Daily Theosophy

He felt a second of courage, he remembered the sunshine outside. His anger, hatred and pain subsided immediately. He felt a glimpse of universal love, even for the monsters. It was only for a second, or even less.

(140)

(saved?)

At that same moment the leader, the Prime Monster he had met first, suddenly pushed himself forcefully to the front, looked round and shouted: “Stop!” Immediately it was silent. And he spoke: “We looked forward to have you as our desert, because you are the most beautiful human being we have ever eaten.” A loud ‘yeah’ arose out of the mouths and beaks of the monsters. The Prime Monster continued: “But I changed my mind. You are a great hero, and our moral code doesn’t allow us to eat heroes. You are lucky that you didn’t take the left tunnel down to the center of the earth. You would not have survived. Sex would have swallowed you and burnt your organs from inside and finally eliminated you. For ever, as far as I know. At least you would have lived in hell for thousands of years. Many have gone before you.” It was dead silent after these words, because everyone wondered what would be the Prime Monster’s decision. Slow death by hunger, or by torture? The First Monster looked at Shano, and spoke again: “I’ll set you free. Run for your life, and don’t get lost.” A murmur of disappointment went through the group. But the Boss had spoken, and his word was absolute. “Maybe it was just a practical joke,” some thought. The Prime Monster looked fiercely at Shano and shouted: “Now!” Miserable Shano didn’t know whether he really was set free, or that they would grasp him with their claws as soon as he moved. But he didn’t care anymore. There was nothing in the universe he cared for anymore. But he did what was told him, and ran. He ran and ran, soon panting because it went uphill. They didn’t grasp him. He heard the sound behind him disappear in the distance. Nobody was laughing anymore. He forgot his hunger and other physical impulses. He just ran. After an hour he slowed down, and felt much better. He walked up for another hour, now for the first time realizing that he was tired, exhausted almost. He estimated that after another 45 minutes he should reach the entrance of the cave. Then he saw a split in the tunnel. It was a place where two tunnels joined, but coming from the other side he had not noticed the other one. So which one was leading to the exit? He didn’t know. He had to choose arbitrarily. He took the one to the left. When he stepped into it, he felt his courage, a little bit of which had come back, sink into his shoes again. Was it a final trick of the monsters – who had extra joy by giving him false hope and then grasp him at the last moment? He again walked for some 45 minutes, and he thought that, if he had taken the right tunnel, he could reach the entrance in a few moments. He was dead tired now, and he almost dragged himself upwards through the tunnel, which now seemed steeper than before. He walked for another fifteen minutes, then for another half hour. Nothing changed. He sat down. He could not move on any more. I don’t know how long he sat there, but the fact is that he had to take a decision: either continue, or go back and try the other tunnel. Both options were equally unattractive. Finally he decided to continue the same way. He walked for almost another hour, when it became pitch dark. He had to feel his way up. But he held on. After another half hour he thought he saw some glimmer in a distance. He moved on. And, yes, it seemed to be the exit. Finally he reached the narrow entrance, and stuck his head through it. The sun blinded his eyes, because it was nearing evening and the low sun shone low into the east corner of the cave, were the opening was. He crept out, and felt relieved. Very relieved. He was so tired that he decided to spend the night in the cave, despite possible predators. But nothing happened, he slept immediately, and sound and deep. That night, unknown to Shano, many invisible beings worked hard to recover Shano’s exhausted body and psyche, there in that cave, and he was totally protected.

A while after Shano had fallen asleep he woke up in a dream. He became aware of a very bright light, as light as a thousand shining suns together. When he opened his dream eyes he saw before him, and behind him, at the left of him and at the right of him, above him and below him, thousands of deities, each sitting on an extraordinarily beautiful flower – of species one can only expect in heaven, like lotuses and perfect daisies. The flowers themselves were made of light of various colors, but mostly white and soft pink, some yellow and other colors, and their petals and stamens were a thousand times more refined than any he had ever seen. Each of the divine beings, male and female or neuter, existed of shining matter, more refined even than particles of light. Most were whitish like moonlight, and half transparent. At the head of each of the six directions: before, behind, left, right, under and above, were deities guiding the directions, and they were fully transparent, of still more refined radiation, in the colors of heavenly gemstones: aquamarine, blue diamond, amethyst, yellow sapphire, the clearest emerald and others – each radiating like suns reflected through dewdrops. In the background, behind them, was a blue sky in all directions, and the blue itself was as clear as a hundred suns. All the thousands of deities were wearing golden crowns with jewels, reflecting and emitting rays of light colors along all possible vectors. And each of them had a heart in its breast, which shone even a hundred times brighter than their bodies. From the light of their hearts new deities were born by thousands, each of them shining and with a bright heart and a jeweled golden crown of its own. Some had two arms and one head, some had four or eight or sixteen arms, and all these arms were moving – and they could have three heads piled up vertically, so that they could see the earth, the sphere of pure desires and the spheres of pure thoughts at the same time; or four heads on the same horizontal level, so that they could look in all directions, The deity strait ahead, standing straight and tall on a white lotus flower a tiny little bit above the others of any direction, had eleven heads of various jewel colors in five levels, facing three directions, and a thousand arms and hands, and an eye on each of his hands. The lower three levels had three heads. Each level had its own consciousness, and at the same time all heads were one being. This deity was fully conscious in the world of desires, the world of forms, and the highest world: the world beyond forms. His highest, single, head was absolutely serene and peaceful, and only to look at it turned you into the happiest being in the universe. Just below the top head was one other head looking at you, It was terrifying to see, it had three eyes, a demonic face and big fangs, a golden flaming crown like the other heads, but set with skulls and shining like many suns. Shano, inside this dream, recognized the face of the Prime Monster. Now, as one of the heads of this beautiful deity, he appeared to be the door watch, the last obstacle to utter serenity, freedom and bliss – the top head. Shano had no more fear for that head now. The two foremost hands of the deity were folded as in a polite greeting before his chest, before his heart. Between the hands it held a jewel, if possible even more breathtaking than the other gems. Its detail within its oneness was infinite. Shano’s mind was so clear and so direct, that he needed no explanation for anything. He saw at once that this jewel between the hands of the deity was fulfilling every wish of every living being which looked at it with respect and reverence. Flashing rays streamed from it in all directions. It was Shano’s wish that he might reside among these deities for eternity. And a ray of it immediately touched his heart. Naturally his wish would be fulfilled. The thousand eyes on the thousand hands of the deity were able to see all suffering in the universe and the thousands hands were helping hands, teaching all suffering beings how to become liberated from suffering, and become joyful without limit and without opposite. The thousands or millions or many millions to the power of n deities issuing forth from his heart in all directions all had objects in their hands, or held their hands in a particular posture. Shano knew the meaning of all of them. Some held a hand up as if they were blessing everyone to whom this deity looked. There were hands from which flew a stream that made all creatures lose their fear, again others held a finger up like it was teaching, and again others hands initiated new eras of spiritual culture. Some had golden swords, which signified transcendental knowledge destroying ignorance, arrows to hit one’s aim or flagons from which poured a honey-like etheric fluid – and whoever tasted a drop of that honey would from than on be immortal.

Shano himself – he had paid no attention to himself so far, but now he noticed that he was sitting easily with folded legs and palms joined together on a white lotus flower, that his body had no weight and that he was looking in all directions at once,