H

E who would see the Master should seek him at the dawning,

for it is then he is most visible to men.

The Lodge has four great doors. One looks towards the North, one towards the South, one towards the East, one towards the West. Just prior to the hour of dawn there issues from each portal (as that hour may come), a messenger, an angel. He stands upon the threshold, the great doors opened wide, wrapped in silence. As the first grey light shows faintly in the sky, he steps across, raising his face to the stars above him. Then his voice sounds,-a great echoing cry like an organ tone, that slowly pulsates into silence again:-Awake thou that sleepest: arise from death! Three times at intervals that cry resounds, then the great doors close upon the messenger's return. They tell us, those who know the secrets of the Lodge, that this is the Lodge's memorial to the resurrection of Christ; that since that first Easter Day in Palestine these messengers have called each morning, and that the call stirs somewhere in the depths of every soul,-to the North, to the South, to the East, to the West. They who are "awake" at dawn can hear it, they say, not only with the inner ear, but with the outer, and feel the quivering response of Nature to this "Aum" chanted on its new note.

Christ held out his chalice to me, and I who was athirst, cried, Lord, give me to drink! And he said, Would'st thou drink? And I cried the more saying, Yea, give me to drink, Lord, I die of thirst. And he gave me, but his face was sad.

The first taste was sweet, sweet beyond measure, with a sweetness that intensified all thirst, and that moreover made any other beverage unsatisfying for ever. The second taste was of wormwood and of gall, bitter unbearably. Yet it, too, intensified my thirst, and though I shrank, I knew that I must drink or die. Then I beheld the chalice, and lo, it was the Heart of my Lord which he held out to me, and I drank through the wound in it where he was pierced for my sins. Drop by drop the nectar fell from that opening of his love, as still he held the chalice out to me. And what I drank now was a liquid fire, burning and consuming me, a torture inner and outer. So I understood how God's love had created hell as well as heaven.

CAVÉ.

IN THE HOUSE OF DEATH

KATHA UPANISHAD

TRANSLATED FROM THE SANSKRIT WITH AN INTERPRETATION

V.

This Spirit who is awake in those who sleep, moulding desire after desire: this, verily, is the luminous one, this is the Eternal; this, verily, is called the immortal. In this all worlds are set firm, nor does any transcend it. This, verily, is That.

As the one vital Fire, entering the world, has shaped itself according to form after form, so the one Inner Self of all beings shapes itself to form after form, and is also outside them.

As the one Breath, entering the world, has shaped itself according to form after form, so the one Inner Self of all beings shapes itself to form after form, and is also outside them.

As the Sun, the eye of all the world, is not stained by visible outward defects, so the one Inner Self of all beings is not stained by the evil of the world, being outside it.

The one Ruler, the Inner Self of all beings, who makes one form manifold: the wise who recognize Him dwelling within them, theirs is joy everlasting, but not of others.

The enduring among unenduring things, the Intelligence of intelligences, who, being one, disposes the desires of many: the wise who recognize Him dwelling within them, theirs is peace everlasting, but not of others.

This is that, they say, the ineffable, supreme joy; how may I understand it? Does this give light, or shine by another's light?

The sun shines not there, nor the moon and stars, nor these lightnings, nor fire like this. After this shining, all shines; from the shining of this, all draws its light.

T

HIS passage is so clear, so eloquent and full of beauty, that it hardly needs any comment. It is the teaching of the supreme Divine Self, which is at once Divine Consciousness and Divine Will; which is the inner Divine Self of all beings, and the origin and source of all power, of every form of force and will throughout the universe.

As being the source and substance of all force, it is that everlasting Motion which is one aspect of the Eternal. And, since motion, in one of its manifestations, is light, this everlasting Motion is perpetual, eternal Light.

One phase of our perceptive consciousness is recipient of natural light, which is a manifestation of the everlasting Light. If we can conceive a spiritual consciousness directly perceptive of that Light, we shall recognize that such a consciousness will dwell in everlasting Light.

This is one of the most universal of all religious and mystical symbols: the Eternal is the "Father of Lights"; the incarnate Logos is "the Light of the world"; and we find, in the Upanishads and in the Apocalypse, exactly the same expression of the self-luminous spiritual world: "The sun shines not there, nor the moon and stars.

from the shining of this, all draws its light"; and "There shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light".

Yet another universal religious teaching finds its expression in the passage translated above: the teaching that the Divine is both immanent and transcendent. The one Breath, the Spirit, enters the world shaping itself to form after form, and yet remains outside them. The Divine Spirit is at once the substance, the force and consciousness of every manifested form; yet this manifestation, this endless differentiation does not for an instant impair the perfect unity, the entire perfection of the Divine.

Rooted above, downward branching is this immemorial Ashvattha tree: this, verily, is the luminous one, this is the Eternal; this, verily, is called the immortal. In this all worlds are set firm, nor does any transcend it. This, verily, is That.

