The second requisite is a
firm will.
It should not be forgotten that an unusual and difficult
thing is being attempted in which a person of weak will
cannot possibly hope to succeed. Even in the ordinary
life of the world considerable will power is essential
to success. To succeed in business, to become expert in
a profession, or to completely master an art, requires
strong will, determination, perseverance. The
difficulties in occult development are still greater
and, while it is true that any degree of effort is well
worth while, the weaklings will not go far. Only those
with the indomitable will that knows neither surrender
nor compromise may hope for a large measure of success.
Once the will is thoroughly aroused and brought into
action every hindrance in the way will be swept aside.
"The human will,
that force unseen,
The offspring of a deathless soul,
Can hew a way to any goal
Tho' walls of granite intervene.
* * * * *
"Be not impatient of delay,
But wait as one who understands.
When spirit rises and commands
The gods are ready to obey."
Mighty, indeed, is
this force when aroused. But a person may be easily
deceived about his will. He is likely to think that
his will is much stronger than it really is. He may
say to himself, "Oh, yes, I would go through
anything for the sake of the higher life and
spiritual illumination." But that is no guarantee
that after a few months of monotonous work he may
not abandon it unless he adopts the wise plan of
strengthening his will as he moves forward. Let him
begin this by testing his present strength of will,
but let him not be discouraged by the result. He
should remember that whatever he lacks in will power
he can evolve by proper effort.
To find out whether he really has
much strength of will a person may begin to observe
to what extent he permits his daily plans to be
modified, or entirely changed, by the things that
run counter to his will. Does he hold steadfastly to
his purpose or does he weakly surrender to small
obstacles? Has he the will power to even begin the
day as he has planned it? The evening before he
decides that he will rise at six o'clock the next
morning. He knows there are certain excellent
reasons why he should do so and he retires with the
matter fully decided. It is positively settled that
at exactly six o'clock the day's program shall
begin. But when the clock strikes that hour the next
morning he feels strongly disinclined to obey the
summons. It involves some bodily discomfort to rise
at that moment and he concludes that, after all,
perhaps he was a bit hasty the evening before in
fixing upon that hour! Whereupon he reconsiders the
matter and makes it seven; and when that time
arrives he generously extends it to eight o'clock.
The hour, of course, is unimportant. But whatever
may have been the hour that was previously
determined upon the keeping of that determination is
of the greatest importance and the failure to put
the resolution into effect is evidence of the
possession of a weak will.
Now all this proves that such persons
have very little real will power, for they permit the
desire for trifling bodily comfort to set their plans
aside. Such persons are still slaves to the physical
body and weakly permit it to upset carefully outlined
programs. They are not yet ready for good work in occult
development, where real success can come only to those
who have steadfast strength of purpose.
People who fail to assert the will and
bring the body into complete subjection probably little
realize what a price they pay for a trifling physical
pleasure; for until we voluntarily take the right
course we have not escaped the evolutionary necessity of
compulsion and may reasonably expect sooner or later to
be thrown into an environment that will apply the
stimulus we still need to arouse the will. It may be
unpleasant while it is occurring, but what better
fortune could befall an indolent man than to find
himself in circumstances where his poverty or other
necessity compels him to subordinate bodily comfort to
the reign of the will? Nature provides the lessons we
require. We may wisely co-operate with her and thus
escape the sting. But so long as we need the lesson we
may be quite sure that it awaits us.
