Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation homepage > Notebooks of Paul Brunton



The adept who attains perfect inner serenity can do so only by paying the price of forgoing the emotional agitations, attractions, and repulsions which constitute much of the inner life of most people. Having attained it himself, he can lead others to it only by pointing towards it as a reachable goal for them, too. He may not yield to personal favouritism or egotistic caprice based on likes and dislikes in selecting those whom he is to help. Indeed, because of this it is said that he is more interested in mankind collectively rather than as individuals. Now if he had to commit emotional suicide to reach his present height, it is unreasonable to expect that he should flatter or encourage those who, although seeking the same height, seek also to preserve or nourish their egoistic emotions. The latter are nearly always closely linked to egoistic desires. An inward detachment from all eagerness for earthly life is the grim price that must be paid before entry into the kingdom of heaven can be got. Such detachment requires soft sentimentality to yield to hard recognition of the impersonal realities of the human situation. And this recognition must assuredly lead the seeker far away from conventional points of view concerning his personal duties, his family relations, and his social behavior.

-- Notebooks Category 6: Emotions and Ethics > Chapter 3 : Discipline Emotions > # 178