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This notion that we must wait and wait while we slowly progress out of enslavement into liberation, out of ignorance into knowledge, out of the present limitations into a future union with the Divine, is only true if we let it be so. But we need not. We can shift our identification from the ego to the Overself in our habitual thinking, in our daily reactions and attitudes, in our response to events and the world. We have thought our way into this unsatisfactory state; we can unthink our way out of it. By incessantly remembering what we really are, here and now at this very moment, we set ourselves free. Why wait for what already is?
15.23.1.1All other approaches to the goal depend on a dualistic principle, which puts them on a lower plane. But the Short Path is nondual: it begins and ends with the goal itself; its nature is direct and its working is immediate.
15.23.1.2Consciousness appearing as the person seeks itself. This is its quest. But when it learns and comprehends that it is itself the object of that quest, the person stops not only seeking outside himself but even engaging in the quest itself. Henceforth he lets himself be moved by the Overself's flow.
15.23.1.3Are we to reject the plain statements of these enlightened men--that is, statements of the Short Path that you are divine? Do we know more and better about divine things than they do? Why can we not accept the idea that they describe not a theory but a discovery?
15.23.1.5This then is the ultimate truth--that in our inmost nature we are anchored in God, inseparable from God, and that the discovery of this heavenly nature is life's loftiest purpose. Even now, already, today, we are as divine as we ever shall be. The long evolutionary ladder which by prophets and teachers, gurus and guides we are bidden to climb toilsomely and slowly and painfully need not be climbed at all if only we heed this truth continually, if we refuse to let it go, if we make it ours in all parts of our being--in thought, feeling, faith, and action.
15.23.1.6For if we are divine and timeless beings now (and who can gainsay it that has had a glimpse of that starry state memorably vouchsafed to him?) then we have always been such. How can we evolve who are already self-existent, perfect beings? Does it not seem more probable that something alien has accreted around us, covering up the sublimer consciousness; that Time's work is not to raise us but to free us; that our search is not for a loftier state but for our pristine state, to recover our former grandeur? What we need is not to grow but to know. Evolution cannot help us, but self-knowledge can.
15.23.1.7This is the concept which governs the Short Path: that he is in the Stillness of central being all the time whether he knows it or not, that he has never left and can never leave it. And this is so, even in a life passed in failure and despair.
15.23.1.8The man on the Short Path moves forward directly to fulfil his objective. Instead of working by slow degrees toward the control of thoughts, he seeks to recollect the fact that the sacred Overself is present in his mind at this very moment, that It lives within him right now, and not only as a goal to be attained in some distant future. The more he understands this fact and holds attention to it, the more he finds himself able to feel the great calm which follows its realization, the more his thoughts automatically become still in consequence.
15.23.1.9What it asserts is that the real truth already exists in the pithy core of man's mind, that it can be seen by anyone who will undo the illusions which cover it so thickly, the passions which obscure it so agitatedly, and, above all, the egoism which fears it so greatly. This does not imply the development of new things: it implies the removal of old ones. It is concerned with the discovery of what we really are, not what we shall one day become.
15.23.1.10Pascal said in Le Mystère de Jesus: “Thou wouldst not seek Me, if thou didst not possess Me. Be not therefore anxious.”
15.23.1.11We cannot attain reality, for we already are in it; but we can attain consciousness of it. And such consciousness arises naturally the moment we know appearance as being appearance. This knowledge may be nothing more than a second's glimpse, before old habit powerfully reasserts itself again, but it will be enough to tell us the truth.
15.23.1.12It is the paradox of the Short Path that it begins with the end, in order to arrive at the end!
15.23.1.15... Inner experiences are all in time, doomed to pass away; but he, the Consciousness behind them, behind the ego's consciousness, is out of time, hence Immortal.
15.23.1.16,The divine presence is there, its power is consequently there too. He may avail himself of it by Grace. Let him look to it then. But where is he to see it? Jesus provides the clearest answer: The kingdom of heaven is within you. His hope of help can find its realization coming from one direction only--from the deeper part of his own self.
15.23.1.17Wang Yang-ming: ”Our original nature is purely good. It is not possible to add anything to this original state. The knowledge of the superior man merely serves to clear away the obscuration, and thus to show forth the shining virtue.” And again, ”The mind of man is heaven but because of the obscurations caused by selfishness, that state is not manifested. When all of them are cleared away, the original nature is restored.”
