Theosophy - The Power and the Glory by Orline Barnett Moore
The
Power and the Glory
Orline
Barnett Moore
OCCULT science is preoccupied with
the details of the manifested universe, but to a degree far deeper than ordinary
science, for it is not limited to the world of the five senses. Nevertheless,
we should bear in mind that, although occult, it remains still a science dealing
with the facts of Nature, with the mechanism of worlds, planets and the inhabitants
thereof. This science known to the modern world as Theosophy tells the story
of orderly evolution in terms of progress through time and space; the story
of a process that moves by immutable laws from simple forms to complex forms,
from limited consciousness as expressed through matter to wider consciousness
having mastery over matter. We come into a knowledge of Theosophy and are
astounded and fascinated by the vastness and the intricacy of Nature’s
plan. At first we strive to grasp innumerable details of life-waves and rounds,
of elemental kingdoms, of evolving forms, of individualization, and of the
long, tedious pilgrimage through the human kingdom, governed always by the
laws of reincarnation and karma. These things present to us a panorama of
knowledge, a scheme that explains the why and the how of life’s problems.
We are thrilled by the Great Plan; we are insatiable in our thirst to know
more. But there comes a time when Theosophy must be turned to practical account;
when knowledge must be superseded by wisdom; when all we have learned clamours
to be applied, for after all we are most concerned with ourselves, and our
view of the universe begins with the little ‘I’.
...the
ego is an illusion because it is built up by man himself through time and will
dissolve in time.
Probably
the most valuable starting point to comprehend the meaning of the Great Plan
is an understanding of the constitution or mechanism of man himself. If we have
such a comprehension we have also a plan of the universe, for man is a microcosm
and but repeats in himself the same process through which the universe is progressing.
Let us try to disregard the mass of detail for the moment and find the underlying
principle. Man’s ego is an individual unit, a focalized point, which acts
like a lens through which life shines. From the standpoint of strict accuracy,
the ego is an illusion because it is built up by man himself through time and
will dissolve in time. Technical Theosophy speaks of the causal body as the
densest point of egoic consciousness, and most students think of that body as
permanent so far as this world of reincarnation and personal experience is concerned.
About greater worlds few of us know anything; our outlook in this one is extremely
limited. Theosophy does much to widen that limitation, and yet the knowledge
of the plan that Theosophy gives will not of itself free us from the slavery
we serve to the little ‘I’. Indeed it is most difficult for most
people to conceive of being ‘I-less’. The loss of a sense of individuality
is to them nothing but annihilation, and certainly no amount of reasoning, no
process of the intellect, will yield any comprehension of what ego-less consciousness
is like.
...the
whole trend of evolution is towards producing better instruments whereby we
may work to free ourselves from the wheel of birth and death.
Yet the
whole trend of evolution is towards producing better instruments whereby we
may work to free ourselves from the wheel of birth and death. Because evolution
does us this service - the perfecting of instruments - we must not jump to the
conclusion that evolution leads to liberation. Evolution leads to more finely
developed forms. Although an astral body is invisible to physical senses, it
is no less a form; although a mental body acts with incredible speed and power
and yet intangible, it is no less a mechanism. The whole span of evolution is
an interplay of spirit and matter, of incarnated consciousness working through
instruments of various grades and in various fields of expression. This interplay
of spirit and matter, the great opposites, constitutes manifestation, whether
considered from the individual standpoint or the universal. The end of evolution
is the mastery by indwelling consciousness of the materials in which that consciousness
works. Out of this interplay moksha or liberation is born, the product of this
mastery. Evolution does not give liberation nor does expansion of spirit, but
the interplay of the two; the ‘pairs of opposites’ will not of themselves
lead to moksha but the spark of understanding which is born out of their interplay
will.
So to
put the matter very simply, the whole problem is that of life gaining control
over matter, becoming actively conscious of its own nature. To be conscious
of its own nature is to transcend all sense of ‘I’, to rise beyond
all the pairs of opposites, to completely master the human mechanism. This is
the allegorical meaning of the myth of Prometheus who being bound won freedom.
This is the meaning of the human predicament in all its phases. This is the
power and the glory.
