Fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism by Yogi Ramacharaka (bts books to read TXT) 📕

than intellect, as intellect is higher than the principle below - instinctive mind. Do not make a God of intellect; do not allow the pride of intellect to blind you.

The importance of the awakening of self-consciousness may be more clearly recognized when we tell you that the occult doctrine is that once the self-consciousness is awakened into being, once the “I” has been felt and recognized, the real awakened life of the soul begins. We do not refer to the life that comes after the spiritual awakening - that is a still higher stage but to the mental awakening of the soul to the “I” consciousness. This is the stage where the baby ego first begins its waking existence. Previous to that time it has slumbered on, alive but not conscious of itself, and now the time of labor pains and birth is at hand. The soul has to meet new conditions, and has many an obstacle to overcome before it reaches spiritual manhood. Many experiences will it undergo, many trials will it be forced to meet; but still the progress is on and on and on.

At times there may be setbacks, and it may even seem to retrograde, but such obstacles are soon surmounted and the soul takes up its journey again. There is no real going backward on the path, and slow as the progress may seem, each of us is moving steadily forward.

We had hoped to be able to reach the subject of the sixth principle, spiritual mind, in this lesson, but we see that we have not sufficient space at our disposal, so we must defer that most interesting subject, as well as that of the seventh principle, spirit, until the next lesson. We are aware that our students are eager to press forward, and we are wasting as little time as possible on the way; but there are certain fundamental truths which must be clearly understood before we dare take another step.

There are a number of lessons to be drawn from the subjects of the instinctive mind and the intellect, and this is as good a place as any in which to consider them.

One of these lessons is that the awakening of intellect does not necessarily make the creature a better being, in the sense of being “good.” While it is true that an unfolding principle or faculty will give an upward tendency to man, it is equally true that some men are so closely wrapped in the folds of the animal sheath - so steeped in the material side of things - that the awakened intellect only tends to give them increased powers to gratify their low desires and inclinations. Man, if he chooses, may excel the beasts in bestiality he may descend to depths of which the beast would never have thought. The beast is governed solely by instinct, and his actions, so prompted, are perfectly natural and proper, and the animal is not blamed for following the impulses of its nature. But man, in whom intellect has unfolded, knows that it is contrary to his highest nature to descend to the level of the beasts yea, lower by far. He adds to the brute desires the cunning and intelligence which have come to him, and deliberately prostitutes his higher principle to the task of carrying out the magnified animal propensities. Very few animals abuse their desires - it is left for some men to do so. The higher the degree of intellect unfolded in a man, the greater the depths of low passions, appetites, and desires possible to him. He actually creates new brute desires, or rather, builds edifices of his own upon the brute foundations. It is unnecessary for us to state that all occultists know that such a course will bring certain consequences in its train, which will result in the soul having to spend many weary years in retracing its steps over the backward road it has trodden. Its progress has been retarded, and it will be compelled to re-travel the road to freedom, in common with the beast like natures of undeveloped creatures whose proper state of the journey it is, having an additional burden in the shape of the horror of consciousness of its surroundings, whereas its companions have no such consciousness and consequently suffer not. If you can imagine a civilized, refined man having to live among Australian Bushmen for many years, with a full recollection of what he has lost, you may form a faint idea of the fate in store for one who deliberately sinks his high powers to the accomplishment of low ends and desires. But even for such a soul there is escape - in time.

Let your higher nature be on guard and refuse to be drawn back into the brute life which has been passed through. Keep your gaze upward, and let your motto be: “Forward.” The brute nature may exert a pull downward, but the spiritual mind will give you a helping hand, and will sustain you if you but trust to it. The intellect is between the two, and may be influenced by either or both. Take your choice, oh, struggling soul. Your help is within you; look to it, and refuse to be dragged back into the mire of the animal mind. Manifest the “I” within you and be strong. You are an immortal soul, and are moving on and on and on to still greater things. Peace be yours.

THE THIRD LESSON.

THE SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES.

In our Second Lesson we gave you a brief outline of the Fourth and Fifth Principles of Man, i.e.; (4) Instinctive Mind, and (5) Intellect. As we have told you before, man has passed through the Fourth Principle stage to its extreme, and has now passed on to a consciousness of the Fifth Principle, Intellect. Some of us have developed the Intellectual stage to a considerable extent (although we have practically conquered but a few square miles of the new territory of the mind, and there is still a great task before us), while other men seem to have a consciousness almost altogether within the borders of the Instinctive Mind, and have only a glimmering of Intellect.

