To Light a Thousand Lamps - The Theosophical Society

110 / TO LIGHT A THOUSAND LAMPS
heart of all arrogant and unkind thoughts and feelings
about others. If we have slipped a little during the day, let
us acknowledge it with the will to do better. We then enter
into harmony with our real self, and the consciousness is
freed to go where it will. This is a mystery which we do not
really understand, but the wonder is that in the morning we
wake up refreshed in spirit, with a new and warmer feeling
for others, and often with answers to perplexing questions.
To follow this simple practice is restorative on all planes,
and we will be adding to rather than detracting from the
harmony of our surroundings. Whatever course of selfbetterment
one pursues, sacrifice is required: we cannot
hope to gain access to the higher realms of being if we have
not earned the right of entry. Only those who come clean
of anger, resentment, and selfish desire are fit recipients of
the keys to nature’s wisdom. To expect otherwise is to run
the risk of opening the door to elemental forces of a low
kind that may be diªcult to eject from the consciousness.
Prayer, aspiration, meditation are e¤ective in that they set
up a vibratory response throughout all nature; the more
ardent the aspirant, the greater power do they have to activate
noble (or ignoble) energies both within the individual
and in the auric envelope surrounding earth.
True meditation is true aspiration, a ‘‘breathing toward’’
the divine, an elevating of the mind and heart toward the
highest and, as such, is as essential for the soul as food is for
the body. If we would orient our lives toward the light
emanating from our inner god, we must aspire; but let us be
careful in our intensity not to be led into blind alleys of a
self-seeking nature which tend to focus attention on our