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accumulated wisdom of bygone ages. Now we are gathered
here together to discuss how our heritage of written learning
may be saved. He glanced shrewdly around as he continued,
 Much has been lost. Much has been saved. Some of us at
risk of savage torture, substituted worthless papyri and saved
the good. That we have stored . . . SAFELY. Now, has anyone a
suggestion that we may consider?
For some time conversation ebbed and flowed in a muted
undertone as man debated with man the feasibility of This or
That. At last a young priest of the Temple of Upper Egypt
stood up and in a different tone said,  Reverend Sirs, I crave
your indulgence for my temerity in addressing you thus.
Heads nodded in encouragement, so he continued,  Last night
on duty in the Temple I dreamed. I dreamed that the God
Bubastes descended before me and gave me indisputable in-
structions. I was to state that the Ancient Knowledge could be
concealed by Learned Scribes distilling the wisdom of the
ages, and then concealing that wisdom in the lines of carefully
composed poems. This, said the God Bubastes, would be be-
yond the comprehension of the illiterate, but clearly apparent
to the Illuminati. Thus posterity should not be deprived of
our knowledge nor of the knowledge that went before. Nerv-
ously he sat down. For moments there was silence as the
Elders debated within themselves.
At last the Ancient One reached a decision.  So be it, he
said.  We will conceal our knowledge in verse. We will also
prepare special pictures of the Book of the Tarot. And we will
make much that the pictures can be a card game, and in the
fullness of time the Light of Knowledge shall shine forth
again, replenished and renewed.
Thus it came to pass as was ordained, and in the years that
followed men of high purpose and fearless of character strove
to preserve all that which was worthy of preservation in verse
and in pictures. And the Gods smiled and were well content.
. . . . . . . . .
Throughout the ages mankind, and sometimes womankind
also, have used a special form of words that they might conceal
and reveal at the same time. Verse can be used to enchant the
reader or to mystify the intruder.
By a suitable rhythm of verse, metre, rhyme, and all that
sort of thing, one can delve down into the subconscious mes-
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sages which one needs or requires to become part of one's
psychic entity.
When looking at a poem one should decide whether the poet
is just lightly playing with words or if he has some special
message which he is trying to get over. Many times a message
which would be quite unacceptable in ordinary brutal prose
can be so wrapped up that only the initiated can get the mean-
ing. Many  seers wrote their messages and predictions in verse
not because as the skeptic says they were afraid to put it in
plain language but so that those initiated in such things could
read the deeper meaning behind the poem. Frequently some
illiterate author (and oh! what a lot there are!) will attempt to
sneer at famous poems of predictions. Of course people who
cannot write anything of their own can always get a market by
pandering to the lower instincts of mankind, and so, as this is
the Age of Kali, everyone is trying to reduce everyone to a
common denominator. This is the age of cynical disregard for
the elementary precept that all men are not equal; no matter
that they be equal in the sight of God, all men are not equal
upon the Earth, and there is a very prevalent form of inverted
snobbery nowadays which makes a man say,  Oh, I am as good
as he is! Now we see great leaders like Sir Winston Churchill,
Roosevelt, and others, having their names and their reputa-
tions dragged in the mud, but only by the sorry little people
who have no abilities of their own and thus obtain a fiendish
pleasure by trying to harm those who have abilities.
Shall we look at a piece of poetry and then go deeper and
look at the real meaning behind that poetry? Here, then, is a
Tibetan poem, a very very famous poem, it is not just pleasant
reading but it has special meaning attached to it. Here is the
poem  I Fear Not :
I FEAR NOT
In fear of death I built a house
And my house is a house of the void of truth.
Now I fear not death.
In fear of cold I bought a coat
And my coat is the coat of inner heat.
Now I fear not cold.
In fear of want I sought wealth
And my wealth is glorious, unending, sevenfold.
Now I fear not want.
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In fear of hunger I sought food
And my food is the food of meditation upon truth.
Now I fear not hunger.
In fear of thirst I sought drink
And my drink is the nectar of right knowledge.
Now I fear not thirst.
In fear of weariness I sought a companion
And my companion is the everlasting void of bliss.
Now I fear not weariness.
In fear of error I sought a Path
And my Path is the Path of transcendent union.
Now I fear not error.
I am a Sage who possesses in plentitude
The manifold treasures of desire, and wherever I dwell I am
happy.
Shortly we will delve down into the esoteric meaning of this
poem, but first let us have another poem. Again it is a Tibetan
one, again this is one with a very special meaning indeed. Here
is the second poem,  Be Content :
BE CONTENT
My son, as monastery be content with the body
For the bodily substance is the palace of divinity.
As a teacher be content with the mind,
For knowledge of the truth is the beginning of holiness. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]