Theosophy - The Path of Spiritual Unfoldment by Seetha Neelakantan
The
Path of Spiritual Unfoldment
by Seetha Neelakantan
THERE
is a great deal of interest evinced in recent times in matters concerning the
deeper aspects of life, matters other than merely the physical. Methods by which
man’s consciousness can be focussed to higher levels of though are of
great interest - methods such as telepathy, psychical experiments, meditation,
Yoga, etc. In tune with the nature of the times - a technologically oriented
civilization - the approaches to this way of life, that is, the spiritual life
or treading the path, are very similar to the method associated with technology,
namely mechanization seeking from without.
Present-day
man seems to have no patience, and wants immediate and instant results. The
man of the world is subjected to tantalizing advertisements, through television,
newspapers and various media concerning instant cooking, instant Yoga, instant
everything. Drugs are used very widely by young people today more because of
the mistaken conception that these lead to an instant so-called experience -
the “trip”. It will be interesting to try to understand the working
of a drug on the human mind. What does it stir in the person? The drug loosens
all inhibitions even as alcohol does, raking up all that is buried in one’s
subconscious - the repressions, frustrations and complexes. All the accumulations
in the mind are turned inside out but not in full wakefulness. Everything gets
exaggerated, and dreams, yearnings and realities get mixed up. The taking of
the drug results in a loosening in oneself, without any control, and does not
take one beyond the purely psychic levels. The drug-taker can always delude
himself with the thought of experiencing heaven on earth, or even the “cosmic
consciousness”. The paths of meditation and Yoga, as practised in present
times are tinged with this feeling of wanting an instant result. So is there
any wonder that there is so much frustration in the world, that there are so
many dropouts, so many running from one guru to another or moving from one ashrama
to another? Is there any wonder, too, that gurus proliferate, offering varieties
of “spiritual experiences”?
Man
in essence is divine. Potential in him is the Christ-Principle or the Buddha
nature.
What
is meant by spiritual life or unfoldment, and what is a path. The path is sometimes
described as “man’s oriented becoming” (vide Guenther,
in Treasures on the Tibetan Middle Way). The question next arises, oriented
to what? To man from the stage of a new-born baby opening its eyes to the light
or perhaps even when in the womb of the mother, it has always been a “becoming
into something”. This becoming is generally called the growth of the individual.
The baby learns to speak, walks, grows into a boy or a girl, thence to adolescence
and finally reaches manhood or womanhood. The growing continues and comes about
through experiencing, by receiving impacts from without. It has always been
a becoming something, outwardly in terms of position, rank, power or wealth.
The orientation has ever been changing with newer peaks to climb, but mostly
in terms of the material aspects of life. This is in direct contrast to what
is described as the path of spiritual unfoldment. The orientation has naturally
to be in terms of the Spirit or Atman in man. It is an unfoldment in the sense
that it is a movement from within outwards. It does not connote getting something
from outside, but is a revealing, and unrolling from within oneself. Spiritual
means “that pertaining to the Spirit”. Man in essence is divine.
Potential in him is the Christ-Principle or the Buddha nature. It is a growth
in terms of that which relates to one’s basic nature. It implies an understanding
not from the point of view of the external world, where diplomacy takes the
place of sincerity and rights predominate over duties and consideration for
others. It is an evolution or growth, and as stated by H.P. Blavatsky, one can
get an insight into all the processes of Nature while proceeding along that
path. It is a process of “self-culture” by means of which one can
get a breakthrough into realms beyond the physical and know oneself.
According to all occult teachings, man is a reflection of the One Principle,
the “below” of the “Above”. The essence in him is a
spark of the primordial flame, the One Principle behind all manifestation. In
Hinduism it is said that this One Principle, described as being beyond all name
and form, desired to know Its own innate powers and potentialities. Using Its
own intrinsic energy or maya, It breathed out from within to without and unrolled
Itself. So came into being this universe, with all its contents. A seed of the
One, the Monad, the unit of life in man, is pure, unsullied with all its powers
in a stage of latency, unknown even to itself. Moved by a similar desire, the
Monad sojourned from its lofty home and embedded itself in denser and denser
matter, thrilling to every new experience.
