# 41. There are Many Stages to Understanding Higher Truths

There are many stages to understanding higher truths. From the dark foreboding of the mysterious paths that the soul of man and the spiritual forces of nature have to travel, to the direct (spiritual) comprehension of the entities that are hidden from the lower forms of knowledge, there are all possible intermediate forms. The fact that the higher levels are imparted to students by great teachers through the impartation of secret teachings is something that mysticism of all ages speaks of. Many people look with disbelief and doubt on the present-day references to secret teachings, initiations and mysteries. Once again, people are encountering individuals who, open-minded and without prejudice, speak of “higher” human entities that carry within them a living a living source of higher wisdom, a wisdom that can only be conceived by those whose powers of knowledge are limited to the senses and the mind, and that is a pale reflection of higher realities. This pale reflection will either inspire him to ascend the steps to truth or it will create in him the spirit of rejection, which declares everything that goes beyond so-called “common sense” to be vain delusion and deception. None of those who have even set foot on the ground on which the “Garden of Delight”, that is, the mystical life, develops, is ever for a moment surprised that this “Garden of Delight” is called a mirage by countless people. For how could he be surprised that someone can doubt the existence of that into which he has never gained insight.