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A Treatise on White Magic - Rule Ten - The Present Age and the Future
To those who wrestle, strive, and hold on, the joy is doubled when the materialization comes. The joy of contrast will be yours, for knowing the past of darkness you will revel in the light of fruition; the joy of tried and tested companionship will be yours, for years will have proved to you who are your chosen associates, and in community of suffering will come the strengthened link; the joy of peace after victory will be yours, for to the tired warrior the fruits of achievement and rest are doubly sweet; the joy of participation in the Masters [369] plan will be yours, and all is well that associates you closely with Them; the joy of having helped to solace a needy world, of having brought light to darkened souls, of having healed in some measure the open sore of the world's distress, will be yours, and in the consciousness of days well spent, and in the gratitude of salvaged souls, comes the deepest joy of all, - the joy a Master knows when He is instrumental in lifting a brother up a little higher on the ladder. This is the joy that is set before you all - and not so very far ahead it lies. So work, not for joy but towards it; not for reward, but from the inner need to help; not for gratitude, but from the urge that comes from having seen the vision and realization of the part you have to play in bringing that vision down to earth. It is helpful to differentiate between happiness, joy and bliss: First, happiness, which has its seat in the emotions, and is a personality reaction. Second, joy, which is a quality of the soul and is realized in the mind, when alignment takes place. Third, bliss, which is the nature of the Spirit and about which speculation is fruitless until the soul realizes its oneness with the Father. This realization follows upon an earlier stage wherein the personal self is at-oned with the soul. Therefore speculation and analysis as to the nature of bliss is profitless to the average man whose metaphors and terminologies must perforce be personal and related to the world of the senses. Does the aspirant refer to his happiness or joy? If he refers to the latter it must come as the effect of group consciousness, of group solidarity, of oneness with all beings, and may not be interpreted in terms of happiness after all. Happiness comes when the personality is meeting with those conditions which satisfy it in one part or other of its lower nature; it comes when there is a sense of physical [370] well being, of contentment with one's environment or surrounding personalities, or of satisfaction with one's mental opportunities and contacts. Happiness is the goal of the separated self. When however we seek to live as souls, the contentment of the lower man is discounted and we find joy in our group relationships and in bringing about those conditions which lead to the better expression of the souls of those we contact. This bringing of joy to others in order to produce conditions in which they may better express themselves may have a physical effect as we seek to better their material conditions, or an emotional effect as our presence brings to them peace and uplift, or an intellectual result as we stimulate them to clarity of thought and understanding. But the effect upon ourselves is joy, for our action has been selfless and non acquisitive, and not dependent upon the aspirant's circumstance or worldly state. Much happiness is necessarily foregone when ill-health makes its pressure felt, as the environment is difficult and the "accumulated karma of many births" presses down, or as the troubles of the family, nation or race weigh upon the sensitive personality. The happiness of youth or the self-centered contentment of the selfish insulated person (hiding himself behind the shield of his protective desires) must not be confounded with joy.
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