Purity is the key to the spiritual life
By Omraam aivanhov
A great many people have come to me at different times, hoping that I would
give them easy ways to develop psychic faculties, magical powers , and so on. When I told
them that the most effective way of obtaining such powers was to purify
oneself, to do a thorough spring cleaning of one's inner self, they turned
away immediately-and you should have seen the scorn on their faces !
But you must try to understand that purity is the most effective way to
achieve realizations on the spiritual plane, for once the ground is cleared and
the way opened to the celestial currents, there will be nothing to prevent them
from reaching you and giving you what you ask for.
Everyone knows the difficulties that can be caused by blocked pipes and
dirty windows or spectacles, but very few ever think that they are harbouring
those same problems within themselves : thoughts, feelings, and desires which
are like stains, dust, or rubbish clogging their spiritual channels and
preventing divine light from reaching and entering them.
You can build nothing solid and durable in the spiritual life unless you begin by working to purify yourself.
But you must not think that I insist so much on purity because it is the only thing you need to think about, or because you need never seek any further than this. No, not at all ! If I insist on purity it is because it is the foundation of all the rest-this is what Yesod means, base or foundation . And the function of a foundation is to bear the weight of the whole edifice. All the other sephiroth on the Tree of Life represent virtues with which disciples must also learn to work, but the work with Yesod, the foundation, represents the condition that must be fulfilled before you can begin to learn or to create in the spiritual world.
Like all the other sephiroth, Yesod has its own inner hierarchy, and the lower levels correspond to the Moon, which, in psychology, represents the world of the unconscious, of instincts, imagination, and illusions. Thus it is essential to make oneself master of this world, so as to bring order and light into it. And this is what it means to purify oneself. It is as simple as that. Yes, to purify oneself is, first of all, to be capable of recognizing the nature of what goes on in one ' s own inner life, of analysing one ' s thoughts, feelings, desires, and ambitions, and of working to make them less selfish and more generous.
You can build nothing solid and durable in the spiritual life unless you begin by working to purify yourself.
But you must not think that I insist so much on purity because it is the only thing you need to think about, or because you need never seek any further than this. No, not at all ! If I insist on purity it is because it is the foundation of all the rest-this is what Yesod means, base or foundation . And the function of a foundation is to bear the weight of the whole edifice. All the other sephiroth on the Tree of Life represent virtues with which disciples must also learn to work, but the work with Yesod, the foundation, represents the condition that must be fulfilled before you can begin to learn or to create in the spiritual world.
Like all the other sephiroth, Yesod has its own inner hierarchy, and the lower levels correspond to the Moon, which, in psychology, represents the world of the unconscious, of instincts, imagination, and illusions. Thus it is essential to make oneself master of this world, so as to bring order and light into it. And this is what it means to purify oneself. It is as simple as that. Yes, to purify oneself is, first of all, to be capable of recognizing the nature of what goes on in one ' s own inner life, of analysing one ' s thoughts, feelings, desires, and ambitions, and of working to make them less selfish and more generous.
In spite of these explanations, I know that many will close their ears,
justifying their rejection of what I say with the argument that purity means
bigotry, restriction, fanaticism, and even exclusion; that in the name of
purity people have been persecuted, massacred and burned at the stake. Really?
But have not such terrible crimes also been committed in the name of love? Does
that prevent them from pronouncing the word or from continuing to love? What a
hypocritical argument ! They are ready to take anything as an excuse not to
exert themselves. On the pretext that the notion of purity has so often been
misunderstood they continue to chum up all kinds of dirt. Well, they are free to do so, of course,
but one day they will see the results of their distorted way of thinking.
This is why it is so important for them really to understand what purity
is, for it is the key to the spiritual life. When you work seriously and in depth to purify yourself, light can flow into
you more and more easily, and you begin to see more clearly, to be more lucid.
The sickly, ailing particles in your body are eliminated and your physical health
begins to improve; the weak particles hampering your will are also discarded and
you become stronger. All that is dark and shadowy begins to disappear. H you were
sad, you find yourself filled with joy, for joy is simply an aspect of purity;
and the more you purify yourself, the more you will feel lighthearted, gay, and
joyful. And just as impurity leads to putrefaction, fermentation, dislocation, and
death, the exact opposite happens when you purify yourself: you draw closer to immortality.
Thus health, power, knowledge, happiness, and immortality are simply different aspects
of purity.
And now we can see the problems that must arise if the state of the psychic world is not sufficiently pure to allow the light of the spiritual world to pass through it. Unfortunately, this is the case with most people. They complain of feeling no benefits from their spiritual exercises. They pray, they meditate, they try to link themselves to heaven, but they have the impression that none of it does them any good. They feel just as doubtful, disorientated, and weak as ever. Sometimes they even feel that their situation is worse than before. All of this is because the light to which they are trying to link themselves encounters too many layers of impurity, formed by their untidy, undisciplined thoughts and feelings. In this case, not only is it prevented from entering them, but it actually accelerates the process of putrefaction that is going on within them, just as sunlight accelerates the putrefaction of a heap of compost.
