Letter No. 10
By Enquiries
The Path of Perfectibility
In discussing the subject of meditation in our last letter, we quoted the theosophical writer, Adelaide Gardner, who pointed out that 'In meditation, one begins the long and often tedious task of altering the personal mind so that it ... turns naturally for stimulus and direction to the Divine Self, the Root of All.' The process undertaken through meditation, and by other means which involve the purification of one's life, is often referred to in theosophical literature as embarking on the 'Path to Perfection'.
All the scriptures of the world assure us that there is a spiritual Way which we may find and tread. Because it is sometimes spoken of as a'"narrow way' we may be inclined to consider it restrictive and indeed 'long and tedious', to use Adelaide Gardner's words. Those who have walked before us on the spiritual journey tell us it is really a way in which we find a more abundant life. Perhaps rather than a 'Path to Perfection', we may call it the 'Path to Perfectibility', for it is not a static state of being but the quest of life itself toward the full flowering of our spiritual nature.
In the Christian Scriptures, the Path has been spoken of as a'"highway', as 'the way of holiness' in which 'wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err...' implying that each of us, whether consciously or unconsciously, is travelling on that way, that every step we take, however uncertain it may seem to us, leads us on. In the Bhagavadgītā, Sri Krishna assures us that 'However men approach me, even so do I welcome them, for the paths men take from every side are mine.'
From the very beginning of our evolutionary journey we are, in the broadest sense, travelling the path of perfectibility. During the earlier cycles we are on the path of outgoing, as it has been called. On that path, we are moving away from the divine centre into the world of experience through which we increase our awareness and sharpen our faculties. This part of our evolutionary development is equally important as the stages which follow and which are, in large measure, dependent upon it. There comes a time, however, when we must take the homeward direction, the path of return to our Divine Source. We must begin the search for that which we feel we have lost on the outward journey. We sense that we must regain our birthright which, as the allegory of the prodigal son tells us, we have so brashly thrown away. And in that process of return we meet one of the great paradoxes of occultism: we have both to use and to let go of the capacities and strengths we have acquired. We use them toward the attainment of the new goal; we let go of them as ends in themselves. Many of the things that once seemed so desirable to us are now seen as impediments, for we have glimpsed a greater vision and would move swiftly toward it. Yet those very impediments furnish the resistance against which we strengthen the spiritual muscles needed for the strenuous homeward journey.
The little theosophical classic, At the Feet of the Master, outlines certain qualifications to be acquired by the aspirants who are in earnest about hastening their progress on the Path in order that they may become of greater and wiser service to others. There are several editions of this little classic available, including a small pocket edition which can be used for reflection or meditation during those occasional moments during the day when the mind can be free from its usual concerns. This practice has proved rewarding to many. It is hoped that the other study aids listed at the end of this letter will give you further understanding of the techniques and stages of spiritual development, as well as an expanding vision of the goal toward which we are all moving.
In contemplating the goal, it is of value to turn attention to that great tradition, which is fully supported and documented in the world's religious and occult literature, of the existence of Perfected Beings, of Adept Teachers or Masters. In the second letter of this series, we mentioned the Hierarchy of Adepts, two of whom provided the impetus for the founding of the Theosophical Society and who, many are convinced, still concern themselves with its welfare. No claim is made, of course, that their activity is limited to the Society, since by their very nature they must be interested in and support all great humanitarian movements and all those aspects of world culture which contribute to the progress of humankind.
It must be emphasised that there is no requirement for any member of the Society to accept the existence of the Masters as a fact. However, many individuals have seen in that ideal an inevitable development of human evolution and the culmination of humanity's striving for goodness, beauty and truth. One of the most glorious teachings about them is that, while they are free even now to go on to greater heights, they have remained with our world to help the rest of us onward. It has been truly said that as we are, so they have been; and as they are, so we may be. We will be saying more about the Masters in our next letter.
The important point to remember now is that while the Path is a broad highway on which we all move, it is at the same time, in the true sense, an inner Path and in no two of us can it be duplicated. For we are but travelling through or into ourselves and by means of ourselves. We do not travel in extension, even infinite extension, but rather into the depths of our own consciousness, ever discovering greater dimensions of being, a constant newness of truth and beauty, ever aware that there is an infinite beyond waiting to be explored with its insights to be put into action. As we travel inwardly, we build our world outwardly. It is difficult to separate the within and the without in the process, for we must build the spiral by which we climb, as the spider spins from within itself the web which then becomes its field of action.
As a closing thought, which you may wish to take into your meditations, let me quote the following passage from Light on the Path (by Mabel Collins), another truly beautiful and helpful theosophical classic devoted to the treading of the Path to spiritual Realisation:
The whole nature of man must be used wisely by the one who desires to enter the way. Each 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, recognises 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.
Some Ideas for Study and Thought
How can one live the spiritual life amid the pressures of daily living and the many duties one must discharge?
What does the concept of the Path of Perfectibility mean to you as an individual?
Can you trace any events in your own life in which you feel you were inwardly guided to a particular course of action?
Some Suggested Reading
The Pathway to Perfection by Geoffrey Hodson
The Path of Discipleship by Annie Besant
The Inner Life by C. W. Leadbeater
No Other Path to Go by Radha Burnier
The Way of the Disciple; Techniques of the Spiritual Life; and Trust Yourself to Life by Clara Codd
Many students of theosophy find inspiration in three small devotional texts:
At the Feet of the Master, J. Krishnamurti
Light on the Path, Mabel Collins
The Voice of the Silence, H. P. Blavatsky
Commentaries by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater on the above three texts have been published under the title Talks on the Path of Occultism.