15.23.1.18What has never been lost can never be found. If a quester fails to find the Overself, it is not because of faults or weaknesses in the ego but because he is himself that which he seeks. There is nothing else to be found than understanding of this fact…
15.23.1.19,The moment the questing attitude is taken, with the Overself as its sought-for goal, in that moment the ego and the Overself are put apart as two separate things and cannot be brought together again. But by letting such thoughts go, and all thoughts subside, mind may enter the Stillness and know itself again as Mind. Yet even this is useless if the understanding that the seeker is really the sought is lacking.
15.23.1.20If you will not accept the saving truth that you are now as divine as you ever will be … then you rank yourself with those men who, as Jesus said, “love darkness rather than light,” however much you may protest against such a classification.
15.23.1.21So long as the aspirant takes the attitude that he aspires to unite with the Overself, that he wants permanent spiritual illumination, he is merely adding another desire to those which his ego already possesses. He is still turning round inside the closed circle of the little self. There is no way out except to forget himself, to turn away from the ego and regard, fixedly and constantly, the Overself.
15.23.1.24The idea that we have to wait for liberation from the ego and enlightenment by the Overself, to evolve through much time and many reincarnations, is correct only if we continue to remain mesmerized by it, but false if we take our stand on reality rather than appearance: we are now as divine as we ever shall be--but we must wake up from illusion and see this truth.
15.23.1.25Because it is impossible for the questing ego to become the Overself, the quester must recognize that he is the Overself and stop thinking in egoistic terms of progress along a path, or attainment of a goal.
15.23.1.26Because what we seek is ours already, because the Overself is always here and now, there is in reality no quest to follow, no path to travel, and no goal to reach.
15.23.1.28Job carried the answer to his own question, ”Oh that I knew where I might find Him,” within himself all the time, but he did not know it.
15.23.1.29We suffer under the delusion that we must struggle, centimetre by centimetre, all the long way to the kingdom of heaven. We stare, astonished and sceptical, when a Sage—Indian, Chinese, Japanese—tells us that we are already in it.
15.23.1.30There is really nothing to be achieved here; only something to be accepted--the fact of your own divinity.
15.23.1.31Why go on hoping for a far-off day when peace and truth will be attained? Why not drastically strip off all the illusions of self-identification with ego and recognize that the true identity is already fulfilled?
15.23.1.32The divine is actually within us and has been there all along...
15.23.1.33,This identification with the Overself is the real work set us, the real purpose for which human life in the world serves us. All else is merely a comfortable way of escape, a means of keeping us busy so that conscience need not be troubled by the central duty to which we are summoned.
15.23.1.36The changeover to the Short Path calls for a tremendous leap from his present standpoint--whatever that may happen to be--to the highest possible one.
15.23.1.41There is hope if only he is determined to wake up and begin afresh, to supplant negatives with positives, and to give more of himself to the Short Path.
15.23.1.44If, in his earlier days when on the Long Path, he practised daily checking his personal feelings where they were negative, hostile, or condemnatory in the relationship with others, or when they interrupted his inner calm in the relationship with himself, now on the Short Path he abandoned this training. It was no more the really important thing, for it had been just a preparation of the ego for that thing--which was to forget and transcend the ego by transferring attention to the remembrance of his divine being, his Overself.
15.23.1.45The Long Path man's thoughts are too often with his personal self, too seldom with his Overself. The blessed turning point will be reached when he looks away from himself with persevering faith.
15.23.1.46The Long Path man who is worried about his sins and content with his virtues gives place to the Short Path man who is preoccupied with neither--because both are facets of the ego--but seeks to understand, revere, and contemplate the Overself.
15.23.1.48He comes up against the inevitable limitation of his personal ego and, both in meditation exercise and in practical life, turns away from it, opens his eyes, and recognizes the Presence of the Overself as his never-absent guardian angel. With that act of seeing he also receives its Grace. One after another the virtues drop into his hands as easily as ripened fruits.
15.23.1.49This progress through a series of attitudes leads in the end to something transcending them altogether--a shift of consciousness from ego to Overself.
15.23.1.50It is at such a time that he needs to go straight to the source of divine grace, to break his mental alliance with the ego and begin a joyful reliance on the Overself.
15.23.1.52While a man's mind is full of himself, he shuts out the influx of the Overself. This remains just as true of meditation times as of ordinary times. He must empty out all these earthly interests, all these personal concerns, and even, in the end, all these egoistic spiritual aspirations by transferring his attention to that which is beyond the ego. He must think only of the Overself--of its nature and attributes, of its tokens and signs of presence, of its reality and eternity.
15.23.1.53He can repudiate the man that he was in the past... He can liberate himself from all the old images of himself and assume a new one, become a new man. For he can turn his back on all these ego-regarding attitudes and transfer his thoughts, his self-identification, to the Overself.
