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Note: these excerpt
threads are
subject to continual revision and updating as opportunity and priority
permits George Burke: "It is erroneous to think that unil we attain some degree of masterhood we have no control over our lives. Even though it is true that until that time we will hardly be conscious of the power we wield, the truth is that from the moment of our entering in relative existence our Higher Self is in total control. Although we may appear to be swept along by forces greater than ourselves--including karma--such is not the case. Every moment of our life, both in and out of physical incarnation, is consciously determined by us and so ordered by our inherent divine powers. Made in the image of God, we ever live accordingly. Our lives are literal lectures presented to our lesser selves, consisting of body, senses, and mind, by our true and higher selves. They are not mere reaping of past sowings or simple reflexes of universal law. They are purposeful writings of wisdom upon the scroll of our consciouness. It is not enough to 'experience' them--we must decipher the mystical script and learn. Then alone is there hope of ceasing to need any further such lessons. Gnosis is the prime requisite. But long, long before we can unscramble the hieroglyphics of life we must have an external teacher to teach us the alphabet of life's unfolding scroll. Until then we live surrounded by messages from 'on high'--in truth our lives consist of nothing else but such messages--which are totally beyond our capacity to grasp. Ignorance blinds us or distorts hopelessly what little vision we may have gained in previous births. We must have a guide who can show us how to see, to free us from what the wise of India call ajnanatimira--the glaucoma of ignorance..." [5-6] AN EAGLE'S FLIGHT "I had always been an idolator... To the ignorant, name and form veil the Sole Reality, but to the wise, name and form reveal that Reality--indeed are recognized as manifestations of that Reality... Spiritual imagery is one of the most potent tools in awakening and transforming our inmost consciousness... | It should be understood that all Hindus understand that there is but one Supreme Consciousness, Parabrahman. But this one Consciousness has manifested in many forms, including devatas, or gods. Therefore, although it is usual to speak of gods and goddesses, it is done so for ease of expression, but always with the understanding that in reality all gods and goddesses are but the multiform faces of the Formless Absolute. It is also realized that an image of clay, stone, or metal is just that--an image. But the image can be used as a point of concentration on higher spiritual realities, which are conveyed by the symbolism of the image. Since the One Consciousness is all pervading and within everything, it only follows that It is within the image as well, and by concentrated attention through ritualistic worship, the image can be made into a point of communication with That..." [199|201] AN EAGLE'S FLIGHT "To those upon the left hand of God, who tread the path of ignorance, Kali is terrible. With Her sword, upon which an eye is painted to indicate that it is the symbol of awakened spiritual consciousness, or prajna, She cuts off the head of egoity, the false self. Moreover, She wears a skirt formed of severed arms strung together. The arms represent the egoic delusion I am the doer, which blinds us to the fact that God is the only power and the only actor. As the skirt hides the generative organs of Kali, which give birth to all that is, so our egos also blind us to the fact that God alone is our source and our destiny of return. Behind all our doings is the power of the Sole Doer, so Mother Kali says to all: without Me ye can do nothing. She cuts off our egoity with the sword of illumination so we can become wise and say with Christ: I do nothing of myself. On the other hand, literally, Kali is benevolent, even loving, bestowing blessing and asking Her children to draw near to Her and receive Her grace and mercy... | The Divine Power is the enemy of ignorance and the loving Mother of truth and gnosis. Those who dwell in 'the valley of the shadow of death' of the ego, see Her as the bearer of their death, not realizing that it is the ego She will slay, and not them. Those who yearn for the light see Her as their merciful Liberator form the bondage of the lying ego, and hasten to place their necks beneath Her sword to be made free indeed... Suddenly She was immense, far larger than the material image, and She was coming towards me with an inexorable and inescapable motion. I knew Her purpose: it was nothing less than the death of Roger Burke, a son of an earthly mother, in order to be reborn as a son of the Heavenly Mother. And I wanted it--O, how I wanted it! I opened my entire being to Her--at least as much as was in my province. Terrible as it was, I offered myself to Her sacrificial sword. This, I knew, was the only path to life. I cannot describe or explain any more than this..." [204|205-206] AN EAGLE'S FLIGHT |