The Way of Peace - James Allen
THE WAY OF PEACE
BY JAMES ALLEN
AUTHOR OF "AS A MAN THINKETH," "OUT FROM THE HEART"
CONTENTS
THE POWER OF MEDITATION
THE TWO MASTERS, SELF AND TRUTH
THE ACQUIREMENT OF SPIRITUAL POWER
THE REALIZATION OF SELFLESS LOVE
ENTERING INTO THE INFINITE
SAINTS, SAGES, AND SAVIORS; THE LAW OF SERVICE
THE REALIZATION OF PERFECT PEACE
THE POWER OF MEDITATION
Spiritual meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It is the mystic ladder
which reaches from earth to heaven, from error to Truth, from pain to
peace. Every saint has climbed it; every sinner must sooner or later come
to it, and every weary pilgrim that turns his back upon self and the world,
and sets his face resolutely toward the Father's Home, must plant his feet
upon its golden rounds. Without its aid you cannot grow into the divine
state, the divine likeness, the divine peace, and the fadeless glories and
unpolluting joys of Truth will remain hidden from you.
Meditation is the intense dwelling, in thought, upon an idea or theme, with
the object of thoroughly comprehending it, and whatsoever you constantly
meditate upon you will not only come to understand, but will grow more and
more into its likeness, for it will become incorporated into your very
being, will become, in fact, your very self. If, therefore, you constantly
dwell upon that which is selfish and debasing, you will ultimately become
selfish and debased; if you ceaselessly think upon that which is pure and
unselfish you will surely become pure and unselfish.
Tell me what that is upon which you most frequently and intensely think,
that to which, in your silent hours, your soul most naturally turns, and I
will tell you to what place of pain or peace you are traveling, and whether
you are growing into the likeness of the divine or the bestial.
There is an unavoidable tendency to become literally the embodiment of that
quality upon which one most constantly thinks. Let, therefore, the object
of your meditation be above and not below, so that every time you revert to
it in thought you will be lifted up; let it be pure and unmixed with any
selfish element; so shall your heart become purified and drawn nearer to
Truth, and not defiled and dragged more hopelessly into error.
Meditation, in the spiritual sense in which I am now using it, is the
secret of all growth in spiritual life and knowledge. Every prophet, sage,
and savior became such by the power of meditation. Buddha meditated upon
the Truth until he could say, "I am the Truth." Jesus brooded upon the
Divine immanence until at last he could declare, "I and my Father are One."
Meditation centered upon divine realities is the very essence and soul of
prayer. It is the silent reaching of the soul toward the Eternal. Mere
petitionary prayer without meditation is a body without a soul, and is
powerless to lift the mind and heart above sin and affliction. If you are
daily praying for wisdom, for peace, for loftier purity and a fuller
realization of Truth, and that for which you pray is still far from you, it
means that you are praying for one thing while living out in thought and
act another. If you will cease from such waywardness, taking your mind off
those things the selfish clinging to which debars you from the possession
of the stainless realities for which you pray: if you will no longer ask
God to grant you that which you do not deserve, or to bestow upon you that
love and compassion which you refuse to bestow upon others, but will
commence to think and act in the spirit of Truth, you will day by day be
growing into those realities, so that ultimately you will become one with
them.
He who would secure any worldly advantage must be willing to work
vigorously for it, and he would be foolish indeed who, waiting with folded
hands, expected it to come to him for the mere asking. Do not then vainly
imagine that you can obtain the heavenly possessions without making an
effort. Only when you commence to work earnestly in the Kingdom of Truth
will you be allowed to partake of the Bread of Life, and when you have, by
patient and uncomplaining effort, earned the spiritual wages for which you
ask, they will not be withheld from you.
If you really seek Truth, and not merely your own gratification; if you
love it above all worldly pleasures and gains; more, even, than happiness
itself, you will be willing to make the effort necessary for its
achievement.
If you would be freed from sin and sorrow; if you would taste of that
spotless purity for which you sigh and pray; if you would realize wisdom
and knowledge, and would enter into the possession of profound and abiding
peace, come now and enter the path of meditation, and let the supreme
object of your meditation be Truth.
