Idiosyncrasies
By The Supreme
Secretary
[Ralph M. Lewis]
[From The Mystic
Triangle May 1929] THE EDITOR of "The Mystic Triangle" has received
several requests that we endeavor to answer the following question in the
monthly article on "Idiosyncrasies": "Why does not the
personality enter the body in its first incarnation in a perfect state?"
Upon first consideration of this question, it would seem quite stupendous,
perhaps beyond the realm of a logical answer; however, as we proceed in an
analytical manner, using our Rosicrucian principles as a standard, the question
becomes quite simple and almost seems to answer itself.
First, just what do we mean when we say the personality is in
a perfect state? What does a Rosicrucian consider a perfect state of the
personality? We have shown, in our discussion last month, in this column, that
the personality is not the soul, but is an attribute of it. It is something
added to the soul that enters the body at birth with the soul. It is that
consciousness which causes you to have a realization that you are YOU. It is
that something that makes you an individual, that distinguishes you from
everyone else. It has also been pointed out that when this personality enters a
body on this plane for its first incarnation, it is crude, coarse, even
profane. I do not mean that it is not cultured or that it lacks what we call ethics
or social training. Those things are applicable to the outer man; they are
superficial, man-made formalities. By coarseness I mean the failure to
appreciate the beautiful things of life; the failure to aspire to the finer and
more spiritual things. The coarseness of a personality is not of an outer
nature, but an inner nature. We can begin now to see that the personality in
its first incarnation is so crude and primitive that it acts as a complete veil
around man's soul. It keeps the Cosmic Divine light or God's consciousness from
penetrating through.
After a process of
reasoning, therefore, it would appear proper to say that a personality that is
highly or completely perfected would be just the opposite of the one explained
above. It would be one that is in perfect harmony with the soul. In other
words, personality in a perfect state is that one which would LET the Divine
knowledge of the soul flow through man's outer consciousness. One whose
personality is in a perfect state would have what is known as Cosmic
consciousness, and at all times would listen to the dictates of his soul;
and his personality would be crystal clear, permitting Divinity to flow through
him in such a manner that he would radiate this great power wherever he went.
All of the great masters of the past, yea, even the present, are an example of
a perfect state of personality.
We now have, I
believe, a fair comprehension of an unevolved personality and one that is in a
perfect state; but we are back to our question, "Why does not the personality
enter the body at first in the highly evolved state we have just
discussed?" Have you ever thought why you have a personality; why you have
a consciousness that causes you to realize your existence? It would seem
perhaps more logical, at first consideration, not to have a personality. It
would seem to our advantage to have God's consciousness or the soul force be
the only consciousness in us; then we would be one large human family,
following the soul force in us instinctively. We would not know ourselves nor
would we be able to distinguish our identity from any other individual. As a
group of human beings we would automatically do certain things in life without
any knowledge of the motive for doing them. We would not even know of God, as
we would have no other form of consciousness but that of God. The greatness of
the soul in us would be lost to us. We know it takes a shadow to prove that
there is sunlight; so does it take our personality, our subconscious mind, to
cause us to know that there is a God, that there is such a thing as another
force higher and mightier than ourselves. God's consciousness permeates us--we
term it soul. But if that were all there was--just God's
consciousness--you would not be able to appreciate it as you would have no other
form of consciousness to contrast or compare it with.
Why do you appreciate the wonderful sunshine, the glory of
the golden sun's rays? Because when it is dark, when it is night, you miss
them. You are aware of the absence of the light; so it is with the personality.
God gave you an ego, a personality, so that you could think and reason for
yourself; so you could know of the darkness of life, of the negative side of
things; so that you could compare your ways of doing things with the greatness
of the works of God; and so that you could realize that you are a part of God's
consciousness. If you had no way of knowing that you were YOU, that you were an
individual, a living being, you would not then know of God. You would only be
the result of God's immutable laws, merely a manifestation like the grass
beneath your feet and the stars in the blue canopy above you. Mighty are you in
the knowledge that you know you are of God. It is that which makes you the
supreme work of Him. If at first your personality was perfectly evolved in all
of its perfections, and God's knowledge in all of its grandeur permeated your
outer mind and consciousness, you would have no standard of comparison. The
greatness of God would even be common-place to you. You would accept it without
a full appreciation of its vastness. True, you would be one with God, but not
one with the universe, as you would not know of his other works unless you had
a form of consciousness to comprehend the material plane and your outer self.
It is best that we start at the bottom in the cycle of
evolution, in ignorance, to learn of God's manifestations and of our own
physical self so that we gradually come to the realization of Him.
A little analogy might help us to understand this question.
If you were to walk into a room that was brightly illuminated, and the electric
bulbs were concealed, you would accept the fact that the room was well lighted,
without being conscious of where the light came from, perhaps not even
realizing that the room was illuminated; but when you see the electric fixtures
and can see the manner in which the light is projected out into the room, you
then realize what each little separate bulb is doing for the whole room, and
you appreciate the light, itself. The personality in man causes him to realize
just how different he is from another, and how little or how much of the great
light of God he is radiating out into the world of men. We evolve the
personality slowly, learning many lessons, so that when Cosmic consciousness
finally illuminates us we are in a state of perfection, capable of appreciating
and utilizing it by working in harmony with same.
|