15.23.1.54,It is not good to live in unwholesome memories of what we ought not to have done but did do, and never put a period to them. Such repeated self-flagellation keeps the ego immersed in its own little circle. It is better to turn away from them and live in the sunshine of the Overself.
15.23.1.55To bring about insight into the Overself requires an inner revolution, a psychological burrowing beneath the entire ego-consciousness to that secret place from where it arises.
15.23.1.56... The entire length of the Long Path is an attempt at self-improvement and self-purification planned, managed, operated, and supervised by the ego itself. Is it conceivable that the ego will work for its own destruction? No!--it will never do that however much it pretends to do so…
15.23.1.57,… Even when the ego rebels against itself, it is merely playing a part. It has played many different parts in the past. Appearing as a rebel is merely one more disguise in the whole series.
15.23.1.57,All pruning of the ego is of little use, for as one fault is removed a new one springs out of latency. Why? Because the ego is. The Short Path is the only genuine approach to truth, the only one offering real possibility of liberation …
15.23.1.57,The Short Path calls for a definite change of mind, a thinking of totally new thoughts, a fastening of attention upon the goal instead of the way to it. It calls for a revolution, dethroning the ego from being the centre of attention and replacing it by the Overself.
15.23.1.58The basis of Short Path practices is that the mind is like a transparent crystal which takes on the colour of what is brought into propinquity with it. By turning the mind away from the ego, even from its improvement, and towards the Overself, uplift results.
15.23.1.59The Short Path offers the quickest way to the blessings of spiritual joy, truth, and strength. For since these things are present in the Overself, and since the Overself is present in all of us, each of us may claim them as his own by the direct declaration of his true identity. This simple act requires him to turn around, desert the dependence on personal self, and look to the original Source whence flows his real life and being, his true providence and happiness. Disregarding all contrary ideas that the world outside thrusts upon him, disdaining the ego's emotions and desires concerning them, he prays without ceasing to that Source. That is, he keeps himself concentrated within upon it until he can feel its liberating qualities and expand in its sunny glories.
15.23.1.60On the Short Path he must give no backward glances at the ego, must no longer abase himself by identifying himself with that fraudulent self. He must cling to his new attitude with the ardour of a new convert.
15.23.1.61Let him try to look beyond his own defects to the perfection which is in the Overself, the true image of himself in which God made man.
15.23.1.62The Short Path frees him from all gnawing regrets about the past, with its sins of commission and of omission, its errors and follies, its mistakes and deficiencies. Instead it puts his mind to work upon their contraries—what is beautiful and worthy, what is truthful and serene, what is pure and noble …
15.23.1.63,There comes a stage, whether in meditation or in the ordinary daily experience of life, at which he has to cross over from doing, trying, and managing things by his own self alone and when he can let go and open himself to the higher force--when he can submit his ego to its ordinances, its commands, or to its whispers.
15.23.1.64Saint John of the Cross gave the following advice: ”Enter into your heart and labour in the presence of God who is always present there to help you. Fix your loving attention upon Him without any desire to feel or hear anything of God…”
15.23.1.66,The self-revilements of the Long Path must be abandoned: his eyes must look up at that other and higher Self.
15.23.1.69He is asked to turn his back on what he gave so much of his time and thought and feeling to for so long and to give them henceforth to a totally transcendent level--the Short Path.
15.23.1.72On this Long Path, he stands with his back to the Overself and tries to re-educate the ego. On the Short Path he turns around from this position and faces the Overself.
15.23.1.74The time will come when you will have to turn your back upon the Long Path in order to give full attention, the full energy and the full time, to the Short Path. For with this comes a new era when the whole concern is not with the ego, not with its improvement or betterment, but with the divine itself alone…
15.23.1.76,... At this point seek only the Higher Self, live only with positive thought, stay only for as long as you can with the holy silence within, feel only that inner stillness which belongs to the essence of consciousness. Henceforth you are not to become this or that, not to gather the various virtues, but simply to be…
15.23.1.76,If true light can come only from within a man, every outer method of bringing it to him must be in reality a method which leads him astray.
15.23.1.78He sees the truth as with a jolt. There it is, within his own being, lying deep down but still in his own self. There never was any need to travel anywhere to find it; no need to visit anyone who was supposed to have it already, and sit at his feet; not even to read any book, however sacred or inspired. Nor could another person, place, or writing give it to him--he would have to unveil it for himself in himself. The others could direct him to look inwards, thus saving all the effort of looking elsewhere. But he himself would have to give the needful attention to himself. The discovery must be his own, made within the still centre of his being.
