Theosophist, june 2003, p. 325-326 (On the Watch Tower)
Walking Without Crutches
Radha Burnier
According to the theosophical philosophy, man in the course of
his progress, will have to develop enough intuition to understand not
only the structure and forces of the physical universe, but also its
purpose
and place in the totality of existence, which includes besides the
physical,
many subtler dimensions. He must learn to understand what Nature
intends
for humanity and where, in her own time, she will take it. Man's role
is
to become a cooperator and a helper in carrying out Nature's Plan for
the
unfoldment of faculties that lie latent and unrecognized at present
within
the depths of the human being.
Mighty Teachers who have
proceeded on the Path ahead of most of humankind - the Buddha's and
other awakened individuals - have consistently refused to provide
crutches for people who want to follow the spiritual path, but do not
wish to be self-reliant. Gautama Buddha famously said 'Be a lamp unto
yourself'. In Adyar Pamphlets, New Series No. 3 of the same title, the
learned author has indicated how the same advice has come from Hindu,
Christian, Jaina
and other sources, providing an example of the truth of the ancient
view
that all wise men speak of the same verities. They all want human
beings to
realize for themselves the Plan of Manifestation emanating from the
Divine Mind, by exercising their own budding faculties. They do not
want to provide ready-made instructions to obey. On the other hand all
their guidance is directed
to 'awakening intelligence'.
In the first letter which Mr
A.O. Hume received from KH, the latter wrote:
To 'guide' you we will not consent. However much we may be able to do, yet we can promise only to give you the full measure of your deserts. Deserve much, and we will prove honest debtors; little, and you need only expect a compensating return. This is not a mere text taken from some schoolboy's copybook, though it sounds so, but only the clumsy statement of the law of our order, and we cannot transcend it.
A similar message was given to C.W. Leadbeater. The teacher was not
willing to relieve the disciple of his duty to think things out for
himself and learn from his own experiences. In regard to the Founders
of the TS, HPB and HSO also, they remarked: 'We leave them to their own
devices.'
Not understanding this, some persons hope to be
favoured with instructions and orders, while there are other cases of
people who believe they are being constantly instructed and guided by
highly evolved beings. They receive messages galore. They are elated by
the belief that they are the chosen channels for communications from
higher levels. Such beliefs could be the result of persistent wishful
thinking: what is imagined as disirable becomes perceived reality. A
strong desire to be close to a Master creates a strong thought-form -
perhaps of oneself being instructed by the Master of great being - and
continually feeds that thought-form by mental repetition of the
wished-for happining. It ends in seeing one's own thought-form as an
independent entity. Thus a devotee of Rama or Krishna sees his favoured
deity, and a devotee of Kwan Yin or the Lady Mary sees the form created
by his or her own mind. Others see or hear various Masters.
In such cases the question why oneself should become the preferred
focus of a Master's or deity's constant attention, guidance, blessing
and so forth does not arise. The delusion is so satisfying to the mind
and emotions, and so skillfully boosts the ego-sense, that questions
are not wanted. The crucial fact that one must merit what one gets by a
life of selflessness and service, and compensations which are due will
come by themselves is thrown to the wind.
These are the
subtle temptations which the serious aspirant must guard against.
Universal laws are not broken by even the Highest Masters with great
powers and the law is, as KH wrote to Hume, that one must deserve what
is sought, not for oneself, but because it is good. Therefore all that
one must do is to 'live the life' and be utterly vigilant in observing
the egoistic self surfacing in subtle and delectable forms.