Truth, Freedom, and Liberation
"In Sagittarius, the first of the great universal signs, we see truth as the whole when we are using arrows of thought rightly. I will say, this is for me, my formulation of truth, because it helps me to live.
Other groups use other terminologies and only as I can grasp my brother's way of looking at the truth is it possible for me to have the vision.
All the various truths form one truth; that is what is realized in Sagittarius, and you cannot go through the gate at the foot of the mountain until you have seen where your little bit of truth forms part of the group mosaic. "
- Alice Bailey, 1937 lecture:
from The Labours of Hercules: An Astrological Perspective.
As our Soul journey's through the 12 Zodiac signs, we arrive at the sign of Sagittarius, and our journey towards liberation and freedom from suffering begins. In Esoteric Astrology the sign of Sagittarius is associated with liberation, but what do we mean by 'liberation', why is it particularly associated with Sagittarius, and WHAT does the arrow of Sagittarius point to? Let's explore!
From the Tibetan Buddhist perspective, liberation of mind is seen as a stage on the way to enlightenment.
"Sagittarius has sometimes been called "the sign of the effect of Scorpio". The moment we have freed ourselves from illusion (see Scorpio's battle with the Hydra in last month's newsletter), that moment we enter into Sagittarius and we see the goal. We have never really seen it before, because between us and the goal there is always to be found that cloud of thought forms that prevents us from seeing it.
We talk about spiritual love, devotion ... the soul; and as we are occupied with these thoughts we build clouds of thought-forms, because we are thinking, and as we think, we build."
- Alice Bailey's 1937 lecture
from The Labours of Hercules: An Astrological Perspective.
It is in Sagittarius that we are able to perceive reality clearly for the first time, because the 'clouds of illusion' generated by our own thoughts, dissipate as the mind settles into silence. Following the 'battle' in Scorpio, where thought-forms were symbolised by the nine-headed hydra, we may finally catch a glimpse of the 'goal': our own true nature, the mind of clear light that lies beyond all thought-forms.
But a glimpse is not liberation. It is an important stage, because we realize that we ourselves are generating the clouds of illusion that keep us trapped: with our own thoughts. And so the journey and spiritual purpose of Sagittarius begins. Sagittarius was also known as the 'sign of silence' in ancient mystery schools.
Once a Soul has reached the Sagittarius stage of the journey, the challenge is to allow the conceptual mind to settle into silence, so that one can keep one's attention on the goal (the mind of clear light) for longer and longer periods until we become familiar with our own true nature.
Liberation then, is not just a brief instant of recognition (although as we saw last month it can happen in rare cases) but for the most part it is a process of gradual realization, that becomes possible only once we have experienced a brief glimpse. It is a brief glimpse that allows us to correctly identify the goal.
Liberation is said to be complete when we have fully realised, beyond any doubt, the true nature of 'phenomenon' (things we perceive with our senses). Usually we take our perceptions to be reality. We take the information coming in through our senses, and the conceptual labels we have attached to them, as 'real'. So if we see a tree, we don't think twice that we have just seen a solid, tangible tree. We might even touch it and say, yup, the tree is there for sure!
Yet all the yogis and sages through the ages have told us that phenomena don't exist in that way. What we perceive as a 'tree' is an illusion created by our brain, based on our previous experience. The tree doesn't experience itself as we see it. It is a living being, yet it is having a very different experience from a human.
The Soul's journey in Sagittarius, represented by the archer with a bundle of arrows, is about breaking our habitual pattern of just accepting the way experiences appear to our senses, and continually re-training the mind to perceive reality 'as it is'. This is done by continually re-directing the 'arrows' of our mind, so they point towards the goal: the clear-light mind that lies beyond our thoughts and thought-forms. This takes work and can take lifetimes to master. This IS what the 'arrow' of Sagittarius is pointing to: the true nature of mind and reality, in other words, the ultimate truth of our existence.
Resting in clear-light mind we are said to have realized the ultimate truth: the true nature of reality, beyond illusion. Perceiving reality 'as it is' we have realized truth.
Once we are able to rest completely in clear-light mind, so our mind no longer chases after thoughts or builds clouds of thought, then we are said to have attained 'freedom' from suffering: in other words, freedom from the illusory nature of 'samsara' (the cycle of death and rebirth) that keeps us caught repeating cycles of karma and suffering.
Once we are able to fully rest in clear-light mind, we no longer follow thoughts, or generate clouds of thought-forms. When we realize fully and completely, beyond doubt, that the true nature of mind (the true nature of reality) is beyond concepts and expectations, then we can be said to have realized true liberation, and we are on our way to full enlightenment.
Even catching a glimpse of clear-light mind in meditation, and making a deep commitment to continue the path to liberation, then we will understand more deeply the Tibetan Master's keynote for Sagittarius:
"I see the goal. I reach that goal
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