted to pass onward. First he must\n\n298 THE ANCIENT WlSDOM.\n\ngain control over his thoughts, the progeny of the\nrestless, unruly mind, hard to curb as the wind.*\nSteady, daily practice in meditation, in concentra-\ntion, had begun to reduce this mental rebel to order\nere he entered on the probationary Path, and the dis-\nciple now works with concentrated energy to com-\nplete the task, knowing that the great increase in\nthought power that will accompany his rapid growth\nwill prove a danger both to others and to himself un-\nless the developing force be thoroughly under his con-\ntrol. Better give a child dynamite as a plaything,\nthan place the creative powers of thought in the\nhands of the selfish and the ambitious. Secondly,\nthe young chela must add outward self-control to\ninner, and must rule his speech and his actions as\nrigidly as he rules his thoughts. As the mind obeys\nthe soul, so must the lower nature obey the mind.\nThe usefulness of the disciple in the outer world de-\npends as much on the pure and noble example set\nby his visible life, as his usefulness in the inner\nworld depends on the steadiness and strength of his\nthoughts. Often is good work marred by careless-\nness in this lower part of human activity, and the\naspirant is bidden strive towards an ideal perfect in\nevery part, in order that he may not later, when\ntreading the Path, stumble in his own walk and\ncause the enemy to blaspheme.\n\nAs already said, perfection in anything is not de-\nmanded at this stage, but the wise pupil strives\ntowards perfection, knowing that at his best he is\n\n* Bhagavad Gitd, vi. 34.\n\n£ACH IN HIS PLACfi. ^99\n\nStill far away from his ideal. Thirdly, the candidate\nfor full discipleship seeks to build into himself the\nsublime and far-reaching virtue of tolerance — the\nquiet acceptance of each man, each form of exist-\nence, as it is, without demand that it should be some-\nthing other, shaped more to his own liking. Begin-\nning to realize that the one Life takes on countless\nlimitations, each right in its own place and time, he\naccepts each limited expression of that Life without\nwishing to transform it into something else; he\nlearns to revere the wisdom which planned this world\nand which guides it, and to view with wide-eyed\nserenity the imperfect parts as they slowly work out\ntheir partial lives. The drunkard, learning his al-\nphabet of the suflEering caused by the dominance of\nthe lower nature, is doing as usefully in his own\nstage as is the saint in his, completing his last lesson\nin earth's school, and no more can justly be de-\nmanded from either than he is able to perform.\nOne is in the kindergarten stage, learning by object-\nlessons, while the other is graduating, ready to leave\nhis university; both are right for their age and their\nplace, and should be helped and sympathized with\nin their place. This is one of the lessons of what is\nknown in occultism as \"tolerance.\" Fourthly must\nbe developed endurance, the endurance that cheer-\nfully bears all and resents nothing, going straight\nonwards unswervingly to the goal. Nothing can\ncome to him but by the Law, and he knows the\nLaw is good. He understands that the rocky path-\nway that leads up the mountain-side straight to the\n\n300 tHE ANCl£NT WiSDOfti.\n\nsummit cannot be as easy to his feet as the well-\nbeaten winding highway. He realizes that he is\npaying in a few short lives all the karmic obligations\naccumulated during his past, and that the payments\nmust be correspondingly heavy. The very strug-\ngles into which he is plunged develop in him the fifth\nattribute, faith — faith in his Master and in himself,\na serene strong confidence that is unshakable. He\nlearns to trust in the wisdom, the love, the power\nof his Master, and he is beginning to realize — not\nonly to say he believes in — the Divinity within his\nown heart, able to subdue all things to Himself.