LIFE ETERNAL

 
Without beginning and without end, the caravan of evolutionary creation marches on from the Immeasurable to the Immeasurable. Most persons on the way get caught up in the transient immediate, and evolve by conscious or unconscious reactions to it.

Some can detach themselves from the transient immediate. But since their detachment is only intellectual, they enjoy freedom only in the realm of the limited intellect, which now tries to comprehend the past, or anticipate the future, as best as is allowed by the limitations under which it works.

They try to shape the present in the light of their knowledge of history, as well as in the light of their insight into the possibilities for the unborn future. But the limited intellect is not competent to grasp quantities which are beginningless as well as endless, with the result that the purely intellectual perspective, even at its best, inevitably remains only partial, sketchy, incomplete and, in a sense, even erroneous.

The intellectual perspective is workable, and even indispensable, for planned action. But in the absence of the deeper wisdom of the heart or the clearer intuition of the spirit, such intellectual perspective gives only relative truth, which bears upon itself the stamp of uncertainty.

The so-called planned action of the intellect has behind it many mighty forces which have not even come to the fringe of consciousness; and it also actually leads to many valuable unexpected results which are entirely beyond the range of vision of the so-called planning. In other words, intellectual planning turns out to be a planning mostly in name, containing in it only as much truth as is necessary to justify the players in feeling that they have had a real share in the entire game.

Actually, everything in the evolutionary creation is wrought solely by the Infinite Power of God, Who works in eternal silence — from behind the screen as it were — unknown, unfelt and even unsuspected by most players who are in the passing flashlight of the stage. Some, through the grace of the Masters, or the grace of God, succeed in unlocking within their own being the hidden spring of divine love, which unveils the unlimited and certain understanding of the Infinite Divinity, which, in its eternity, comprehends not only the apparently beginningless past and the apparently transient present, but also the apparently interminable future.

The apparent infinity of the stretch of time is ultimately unreal, even as time itself is ultimately unreal. In the last spiritual understanding, which facilitates conscious Realization of the Absolute Truth, the illusory infinity of the time process is taken up into the true Eternity of God's Illimitable Life and Being. The God-Men, who get consciously established in the limitless understanding of God, can know the past, the present and the future. But for them, this knowledge of the fleeting shadows of Eternity is far less important than complete merging into the fathomlessness of God, Infinite Understanding and Infinite Truth or Reality.

In fact, everyone without exception has his true existence only in, and as, this Limitless Being of God as Absolute Truth. But it is like having some hidden treasure, which, although in our possession, is as good as nonexistent as long as it remains unknown.

The sole purpose of evolutionary creation is to place the soul in conscious possession and enjoyment of this infinite treasure. In the Perfect Ones, God works toward this end consciously. But it is He alone who works through everyone and everything else; and, although this work is mostly unconscious, it also leads to the same end.

This may be clarified with the analogy of breathing. Breathing is the very basis of life, and the stopping of breath means dropping the physical body, without terminating the existence of the soul. But this breathing is for the most part carried on unconsciously, and we become conscious of it only in cases of exceptional effort.

In the same way, God's working through the evolutionary processes is mostly unconscious and silent, and the stopping of this working brings about the end (pralaya) of creation, without terminating the existence of God Himself. God becomes conscious of His working only in the rare cases of the God-Men who own and enjoy Godhood in Life Eternal.

For ages and ages, God has been working in silence, unobserved and unnoticed, except by those who experience His Infinite Silence.