Paul Brunton - Notebook 5 Emotions & Ethics The Intellect

185 Pages·1.537 MB·English

by  Paul Brunton

Table of Contents
PART 1 – EMOTIONS AND ETHICS
1 Uplift Character
1.1 Environmental Influence
1.2 Moral Relativity
1.3 Conscience
1.4 Goodness
1.5 Altruism
1.6 Patience, Perseverance
1.7 Value Of Confession, Repentance
1.8 Truthfulness
2 Re-Educate Feelings
2.1 Love, Compassion
2.2 Detachment
2.3 Family
2.4 Friendship
2.5 Marriage
2.6 Happiness
3 Discipline Emotions
3.1 Higher And Lower Emotions
3.2 Self-Restraint
3.3 Matured Emotion
4 Purify Passions
5 Spiritual Refinement
5.1 Courtesy, Tolerance, Considerateness
5.2 Spiritual Value Of Manners
5.3 Discipline Of Speech
5.4 Accepting Criticism
5.5 Refraining From Criticism
5.6 Forgiveness
5.7 Criticizing Constructively
5.8 Sympathetic Understanding
6 Avoid Fanaticism
7 Miscellaneous Ethical Issues
7.1 Nonviolence, Nonresistance, Pacificism
PART 2 THE INTELLECT
1 The Place Of Intellect
1.1 Its Value
1.2 Its Limitations
1.3 Its Inward Vision
1.4 Reason, Intuition, And Insight
2 The Service Of Intellect
2.1 Cultivation Of Intelligence
2.2 Balance Of Intellect And Feeling
2.3 Doubt And The Modern Mind
3 The Development Of Intellect
3.1 Independence And Individuality
3.2 Comparison And Synthesis
3.3 Authority And The Past
3.4 Books
4 Abstract Thought
4.1 Facts And Logic
4.2 The Need For Precision
5 Semantics
5.1 Clarity Is Essential
5.2 The Problem With Words
5.3 The Meaning Of Language
6 Science
6.1 Influence Of Science
6.2 When Science Stands Alone
6.3 Science And Metaphysics
7 Metaphysics Of Truth
7.1 Speculation Vs. Knowledge
7.2 Issues And Adherents
7.3 Its Spiritual Significance
8 Intellect, Reality, And The Overself

PART 1 – EMOTIONS AND ETHICS
Is there no basis of morality and taste, no standard of judgement and ethics, except that which the individual brings with himself or creates for
himself? The situation is not so anarchic as it seems, for there is a progressive evolutionary character running through all these different points
of view.
§
The human journey from mere animal existence to real spiritual essence is reflected in human ethics, where rules imposed from without are
gradually supplanted by principles intuited from within.
1 Uplift Character
1
If we will bring more sincerity and more integrity into our lives, more truth and more wisdom into our minds, more goodwill and more self-discipline
into our hearts, not only will we be more blessed but also all others with whom we are in touch.
2
Face yourself if you would find yourself. By this I do not only mean that you are to seek out and study the pathetic weaknesses of your lower nature,
but also the noble inspirations of your higher nature.
3
Philosophy guides human conduct not so much by imposing a particular code of rules to be obeyed as by inculcating a general attitude to be
developed. It does not tell us what to do so much as it helps us to get the kind of spiritual knowledge and moral perception which will tell us what to
do.
4
The moral precepts which it offers for use in living and for guidance in wise action are not offered to all alike, but only to those engaged on the
quest. They are not likely to appeal to anyone who is virtuous merely because he fears the punishment of sin rather than because he loves virtue
itself. Nor are they likely to appeal to anyone who does not know where his true self-interest lies. There would be nothing wrong in being utterly
selfish if only we fully understood the self whose interest we desire to preserve or promote. For then we would not mistake pleasure for happiness
nor confuse evil with good. Then we would see that earthly self-restraint in some directions is in reality holy self-affirmation in others, and that the
hidden part of self is the best part.
5
These ideals have been reiterated too often to be new, but concrete application of them to the actual state of affairs would be new.
6
This grand section of the quest deals with the right conduct of life. It seeks both the moral re-education of the individual's character for his own
benefit and the altruistic transformation of it for society's benefit.
