The Golden Star
VISION 9
Cosmic Consciousness
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“This perception cannot be obtained by any process of thought; for mere thinking will bring at most a dim apprehension of the higher faculties of the Soul—although this process is already a mode of perception which transcends the mere intellect.
“But Cosmic Consciousness can only be attained by clairvoyant perception, transcending all bodily limitations, and bringing the consciousness of the Higher Mind en rapport with conditions in the higher Worlds by means of attunement with the Soul; which in turn is in direct communication with all the Souls in the superior regions—which are ONE!
“Apuleius—an Initiate of the Isiac Mysteries—has said: ‘I approached the confines of death, and having trod on the threshold of Proserpine, I returned therefrom, being borne through all the elements. At midnight I saw the Sun shining with its brilliant light, and I approached the presence of the Gods beneath and the Gods above, and stood near and worshipped them. Behold, I have related to you things of which, though heard by you, you must necessarily remain ignorant.’
“To attain Cosmic Consciousness, or even to strive after it, is the most profound homage that Man can render to God.
“ ‘To that God,’ says Porphyry, ‘who is above all things, neither external speech ought to be addressed, nor yet that which is inward, when it is defiled by the passion of the Soul [in other words, the Higher Mind in our terminology], but we should venerate Him in pure silence and through pure conceptions of His Nature.’
“But before Cosmic Consciousness can be attained, it is necessary to obtain full consciousness and knowledge of the illusion of self-hood in Man, for the Hermetic axiom tells us that ‘who knows himself knows all things in himself.’
“And whilst a man devotes his attention to divine things, he must at the same time faithfully perform the duties of practical life; for he is placed within the Temple of the body in order to execute certain worldly duties, and to serve his fellows.
“And having done this Porphyry continues: ‘the mortal who approaches the Fire shall receive a Light from Divinity: for unto the persevering mortal the blesséd Immortals are swift!’
“These truths are hard to understand by man who moves within the earthly spheres and therein finds his dim delights; imprisoned is he by the senses, which take their joy and gladness from the illusive pictures that make the web of tapestry of Nature and all its beauties. He beholds effects, but not the cause; to him the material reflection from the spiritual reflection of the One Actuality—a double dream this—is reality. That reality is not the actuality, but only a realization of the senses which image within the earthly mind a further reflection of that reality which has only objective existence that hides the Truth.
“How can he withdraw from these earthly illusions, how achieve extinction of desire, cessation of longing, leading to that Peace Profound which is the goal of all seekers in quest of the Divine Mysteries? Only by forsaking greed and hatred and by turning to love and service can the curtain be lifted and the Truth be revealed.
“Those of coarse minds, moving in the darkness of earthly preoccupations and dwelling in the world of forms, can never behold it. But those who once see the Light must spread the Message, for there are those who are ready and only await the kindly word in order to hear; they only need the cooling touch of a healing hand upon their aching eyes to see opened to them the Gates of Eternity.
“Tell them, my children; speak the word, and thy toil will bring forth abundant fruit.
“It will be heard by the dull and the brilliant, the pure and the impure, the stupid and the wise, and those in between such conditions of mind, who all need what they are qualified to take of the shining pearls of Holy Wisdom.
“Julian has said that: ‘The Oracles of the Gods declare that through purifying ceremonies, not the Soul only, [in other words the Higher Mind] but bodies themselves become worthy of receiving much assistance and health: “for” (say they) ‘the mortal vestment of bitter matter will by these means be preserved.’
“Plato taught that: ‘Purification is to be derived from the five mathematical disciplines, viz., from Arithmetic, Geometry, Stereometry—the Art of measuring solid bodies, and finding their solid contents—Music and Astronomy.’
“The parts of Initiation into the Sacred Mysteries were also five, and the first of these parts consisted of the purification. ‘The fifth gradation is the most perfect felicity . . . and according to Plato an assimilation to divinity as far as it is possible to mankind,’ says Theon of Smyrna in his Mathematica. In the Golden Verses of Pythagoras you can read: ‘Thou shalt know also that men draw their misfortunes upon themselves of their own choice. Wretches! They neither see nor understand that their God is close at hand. Few know how to free themselves from their misfortunes. Such is the Fate that takes away the sense of men.
“ ‘But be of good heart, the race of men is divine. Holy Nature shows them all her mysteries. Take the Supreme Mind as thy guide (who must ever direct and restrain thy course).
“ ‘And when, after having thrown aside the body, thou comest to the realms of the most pure ether, thou shalt be God, immortal, incorruptible.’
“This can only be done by attuning to the pure and divine realms of God’s Love and Wisdom. Ordinary natural reasoning will never lead man to an understanding of transmundane knowledge, for the Essence of God is the domain of Light, and into that Celestial Region no speculations of the unfolded reason can penetrate. The Philosopher Kant taught this, but the real meaning of his wisdom is so hidden that but few can follow the trend of his elevated teachings. The principal cause of that inability is the fact that most students overlook, or cannot see, the difference between intellectual reasoning, which is of a material nature, and therefore corrupt, and the Light of Inspirational Wisdom, which is divine, and therefore eternal and pure. This is the ‘pure’ reason of Kant; a godlike attribute of the Soul of man, as compared with the earthly thinking of man’s mind, which prevents a realization of transcendental Truth. This can only be revealed to those who have faith; for only by faith (not religion in this sense) can the inner perceptions unfold.
“Thus man acquires a sense of divine realities, opening up an entirely new world of the spirit which is hidden from the average ‘thinker.’ He then realizes the difference between the earthly dwelling-place of the mind (the human body in the material and temporary sphere), and the divine dwelling-places such as you have perceived in this region of the Astral Fire, which is real and everlasting and in accordance with the Divine Revelation Jesus made to St. Peter, and in which the Soul–Mind exists in an eternal vehicle if it wishes to do so. St. Paul says: ‘For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise [by which he means the human intellect], and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
“ ‘For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom [intellect] knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks a foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.’ Thus spoke the wise Apostle; and it has always seemed foolish to the worldly wise that some by faith have claimed to receive inspiration and revelation; neither of which can be measured or proven by material standards. They belong to the Soul, which has sent a message to the Mind. Only that Mind which receives such a Holy Ray of Light can realize the Truth in the Radiance and Splendour of this Illumination. To all other minds, who have not received it, that Light is darkness; and in darkness they dwell until their time arrives.
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