...

THE SUICIDE OF THE SOUL

LESSON 51

The veriest coward in the whole category of cowards may have

the courage of conviction, and arise to defend his position when the

exigencies of some important situation seem to demand such action ;

but it takes a hero of heroes quietly to accept a rebuke, frankly to

acknowledge a wrong to those for whose good opinion he cares, then

drop silently out of sight, and go to work to set himself right. It is of

such that "the Kingdom of Heaven" is made, and over whom the

"Great Souls" yearn, and whom they draw to their own spheres as

quickly as may be. The character of such courage as is displayed by

the slayers of men, the intoxication of the arena of finance, or the

battle-field of modern daily life, yields no such power to man, gives

no such results to the world.

Until a man can bravely confess a wrong, and acknowledge a

mistake, and as bravely accept the offered forgiveness or punishment

therefore, without feeling that he bas, in some inexplicable way, been

wronged or degraded thereby, and that therefore he has just cause for

the hatred he feels creeping into his heart for the one he has wronged,

and by whom he bas been forgiven, he is not worthy to unlatch the

sandals of his whilom antagonist. His unworthiness does not lie in the

wrong originally done ; that is of little consequence, comparatively

speaking (for it is not what we do that counts in the great sum ; it is

what we are-what we have become, as a result of our doing). The

unworthiness lies in the fundamental cause of [TT 126] his attitude ;

for, back of that attitude, lies the hurt of his self-love. It is of no

consequence to him at the moment that his antagonist may have been

right and he wrong ; the possible far-reaching results of his error seem

hardly worth his consideration ; the only thing that really matters to

him, is that cankering, corroding spot upon the armor of his self-love.

So long as unselfishness is the Keystone to the arch of human

development, so long is such a man, such a woman, debarred from the

gates of true chelaship.

The earth is reeking with the blood of the victims of man's

selfishness. Every Deva, every Savior, every true teacher that ever

touched the sphere of man's consciousness has agonized over, pleaded

with his hearers, in mercy to themselves, to kill out the demon of

selfishness that was dragging them down to perdition. Closer and

closer grows that demon's strangling grip, in the present age ; deeper

and deeper into men's souls sink its poisonous fangs ; louder and

louder grow the cries of its victims, now piercing the heavens and

demanding recompense. And, alas ! swifter and swifter cometh that

great day of retribution ; and then will follow the era of readjustment,

the day when just for one of the opportunities he has thrown away, a

man would gladly surrender his earthly all.

Instead of becoming the living image of the great Ideal set up in

his mind when the world was young, man has been sinking into a

bondage worse by far than the meanest earthly slave has ever known.

And you . O man ! who cannot forgive the man you have wronged ;

and you . O woman ! who have willfully torn apart the heart-strings

of some other woman who has repelled your advances or outstripped

you in some petty ambition, whom you hate because you fear, or who

will not permit you to walk roughshod over the secret places of her

soul . be not deceived, it is not the man, the woman, that you hate ; it

is God ! and you are building the fires that will consume the stubble of

your lives ; you are digging the pits into which your own feet will

walk ! for you "know what you do." You can no longer cover the

nakedness of your own cruelty, your unworthy desires or ambitions,

with the cloak of unconsciousness. The very heavens tremble with the

force of the woeful anguish of those who have suffered, who now

suffer, for striving to force the one irrevocable truth upon the mirror of

your minds. You hear or read of such martyrdoms, discuss the main

points of the sad stories, the grammatical construction of the sentences

in which they are clothed, then cast all behind you, and continue to

live as though you had never heard of them. The lines that Time is

graving around your [TT 127] eyes and mouths indicate the truth to

the most careless observer ; the hard, cruel spark in the depths of your

eyes ; the constantly clutching fingers ; the restlessness of body ; all

tell the same story.

While knowing full well the illimitable power of thought, the

strength of personal influence, you say, "Why should I make special

effort to gain the attribute of unselfishness, when I am surrounded by

such evidences of rank selfishness in others ?" Alas, you do not see

that man bas come to the parting of two ways, the highest point of the

arc of development for the brute creation. The acme of selfishness has

now been reached, and man must go back to his old brutish instincts

and habits, or he must cross the bridge which separates the animal

from the human kingdom ; for as yet, man has not reached the perfect

human stage of development, save in very rare instances ; and the

stones of which that bridge is built, are stones of sacrifice, stones of

unselfish efforts, across which you may not pass until you have made

of your own self yet another stone, which will give footing to some

other pilgrim.

No man can take that journey into the Human Kingdom, can pass

over that bridge, and ever return to old conditions, the same man. The

change that comes over his life is like unto the change that succeeds

the passing over the longer bridge of death, when man comes face to

face with his own soul. The notes of the Song of Life to which you

listen, as the wind sings through the branches of a forest of oak trees,

are not like unto the low tones which reach your ears from great

stretches of prairie grass ; yet the song is the same. But the tones of

the same song in your heart at the close of some unselfish act bear

little semblance to the hoarse, croaking sounds which issue from the

same heart at the close of a selfish act.

You imagine selfishness may be something like a mode of

motion, a vague quality, a non-materialistic, non-scientific something,

that will pass out into space with the laying away of the physical body.

You do not realize that the form of energy we term selfishness, for

want of some more comprehensive term, is the antithesis of the

Infinite Selflessness, the True Self. Where one gives all, the other

takes all ; and in the taking, draws together and coalesces all the evil

elementary forces of the negative pole of life, and kills out, strangles

to death, every other living thing in its embrace. The suicide of the

body is a small thing in comparison to the suicide of the soul ; and

continued selfishness is, beyond all question, the suicide of the soul.

Knowing this, what wonder that countless brave, unselfish souls have

Made the great renunciation, have sacrificed sentient life, in their

efforts to teach man the superlatively great lesson of unselfishness.

[TT 128]

...

ASTRAL WRECKAGE

LESSON 52

To those who believe they have discovered the mysteries of the

universe, those for whom life holds no problems, who have defined

the bounds of all matter, force and consciousness to their own

individual satisfaction ; those who have burned up, by self indulgence

and inhumanity, the vital Ether which flows through the extremity of

each nerve of sensation, to reappear-minus its enveloping media . in

corresponding etheric vehicles of sensory impulses in the Astral

bodies of normally developed human beings ; for those I have no

word ; but for the illuminated, for those touched with the divine

afflatus of knowledge, and for the humble seekers after the keys to the

mysteries which confront them on every side of life . for these I will

try again, and yet again, to unfold some of the leaves of the great folio

of existence. No one of those leaves contains more of deep interest, of

profound truth, than that leaf on which is writ the records of the

disastrous action of certain ethereal embodied forces resident on the

Kama-rupic plane, upon the mentality of incarnate man. Especially is

this true in regard to those injudicious, contemptuous disclaimers of

the reality of psychic phenomena, and of the wilful, disobedient

disciples of the primary degrees of Occultism, who either flout or

disobey the urgent warnings of the Initiates of the White Lodge

against indulging in forbidden practices of black magic such as

spiritualistic seances, necromancy, ceremonial magic, etc.