Rays of sunlight can reach and illuminate us if our windows are clean, but when they have to penetrate layers of impurities, they trigger a process of putrefaction. And putrefaction produces nauseating smells. If you want to become a worthy receptacle for divine light, your heart must be as transparent as crystal ; if it is not, the smell of putrefaction is what awaits you. As long as you have not made up your mind to do any serious work of detachment and purification, you would do better not to approach initiatic science. I warn you of this because it would be useless, later on, to blame that science for your problems ; they will be your own fault, entirely your own
fault.
To be truly wealthy is to possess this light that enables you to discover the truth for yourself without always being obliged to consult others. 'Without even being obliged to consult a spiritual master or an initiate?' you will ask. Yes, why not? If you are capable of being equal or even superior to them, why not? Of course, it will be a long and difficult process, but there is no decree of cosmic intelligence that says you will always have to be limited and dependent. Disciples have never been forbidden to equal or even surpass their master. The path is always open to you ; indeed it may well be the only one that is truly open. Nobody can prevent you from growing and advancing in light. Why else would Jesus have said: 'Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect? '
And now we can see the problems that must arise if the state of the psychic world is not sufficiently pure to allow the light of the spiritual world to pass through it. Unfortunately, this is the case with most people. They complain of feeling no benefits from their spiritual exercises. They pray, they meditate, they try to link themselves to heaven, but they have the impression that none of it does them any good. They feel just as doubtful, disorientated, and weak as ever. Sometimes they even feel that their situation is worse than before. All of this is because the light to which they are trying to link themselves encounters too many layers of impurity, formed by their untidy, undisciplined thoughts and feelings. In this case, not only is it prevented from entering them, but it actually accelerates the process of putrefaction that is going on within them, just as sunlight accelerates the putrefaction of a heap of compost.
Rays of sunlight can reach and illuminate us if our windows are clean, but when they have to penetrate layers of impurities, they trigger a process of putrefaction. And putrefaction produces nauseating smells. If you want to become a worthy receptacle for divine light, your heart must be as transparent as crystal ; if it is not, the smell of putrefaction is what awaits you. As long as you have not made up your mind to do any serious work of detachment and purification, you would do better not to approach initiatic science. I warn you of this because it would be useless, later on, to blame that science for your problems ; they will be your own fault, entirely your own
fault.
To be truly wealthy is to possess this light that enables you to discover the truth for yourself without always being obliged to consult others. 'Without even being obliged to consult a spiritual master or an initiate?' you will ask. Yes, why not? If you are capable of being equal or even superior to them, why not? Of course, it will be a long and difficult process, but there is no decree of cosmic intelligence that says you will always have to be limited and dependent. Disciples have never been forbidden to equal or even surpass their master. The path is always open to you ; indeed it may well be the only one that is truly open. Nobody can prevent you from growing and advancing in light. Why else would Jesus have said: 'Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect? '
Do not be deceived, the only true clairvoyance is that which enables you
to see the reality of the spiritual world, in other words, to perceive and
understand all that is most subtle in nature and in the human soul. The other
kind of clairvoyance consists in seeing past or future events, or the spirits
of the astral world, and there is nothing very remarkable about it. Everybody,
or almost everybody, can obtain this kind of clairvoyance by means of drugs or
certain exercises, but such means will not get anyone very far; moreover they
are very dangerous for one ' s psychic balance. The only kind of clairvoyance
you should seek is that which will transform you into a prism of crystal
through which the light of heaven can pass. It was this clairvoyance that Jesus
was speaking of when he said: ' Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. '
Make up your minds not to base your life on the acquisition of knowledge, wealth, or power, but on purity, and one day you will possess more than knowledge, more than wealth, more than power. History records many examples of men and women, who, never having studied or read a book, worked exclusively at achieving purity, and ended by manifesting all the other qualities as well wisdom, clairvoyance, the power of healing, and so on. They had rid themselves of all their inner layers of opacity, all their inner obstacles, and the treasures of heaven were able to pour into them.
Make up your minds not to base your life on the acquisition of knowledge, wealth, or power, but on purity, and one day you will possess more than knowledge, more than wealth, more than power. History records many examples of men and women, who, never having studied or read a book, worked exclusively at achieving purity, and ended by manifesting all the other qualities as well wisdom, clairvoyance, the power of healing, and so on. They had rid themselves of all their inner layers of opacity, all their inner obstacles, and the treasures of heaven were able to pour into them.