\nThe last mental requisite, balance, equilibrium,\ngrows up to some extent without conscious effort\nduring the striving after the preceding five. The\nvery setting of the will to tread the Path is a sign\nthat the higher nature is opening out, and that the\nexternal world is definitely relegated to a lower\nplace. The continuous eflEorts to lead the life of\ndiscipleship disentangle the soul from any remain-\ning ties that may knit it to the world of sense, for\nthe withdrawal of the soul's attention from lower\nobjects gradually exhausts the attractive power of\nthose objects. They \" turn away from an abstemious\ndweller in the body,\" * and soon lose all power to\ndisturb this balance. Thus he learns to move amid\nthem undisturbed, neither seeking nor rejecting\nany. He also learns balance amid mental troubles\nof every kind, amid alternations of mental joy and\nmental pain, this balance being further taught by\n\n* Bkagavad Gitd. ii. 59.\n\nREADY FOR LIBERATION. 3OI\n\nthe swift changes already spoken of through which\nhis life is guided by the ever- watchful care of his\nMaster.\n\nThese six mental attributes being in some meas-\nure attained, the probationary chela needs further\nbut the fourth qualification, the deep intense long-\ning for liberation, that yearning of the soul towards\nunion with Deity that is the promise of its own ful-\nfilment. This adds the last touch to his readiness\nto enter into full discipleship, for, once that longing\nhas definitely asserted itself, it can never again be\neradicated, and the soul that has felt it can never\nagain quench his thirst at earthly fountains; their\nwaters will ever taste flat and vapid when he sips\nthem, so that he will turn away with ever-deepening\nlonging for the true water of life. At this stage he\nis \"the man ready for Initiation, \"ready to definitely\n\" enter the stream'* that cuts him oflE forever from\nthe interests of earthly life save as he can serve his\nMaster in them and help forward the evolution of\nthe race. Henceforth his life is not to be the life of\nseparateness ; it is to be offered up on the altar of\nhumanity, a glad sacrifice of all he is, to be used for\nthe common good.*\n\nDuring the years spent in evolving the four quali-\nfications, the probationary chela will have been ad-\nvancing in many other respects. He will have been\nreceiving from his Master much teaching, teaching\nusually imparted during the deep sleep of the body:\nthe soul, clad in his well-organized astral body, will\n\n* The student will be glad to have the technical names of\n\nTHE ANCIENT WISDOM.\n\nhave become used to it as a vehicle of consciousnees,\nand will have been drawn to his Master to receive\ninstruction and spiritual illumination. He will fur-\nther have been trained in meditation, and this effec-\ntive practice outside the physical body will have\nquickened and brought into active exercise many\nof the higher powers; during such meditation he\nwill have reached higher regions of being, learning\nmore of the life of the mental plane. He will have\nbeen taught to use his increasing powers in human\nservice, and during many of the hours of sleep for\nthe body he will have been working diligently on\nthe astral plane, aiding the souls that have passed\non to it by death, comforting the victims of acci-\ndents, teaching any less instructed than himself, and\nin countless ways helping those who need it, thus in\n\nthese stages in Sanskrit and P&li. so that he may be able to\nfollow them out in more advanced books:\n\nSanskrit (used by Hindus).\n\nI. Viveka; discrimination be-\ntween the real and\nthe unreal.\n\na. Vairagya; indifference to the\nunreal, the tran-\nsitory.\n\n'Shama: control of\n\nthouf^ht.\nDama: control of\n\nconduct.\nUparati: tolerance.\nTitiksha : endur-\nance.\nSkraddkd: faith.\nSamddkdna: bal>\n^ ance.\n\n4. Mumuksha; desire for libera-\ntion.\n\nThe man is then the Adhxkari.\n\n3. Shatsam-\n\nPATTI.\n\nPau (used by Buddhists).\n\nz. ManodvX. the openins: of the\n\nravajjana; doors of the mind;\n\na conviction of the\n\nimpermanence of\n\nthe earthly.\n\n8. Parikamma; preparation for ac-\ntion; indifference\nto the fruits of\nA action.\n\n3. Upacraro; attention or con-\nduct; divided un-\nder the same\nheadinsrs as in\nthe Hindu.\n\n4. ANULOICA; direct order or suc-\ncession, its attain-\nment foUowinir\non the other three.