At present, as in past corresponding periods of earlier

civilizations, there has arisen a class of adventurers who have brought

and are still bringing, some of the aspects of the Wisdom Religion into

disrepute by means of the so-called investigations of its devotees, and

their careless dabbling with the mysteries of Nature, which they are

wholly incapable of apprehending, or, if mentally capable of

understanding, are too gross and licentious to be able to make the

spiritual and mental correlations which alone could give them the right

key to the Mysteries. So they are breaking into forbidden places and

dragging into view the decaying skeletons, the refuse and garbage of

Nature's laboratories, and palming them off on selfish, inquisitive

abettors as true revelations of spiritual life and power.

Every expose, every effort to hale such individuals before the

judgment bar of common law, every shattering of the cup of the wine

of life, the blasting of intellect, the results of disobedience to divine

law, bring to a certain class of worldly people but one more [TT 129]

object for satirical criticism and vapid ridicule. The awful tragedy

which lies behind every such manifestation, does not occur to the

minds of such as these, a tragedy in which they are more intimately

concerned than they have any idea of, and which, if they were capable

of apprehending, would make them shudder with horror. For all these

outrages upon divine law are due primarily to their thoughtless

encouragement and their self indulgence, their support of those who in

the initial stage of this craze, perpetrated these crimes against the Holy

Spirit.

For the purpose of spending an idle hour in some exciting

pastime, of delving into hidden things to obtain a point for a horse

race, the indulgence of a lecherous desire, a certain tip in stock

gambling . the services of fortune tellers, spiritualists, hypnotists, and

other shells of what were once human souls, have been called into

requisition both in private and in public, thereby degrading and

corrupting the minds of weaker souls that were making a hard fight to

keep their footing in the world of things, and earn a livelihood for

themselves and those dependent on them. What wonder is it that they

took advantage of a seemingly easy way to do so, by using their half

developed psychic power, when the example of those they had been

taught to emulate was before them ; not realizing that when they were

caught at their thinly disguised efforts to prey on their fellow

creatures, they in turn would become objects of scorn, contempt and

ridicule to those who were in reality responsible for their downfall.

Great is the sin of both ; as great in comparison will be the punishment

of both. A little earnest study of the principles of the Wisdom Religion

. White Magic . would put all parties mentioned in the above

category in a position to determine rightly the cause as well as the

effect, of such catastrophes, and awaken tender sympathy in hearts

that are not seared by self indulgence.

No human being can jump from one extreme of life to another. It

takes a long period of time and the action of great psychic and mental

forces, to change a saint into a sinner, and vice versa. Every Psychic

sensitive could tell you that in the beginning of his or her mediumistic

career, their hearts were filled with holy desires and images of love,

beneficence and helpfulness toward all the human race ; and tell you

so truthfully ; for the very power with which they were gifted . or

cursed . has been won as a result of aspiration and effort along right

lines.

The orthodox ideas of heaven and hell are responsible for the

downfall of many sensitives. Their minds have been saturated with the

belief that any state of life that produced or reproduced those

[TT 130] things toward which their mortal instinct turned in longing .

the gratification of sensual desires and lusts, must of necessity belong

to heaven, and all they abhorred or feared, to hell. It did not enter their

minds that there might be intermediate planes of life in which were

pictured the primary forms of what were or would be earthly pleasures

and indulgences of the senses ; pictures instinct with vitality ;

embodied forms, existent only as irresponsible forces, and only so

long as their inherent energy lasted, but as long as that energy

remained, subject to the demand and call of those whose will could

control their movements, and when that individual will had been

satisfied, and its energy withdrawn, were then left drifting about in

astral space, often using the mind sphere of incarnate man as mere

pleasure grounds. These students might also learn of the existence of

countless numbers of human wrecks, driven out of life by suicide,

murder, and violent death, enraged at their futile attempts to gratify

personal desire, entirely dependent upon incarnate sensitives for the

gratification of the same ; whispering, always whispering, into the car

of sortie weak one, "Do this, and power and wealth will be yours."

"Do that, and the kingdoms of the whole earth shall be yours." The

same old, yet ever new story. And finally, such students would learn

how subtly, how persistently, those poor wretched victims had been

tempted and driven into doing, at last, the deeds their very souls

abhorred in the early days of their psychic development.

How can there be aught but pity in the hearts of the truly great,

the good, for such a human wreck as I have mentioned.

How can there be anything but compassion and profound pity in

the hearts of "those who know", for all concerned, for the tempter and

tempted, for all victims of the greatest of all tragedies. Ah, ye know

not what ye do, blind leaders of the blind, willfully ignorant

administrators of human law. May infinite mercy cover you all as with

the wings of a great Eagle.

...

THE EVOLUTION OF WILL

LESSON 53

The acceptance of Truth by the multitude, however long delayed,

and grudgingly admitted or disguised by its exponents, can but be a

matter of deep interest to those guardians of its treasures whose

[TT 131] primary efforts to give it expression date back many

centuries, and who, unlike modern exponents and seeming

discoverers, seek neither recognition nor reward for their labor. I say

seeming discoverers, advisedly, for no truth bas ever been discovered

by man ; a truth discovers, or rather uncovers itself to the earnest,

unselfish seeker in its particular field. It is always with us, always

here, has always been here. The film of matter falls from. the mental

eye of man, when be is prepared to receive a truth as a result of the

action of the inherent power of that truth upon "the film" which bas

hitherto inhibited his power of observation. At no time in past ages

bas the verity of the above statement been more apparent than at

present.

Converts to the Wisdom-Religion in past ages have symbolized

and illustrated the facts in regard to the constitution of matter, in

psalm, prose and poetry. These have been repeated or read widely, and

while often derided or ignored by the many, have been accepted and

acted upon by the few.