15.23.1.79Here, on this Short Path, he is to direct his yearnings and seekings, his hopes and thoughts, solely to the Overself. Nothing and nobody, not even a guru, is to come between them.
15.23.1.85It is often advisable to be one's own guide, studying worthy books, using prayer and reflection, and following the intuitive guidance of one's Higher Self.
15.23.1.87What is the key to the Short Path? It is threefold. First, stop searching for the Overself since it follows you wherever you go. Second, believe in its Presence, with and within you. Third, keep on trying to understand its truth until you can abandon further thoughts about it. You cannot acquire what is already here. So drop the ego's false idea and affirm the real one.
15.23.1.92The Short Path is, in essence, the ceaseless practice of remembering to stay in the Stillness, for this is what he really is in his innermost being and where he meets the World-Mind.
15.23.1.97The Short Path uses (a) thinking: metaphysical study of the Nature of Reality; (b) practice: constant remembrance of Reality during everyday life in the world; (c) meditation: surrender to the thought of Reality in stillness. You will observe that in all these three activities there is no reference to the personal ego. There is no thinking of, remembering, or meditating upon oneself, as there is with the Long Path.
15.23.1.98A part of the Short Path work is intellectual study of the metaphysics of Truth. This is needful to expose the ego's own illusoriness, as a preliminary to transcending it, and to discriminate its ideas, however spiritual, from reality.
15.23.1.99In the first and second stages of the Short Path, his aim is to set himself free from the egoism in which his consciousness is confined.
15.23.1.100The Short Path is the real way! All else is mere preparation of the equipment for it. For with it he is no longer to direct his meditation upon the shortcomings and struggles of the personal self but up to the Overself, its presence and strength. For the consciousness of the Real, the True, the Beneficent and Peaceful comes by its Grace alone and by this practice he attracts the visitation.
15.23.1.102He cultivates a more joyous attitude, this man on the Short Path, for remembrance of the Overself, which he practises constantly, reminds him of the glory of the Overself.
15.23.1.106It is not enough to learn to bear with others, to excuse and accept their shortcomings. He must also learn to bear with himself, to accept his own shortcomings.
15.23.1.108It is a Short Path attitude to avoid censorious reproaches and condemnatory speech--these as a part of its larger rejection of negatives and preference for positives.
15.23.1.112Reject every negative thought with implacable rigour--this is one of the important practical deductions of the Short Path.
15.23.1.113... In moments of exaltation, uplift, awe, or satisfaction--derived from music, art, poetry, landscape, or otherwise--thousands of people have received a Glimpse; but only those on the Short Path recognize it for what it really is.
15.23.1.114,The Short Path concentrates thought upon the Real, deliberately forgetful of everything and everyone in the world of illusion.
15.23.1.116A boundless faith in the Overself's power to assist him must be the possession of a Short Path votary--that is, faith in both the existence and the efficacy of its Grace.
15.23.1.121The attitude of pursuing an objective, of searching for a truth, however admirable in the early stages, becomes an obstruction in this the latest stage.
15.23.1.123When he is established to some extent on the Short Path he may not only expect the expected, as most people do, but also expect the unexpected.
15.23.1.124On the Short Path he fixes his mind on divine attributes, such as the all-pervading, ever-present, beginningless and endless nature of the One Life-Power, until he is lifted out of his little ego entirely.
15.23.1.127If he firmly plants his feet on the Short Path, if he never lets himself forget his real being is in the Overself, then he must refuse to accept a single one of those thoughts which so often trouble the traveller on the Long Path--thoughts of anxiety, frustration, or concern about his progress. He stays well above them.
15.23.1.129On the Short Path, instead of attacking the lower self, he lifts himself up to the presence of the higher. The evil in him may then melt away of its own accord.
15.23.1.132It is the unique contribution of the Short Path that it takes advantage of the Overself's ever-present offer of Grace.
15.23.1.134When body and feeling are cleansed by disciplinary regimes, when the intellect is inspired by meditational exercises, one is ready for the Short Path.
15.23.1.135Just as the ancient pagan Mysteries required some amount of preparation and some form of purification before candidates were admitted, so the Short Path ordinarily requires some Long Path work as a prerequisite. But not always and not now.
15.23.1.138The Short Path can only be travelled if faith in the Overself is fundamental and complete, and if trust in the effectiveness of its power is strong and unwavering.
15.23.1.140It is the art of being artless, spiritual without doing it consciously. It is achievement of effortless mental quiet. It is ordinary living, plus an extraordinary continuous awareness.