\n\nThe man is then the Gotrabhu.\n\nSPEClAl. REINCARNATION. 3O3\n\nhumble fashion aiding the beneficent work of the\nMasters, and being associated with Their sublime\nBrotherhood as a co-laborer in a however modest\nand lowly degree.\n\nEither on the probationary Path or later, the chela\nis offered the privilege of performing one of those\nacts of renunciation which mark the swifter ascent\nof man. He is allowed \"to renounce Devachan,\"\nthat is, to resign the glorious life in the heavenly\nplaces that awaits him on his liberation from the\nphysical world, the life which in his case would\nmostly be spent in the middle arupa world, in the\ncompany of the Masters, and in all the sublime joys\nof the purest wisdom and love. If he renounce this\nfruit of his noble and devoted life, the spiritual\nforces that would have been expended in his Deva-\nchan are set free for the general service of the world,\nand he himself remains in the astral region to await\na speedy rebirth upon earth. His Master in this\ncase selects and presides over his reincarnation,\nguiding him to take birth amid conditions conducive\nto his usefulness in the world, suitable for his own\nfurther progress and for the work required at his\nhands. He has reached the stage at which every\nindividual interest is subordinated to the divine\nwork, and in which his will is fixed to serve in what-\never place and in whateveif way may be required of\nhim. He therefore gladly surrenders himself into\nthe hands he trusts, accepting willingly and joyfully\nthe place in the world in which he can best render\nservice, and perform his share of the glorious work\n\n304 THE ANCIS.NT WISDOM.\n\nof aiding the evolution of humanity. Blessed is the\nfamily into which a child is bom tenanted by such a\nsoul, a soul that brings with him the benediction of\nthe Master and is ever watched and guided, every\npossible assistance being given him to bring his\nlower vehicles quickly under control. Occasionally,\nbut rarely, a chela may reincarnate in a body that\nhas passed through infancy and extreme youth as\nthe tabernacle of a less progressed Ego ; when an\nEgo comes to the earth for a very brief life-period,\nsay for some fifteen or twenty years, he will be\nleaving his body at the time of dawning manhood,\nwhen it has passed through the time of early train-\ning and is rapidly becoming an effective vehicle for\nthe soul. If such a body be a very good one, and\nsome chela be awaiting a suitable reincarnation, it\nwill often be watched during its tenancy by the Ego\nfor whom it was originally builded, with the view\nof utilizing it when he has done with it; when the\nlife-period of that Ego is completed, and he passes\nout of the body into Kamaloka on his way to Deva-\nchan, his cast-off body will be taken possession of\nby the waiting chela, a new tenant will enter the\ndeserted house, and the apparently dead body will\nrevive. Such cases are unusual, but are not un-\nknown to occultists, and some references to them\nmay be found in occult books.\n\nWhether the incarnation be normal or abnormal,\nthe progress of the soul, of the chela himself, con-\ntinues, and the period already spoken of is reached\nwhen he is ** ready for Initiation\"; through that\n\nTHE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE. 305\n\ngateway of Initiation he enters, as a definitely ac-\ncepted chela, on the Path. This Path consists of\nfour distinct stages, and the entrance into each is\nguarded by an Initiation. Each Initiation is accom-\npanied by an expansion of consciousness which\ngives what is called \" the key of knowledge\" belong-\ning to the stage to which it admits, and this key of\nknowledge is also a key of power, for truly is knowl-\nedge power in all the realms of Nature. When the\nchela has entered the Path he becomes what has\nbeen called \"the houseless man,\" * for he no longer\nlooks on earth as his home, he has no abiding-place\nhere, to him all places are welcome wherein he can\nserve his Master. While he is on this stage of the\nPath there are three hindrances to progress, techni-\ncally called \"fetters,\" which he has to get rid of,\nand now— as he is rapidly to perfect himself — it is\ndemanded from him that he shall entirely eradicate\nfaults of character, and perform completely the\ntasks belonging to his condition. The three fetters\nthat he must loose from his limbs ere he can pass\nthe second Initiation are: the illusion of the per-\nsonal self, doubt, and superstition. The personal\nself must be felt in consciousness as an illusion, and\nmust lose forever its power to impose itself on the\nsoul as a reality. He must feel himself one with all,\nall must live and breathe in him and he in all.