Meditation on the One Life
according to
J.I. Wedgwood
The student should raise his consciousness and contemplate the immensities of the universe; the picture of the starlit heavens, the soft radiance of the sunset, or the thought of the cosmos enshrined within the infinitesimally minute atom, will aid him in this, and he may, if he so desire, use the method of rising through the bodies described earlier in this book. Let him then direct his thoughts in loftiest aspiration to the Logos of our system and picture the whole system as contained within the bounds of His consciousness: 'In Him we live and move and have our being'. He may then follow out the line of thought developed in the pamphlet by Mrs. Besant entitled On Moods - namely, that though we might naturally think of the loftier members of the Hierarchy as being most distant from us and almost beyond the reach of our halting aspiration owing to their remoteness from petty human interests, the reverse is actually true, and we are literally in closest touch with the all-embracing consciousness of the Logos. The student may find it helpful to think of the increasing size of the aura as spiritual development is achieved; of that of the ordinary man, of that of pupils and initiates, of the aura of the Master and the close relation of consciousness between the Master and the close relation of consciousness between the Master and his pupils and others whom he is helping, of the aura of the Lord Buddha which according to tradition extended three miles about His person, and so rising in thought he may conceive of a being whose aura of field of consciousness encompasses the whole of our planet and of One who thus embraces the whole of our planet and of One who thus embraces the whole of the system to which we belong. Literally is it true that every action, every feeling and every thought to which we give expression are part of Him; nay, our very memory is part of His memory, for is not all remembrance but the power to touch the akashic records of nature, which is but the expression of Himself?
The student may then pass on to think of some of those qualities which we may associate with the manifestation of God in His world - let us take justice and beauty and love; that the justice of the Supreme is shown forth in the invariable laws of nature, the law of the conservation of energy, the dictum of Newton that action and re-action are equal and opposite, the law of karmic retribution which gives unto each man the just reward of his deeds. Let him think of what belief in karma really implies - the hand that strikes a grievous blow is one's own dead past come back to life again; and from such reflections let him win content with that which is or which may befall him. Let him think also of the innumerable relations under this law made between man and man, the weaving of God's plan in the universe, and see in those complex relationships the immutable law of perfect justice.
Passing next to the aspect of beauty he may study the exquisite plan of the Great Architect and Grand Geometrician of the Universe, and looking with closer attention at all created nature may perceive the universality of that aspect of the Supreme which expresses itself in beauty or harmony. Turning from beauty of nature to that created by man he may soar aloft on the wings of the imagination and contemplate the masterpieces of that human art which borders on the realm of divinity, because in very truth the materials in the hand of the artist are the divine powers of nature. Thus, in music, the mighty structures of sound reflect in many hues those archetypal forces of nature which stream forth through the blazing hosts of the Gandharvas, revealing to man the power of the hidden Word and raising him aloft once more to the kingdom of his divine heritage.
And in the compassionate love of the Supreme all human relationships of tenderness and love have their source. To the eye of the spirit the beauty of woman gives no cause for carnal desire, but is rather a reason that she should be respected as a child of God and a manifestation of His supreme beauty. There is but one love throughout the universe, given by the Divine Father into the custody of His creatures; it is the one primal force which in its elementary creative aspect produces multiplicity of form and in its higher aspect draws souls together towards unity in the One Life.
Meditation for Beginners, "Meditation to Expand the Consciousness"
The student may then pass on to think of some of those qualities which we may associate with the manifestation of God in His world - let us take justice and beauty and love; that the justice of the Supreme is shown forth in the invariable laws of nature, the law of the conservation of energy, the dictum of Newton that action and re-action are equal and opposite, the law of karmic retribution which gives unto each man the just reward of his deeds. Let him think of what belief in karma really implies - the hand that strikes a grievous blow is one's own dead past come back to life again; and from such reflections let him win content with that which is or which may befall him. Let him think also of the innumerable relations under this law made between man and man, the weaving of God's plan in the universe, and see in those complex relationships the immutable law of perfect justice.
Passing next to the aspect of beauty he may study the exquisite plan of the Great Architect and Grand Geometrician of the Universe, and looking with closer attention at all created nature may perceive the universality of that aspect of the Supreme which expresses itself in beauty or harmony. Turning from beauty of nature to that created by man he may soar aloft on the wings of the imagination and contemplate the masterpieces of that human art which borders on the realm of divinity, because in very truth the materials in the hand of the artist are the divine powers of nature. Thus, in music, the mighty structures of sound reflect in many hues those archetypal forces of nature which stream forth through the blazing hosts of the Gandharvas, revealing to man the power of the hidden Word and raising him aloft once more to the kingdom of his divine heritage.
And in the compassionate love of the Supreme all human relationships of tenderness and love have their source. To the eye of the spirit the beauty of woman gives no cause for carnal desire, but is rather a reason that she should be respected as a child of God and a manifestation of His supreme beauty. There is but one love throughout the universe, given by the Divine Father into the custody of His creatures; it is the one primal force which in its elementary creative aspect produces multiplicity of form and in its higher aspect draws souls together towards unity in the One Life.
Meditation for Beginners, "Meditation to Expand the Consciousness"