Now the
limitation of matter can be transcended only by the god within attaining skill
in the manipulation of that matter. Matter is presented to us in various forms
throughout our evolutionary process; part is physical, part astral, part mental.
But all is evolving, subject to the worker within the vehicles. Life, focused
for the evolutionary period in the ego, is pushing, working, stimulating, changing,
constantly striving against all the mechanisms it wields from time to time.
It builds one type of body only to find it imperfect for its needs, but is required
to build a new one out of the materials of the old; so that the process is a
constant learning to control and guide and manipulate, physically, emotionally,
mentally. The god within handling materials, the god within discarding, choosing,
governing; and for every successful attempt the ego feels power.
Power
of itself is not evil, and the greatest power comes from selfless pursuits.
The lust
for power has been spoken of as a great root of evil, because the desire to
feel power drives men to exploit others through cruel and selfish methods. Yet
a sense of power need not come from such selfish means; with those who possess
some degree of spiritual perception, power is no less an urge than with primitive
men. Power of itself is not evil, and the greatest power comes from selfless
pursuits. Why is it that achievement along any line gives a sense of expansion
and satisfaction? What is it that drives men to action towards triumph?
There
is an urge within all living things that is constantly pushing towards expansion
and growth, from the flower which seeks greater expression through sun and soil
to man who seeks it through self-expression and self-mastery. Something hidden
at the very core of life is continuously driving, and for every step in achievement
there is an inflow of power-sense that gives fullness and enthusiasm and expansion
of capacity. The deep-rooted satisfaction and joy, which such mastery of material
produces, is part of the expression of life itself and is a potent means for
driving men into greater skill in action.
For the
achievement of skill in manipulating matter, which is the problem ever before
the indwelling god in human form, is a technique as definite as that of painter
or musician, of baseball-player or golfer. Anything that involves skill in handling
tools or implements - and the bodies of man are no less than these - produces
a technique. There is a technique of the carpenter’s level and square,
of the tennis-player’s racket, or of the violinist’s bow, the sculptor’s
chisel, the painter’s brush. Technique has always to do with forms, with
mastery of materials.
...the
perfect balance of thought and feeling gives freedom.
The process
of evolution, viewed from the standpoint of the indwelling god, is a technique.
But whether it is the technique of a Logos manipulating his universe or an ego
governing his bodies, there must always be an executive, and indwelling director.
The relation between the director and his tools lies in the action itself which
uses or applies these tools. The action is composed of thought (ideal) and feeling
(enthusiasm, the urge to express) properly balanced. Mastery of technique is
obtained when this relationship is perfect. That is why the perfect balance
of thought and feeling gives freedom. But freedom can only be obtained when
the director and his tool are so perfectly coordinated that the action itself
is complete or perfect.
In one
sense, all technique is a form of yoga, a binding back of the form to
the indwelling life, a connecting of the instrument to the player. Inevitably,
through this perfected connection there springs perfect action, and the result
of completed or perfected action is freedom or liberation. The specific liberation,
called moksha in occult books, is that freedom obtained through the mastery
by man of his vehicles, or bodies; all lesser techniques, such as the mastery
of pianoforte or violin, the mastery of pigments, the mastery of swimming, and
so on, are reflections of the same principle. Hence all techniques are related.
The lesser ones contribute, each in its turn, towards the skill that comprises
the technique of life itself.
All creative artists will tell
you that in direct proportion to their mastery of craft can inspiration flow;
and that in every case where mastery is great, the sense of power is great. Here
is a practical mystery. It is the reason why creative work of any kind is life-building.
It is the secret of release obtained through doing. It is the practical yoga of
work.
Man the
microcosm creates within his own minute universe as the Logos creates within
the cosmos. Man the microcosm approaches perfection through skill in action,
manifests balance through mastery over his materials, experiences the ecstasy
of power released, of divine potentiality fulfilled.
Through little victories he learns
the technique to achieve the great victory. Through little comprehensions he grows
toward the great understanding. Through realization of power from crudest physical
brawn to greatest spiritual release, along the difficult way of time and evolution,
he passes to the glory of fulfilment, the perfection of completed action, the
perfect balance of all his component vehicles, the mastery of the pairs of opposites.
This is the power. This is also the glory.
As
published in "The Theosophist" magazine - 1997
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