Chapter V.

EMOTION (continued). § 1. The Training of Emotion.
Emotion is, we have seen, the motive power in man : it stimulates thought ; it impels to action ; it is as steam to the engine ; without it man would be inert, passive. But there are many who are the continual prey of their emotions ; who are hurried hither and thither by emotions, as a rudderless ship by stormy winds upon the ocean ; who are tossed high and dragged low by surges of joyous and painful feelings; who alternate between exaltation and despair. Such a person is swayed, subju- gated by emotions, continually harassed by their conflict He is more or less a chaos within, and is erratic in his outward actions, moved by the impulse of the moment, without due consideration for surrounding
3»i
382 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
circumstances, such consideration as would make his actions well-directed. He often what is called a good person, inspin
by generous 1 actions, full of eager to bring action intendeo have not here the cruel, but hurry him intu
irred into kindlyl vith suffering and ging quickly intol he sufferer. Wefl the indifferent 1 whose emotionj before he has'
considered the conditions or forecast the results of his activity, beyond the immediate relief of the pain before his view. Such a person — though moved by a desire to help, though the stimulating emotion is sympathy and desire to relieve suffering — often does more harm than good in consequence of the inconsiderateness of his action. The emotion which impels him springs from the love-side of his nature, from the side which draws people together, and which is the root of the constructive and preserving virtues ; and in this very fact lies the danger of such a person. If the emotion had its root in evil, he would be the first to eradicate it ; but just because it is rooted in that love-emotion whence spring all the
BMOTIOH. 383
virtues, he does not suspect it, he
does not endeavour to control it. " I am
so sym[)Hthctic ; I am so much moved by
suffering ; I cannot bear the sight of
I misery." In all such phrases, a certain
laelf-praise is implied, though the tone may
|-be one of deprecation. Truly, sympathy is
L admirable, ftui sympathy, but its ill-
I directed exercise Is often provocative of
l^nischief. Sometimes it injures the vcty
I object of sympathy, and leaves him finally
worse case than at first Too often
I'Unwise forms of relief are adopted, more to
Ijremovc the pain of the sympathiser than to
ure the ill of the sufferer, and a momentary
l
injury, really, though not avowedly, to
■■Felicvc the pain of the onl(X)kcr. The
Trc-action of symjjathy on the sympathetic
■person is good, deepening the love-
Kcmotion : but the action on others is too
loften bad. owing to the lack of balanced
thought It is cas)-, at the sight of pain,
to fill earth and sky with our shrieks, till
all the air is throbbing ; it is hard 10 pause,
to measure the cause of pain and the cure.
and then to apply a remedy which heals
384 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
instead of perpetuating. Right Reason 1
must govern and direct emotion, if good is ;
to result from its exercise. Emotion should
be the impulse
director ; dire
gence, and its
never be wrei
the consciousi
emotion as tl
a^ director, there
on, but not its
gs to the intelii-
rerogative should |
from it. Where (
rks, having strong J
and right reasoO-f
sympathetic and
wise man who is useful to his generation.
Desires have been well compared to horses harnessed to the chariot of the body, and desires are rooted in emotions. Where the emotions are uncontrolled they are like plunging, unbroken horses that imperil the safety of the chariot and threaten the life of the charioteer. The reins have been compared to the mind, the reins that guide the horses, restraining or loosening as is needed. There is well imaged the relation- ship between emotion, intelligence, and action. Emotion gives the movement, intelligence controls and guides, and then the Self will use activity to the best advantage, as becomes the ruler of the emotions, not their victim.
385
With the development of that aspect of
onsciousness which will show itself as
the sixth sub-race, and more
ompletely in the sixth Root-Race, the
notional nature rapidly evolves in some
he advanced fifth Race, and often, for a
[ne, offers many troublesome and even
btressin^' symptoms. As evolution pro-
«ds, these will be outjjrown, and the
laturc will become balanced as well as
ong, wise as well as generous ; mcan-
liie the rapidly developing nature will be
my and often distressful, and will suffer
and long. Yet in those very
ifcrings lies its future strength as its
lent purification, and in proportion to
5 of the sufferings will be the
greatness of the result. It is in these
powerful natures that Buddhi is struggling
. to birth, and the anguish of the travail is
on them. Presently Buddhi. the Christ.