But
as a result of every experience it involved itself more and more in matter,
became more and more constrained and limited, until it could proceed no farther
than the mineral kingdom. This is described as the Path of Forthgoing, or Pravritti
marga. Deeply embedded in matter, the consciousness within stirs but faintly.
Every impact from without stirs it, though lightly. From a state of sleeping
it moves on to dreaming, stirs to awakening, becoming feebly conscious. Finally,
endued with self-consciousness, it arises to the stature of man, when it begins
to know that it is an individual, that it is distinct and different from all
other individuals. Life now enters the human kingdom. This is self-consciousness
in human form. But though man is endowed with a human form, he is not yet human,
being still submerged in animalistic tendencies. From a path of greater and
greater differentiation, which is characteristic of the Path of Forthgoing,
the Monad is now switched on to the path where simplicity, synthesis and harmony
will have to be the keynotes.
Living
in the world, man is influenced all the time by external agencies, the impacts
from his education, the religion in which he is brought up and the society in
which he functions - all in one sense help in unfolding the lower faculties,
developing his mind and building his character. At the same time these agencies
also condition his mind, resulting in set patterns of behavior. This development
has enabled man to stand on solid ground, built by himself, and to map out his
own pattern of behavior. He is very structured and yet he feels that has his
own individuality. He is very little aware of the extent to which the outer
impacts have conditioned him. The impacts from without impinge to such an extent
upon his mind that he lives in a false world, thinking somebody else’s
thoughts, picking up things all the time from others and deluding himself that
they are his own thoughts.
The
passing joys no longer stir his heart and mind... this is a marked stage in
the Path of Return...
But
there comes a turning point in his life when all the physical, emotional and
mental influences do not satisfy him and inwardly he yearns for something of
lasting value. The passing joys no longer stir his heart and mind. This is a
marked stage in the Path of Return, or Nivritti marga. While man had
been on the Path of Forthgoing, there had ever been a movement away from the
central core in himself. The attention had been on varieties of experiences
without. But these no longer interest him, however thrilling they may be, because
he has begun to be dimly aware in depths within of That of which he is an intimate
part, and from which he has moved away owing to the pull and excitement of outer
thrills. Up until now the unfoldment was more or less mechanical, guided by
his own instincts, his likes and dislikes. But from now on, it is an unfoldment
guided by his own inner impulses, or what we may call the inherent powers in
man.
Up
to the stage of man, from mineral to plant and to animal, it has been an evolution
of life, consciousness and form. Now begins an evolution, an unfoldment of the
consciousness within trying to express more and more a greater measure of Self-consciousness.
Hence it is a path of Self-unfoldment. Though this path is called an oriented
becoming, it is really a movement from a stage of becoming to a stage of being,
of what one truly is. It is, as St Paul says,”To come to the measure
of the stature of the perfect man, even as our Father in heaven is perfect”.
It is the path of unfoldment when the outer man becomes a full expression of
the inner Spirit or Being which is a fragment of the One Being. It is a self-unfoldment
because it is an unfoldment or a destructuring of the Self within oneself as
the guru. It is a “self-directed, self-inspired and self-willed effort”.
It is what the Eastern philosopher, Sri Sankaracharya, called Atmabodha,
or Self-Realization. When Plato said, “Know thyself,” he referred
to this path of Self-unfoldment leading to Self-Realization. It is an “evolution
of all that is enfolded in the pure subject” (N. Sri Ram). It is not an
unfoldment resulting from external pressure; hence taking a drug - an influence
from without - cannot lead to this unfoldment in depth. When every structure
that has been built up is demolished, when every influence hiding the light
of the spirit is dissolved, when all that prevents the flow of the life of the
pure Spirit is removed, then there wells up from within the pure life energy,
letting its beautiful influences be felt in all that one does. It is a spiritual,
alchemical process when each one, using the fires of his own inner being, burns
away the dross that shuts out the pure light of wisdom. It is an unfoldment
when the cobwebs in the mansion of one’s mind are dusted away. Every stored
memory is such a cobweb, likewise every pattern of behavior which obliges one
to move repeatedly in the same groove. The latter are to be looked at and examined
dispassionately, and eventually demolished in order to help oneself to unfurl,
to unfold. So it is a Self-realization which cannot come about as a result of
a miracle, neither can it come about by taking pills or drugs. It is a revolution
within oneself and each one has to work upon himself. It is “the only
revolution that matters”. All philosophies and religions describe the
many ways to approach and tread this path of Self-unfoldment, through various
techniques such as Yoga, Zen enlightenment with the experience of satori,
meditation, the mystical approach through prayer, etc.”The paths are many
and yet there is only one Path.” The approaches “are means to an
end which is the beginning of the One Path” (Christmas Humphreys).
