The unwavering vision of the single eye
In the zodiacal flow of energies, Aries is the “birthplace of ideas”, for all manifestation begins with thought. Libra, which is Aries’ polar opposite, marks the midway point in the cycle, serving as a kind of pause, of reassessment, and thus Libra is a sign of balancing, of careful weighing of values, and of achieving the right equilibrium between the pairs of opposites, according to Alice Bailey’s writings. The keynote for Libra expresses the precision required for this task: I choose the way which leads between the two great lines of force. In charting this course, however, the balance to be sought isn’t found in an attitude of “both-sides-ism” or in a passive neutrality, but rather by what might be called “correct refusal”—by the development of the “single eye” which transcends the pairs of opposites. The ajna center, the center between the eyebrows in the etheric body, provides the human being with the means to find this way between the two great lines of force. This center is the true eye of vision, the writings of Alice Bailey tell us, the inner eye, the single eye which mobilizes the power of direction and charts the way forward.
“If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light”. In these words Christ enunciated a principle underlying all creative effort, all spiritual striving. With “the single eye, the unalloyed desire, the consecrated purpose, and the ear that turns in deafness to Earth’s noise”, esoteric teaching tells us, nothing can cause distraction or deviation from the path which leads between the two great lines of force—the pairs of opposites on every level of manifestation. Yet the powers of distraction that permeate life in the outer world cannot—should not—be underestimated. The vision of a spiritual life spent in peaceful retreat from the clamour of the world is no longer realistic in this modern era. The task of the seeker today is much harder but the potential achievement is much greater: To fulfil the responsibilities of material plane life while maintaining the “single eye” unwaveringly is the goal and the challenge of spiritual living today.
Further complicating the task are the currents of force produced in this transitional era between an old age and a new. “All things are being shouted from the housetops”, as Christ predicted, bringing to recognition much that had been concealed and exacerbating the lower impulses in the vulnerable. Yet, we’re told, “Blame not the personalities involved who produce these events before which we stand today bewildered and appalled”, Alice Bailey wrote. “They are only the product of the past and the victims of the present …They are the destroyers of that which must be destroyed before humanity can go forward along the Lighted Way.”
Behind the noise and tumult of today’s world, the forces of evolution are pushing all creation forward along the Lighted Way. Echoing the words of the ancient prayer, the Gayatri, movement out of darkness into light, from the unreal to the real, and from death to immortality is an inherent urge in all forms. This mysterious impulse, which is related to the Life principle, affects the tiniest atom and the most exalted Being, the subhuman kingdoms as well as the human. “It is the great obliterating light of reality itself”, as Alice Bailey’s writings express it. Detachment and discernment play a major role in treading this evolutionary path forward, and the Hindu concept of neti, neti (not this, not this) is the key to transcending all objects and forms of consciousness through “correct refusal”—by the unwavering vision of the single eye which sees all things embraced within the cosmic Law of Synthesis. This endows the ability to face what the light reveals and still tread the way with serenity, sure of the ultimate triumph of good. So let us work in meditation with our keynote, I choose the way which leads between the two great lines of force.