" litde child." will be bom. Wisdom and
ovc in one, and this, united to high intelli-
{encc. is the spiritual Ego, the true Inner
Man. the Ruler Immortal.
The student, who is studying his own
uure in order to take his own evolution
386 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
in hand and direct its future course, must carefully observe his own strength and his own weakness, in order to regulate the one and correct the other. In unevenly developed persons intellect and emotion are apt to vary in inverse ratio to each other ; strong emotions go with weak intelligence, and strong intelligence with weak emotions ; in one case the directing power is weak, in the other the motive. The .student, then, in his self-analysis, must see whether his intelligence is well- developed, if he finds his emotions to be strong ; he must test himself to discover whether he is unwilling to look at things in "the clear dry light of intellect"; if he feels repelled when a subject is presented to him in this light, he may rest assured that the emotional side of his nature is over-developed in proportion to the intel- lectual side. For the well-balanced man would resent neither the clear light of the directive intelligence, nor the strong force of the motive emotion. If, in the past, one side has been over- cultivated, if the emotions have been fostered to the detri- ment of the intelligence, then the efforts
3«7
hould be turned to the strengthening r the intellect, and the resentmfnt which fftrisesi again-st a coldly intellectual presenta- tion should l)c sternly curbed, the difference between intelligence and sympathy being recognised.
COKl
^^— shoi
M
^Kani
S 3. The Distorting Fouck of Emotion.
One of the things most apt to be over- looked by the emotional person is the way in which emotion fills his surrounding atmosphere with its vibrations, and thereby biasses the intelligence : everything is seen through this atmoHphere, and is coloured and distorted by it. so that things do not reach the intelligence in their true form and colour, but arrive twisted and dis- coloured. Our aura surrounds us, and should be a pellucid medium through lich alt in the outer world should reach in its own form and colour ; but when aura is vibrating with emotion it mot act as such a medium, and all is liefractcd that passes into it. and reaches us quite other than it is. If a person is under water and a stick is put near htm
388 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
in the air. and he tries to touch it, his hand will be wrongly directed, for he will put his hand to the place at which he sees the slick, and as the rays coming from it are refracted on entering the water, the slick will be, for him, displaced. Similarly when an impression from the outer world reaches us through an aura over-charged with emotion, its proportions are distorted, and its position misjudged ; hence the data supplied to the intelligence are erroneous, and the judgment founded upon them will therefore necessarily be wrong, however accurately the intelligence may work.
Even the most careful self- analysis will not entirely protect us against this emotional disturbance. The intellect ever tends to judge favourably that which we like, unfavourably that which we dislike, owing to the "refraction" above-named. The arguments in favour of a certain course are thrown into a strong light by our desire to follow it, and the arguments against it are thrown into the shade. The one seems so clear and forcible, the other so dubious and feeble. And to our
EMOTION. 389
seeing through the emotion, it is so sure thai we arc right, and that anyone, who does not see as wc do, is biassed by prejudice or is wilfully perverse. Against this ever-present danger, we can only guard by care and persistent effort, but we cannot finally escape it until we transcend the emotions, and become abso- lutely their ruler.
One way remains in which we can aid ourselves to a right judgment, and that is by studying the workings of conscious- ness in others, and in weighing their decisions under circumstances similar to our own. The judgments which most repel us are those most likely to be useful to us, because made through an emotional medium very different from our own. We can com[Mire their decisions with ours, and by noting the points that affect them most and ourselves least, and that weigh most heavily with us and most lightly with them, we may disentangle the emotional from the intellectual elements in the judgments. And even where our con* elusions are mistaken, the effort to arrive at them is corrective and illuminative ; it
.190
A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
aids ill the mastery of the emotions, and strengthens the intellectual element. Such studies should of course be made when there is no emotional disturbance, and its fruits should be stored up for use at the.-* times when the emotions are strong.
g 3. Methods of Ruling the Emotioks.
