THE HIDDEN GRANDEUR OF MAN

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Without doubt, man is the crown of God’s creation. In physical build, he may not be the strongest and sturdiest but with the awesome might of his mind, he is without equal. And using his unique abilities and powers, he has established lordship over all the visible creatures of the earth. Ruler of the earth, king and governor of nature–to these positions of power, man has assigned himself.

 

Yet in spite of the elevated imperial stature occupied by man among all creation, he still exists basically as a forlorn and lonely being. The American writer, Henry David Thoreau had said, “Men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This is not far from the truth: Mostly, man’s existence is spent in dejected pursuit of a certain elusive Something, Perfection, Happiness, Love, Realization – many are the names which he has assigned to this Something that he valiantly struggles to find. And many mortal man finds it not, even up to the time he takes his final breath.

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Why is this so? With man’s unequalled prowess, why is this life such a tale of despondency and melancholy? The answer lies in the misdirection of man’s attention and energies.

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The ordinary man is directed outward, outside of himself. He studies the substances and phenomena of nature outside of him- such as the stars and the planets, germs and bacteria, thunder and lightning, events and celebrities, and endless others. Yet, has this preoccupation led him anywhere? Has he attained any knowledge that propels him toward true self-evolution?

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Of course, undeniable are the benefits of Western science, and one should not, at any cost, belittle or condemn them. But let’s be realistic. Western science, at its present stage, has fallen short of providing man with any true understanding of even the very things it purports to concern itself with. What it has done is merely to assign names and labels to observable matter and phenomena. For instance, science has evolved words such as “gravity” and “electricity” but does anyone, even the scientist, truly understand the workings of gravity or electricity?

 

Man’s hope lies in gaining re-acquaintance with and understanding of his inner Self. His true magnificence, his wondrous grandeur, his unsurpassed powers, all lie inside him. For the microcosm of man is but a shrunken replica of the whole world around him. Understand the universe of the inner man and you gain an understanding of the outer universe as well. Going deeply inside us, we also evade the traps and labels that delude those seeking outside. For in the inner journey, words have no place. Actual experience is the key. It is the one true, valid knowledge.

 

Many have already started on this trek inwards of man. In the forefront are mystics, hermeticists, and transcendental seekers. They are those who make it their serious business to study the Self through methods evolved throughout the centuries – secret practices and disciplines which mainstream science is only beginning to gain knowledge and respectful acceptance of.

 

In this inward journey, some of the initial landmarks that herald the grandiose glory and treasures within man are the so-called psychic abilities. These include clairvoyance, telepathy, heightened sensitivity and intuition.

 

Surpassing the level of the psychic, higher illumination encompasses the awakening of man’s inherent goodness, compassion, and humanity. Accompanying this is the profound experience of joy, tranquility and bliss, and the certainty that things are just perfect as they are. Every act, every deed, for the benefit of others is performed with a gladness of heart, with lightness of spirit, with joy even.

 

This universal kinship, this oneness, is captured wonderfully in the beautiful words of Emerson:

 

“The heart in thee is the heart of all…one blood rolls uninterruptedly in endless circulation through all men, as the water of the globe is all one sea.”

 

Or in the words of Marcus Aurelius,

 

“All being is one, all law is one and all truth is one.” Gone is the mortal perception of a diverse, multifarious world. Instead, all is now seen as Unity. And also banished, dispelled forever is the haunting feeling of meaninglessness, of alienation, of not belonging, that once burdened man. For he is now an intrinsic part of the wonderful Unity that is being perceived beautifully and blissfully. He belongs! He is one with the majestic flow of the universe! He is one with the Ultimate, the one Something that previously eluded him, and that he now perceives everywhere, joyously and vitally present in all things and in the hearts of all men."