the dore lectures on mental science-第14章

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by　conscious　unity　with　that　All…creating　Spirit　which　works　silently；　but　surely；　on　its　own　lines　of　Life；　Love；　and　Beauty。

〃Not　by　might；　nor　by　power；　but　by　My　Spirit；　saith　the　Lord　of　Hosts。〃



THE　WORSHIP　OF　ISHI。

In　Hosea　ii。　16　we　find　this　remarkable　statement：〃And　it　shall　be　at　that　day；　saith　the　Lord；　that　thou　shalt　call　Me　Ishi；　and　shalt　no　more　call　Me　Baali〃；　and　with　this　we　may　couple　the　statement　in　Isaiah　lxii。　4：〃Thou　shalt　be　called　Hephzibah；　and　thy　land　Beulah；　for　the　Lord　delighteth　in　thee；　and　thy　land　shall　be　married。〃

In　both　these　passages　we　find　a　change　of　name；　and　since　a　name　stands　for　something　which　corresponds　to　it；　and　in　truth　only　amounts　to　a　succinct　description；　the　fact　indicated　in　these　texts　is　a　change　of　condition　answering　to　the　change　of　name。

Now　the　change　from　Baali　to　Ishi　indicates　an　important　alteration　in　the　relation　between　the　Divine　Being　and　the　worshipper；　but　since　the　Divine　Being　cannot　change；　the　altered　relation　must　result　from　a　change　in　the　stand…point　of　the　worshipper：　and　this　can　only　come　from　a　new　mode　of　looking　at　the　Divine；　that　is；　from　a　new　order　of　thought　regarding　it。　Baali　means　Lord；　and　Ishi　means　husband；　and　so　the　change　in　relation　is　that　of　a　female　slave　who　is　liberated　and　married　to　her　former　master。　We　could　not　have　a　more　perfect　analogy。　Relatively　to　the　Universal　Spirit　the　individual　soul　is　esoterically　feminine；　as　I　have　pointed　out　in　〃Bible　Mystery　and　Bible　Meaning；〃　because　its　function　is　that　of　the　receptive　and　formative。　This　is　necessarily　inherent　in　the　nature　of　the　creative　process。　But　the　individual's　development　as　the　specializing　medium　of　the　Universal　Spirit　will　depend　entirely　upon　his　own　conception　of　his　relation　to　it。　So　long　as　he　only　regards　it　as　an　arbitrary　power；　a　sort　of　slave　owner；　he　will　find　himself　in　the　position　of　a　slave　driven　by　an　inscrutable　force；　he　knows　not　whither　or　for　what　purpose。　He　may　worship　such　a　God；　but　his　worship　is　only　the　worship　of　fear　and　ignorance；　and　there　is　no　personal　interest　in　the　matter　except　to　escape　some　dreaded　punishment。　Such　a　worshipper　would　gladly　escape　from　his　divinity；　and　his　worship；　when　analyzed；　will　be　found　to　be　little　else　than　disguised　hatred。　This　is　the　natural　result　of　a　worship　based　upon　UNEXPLAINED　traditions　instead　of　intelligible　principles；　and　is　the　very　opposite　of　that　worship　in　Spirit　and　in　truth　which　Jesus　speaks　of　as　the　true　worship。

But　when　the　light　begins　to　break　in　upon　us；　all　this　becomes　changed。　We　see　that　a　system　of　terrorism　cannot　give　expression　to　the　Divine　Spirit；　and　we　realize　the　truth　of　St。　Paul's　words；　〃He　hath　not　given　us　the　spirit　of　fear；　but　of　power；　and　of　love；　and　of　a　sound　mind。〃　As　the　true　nature　of　the　relation　between　the　individual　mind　and　the　Universal　Mind　becomes　clearer；　we　find　it　to　be　one　of　mutual　action　and　re…action；　a　perfect　reciprocity　which　cannot　be　better　symbolized　than　by　the　relation　between　an　affectionate　husband　and　wife。　Everything　is　done　from　love　and　nothing　from　compulsion；　there　is　perfect　confidence　on　both　sides；　and　both　are　equally　indispensable　to　each　other。　It　is　simply　the　carrying　out　of　the　fundamental　maxim　that　the　Universal　cannot　act　on　the　plane　of　the　Particular　except　through　the　Particular；　only　this　philosophical　axiom　develops　into　a　warm　living　intercourse。