The first and most powerful method for obtaining mastery of the emotions is— as in all that touches consciousness — Meditation. Before contact with the world has disturbed the emotions, medita- tion should be resorted to. Coming back into the body after the period of physical sleep, from a world subtler than the physical, the Ego will find his tenement quiet, and can take possession calmly of the rested brain and nerves. Meditation later in the day, when the emotions have been disturbed, and when they are in full activity, is not as efficacious. The quiet time which is available after sleep is the right season for effective meditation, the desire-body, the emotional nature, being more tranquil than after it has
k
euonoH. 39t
tinged into the bustle of the world.
r From that peaceful morning hour will
! stream out the inHuence which will guard
during the day, and the emotions, soothed
sdUed, will be more amenable to
Where it is possible, it is well to forecast f the ([ucstions which may arise during the 1 day, and to come to conclusions as to the I view to be taken, the conduct to be [ pursueti. If we know that we shall be I placed under certain conditions that will I arouse our emotions, we can decide before- I'hand on our mental attitude, and even I come to a decision on our action, i Supposing such a decision has been ■ reached, then when the circumstances I arise, that decision should be recalled and I acted upon, even though the swell of the emotions may impel towards a different course. For instance, we are k*^''^? ^^ meet a person for whom wc have a strong affection, and we decide in our meditation on the course that it is wisest to pursue, deciding in the clear light of calm intel- ligence what is best for alt concerned. To this decision wc should adhere, even
:
392 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
though there is the inclination to feel : " I had not given the proper weight to that view." As a matter of fact, under these conditions, overweight is given, the proper weight having been g^iven in the calmer thought ; and it is the wisest plan to follow the path previously chalked out despite the emotional promptings of the moment. There may be a blunder of judgment, but if the blunder be not seen during meditation it is not likely to be seen during a swirl of emotions.
Another method of curbing the emotions is to think over what is going to be said, before speaking, to put a bridle on the tongue. The man who has learned to control his speech has conquered every- thing, says an ancient eastern law-giver. The person who never speaks a sharp or ill-considered word is well on the way to control emotion. To rule speech is to rule the whole nature. It is a good plan not to speak — to deliberately check speech — until one is clear as to what one is going to say, is sure that the speech is true, that it is adapted to the person to whom it is to be addressed, and that it is such as ought to
E»IOTtOK. 393
mite spoken. Truth comes first and foremost, land nothing can excuse falsity of speech ; imany a speech uttered under stress of I'Cmotion is false, either from exaggeration
■ or distortion. Then, the appropriateness fof the speech to the person addressed is too ■^ten forgotten, in the hurry of emotion, or
he eagerness of strong feeling. A quite ong idea of a great truth may be IpTcsentcd. if the point of view of the iperson addressed is not borne in mind : laympaihy is needed, the seeing as he sees, tfor only then can the truth be useful and ■liclprul. One is not trying to help oneself. Bbut to help another, in putting the truth Ibefore him. Perhaps the conception of ■Iftw as changeless, inviolable, absolutely npanial, may, to the speaker, be inspiring, tngthening, uplifting ; whereas that con- ption is ruthless and crushing to an fttoideveloped person, and injures instead of Klidps. Truth is not meant to crush, but to I elevate, and wc misuse truth when we give L{t to one that is not ready. There is plenty
■ to suit the needs of each, but discretion is [ needed to choose wisely, and enthusiasm
nutt not force a premature enlightenment
394
A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
I
L
Many a young Theosophist does more harm than good by his over-eager pressing on others of the treasures he prizes so highly. Lastly, the form of the speech, the necessity or the usefulness of its utterance, should be considered. A truth that might help may be changed into a truth that hinders by the, way in which it is put. " Never speak y is untrue, never speak what is unpleasanl is a golden rule of speech. All speech should be truthful, sweet and agreeable. This agreeableness of speech is too often forgotten by well-meaning people, who even pride themselves on their candour, when they are merely rude and indifferent to the feelings of those whom they address. But that is neither good breeding nor religion, for the unmannerly is not the religious. Religion combines perfect truth with perfect courtesy. Moreover, the superfluous, the useless, is mischievous, and there is much injury done by the continual bubbling over of frivolous emotions in chatter and small talk. People who cannot bear silence, and are ever chattering, fritter away their intellectual and moral forces, as well as give utterance to a hundred follies,
1 '
BMonon. 395
belter left unsaid. To be afraid of silence is a sign of mental weakness, and calm silence is better than foolish speech. In silence the emotions grow and strengthen, while remaining controlled, and thus the motive power of the nature increases and is also brought into -subjection. The power of being silent is great, and often exercises a most soothing effect ; on the other hand, he who has learned to be silent must be careful that his silence does not trench on his courtesy, that he does not, by inappro- priate silence among others, make them feel chilled and uncomfonable.
Some may fear that such a consideration before speech as is outlined may so hinder exchange of thought as lo paralyse conver- sation : but all who have practised such control will bear witness that, alter a brief practice, no noticeable interval is caused before the reply is uttered. Swifter than lightning is the movement of the intel- ligence, and it will Hash over the points to be considered while a breath is being drawn. It is true, that at 5rst there will be slight hesitation, but in a few weeks no pause will be required, and the review of
:
396 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
the proposed utterance will be made t swiftly to cause any obstruction. Many a orator can testify that, in the rapid torrenl of a declamatory period, the mind will sit at ease, turning about alternative sentences and weighing their respective merits ere one is chosen and the rest are cast aside ; and yet none in the rapt audience will knony aught of this by-play, or dream that behin' the swift utterance there is any such selo tive action going on.
A third method of mastering emotion is by refraining from acting on impulse. The hurry to act is characteristic of the modern mind, and is the excess of the promptitude which is its virtue. When we consider lifi^ calmly we realise that there is any need for hurry ; there is time enough, and action, however swift, should be well considered and unhur- ried. When an impulse comes from some strong emotion, and wc spring forward in obedience, without consideration, we act unwisely. If we train ourselves to think, before we act in all ordinary affairs, then if an accident or anything else should happen in which prompt action is necei
ry, the swift mind will balance up the ' demands of the moment and direct swift
action, but there will be
hurry.
[ inconsiderate unwise blundering.
" But should I not follow my intuition ?" I some one may ask. Impulse and intuition I arc loo often confused, though r 1 different in origin and characteristics. Impulse springs from the desire- nature, f from the consciousness working through the astral body, and is an energy Hung out- wards in response to a stimulus from [ outside, an energy undirected by the I intelligence, hasty, unconsidered, headlong. I Intuition springs from the spiritual Ego, and is an energy (lowing outwards to meet I a demand from outside, an energy directed [ by the spiritual Ego, strong, calm, pur- I poseful. For distinguishing between the I two, until the nature is thoroughly I balanced, calm consideration is necessary, j and delay is essential ; an impulse dies I away under such consideration and delay ; I an intuition grows clearer and stronger under such conditions ; calmness enables the lower mind to hear it, and to feel its serene iniperiousncss. Moreover, if what
398 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
seems to be an intuition is really 3 suggestion from some higher Being, that suggestion will sound the louder for our quiet meditation, and will lose nothing of force by such calm delay.
It is true that there is a certain pleasure in the abandonment to the headlong impulse, and that the imposed restraint is painful for a time. But the effort to lead the higher life is full of these renounceals of pleasure and acceptances of pain, and gradually we come to feel that there is a higher joy in the quiet considerate action than in the yielding to the tumultuous impulse, and that we have eliminated a constant source of regret. For constantly does such yielding prove a source of sorrow, and the impulse is found to be a mistake. If the proposed action be good, the purpose to perform it will be made stronger, not weaker, by careful thought. And if the purpose grows weaker with the thinking, then is it sure that it comes from the lower source, not from the higher.
Daily meditation, careful consideration before speech, the refusal to yield to impulse, these are the chief methods of
SHonoN. 399
irning the emotions into useful servants istead of dangerous masters.
S 4. Thk Usiho or Euotion.
Only he can use an emotion who has
tl)ecome its master, and who knows that
I'^e emotions are not himself but are
Iplaying in the vehicles in which he dwells,
nd are due to the interaction between
he Self and the Not-Self. Their ever-
Kchanging nature marks them as belonging
the vehicles ; they are stirred into
ictivity by things without, answered to by
lie consciousness within. The attribute of
onsciousncss that gives rise to emotions
Bliss, and pleasure and pain are the
lotions in the desire -vehicle caused by
: contacts of the outer world, and by the
sponse through it to these of the Self as
; just as thoughts are the motions
: to similar contacts and to the response
1 them of the Self as Knowledge. As
Self knows itself, and distinguishes
f Itself from its vehicles, it becomes ruler
of the emotions, and pleasure and pain
become equally modes of Bliss.