So
it is very clear that not only is every step to be taken by oneself, but all
the steps are in oneself.
In
the Anguttara Nikaya, a Buddhist text, it is said: “Within this
very body are the world and the origin of the world and the ceasing of the world
are likewise the Path that leadeth to the cessation thereof.” The Voice
of the Silence says, “Thou canst not travel on the Path before thou
hast become that Path itself.” So it is very clear that not only is every
step to be taken by oneself, but all the steps are in oneself. It is a path
“of which the beginning and the end are within the mind of man”.
In short, treading the path is a reorientation in oneself, a turning within
which begins with what the Buddha describes as the “uncompounding of the
mind”. The mind, simple and clear to begin with, gets compounded with
every impact from without. These are as the knots in a smooth silken scarf.
The unknotting process is easier if one understands how the knots were tied.
The way to release oneself is to uncompound oneself. And for the effort to be
fruitful, it is to be made by the whole man. Wholeness implies a full-hearted
attempt with one’s total attention, a moving away from all thoughts of
the past or future.
In
the Sayings of the Ancient One are these beautiful words:
“You
can travel on an endless road, O Learner, when you walk according to the way
of men; for you look back and see that it has no beginning and forward and see
that it has no end. Therefore look neither backward nor forward, but fix your
eyes on each Step as you take it: then you will see that the length of the Road
is only the length of the Step. Men walk the Way of Time, O Child, and they
mourn the Past and fear the Future: blot out all thought of Past and Future,
and Suffering exits no more for you.” (P.24 f. -Miniature Quest ed.)
The
Buddha also says,”Meditation is nowness’ Treading the Path is this
“nowness,” and requires extraordinary concentration of the mind
in order not to let oneself be pulled back into the past or distracted by speculation
on the future
Every
step requires an unloading of that which colors one’s vision - the limitations
and prejudices...
In
other words, the path of spiritual unfoldment is a ceaseless walking on, giving
one’s total attention to every step. Every step requires an unloading
of that which colors one’s vision - the limitations and prejudices, all
that shuts out the light of the Spirit. Thus in walking on, at every step we
shed something of the load. In the Taoist philosophy it is said, “Close
the doors of the senses and the whole of life will be without care.” Can
we do that? It does not mean not seeing with the eyes or hearing with the ears.
We must use these sense organs as “windows to let in the light”.
The Christ enunciated the same idea in different words; “Except ye be
as little children, ye shall in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
One needs to recover once again the state of purity, of innocence, so that one
can ever look at the world with wonder, delight and joy, unstained by thoughts
of the past or the future. To quote H.P.Blavatsky:
“He
must give up personal pride and all selfish purposes... He must part, once for
all, with every remembrance of his earlier ideas, on all and on everything.
Existing religions, knowledge, science must rebecome a blank book for him, as
in the days of his babyhood, for if he wants to succeed he must learn a new
alphabet on the lap of Mother Nature, every letter of which will afford a new
insight to him, every syllable and word an unexpected revelation.” (Collected
Writings, Vol. 1, p.128)
A
reconditioning of oneself is needed. “Except a man be born again, he can
in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” said St. John. The inner birth
is a reorientation within oneself. It is a death to all self-created illusions
before one can be spiritually reborn. The Kingdom of Heaven is within oneself.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of the living God?” asked St.
Paul.
To
be in the world and yet not of it is to dispossess the mind of all its likes
and dislikes so that it is not swayed by what it holds.
In
one of the Tantras, this process of spiritual unfoldment is likened to
a worm (larva) becoming a wasp. Confined to the sealed, tiny mud hole, shut
out from all light and air, the little green worm by sheer force of brooding
attains wasphood. Working its way out, it emerges as a fully-grown wasp. Man,
also by brooding, by conscious inward contemplation, can unfold his Selfhood,
or Brahmanhood. Such a brooding in order to discover oneself is only possible
if one can withdraw the senses inwardly. Renunciation and austerity, freedom
from thirsting desires, are qualifications for treading this path. To be a Sannyasi
is not to escape from life, running away from one’s duties and responsibilities.
