Page 138 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible

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132 Mystic pathways through the bible
possess the burden of the world, it is not attached to the shallow waters of material existence, and it is not robed with the tattered garments of illusion.
Vairagya or dispassion develops gradually in the process of personality integration. In the rst stage, having pursued many desires, the mind begins to understand that objects of the world cannot give abiding happiness. This understanding enables the mind to control the senses. In the second stage you begin to perceive the degrees of control that you exert upon the senses. In the third stage you begin to control your mind itself and you realize that the world, no matter what it presents, is not going to trouble you any longer.
“Poor in spirit” implies watching your ego to see how it clings to the objects of the world and constantly depends upon them. Though in the practical world you must continue to acquire and protect your possessions, there shouldn’t be a deep- rooted psychic involvement in them. Each time your ego clings to objects and external conditions with anxiety, remind your ego that the world is governed by a law much more profound than what it comprehends. Therefore, ego should relax and not fume over things it really cannot control.
In the highest level of understanding, being “poor in spirit” implies that the spirit has freed itself from all its oppressive associations, all its