400
A STUDY m CONSCIOUSNESS.
As progress is made, it will be found that greater equilibrium is attained under stress of pleasure and pain, and that the emotions no longer upset the balance of the mind. So long as pleasure elates, and pain paralyses, so that the performance of duty is hindered and hampered, so long is a man the slave, and not the ruler, of his emotions. When he has learned to rule them, the greatest wave of pleasure, the keenest sting of pain, can be felt, and yet the mind will remain steady and address itself calmly to the work in hand. Then whatever comes is turned into use. Out of pain is gained power, as out of pleasure are gained vitality and courage. All become forces to help, instead of obstacles to hinder.
Of these uses oratory may serve as an illustration. You hear a man fired by passion, his words tumbling over each other, his gestures violent ; he is possessed by, carried away by, emotion, but he does not sway his audience. The orator who sways is the master of his emotions and uses them to affect liis audience ; his words are deliberate and well-chosen even in the
BMOTION. 401
*rush of his speech, his gestures appropriate aad dignified. He is not feeling the emotions, but he kas felt Ihrni, and he now uses his jast to shape the present. In proportion as a speaker has felt and has risen above his emoiions will be his power to use them. No one without strong emotions can be a great speaker ; but the greatness gr,ows as the emotions are brought under control, A more cfteclivc explosion results from a careful arrangement of the explosives and a deliberate application of the match, than by HingTng them down anyhow, and the
, match after them, in the hope that some-
Idung may catch.
So long as anyone is stirred by the emotions, the clear vision needed for helpful service is blurred. The valuable helper is the man who is calm and balanced, while full of sympathy. What sort of a doctor would he be who, in the midst of performing an operation, should burst into tears ? Yet many people are so distressed by the sight of suffering that their whole being is shaken by it, and they thus increase the suffering instead
402
A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
of relieving it All emotion causes strong vibrations, and these pass from one to another. The pffertive helper must be
I
calm and ste^ radiating pea rock above ti to gain that he were
if waves.
Another use oi
ing unshaken and who stands on a can help another round better than rattling with the
notions when they are thoroughly in hand is to call up and use the appropriate one to rouse in another person an emotion beneficial to him. If a person be angry, the natural answer to his vibrations is anger in the one he meets, for all vibrations tend to be sympathetically reproduced. As we all have emotion - bodies, any body vibrating near us in a particular way tends to cause similar vibrations in us, if we have in our bodies the appropriate matter, Anger awakens auger, love aw.-ikens love, gentleness awakens gentleness. When we are masters of our emotions, and feel the surge of anj^cr rising in response to the vibrations of anger in another, we shall at once check this answer, and shall let
waves of anger dash up against us, while wc remain unmoved. The man who can hold his own emotion-body quiet, while those of others are vibrating strongly around him, has learned well the lesson of self-control. When this is done, he is ready to take the next step, to meet the vibration of an evil emotion with the vibration of the corresponding good emotion, and thus he not only withholds himself from anger, but sends out vibra- ,tions that tend to quiet the anger- itions of the other. He answers T by love, wrath by gentleness. At first, this answer must be deliberate, set purpose, and anj^ry people can be ;en to practise on. When one comes in our way, wc utilise him. The attempt will be. doubtless, cold and dry in the begin- ning, with only the will to love in it and none of the emotion ; but after a while, the will to love will produce a little emotion. and at last a habit will be irstablished. and kindness will be the spontaneous answer to unkindness. The steady, deliberate prac- tice of answering thus the vibrations wrong emotions reaching us from outside
4
prac- ^J tutside ^^^H
404
A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
will establish a habit in the emotioi body, and it will respond rightly auto- matically.
