S Y N T H E T I C S Y M P A T H Y
In the biological analysis of human emotion, mercy, compassion and sympathy are divided into three distinct divisions. The student of spiritual law, having reached that point where the transmutation of the emotional nature is imperative, must find a legitimate channel for the expression of his ever increasing vital and astral forces. The suffering and uncertainty which fills the lives of many students is the result of the existence of powers and energies which they have generated by their asceticism but for the expression of which they have provided no legal and proper channel. These three divisions form the expressions on the spiritual plane of the emotions of man. They are the opposites of those emotions which at the present time hold man a slave to the animal worlds.
First, Mercy .. Mercy is the transmutation of selfishness, arrogance and that ever present instinct in the human soul which condemns unheard. The student of occultism must learn to flavour knowledge with mercy, at the same time not permitting that mercy to exhibit symptoms of weakness. The student must follow the plan of attacking principle hut being merciful to personality which is ever hut an instrument in the hands of principle. Among the ancients many of the things which we allow to pass unheeded were deadly sins against which was launched the wrath of gods and men, while many things which we consider as being improper were looked upon as virtues that should be cultured and nurtured. Mercy is born out of the realization of the plan. The ages that have passed were not known for their mercy; their law was “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But insomuch as mercy takes the place of the so called moral code, to the same degree will the kingdom of light he furthered upon the face of the earth_ The victor who shows mercy in the battle wins indeed, and no greater proof have we of power than to find within the nature a human heart.
Of Compassion, we would say that it is the transmutation of passion in which the fire of lust and greed is transmuted into a deep understanding, a deep calling from the soul, a great love born of the lesser love, a great understanding born of a lesser understanding. These things are the parents of compassion which is the only emotion that is justifiable for the initiate.
The third is Sympathy which is in itself a betrayer of mercy and compassion. There is nothing more at fault in aU the universe than sympathy. Sympathy is the lullaby of endeavour, it is the death-rattle of opportunity and those who use it as a power play havoc with the plan. Where others sympathise with us we continue in our errors, fostering them instead of destroying them, nursing them instead of removing them. Mercy and compassion, united with true spiritual understanding, build for the soul and for permanent growth but sympathy builds for nothing.
The world loves the person who will sympathize with its ailments, hut those sympa. thetic ones have never done the world any good. Sympathy breeds into the soul selfpity and the world is filled with people who are sorry for themselves and who feel that for some unknown reason that they are having a hard time which they do not deserve. This is a false concept and those who breed it in the minds of others breed falseness.
There are two kinds of people in the world: one is the kind who are always bewailing, the other is the group that is eternally trying to find a real reason for the ever-changing conditions of life. The first group sympathise with everyone and everything, telling the world how sorry they are and making the rest of the world sorry too; the other group are called heartless because they have no word of sympathy to offer, and yet in their heartlessness they are humanity’s truest friends. Instead of singing the emotional lullaby of the ‘soul this second group takes the weakkneed person who is crying for sympathy and with firmness, yet mercy and compassion, shows them the way and tells them to walk it, to forget that they are abused and march straight on to the path of light. They are the strong characters and man will never grow strong while he seeks to justify his mistakes and soothe his conscience with the sympathetic words of others. The greatest mercy in the world is to tell the truth for while it may hurt today, in eternity it brings its blessing. While today it may be harsh. tomorrow it will be appreciated. Those who spend their lives trying to justify the thing that is not as it should he and who weep with you in your infirmities go down forgotten in history’s pages. The friend who raises you is the true friend; the one who weeps with you is just another fool. The more sympathy we get the more we want until all the uncertainty and unbalance of the ages rests upon our shoulders, placed there by our friends whose sympathising kills out our own incentive to do better. Our worst enemies weep with us while our true friends weep for us as they see us nursing our meanest temperaments and greatest weaknesses with friends around to weep and wail with us.
