Because they are His.
The three are Lover, Love, and Beloved. These are to be united in one, so that no separation any longer exists anywhere. Or the bhakta may look upon himself as servant, and by rendering service to all beings, in whom he sees divinity, thus serve God. Or he may feel himself as beloved, and pour out his love in return upon all the works of God—the Lover.
“With choking voice,” etc., expresses the highest states of emotion. These are contagious, and their manifestation undoubtedly tends to exalt the hearts of others. In extreme joy the down upon the body is said to stand erect. In Western countries this phenomenon has not been observed, for our bodies are always covered. We feel, however, a peculiar movement of the skin which accompanies deep emotional experiences of a pleasurable sort. There are several references to this movement of the down upon the body in old Sanskrit literature.
Those in whom Love shines perfectly throw a halo of sanctity over everything they do, over everything they touch or approach.
Thought is a great power, a marvellous energy, which surpasses all others in its scope. Marvellous is the rapidity of action and the almost instantaneous work of electricity, but these lag far behind the powers of thought. Thought can build and destroy: it works through every manifestation in this universe.
The three are Lover, Love, and Beloved. These are to be united in one, so that no separation any longer exists anywhere. Or the bhakta may look upon himself as servant, and by rendering service to all beings, in whom he sees divinity, thus serve God. Or he may feel himself as beloved, and pour out his love in return upon all the works of God—the Lover.
“With choking voice,” etc., expresses the highest states of emotion. These are contagious, and their manifestation undoubtedly tends to exalt the hearts of others. In extreme joy the down upon the body is said to stand erect. In Western countries this phenomenon has not been observed, for our bodies are always covered. We feel, however, a peculiar movement of the skin which accompanies deep emotional experiences of a pleasurable sort. There are several references to this movement of the down upon the body in old Sanskrit literature.
Those in whom Love shines perfectly throw a halo of sanctity over everything they do, over everything they touch or approach.
Thought is a great power, a marvellous energy, which surpasses all others in its scope. Marvellous is the rapidity of action and the almost instantaneous work of electricity, but these lag far behind the powers of thought. Thought can build and destroy: it works through every manifestation in this universe.
Mana eva jagad sarvam.
“The whole world verily is mind.”
Through its subtlety it evades: its very methods raise in us the idea that we alone are the thinkers of our thoughts. Whence rise the motives, whence the suggestions that play upon the strings of our hearts, which pulsate in our brains from hour to hour, day to day? Who can sink so deep into the promptings that move as to discover even their approximate origin? Yet we identify them all with the basic conception “I.” He who, maybe, sits in a cave or apparently idles away life in the sunshine, who undertakes no works through the pen or through the purse, who, apparently, has no part in practical efforts to benefit, may, nevertheless, be a living battery from which radiates in every direction powerful influence in the shape of thought. Pure and selfless, it may vibrate through the world and stimulate and encourage the minds that are in accord with it. Higher than the poets, beyond the essayist or preacher, is he who can understand, control and project ideas. There can be no resistance to what cannot be seen, except by its like—by thought. The same law applies to evil suggestions and to good. These are everywhere, and minds feed upon them for weal or for woe according to their necessity. The very walls of old sanctuaries and rooms where the blessed and the pure have lived are impregnated with their thought. This may last for centuries. It can only be known and felt by those who are receptive to such influences, and they are very rare.
“The whole world verily is mind.”
Through its subtlety it evades: its very methods raise in us the idea that we alone are the thinkers of our thoughts. Whence rise the motives, whence the suggestions that play upon the strings of our hearts, which pulsate in our brains from hour to hour, day to day? Who can sink so deep into the promptings that move as to discover even their approximate origin? Yet we identify them all with the basic conception “I.” He who, maybe, sits in a cave or apparently idles away life in the sunshine, who undertakes no works through the pen or through the purse, who, apparently, has no part in practical efforts to benefit, may, nevertheless, be a living battery from which radiates in every direction powerful influence in the shape of thought. Pure and selfless, it may vibrate through the world and stimulate and encourage the minds that are in accord with it. Higher than the poets, beyond the essayist or preacher, is he who can understand, control and project ideas. There can be no resistance to what cannot be seen, except by its like—by thought. The same law applies to evil suggestions and to good. These are everywhere, and minds feed upon them for weal or for woe according to their necessity. The very walls of old sanctuaries and rooms where the blessed and the pure have lived are impregnated with their thought. This may last for centuries. It can only be known and felt by those who are receptive to such influences, and they are very rare.
For to have read the life of a saint, to have filled oneself with his written teaching, and then to visit the scene of his labours, brings into play other factors.
The forefathers rejoice, and the gods are elated with joy, for they see, in anticipation, their own victory, their own relief from bondage. Man is the highest of all the manifestations in the universe; for it is only through human birth that identity with God can be obtained, and final release from the bondage of birth, growth, decay, and death. All the gods in the highest heavens are subject to these, nor can they pass by any other portal to Moksha—to release—except through human birth.
Hence, when Christ conquered, the angels came and ministered to Him, and so also do they rejoice and serve every man who becomes a Christ. From the highest heavens to the nethermost hells the worlds “trembled” when Buddha conquered, for his is the victory which frees for ever. It is the basic hope of every living thing, seated deep within its heart, and unknown to itself, except in the case of men and gods. By such victories, only possible through manhood, the foundations of all the manifested worlds are shaken. On the occasion of the victories both of Christ and Buddha there were “mighty earthquakes.” By slow or by quicker stages every living thing passes through humanity, through Christhood, or Buddhahood, into God.
The forefathers rejoice, and the gods are elated with joy, for they see, in anticipation, their own victory, their own relief from bondage. Man is the highest of all the manifestations in the universe; for it is only through human birth that identity with God can be obtained, and final release from the bondage of birth, growth, decay, and death. All the gods in the highest heavens are subject to these, nor can they pass by any other portal to Moksha—to release—except through human birth.
Hence, when Christ conquered, the angels came and ministered to Him, and so also do they rejoice and serve every man who becomes a Christ. From the highest heavens to the nethermost hells the worlds “trembled” when Buddha conquered, for his is the victory which frees for ever. It is the basic hope of every living thing, seated deep within its heart, and unknown to itself, except in the case of men and gods. By such victories, only possible through manhood, the foundations of all the manifested worlds are shaken. On the occasion of the victories both of Christ and Buddha there were “mighty earthquakes.” By slow or by quicker stages every living thing passes through humanity, through Christhood, or Buddhahood, into God.
When a man has obtained the condition of a perfect bhakta he no longer manifests, as it were, humanity. He reflects Divinity direct. He speaks with the voice of God. Distinctions of caste, learning, etc., are no longer possible.