When the White Lodge gave the Secret Doctrine to the world, it

gathered up and combined in one invaluable work all that the world

bas ever known, all it ever will know, in the present Manvantara, of

the primal causes, the fundamental principles, of all the degrees of

matter mankind as it is now constituted is capable of cognizing. This

is a very sweeping statement, but it is nevertheless true, as may be

understood by any profound student of the Secret Doctrine. But these

great truths could not be uncovered to the masses before a

corresponding condition of advancement to that attained by man, had

been reached by all the degrees of substance . matter . with which

those masses are identified. It bas probably not been observed by

many that there is any special connection between the recent

revolution in the flower, fruit and grain industries, as a result of the

wonderful crossing of life currents, and the notably rapid evolution of

the mental and psychic power in man. Nevertheless, there is far more

than a mere connection. The operation of the same law, carried out by

the same orders of life, and accomplished during the same period of

time, is responsible for both classes of development.

A number of gifted intellects, great souls, are now in incarnation,

through whom the Lodge is working to bring about these changes in

the vegetable and human kingdoms. The particular group of souls of

which I speak came into incarnation between fifty and seventy five

years ago. Their individual efforts will cease inside of the next twenty-

five years, during which time the culmination of their work will

appear in a new sub-race of both the human and vegetable Kingdoms.

All that I have said here is equally true of the other divisions [TT 132]

of manifested life, but it would take more time and effort than I can

now give, to enter upon those subjects to any extent ; they must be left

for another time.

Man en masse is coming into another aspect of his heritage ; and

it is an aspect that will place upon him a tremendous responsibility for

the right use of the riches of Wisdom he has inherited as a result of

ages of work and sacrifice. Invention after invention is placing within

the power of man the means by which lie may investigate the hidden

causes of evident effects. In no field is this more evident than in the

interaction, the movements, the marriage . of the Fiery lives. While

research has demonstrated the atomic constitution of all matter, and

therefore of fire, it bas not yet demonstrated the atomic constitution of

consciousness . a higher fire . and its inseparableness from all matter.

Every laya centre, every atom, is a self-conscious life, a component

part of a more complex, more perfect life ; as much greater than itself,

from an interior point of view, as a camel is greater than a gnat from

an exterior point of view ; and yet the ultimate of the expansion of

matter is not yet reached, and in reality lies so far beyond the

immediate future as to be impossible of computation in terms of time.

It is conceivable that man might determine, approximately, by

mechanical means, the amount of energy possible of generation by the

waves of the Pacific Ocean, but lie could not measure by any method,

or by any means, the enormous energy stored up in an atomic centre, a

single fiery life. If you can accept this statement, you may be able to

gain some concept of the tremendous possibilities of growth.

As the fiery life centre partakes of the nature of positive

electricity, in excess of negative, so its first embodiment, the oily

sheath, partakes more of the nature of negative electricity in excess of

positive ; otherwise the substance of which that oily sheath is

composed could not be impelled from one plane of life into another. It

is the temporary destruction of equilibrium that forces substance into

manifestation, by changing its character, and its manifestation in form

commences in an intermediate state between the physical and the

astral plane.

It does not seem to occur to the average investigator along these

lines, that the difference between human and terrestrial electricity lies

in the fact that the fiery lives of the latter are devoid of the oily

sheaths which differentiate them from the former. They are not so

fully evolved, and will not develop those protective shields until

associated with others in a more complex organism, a living organic

[TT 133] body. The human Will must force its passage through these

protective sheaths before it can control the fiery lives within them, and

thereby the individual will of men. With Divine Will, it is otherwise :

To the latter, all things, all lives, become subservient, and until human

Will renounces its slavery to self and becomes identified with the

Divine Will, it bas no power to break through those oily sheaths.

Experiment would seem to contradict what I have said ; but, in cases

of hypnosis, whether or not the operator is aware of it, there bas been

such a temporary union, and one of the great dangers of hypnosis lies

in the fact that such union is not permanent, and the rapid changes

from one condition to another produce effects that are greater than the

vital ether operative in the nerves can endure, without breaking down

the brain cells through which it must operate. It is during the attempt

to pierce the oily sheath of the fiery lives, by over-strenuous efforts in

concentration, that human mentality often succumbs. The brain cells

break down, and the would-be divine operator is left to the mercy of

irresponsible forces whose precincts have been ignorantly invaded,

and disease or insanity results.

Little by little these great truths are being unveiled, but so long as

an investigator confines his researches to any one field of research to

the exclusion of all others lie is doomed to failure.

...

KARMA – ACTION AND REACTION

LESSON 54

Throw a stone into a quiet pool of water ; a sound into the silent

ocean of Ether ; an idea into the quiescent mind of man, and You

disturb the equilibrated condition of a definite field or sphere of

substance, which will result in setting wave after wave in motion, in

ever increasing circles, that will not break until they have struck the

circumference of that measurable sphere. Having reached that

boundary, the energy which guided those waves will at once return to

the centre from which they were impelled.

In relation to the idea thrown into the mind of man, the

afterthoughts which come trooping into that individual mind on the

return waves of Manas are the distorted reflections of the original

idea ; [TT 134] sometimes these images are unrecognizable by the

thinker for the reason that he has not fully grasped the potentialities of

the idea when it first presented itself.

The return waves of the sound sent forth into the ether bear back

corresponding images, broken geometrical forms, inharmonious or

minor chords, as it were, unrecognizable by the maker of the sound,

because lie knew so little of the action of the energy lie released.

Every act, good or bad, perpetrated by man, produces a

correspondingly great result, as its released energy pours out and into

the ocean of Prana-life force. And as the image of an object or

individual at the centre of operations reflects a certain distorted image

of itself on every wave of the startled pool, so a certain reflection of

itself is cast on the waves of Prana, within a certain radius, by every

act of man. These reflections may seem to bear no resemblance to the

central object or individual, but to the Wise Man, the Seer, they are

unmistakable evidences of their primal cause and final result.

If you could read the reflections of a good deed aright they would

take you through many and devious paths . through many peoples and

nations, back to the doer of that deed, as surely as tomorrow's sun will

rise to your view. You cannot lift a finger, give birth to a single idea

or utter a sound, without disturbing the equilibrium of a world . and,

to some extent, a universe ; and the crest of the thus awakened wave

will as surely bring back to you the reward or punishment for the act.

This law is back of the tracing of all crime. Invariably the

criminal leaves reflections of himself, of his act, in some form, upon

every retreating footstep, in every following act. It is only because the

human sleuth is not wise enough to read the signs that a criminal has

left behind him, that the latter ever escapes his pursuers.