At the outset, meditation must be distinguished from _idle reverie_. There
is nothing dreamy and unpractical about it. It is _a process of searching
and uncompromising thought which allows nothing to remain but the simple
and naked truth_. Thus meditating you will no longer strive to build
yourself up in your prejudices, but, forgetting self, you will remember
only that you are seeking the Truth. And so you will remove, one by one,
the errors which you have built around yourself in the past, and will
patiently wait for the revelation of Truth which will come when your errors
have been sufficiently removed. In the silent humility of your heart you
will realize that
"There is an inmost centre in us all
Where Truth abides in fulness; and around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in;
This perfect, clear perception, which is Truth,
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Blinds it, and makes all error; and to know,
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape,
Than in effecting entry for a light
Supposed to be without."
Select some portion of the day in which to meditate, and keep that period
sacred to your purpose. The best time is the very early morning when the
spirit of repose is upon everything. All natural conditions will then be in
your favor; the passions, after the long bodily fast of the night, will be
subdued, the excitements and worries of the previous day will have died
away, and the mind, strong and yet restful, will be receptive to spiritual
instruction. Indeed, one of the first efforts you will be called upon to
make will be to shake off lethargy and indulgence, and if you refuse you
will be unable to advance, for the demands of the spirit are imperative.
To be spiritually awakened is also to be mentally and physically awakened.
The sluggard and the self-indulgent can have no knowledge of Truth. He who,
possessed of health and strength, wastes the calm, precious hours of the
silent morning in drowsy indulgence is totally unfit to climb the heavenly
heights.
He whose awakening consciousness has become alive to its lofty
possibilities, who is beginning to shake off the darkness of ignorance in
which the world is enveloped, rises before the stars have ceased their
vigil, and, grappling with the darkness within his soul, strives, by holy
aspiration, to perceive the light of Truth while the unawakened world
dreams on.
"The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight,
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night."
No saint, no holy man, no teacher of Truth ever lived who did not rise
early in the morning. Jesus habitually rose early, and climbed the solitary
mountains to engage in holy communion. Buddha always rose an hour before
sunrise and engaged in meditation, and all his disciples were enjoined to
do the same.
If you have to commence your daily duties at a very early hour, and are
thus debarred from giving the early morning to systematic meditation, try
to give an hour at night, and should this, by the length and laboriousness
of your daily task be denied you, you need not despair, for you may turn
your thoughts upward in holy meditation in the intervals of your work, or
in those few idle minutes which you now waste in aimlessness; and should
your work be of that kind which becomes by practice automatic, you may
meditate while engaged upon it. That eminent Christian saint and
philosopher, Jacob Boehme, realized his vast knowledge of divine things
whilst working long hours as a shoemaker. In every life there is time to
think, and the busiest, the most laborious is not shut out from aspiration
and meditation.
Spiritual meditation and self-discipline are inseparable; you will,
therefore, commence to meditate upon yourself so as to try and understand
yourself, for, remember, the great object you will have in view will be the
complete removal of all your errors in order that you may realize Truth.
You will begin to question your motives, thoughts, and acts, comparing them
with your ideal, and endeavoring to look upon them with a calm and
impartial eye. In this manner you will be continually gaining more of that
mental and spiritual equilibrium without which men are but helpless straws
upon the ocean of life. If you are given to hatred or anger you will
meditate upon gentleness and forgiveness, so as to become acutely alive to
a sense of your harsh and foolish conduct. You will then begin to dwell in
thoughts of love, of gentleness, of abounding forgiveness; and as you
overcome the lower by the higher, there will gradually, silently steal into
your heart a knowledge of the divine Law of Love with an understanding of
its bearing upon all the intricacies of life and conduct. And in applying
this knowledge to your every thought, word, and act, you will grow more and
more gentle, more and more loving, more and more divine. And thus with
every error, every selfish desire, every human weakness; by the power of
meditation is it overcome, and as each sin, each error is thrust out, a
fuller and clearer measure of the Light of Truth illumines the pilgrim
soul.
Thus meditating, you will be ceaselessly fortifying yourself against your
only _real_ enemy, your selfish, perishable self, and will be establishing
yourself more and more firmly in the divine and imperishable self that is
inseparable from Truth. The direct outcome of your meditations will be a
calm, spiritual strength which will be your stay and resting-place in the
struggle of life. Great is the overcoming power of holy thought, and the
strength and knowledge gained in the hour of silent meditation will enrich
the soul with saving remembrance in the hour of strife, of sorrow, or of
temptation.
