The earnest seeker who has already achieved a certain degree of awareness and understanding has the beginnings of what may be a splendid opportunity to make phenomenal progress in his present incarnation. But everything in this world must be paid for; the greatest treasures are attained only at the greatest cost. The aspirant must now embark on a do-or-die endeavour to lift his character onto a higher plane altogether; to purify his motives; and to be prepared to sacrifice all worldly objects first inwardly and, finally, outwardly--if called upon to do so. The spiritual returns are correspondingly great, however. They are: serenity, understanding, liberation, satisfaction, and the delight of perpetual communion with the divine Overself--while being always in Its blissful Presence.
There must also be the dedication to service. Here, more often than not, the spiritual returns are a terrible sadness which must be borne alone and unshared.
Such is the philosophic life--the only conceivable way of life for many, now, and for many more, later on--forever motivated and sustained by the unchanging living Reality, Mind.
-- Notebooks Category 20: What Is Philosophy? > Chapter 3 : Its Requirements > # 127