You may give a coin to a needy man ; and mayhap may never

connect that gift with the offer of the highest gift in the power of 'q

nation ; but if the motive power that actuated the gift was high

enough, and if the recipient accepted it with as high a purpose in view,

and put it to as high a use, the triune energy thus generated would

break forth into waves upon which the images of the good effects of

that act would be imprinted and the return waves would inevitably

bring back to you the value of your gift increased by seventy times

seven.

But remember . it will be according to the height of the motive,

purpose, and use, how great a circle will be inscribed by the released

energy and how great a height the waves will reach, and therefore how

great an accumulation of indebtedness will be repaid to you. [TT 135]

...

THE SYMBOL OF THE SEPENT

LESSON 55

Men have tried to fathom the underlying mystery of the

antagonism between man and the creeping things of life, the little

worm, the harmless and often helpful diminutive snake, that has

unwittingly crept upon the naked flesh. Other creatures may cause fear

in man ; lie may shrink back terror-stricken from a bear or tiger ; he

may dislike, distrust or be perfectly indifferent to many other animals,

and if by any chance they should touch his flesh lie is conscious of no

such intense repugnance as lie feels from physical contact with any

creeping thing. There is a deep, far-reaching reason for this feeling, as

deep and wide as the two extremities of his being, life and death ; and

the beginning of this antipathy dates back to the beginning of his life

as a conscious human being. When Jehovah said there should be

enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, a

great truth was uttered, and war was then again declared between

White and Black Magic, for one Manvantara.

In one sense, all creeping things are included in the one word,

serpent." From an esoteric aspect, the Serpent symbolizes the highest

point of the development of a human being. From the exoteric aspect

it symbolizes the lowest point in the same development.

Here, as in all other divisions of the Cosmos, appears the action of

the two poles of manifestation. The farther man advances, the greater

will grow his antipathy to creeping, slimy, secretive, hiding things,

because the gulf between his higher and lower nature is continually

widening, and up to the point when lie parts forever with that lower

self by gaining all power over it, the fascination, the temptation of the

lower self continually increases and the battle grows stronger.

When "the heel of the woman shall crush the serpent's head", i. e.,

when the negative aspect of the eternally feminine, the Soul, shall

come into contact with the positive, the Head . lower mind . the

masculine aspect of matter, one of the twain must disappear, and it is

the latter that must disappear, because when such an event occurs the

end of a Manvantara will have come, and Soul and Mind become one.

The creeping of a worm or snake over human flesh does not

occasion any particular fear in the human mind ; as said before, it is a

far different feeling, a quick, convulsive shudder, due to the action of

the force of repulsion which manifests immediately and [TT 136]

results in the creature's being thrown violently from its resting place.

This action of the force of repulsion is but a slight exhibition of the

same force that is generated in, and expelled from "the heel of the

woman" as a result of the interaction of the forces of attraction and

cohesion. The action of the vital ether operative in the nerves of the

skin is instantly increased by contact with such a creature, and upon

communicating a desire to the brain to be rid of the obnoxious thing,

the brain commands the muscles of hand and arm to remove the

interloper, and is obeyed.

There is an occasional "exception to prove the rule" in the cases

of men and women who seem abnormally fond of snakes. These

persons fondle and caress such creatures and exhibit their power of

control, to the great wonder of beholders ; but when this feeling of

attraction is genuine, it is due to one of two causes ; either custom has

so familiarized the person by constant contact with snakes that natural

antagonism has been overcome, and the force symbolized by the

woman's heel has been developed in the performer's body far in excess

of the force symbolized by the "head of the serpent", even to such a

degree that the vital ether no longer responds to excitation by touch ;

or the person bas come directly under the control of some black

magician, thereby changing his whole nature and making him

amenable to the control of those who govern the division of life to

which the creeping things belong, corresponding in planes to the

lower astral. The Serpent (personified evil, according to the orthodox

concept, the Tempter) has been greatly misunderstood. It is a most

perfect symbol of the two extremes of life. In the highest sense it

represents the Guardian of the Threshold, and the appellation

"Serpents" has been applied to Initiates of high degree for many ages,

whose office it is to test in all ways the applicant for admission to any

degree of the Lodge. If said applicant fail in passing the test, the

power responsible for the trial in which he has failed will naturally

seem to be evil. Especially is this true if the disciple has not reached a

stage of development that will permit of his seeing the justice and

mercy back of the trial. The powers of silence, wisdom, retirement,

casting of skin, power of assuming different forms, are some of the

powers that the serpent holds in common with the Initiate, and

indicate why it symbolizes the highest pole of being. Its confinement

to the lower levels of life, slyness, concealed poison, treachery, etc.,

symbolize the habits and characteristics of a like nature associated

with the Black Magician. Therefore, "the serpent" is a fitting symbol

for both extremes of life. [TT 137]

...

CREATION IN UNITY AND TRINITY

LESSON 56

I plead for, and teach you the importance of unified action, only

to find that in many cases you have little or no comprehension of the

basic principles involved, and therefore little appreciation of the

effects of unified action on all lines of endeavor, on your own interior

as well as exterior development. Those who have attained to a

moderate degree of knowledge on this subject may not find anything

of particular value in the following resume of the facts concerning

Evolution ; but to those who hitherto have been unable to secure the

advantages to be derived from conscientious application to study, I

hope to convey a more lucid, concise idea of the action of the laws of

Evolution and Involution, with the aid of their own intuition.

First, consider all space as formed of countless milliards of

infinitesimal lives of varying degrees of potentiality, number and

form, but for the time being in a dormant, quiescent state, each degree

of which must be given an evolutionary impulse at the commencement

of a great world period in order to complete the development of its

constituent lives, by expanding and exploding the confined dormant

energy which is the basis of those lives, thereby bursting through the

compressing, enveloping Aura of Ethereal Force (which is the bridge

between two states of consciousness), thus being impelled from the

inner to the outer fields of Space.