7
We have free will to change our character, but we must also call upon God's assistance. We are likely to fail without it and it is possible by striving
too earnestly all alone to make ourselves mentally or physically ill. We should Pray and ask for God's help even when trying to make ourselves have
faith in a Higher Power as well as in ourselves.
8
We begin and end the study of philosophy by a consideration of the subject of ethics. Without a certain ethical discipline to start with, the mind will
distort truth to suit its own fancies. Without a mastery of the whole course of philosophy to its very end, the problem of the significance of good and
evil cannot be solved.
9
The foundation of this work is a fine character. He who is without such moral development will be without personal control of the powers of the mind
when they appear as a result of this training; instead those powers will be under the control of his ego. Sooner or later he will injure himself or harm
others. The philosophic discipline acts as a safeguard against these dangers.
10
All those points of metaphysical doctrine and religious history like the problem of evil and the biography of avatars are doubtful, if not insoluble,
whereas all the points of moral attitude and personal conduct like honesty, justice, goodness, and self-control are both indisputable and essential.
Here we walk on trustworthy ground. Why not then leave others to quarrel fiercely about the first and let us abide peacefully in the second.
11
The aspirant must remember always that his immediate duty lies in self-preparation, self-discipline, and self-improvement. The building of fine
character on the quest is quite as important as the efforts of aspiration and meditation, even more so, for the former will lead to the dissolving of
egoism, and without this the latter are of little avail.
12
If you accept the existence of a power behind the Universe which controls its life, which is perfect, and which is bringing all things and all beings –
however slowly – closer to its own perfection, you must also accept the values of hope, improvement, and evolution while you must reject those of
pessimism, deterioration, and nihilism. You will never feel sorry for yourself.
13
The reformation and even transformation of character is as much a sector of philosophy as the practice of concentration and the study of mind. The
virtue which develops from disciplining thoughts and controlling self removes obstacles and gives power to truth's pursuit.
14
To remodel his character will not interest a man if it requires great and constant effort, but to the quester it is an obligation. And this is so without his
having to believe in all the windy rhetoric about the perfectibility of man.
15
If the moral fruits of the Spirit are absent or the evil qualities of the ego are present, all talk of having attained inward enlightenment is quite illusory.
16
The ethical ideals of philosophy are lofty but nobody is asked or expected to jump up to their realization, only to understand their direction; the rest
of this inner work must develop at its own pace according to his individual possibilities.
17
Is it entirely useless to point out an ethical height to which very few can soar? No – the usefulness lies in the sense of right direction which it gives, in
the inspiring love of truth and hope of self-betterment which it arouses.
18
However unrealizable the ideal may be in all its perfection, if we persist in holding it before us in aspiration we shall certainly approach it more
closely in action. And the effort will give us more faith in life, make us more sensitive to its finer rhythms.
19
If the lower self disturbs you, silence it by invoking the higher self. If you are unable to do this directly, then do it indirectly by invoking it intellectually
through declarations of spiritual truth and emotionally through genuflection in humble prayer. Do not accept the suggestion which drags you down,
but instead seek for the pressure which lifts you up.
20
To the extent that he purifies and ennobles himself, he qualifies himself for the reception of superior insight.
21
If the aspirant will take care to fill his mind with thoughts that are always elevating, always positive, and always constructive; if he will be vigilant to
keep out all thoughts that are degrading and destructive, this simple technique will keep his mind so continuously filled with the right kind of thought
and feeling that he will unconsciously and little by little completely overcome the wrong kind. Thus his character will change and approach his ideals.
22
We must not, like the mystics, talk as if man were nothing else but a divine being. We are philosophical students and should not be so one-sided.
We must tell men the whole and not a half-truth, which means we must tell them that they are a mixed lot, divine at the centre but slightly devilish at
the circumference; altruistic in their potential nature but somewhat selfish in their actual one.
23
Everything that strengthens his better nature is useful and acceptable. Everything that weakens it is not.
24
So difficult is true self-mastery that nothing in the world's literature about it can overrate the accomplishment.
25
When the beast in man will bow in homage before the intelligence in man, when the ideal of perfected being set up for him by the serene figure of
the Sphinx shall be recognized, accepted, and striven for, then indeed will he become a conscious collaborator with the universal Mind. Whoever
knows how and where to look can find in himself the assurance of this ultimate victory.
26
There should be no space in his mind for negative thoughts, no time in his heart for base feelings.
