Daily Meditation: Saturday, October 8, 2005

‘Enter by the narrow gate’ - commentary

10/08/2005

Jesus said, ‘Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction.’ This narrow gate which allows access to the Kingdom of God is the gate of initiation. Initiation is an asceticism which teaches man how to work on his lower nature. We can compare this asceticism to the narrow passage a snake slides through when it needs to shed its skin. A disciple is one who prepares himself to pass through the narrow gate: there he sheds his old skins, he tears himself from his lower bodies – the astral and mental bodies – in order to live in his higher bodies – the causal, buddhic and atmic bodies. Each of you has been called to pass through this narrow gate. Instead of being anxious and frightened at the prospect of the hardships you will have to endure, rejoice at the opportunity you have been given to become a new person with the thoughts, feelings and comportment worthy of a child of God.