Among these degrees of dormant elemental forces are those

commonly recognized as Light, Heat, Electricity, Magnetism, always

the first to manifest in any great world period. Then consider that

Potential space in toto as a single, self-conscious Entity with almost

unlimited power, intelligence and ability, who at the beginning of the

present world period is actuated by one great impulse (desire) to

manifest such power and by one long . drawn breath . "one motion of

Mass", awakes the many and various rates of motion and vibration Of

its own constituent lives or atoms-the different degrees of the laya

centres which persist from one manvantara to another ; that impulse

being given by means of the power of Fohat, potential Sound, the

compelling power of the Cosmos, in itself a power subject only to a

higher law . namely, the law of Gravitation ; which great mystery is

in reality a spiritual power, the manifesting aspects of which are the

forces (the Gods) . Attraction, Repulsion, Cohesion, Expansion,

Extension and Suction. These six aspects or modifications of

Gravitation create, control and disintegrate (involve and evolve) all

forms [TT 138] of force and energy in manifestation in the exterior

fields of Space and Matter. Then imagine that whole potential Space

or Entity breaking forth into waves and ripples of sound, as each laya

centre of the Mass responds to the call thus made, giving forth its own

particular keynote and sustaining the vibrations or keynotes of such

sound waves for a definite period of time, thereby keeping each

individual degree of the evolving laya centres at a certain rate of mass

motion, and by the energy thus generated forming a definite sphere of

influence . an orbit . the size of that orbit being determined by the

volume and strength of force generated at the instant of explosion. The

grouping of individual centres of such degrees of laya . or atomic .

centers into different forms, weight and density is brought about by

the action of the law of affinity (one aspect of the force of attraction)

according to number ; and first, Fire (Flame), then Water, Air and

Earth are evolved, and by the same process of expansion and

explosion ; and finally, mineral, vegetable and animal germs of life

are brought into manifestation. The most rapid vibrations evolve Fire,

the atomic centres of which are first drawn together in outer

manifestation as suns, shining from their own intrinsic light, and

lightening the dark spaces within each individual Aura, where the

brooding negative side of the life principle is drawing together and

nesting the laya centres which will eventually manifest as Water.

As all laya centres must explode to manifest, so the fiery centres

which constitute the mass of such suns must explode in course of

time, and the then flaming fragments or lives which fall into space

become centres of attraction for other wandering lesser lives which are

combined with and assimilated by the greater. The waters held in

suspension in space are attracted by the heat-waves generated by the

flames, and fall upon the burning masses, thus causing, by further

explosion, the freeing of confined potential gases. These gases

penetrate and interpenetrate the flaming masses and surround them

with cushions of air. From the intermarriage of Fire, Water and Air,

and the explosions which result therefrom, there is precipitated a

sediment which we term the element of Earth, and by the

intermarriage of these four elements, and by like process of expansion

and explosion of the lives which comprise said elements, and under

the same laws which guided and controlled the action of the first

sound-waves, there is evolved the substance which science terms

Protoplasm, from which all living forms are created.

If convinced that all matter has evolved from within outward, the

average person will have little difficulty in accepting my explanation

and formulating to his own personal satisfaction some concept of the

subsequent action of the Substance alluded to. [TT 139]

With the manifestation of said Substance, No-thing has become

All-things in embryo. Spirit and Matter have met. But at the

completion of one-half a great world period, man, by that time

evolved to his highest point of development as man, must re-become

God, and in the process of re-becoming is but too prone to forget his

Divine prototype ; forget that he is but an atom of the substance of

God, and by falling in love with his own personal image, and

permitting that image to absorb his care and worship, forget his

Father's face, his Mother's beauty and grace. Like a ship in a storm he

permits himself to be drifted hither and yon, until as a result of long

suffering he finally opens his inner eye, to behold the life line thrown

out to him. That line is thrown by the Higher Self when Substance-

Matter has reached its ultimate vibration as Matter ; at which time, but

for the incarnation of higher mind (Spiritual Egos in bodies created as

before described) Matter, at first only endowed with lower mind

(Instinct), could not sustain itself at such rapid rates of vibration, and

would return to its primeval conditionless state, and mankind as we

know it could not exist.

As two points of a triangle may be forced to meet, pass each other

to a given distance and form a six-pointed star, so Spirit and Matter

meet and unite in man, both separate and distinct, yet one entity, thus

giving the spirit the vehicle it requires for manifesting in matter and

gaining all knowledge of its possibilities in form. When Matter has

reached its highest possible rate of vibration in humanity, the

processes and laws of evolution are reversed. There is a gradual

reversal of the two poles of universal life, and there follows a like

period of involution, lasting during the other half of the great world

cycle. The first and last requisite of involution is the gradual decrease

and subsidence of the energy of the vibratory keynote or rate of mass

motion that has been the fundamental and sustaining power of

evolution ; in other words, the regaining of the potent power of

Silence ; the conservation and concentration of all forms of Energy

preparatory to the sounding of another, a higher keynote for a new

age ; for evolutionary forces always work in a spiral instead of a

closed circle.

The more highly developed units of the present races have

reached a degree of knowledge where it has become possible to lay

the foundation for the attainment of such power. The ultimate causes

and effects of evolution are becoming apparent ; and all their efforts

toward self development should be along the lines of condensation,

conservation and concentration. This is where the importance of

individual self denial . altruism . becomes more evident. No finding

of science pointing to this necessity is of more importance. Altruism is

not a sentimental virtue, it is an absolute requisite to self development.

[TT 140]

Whenever any group of three or more individuals bas reached a

point of harmonious action on all lines of their lives, a point where

perfect co-operation of will and effort obtains . a point where in fact

as well as in theory they can live and act up to their highest ideals of

use and service to and for each other . they have reached a condition

where it is possible for them to become an active vehicle for the

spiritual forces generated by much greater beings than they have ever

before been conscious of ; and by becoming such a vehicle the

individual evolution of each constituent part of that vehicle is carried

forward by great strides. As previously illustrated, the points of two

Triangles, Spirit and Matter, have met and intertwined. Each such

individual becomes in process of time a Saviour of all those who are

still beneath him in the scale of evolution. The path to the Gods opens

wide, and instead of the slow, painful, crawling mode of procedure he

has hitherto been compelled to use, he goes onward and upward as

though shod with seven-league boots, for he is "coming into his own",

and is gaining command over the secret powers of a universe. Every

effort you consciously put forth toward the attainment of such a trinity

of life and action as I have indicated, takes you a step further toward

that most desirable end. Every failure to utilize an opportunity for so

doing, plunges you back a like distance.

Knowing the truth and verity of each statement made herein ;

knowing that my own as well as your individual evolution all depends

upon your acceptance of and obedience to the laws designated by me,

is it surprising that I iterate and reiterate my pleas to you to listen and

obey ? For in no other way, by no other method or plan, can man

hasten his evolutionary career.

...

INITIATION

LESSON 57

Much bas been written by the uninitiated concerning the Initiates

and the Greater Mysteries, of which the writers are entirely ignorant.

