Why does not the Overself show its existence and display its power once and for all? Why does it let this long torment of man, left to dwell in ignorance and darkness, go on? All that the ego is to gain from undergoing its varied evolution is wrapped up in the answer. This we have considered in The Wisdom of the Overself and The Spiritual Crisis of Man. But there is something more to be added to that answer. The Overself waits with deepest patience for him--man--to prefer it completely to everything and everyone else. It waits for the time when longings for the soul will leave the true aspirant no rest, when love for the divine will outlast and outweigh all other loves. When he feels that he needs it more than he needs anything else in this world, the Overself will unfailingly reveal its presence to him. Therefore a yearning devotion is one of the most important qualifications he can possess.
-- Notebooks Category 18: The Reverential Life > Chapter 1 : Devotion > # 76
