Theosophy Northwest View

For several years a young niece would travel 1800 miles from her home to ours to stay months at a time with our family. Joyce wasn't the same age as our girls, but had that rare quality of fitting in with everybody. She was happy and carefree, and always saw the humor in things; in fact, never once do I recall her "losing her cool" over anything.

Although deep down she was a compassionate person, she didn't show it outwardly, and often when hearing about another's mishaps, she'd just shrug it off and say "It's his own fault!" After saying this once too often to my feeling, I jokingly told her I hoped nothing terrible ever happened to her because if it did, we'd just consider it to be "her own fault." Never in my wildest imagination did I dream those words had a ring of prophecy to them . . . and I hope Joyce never recalled them.

Joyce, who was the picture of health with seldom even getting the common cold, suddenly became very tired and listless. The grim news came soon enough -- Joyce had acute lymphocytotic leukemia and was immediately isolated for treatment. I had the privilege of being with her on the last day of her life on earth. One thing she said that day I will never forget: "You know-something? I don't know why I got this disease, but I accept it." Not being a religious person in the orthodox sense, Joyce was certainly drawing such wisdom from her own inner source. Somehow she had "gotten it all together," and was accepting her circumstances without any self-pity -- perhaps even feeling it was "her own fault"? Being a believer in karma, I cannot help but feel that each person has that "still, small voice" within that is always ready to guide us through our trials. -- Trudy Rugland

What do we mean by the inner god, the personal ego, the higher and lower self, and how do they relate to ordinary living? The inner god is the most enlightened part of us, active when we exercise the finest human qualities: tolerance, love, understanding, and compassion. Buddhists call it the living Buddha within; Christians, the I AM or the Immanent Christ. G. de Purucker says of it:

This inner god is the "eternal soul" that reincarnates again and again, an inexhaustible fount of life, intelligence, and consciousness. In a previous universal cycle it gained experience in every form of life then available, becoming in the process a "god." That universe died, and when it manifested again this essence issued forth as an unselfconscious "god-spark" in a higher stage of life. This crowning achievement of the preceding evolutionary cycle is the inner god. It is relatively perfect compared to the various "vehicles" through which it is learning in the present universal cycle. Just as lesser beings provide the means for it to learn, the inner god provides the means for them to develop and grow towards it. It is a dual learning process towards a higher state of knowing.

The lower self is associated with opposite qualities, such as self-seeking, narrow-mindedness, a limited view of one's responsibility to others, competition, separateness, and selfish ambition. It is the Dragon of the legend of St. George, the Minotaur of the myth of Theseus in the Labyrinth, and Darth Vader of Star Wars. While most of us, thankfully, are not completely absorbed in this aspect of ourselves, unfortunately neither are we able to retain the inspiration of the higher self for long periods. We are riding a roller coaster of consciousness between the two extremes, often seeming to have little control over which aspect of our nature is dominant at any time.

Great religious and mystical teachers have pointed out that it is our responsibility as human beings to overcome the temptations and limitations of the lower self and merge our consciousness with the higher self. Through countless minor victories we allow the spirit within to emerge from where it has been quietly waiting through the ages. We must strip away the impediments to the light of the higher self, which always burns bright within but too often shines dimly without. Plato described this process as "unforgetting" our way back to the inner fountain of knowledge and wisdom.

How can we, inhabitants of the technological world of the 21st century, begin polishing the mirror of consciousness so that our light can blaze forth upon the world? Having the spiritual will power to reach up to the inner god is of paramount importance, and no person or god outside us can do this for us. It is not suitable for the inner god to reach down to the level of the lower self, but for our everyday consciousness to constantly reach upwards. As Katherine Tingley often said, "The gods await." But if the inner god is so powerful, why is this task so difficult? The divinity within is like the sun, gloriously shining and all powerful in its own realms. But on earth its rays do not select this or that plant to shine upon. If we transfer a plant where sunbeams cannot reach, the sun will not follow it. So it is with the higher self: unless we gravitate towards it, the personal ego will have the upper hand. As William Q. Judge says: