A Practical Exercise
in Self-Observation
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
Carlos Cardoso Aveline
One’s
higher self (Atma-Buddhi) works largely as an inspiring witness and a wordless
counselor.
It is not a battlefield soldier. It makes
no noise. It does not play any immediate or visible role in the daily battle
between right action and delusion.
In our “practical” lives the spiritual
soul is not an outward or “objective” factor. It gives us the general context.
The direct challenge and fight between the Higher and the Lower takes place
within the lower self, or mortal soul.
There, on one side of the battlefield, we
see all the sectors of mental and emotional life which are loyal to the Higher
Self. These habits, insights, impulses, views and perceptions are immediately
and silently linked to the Highest through the sacred vertical bridge,
Antahkarana. A sense of unity of all beings prevails: the upper side of the
lower self is the true disciple. Its Master is the Spiritual Soul.
On the other and lower side of our mortal
soul we have the impulses, feelings, habits and points of view responding to
the animal nature in us. In such a territory a sense of relative separation
dwells. However, mutual help is still the law of nature. It is due to the loving
cooperation of woman and man, for instance, that a child can be conceived,
born, protected and educated.
The upper side of the lower self has a
clear-cut agenda. It works in the search of wisdom. It aims at right action and
noble goals in every aspect of life. It expresses itself through
self-sacrifice.
The lower side of the lower self has its
priorities dominated by the search for self-defense and self-preservation.
These factors are typical of the animal world. Theosophy, of course, has
nothing against animal life. It has much in favor of it. The animal nature in
human beings must also be loved and protected. It must be understood and
accepted. Once it knows that it is loved and feels safe, it can better
cooperate with the upper side of our lower self, which is indeed the Disciple
in us.
One’s animal nature ought to be trained
and educated with love, firmness and affection. The student’s duty is to put
limits to its actions and to nurture it in the right way, just as parents do
with a beloved child.
The highest side of the lower self in
human beings has a double task. On one hand, it is the disciple or “son” of
one’s spiritual soul. On the other hand, it must be the loving, protecting and
firm teacher of one’s childlike nature and animal “self”. Thus the battlefield ceases to be a place of
conflict and becomes a meeting point for the dialogue and cooperation between
the earthly and the celestial energies of our consciousness.
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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 September 2014 edition of “The
Aquarian Theosophist”, pp. 4-5. Original title: “The Two Sides of Our Soul”.
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In September 2016, after a careful
analysis of the state of the esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided
to form the Independent Lodge of
Theosophists, whose priorities include the building of a better future in
the different dimensions of life.
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