Course I - Teaching 3: The Flame

“The spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak.”
Many people would wish to go out of vulgarity and misery of life; but lack of spiritual exercises, absence of environment, and inner enemies constantly block the way in the better-intentioned person.
The flame of the Divine Mother shines upon the mount of aspirations in its total splendor, but how to get there?
Then, a neophyte doubts and asks two questions: if I am a free entity, why am I unable to free myself from passions tying me down to earth? And if I am a slave tied down to an inexorable law planned by destiny, why to fight against what is impossible?
This is the eternal dilemma that has kept in suspense for centuries thousands of voluntary souls; and has filled the world with arguments, books and opinions of sages.
To enter the Spiritual Path, does predestination or freewill guide him to it?
Is the choice the fruit of chance or the fruit of will?
There are two great universal laws which, in parallel or alternatively, determine a higher or lower progress in the soul: The Law of Consecutive Predestination and the Arbitrary Law of Possibilities.
A being comes from a point, is on other point, and goes on forward.
This is not subject to his choice, but predestined by the harmonious play of the great wave of cause and effect, and he cannot avoid it; so we have the Law of Consecutive Predestination.
But while he cannot avoid the Law of Consequences, doubtless it is up to him to hasten or retard original actions, by conscious efforts of the will; so we have the Arbitrary Law of Possibilities.
In short, both infinite and finite meet and merge together continuously.
The cross Ansata, over the temple of Hes, becomes always the solution to the great divine-human problem.
Behind these two great fundamental and universal laws, another inner and hidden law rules and individually relates a being to the cosmic and spiritual current inside his vast consciousness.
Throughout life, a conscious being traces, as it were, a curve line, and when he reaches the highest upward point, collides with the cosmic current in tune with it.
This is the only occasion in life; it is vocation that suddenly shines in the mind of the searcher; it is the moment to progress presented once in the human way.
Even the meanest being has an instant of ascension and connection with superior forces, and then he wishes to be more honest and better.
If during the downward curve to physical death (because physical death ultimately is only exhaustion of certain consequences and possibilities) the soul knows how to bear the flame of vocation perceived on the superior glimpse, he will never be such as he was; and if oblivion puts out this light, it will be nothing else than a memory that he must fertilize in a next human pilgrimage.
The beginner should not get discouraged if in the beginning of his spiritual race he finds everywhere enemies, troubles and temptations blocking his way, but by constant efforts and right intention he should try always to stay within the current of spiritual wishes.
Help shall not be absent when necessary; and if in the beginning the progress is not so much as desired, he should know that a spiritual progress is not measured by great advances, acquisition of psychic powers and inner controls which are also subject to the law of flux and reflux, but by the state of inner serenity.
If spirit is free in its inner sanctuary and if it is true that the soul should get rid of any impediment or imposition in order to reach it in intimate union, then outer life and senses should be studied and known. So, certain series of exercises are indispensable and their practice in one way or another, according to the disposition and particular characteristic of every student, prepares him to get higher teachings indicated always when it is time.
For the time being, the disciple should keep quiet and wait. The student should learn this sentence: “to keep quiet”, and this sentence will give the solution to other nine sentences listed below.
The following are basic words for Spiritual Development:
1rst: Keeping quiet.
2nd: Listening.
3rd : Remembering.
4th : Understanding.
5th : Knowing.
6th : Wanting.
7th : Daring.
8th : Judging.
9th : Forgetting.
10th : Transmuting.