Spiritual Darkness. 127
disciple,wefindatworkinit thecauseswhich
wehave seen in the lifeof the aspirant,buta
new cause also arises, which, as he advances,
everplays a more and more prommentpartin
his experience. As the shackles of his own
karmafalloffhim,hebecomesfreetobearpart
of **the heavykarma of the world," and he
alsobeginstofacethe greaterdestructiveforcesfortheworld'ssake,standingbetweenthemand
humanityanddrawingontohimselfasmuchas
is practicable of theirenergies. The sin and
thesorrowof theworld,its patheticignorance,pressupon him,anduntilhereachesthestrong
peacewhichhas itssure root in perfect know-
ledge,hecannot escape,from time totime,the
gloomwhichcomesdown uponhim,asthough
the whole world's sorrow crushed his heart,
and made it bleed ateverypore with "help-
less pity"for the blindnessthat breeds misery
and the ignorancewhich issin. Nor dare he
strivetoshake off thisfeelingof sorrow,since,
byvirtue of the more and morerealised unity
of hislife with that of all men, his sorrow is
theirs, andhe shares by it in theirkarma and
quickens their evolution. But he gradually
learns to bear it with a peaceful satisfaction,
deepening into a sense of profound innerjoy,