15.23.1.142This is the wonder of the Short Path--that it teaches us to refuse at once every thought which seeks to identify us with the feeble and unworthy self. This is the gladness of the Short Path--that it urges us to accept and hold only those thoughts which identify us directly with the strong and divine Overself, or which reflect its goodness and wisdom.
15.23.1.143With the Short Path, one emerges into an atmosphere that is totally different in nature and quality from the Long Path's. It is like seeing the sun break through the clouds.
15.23.1.144... If he looks only to the little ego for his supply, he must accept all its narrow limitations, its dependence on personal effort alone. But if he looks farther and recognizes his true source of welfare is with the Overself, with its miracle-working Grace, he knows that all things are possible to it. Hope, optimism, and high expectation make his life richer, more abundant.
15.23.1.146,The consequence of this self-training on the Short Path is that in all questions, problems, situations, and practices his first thought will be to take the matter to the Overself, identifying with Overself, and later, when he returns to the second thought, the matter will be looked at under this diviner light.
15.23.1.149… it may be said that the Short Path develops inspiration and evokes intuition.
15.23.1.151,The Short Path will bear fruit in several virtues, which will come of their own accord and without his trying to gain them. In this way it will help him calm his passions and discipline his ego, even though his thoughts and meditations make no reference to them.
15.23.1.152Even without making special efforts to deal with undesirable traits, some will tend to fall away through being denied attention. This is one consequence of following the Short Path.
15.23.1.155The Overself is always there; it has never left us, but it has to be ardently, lovingly, and subtly searched for.
15.23.1.159Only the Short Path can turn aspiration into attainment, for only it proffers Grace.
15.23.1.163One advantage of the Short Path is that whoever takes to it thoroughly gets rid of guilt complexes, of sorrowing over his past, his errors, his sins.
15.23.1.167On the Short Path he does little to free himself from a weakness, a desire, or a passion. It goes, falls away of its own accord, if he looks to the Higher Self rather than to the management of his own ego for salvation. It is in this spontaneous way, too, that the attitude of detachment begins to appear in his character and little by little—but sometimes swiftly—becomes established…
15.23.1.168,This is a paradox of the Short Path, that on the one hand he practises this exercise of playing the game of being enlightened, and on the other of freely confessing his faults, limitations, and weaknesses but just as freely accepting them. Thus a curious peace of mind settles in him and becomes naturalized. But it is not a spurious peace. It rejects worry or anxiety and negates fear.
15.23.1.169He has entered a new and happier phase of his life. The problems of the past have disappeared. The door to inner light is always ready to open at his mere push.
15.23.1.172The Short Path makes it possible for the most ordinary man—unprepared, untrained though he be—to find spiritual fulfilment.
15.23.1.176Only when it becomes natural and therefore easy, continuous and therefore well-established, does meditation become completely fruitful. But this is possible only on the Short Path.
15.23.1.178The Short Path provides him with the chance of making a fresh start, of gaining new inspiration, more joy.
15.23.1.180
29 11 2010
7 1 2015
4 4 2016
8 5 2013
1 12 2010
29 6 2013
20 6 2013
10 7 2013
3 12 2013
24 11 2021
17 7 2011
26 11 2015
29 1 2013
5 3 2015
12 8 2019
15 1 2014
17 12 2014
21 11 2021
9 2 2011
23 12 2014
21 3 2011
6 3 2014
19 8 2019
1 8 2023
25 3 2014
20 12 2013
9 8 2016
30 11 2010
18 6 2011
8 2 2014
6 4 2014
8 1 2016
27 12 2014
5 12 2014
29 8 2014
13 2 2023
5 2 2014
13 1 2012
18 11 2010
22 9 2019
26 9 2013
10 9 2019
6 9 2022
16 3 2011
12 11 2015
23 7 2013
12 4 2022
15 5 2017
17 5 2022
7 3 2020
2 3 2020
14 1 2022
3 8 2020
11 10 2018
26 7 2014
27 7 2014
28 12 2019
12 6 2013
15 10 2013
6 11 2017
23 1 2011
15 9 2011
17 7 2013
13 6 2013
13 1 2015
15 7 2014
27 7 2013
3 6 2017
7 10 2013
20 2 2014
14 7 2013
10 1 2024
10 2 2014
10 4 2021
19 5 2015
18 3 2013
16 2 2018
29 3 2016
23 10 2013
1 5 2016
15 2 2012
5 10 2017
4 7 2015
24 4 2013
7 3 2011
19 3 2013
23 10 2017
15 6 2021
23 8 2017
31 1 2019
12 1 2019
11 11 2017
26 12 2014
2 6 2021
25 8 2017
22 10 2020
15 1 2024
18 11 2021
9 8 2013
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