The Theosophical Forum – December 1938

THE FOUR SACRED SEASONS — Alfred Spinks

A LEGEND

Legend tells us that millions upon millions of years ago, before Man had assumed the form that he now has, when he still was clothed in a body of filmy, tenuous matter, more ethereal than material — and just before the time of his concretion, or descent into matter, there was held a great gathering of the Gods. They came from all over the Universe, for this was to be a very important occasion. Man was to be clothed in a physical garment. But — there was still a very important question to be decided upon. Yes, he was to be endowed with a body — a purely materially physical body it is true, with a head, a trunk, and limbs; and, a mind with which to think for himself, and through which he could function.

However, up to the time of this great gathering, no provision had been made as to where to place Man's Divinity. This was the reason for that great conclave, millions of years ago. Man's Divinity. His Divine Self.

Some wanted to place this Divinity in the center of the Earth, but after much deliberation, the wiser ones said: "No, Man with his new body, and his crafty brain will devise ways of digging down to the center of the earth to obtain it. Perhaps some will find it before others, before they are ready for it, before they know how to use it; and when they realize its power, they will undoubtedly abuse it, and use it for their own self-aggrandizement." Wise Ones! these Creators of Man and the Universe.

So that idea was abandoned.

Again they deliberated. This time someone else suggested placing it in the middle of the ocean. Man cannot live in the water, and it will be safe from abuse until such time as he is ready to rightfully claim and use it. Again, the wiser ones shook their heads: "No, Man will, through this remarkable brain we have given him, develop ingenuity, and invent some kind of device to enable him to descend to the depths of the ocean, and find this Divinity."

Again the Gods foresaw trouble. "Sooner or later," they said, there would be wrangling among men as to whom this belonged to, and the temptation to use it for personal reasons might be too great for weak man, and he would be sure to abuse the powers he would gain therefrom. "No, we must find some other place."

Then the bright idea struck one of those assembled there, to place it high in the sky. "Man will not be endowed with wings and will not be able to reach up to it, until he is ready for it." Again the same objections arose. "Surely Man with this remarkable brain of his will soon find some means of flying into space, and in no time will he discover the powers of his Divinity within his grasp, and the temptation to misuse these powers will be too great. No, we must protect this physical Man, whom we are fashioning this day."

After much discussion, and as many rejections as suggestions, one of the wiser ones, perhaps a little more experienced in these things than some of the others, rose up and said: "No, we will not place Man's Divinity in the center of the earth, nor will we place it in the middle of the ocean, nor will we leave it high in the skies. Instead, we will hide it within Man himself; in the core of the core of his own inner selfhis own Nature. That will be the last place that it will occur to him to look for it, and when he finally does find it, it will be by only the most careful searching and digging, within his own inner nature. So carefully will it be hid, that it will only be by clearing away the dross and mire from his own Nature that it will be revealed to him; but once having found it, having overcome all obstacles surrounding it, in his successful search for it, he will find himself a part of it, at one with it and the Universe, of which he is a part; and in the finding of it, he will come to the realization that he himself is now a God, and he will long to reach down and help others in their search for it."

But still the Gods were not satisfied! A long silence befell this mighty gathering, for they all knew the wisdom of the words just uttered. The great riddle had been created. But, it now remained for man to solve, and find.

So on that eventful morningtide of Man's descent into matter, the existence of this Divinity was made known unto him, and it was also made known unto him that in his search for it, he would go through many experiences, and come across many difficulties and problems, many of which would be difficult to surmount. It was also made known unto him that on periodic occasions he would be reminded through Nature of the existence of this Divinity, and that if he would help Nature, and work with her, she would make obeisance to him, and that thereby he would find a key; that from this key he would find that if Mankind would follow in Nature's footsteps, by all working together harmoniously as Nature does, the solution for finding his Divine Self would be thus unraveled. This key which would bind all mankind together he was told was "Love, and Brotherhood." With these two powerful weapons, and these weapons alone, would he succeed in his quest. But alas! if he heeded them not, great troubles would befall him, and many bitter experiences would he have to go through before he again found the key to his Divinity.

Now it was further decreed, that as regularly as the rise and fall of the Sun, Nature would periodically unite in one great effort to try and bring Man to a closer realization of, and in closer touch with, his higher, or diviner self. Then Nature would send forth titanic spiritual forces to awaken in man a realization of his own spiritual Divinity.

The Gods knew that the only way for man to find this Divinity was to call to his aid the Spiritual forces which flow constantly throughout the Earth; and they also knew that due to natural causes, there are times when these forces flow with greater power, or it might be said, are more readily accessible than at other times. These are when the Earth is at the four critical points of the year — Mid-winter, Spring, Mid-summer, and Autumn. The Gods knew this, and therefore strove to keep secret the processes whereby these forces could be used for the finding of the Divinity within, save from those who had already discovered the secret, and applied it. They who had discovered it are those who stand ready to assist Man to find his Divine heritage in the beauty of Springtime; in the bloom of the Summer-time; in the mellowness of Autumn; and in the awe inspired by Winter; appealing to that part of Man which takes delight in things of beauty — for that part of Man is akin to the Universe, because derived from the Soul of Nature.

They were trying to appeal to that part of Man which sees beauty in a sunset, and is raised to a higher state of being; to that part of man which hears beautiful music, and is raised to a higher state of consciousness, those higher states of consciousness wherein he is closer to the higher part of his Nature, his higher Self. All these higher states of consciousness they placed within Man himself — his Divinity. But alas! they realized only too well that they could find expression in most cases only on very rare occasions. Why cannot man, they ask, try consciously to raise himself to this higher state all the time? To that Living Christ within him, born anew at every time when he surrenders to his Spiritual Self, to the God within? But alas! It was ordained that Man must help himself. He could be shown the way, but he must choose his own path.

And so the work of these mighty Gods goes on, until all, from the lowest to the highest, from the humblest to the greatest, have raised themselves, and become at one with this Divinity.

And today they have again given to Man Theosophy as the means for helping him find this Divinity; and the Theosophical Society has, among its other objects, to restore to Man, self-consciousness of the knowledge that he can grow, evolve, advance, and bring forth what is within the inmost core of the core of him — his Divine Self.

And at these periods whereof we speak, Nature is re-born into another state of being, and Man being a part of Nature also partakes of that re-birth. A re-birth of his own choosing; a re-birth into higher states of spirituality.



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