It does not come by any outward observances. It is a state of being, withdrawing
the mind from the outward gaze. It is a renunciation exemplified by the Sage-King
Janaka, who could watch his palace, symbolizing all his worldly possessions,
burn and, unperturbed, say: “Nothing of mine is burning.” To be
in the world and yet not of it is to dispossess the mind of all its likes and
dislikes so that it is not swayed by what it holds. It is a renunciation of
the “bundle of separative tendencies”. And what is austerity? It
is not breaking one’s body but breaking the influence of the senses on
one’s body. One comes to this state not by repression but by watchfulness.
It is the world of consciousness, of life, and awareness which unfolds before
one’s inward eye. The Self or Brahman is hidden deep in all beings. Only
the pure in heart can see it. Who are the pure in heart? Those who are not swayed
by the thirsting senses. When the Buddha spoke of the Eightfold Path by treading
which all sorrow would cease, he was referring to this Self-culture of purifying
oneself in mind and heart, a way leading from purity of conduct to mindfulness
and from mindfulness to wisdom.
The
Christ said, “Knock and it shall be opened unto you.” The opening
is not achieved by a single act. Before anyone can knock, there is the long
process of reaching the door, the will to knock and then the self-purification,
the removal of all that blind’s one’s vision, so that when the door
opens one can see without being blinded by the light. There is an incident in
the Bhagavad-Gita where Arjuna asks Sri Krishna, the teacher, to reveal
himself in all his glory. The teacher revealed himself in full splendor as if
ten thousand suns were blazing in the sky. It was an awe-inspiring vision but
the disciple could not see. He was blinded by the light because he was not ready
to see the Lord. Sri Krishna then endowed him with the divine sight, which is
the all-seeing eye of the Atman. So one may knock and the door may open but
one must have the capacity to see. A person with an infirm heart, with many
stains still of selfishness which have not been washed away, cannot even raise
his eyes to perceive. Even the thought, “I wish to see, to experience”
becomes a barrier. Only the person who has an attitude of mind and heart freed
from all self-centredness, whose only motive is to become a conscious co-operator
for the greater good of all, can really knock and feel the door open. The climax
of Self or spiritual unfoldment comes when one feels the pulsation of the One
Life in all, when one discovers one’s completeness in the other. It is
a mysterious event, an experience that happens in the silence within, when all
thoughts at silenced, when Manas is restored to its primal state of pure being
and “the light from without streams in even as the Light from within streams
out” It is the moment when deep within a voice speaks: “The Great
Self is the lord of Self.”
It
is a regeneration in oneself, when one dies in order to live.
In
one of the classic texts on Yoga it is said: “The original, natural state
in which the mind, being free from all modifications, exists is called the Parabrahman.”
In other words, it is Manas restored to its original purity and functioning
as an aspect of Mahat. This is the purpose of meditation. The real goal of Yoga
is to come to that state of mind, to that original pure state in which one can
see things as they are. In it are seen all virtues as “virtue is a spontaneous
expression of the Tao within oneself”. (Lao Tze)
Spiritual
unfoldment is therefore the opening of the bud of the spirit into a full blossom
in the silence of the mind. It is a regeneration in oneself, when one dies in
order to live. It is a self-sculpturing chipping off of all that hides the true
man, the microcosmic edition of the Macrocosm. It is a creation from within
outwards, “an evolution of that which is enfolded in the pure depths of
one’s being”. (N.Sri Ram) It is an unfoldment that takes place naturally
and has nothing to do with the exhibition of psychical powers. The Song of Life
resounds from within enfolding all in one Great Harmony. The wanderer who of
his own volition “turned into earth,” return home, retracing his
path from without to within, “enriched by all his experiences while clothed
in varieties of forms,” with all petals of the flower of his consciousness
fully opened. The battle of Life and with Life has ended and the Man-Plant has
flowered, deeply rooted in spiritual realms but with branches reaching to the
lower worlds, caring with concern for another, sharing, lighting the way as
he walks on. Man ascends perfect in stature, discovering that pure light of
Consciousness, “forever Unborn and Undying,” in his own heart.
The
Theosophist 1973
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