27
It is not enough to repress a negative trait like jealousy or self-pity. One must also replace it by a positive trait.
28
His spiritual progress will be measured not so much by his meditational progress as by his moral awakening.
29
The truth will become truth for him not merely when he can understand it intellectually but also when he can accept it emotionally, and still more when
he can incorporate it into his behaviour patterns.
30
He must look within himself for the impurities and falsities, the malice and envy, the prejudice and bitterness which belong to his lower nature. And
he must work with all his willpower and thinking power to cast them out.
31
He must walk towards the highest with every part of his being, with his whole psyche matured and balanced. He must not only seek to intuit what is
real, but also to will what is good.
32
It is when men come face-to-face with a real crisis, a real temptation, or a real hardship that they show their real character, not only their self-
imagined or publicly reputed one.
33
It must be remembered always that mere intellectual study is not so essential as the building of worthwhile character, which is far more important in
preparing for the great battle with the ego.
34
When a negative reaction impulsively shows itself before you have been able to prevent it, make as your second thought a deliberate replacement
or substitution of it, by the opposed positive one. For instance, a reaction of envy at someone's good fortune should be substituted by the thought of
appreciation of the good qualities or services which may have led to it.
35
When emotion is no longer able to cloud reason, when intellect is no longer able to dry up the feeling of conscience, a better judgement of affairs
and a clearer perception of truth becomes possible.
36
Little by little, in tranquil moments or in deliberate meditation, there will come to him the revelation of errors in conduct and thought which, until then,
he did not even know were errors.
37
Ideas influence their thinker himself; thoughts react on their generator if they are intensely held, deeply felt, and frequently born. Thus they help to
form tendencies and shape character. The aspirant can take advantage of this truth.
38
His moral thought and metaphysical ideation will be so deep and earnest that they will converge upon his emotional feeling, when that has been
sufficiently purified, and coalesce with it. Thus they become part of his inner being.
39
Each aspirant has to struggle with the demon inside himself if he is to realize his higher purpose in life.
40
Nature seeks to achieve its own ends, which renders it indifferent to all personal ends. It considers no man's feelings but only his level of
development, that he might be raised to a higher one.
41
The only greatness he may rightfully seek is a secret one. It is not power over others that he should strive for, but power over himself.
42
He will have to grow into this higher consciousness. No other way exists for him.
43
He has not only to be brave enough to accept the aloneness that comes with every serious advance in the quest, but also strong enough to endure
it.
44
How can anything be right in worldly practice if it is wrong in ethical theory?
45
The value of such study is immense. It involves a re-education of the whole mind of man. It strikes at the root of his ethical ignorance and destroys
the selfishness and greed which are its malignant growths.
46
Mentally, man can do what no animal can. He can consider conduct from a purely ethical standpoint; he can struggle at heart between right and
wrong, self and selflessness.
47
Every man betrays himself for what he is. He can hide his thoughts and dissemble his feelings, but he cannot hide his face. Therein are letters and
words which tell plainly what sort of a man he really is. But few there be who can read in this strange language.
48
Character can be changed. He who habitually contemplates such exalted themes finds in time that his whole outlook is altered and expanded, as if
by magic. The new outlook will gradually strongly establish itself within him. Says the Christian Bible: "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," which
may be matched with what was written in Sanskrit long before this was uttered: "As is one's thought, so one becomes; this is the eternal secret." –
Maitri Upanishad.
49
What is to be done where a weakness becomes abnormally strong, overpowering the will and forcing him to do what his better nature rejects? The
cure in the end must be based on his willingness to regard it as something not really part of himself, something alien and parasitic. If there is to be
any way out toward freedom from it, he must stop identifying himself with the weakness.
50
The key to right conduct is to refuse to identify himself with the lower nature. The hypnotic illusion that it is really himself must be broken: the way to
break it is to deny every suggestion that comes from it, to use the will in resisting it, to use the imagination in projecting it as something alien and
outside, to use the feelings in aspiration towards the true self, and the mind in learning to understand what it is.
51
The disciple who wishes to make real progress must attack, weaken, and ultimately destroy certain bad traits of character. Among them is the trait
of jealousy of his fellow disciples. It is not only an unpleasant thought but may also end in disastrous consequences. It often leads to wrathful moods
and raging spells. It not only harms the other disciple but always does harm to the sinner himself. It is caused by an unreasonable sense of
possessiveness directed towards the teacher which does not understand that love should give freedom to him, not deny it to him.
