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Glamor - A World Problem - Certain Preliminary Clarifications
There are four phrases which have for long been bandied about among so-called occultists and esotericists. They are: glamor, illusion, maya and the expression, the dweller on the threshold. They all stand for the same general concept or some differentiation of that concept. Speaking generally, the interpretations have been as follows, and they are only partial interpretations, and are almost in the nature of distortions of the real truth, owing to the limitations of the human consciousness. Glamor has oft been regarded as a curious attempt of what are called the "black forces" to deceive and hoodwink well-meaning aspirants. Many fine people are almost flattered when they are "up against" some aspect of glamor, feeling that their demonstration of discipline has been so good that the black forces are interested sufficiently to attempt to hinder their fine work by submerging them in clouds of glamor. Nothing could be further from the truth. That idea is itself part of the glamor of the present time, and has its roots in human pride and satisfaction. Maya is oft regarded as being of the same nature as the concept promulgated by the Christian Scientist that there is no such thing as matter. We are asked to regard the entire world phenomena as maya and to believe that its existence is simply an error of mortal mind, and a form of autosuggestion or self-hypnotism. Through this induced belief we force ourselves into a state of mind which recognizes that the tangible and the objective are only figments of man's imaginative mind. This, in its turn, is likewise a travesty of reality. [21] Illusion is regarded rather the same way, only (as we define it) we lay the emphasis upon the finiteness of man's mind. The world of phenomena is not denied, but we regard the mind as misinterpreting it and as refusing to see it as it is in reality. We consider this misinterpretation as constituting the Great Illusion. The Dweller on the Threshold is usually regarded as presenting the final test of man's courage, and as being in the nature of a gigantic thought-form or factor which has to be dissipated, prior to taking initiation. Just what this thought-form is, few people know, but their definition includes the idea of a huge elemental form which bars the way to the sacred portal, or the idea of a fabricated form, constructed sometimes by the disciple's Master to test his sincerity. Some regard it as the sumtotal of a man's faults, his evil nature, which hinders his being recognized as fit to tread the Path of Holiness. None of these definitions, however, give a true idea of the reality. I would point out here that (generally speaking) these four expressions are four aspects of a universal condition that is the result of the activity - in time and space - of the human mind. The activity of MINDS! Ponder on this phrase for it gives you a clue to the truth. The Problem of Illusion lies in the fact that it is a soul activity, and the result of the mind aspect of all the souls in manifestation. It is the soul which is submerged in the illusion and the soul that fails to see with clarity until such time as it has learnt to pour the light of the soul through into the mind and the brain. The Problem of Glamor is found when the mental illusion is intensified by desire. What the Theosophist calls "kama-manas" produces glamor. It is illusion on the astral plane. [22] The Problem of Maya is really the same as the above, plus the intense activity produced when both glamor and illusion are realized on etheric levels. It is that vital unthinking emotional MESS (yes, brother of old, that is the word I seek to use) in which the majority of human beings seem always to live. The Dweller on the Threshold is illusion-glamor-maya, as realized by the physical brain and recognized as that which must be overcome. It is the bewildering thought-form with which the disciple is confronted, when he seeks to pierce through the accumulated glamor of the ages and find his true home in the place of light. The above are necessarily only generalizations, and the result also of the activity of the analytical mind, but they serve to embody a part of the problem in words and to convey to your minds a definite thought-form of what we shall later discuss in detail.
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