Naught but spiritual blindness could excuse one of ordinary

intelligence for failing to perceive the absurdity of placing any

credence in such palpably contradictory statements as are handed out

for the mental delectation of the curious. Notwithstanding the fact that

it is claimed in one paragraph that an Initiate must be an epitome of all

Truth, [TT 141] Wisdom, Faithfulness and Power, perhaps the

following paragraph will picture that Initiate as imparting to all who

may desire it, regardless of their good or evil proclivities, their

unbelief or intellectual development, a description of some initiatory

ceremony . or an offer to lead for mere pelf, whosoever will comply

with their demands, to the heights of Initiation. Until man bas evinced

the possibility of keeping his body free from sins of voluptuousness,

his mind free from hatred for his kind, his soul capable of faithfulness

to his Higher Self, he might with just as much surety of fulfillment

expect the sun to be given him for a pleasure boat. Countless half-

imbeciles ponder over such trash, hand over their hardly won means

of livelihood, and follow the trail made by innumerable others as

foolish and reckless as themselves, utterly ignoring the still small

voice that is calling to them to stop and think of the great gulf that

must inevitably exist between them as they now are, and one who bas

reached a height so immeasurably far above them that they could get

only a faint glimmering of the possibilities of such an eminence if they

were to stretch their imaginations to the breaking point ; and then to

consider what probability could possibly exist that a voluptuary, a

traitor, a liar, a blasphemer, would be able to guide their footsteps

through the mazes of the evolutionary stages which must be passed

ere that height could be reached. Ah, my children, do not deceive

yourselves, or permit others to deceive you ; be honest with your own

souls ; face the fact that notwithstanding your divine possibilities, you

are full of weaknesses and evil desires, even if you do not outwardly

yield to such desires ; that you still wear the filthy garment you have

been long ages in weaving about you ; and be brave enough to

acknowledge the truth to yourselves, humble enough to perceive your

unworthiness, and great enough to commence the preparation of the

groundwork upon which you hope to build the edifice, the upper story

of which will reach the heavens.

No intelligent person will criticise unfavorably your desire, your

longing to reach such heights as you may be able mentally to

contemplate, for such contemplation is not only a rainbow of promise,

but also an assurance of the certainty of attainment.

No group of disciples of the White Lodge was ever admitted to

probation to a higher degree of the Lodge at one time. Alone Man

carne into the world, alone he must leave it, whether it be by the Path

of death or Initiation, and the same great power that presided over his

birth must preside over his Initiation, whether such Initiation be

brought about by the power and effect of the Hierophant of the degree

he bas reached, or by the Chela's coming face to face with his own

soul on those heights of which I have spoken. Be assured, for

[TT 142] I tell you true . you may be led to the foot of the steps of the

great Initiation Stair by one empowered and fitted for such leading,

but when You have reached that stair you must pass the Guardian of

the Threshold alone, and if it were possible for you to pass it while yet

encumbered with your weaknesses, while yet enfolded in the ragged

filthy garment you clutch so greedily now, the Stair would give way

under your weight, and you would be plunged to the depths of Hades

[in some of the courts of which you are now existing, all unknown to

your lower selves]. My heart yearns over you with love past telling. I

stretch out my arms to you in beseeching while I bid you set about

making that ground-work now. Make it possible for yourselves to

reach Adonai's feet by passing successfully through the primary

degrees.

A form or ceremony is but an expression in matter of the reality

in spirit, and unless you have attained to the reality, the form will

profit you nothing. If any man had power to whisper in your ear the

great Creative Word, the word which would make you more than man,

you could not hear and understand that Word while a trace of that

which had hitherto deafened your ears and stultified your

understanding remained. It is not words or forms you require so much,

but thoughts embodied in deeds that will unite you to the source of all

power, and make it possible for you to keep the obligations assumed

in such outer ceremonies.

...

THE SUBSTANCE OF GOD

LESSON 58

Of all the fallacies ever conceived and propagated by man, there

is no more dangerous an emasculated truth than that which has been

seized and applied to one of the basic principles of Occultism and

thrown broadcast in the name of the Masters, by many unenlightened,

self-styled teachers of Divine Truth. This fallacy is all the more deadly

in its results in that it apparently expresses a generally accepted

Cosmic law, the law of opposites, and accentuates a universally

recognized necessity, namely, the bringing of the lower self under

subjection.

Love and Hate are two poles of one universal law ; but love, in

the common acceptation of the term, and as bestowed or received by

[TT 143] the units of the great mass of humanity upon the material

planes, partakes more of the nature of the lower pole, Hate, than the

higher pole, Love. It is often cruel, selfish, inhuman, and bears but

little semblance to the greater Love, as interpreted by the Initiates.

The Initiate Paul's interpretation of the word charity, more

perfectly describes the manifestation of the higher pole than any other

writer on that theme, but even his interpretation is deficient, in that no

special reference is made to the essence of Love, the law of Attraction,

and the various degrees of love which are different rates of vibration

of that one essence.

It is not my object to dilate upon the scientific or universal aspects

or action of that Cosmic Law at this time, but to endeavor to explode

the false ideas put forth by imitators of the Initiates, who have never

understood the veiled directions given by the latter to their disciples

touching upon the qualifications for chelaship, and consequently have

travestied or misinterpreted the same, to the great injury of those who

trust to their guidance, and in no instance more destructively than in

the directions given for the killing out of their love natures.

To my knowledge there are many groups of sincere, intelligent

students now under the direction of such incompetent teachers, that

are bending every effort toward the killing out in themselves of the

power and ability to love, thereby stultifying their own higher natures

and atrophying the very organic centres through which the highest

aspect of the Law of Attraction must necessarily operate in order to

reach and connect the spiritual and material planes, and so further the

evolution of man ; in other words, they are destroying the bridge over

which the Ego must pass and repass from the Higher to the lower self,

thus leaving the lower self to the doubtful mercy of the lower psychic

elementals which, in revenge for the repression of bodily functions

which furnish gratification to such elementals, eventually unite and

bring to bear an accumulation of force upon the unprotected lower self

which plunges it into a very maelstrom of passion and self-

gratification.

Even the lowest vibration of the Law of Attraction-Passion, when

purely natural, has a certain office to perform in the evolution of the

man or woman who has not passed beyond the primary classes of life

and attained perfect control over all the organic centres of the body ;

but, having passed through those classes, lie may not return to lower

levels without endangering his whole career.

