The Complete Works of Yogy Ramacharaka. William Walker Atkinson

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СКАЧАТЬ made to suffer pain, disappointment and loss, even though he attain great wealth in his new life, to the end that he may develop that part of his nature.

      We may see illustrations of this last mentioned occurrence in some of the very rich men of America. They have been born into circumstances in which they have had the freest expression of the desire for material wealth - they have possessed themselves of faculties best adapted to that one end, and have managed to be surrounded with circumstances best calculated to give the freest manifestations of those faculties. They have attained their heart's desire, and have piled up wealth in a manner unknown to former ages. But yet they are most unhappy and dissatisfied as a rule. Their wealth is a weight around their neck, and they are tormented by fears of losing it and the anxiety of attending to it. They feel that it has brought them no real happiness, but has on the contrary separated them from their fellow men, and from the happiness known to those of moderate means. They are feverish and restless and constantly on the search for some new excitement which will divert their minds from the contemplation of their real condition. They feel a sense of their duty toward the race and although they do not quite understand the feeling behind it all, they endeavor to balance matters by contributing to colleges, hospitals, charities, and other similar institutions which have sprung up in response to the awakening consciousness of the race to the reality of the Brotherhood of Man and the Oneness of All. Before the end comes, they will feel in the depths of their soul that this success has not brought them real happiness, and in the period of rest which will follow their departure from the physical body, they will "take stock" of themselves, and readjust their mental and spiritual affairs, so that when they are again born they will no longer devote their entire energies toward the piling up of wealth that they cannot use, but will live a more balanced life, and will find happiness in unexpected quarters and will develop more spiritually. This is not because they have been impressed with the sense of any special "wickedness" in abnormal money getting, but because the soul has found that it did not secure happiness in that way, and is seeking elsewhere for it, and because it has lived out the desire for wealth, and has turned its attention to other things. Had the Spirit not exerted its influence, the man might have been born into the conditions tending to produce wealth, and yet not have been made to see the one-sidedness of such a life, in which case it would have continued to be possessed of such an abnormal desire for wealth that it would have been born again and again, with increasing power each time, until it would have become practically a money demon. But the Spirit's influence always counteracts abnormal desires, although sometimes several incarnations have to be lived through before the soul wears out its desire, and begins to be influenced by the Spirit to a marked extent. Sometimes the Spirit's influence is not sufficiently strong to prevent rebirth into conditions greatly favoring old desires, but in such cases it is often able to manage affairs during the life of the man, so as to teach him the lesson needed to call a halt upon his unbridled desires, by bringing him into the, sweep of the Law of Attraction and causing certain pain to befall him - certain disappointment - certain failures - that will cause him to realize the pain, disappointment, failures and sorrow of others, and to bring upon him a course of living which will help to unfold his higher faculties. Many of the sudden strokes of "misfortune" are really brought about by this higher principle of the man, in order to teach him certain lessons for his own good. It is not necessarily a higher power which makes a man realize these lessons of life, but it is generally his own higher self - the Spirit within him - which brings about these results. The Spirit knows what is really best for the man, and when it sees his lower nature running away with him, tries to swing him from his course, or to bring him to a sudden stop if necessary. This is not as a punishment, remember, but as the greatest kindness. The Spirit is a part of that man, and not an outside power, although it is of course the Divine part of him, that part of him in nearest touch with the great overruling Intelligence which we call God. This pain is not brought about because of any feeling of righteous indignation, revenge, impatience or any similar feeling on the part of the Spirit, but is akin to the feeling of the most loving parent, who is forced to take from the hands of the little child some dangerous thing which may injure the little one - it is the hand which draws back the child from the brink of the precipice, although the little one screams with rage and disappointment because its desires are frustrated.

      The man or woman in whom the Spiritual Mind is developed, sees this condition of things, and instead of fighting against the Spirit, yields himself or herself to it without friction, and obeys, its guiding hand, and is thus saved much pain. But those who know not, rage and rebel at the restraining and guiding hand, strike at it, and attempt to tear away from it, thereby bringing upon themselves, bitter experience made necessary by their rebellion. We are so apt to resent outside influence in our affairs that this idea of restraint is not pleasant to us, but if we will only remember that it is a part of our selves - the higher part of us - that is doing this directing, then we may see the thing in a different light. And we must remember this: That no matter how adverse circumstances or conditions seem to be for us, they are exactly what we need under just the circumstances. of our lives, and have for their only object our ultimate good. We may need strengthening along certain lines, in order to round us out - and we are apt to get just the experiences calculated to round out that particular part of us. We may be tending too much in one direction, and we are given a check and an urge in another direction. These little things - and great things all mean something. And then our interests are bound up more or less with those of others, owing to the laws of attraction; and our acts may be intended to reflect upon them, and theirs upon us, for our mutual development and ultimate good. We will have more to say on this subject a little later on.

      If we will stand still, and calmly consider our past life (the present life, we mean) we will see that certain things have led to certain other things, and that small things have led to great things - that little turning points have resulted in an entire change in our life. We may trace back the most important thing in our life to some trifling incident or occurrence. We are able to look back and see how the painful experiences of the past have strengthened us, and have brought us to a larger and fuller life. We are able to see how that particular thing in the past, which seemed needlessly cruel and uncalled for, was the very thing which has brought us to some great thing in the present. All that is needed is the perspective of years. And if we get so that we are able to see this, we will be able to bear with a far greater degree of philosophy the pains and disagreeable occurrences of the present, knowing that they mean ultimate good. When we cease to think of these things as punishment, or a wanton interference of some outside power, or the cruelty of Nature, and begin to see them as either the consequences of our own past lives, or the result of the Spirit's directing hand, we will cease to protest and struggle as we have been doing in the past, and will endeavor to fall in with the working of the great Law, and will thereby avoid friction and pain. And no matter what pain, sorrow or trouble we may be undergoing, if we will open ourselves to the guidance of the Spirit, a way will be opened out for us - one step at, a time - and if we follow it we will obtain peace and strength. The Law does not heap upon a back more than it can bear, and not only does it temper the wind to the shorn lamb, but tempers the shorn lamb to the wind.

      We have spoken of our interests being bound up with those of others. This also is a principle of the law of Spiritual Cause and Effect. In our past lives we have attached ourselves to certain others, either by love or hate - either by kind action or by cruelty. And these people in this life have certain relationships to us, all tending toward mutual adjustment and mutual advancement and development. It is not a law of revenge, but simply the law of cause and effect which causes us to receive a hurt (when a hurt is needed) from the hands of someone whom we have hurt in some past life

       - and it is not merely a law of reward for good, but that same law of cause and effect, that causes some one to bind up our wounds and comfort us, whom we have comforted and helped in some past life. The person who is caused to hurt us, may have no intention of doing so, being a perfectly innocent party, but we are brought into conditions whereby we receive pain from the acts of that person, although he be unconscious of it. If he hurts us consciously, and still in obedience to the law, it is because he is still on that plane, and is willing to hurt us, and is brought by the Law of Attraction into a condition whereby we may receive hurt from him. But even that hurt is calculated to benefit us, in the end, so wonderful is this law of cause and effect СКАЧАТЬ