As, by the power of meditation, you grow in wisdom, you will relinquish,
more and more, your selfish desires which are fickle, impermanent, and
productive of sorrow and pain; and will take your stand, with increasing
steadfastness and trust, upon unchangeable principles, and will realize
heavenly rest.
The use of meditation is the acquirement of a knowledge of eternal
principles, and the power which results from meditation is the ability to
rest upon and trust those principles, and so become one with the Eternal.
The end of meditation is, therefore, direct knowledge of Truth, God, and
the realization of divine and profound peace.
Let your meditations take their rise from the ethical ground which you now
occupy. Remember that you are to _grow_ into Truth by steady perseverance.
If you are an orthodox Christian, meditate ceaselessly upon the spotless
purity and divine excellence of the character of Jesus, and apply his every
precept to your inner life and outward conduct, so as to approximate more
and more toward his perfection. Do not be as those religious ones, who,
refusing to meditate upon the Law of Truth, and to put into practice the
precepts given to them by their Master, are content to formally worship, to
cling to their particular creeds, and to continue in the ceaseless round of
sin and suffering. Strive to rise, by the power of meditation, above all
selfish clinging to partial gods or party creeds; above dead formalities
and lifeless ignorance. Thus walking the high way of wisdom, with mind
fixed upon the spotless Truth, you shall know no halting-place short of the
realization of Truth.
He who earnestly meditates first perceives a truth, as it were, afar off,
and then realizes it by daily practice. It is only the doer of the Word of
Truth that can know of the doctrine of Truth, for though by pure thought
the Truth is perceived, it is only actualized by practice.
Said the divine Gautama, the Buddha, "He who gives himself up to vanity,
and does not give himself up to meditation, forgetting the real aim of life
and grasping at pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in
meditation," and he instructed his disciples in the following "Five Great
Meditations":--
"The first meditation is the meditation of love, in which you so adjust
your heart that you long for the weal and welfare of all beings, including
the happiness of your enemies.
"The second meditation is the meditation of pity, in which you think of all
beings in distress, vividly representing in your imagination their sorrows
and anxieties so as to arouse a deep compassion for them in your soul.
"The third meditation is the meditation of joy, in which you think of the
prosperity of others, and rejoice with their rejoicings.
"The fourth meditation is the meditation of impurity, in which you consider
the evil consequences of corruption, the effects of sin and diseases. How
trivial often the pleasure of the moment, and how fatal its consequences.
"The fifth meditation is the meditation on serenity, in which you rise
above love and hate, tyranny and oppression, wealth and want, and regard
your own fate with impartial calmness and perfect tranquillity."
By engaging in these meditations the disciples of the Buddha arrived at a
knowledge of the Truth. But whether you engage in these particular
meditations or not matters little so long as your object is Truth, so long
as you hunger and thirst for that righteousness which is a holy heart and a
blameless life. In your meditations, therefore, let your heart grow and
expand with ever-broadening love, until, freed from all hatred, and
passion, and condemnation, it embraces the whole universe with thoughtful
tenderness. As the flower opens its petals to receive the morning light, so
open your soul more and more to the glorious light of Truth. Soar upward
upon the wings of aspiration; be fearless, and believe in the loftiest
possibilities. Believe that a life of absolute meekness is possible;
believe that a life of stainless purity is possible; believe that a life of
perfect holiness is possible; believe that the realization of the highest
truth is possible. He who so believes, climbs rapidly the heavenly hills,
whilst the unbelievers continue to grope darkly and painfully in the
fog-bound valleys.
So believing, so aspiring, so meditating, divinely sweet and beautiful will
be your spiritual experiences, and glorious the revelations that will
enrapture your inward vision. As you realize the divine Love, the divine
Justice, the divine Purity, the Perfect Law of Good, or God, great will be
your bliss and deep your peace. Old things will pass away, and all things
will become new. The veil of the material universe, so dense and
impenetrable to the eye of error, so thin and gauzy to the eye of Truth,
will be lifted and the spiritual universe will be revealed. Time will
cease, and you will live only in Eternity. Change and mortality will no
more cause you anxiety and sorrow, for you will become established in the
unchangeable, and will dwell in the very heart of immortality.
