Franz Hartmann 3- To Dare (Know, Dare, Will, Keep Silent - Occultist Motto, Kabalist Axiom)

(Note: Hartmann explains 'to dare' in terms of the traditional notion of the spiritual combat (see for example Through the Gates of Gold, part 5, The Secret of Strength) and the will-power aspect is akin to the eastern notion of Karma Yoga)

 

TO DARE, TO WILL, TO ACHIEVE AND KEEP SILENT is the motto of the true Occultist, from the first adept of our fifth Race down to the last Rosecroix. True Occultism, i.e., genuine Raj-Yoga powers, are not pompously boasted of, and advertised in “Dailies” and monthlies, like Beecham’s pills or Pears’ soap. “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes; for the wise man feareth and keeps silent, but the fool layeth open his folly.”(Isaiah, 5,21) (Blavatsky, H. P. The Year Is Dead, Long Live The Year! Lucifer, January, 1889)

The third requirement is

To Dare

We must dare to act and throw off our desires, instead of waiting patiently until they desert us. We must dare to tear ourselves loose from accustomed habits, irrational thoughts, and selfish considerations, and from everything that is an impediment to our recognition of the truth. We must dare to conquer ourselves and to conquer the world ; dare to face the ridicule of the ignorant, the vilifications of bigots, the haughtiness of the vain, the contempt of the learned, and the envy of the small ; dare to proclaim the truth if it is useful to do so, and dare to be silent if taunted by the fool.(Prov. xxvi, 4) We must dare to face poverty, suffering, and isolation, and dare to act under all circumstances according to our highest conception of truth.

All this might be easily accomplished, if the will of man were free ; if man were his own master and not bound with the chains of the soul ; but man is a relative being, and as such his will can only be free to a certain extent ; it can only enjoy a relative liberty as long as it is a slave to desire. Man may perform certain acts and leave other undone if he chooses ; but his internal desire determines his choice, and man acts in obedience to it.  A man who is free of external desires has the power to will that which his nature does not desire, and not to will that to which the desires of that nature attract him.

To make the will free, action is required, and each action strengthens the will, and each unselfish deed increases its power. In unity is power. To render our will powerful we may unite it with the will of others, and if the desires of the others are different from ours, our will thereby becomes free from our own desires. In action is strength. If we oppose our will to the will of others, by acting against the desires of others, we increase its strength, but we become thereby isolated from others.
There is only one universal' power of will, because divinity is a whole. It may act in the direction for good and in the direction for evil ; but its action for good is the strongest, because it emanates from the eternal source of all good. 

This will-power being the collective sum of all will-power in the universe, is the power that moves the worlds. It is necessarily immeasurably stronger than any individual will-power can possibly be, because the whole is larger than the part, and the infinite greater than the finite. He who unites his own will with the universal will becomes powerful; he who exercises his will by opposing it may become strong, but while the former attains eternal life with the whole, the latter causes his own destruction, as he will finally be crushed by the opposing force, which is immeasurably stronger than he. Dare to obey the Law  and you will become your own Master and the Lord over all.

Philosophical courage is a quality for which men are respected everywhere. The Red Indian prides himself at his indifference to physical pain, the Fakir undergoes tortures to strengthen his will-power, the civilized soldier is eager to prove his contempt for danger, and to measure his strength with the strength of the enemy. 

But there are deeds to perform that require a courage of a superior kind. It requires only momentary outbursts of power or temporary efforts of will to perform a daring deed on the physical plane, and after it is accomplished It is followed by satisfaction and rest ; but in the realm of the soul there is no rest for those who have not succeeded in eradicating that which is evil. A continual and unremitted strain is needed to keep the emotions subjected, and this strain is rendered still more fatiguing by the circumstance that it depends entirely on your own will whether or not we will endure it, and if we relax the bridle and allow our emotions to run free and disorderly, sensual gratification is the result. 

It requires a courage of the highest order to act under all circumstances in obedience to the law. Long may the battle last, but each victory strengthens the will; each act of submission renders it more powerful, until at last the combat is ended, and over the battlefield where the remnants of the slain desires are exposed to the decomposing action of the elements hovers the spiritual eagle, rising towards the sun and enjoying the serene tranquility of the ethereal realm. The only true way to obtain courage is to rise above fear.

Metals are purified by fire and the spirit is purified by suffering. Only when the molten mass has cooled can we judge of the progress of the purification ; only when a victory over the emotions is gained, and peace follows after the struggle, can the spirit rest to contemplate and realize the beauty of eternal truth. In vain will men attempt to listen to the voice of truth during the clash of contending desires and opinions, only in the silence that follows the storm can the voice of truth be heard. (Light on the Path," by M. C)

(Franz Hartmann, Magic White and Black. Chapter 12, 1888)

Part 4