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| Source: imgkid.com |
The book talks about different character traits the aspiring magician is supposed to develop, with each character trait representing a particular element. Together, all these positive character traits are supposed to develop an equilibrium of the elements within the magician, as is the objective of the exercise found in Step Two of Initiation Into Hermetics.
As you read more of the book, it becomes obvious that it's more than just another self-help or character development manual. To illustrate, let me refer to two specific character traits and quote a short description of each.
Strong Individuality (under the Fire element)
"When an accident or misfortune strikes us, when we get ill and have failures, we will always keep our composure and never despair, but instead we overcome with great eagerness all these fateful obstacles, which will only strengthen us, even if it seems to other people that we are persecuted by destiny and are unlucky in everything we do."
Self-Reliance, Certainty (Security) and Self-Confidence (also under the Fire element)
"We should also never be content to rely, not even occasionally, on various changes and circumstances that basically in one form or another will remove for us a particular difficult obstacle. Relying on that would be a major mistake, where we would be the loser in the end."
Considering that most people spend a lot of time, energy and resources to make sure nothing bad happens to them or that they achieve their goals with as few obstacles as possible, the above quotes would seem quite odd, perhaps even counter intuitive. It's like standing your ground against a wild bear rushing towards you instead of trying to run or hide, as most people would do.
All of this starts to make sense only if we see life as a hermetic would. To the hermetic, this life is simply one of many incarnations. Worldly status or achievements, while they have their place, are still only temporary. When we shed our body, we also leave behind our material possessions, awards and recognitions. We only bring with us the traits that we developed in the course of achieving our earthly goals, and that is the crux of the matter.
To put it crudely, life is simply like going to the gym. Your muscles will only develop if you put a lot of stress on them which means temporary discomfort and suffering while exercising. But just as you leave the gym equipment behind once your session is done and use your newly developed muscles to perform better in the outside world, when the hermetic leaves this life he/she only brings those qualities that were developed through the course of one's time on the material plane.
Getting fired from a job, defaulting on a loan, a serious illness or getting in a spat with a loved one are enough to cause anxiety, anger, worry, fear and/or depression in most people. It's not that the hermetic is out looking for misery and misfortune, but if these things do happen then the hermetic approaches these circumstances with the same enthusiasm and vigor as he/she would when something good happens (ideally, at least). It's a fundamental difference in state of mind, because to the hermetic, whatever happens in life is simply an opportunity for one's personal development, with no distinction on whether it's a good or bad situation.
This attitude is more than just indifference or an emotionless and fatalistic acceptance of events. The more accurate description would be the attitude of detachment as taught by the Buddha. That's it in a nutshell.
But why is there such a focus on developing character traits?
Here's something to think about. In one of his videos, Sadhguru discusses the question of what happens after death. He says that not everyone has the ability to shed the body consciously (it takes a certain level of inner development to do so). So for majority of people, once the body goes then the discriminating mind also goes and one starts to act according to one's tendencies.
That's why he said it's important to make the dying person's surroundings pleasant, so that the after life experience also becomes pleasant. So theoretically, if one has cultivated certain character traits that also result in an equilibrium of the elements, even in the aftermath of death the spirit can work effectively in the after life and better set the conditions for the next incarnation.
While these statements are difficult to validate, do note that when we go to sleep, most people can't even control what they do in their dreams. At most, people are just observers acting out in reaction to whatever situation is happening in the dream. And sometimes, the theme of dream situations are influenced by the thoughts that were running around in one's mind before falling asleep. Anyway, it's an interesting correlation that merits further investigation.
In the end, I don't think the book is saying that the hermetic shouldn't have any material ambitions or a wish for a better life. But at the same time, the hermetic is called to recognize that life by its very nature is filled with challenges, and these challenges serve a very specific purpose in one's inner development. It's in no way easy. If it was, then a lot more people would have become enlightened by now. But it's serious work, one that the spirit will eventually have to take up in earnest throughout the course of its earthly incarnations.
But going back to the present, I think a practical approach would be to simply do everything you think you need to do to survive (while maintaining a clear conscience), but don't get hung up on the results. When things don't happen the way you want them to or when you want them to, it's easy to get bogged down with the negativity. Don't obsess about the bad but rather learn from them and work to overcome them, step by step without complicating the process with angst. Easier said than done, I know. But it helps when you have a general idea of how you should be going about it.
The book is titled the way it is because its method of inner alchemy is supposed to unlock the door to higher realms of consciousness, an existential experience of multiple dimensions that are so far from the physical that our everyday concerns and worries would seem quite trivial indeed.