Whatever is here, the whole moving world, moves in the Life, made manifest from That. This is the great Fear, the uplifted sceptre; they who know this, become immortal. Through fear of this, fire burns; through fear of this, the sun glows; through fear of this, Indra ana Vayu, and Death runs as the fifth.

If one has been able to awaken to this, here, before the body's dissolution, thereafter he builds for embodiment in the creative worlds.

As in a mirror, so in oneself is this perceived; as in dream, so in the world of the Fathers; as in the waters, dispersedly, this is perceived in the world of the Seraphs; as in the light and the shadow, it is perceived in the world of the Eternal.

The immemorial Ashvattha tree is the Tree of Life, rooted above, in the Eternal, and branching downward through the manifested worlds. This again is a universal symbol, found in all religions.

The Eternal is the "great Fear", the everlasting Mystery, before which even the loftiest spirit must ever bow down in reverent awe; the unseen, supreme Lord, whom all manifested powers, whether of life or death, perpetually obey.

The recognition of this Divine Eternal makes for the building of the spiritual body, "the house not made with hands".

While we are here, the Divine Self is indistinctly seen; it appears "as in a mirror, enigmatically," in Saint Paul's words; in the world of the Fathers, the restorative paradise between death and rebirth, it is seen as in a dream, since that is a world of celestial dreams; in the world of the Seraphs, the angelic world, its radiance is like the gleam of sunlight on rippled water, every celestial being reflecting something of that light. In the world of the Eternal, there is the light and the shadow: the light of the Logos, the shadow of the manifested worlds.

The wise man, considering that the activity of the powers of perception and action is separate from his real being, and that they have their rising and setting, as of activities arising apart from himself, grieves not.

Higher than the powers is Mind; higher than Mind is spiritual being; above spiritual being is the Great Self; above the Great is the Unmanifest. But higher than the Unmanifest is the Spirit, all pervading, without distinctive mark. Knowing this, a living being is set free and goes to immortality.

This is what may be called the classification of the Principles: there are, first, the powers of perception and action; then Manas; then the spiritual being, Buddhi, the manifestation of Atma; above Atma is the Logos; beyond the Logos is the Eternal. Knowing this spiritual stairway, man ascends it to immortality.

The form of the Eternal cannot be seen, nor can any one behold Him with the eyes. Through the heart, through illumination, through the understanding He is apprehended. They who know this, become immortal.

When the five powers of perception come to rest, with the mind, and the understanding no longer strives, this they call the highest way; this they hold to be union, the steady controlling of the powers; thereupon he becomes undeluded, for union is a rising and a surcease.

Not, verily, by speech, or by thought, or by the eyes, can this be obtained. It is apprehended of him who realizes its being; how could it be known otherwise?

It is to be apprehended by realizing its being, and by direct experience of both; to him who has apprehended it through realization, its true being is revealed.

When all desires that dwell in his heart are let go, the mortal becomes immortal and enters the Eternal.

When all the knots of the heart are untied, the mortal becomes immortal; so far goes the teaching handed down.

These passages would seem to be the original source of the teaching of union, of Yoga, one formulation of which has come down to us.

connected with the name of Patanjali, while there is another expression of the same teaching in the Bhagavad Gita.

Only one sentence appears to call for comment: "It is to be apprehended by realizing its being, and by direct experience of both": the meaning appears to be, a direct experience of the Divine within us and the Divine above us; the dim star within, and the infinite light.

A hundred and one are the channels of the heart; of them, one rises to the crown; ascending by this, he reaches immortality; the others lead in diverse ways.

Of the measure of the thumb, the Spirit, the Inner Self, dwells ever in the hearts of creatures. Let him draw this forth from the body, steadily, like a reed from its sheath. Let him know this to be the luminous, the immortal; let him know this to be the luminous, the immortal.

Something has already been said, in a previous section, concerning the "channel in the head" through which the divine fire ascends, to what Shankara calls "the door". This appears to be a reference to the same teaching.

As has already been said, the second part of Katha Upanishad appears to consist of pages taken from some Book of Discipline for disciples, each passage almost complete in itself, with the result that there is some lack of external continuity. But the inner thought is continuous, as will become clear as each passage is read, pondered on, and inwardly digested. The repetition of the closing sentence, here, as elsewhere, is meant to mark the end of the text.

There is, however, an added passage, intended to preserve the unity of the whole book by declaring that the preceding passages were a part of the teaching given by Death to Nachiketas. This passage follows.

Nachiketas, receiving this wisdom declared by Death, and the perfect rule of union, attained to the Eternal, gaining freedom from passion and from death. So, verily, will he who knows this, concerning the Divine Self.

C. J.

Dost thou pray? Nay! God prays to thee prayer.-ANON.

Listen to His