102 The SpiritualLife.
human nature, and see in what part of that
natureittakesitsrise. Wemustknowinorder
thatwemaypractise; forasknowledgewithout
practiceisbarren,sopracticewithoutknowledge
ISwasted. Emotionunregulatedbyknowledge,
like a river overflowing its banks, spreads in
every direction as a devastating flood, while
emotionguided byknowledge is likethe same
riverrunninginappointedchannelsandfertilising
thelandthroughwhichitflows.
Ifwestudytheinnernatureofman,wefind
thatitreadilyrevealsthreemarked aspectsthat
aredistinguishedfromeachotherasthespiritual,
theintellectualandtheemotional. Onstudying
thesefurther, welearnthat thespiritual nature
isthat inwhich all the separate individualities
inhere,thatitisthecommon root,theunifying
influence,thatprinciplewhich,whendeveloped,
enables a man to realise in consciousness the
onenessofallthatlives. Theintellectualnature
may be said to be its antithesis; it is the
individualisingforce in man, thatwhich makes
themanyfromthe One. Itsself-realisation is
"1,"andfromthisitsharplydividesthe"not-I."
It knows itself apart, separate,and worksbest
in isolation, drawn inwards, self-concentrated,
indifl^erent to all without. Not herein can be
found the root of devotion,of afeelingwhich
