The Equinox (Volume III, Number I)

THE VOICE OF THE SILENCE 73. Unless thou hear’st, thou canst not see. Unless thou seest, thou canst not hear. To hear and see, this is the second stage. This is an obscure verse. It implies that the qualities of fire and Spirit commingle to reach the second stage. There is evidently a verse missing, or rather omitted, as may be understood by the row of dots; this presumably refers to the third stage. This third stage may be found by the discern- ing in Liber 831. 74. When the Disciple sees and hears, and when he smells and tastes, eyes closed, ears shut, with mouth and nostrils stopped; when the four senses blend and ready are to pass into the fifth, that of the inner touch—then into stage the fourth he hath passed on. The practice indicated in verse 74 is described in most books upon the Tatwas. The orifices of the face being cov- ered with the fingers, the senses take on a new shape. 75. And in the fifth, O slayer of thy thoughts, all these have to be killed beyond re-animation. It is not sufficient to get rid temporarily of one’s obstacles. One must seek out their roots and destroy them, so that they can never rise again. This involves a very deep psychologi- cal investigation, as a preliminary. But the whole matter is one between the Self and its modifications, not at all between the Instrument and its gates. To kill out the sense of sight is not achieved by removing the eyes. This mistake has done more to obscure the Path than any other, and has been re- sponsible for endless misery. 35