Chuang Tzu, one of Lao Tzu’s most renowned followers, writes in one of his works:
‘He who realises his folly is not so very foolish any more, and he who knows that he lives in delusion is no longer so very far astray. He who is profoundly misguided will not be able to shake off his blindness, and he who is profoundly foolish will never become discerning, however long he may live.
If three men are walking together and one wanders from the path, they will still be able to reach their destination, for the foolish one is in the minority, but if two of them lose their way, they will not reach their destination because the erring ones are in the majority.
Today, now that the whole world lives in delusion, I am unable to persuade people to take the right direction, even though I exhort them to do so. Is this not pitiful?’
These words show us the meaning and purpose of insight,
the first step of the fivefold universal Gnosis.
However, gaining insight in the gnostic sense does not mean merely the acquisition of information, merely gain-ing some idea of the scope of a problem. Gnostic insight, as the first step on the path, means first and foremost: self-unmasking.
Hence the words of the ancient wisdom: ‘He who realises his folly is not so very foolish any more, and he who knows that he lives in delusion is no longer so very far as-tray’. For the person who discovers his own folly and sees the veils of delusion that envelop him will experience a growing desire to be free of all that folly and delusion. As a result of the first step, which is the step of self-discovering insight, the second step, yearning for salva-tion, will be felt as a need.
A person who lives in delusion will never be able to shake off his blindness; he will not even feel the need to do so. A person who is blinded by deception is living in delusion, for he will be quite convinced that his delusion is reality.
So what a blessing it is to be permitted the grace of realis-ing one’s own folly! Coming to that realisation proves that one has begun to tear apart the straight-jacket of delusion.
The human soul has five aspects, five states of being, five fluids. The fivefold universal Gnosis corresponds with these five aspects, for each step of this fivefold system of sanctification provides for the purification and transformation of one of the soul-fluids. In addition, each step exerts an influence on all the other soul-fluids, to prepare them for their own particular development.
The blood is the basis for the whole process; a change in the blood causes openness. That is why the path of insight brings about purification of the blood. A change in the hormonal fluid follows closely on this alteration of the blood, causing yearning for salvation to flood throughout one’s being like one great sigh. Thus the serpent-fire is prepared, and from the source in the sacral plexus an urge towards self-surrender is felt by the ego, and its tremors are carried by the blood throughout the system. And then, how can it be otherwise than that the nerve-fluid will im- pel the whole being to new action, to a new way of life, following the divine paths. This, in turn, will give rise to the fifth and final step, for the sevenfold astral consciousness-fluid is beginning to change, so that the rebirth of the soul will become a fact.
So what a privilege is granted to the person who discovers his own folly in the unmasking light of the Spiritual School! The alchemical working places of the Spiritual School are like laboratories in which the properties of various substances are investigated, for in these working places, the pupil is placed in retorts filled with the discovering light of the Brotherhood. And blessed is the pupil who proves capable of reacting, as if with a new sensory faculty. For if he does not react, he will remain trapped in dialectical folly and will never become discern-ing no matter how long he may live.
Finally, we would like to consider one more aspect of the grace made available through the activity of the Spiritual School. Suppose that, despite every effort, one-third of the pupils present in the alchemical working places of the School were to react negatively because, for whatever reason, they lacked the necessary basis of insight, whereas the other two-thirds reacted positively. Well, then it would be possible for the two-thirds who understood things in the right way to carry the other third along with them to the goal. ‘If three men are walking together and one wanders from the path, they will still be able to reach their destination’.
But the proportions may not be reversed in such a way that those who are deviating from the path are in the majority. This shows the great importance of group unity, for a small, resolute group can be a ceaseless blessing to countless people.
He who enters the processes of soul-rebirth will grow in radiant grace with God and man.