The grace of Uncreated Light refers to a higher state that comes spontaneously.
Reality spontaneously shines through, with no ‘I’ or ‘they.’ One need not seek it, thought after thought. — Zhang Boduan (11th c. Taoist master)
Newborn babies experience reality spontaneously, but are unable to understand it. This is because most of their lower centers are empty and they do not yet have a sense of ‘I’.
Understanding the state of Uncreated Light, or Spontaneous Reality, requires some preparation. One needs an educated intellectual center, a very sensitive emotional center, and repeated experiences of the presence of Real ‘I’.
The newborn state, what is it like?
The primordial and the temporal are one energy.
No discrimination, no knowledge, not a single stain —
The seed of buddhas and immortals, the lair of sages.
– Liu Yiming, (17th c. Taoist master)
Removing the Thin Film of False Reality
The Fourth Way teaches that man is asleep and does not know himself. Ouspensky writes in In Search of the Miraculous, “I already knew then as an undoubted fact that beyond the thin film of false reality there existed another reality from which, for some reason, something separated us.” This false reality grows as an infant’s lower centers are gradually filled with opinions and attitudes that create an imaginary sense of ‘I’. These attributes, required for normal life, block self-awareness, like the clouds in sky block sunlight. This false sense of ‘I’ must be abandoned.
Three Forces are Required
For adults, the experience of Uncreated Light is very rare, and for many people, only occurs after receiving a violent shock. Near-death experiences serve as examples of such shocks. The state can also come from extreme positive shocks, such as falling in love or being deeply touched by beauty.
If one is asleep and separated from reality, how can the light of reality spontaneously shine through? If one does not make efforts to awaken, one will stay asleep. However, efforts alone are not sufficient. A third force is necessary, as Ouspensky stated, writing about the universal Law of Three.
To create any physical or psychological phenomenon requires three forces. For the effort to awaken, one’s steward is the first force. The mechanicality of one’s machine is the second force, and help from higher forces is the third force. To experience uncreated light one must attract the help of higher forces, because, from one point of view, grace is a gift. However, one is not given this gift if one does not make effort.
Make every act an offering to me; regard me as your only protector. Relying on interior discipline, meditate on me always. Remembering me, you shall overcome all difficulties through my grace. — Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita
In trying to remember oneself, one offers all one’s I’s to ‘Krishna’–who symbolizes one’s inner divinity. Religious offerings serve as symbols for giving up psychological obstacles–in order to experience Real ‘I.’
Sacrificing the ‘I’s to Reach the Real
Offering up is letting go of the many ‘I’s, even those that hope to receive some gift from higher forces, and only focusing on prolonging self-remembering. Being satisfied with the present moment means being unconcerned with whether or not higher forces will allow one the grace of experiencing one’s higher self. At this point, one accepts whatever the moment brings. After consistent efforts over a long period of time, one may experience Uncreated Light at unexpected moments. Yet this is the result of previous efforts.
Communion with Others
Uncreated Light may also arise when one is in the company of fellow companions on the way or with a conscious teacher. In Taoist alchemy, yang energy refers to the inner light of Real ‘I’ or Original Spirit.
Sometimes when friends gather, they reach a communion of the inner mind. Suddenly yang energy soars up and the true potential bursts forth. — Huang Yuan-Chi
The Christian Pentecost is a commemoration of the descent of the Holy spirit upon the apostles of Christ. Such examples of Uncreated Light become possible in conscious schools when students gain a certain level of being. When students gather together with the collected aim of being present, Uncreated Light can manifest. The death of Christ was a major event for Christ’s apostles. Transforming such difficult experiences enables Uncreated Light to manifest itself.
Sometimes, by letting go we allow some grace to enter by another channel, which all our mental efforts have hitherto kept out. Stillness is a quality of the heart. We must not expect to find it among the doubts of the mind— it is the mind which must make way for it. –– Rodney Collin
——————————————-
Walther Sell has been a student of the Fourth Way for decades. He is the author of a website on Oriental esoteric teachings, Inner Journey to the West.
See other articles by Walther for the FourthWayToday.org, including: