The Equinox (Volume III, Number I)

A MASTER OF THE TEMPLE days; then, having got into the swing, I roughly attempted a short and incom- plete review of my whole life, which although brief, was much fuller than I expected. I remembered things connected with early childhood quite accurately, but of course not with full connections. Then something occurred that I really did not expect, and only later trials will prove if it was an illusion or not. Having tried hard to pierce the blank, back of all, I had a sudden clear sensation of lying on a bed with people around, and in particular an elderly man in black velvet and knee breeches, whom I at once felt was my Tutor, leaning over me. The ideas that came with this were that I was quite young, and had some disease like consumption, that the family was wealthy, and the house a Country Resi- dence. These impressions were very real and quite unexpected, but as I used to have a dread of consumption, am still young, and meditation took place lying down, it would seem that very little imagination would make up the rest. How- ever, I mention it, as the experience was different from anything I can previously remember. July 8th., 1911. About a fortnight ago, I received a letter from Frater P.A.t in answer to my previous two. I was pleased to hear from him, but he gave me a good talking to, also some new instructions. He wanted to know, what I meant by making a claim to having attained Samadhi, or something very like it, in August last, and then shortly afterwards started cutting my arm, etc. I have not answered it yet, but this much for reference: (1) I never mentioned Samadhi, 1Frater P.A. was not a Neophyte, but had been appointed to receive other Probationers for administrative convenience. This was a plain breach of the regulations of the Order, and the result was this comic letter. Frater P.A. was apparently under the impression that as soon as any one happened along into Samadhi, he was to yawn his “Nunc dimittis.” This incident should be a warning to all those in charge of authority that they must in no wise vary the strict instructions of the Order, however obvious may appear the advantages of doing so. The result of Frater P.A.’s presumption in trying to train Frater V.I.O., in- stead of pressing on to the mark of his own high calling, was that he simply dropped out of the Order altogether, leaving himself as a memorial only this ridiculous episode, in which he appears as a small boy who should have hooked a tarpon when he was fishing for catfish. Had he adhered to the rules of the Order, attended solely to his own business, and forwarded V.I.0.’s record to his superiors, who were competent to interpret it, we should not have had this excellent example of the results of presumption and folly to guide us for the future, and to enliven our perusal of the record of our conscientious V.I.O. with a touch of timely merriment. O.M. 151