AE in the Irish TheosophistRussell, George William
Religion
AE in the Irish Theosophist
Russell, George William
Theosophy
We complain of conditions, but this very imperfection it is which
urges us to arise and seek for the Isles of the Immortals. What
we lack recalls the fulness. The soul has seen a brighter day
than this and a sun which never sets. Hence the retrospect: "Thou
has been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy
covering, the sardius, topaz and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx,
the jasper, the sapphire, emerald .... Thou was upon the holy
mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the
stones of fire." We would point out these radiant avenues of return;
but sometimes we feel in our hearts that we sound but cockney
choices, as guides amid the ancient temples, the cyclopean crypts
sanctified by the mysteries. To be intelligible we replace the
opalescent shining by the terms of the anatomist, and we speak of
the pineal gland and the pituitary body in the same breath with
the Most High. Yet when the soul has the vision divine it knows
not it has a body. Let it remember, and the breath of glory kindles
it no more; it is once again a captive. After all, it does not
make the mysteries clearer to speak in physical terms and do violence
to our intuitions. If we ever use these centres, as fires we shall
see them, or they shall well up within us as fountains of potent
sound. We may satisfy people's minds with a sense correspondence,
and their souls may yet hold aloof. We shall only inspire by the
magic of a superior beauty. Yet this too has its dangers. "Thou
has corrupted thy wisdom by reason of they brightness," continues
the seer. If we follow too much the elusive beauty of form we
will miss the spirit. The last secrets are for those who translate
vision into being. Does the glory fade away before thee? Say
truly in they heart, "I care not. I will wear the robes I am
endowed with today." Thou are already become beautiful, being
beyond desire and free.
Night and day no more eclipse
Friendly eyes that on us shine,
Speech from old familiar lips,
Playmates of a youth divine.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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