STAR OF WISDOM
Star that of the birth of Vishnu,
Birth of Krishna, Buddha, Jesus,
Told the wise ones, Heavenward looking,
Waiting, watching for thy gleaming
In the darkness of the night-time,
In the starless gloom of midnight;
Shining Herald of the coming
Of the kingdom of the righteous;
Teller of the Mystic story
Of the lowly birth of Godhead
In the stable of the passions,
In the manger of the mind-soul;
Silent singer of the secret
Of compassion deep and holy
To the heart with sorrow burdened,
To the soul with waiting weary:--
Star of all-surpassing brightness,
Thou again dost deck the midnight;
Thou again dost cheer the wise ones
Watching in the creedal darkness,
Weary of the endless battle
With the grinding blades of error;
Tired of lifeless, useless idols,
Of the dead forms of religions;
Spent with watching for thy shining;
Thou hast ended their despairing;
Thou hast lighted up their pathway;
Thou hast brought again the old Truths
To the hearts of all thy Watchers;
To the souls of them that love thee
Thou dost speak of Joy and Gladness,
Of the peace that comes of Sorrow.
Blessed are they that can see thee,
Weary wanderers in the Night-time;
Blessed they who feel the throbbing,
In their bosoms feel the pulsing
Of a deep Love stirred within them
By the great power of thy shining.
Let us learn thy lesson truly;
Learn it faithfully and humbly;
Learn it meekly, wisely, gladly,
Ancient Star of holy Vishnu,
Light of Krishna, Buddha, Jesus.
THE TWO MASTERS, SELF AND TRUTH
Upon the battlefield of the human soul two masters are ever contending for
the crown of supremacy, for the kingship and dominion of the heart; the
master of self, called also the "Prince of this world," and the master of
Truth, called also the Father God. The master self is that rebellious one
whose weapons are passion, pride, avarice, vanity, self-will, implements of
darkness; the master Truth is that meek and lowly one whose weapons are
gentleness, patience, purity, sacrifice, humility, love, instruments of
Light.
In every soul the battle is waged, and as a soldier cannot engage at once
in two opposing armies, so every heart is enlisted either in the ranks of
self or of Truth. There is no half-and-half course; "There is self and
there is Truth; where self is, Truth is not, where Truth is, self is not."
Thus spake Buddha, the teacher of Truth, and Jesus, the manifested Christ,
declared that "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the
one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."
Truth is so simple, so absolutely undeviating and uncompromising that it
admits of no complexity, no turning, no qualification. Self is ingenious,
crooked, and, governed by subtle and snaky desire, admits of endless
turnings and qualifications, and the deluded worshipers of self vainly
imagine that they can gratify every worldly desire, and at the same time
possess the Truth. But the lovers of Truth worship Truth with the sacrifice
of self, and ceaselessly guard themselves against worldliness and
self-seeking.
Do you seek to know and to realize Truth? Then you must be prepared to
sacrifice, to renounce to the uttermost, for Truth in all its glory can
only be perceived and known when the last vestige of self has disappeared.
The eternal Christ declared that he who would be His disciple must "deny
himself daily." Are you willing to deny yourself, to give up your lusts,
your prejudices, your opinions? If so, you may enter the narrow way of
Truth, and find that peace from which the world is shut out. The absolute
denial, the utter extinction, of self is the perfect state of Truth, and
all religions and philosophies are but so many aids to this supreme
attainment.
Self is the denial of Truth. Truth is the denial of self. As you let self
die, you will be reborn in Truth. As you cling to self, Truth will be
hidden from you.
Whilst you cling to self, your path will be beset with difficulties, and
repeated pains, sorrows, and disappointments will be your lot. There are no
difficulties in Truth, and coming to Truth, you will be freed from all
sorrow and disappointment.
Truth in itself is not hidden and dark. It is always revealed and is
perfectly transparent. But the blind and wayward self cannot perceive it.
The light of day is not hidden except to the blind, and the Light of Truth
is not hidden except to those who are blinded by self.