In whatever Cosmic degree of life man may be functioning for the

time being, some aspect or vibration of the Law of Attraction must

[TT 144] be his guiding star to the next higher degree, whether it be

love of God, Nature or individual, until he bas reached the degree

where all personal love is swallowed up in universal love . until love

is, so to speak, unclothed, and becomes the pure force of Attraction,

when it in turn reincarnates in every living thing during the next

period of manifestation. The great sin, the bar to development, lies in

the misuse, the abuse of the Omnipotent, Omnipresent God, for God it

is, and I say to you now that he who uses the power attained over

some other human being as a result of the abuse of any aspect of

Love, draws upon himself the corresponding action of Karmic law to

such a degree as to chill him with apprehension could he behold its

coming ; and unfortunately, such an one attains to such power only

too easily. One of the characteristics of love is humility ; one who

loves truly is always filled with the idea of his own unworthiness in

comparison with the presumed worthiness of the ideal in mind, and

this places him at a disadvantage ; his seeming unworthiness of such a

high gift as he believes reciprocated love to be, tends to foster the idea

that nothing he possesses is too good to be freely bestowed upon the

loved one, however the gift may be, in reality, despised or misused,

and according to the purity, strength and unselfishness of the love thus

freely given, is the power increased for its abuse and misuse by the

unprincipled man or woman ; while at the same time the spiritual

power and possessions gained by the giver through such misuse of the

gift, are increased tenfold. His unselfishness love leads him to a height

which brings him into the communion of saints. He has not much

farther to travel up the steep path of life ere he finds his reward in the

change from personal to universal love and life, if he has held firmly

to his ideal ; for the fallen idol has served as a step for him to climb to

a higher level where dwells his true Ideal.

If mankind could only remember that the Substance of God is the

Substance of Love, it would not be deceived so easily by specious

words. It is the greater, the unselfish love, which invariably gains life's

compensations, though it may gain them only through the fire of

renunciation. All the world may offer could not compensate for the

loss of the power of loving, and when this truth is realized, some idea

may be gained of the irreparable loss one must sustain who bas by his

own unceasing efforts toward self development only succeeded in

atrophying the centres through which the great Cosmic force of

Attraction must flow, in order to connect him with God . the Higher

Self, through which alone development may be gained.

...

TRANSMUTATION

LESSON 59

Notwithstanding the efforts of the Catholic clergy to clarify the

doctrine of the transmutation, that is, the transmuting of bread and

wine into the body and blood of the Master Jesus, the average layman

experiences much difficulty in comprehending the process or

accepting the fact of such a seeming miracle.

As the said doctrine is founded on the action of a great natural

law, and Temple members are as deeply concerned in the effects of

that law as any other body of people can possibly be, I will make

some effort to enlighten them regarding the same and its resultant

phenomena. The foundation of all occultism rests upon the principles

of Desire, Motive and Will ; three forms of energy which in action

become Light, Heat and Flame-Father, Mother, Son-Creator,

Destroyer and Preserver.

To understand the higher aspect of any thing or condition, we

must turn our attention to the lower aspect of the same, which for our

present purpose must be the physical body, that being the negative

aspect of the spiritual body . the Son . the Christ-body . the

Preserver. That the physical body may be sustained and preserved, the

inherent principle of desire moves the animal will to action, for the

purpose (Motive) of securing (eating) and assimilating, at regular

appointed times, sufficient food to sustain the body for a definite

period of time. This action of forces has become almost automatic in

man. No sane man thinks he can deprive his body of food and

continue to live. The fact that the soul of man requires nourishment no

less than the body, and also requires it at stated intervals of time, and

in sufficient quantities, is not always recognized or accepted,

consequently in the majority of cases that nourishment is very

inadequately and intermittently supplied, and the result of such neglect

is to a close observer evident in the faces and forms of the people he

meets. With the animal creation it is far otherwise, for unless deprived

of food and drink by hard conditions, the so-called instinct (which

man has lost) leads the animal to an unconscious use of the forces

which correspond to desire, motive and will in man, and the animal

soul is almost automatically fed. In the case of man, if every meal

were prefaced by a consciously expressed desire for soul sustenance,

and while partaking of the food the mind were awakened to a higher

motive than mere animal satisfaction of appetite, and also if a few

moments of silent thanksgiving and appreciation were to conclude the

meal, there would inevitably be the three [TT 146] forms of energy

set in action, which in essence would furnish nourishment, digestion

and assimilation to the soul, and the nourishment furnished the body

would then be blessed and therefore would create the most healthful

conditions, owing to the establishment of a harmonious adjustment of

forces. "Health is harmony."

Remember, it is not the gross food deposited in that wonderful

receptacle, the stomach, that finally enters the blood stream to nourish

and vitalize the body ; that food is disintegrated, churned by the action

of gastric juices until the fiery lives which animate the food are set

free to enter the blood stream, leaving their bodies (waste matter) to

share the fate of all other outer forms and conditions of matter. Each

of the shields of those fiery lives is related to a different plane or state

of matter, some of them so fine in essence as to be under the sway and

dominion of will and mind.

If Desire has aroused the Will to determine that a certain

proportion and degree of the shields of these fiery lives shall nourish

the soul, and Mind has furnished the dynamic force by compelling the

lips to utter the sounds which will propel that essence in a certain

direction, nothing can prevent its taking that definite course. Again,

the same or similar forces are set in action by Desire, Will and Mind

in the thanksgiving which follows the meal, and the process of soul

digestion and assimilation is then complete. Do not forget that the Ego

is first of all responsible for the taking of the food in the interests of

the physical body, and that It is just as deeply concerned in the feeding

of soul. But I do not wish to imply that it is only in this way the soul is

nourished, for truly it is said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but

by every word that proceedeth from the Father" ; every such word is a

Son of God, a living creature, for life alone can sustain life ; and as

there are no dead things, the soul may be nourished by all it contacts,

if it is capable of seeking and finding such nourishment.

Taking the words, "Take no thought what ye shall eat", literally,

instead of figuratively, as they were intended, the average orthodox

believer makes no effort to awaken spiritual Desire, Will and Mind,

before, during and after the taking of food, and consequently furnishes

no food in a methodical cyclic manner to the soul, which must needs

take its nourishment from the crumbs that fall from the rich-the

perfected-man's table. But alas and alas ! even those crumbs are too

heavy for the mental digestion of the unprepared soul, and therefore

that soul is too often compelled to sustain itself with the husks, the

cast away refuse of the selfish, egotistical, self-indulgent, worldly

individual who has thrown away priceless food because he had no

soul to nourish and cared nothing for the souls of others. Ah ! the

infinite [TT 147] pity, the Cosmic woe of it all. The Wheel of the

world is grinding out daily the meal that would nourish, invigorate and

revitalize millions of self-starved human souls, the crushed, half

grown, tortured, tempted, broken-willed souls . that are daily driven

out of incarnation when there is manna in plenty and therefore Life for

all.

