The PerfectMan. 253
His first sharp struggle Is to put aside all
thatuptothispointhasbeenforhim life,con-
sciousness,reality,andwalkforthalone,naked,
no longer identifying himself with any form.
Hehastolearnthelawoflife,bywhichalone
the inner divinity can manifest, the law which
istheantithesisof hispast. Thelaw ofform
istaking; thelawoflifeisgiving. Lifegrows
bypouringitself out through form, fed by the
inexhaustible sourceof life at the heart of theuniverse; the more thelifepoursitselfoutthe
greater the inflow from within. It seems atfirst to the young Christ asthough all hislife
were leaving him, as though his hands were
left empty after outpouring their gifts on a
thanklessworld; onlywhen the lower nature
has been definitelysacrificed isthe eternal lifeexperienced,andthatwhich seemed the death
ofbeingisfoundtobeabirthinto a fullerlife.
Thus consciousness develops, until the first
stage of the path is trodden, and the disciple
seesbeforehimthesecond Portalof Initiation,
symbolised in the Christian Scriptures as the
BaptismoftheChrist. Atthis,ashedescends
intothewatersoftheworld'ssorrows,theriver