Not only is this true of the savage races, but many, very many of so-called “civilized” people have not learned to do their own thinking, and seem willing to allow others to do their thinking for them, they following certain leaders with the stupid habit of the sheep. But still the race is progressing, slowly but surely, and many are thinking now who never thought before, a greater number are refusing to take their thinking second hand, and are insisting upon knowing for themselves. When we consider that there are many men in whom the Fifth Principle, the Intellect, has scarcely unfolded, and that the race in general has taken but a few steps into the land of the Intellect, we begin to realize how difficult it is for any of us except the man or woman of exceptional spiritual unfoldment to comprehend even faintly the still higher Principles. It is something like a man born blind trying to comprehend light; or one born deaf endeavoring to form a mental concept of sound. One can only form an idea of something akin to his experiences. A man who has never tasted anything sweet cannot form an idea of sugar.

Without experience or consciousness of a thing, our minds are unable to form a concept.

But nearly all of us who have been attracted to these lessons or who have attracted these lessons to us, have had experiences which will enable us to comprehend something of the Sixth Principle - have had glimmerings of consciousness which help us to understand something of the Spiritual Mind. A tendency toward the occult - the hunger of the soul for more light are indications that the Sixth Principle, Spiritual Mind, is beginning to shade into our consciousness, and, although it may be ages before we awaken into full Spiritual Consciousness, we are still being influenced and helped by it.

This spiritual unrest often causes us great discomfort, until we find ourselves on the right road to knowledge, and even thereafter we feel more or less unsatisfied by the few crumbs that drop to us from the table of Knowledge. But despair not, seekers after the Truth; these pains are but the travail of spiritual birth - great things are before you - take courage and fear not.

Toward the end of this lesson we will speak of the process of “Illumination” or Spiritual Consciousness, which has come, or is coming, to many of us, and what we have to say may throw light upon many experiences which have come to you, and for which you have heretofore had no explanation.

We will now take up the subject of the Sixth Principle, Spiritual Mind, which will be more or less plain to those who have had glimmerings of consciousness from this plane of the soul, but which will be full of “hard sayings.” and “dark corners” to those who have not as yet reached this stage of unfoldment. The Seventh Principle, The Spirit, however, is beyond the comprehension of any except the few enlightened and highly developed souls, in and out of the body, who are as far above the ordinary man as the average enlightened man is above the Bushman. We can but pass on to you enough to give you a general intellectual idea of what is meant by “Spirit” the consciousness of it is still far beyond the race in its present stage.It is well, however, to know of the existence of Spirit, as it helps us to understand something of the Spiritual Mind, which is Spirit’s means of communication with the Intellectual consciousness. The comprehension of Spiritual Mind, however, opens up such a wonderful world of thought that we are satisfied to leave the understanding of Spirit until such time as we will grow into a consciousness of it.

(6) The Spiritual Mind.

The Sixth Principle, Spiritual Mind, has been styled by some writers “The Superconscious Mind,” which term is a fairly good one, as it distinguishes between the lower Subconscious Mind or Instinctive Mind, the Conscious Mind or Intellect, and itself, which latter, while outside of the realm of ordinary human consciousness, is still a very different thing from the lower or Instinctive Mind.

While the actual existence of the Spiritual Mind has been made manifest to but a limited number of the human race, there are many who are becoming conscious of a higher “Something Within,” which leads them up to higher and nobler thoughts, desires, aspirations, and deeds. And there is a still greater number who receive a faint glimmering of the light of the Spirit, and, though they know it not, are more or less influenced by it. In fact, the entire race receives some of its beneficent rays, although in some cases the light is so bedimmed by the dense material obstacles surrounding the man that his spiritual twilight is almost akin to the blackness of night. But man is ever unfolding, discarding sheath after sheath, and is slowly coming home. The light will eventually shine full upon all.

All that we consider good, noble, and great in the human mind emanates from the Spiritual Mind and is gradually unfolded into the ordinary consciousness. Some Eastern writers prefer the term “projected” as more correctly indicating the process whereby the ray of light is sent into the consciousness of the man who has not yet reached the superhuman stage of full Spiritual Consciousness. All that has come to man, in his evolution, which tends toward nobility, true religious feeling, kindness, humanity, justice, unselfish love, mercy, sympathy, etc., has come to him through his slowly unfolding Spiritual Mind. His love of God and his love of Man has come to him in this way. As the unfoldment