APPEARANCE AND REALITY

APPEARANCE AND REALITY Looking Beyond the Veil APPEARANCE veils reality. In this world, man is put to the test of recognizing appearance for what it is, and of penetrating it in order to reach the reality hidden beyond it. If he is to be successful, he must refrain from becoming obsessed with appearances. He must rise above the level of the seen, and pass beyond to that of the unseen. There, on this higher plane, the hidden realities of life will stand out clearly before his eyes. How does one free oneself from obsession with appearances? It means, primarily, looking at things in an entirely different way. For example, it means recognizing that something which is ostensibly a purchasable item is actually a gift from God. It means having a grasp of the fact that the merchandises of the marketplace have come not just from the hands of the craftsman or the assembly line of a factory, but from the treasure house of the universe. Faith in the unseen means the realization that the things which we seem to receive from the hands of men, come in actuality, from the hands of God. It is only those who are at one with their Maker, who can attain this degree of finely-tuned perception. In this world, we have the option of living like the blind, or of living with our eyes wide open. The test we are set in the present world forces us to make this choice. One who remains blind to the realities of this world of trial will—due to his blindness—be stranded in the world to come. On the other hand, one who lives with his eyes open to the divine truth will be blessed with heavenly vision in the life beyond the grave. There, all the blessings of the world—and even more—will be given to him for all eternity. The ‘blind’ man, sitting at the dining table, will look upon the milk, fruit, vegetables as items which have been bought from vendors, and then brought to him and prepared for him so that his palate and hunger may be satisfied. Content with this thought, or not even thinking about his food at all, he eats his fill, and then is off on his way to some other activity, without having acknowledged, even for a second, that the eatables he consumed were actually gifts from God. He simply cannot see that these are some of nature’s greatest masterpieces. He does not Faith in the unseen means the realization that the things which we seem to receive from the hands of men come, in actuality, from the hands of God.