deep silence, the mysterious even will occur which will prove that the way has been found." We have tried to tell you what is that mysterious event. We trust that we have at least made possible a clearer conception of it on your part.
The writer of the little manual evidently shared the difficulty that confronts everyone who attempts to describe the great experience. She goes on to say: "Call it by whatever name you will, it is a voice that speaks where there is none to speak; it is a messenger that comes—a messenger without form or substance—or it is the flower of the soul that has opened. It cannot be described by any metaphor. But it can be felt after, looked for, and desired, even amid the raging of the storm."
Sh goes on then to speak of the duration of "the silence that follows the storm," in which occurs the "mysterious event." She says: "The silence may last a moment of time, or it may last a thousand years. But it will end. Yet you will carry its strength with you. Again and again must the battle be fought and won. It is only for an interval that nature can be still."
In this last paragraph, the text evidently refers to the partial or temporary illumination to which we have referred in this lesson. The time when the Spiritual Consciousness will become permanent—when the Brahmic Splendor remains with the soul continuously, is far beyond usthose who enjoy that state are now beings far beyond us in the spiritual scale. And yet they were once are [sic] as we—we shall some day be as they now are. These flashes of Illumination come to the advanced student as he progresses along the Path. And although they leave him, he carries their strength with him.
We would also call the attention of the student to the foot note accompanying this precept, as it contains a wonderful occult truth in the shape of a promise. This promise has cheered thousands along The Path—has nerved them for further efforts—has given them renewed ardor and courage. Listen to it: "Know, O disciple! that those who have passed through the silence, and felt its peace, and retained its strength, they long that you shall pass through it also. Therefore, in the Hall of Learning, when he is capable of entering there, the disciple will always find his master."
The last foot note in Part I, of "Light on the Path" (the one that concludes that part of the little manual), should be read carefully by the student, as it contains important information. We think it better to insert it here, lest it may be overlooked. We trust that we have enabled you to understand it a little more clearly than before. When one has the key he is able to open the many doors in the Hall of Learning; and gaze upon its wonderful contents, even though he may not as yet be privileged to enter.
Here is the foot note referred to:
NOTE. Those that ask shall have. But, though the ordinary man asks perpetually, his voice is not heard. For he asks with his min only, and the voice of the mind is only heard on that plane on which the mind acts. Therefore, not until the first twenty-one rules are past, do I say those that ask shall have.
To read in the occult sense, is to read with the eyes of the spirit. To ask, is to feel the hunger within—the yearning of spiritual aspiration. To be able to read, means having obtained the power in a small degree of gratifying that hunger. When the disciple is ready to learn, then he is accepted, acknowledged, recognized. It must be so; for he has lit his lamp, and it cannot be hidden. But to learn is impossible until the first great battle has been won. The mind may recognize truth, but spirit cannot receive it. Once having passed through the storm, and attained the peace, it is then always possible to learn, even though the disciple waver, hesitate and turn aside. The voice of the silence remains within him; and though he leave the path utterly, yet one day it will resound, and render him asunder, and separate his passion from divine possibilities. Then, with pain and desperate cries from the deserted lower self, he will return.
Therefore I say, Peace be with you. "My peace I give unto you" can only be said by the Mater to the beloved disciple who are as himself. There are some, even among those who are ignorant of the Eastern wisdom, to whom this can be said; and to whom it can daily be said with more completeness.
This concludes our consideration of the first part of "Light on the Path." The second part lies before us. It may be objected to that the second part refers to the experience of the student, after he has passed through the silence which followed the storm, and that it concerns not the student who has not as yet reached that stage. To this we answer, that the experiences of the privileged student have very close correspondences in the experiences of the student who has not yet attained. The Path is a spiral, and although the traveler along it constantly mounts higher, yet he goes around and around, a single turn of the spiral above the place where he walked a little while back. Therefore these experiences have correspondences on the higher and lower levels of the spiral. We feel impressed to continue this consideration of this wonderful little manual, and we feel that the student on the lower levels may receive encouragement, benefit and understanding from the same. The second part of the manual contains great truths, which may profit us all. Let us face them.
Many of our students have asked them for some of the Yogi exercises for developing Spiritual Illumination. Answering this, we say that the best Yogi authorities do not encourage many of the practices indulged in by the less enlightened of their brethren. They believe that such practices are more or less abnormal, and instead of producing the real illumination desired, simply help to bring on a psychic condition which is but a reflection of the desired state—a moon instead of the Sun. And such psychic states do not aid in spiritual unfoldment, although they undoubtedly do produce an ecstatic condition, pleasing for the moment—a psychic intoxication, if we are permitted to use the term.
Meditation along the lines of though reached upon this lesson, or similar writings, is of course a benefit, and many Yogi students accompany this with rhythmic breathing which has a tranquilizing effect. But at the best, those things merely prepare the ground for the growth of the plant from which the blossom springs. The plant itself comes when its time is ripple, and cannot be forced unduly. Let us prepare the best conditions for its growth and welfare. Give it welcome when it comes—and until that time let us live up to the highest within us. The fact you (the student) are attracted toward these subjects, is a sign that you are unfolding spiritually. Otherwise they would not attract you. If these words find a response in your soul, be assured that your own is coming to you, and that you are well along The Path. Look for the light, for it will come—be worthy of its coming.
In conclusion, listen to these words of Edward Carpenter:
"O, let not the flame die out! Cherished age after age in its dark caverns, in its holy temples cherished. Fed by pure ministers of love—let not the flame die out."
Lesson IV
The Voice of the Silence
Part II of "Light on the Path" opens with the following statement:
Out of the silence that is peace, a resonant voice shall arise. And this voice will say: It is not well, thou has reaped, now thou mast sow. And, knowing this voice to be the silence itself, thon wilt obey.
The resonant voice that proceeds from "out of the silence that is peace" is the voice of Spirit forcing its way into the field of consciousness. The voice is not as plain as when heard at the moment of illumination, for the ear is filled with the vibrations of the lower planes, and cannot sense so clearly the high vibrations proceeding from the upper regions of the mind. Rut the voice is insistent, and if listened to will make itself heard. It will not he confused with the thoughtwaves with which the ether is filled. for when one thinks of the spiritual plane he is lifted upward mentally, and the lower vibrations cannot reach him so plainly. He soon learns to distinguish the clear pure voice of Spirit from the grosser thought—waves that are beating upon him. The voice of Spirit always has an "upward" tendency, and its influence is always toward higher things.
"And this voice will say: It is not well; thou hast reaped, now thou must sow." This passage pictures the longing which possesses the true occultist, who had experienced the higher consciousness, and which impels him to carry out in actual life the truth which be has received—to manifest in action and association with