Now　this　is　the　position　of　the　soul　which　is　indicated　by　the　name　Hephzibah。　In　common　with　all　other　words　derived　from　the　Semitic　root　〃hafz〃　it　implies　the　idea　of　guarding；　just　as　in　the　East　a　hasfiz　is　one　who　guards　the　letter　of　the　Koran　by　having　the　whole　book　by　heart；　and　in　many　similar　expressions。　Hephzibah　may　therefore　be　translated　as　〃a　guarded　one；〃　thus　recalling　the　New　Testament　description　of　those　who　are　〃guarded　into　salvation。〃　It　is　precisely　this　conception　of　being　guarded　by　a　superior　power　that　distinguishes　the　worship　of　Ishi　from　that　of　Baali。　A　special　relation　has　been　established　between　the　Divine　Spirit　and　the　individual　soul；　one　of　absolute　confidence　and　personal　intercourse。　This　does　not　require　any　departure　from　the　general　law　of　the　universe；　but　is　due　to　that　specializing　of　the　law　through　the　presentation　of　special　conditions　personal　to　the　individual；　of　which　I　have　spoken　before。　But　all　the　time　there　has　been　no　change　in　the　Universal　Spirit；　the　only　change　has　been　in　the　mental　attitude　of　the　individualhe　has　come　into　a　new　thought；　a　clearer　perception　of　God。　He　has　faced　the　questions；　What　is　God？　Where　is　God？　How　does　God　work？　and　he　has　found　the　answer　in　the　apostolic　statement　that　God　is　〃over　all；　through　all；　and　in　all；〃　and　he　realises　that　〃God〃　is　the　root　of　his　（the　individual's）　own　being；　ever　present　IN　him；　ever　working　THROUGH　him；　and　universally　present　around　him。

This　realization　of　the　true　relation　between　the　Originating　Spirit　and　the　individual　mind　is　what　is　esoterically　spoken　of　as　the　Mystical　Marriage　in　which　the　two　have　ceased　to　be　separate　and　have　become　one。　As　a　matter　of　fact　they　always　were　one；　but　since　we　can　apprehend　things　only　from　the　stand…point　of　our　own　consciousness；　it　is　our　recognition　of　the　fact　that　makes　it　a　practical　reality　for　ourselves。　But　an　intelligent　recognition　will　never　make　a　confusion　of　the　two　parts　of　which　the　whole　consists；　and　will　never　lead　the　individual　to　suppose　that　he　is　handling　a　blind　force　or　that　a　blind　force　is　handling　him。　He　will　neither　dethrone　God；　nor　lose　himself　by　absorption　in　deity；　but　he　will　recognize　the　reciprocity　of　the　Divine　and　the　human　as　the　natural　and　logical　outcome　of　the　essential　conditions　of　the　creative　process。

And　what　is　the　Whole　which　is　thus　created？　It　is　our　conscious　PERSONALITY；　and　therefore　whatever　we　draw　from　the　Universal　Spirit　acquires　in　us　the　quality　of　personality。　It　is　that　process　of　differentiation　of　the　universal　into　the　particular　of　which　I　have　so　often　spoken；　which；　by　a　rude　analogy；　we　may　compare　to　the　differentiation　of　the　universal　electric　fluid　into　specific　sorts　of　power　by　its　passage　through　suitable　apparatus。　It　is　for　this　reason　that　relatively　to　ourselves　the　Universal　Spirit　must　necessarily　assume　a　personal　aspect；　and　that　the　aspect　which　it　will　assume　will　be　in　exact　correspondence　with　our　own　conception　of　it。　This　is　in　accordance　with　mental　and　spiritual　laws　inherent　in　our　own　being；　and　it　is　on　this　account　that　the　Bible　seeks　to　build　up　our　conception　of　God　on　such　lines　as　will　set　us　free　from　all　fear　of　evil；　and　thus　leave　us　at　liberty　to　use　the　creative　power　of　our　thought　affirmatively　from　the　stand…point　of　a　calm　and　untroubled　mind。　This　stand…point　can　only　be　reached　by　passing　beyond　the　range　of　the　happenings　of　the　moment；　and　this　can　only　be　done　by　the　discovery　of　our　immediate　relation　to　the　undifferentiated　source　of　all　good。　I　lay　stress　on　these　words　〃immediate〃　and　〃undifferentiated〃　because　in　them　is　contained　the　secret　of　the　whole　position。　If　we　could　not　draw　immediately　from　the　Universal　Spirit　our　receiving　would　be　subject　to　the　limitations　of　the　channel　through　which　it　reached　us；　and　if　the　force　which　we　receive　were　not　undifferentiated　in　itself　it　could　not　take　appropriate　form　in　our　own　minds　and　become　to　each　of　us　just　what　we　require　it　to　be。　It　is　this　power　of　the　human　soul　to　differentiate　limitlessly　from　the　Infinite　that　we　are　apt　to　overlook；　but　as　we　come　to　realize　that　the　soul　is　itself　a　reflection　and　image　of　the　Infinite　Spiritand　a　clear　recognition　of　the　cosmic　creative　process　shows　that　it　cannot　be　anything　elsewe　find　that　it　must　possess　this　power；　and　that…in　fact　it　is　our　possession　of　this　power　which　is　the　whole　raison　d'etre　of　the　creative　process：　if　the　human　soul　did　not　possess　an　unlimited　power　of　differentiation　from　the　Infinite；　then　the　Infinite　would　not　be　reflected　in　it；　and　consequently　the　Infinite　Spirit　would　find　no　outlet　for　its　CONSCIOUS　recognition　of　itself　as　the　Life；　Love；　and　Beauty　which　it　is。