The Theosophical Forum – April 1947

THE MYSTIC SECRET OF SPRING (1) — Hazel Boyer Braun

The way to grasp an understanding of the mystic inner life and of the operations of Cosmic Intelligence is to observe in minute detail the nature of things around us, for Universal Nature is repetitive in the majestic and harmonious movement of all life.

What we see in the face of nature at this lovely Springtime Season is a reflection of a grander flow of spiritual energy in higher planes, a secret sway of the blossoming spirituality in which man may play his part if he be ready and prepared. So accurate is the law of analogy that if we were each intuitive and mystically inclined we might sit together in silence this afternoon studying these flowers, the full bloomed faces that have unfolded to the sunlight and their tight-held buds In this symbol we might read what happens in the constitution of Man, and of the planets, solar systems, and universes.

There is optimism, a sense of inner peace and understanding when we realize that the whole effort of evolution is in the direction of resurrection. The urge of the blossoming power in every center of consciousness, in every kingdom of life must surely bring about a gradual evolutionary blooming, growing, resurrecting of life.

We have been taught that every grain of sand, every minutest particle of physical life enveils a center of divine consciousness that has and is in process of putting on these garments or souls or vehicles in order to learn by becoming. It has sometimes seemed to me that perhaps the very reason that the tempo of the more material realms or planes of being is so much more rapid than that of the higher ones that rise ever more majestically into a slower rhythm, is because they are so far from the goal that they must hurry. This is but a whimsical suggestion as I think of the tiny cells flashing into and out of life faster than we can think, obedient to an inner urge to go ever higher.

This urge is translated by man into the activities of that part of his own being in which he happens to be centering the driving power of his life. That is why man is ever instructed by the sages and seers to know himself, to recognize this urge and to grasp the ever widening horizons of consciousness that are his heritage. As man responds obedient to the divine urge to rise to the Christ part of his nature, the range of his consciousness grows ever wider, hence the slower rhythm, for there is that within us that is capable of absolute knowledge, capable of ranging the Universe in its visible and invisible realms.

It seems very important to know ourselves, to watch how we respond to the urge of life. Some translate it into a mad chase after fame and wealth only to realize that this did not bring true happiness, that it could not, that the spiritual urge is yet unfulfilled. Truly the goal is reached only by learning to give, to consecrate one's life on the altar of the greatest of all causes, that of helping humanity.

To attain this goal of self conquest, we need guidance, we require the help of a teacher who has passed through the mystical resurrection, who has made the greatest of adventures successfully. The wisdom and love, the compassionate seership of such a teacher unlocks the heart and mind for us. It is a mystical process.

If we are content to wait for the natural processes to bring about this resurrection, we may wait eons and endure the agony of the cross along with the enduring life-wave of humanity. Yet at any time we may step forward, make an inner call for help and, if we have the character to live by this call, we can put our feet on the short cut, we can find guidance.

Our teacher has called the Universe a Tree of Life with its roots in the heart of being, its branches the planes of Universal Life, its fruits — man and gods — at once the fruit and the seed. This tree is often called the cross. Nothing seems so important to me as knowing about this Cross of Universal Life. The process of passing from an unself-conscious godspark to self-conscious godhood brings into being a dark side and a light side of life. The great adventure is victory over this cross. The misery we see in the world is just this.

There are two symbols that we associate in our minds with the cross. One is wings and the other is the spear or sword. They remind us that we must arouse our imaginations, direct our thoughts toward the hid wonders of the universe before we can ever pass consciously through them. Plato said nous alone furnishes with wings: Nous, the higher mind, the intuitions and aspirations.

The sword is the symbol of the spiritual will which must come into action. It must come forth to help us to successfully resist temptation to do wrong or to be less than we are. Resurrection and renunciation seem to me to form a cross, to be vitally related. We find ourselves when we lose ourselves, but first we must want to! Like attracts like. Where we center our secret thought, there shall we be.

If we could take away from this meeting today a recognition of what it means to watch our thoughts, and how we translate this urge of our inner life which drives us always, we should have found a helpful key. Even when we come here into the Temple where our higher selves are more consciously at home than anywhere else because we come seeking light, if we were kept here several hours, what would happen? There would come that urge to be on our way. One reason for this is that we have not learned to concentrate on spiritual things so positively that we can be quiet, be still and take instruction. Another reason is the fact that the Teacher can not walk for us. He can awaken our minds and stimulate fresh aspirations; then we must each walk the path. This is what the Lord Buddha meant when he said in the closing words of his life, "Brothers, all that is is composite and transitory, therefore work out your salvation."

In this school of the Universe we are taught that "the struggle for the eternal is not in the daring deed nor yet hundreds of them. It is the calm, unbroken forgetfulness of the lower self for all time," and in the realization that we each have within us "that same guide that the Masters possess." By obedience to it we may become what they are.

Initiation is the process of man's resurrection, raising him from manhood to Divinity, the blossoming of Truth. All nature is singing to us of this glory. If you have a garden you must feel this wonder of life daily. We can, if we try, feel just as the flowers feel when raising their faces to the morning sun, for we have been flowers. We have been the stone, the gold, the diamond, as we rose in the mineral hierarchy. The impersonal lily, the rose, all these secrets are locked up in our nature and when we are more self-conscious in a more impersonal manner we may be able not only to feel that thrill of joy that the flowers and trees feel, but we must identify ourselves with the sun itself. The Bhagavad-Gita says the sun is the gate of the paths which lead to the gods.

We are taught that the process of Initiation is the digestion of the truths of the universe. See how important it is, how noble and uplifting to study Theosophy, the wisdom of the gods, to spend our evenings studying together these lofty inspiring truths, to think of them when we wake in the morning and the last thought as we fall asleep. This indeed is the process of identification with the Great Silence, the Radiant God within us and our only possible hope of ever blossoming into a Lord of Meditation, a great power in the Hierarchy of Compassion.

FOOTNOTE:
1. Report of a Lecture delivered in the Temple at Point Loma during the 1930's. (return to text)



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