Light on the Path

[arpaxad]

The following are the excerpts from "Light on the Path," a small theosophical publication, which was published under the name of M[abel] C[ollins], but is also frequently referred to as H. P. Blavatsky's work. This, imho, is one of the most profound teachings of the Inner Work, written in the English language, and is cited here as an illustration of the Inner method of the theosophical path, as expounded upon by H. P. Blavatsky, and as a supplement to this thread.

The full text of the work (now in the public domain) can be gleaned from the publisher.

Seek in the heart the source of evil and expunge it. It lives fruitfully in the heart of the devoted disciple as well as in the heart of the man of desire. Only the strong can kill it out. The weak must wait for its growth, its fruition, its death. And it is a plant that lives and increases throughout the ages. It flowers when the man has accumulated unto himself innumerable existences. He who will enter upon the path of power must tear this thing out of his heart. And then the heart will bleed, and the whole life of the man seem to be utterly dissolved. This ordeal must be endured; it may come at the first step of the perilous ladder which leads to the path of life: it may not come until the last. But, O disciple, remember that it has to be endured: and fasten the energies of your soul upon the task. Live neither in the present nor the future, but in the eternal. This giant weed cannot flower there: this blot upon existence is wiped out by the very atmosphere of eternal thought.

[...]stand alone and isolated, because nothing that is imbodied, nothing that is conscious of separation, nothing that is out of the eternal, can aid you. Learn from sensation and observe it, because only so can you commence the science of self-knowledge, and plant your foot on the first step of the ladder. Grow as the flower grows, unconsciously, but eagerly anxious to open its soul to the air. So must you press forward to open your soul to the eternal. But it must be the eternal that draws forth your strength and beauty, not desire of growth. For in the one case you develop in the luxuriance of purity, in the other you harden by the forcible passion for personal stature.

[...]possessions must belong to the pure soul only, and be possessed therefore by all pure souls equally, and thus be the especial property of the whole only when united. Hunger for such possessions as can be held by the pure soul, that you may accumulate wealth for that united spirit of life which is your only true self. The peace you shall desire is that sacred peace which nothing can disturb, and in which the soul grows as does the holy flower upon the still lagoons. And that power which the disciple shall covet is that which shall make him appear as nothing in the eyes of men.

[...]

Seek [...] not by any one road. To each temperament there is one road which seems the most desirable. But the way is not found by devotion alone, by religious contemplation alone, by ardent progress, by self-sacrificing labor, by studious observation of life. None alone can take the disciple more than one step onward. All steps are necessary to make up the ladder. The vices of men become steps in the ladder, one by one, as they are surmounted. The virtues of man are steps indeed, necessary — not by any means to be dispensed with. Yet, though they create a fair atmosphere and a happy future, they are useless if they stand alone. The whole nature of man must be used wisely by the one who desires to enter the way. Each man is to himself absolutely the way, the truth, and the life. But he is only so when he grasps his whole individuality firmly, and, by the force of his awakened spiritual will, recognizes this individuality as not himself, but that thing which he has with pain created for his own use, and by means of which he purposes, as his growth slowly develops his intelligence, to reach to the life beyond individuality. When he knows that for this his wonderful complex separated life exists, then, indeed, and then only, he is upon the way. Seek it by plunging into the mysterious and glorious depths of your own inmost being. Seek it by testing all experience, by utilizing the senses in order to understand the growth and meaning of individuality, and the beauty and obscurity of those other divine fragments which are struggling side by side with you, and form the race to which you belong. Seek it by study of the laws of being, the laws of nature, the laws of the supernatural: and seek it by making the profound obeisance of the soul to the dim star that burns within. Steadily, as you watch and worship, its light will grow stronger. Then you may know you have found the beginning of the way. And when you have found the end its light will suddenly become the infinite light.

 

[arpaxad]

The following are the words of Mabel Collins, the alleged author (or a translator) of the above-referenced work, about H. P. Blavatsky:

"She taught me one great lesson. I learned from her how foolish, how 'gullible', how easily flattered human beings are, taken en masse. Her contempt for her kind was on the same gigantic scale as everything else about her, except her marvellously delicate taper fingers. In all else, she was a big woman. She had a greater power over the weak and credulous, a greater capacity for making black appear white, a larger waist, a more voracious appetite, a more confirmed passion for tobacco, a more ceaseless and insatiable hatred for those whom she thought to be her enemies, a greater disrespect for les convenances, a worse temper, a greater command of bad language, and a greater contempt for the intelligence of her fellow-beings than I had ever supposed possible to be contained in one person. These, I suppose, must be reckoned as her vices, though whether a creature so indifferent to all ordinary standards of right and wrong can be held to have virtues or vices, I know not."

 

[obyvatel]

Arpaxad, at this stage I think it will not be of much benefit to point out certain features of the text that you have quoted and have a critical discussion on it. I suspect this would lead you to go back to the documents you hold dear and find more quotes from them to disprove any criticisms that can be pointed out.

Since you have spent your time and energy trying to add what you think is useful information to the forum, here are a few questions/comments for your consideration. These are not about theosophy/Blavatsky but about you. Please try not to deflect the questions if you choose to answer.

- You mentioned you are quite familiar with Gurdjieff and the Work. I assume you are familiar with the term "identification" in the 4th Way context. Try to look at your behavior in this forum as if you were observing yourself from outside. You seem heavily identified with some ideas. Heavy identification impairs critical thinking as well as the ability to "see the forest from the trees". Can you temporarily suspend your ideas and take a look at what this forum practices from a relatively fresh perspective?

- Ask yourself what your current expectations are from traveling the esoteric path. What do statements like

So must you press forward to open your soul to the eternal.
.........
The peace you shall desire is that sacred peace which nothing can disturb, and in which the soul grows as does the holy flower upon the still lagoons.

mean to you, personally, in practical terms ?

The reason behind this second question is this there is usually a subjective psychological underpinning to the esoteric quest for all of us. There is nothing wrong about this. There are "many paths to the mountain", though all paths do not lead to the same place. It is useful to uncover clearly what is it that we want from the practice we undertake. These expectations can change as we go along, and the idea is to be aware of what we are really expecting at each stage.