The Awakening of the Soul , final part


With this awakening of the soul, the real life begins - a life of aspiration, of peace of mind and spiritual joy, above all, of creative service. The awakened man feels no longer just an irrelevant, isolated unit in the ant-heap of the human race, but realises that he is a unique and significant member of the mighty harmonious Order of the Universe, in which he has a part to play which can be played by no one else. He realises that his life is guided by the hand of Destiny and not by blind chance. He begins to feel a sense of his own capacities, of his power to be a creator under the Creator. He begins to feel a sense of his true unity with others, both in this world and the next-to realise that in some profound way he is them. For the first time he stands erect, strong in the Father, and goes forth in the Father's Service, conditioning rather than being conditioned by his surroundings. The old psychological difficulties drop away. Material problems adjust them selves. Even the physical body becomes changed, mort' sensitive perhaps, but purified and ultimately impervious to disease. Slowly but surely as the organic process of spiritual growth takes place and the higher self begins to unfold, the man or woman becomes literally transformed; for as the limitations of the lower self are shed the higher self appears almost as an entirely new person, so great is the contrast between the self which is conditioned by that which is already conditioned, and the self which is con ditioned only by the Light.

The awakening of the soul is thus the crucial point in spiritual experience. It is also in a profound sense the danger point. For when it takes place, the darkness as well as the light which is latent in the soul is polarised and quickened into objective manifestation. It is then that the real conflict begins. It is then that the original sin, the evil on the spiritual ray, has to be faced. It may take the form of an overwhelming temptation to use the quickened creative power of the soul for personal ends. Many of the kings and priests of ancient days succumbed to this temptation when they resorted to black magic - this is the greater evil which is the original cause of most of the misery in the world to-day. It may take the form of a strange anguish of mind and heart, unrelated to one's personal circumstances, an inarticulate and inexplicable suffering for the sufferings of others. It may take the form of a tragic disease, or some peculiar affliction in one's personal life. It is surely in such circumstances that modem psychiatry, when it has come up against these difficulties, the difficulties of the awakened soul, as distinct from the difficulties resulting from physical heredity and surroundings, has displayed such astonishing failures, and has in fact often done more harm than good.

from Kosmon Unity, at present, year unknown