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The Supreme teaching
Identifier
007192
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
The Supreme teaching [from the Upanishads]
Even as a heavy laden cart moves on groaning, even so the cart of the human body, wherein lives the Spirit, moves on groaning when a man is giving up the breath of life.
When the body falls into weakness on account of old age or disease, even as a mango fruit or the fruit of the holy fig tree, is loosened from its stem, so the Spirit of man is loosened from the human body and returns by the same way to Life, wherefrom he came.
When the human soul falls into weakness and into seeing unconsciousness all the powers of life assemble around. The soul gathers these elements of life-fire and enters the heart. And when the Spirit that lives in the eye has returned to his own source, then the soul knows no more forms.
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Then, at the point of the heart a light shines, and the light illumines the Spirit on its way afar. When departing, by the head, or by the eye or other parts of the body, life arises and follows the Spirit, and the powers of life follow life. The Spirit becomes conscious and enters into Consciousness. His wisdom and works take him by the hand and the knowledge known of old.
Even as a caterpillar, when coming to the end of a blade of grass, reaches out to another blade of grass and draws itself over to it, in the same way the Spirit, leaving the body and unwisdom behind, reaches out to another body and draws itself over to it.
And even as a worker in gold, taking an old ornament, moulds it into a form newer and fairer, even so to the Spirit, leaving the body and unwisdom behind, goes into a form newer and fairer; a form like that of the ancestors in heaven, or of celestial beings, or of the gods of light, or of the Lord of Creation, or of Brahma the Creator supreme, or a form of other beings