The Unmarked Door

Imagine that a group of people are in a room with no windows, just two doors. One door is marked "Enter". That is how the group got into the room in the first place. The other door is not identified. Is it a closet? A door to another room? An exit out of the building altogether? The group doesn't know and most of them do not wish to know.

One day, a member of the group opens the unmarked door and walks through. The remaining members wait for him to return, but he does not. They are saddened by what appears to be the permanent loss of their friend. To them, he is 'dead'.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the unmarked door, the 'dead' one finds that he is in yet another room! The room is a bit more elaborately appointed and laid out in comparison with the room that he just left. He wants to return to the old room and inform his friends of his discovery, but he cannot open the unmarked door. It is locked. He finds that he cannot go back. And so, he turns to continue his existence in the new room behind the unmarked door.

The foregoing is an allegorical description of the relationship between life in the material-sphere and the reflection-sphere. Both exist side-by-side, but the inhabitants of these realms are restricted in their ability to perceive one another. Now, let us add one more wrinkle.

In the material-sphere room, there are those who already know what is behind the unmarked door. They know because they have gained insight into how the twin spheres of their world work. They do not want to go through the unmarked door because they know that eventually, it will lead them back into the very same room that they are in now. So they begin to yearn for a way out of this revolving wheel of coming-and-going. This yearning attracts a certain Power that permeates every atom of space, but cannot be perceived unless one aligns with, or attunes oneself to its vibration. By following the path of self-surrender and by developing an unselfish new attitude to life, they are able to begin making structural changes to the composition of their material and subtle bodies.

These structural changes are so far-reaching that eventually these ones are no longer like their unaware brethren in the room. They are now "in the world, but not of the world". When the time comes for them to walk through the unmarked door, they are unable to open it. Instead, a hidden trapdoor opens beneath their feet and they find themselves in another realm of existence, one that is in harmony with their new nature. They become aware of the fact that they will never have to return to the old room ever again. They are free.

Those left behind in the old room are left in a state of confusion and fear. They are not quite sure what has happened to their oddly-acting brothers. Did they really just see them fall through a hidden trapdoor, or were their eyes just deceiving them? They debate endlessly, but cannot explain the phenomenon. They simply agree that these ones are also 'dead'. The fact that there is another way out of the endless cycle of coming-and-going does not occur to them. In ignorance, they continue their blind existence in the room, 'living' only until it is their turn to walk through the unmarked door.

Those who found the trapdoor can be compared to those who find the Gnosis during their physical life. Those left behind are the ones who walk in darkness and will continue to do so until someday, through insight and yearning for salvation, they surrender the self, develop a new attitude towards life and pursue the One Goal of Humanity - soul rebirth.

~ g
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