52
The pursuit of moral excellence is immeasurably better than the pursuit of mystical sensations. Its gains are more durable, more indispensable, and
more valuable.
53
There are five ways in which the human being progressively views his own self and consequently five graduated ethical stages on his quest. First,
as an ignorant materialist he lives entirely within his personality and hence for personal benefit regardless of much hurt caused to others in order to
secure this benefit. Second, as an enlightened materialist he is wrapped in his own fortunes but does not seek them at the expense of others. Third,
as a religionist he perceives the impermanence of the ego and, with a sense of sacrifice, he denies his self-will. Fourth, as a mystic he
acknowledges the existence of a higher power, God, but finds it only within himself. Fifth, as a philosopher he recognizes the universality and the
oneness of being in others and practises altruism with joy.
54
But, after all, these qualities are only the negative prerequisites of spiritual realization. They are not realization itself. Their attainment is to free
oneself from defects that hinder the attainment of higher consciousness, not to possess oneself of true consciousness.
55
The act must illustrate the man, the deed must picture the attitude. It is thus only that thought becomes alive.
56
The more I travel and observe the more I come to believe that the only men who will make something worthwhile of philosophy are the men who
have already made something worthwhile of their personal lives. The dreamers and cranks will only fool themselves, the failures and alibi-chasers
will only become confirmed in their fantasies.
57
Many people talk mysticism or play with psychism so long as either promises them wonderful powers which most other people haven't got or
wonderful experiences which most other people do not have. But when they come to philosophy and find that it demands from them a renovation of
their entire character, they are seized with fear and retreat. Philosophy is not for such people, for it does not conform to their wishes. It tells them
what they do not like to hear. It disturbs their egoistic vanity and troubles their superficial serenity when it throws a glaring spotlight on their lower
nature, their baser motives, and their ugly weaknesses.
58
While the aspirant fails to take an inventory of his weaknesses and consequently fails to build into his character the attributes needed, much of his
meditation will be either fruitless or a failure or even harmful.
59
That it is not enough for men to think truth, that they must also feel it, is a statement with which most scientists, being intellect-bound, would
disagree. But artists, mystics, true philosophers, and religious devotees would accept it.
60
Buddha did not go into deeper problems before he had gone into practical ethics. He taught people to be good and do good before he taught them
to venture into the marshy logic of the metaphysical maze. And even when they had emerged safely from a territory where so many lose themselves
utterly, he brought them back to ethical values albeit now of a much higher kind because based on utter unselfishness. For love must marry
knowledge, pity must shed its warm rays upon the cold intellect. Enlightenment of others must be the price of one's own enlightenment. These things
are not easily felt by the mystic, who is often too absorbed in his own ecstasies to notice the miseries of others, or by the metaphysician, who is
often too tied by his own verbosity to his hard and rigorous logic to realize that mankind is not merely an abstract noun but is made up of flesh-and-
blood individuals. The philosopher however finds these benign altruistic needs to be an essential part of truth. Consequently the salvation which he
seeks – from ignorance and the attendant miseries that dog its steps – is not for himself but for the whole world.
61
It does not necessarily mean that he has faults to repair or weaknesses to overcome. It may mean that there is some lack in him, some quality or
capacity that he needs to cultivate.
62
A habit change or a thought change which is made under someone else's persuasion and not out of inner need brought into the open by that other
person, is only a surface one and will fade and fall away.
63
Despite all the repetitious assertions that there is no ego, that the person is a fiction, that the goal is pure being unsullied by the self-illusion, here –
in the various manifested signs of an individual character in a separate body – is evidence to the contrary.
64
Accept fully and without demur your self-made karma, even to the extent of refraining from asking to be forgiven your sins, for it is a just result. Ask
instead to be shown how to overcome the weakness which had been the cause.
65
When negative or degrading or weakening suggestions enter his mind, from whatever source, he can deal with them in two ways, singly if that
prove enough, combined if not. The first is to tense his will and by a positive commanding mental act master the suggestion and drive it away. The
second is to turn away into its opposing idea and dwell firmly on that until the suggestion vanishes altogether. If, in spite of using these methods he