Truth is the one Reality in the universe, the inward Harmony, the perfect
Justice, the eternal Love. Nothing can be added to it, nor taken from it.
It does not depend upon any man, but all men depend upon it. You cannot
perceive the beauty of Truth while you are looking out through the eyes of
self. If you are vain, you will color everything with your own vanities. If
lustful, your heart and mind will be so clouded with the smoke and flames
of passion, that everything will appear distorted through them. If proud
and opinionative, you will see nothing in the whole universe except the
magnitude and importance of your own opinions.
There is one quality which pre-eminently distinguishes the man of Truth
from the man of self, and that is _humility_. To be not only free from
vanity, stubbornness and egotism, but to regard one's own opinions as of no
value, this indeed is true humility.
He who is immersed in self regards his own opinions as Truth, and the
opinions of other men as error. But that humble Truth-lover who has learned
to distinguish between opinion and Truth, regards all men with the eye of
charity, and does not seek to defend his opinions against theirs, but
sacrifices those opinions that he may love the more, that he may manifest
the spirit of Truth, for Truth in its very nature is ineffable and can only
be lived. He who has most of charity has most of Truth.
Men engage in heated controversies, and foolishly imagine they are
defending the Truth, when in reality they are merely defending their own
petty interests and perishable opinions. The follower of self takes up arms
against others. The follower of Truth takes up arms against himself. Truth,
being unchangeable and eternal, is independent of your opinion and of mine.
We may enter into it, or we may stay outside; but both our defense and our
attack are superfluous, and are hurled back upon ourselves.
Men, enslaved by self, passionate, proud, and condemnatory, believe their
particular creed or religion to be the Truth, and all other religions to be
error; and they proselytize with passionate ardor. There is but one
religion, the religion of Truth. There is but one error, the error of self.
Truth is not a formal belief; it is an unselfish, holy, and aspiring heart,
and he who has Truth is at peace with all, and cherishes all with thoughts
of love.
You may easily know whether you are a child of Truth or a worshiper of
self, if you will silently examine your mind, heart, and conduct. Do you
harbor thoughts of suspicion, enmity, envy, lust, pride, or do you
strenuously fight against these? If the former, you are chained to self, no
matter what religion you may profess; if the latter, you are a candidate
for Truth, even though outwardly you may profess no religion. Are you
passionate, self-willed, ever seeking to gain your own ends,
self-indulgent, and self-centered; or are you gentle, mild, unselfish, quit
of every form of self-indulgence, and are ever ready to give up your own?
If the former, self is your master; if the latter, Truth is the object of
your affection. Do you strive for riches? Do you fight, with passion, for
your party? Do you lust for power and leadership? Are you given to
ostentation and self-praise? Or have you given up the love of riches? Have
you relinquished all strife? Are you content to take the lowest place, and
to be passed by unnoticed? And have you ceased to talk about yourself and
to regard yourself with self-complacent pride? If the former, even though
you may imagine you worship God, the god of your heart is self. If the
latter, even though you may withhold your lips from worship, you are
dwelling with the Most High.
The signs by which the Truth-lover is known are unmistakable. Hear the Holy
Krishna declare them, in Sir Edwin Arnold's beautiful rendering of the
"Bhagavad Gita":--
"Fearlessness, singleness of soul, the will
Always to strive for wisdom; opened hand
And governed appetites; and piety,
And love of lonely study; humbleness,
Uprightness, heed to injure nought which lives
Truthfulness, slowness unto wrath, a mind
That lightly letteth go what others prize;
And equanimity, and charity
Which spieth no man's faults; and tenderness
Towards all that suffer; a contented heart,
Fluttered by no desires; a bearing mild,
Modest and grave, with manhood nobly mixed,
With patience, fortitude and purity;
An unrevengeful spirit, never given
To rate itself too high--such be the signs,
O Indian Prince! of him whose feet are set
On that fair path which leads to heavenly birth!"
When men, lost in the devious ways of error and self, have forgotten the
"heavenly birth," the state of holiness and Truth, they set up artificial
standards by which to judge one another, and make acceptance of, and
adherence to, their own particular theology, the test of Truth; and so men
are divided one against another, and there is ceaseless enmity and strife,
and unending sorrow and suffering.