Essence

Essence

Essence pays for the gift of higher centers. Homer and Milton were blind. Rembrandt, the artist who painted the accompanying image, after a successful career and public acclaim died penniless and in an unmarked grave. Walt Whitman who was physically robust, caring for others in less than ideal circumstances, succumbed to a stroke in the prime of his life that left him poor and paralyzed. The trial and eventual death of Socrates seemed to be the blueprint for the trial and excruciating death of Christ. Both Lewis Carroll and Johann von Goethe held unrequited loves, and Goethe’s only son, whom he adored, was killed in a war in the last years of Goethe’s life. Abraham was tasked with sacrificing his favorite son (and thankfully he was spared from carrying out this gruesome task, but he nonetheless undertook it), and Joseph the son of Jacob was falsely accused and imprisoned. All of the afore mentioned individuals transcended difficult personal circumstances, and serve as archetypes and exemplars for anyone wishing to pursue conscious evolution.

We too undergo trials, physical, emotional and psychological. The question is, what is our relationship to the difficulties that befall us? Essence, that core part of the machine that is closest to what we call ‘I’, naturally will do anything to alleviate discomfort. For a student however, these difficulties are opportunities to strengthen the connection to higher centers. A few years ago, a student in the School, having undergone rigorous chemotherapy to no avail, and in extreme discomfort said to the Teacher, “We used to say that payment is a principle. Payment is a privilege.” Such was the promise of school fulfilled for Helaine.

Did we cut our little finger? Is the electric bill higher than expected? Did our favourite cup drop and shatter into pieces? Did our partner or spouse leave, or were we forced to leave a relationship or marriage? Did our employer pass us over for promotion? Have we been looking for work for weeks, months, years without success? Have we suffered broken bones, broken hearts, broken promises?

And what of the unalloyed love of one’s infant children, the familial gatherings of friends and family around the dining table, the interior aroma of a new car, a look of affection from our spouse, having one’s favourite meal served, the unexpected praise from one’s employer or employees, the crimson sunset after a storm?

In Rembrandt’s painting The Head of Christ, the expression he’s given Christ seems to convey Christ’s understanding that all the experiences the four lower centers will encounter are for no other purpose than to foment the crystallization of higher centers. Rembrandt knew exactly what he wanted to convey. Essence pays for the gift of immortality.

Join the discussion

Head of Christ, Rembrandt c.1600,

Philadelphia Museum of Art