Collected Works (Vol. II)

276 TIME chlorine, the green gas, combine to form a limpid and colourless liquid. So it might be absurd to assert either that Subject or Object disappears in Dhyana to the advantage of the other. Scept. But at least this glorification of the consciousness is a proof that reality (as shown in Dhyana) is more glorious than illusion (as shown in consciousness). Myst. Or, that illusion Scept. Of course! We are then no further than before. Myst. Indeed we are. Glory, real or false, is desirable. ing ‘‘real or false,” by virtue of our previous agreement that the Subjective is the Know- able, and that deeper inquiry is foredoomed futile. Scept. Unless, admitting Physiology,! such glory is phantom, poisonous, and your Dhyana a debauch. A7yst, You will at least admit, as a basis for the consideration of this and other points that Dhyana is more vivid than any of the normal dualistic states. Scept. I must. I have myself experienced, as I believe, this.or a similar condition, and I find it to be so; intensely so. Myst, | suspected as much. Scept. But pray, lest we talk at cross pur- poses, define me this Dhyana. Myst. The method is to concentrate the attention on any object (though in Hindu estimation some objects may be far more suitable than others, I believe Science would say any object) Scept. That was my method. Myst. Suddenly the object disappears: in its stead arises a great glory, characterised by a feeling of calm, yet of intense, of un- imaginable bliss. Scept. That was my result. But, more re- markable still, the change was not from the consciousness ‘‘I behold a blue pig’’—the object I have ever affected—to ‘‘I behold 1 As represented by Huxley, who, I fancy, spoke from imperfect knowledge of the facts. But vide infra.—A. C. Indeed we are too bold in say-. 3 a glory,” but to ‘‘There is a glory,” or ‘*Glory is.” Myst. Glory be! Exactly. That is the test of Dhyana. J am glad to have met you. Scept. Same here. Be good enough to proceed with your exposition ! Myst. In a moment. There are other Westerns who study these matters? Scept. To follow up the line of thought you gave me but just now, we have a great number of philosophers in the West who have enunciated ideas which to the dull minds of the common run of men seem wild and absurd. Myst. You refer to Idealism. Scept. To more; to nearly all philosophy, save only that self-styled ‘‘of common sense,’ which is merely stupidity glossing ignorance. But Berkeley Myst. The devout, the angelic Scepit. Hegel Myst. The splendid recluse! The lonely and virtuous student who would stand motion- less for hours gazing into space, so that his pupils thought him idle or insane ! Scept. Spencer Myst. The noble, ascetic, retired spirit; the single-hearted, the courageous, the holy —~ Scept. Yes: all these and many others. But what mean your comments? Myst. That extreme virtue is a necessary condition for one who is desirous of atfaining this state of bliss. Scept. There, my friend, you generalise from three. Let me _ stand fourth (like Ananias) and tell you that after many vain attempts while virtuous, I achieved my first great result only a week after a serious lapse from the condition of a Brahmacharyi.? Myst. You? Scept. The result of despair. Myst. This may serve you as excuse before Shiva. 1 Cf..Plato, Sympostum: Diotima’s descrip- tion of the Vision of absolute Beauty, identical with Hindu doctrine; and Alcibiades’ anecdote of Socrates at Potidzea.—A. C. * Chastity is probably referred to, though Brahmacharya involves many other virtues.