If an individual recognizes the necessity for feeding his soul,

determines upon a methodical, periodical way arid time for so doing,

obtains and uses the outer symbols of that food, arouses the energy in

sound by a definite ceremony with words, he is literally laying up

treasure in heaven, helping to create an eternal structure in and

through which the Ego may operate after his outer form has become

dust and ashes.

Certain forms of food and liquid contain more in number and a

better quality or degree of the fiery lives than others ; among these are

wheat, wine and water. They are more easily disintegrated and

assimilated ; therefore the fiery lives are more expeditiously and

thoroughly freed from bondage to coarser forms of matter, and more

readily acted upon by the gastric juices.

What I have said may seem to indicate the degradation of a great

spiritual ideal, but instead of encouraging you to belittle or degrade

one ideal I fain would help you to raise all ideals, as well as to see that

natural law governs both spirit and matter.

No more holy function exists than that of supplying nourishment

to the body ; no more degrading process can be conceived than that of

gorging the stomach for mere appetite's sake.

...

IDEALS OF GOD

LESSON 60

Whatever the status of man, slave or master, boor or exquisite,

every normal human being has some ideal of God, though it be

unrecognized, distorted, misunderstood or derided. We may not be

conscious of that ideal until some admirable quality or characteristic

in ourselves or others suddenly arouses our respect or admiration, in

which case we begin to look for the appearance of the same or others

Of like nature, and eventually we combine all we have noted, and

therewith create the ideal which stands to us as an epitome of Power,

Beauty and Goodness ; and that ideal is our first real consciousness of

God. [TT 148]

From regard and appreciation there is gradually awakened either

fear of, or love for, that ideal God, according to our power and ability

to meet the demands made upon our obedience, or to our longing for

some expression of the love which we feel is self-existent in that ideal.

Other peoples have made their own Gods, which for some reason do

not exactly partake of the nature of our Gods, and if they conflict with

our Ideals, we at once begin to make comparisons, always in

detraction of their Gods and in exaltation of our own. Some of the

attributes of the Gods of the ancients would more fitly have clothed

our ideal devils, and as Fear dominated their religious instincts that

fact is not surprising.

If unable to convince our fellow men of the superiority of our

Gods by fair means and gentle arguments, some among our more

belligerent brethren seem to think they may be able to torture, cheat or

shoot their ideas into the consciousness of their opponents.

Excessive egotism prevents many People from even trying to

understand the ideals of others. They take it for granted that such ideal

Gods must be poor objects, judging from the forms of worship offered

them, and refuse to believe that the superstitions or halting speech of

their worshipers can by any possibility build or represent a great Ideal

of Supreme Power, Strength, Wisdom, that would be worth

consideration ; they utterly ignore the fact that the opportunities of

said worshipers for gaining imaginative or descriptive power may

have been fewer than our more cultivated races have secured, that

were we able to interpret aright their crude representations we would

find a similar ideal to the one we had formed ourselves. It is not

always admiration for, and delight in, the sight and performance of

such awful slaughter and extreme cruelty that we deplore in the

religions of some nations and tribes signifying the demands and

qualities of their Gods. Back of it all may be a great admiration for the

superhuman power, endurance, strength and ability they have credited

to their Gods, and by means of which their enemies may be punished

and their own safety assured. When admiration and worship of the

nobler attributes and qualities are changed into delight in and

performance of wilful cruelty, the devils have stolen the livery of God

and are using it for the benefit of the dark side of life.

If we could accept the fact that every noble, true and good quality,

attribute or object we are capable of perceiving, is in deed and in truth

a part of God, it would assist us in forming a right concept of Divinity.

Some of our fellow men are incapable of forming and holding a

mental ideal which gives them personally any satisfaction, without the

use of a material object ; and beyond all doubt, in the beginning

idolatry [TT 149] was the result of the efforts of more enlightened

men to convey ideas of great cosmic forces in such familiar forms as

would fix the attention of the less enlightened. As man became more

selfish, and the desire to dominate and rule over the less intelligent

masses increased, what was originally a pure desire to teach somewhat

of the action of the cosmic forces, degenerated into desire to rule by

Fear, and so the darker, the negative aspect of Nature was represented

by horrible idols, and the spiritual devotion just awakening in the

ignorant was purposely turned into idolatry ; and worship of the

created thing, instead of the Creator of all things, was established.

In past ages such material objects of worship were concrete forms

which represented such godlike attributes as superhuman power,

ability, strength and courage, and man's great need of help and

sustenance made it an easy task for the priests and rulers to play upon

the fears, and thereby enrich themselves by the superstitions

engendered by them in the minds of the ignorant masses. The sale of

such representations alone must have brought immense sums into the

hands of the Church and State, and so, what was once an aid to prayer

and concentration bas been prostituted to the service of the dark side

of life.

The main point now under consideration is, that notwithstanding

this great degradation of spiritual ideals, the fact remains that the Gods

of these long-forgotten races and the Gods of modern times are in

reality one and the same God, and their name is Love. ; for even in the

grossest forms of idolatry it was love of or for some phase of what

was recognized as Divinity, which originally attracted the embryonic

souls of those masses.

Many intelligent and educated people of modern times find it

necessary to resort to some material object in order to fix their

wandering attention on interior things. The Romish church, as well as

some others, has recognized and provided for this need, and

notwithstanding the fact that gross advantage has been taken of this

need by the priests in many instances, the images of saints, virgins,

martyrs, Agnus Deis, answer a wise purpose, for they not only serve

as an aid to imagination, but also furnish a fixed point for

concentration and prayer, and are all representations of some desirable

attribute or quality, or of some superhuman entity who serves as an

example. Unfortunately, the real object of such material representation

is only too frequently lost sight of, a-id the created thing is identified

with the Creator.

The most hopeful and encouraging fact we can point to for the

help and satisfaction of all the world is, that notwithstanding all the

mistaken ideas, wilful perversions of truth, deliberate misuse of

knowledge, [TT 150] Love must ultimately identify itself with Love ;

and love for the beautiful, the true and the powerful is love of God .

the very substance of God ; and according to the strength and measure

of our love shall we become identified with God, whether the object

of our love be our fellow men, an aspect of nature, or a material thing.

Jesus said, "If ye love not your brother whom ye have seen, how

can ye love God whom ye have not seen ?" If we cannot perceive and

love the godlike attributes in our brother men, how can we

comprehend and identify ourselves with an individualized part of that

Godhead, such as we believe our Higher Self . the Holy Spirit . to

be ?