January 2019 – Balance
When a friend suggested ‘Balance’ as a topic for an eTeaching, the section in the book The Spiritual Crisis of Man that deals with the necessity of developing balance came to mind. In Chapter XII, titled ‘The Quest’ (pages 254-282), PB suggests that “…a seeker practice self-sculpture along the lines drawn for him by intuitive guidance and outer revelation until the Ideal becomes the Actual.” And he points out that “the happiness and character, the insight and strength which give life its real values, he himself must create from within. All these qualities already exist there latently but he has to bring them forth by willed effort. He sees in his wiser moments that he must stop waiting for happiness to come from outside himself and that if it is really to come, it must come from inside. And he finds that to make this possible he must strive perseveringly with the chaos of contradictory feelings which interpose themselves between him and the Ideal.” (p.255)
On page 262, under the subtitle ‘Wholeness and Balance,” PB writes: “It is not only part of the Quest’s goal to make a man wise, disciplined and, in the truest sense, a practical person, but also both a whole and a balanced one….The direction in which life is moving us is the attainment of wholeness- body, mind, feelings and intuition are to become a harmonious channel through which the Overself can express itself unobstructedly.”
“There are four distinct functions of the human personality, four separate activities within the human psyche—thinking, feeling, willing and intuiting. These four elements of the psyche must become active at their highest levels and at the same time kept balanced in their activity. Indeed, the Quest’s entire work will prove a long course in developing and balancing all the three faculties mostly used, and then making them illumined by, as well as obedient to, the intuitive faculty. When only one or two of these functions of being are active and the others are not, there is a lack of balance. If intellect acts without the guidance, check, or control of intuition and emotion, then it will surely mislead itself, make mistakes, and come to wrong conclusions. If emotion ignores reason and is unresponsive to intuition, it will surely become the puppet of its egotism and the victim of its desires. If spiritual teaching is brought into the intellect alone or to the emotions alone, and not into the will, it will be to that extent and to that part sterile. Most aspirants have an unequal development. Some part of the psyche is deficient. One may be a very good man, but at the same time a very foolish one. Another may be quite intellectual but also quite unintuitional.” (pages 262-263)
“Therefore, to become conscious of this light (the divine image is always there within us), the aspirant must refine emotions, govern instincts, and thus fortify character. He should start the practice of mystical introspection exercises, begin the study of the metaphysics of truth, and by this self education, acquire a knowledge of the deeper meanings of self and life, the divine and universal laws of human evolution of laws and destiny. He must cultivate the religious feelings and the mystical intuitions by regular effort through prayer and meditation. The purpose of all this arduous purification is to take chains off the feet of the will and the mind and thus give them a chance to move freely into the realm of the Overself. If he is patient and willing to wait, the answer to all questions within the seeker’s heart will be found one day, provided he works at this self-purification while he is waiting. (p. 267)