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UNVEILED SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION by HEIN VAN BEUSEKOM
An unveiled spiritual perception creates the condition for right action. Symbolically stairs bring us from one level to another, from the denser to the more spiritual, from the outer to the inner realm. The unveiled spiritual perception is the fifth step of HPB's Golden Stairs which start with: a clean life, an open mind, a pure heart, an eager intellect, an unveilied spiritual perception, followed by brotherliness and sisterliness for all.
The journey up the stairs demands of us a commitment. We will have to assess for ourselves if and why we want to take this journey. In the Christian faith we see that before we start with the Advent period (the four weeks before Christmas), we have a 'red' Sunday, a Sunday of fire, of purification. In this period we reflect on the fact that we have to leave behind the 'works of darkness and put on the armour of light'. Here we are asked to make clear for ourselves what our intent is. These four Sundays correlate, have the same intention, as the first four steps of the Golden Stairs, be it veiled. We see also a correlation existing between the four pillars of two portals the candidate passes through during the admission ceremony in Freemasonry, as Leadbeater describes in his book, The Hidden Side of Freemasonry.
What does it mean, "to put away the works of darkness"? One meaning could be 'to die to the world'. Commander Bowen intimates this in his notes on 'How to Study Theosophy'. He writes that Mme Blavatsky sees 'the world' as being our personal environment; that is, it is the world as we see it through our personality which does not mean that we in this world have not the opportunity to see beyond our personality. If these observations are right, we should search the deeper spiritual meaning of the sequence as it is given in the Golden Stairs.
In her book A Spritual Life, Anne Besant writes: "The Theosophist restircts the use of the word 'spirit' to that divine in man that manifests on the highest planes of the universe and that is distinguidhed by its consciousness of unity. Unity is the keynote of the Spirit, for below the spiritual realm there is division. "In a wide high valley surrounded by mountains our vision is less obstructed than in a city. We can see more of the sky as the high-rises do not obstruct our view, the water in the brook is clear, we can see Nature, we can feel its rhythm. But still, our vision is restricted by the mountains around us here as well. Often we are content to be in the valley because it is so much better than being in the city with its narrow streets. We know we can see more freely in the valley, but there are some who are not satisfied, who have the strong will to press on, the will to climb the mountains surrounding the valley, to be above the morning mists so that they can see much more and much further, to be where, so to speak, heaven and earth come together.
In Chinese medicine there is a stage which is related to the symbol of the valley. In medical terms this is related to the liver, and according to the Chinese it is therefore also related to the eyes, the vision.
In the Chinese system there are two ways the energy can flow. One helps the survival of the vehicle. It is the flow that goes from earth to air and water, etc. and is called the Sheng cycle. The other, the Ko cycle, goes from earth to water, fire, air and it brings us to that place I called 'the valley'. These elements have also psychological values and that means that in the Sheng cycle we have the flow going from worry, self-pity, fear, to stress and anger.
This actually shows the course of energy that goes through our bodies, and which help us to keep a species going. It is the same stress and tension building up in man when he tries to make a catch in order to get his food. But there is another system and that is mostly working during the night-time, called 'the cycle of regeneration'. I wonder if the reason that we are often told to meditate in the morning and in the evening is to keep that energy flow of re-generation going, especially during daytime, as well as preparing us for the early evening, so that we can start without delay to let the flow go on uniterruptedly. If we put the flow into terms of elements, it moves us from earth to water, from fire to air, and then we arrive in the high wide open valley with the possibility of climbing the mountain.
It is interesting that in 'The Hidden Side of Freemasonry' the same elements are used in the same order where it will bring us to that place where we can join the Brotherhood. If we look at the Golden Stairs, we see that after the place of the valley, if the unveiled spiritual perception is reached, we have as the next step 'brotherliness and sisiterliness for all'. Those preliminary four steps we will find again and again in different presentations. We find them in that little booklet 'At the Feet of the Master', in the Golden Stairs, and also in all kinds of initiation rituals.
The advantage of the system as given by the Chinese is that we can study it at several levels: that for instance, we can understand that joy is a good thing, but that too much joy is detrimental. As Brother Sri Ram said:'Joy, if its on your way, enjoy it. But when you go after it, when you look for it, when you seek it, then it is detrimental.'
If we search carefully in this way and go through all the steps, it will lead us to that place where we, in the silence of our hearts, can come to the less veiled vision, where perhaps by the Grace on the Holy One, a veil may be truly lifted so that we can see a little bit more into that which brings us together.
The essence of spirituality is unity. It is the keynote for our Society. The Society is a Brotherhood and Sisterhood that is on its way to bring out what we can percieve in the silence of our hearts. We can bring out love to each other, help each other, teach each other, and learn from each other, so that step by step we are led to that Temple which we can only dimly see in the mist, that Temple where we may enter one day to the Glory of All.