\n\n* The Hindu calls this stage that of the Parivrajaka, the\nwanderer ; the Buddhist calls it that of the Srotipatti, he who\nhas reached the stream. The chel& is thus designated after\nbis first Initiation and before his second*\n\n306 THE ANCIENT WISDOM.\n\nDoubt must be destroyed, but by knowledge, not by\ncrushing out; he must know reincarnation and\nkarma and the existence of the Masters as facts; not\naccepting them as intellectually necessary, but\nknowing them as facts in Nature that he has himself\nverified, so that no doubt on these heads can ever\nagain rise in his mind. Sui>erstition is escaped as\nthe man rises into a knowledge of realities, and of\nthe proper place of rites and ceremonies in the\neconomy of Nature ; he learns to use every means\nand to be bound by none. . When the chelE has cast\noff these fetters — sometimes the task occupies several\nlives, sometimes it is achieved in part of a single life\n— he finds the second Initiation open to him, with\nits new \" key of knowledge\" and its widened horizon.\nThe chel^ now sees before him a swiftly shortening\nspan of compulsory life on earth, for when he has\nreached this stage he must pass through his third\nand fourth Initiations in his present life or in the\nnext.*\n\nIn this stage he has to bring into full working\norder the inner faculties, those belonging to the\nsubtle bodies, for he needs them for his service in\nthe higher realms of being. If he have developed\nthem previously, this stage may be a very brief one,\nbut he may pass through the gateway of death once\nmore ere he is ready to receive his third Initiation,\n\n* The chel& on the second stage of the path is for the Hindu\nthe Kutichaka, the man who builds a hut ; he has reached a\nplace of peace. For the Buddhist he is the SakridAgftmin, the\nman who receives birth but once more*\n\nTHE FINAL STAGES. 307\n\nto become ** the Swan,\" the individual who soars into\nthe empyrean, that wondrous Bird of Life whereof\nso many legends are related.* On this third stage\nof the Path the chelS casts oflE the fourth and fifth\nfetters, those of desire and aversion; he sees the\nOne Self in all, and the outer veil can no longer\nblind him, whether it be fair or foul. He looks on\nall with an equal eye ; that fair bud of tolerance that\nhe cherished on the probationary Path now flowers\nout into an all-embracing love that wraps everything\nwithin its tender embrace. He is \"the friend of\nevery creature,\" the \"lover of all that lives\" in a\nworld where all things live. As a living embodi-\nment of divine love, he passes swiftly onwards to\nthe fourth Initiation, that admits him to the last\nstage of the Path, where he is \" beyond the Individ-\nual,\" the worthy, the venerable, t Here he remains\nat his will, casting off the last fine fetters that still\nbind him with threads however fragile, and keeo\nhim back from liberation. He throws off all cling-\ning to life in form, and then all longing for formless\nlife; these are chains and he must be chainless; he\nmay move through the three worlds, but not a shred\nof theirs must have power to hold him ; the splen-\ndors of the \" formless world\" must charm him no\nmore than the concrete glories of the worlds of\n\n* The Hindu calls him the ParamAhamsa, beyond the ** I\" ;\nthe Buddhist names him the Arhat, the worthy.\n\nf The Hamsa. he who realizes \"I am That/ in the Hindu\nterms ; the An&g&min, the man who receives birth no more,\nin the Buddhist,\n\n308 THE ANCIKNT WISDOM.\n\nform.* Then — mightiest of al' achievements — he\ncasts off the last fetter of separateness, the \" I-mak-\ning\" facultyt which realizes itself as apart from\nothers, for he dwells ever on the plane of unity in his\nwaking; consciousness, on the buddhic plane where\nthe Self of all is known and realized as one. This\nfaculty was bom with the sou!, is the essence of in-\ndividuality, and it persists till all that is valuable in\nit is worked into the Monad, and it can be dropped\non the threshold of liberation, leaving its priceless\nresult to the Monad, that sense of individual identity\nwhich is so pure and fine that it does not mar the\nconsciousness of oneness. Easily then drops away\naught that could respond to ruffling contacts, and\nthe chela stands robed in that glorious vesture of\nunchanging peace that naught can mar. And the\ncasting away of that same \" I-making\" faculty has\ncleared away from the spiritual vision the last\nclouds that could dim its piercing insight, and in\nthe realization of unity, ignorance! — the limitation\nthat gives birth to all separateness — falls away, and\nthe man is perfect, is free.\n\nThen has come the ending of the Path, and the\nending of the Path is the threshold of Nirvana.\nInto that marvellous state o,' consciousness the\n\n•Sbo Chapter IV.. on \"The Menial Plane.\"\n\nf AhanikfLra. geuecally given as Mftna. pride, since pride U\nthe subtlest roaQifestaCion of the \"I ' as distinct from others.\n\nt Avidyft, the first illusion and the last, that which makes\nthe separated worlds — the first of the NidSnas— and that which\ndrops oS when liberation is attained\n\nIt IS FmiSHEt). J69\n\nchela has been wont to pass out of the body while he\nhas been traversing the final stage of the Path;\nnow, when he crosses the threshold, the nirvanic\nconsciousness becomes his normal consciousness, for\nNirvana is the home of the liberated Self.* He has\ncompleted man's ascent, he touches the limit of hu-\nmanity; above him there stretch hosts of mighty\nBeings, but they are superhuman; the crucifixion\nin flesh is over, the hour of liberation has struck,\nand the triumphant \"It is finished!\" rings from the\nconqueror's lips. See ! he has crossed the threshold,\nhe has vanished into the light nirvanic, another son\nof earth has conquered death. What mysteries are\nveiled by that light supernal we know not; dimly\nwe feel that the Supreme Self is found, that lover\nand Beloved are one. The long search is over, the\nthirst of the heart is quenched forever, he has en-\ntered into the joy of his Lord.\n\nBut has earth lost her child, is humanity bereft of\nher triumphant son? Nay! He has come forth\nfrom the bosom of the light, and He standeth again\non the threshold of Nirvana, Himself seeming the\nvery embodiment of that light, glorious beyond all\ntelling, a manifested Son of God. But now His face\nis turned to earth. His eyes beam with divinest com-\npassion on the wandering sons of men. His brethren\nafter the flesh ; He cannot leave them comfortless,\nscattered as sheep without a shepherd. Clothed in\nthe majesty of a mighty renunciation, glorious with\n\n* The Jivanmukta, the liberated life, of the Hindu ; the\nAsekha, he who has no more to learn, of the Buddhist.\n\n310 tHte ANCIENT WISbOM.\n\nthe strength of perfect wisdom and \" the power of\nan endless life,\" He returns to earth to bless and\nguide humanity, Master of Wisdom, kingly Teacher,\ndivine Man.\n\nReturning thus to earth, the Master devotes Him-\nself to the service of humanity with mightier forces\nat His command than He wielded while He trod the\nPath of discipleship ; He has dedicated Himself to\nthe helping of man, and He bends all the sublime\npowers that He holds to the quickening of the evo-\nlution of the world. He pays to those who are ap-\nproaching the Path the debt He contracted in the\ndays of His own chelaship, guiding, helping, teach-\ning them as He was guided, helped, and taught\nbefore.\n\nSuch are the stages of man's ascent, from the low-\nest savagery to the divine manhood. To such goal\nis humanity climbing, to such glory shall the race\nattain.",
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