The teaching of all the great Masters of Ethics is the same: "Return good for evil." And the teaching is based on this interchange of vibrations, caused by love- and hate- emotions. The return of evil intensifies it, while the return of good neutralises the evil. To stir love-emotions in others by sending to them a stream of such emotions, so as to stimulate all that is good in them and to weaken all that is bad, is the highest use to which we can put our emotions in daily human service. It is a good plan to bear in mind a list of correspondences in emotions, and to practise accordingly, answering pride by humility, discourtesy by compassion, arro- gance by submission, harshness by gentle- ness, irritability by calmness. Thus is a nature built up which answers all evil emotions by the corresponding good ones, and which acts as a benediction on all around, lessening the evil in them and strengthening the good.
|6. The Value or Emotiom in Evolittion.
Wc have seen that emotion is the motive power in man, and to turn it into a helper in evolution we must utilise it to lift and not allow it to degrade. The Ego, in his evolution, needs " points to draw him " upwards, as says the Voice of tkt Siiente, for the upward way is steep, and an attractive object above us, towards which we can strive, is an aid impossible to over-estimate. Only too often we lag on the way, and feel no desire to proceed ; aspiration is inert, the longing to rise has rted. Then may we summon emotion lo our aid, by twining it around some object of devotion, and thus gain the impetus we need, the lifting force we crave.
This form of emotion is what is often called hero-worship, the power to admire and love greatly one who is nobler than oneself, and to be able thus to love and admire is to have at disposal one of the great lifting forces in human evolution. Hero-worship is often decried because a perfect ideal is not possible to Bnd among men living in the world, but a partial ideal
406 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
that can be loved and emulated is a help In quickening evolution. It is true that there will be weaknesses in such a partial ideal, and it is necessary to distinguish between the heroic qualities and the weaknesses found in conjunction with them ; but the attention should be fixed on the heroic qualities that stimulate, and not on the blemishes that mar everyone who has not as yet transcended humanity. To recog- nise that the weaknesses are of the Not- Self and are passing, while the nobility is of the Self that endures, to love what is great, and to be able to pass over what is small, that is the spirit that leads to discipleship of the Great Ones, Only good is gained by the hero- worshipper from his ideal, if he honour the greatness and disregard the weakness, and on the hero himself will fall the karma of his own shortcomings.
But it is said: if we thus recognise the nobility of the Self in the midst of human weaknesses, we are only doing what we should do with all. and why make a hero out of anyone in whom there is still any human weakness? Because of the help
he
m
EMOTION. f6f
r hero gives us as an inspiration and a
asure of our own achievement. No ordinary person can be turned into a hero ; it is only when the Self shines out with more than ordinary lustre that the inclina- tion to hero-worship arises. The man is a hero, though not yet super-human, and his weaknesses are but as spots in the sun. There is a proverb which says : " No man is a hero lo his valet-dc-chambre." and the cynic reads this as meaning that the most heroic man owes his greatness to distance. But is not the meaning rather that the ivalct-soul, intent on the shine of a btxit and ic set of a necktie, cannot appreciate that ■which makes the hero, having naught in lim that can sound sympathetically with the notes the hero strikes ? For to be able to admire means to be able to achieve, and love and reverence for the great is a sign chat a man is growing like them.
When emotion is [hu.s aroused, we should judge ourselves by our ideal, and be
ihamed to do or think aught that would 'bring a shade of sorrow nvcr the eyes of him wc revere. His presence should be with us, as an uplifter, until, judgitig
408 A STUDY IN CONSCIOUSNESS.
ourselves in the light of the greater achieve- ment, we find ourselves also beginning to achieve.
That the pure light of the Self shines through none who walk the miry paths of earth is true, but there are some through whom enough light shines to lighten the darkness, and to help us to see where to plant our feet. It is better to thank and honour these, to rejoice and be glad in them, than to belittle them because they are not wholly of heaven, because some touches of human weakness still entangle their feet. Blessed indeed are they who have in themselves the hero-nature and hence recognise their elder kin ; for them waits the open gate to the upper reaches, and the more they love, the more they honour, the swifter will be their approach to that gateway. No better karma comes to a man than to find the hero who may bear him company to the entering ; no sadder karma than to have seen him, in an illuminated moment, and then to have cast him aside, blinded by an imperfection he is out-growing.