What are some of the requisites of chelaship? First, perhaps, devotion, devotion to an ideal. Have first the ideal, then be devoted to it, follow it always. It will require your will fully in exercise, the spiritual will. Coincidently, perhaps, comes duty. Ask any man or woman who sincerely has tried to follow this path, whether duty be such an easy thing, and he will tell you truly that there is nothing like the right performance of duty, which brings into the soul such indescribable peace and rest. Think of what it means to have nothing behind you to undo, no mistakes of the personality which have to be remedied, rectified! And this can be done, and easily done. It can be accomplished by following that still old path, as the Upanishads put it, which leads into the haven of eternal joy, eternal peace, and to that enwrapping consciousness of universal presences and processes which to the nobler side of the intellect is supreme bliss. Coincidently again with these two is the noble virtue of loyalty. Can any man succeed in anything unless he be true? Fancy a man undertaking a noble work and being told to trust neither himself nor his fellows! How is it possible to succeed with ones own nature running in diverse directions, his very heartstrings pulled here and there, hither and yon, by the conflict of selfish desires and by the petty egoisms of his personality? It cannot be done. These principles of chelaship rest on no vague or uncertain foundation, but on the vast experiences of the human race, which any man or woman can prove by looking within, looking into those founts of spiritual life, crystal clear and pellucid as the water of the mountain tarn; where he may see, as in the beautiful old mythos of Narcissus, his own reflection, the reflection of his own divine self. That can never be done when and as long as the mind is covered with the dust of its enshrouding veils. It is the dust of selfish actions, the cravings of these petty egoisms, the disturbed and untranquil surface of the mind blown upon by the windy gusts of passion, which unfit it utterly to reflect the higher self — the companion of stars. That which reflects the stars, itself must be in a sense starlike; and only that which is starlike in the soul can understand the lessons of the stars. So far, then, as regards the teaching. But how about the teacher? What man would go upon a ship captained by another man in whom he had no confidence at all? What man would step into an automobile driven by another man whom he knew to be drunken? A trite simile, but a very true one, and directly applicable to the case in point. Where, then, shall we find these teachers, those in whom we can place such trust? We can, indeed, learn something from the books, the great scriptures of the old-time religions, written by great initiates. We can learn much even from their surface meanings; but there is a key which unlocks still deeper meanings in those scriptures, and that key can be imparted alone by one who knows, a teacher. Now where shall we find such a teacher? A momentous question, one, probably, that is asked, would be asked, rather, by anyone who might hear us speaking as we do. The insignia majestatis, the signs of spiritual majesty, cannot be mistaken. Have them in your own heart, and you will know them when you see them. And you can have them in your own heart; and how? Simply follow the noble old rules of conduct. Live as ye should, and ye shall know the truth, because ye shall see it; and, as our Teachers add, it will come to you naturally; and you will know the teacher when you see him or her, and you will also know better than to judge a teacher by superficial appearances, by the words of the day, the days mere exercises and duties; having that light in your own heart, at least in some degree, you will perceive the kindred rays in the heart of the teacher, and know him.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:20:11 +0000
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