May 4, 2016

Self-Forgetfulness and Bliss

Victory Occurs in Silence
And Results from Mutual Help

Carlos Cardoso Aveline




The feelings of friendship and good will among fellow truth-seekers are sacred - just as they are among all beings.

The inner reality of affinity must be protected from any use of verbal adornments whose weight, if excessive, would destroy the energy of communion.

The nurturing of brotherhood must occur more in silence than in words. Generous emotions deserve due respect and must be observed with a degree of impersonal severity, lest they come from one’s lower self.

Avoiding an irrational flourishing of personal eagerness prevents moments of despondency. Unnecessary avidity produces needless moments of discouragement. A lasting enthusiasm is nurtured by moderation.

The act of searching for truth is quite different from looking for information.

One can look for information and accumulate a vast amount of data without ever renouncing misleading views and false assumptions.

In order to look for truth, one must be able to make decisions regarding true and wrong. One has to give up attachment to whatever previous information one may have, if it turns out to be wrong. As we make progress towards truth, we get away from illusion, which is seldom too easy to do.

Insignificance as a Blessing

Accepting personal meaninglessness is as important in theosophy as the courage and ability to correctly challenge organized ignorance.  

The acknowledgement of personal irrelevance can be obtained after one realizes that there is nothing really meaningless about life. One must never automatically reject something that appears to be an unimportant task or duty, a void moment, a tasteless obligation or boring activity. Because it is not:  there are always lessons in everything.

However, one must be happy to be seen as an irrelevant individual. Humbleness paves the way to freedom and detachment. The simple mind renounces every unnecessary form of sophistication, thus transferring its focus to the higher self. As to the brilliance of spiritual soul, it is externally invisible, silent, and largely unperceived.

The Grand Rule of Learning

To renounce personal expectations as to results of actions is not the same as being thoughtless regarding the consequences of one’s efforts. Far from that. While not acting for selfish ends, the student of true philosophy must be most careful of what he does.

The grand rule of occult learning is that as long as one learns, one faces ever-renewed, unexpected tests. The learning takes several lifetimes. One must have a long-term plan of action. Self-regulation is a decisive science in life; and so is full attention, in order to discern right from wrong as much as one can.

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An initial version of the above article was published with no indication as to the name of the author in the December 2015 edition of “The Aquarian Theosophist”, pp. 9-10. Original title: “The Gradual Process of Victory”.

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