Filename: RC1018.TXT Source: +quot;Gleanings of a Mystic+quot; by Max Heindel [PAGE 550] A

Filename: RC1018.TXT
Source: "Gleanings of a Mystic" by Max Heindel

[PAGE 550]

                             A LIVING SACRIFICE:

    Volumes, or rather libraries, have been written to explain the nature of
God,  but  it is probably a universal experience that the more  we  read  of
other people's explanations,  the less we understand.  There is one descrip-
tion, given by the inspired apostle John when he wrote "GOD IS LIGHT," which
is  as  illuminating as the others are befogging to the  mind.   Anyone  who
takes this passage for meditation occasionally will find a rich reward wait-
ing,  for no matter how many times we take up this subject, our own develop-
ment  in the passing years assures us each time a fuller and  better  under-
standing.   Each  time we sink ourselves in these three words we lave  in  a
spiritual fountain of inexhaustible depth, and each succeeding time we sound
more  thoroughly  the divine depths and draw more closely to our  Father  in
heaven.

   To get in touch with our subject, let us go back in time to get our bear-
ing and the direction of our future line of progress.

[PAGE 551]

   The  first  time  our consciousness was directed towards  the  Light  was
shortly  after  we had become endowed with mind and had  entered  definitely
upon our evolution as human beings in Atlantis,  the land of the mist,  deep
down in the basins of the earth,  where the warm mist emitted from the cool-
ing earth hung like a dense fog over the land.   Then the starry heights  of
the universe were never seen,  nor could the silvery light of the moon  pen-
etrate the dense, foggy atmosphere which hung over that ancient land.   Even
the fiery splendor of the sun was almost totally extinguished,  for when  we
look in the Memory of Nature pertaining to that time,  it appears very  much
as an arc lamp on a high pole looks to us when it is foggy.   It was exceed-
ingly dim, and had an aura of various colors, very similar to those which we
observe around an arc light.

   But this light had a fascination.  The ancient Atlanteans were taught  by
the divine Hierarchs who walked among them, to aspire to the light,  and  as
the  spiritual sight was then already on the wane (even the  messengers,  or
Elohim,  being perceived with difficulty by the majority),  they aspired all
the  more ardently to the new light, for they feared the darkness  of  which
they had become conscious through the gift of mind.

   Then  came the inevitable flood when the mist cooled and condensed.   The
atmosphere  cleared,  and  the  "CHOSEN  PEOPLE"  were saved.  Those who had

[PAGE 552]

worked within themselves and learned to build the necessary organs  required
to breathe in an atmosphere such as we have today,  survived and came to the
light.   It was not an arbitrary choice; THE WORK OF THE PAST  CONSISTED  OF
BODY  BUILDING.   Those who had only gill clefts,  such as the foetus  still
uses  in its prenatal development,  were unfit physiologically to enter  the
new era as the foetus would be to be born were it to neglect to build lungs.
It would die as those ancient people died when the rare atmosphere made gill
clefts useless.

   Since  the day when we came out of ancient Atlantis our bodies have  been
practically complete,  that is to say, no new vehicles are to be added;  but
from  that  time  and from now on THOSE WHO WISH TO FOLLOW  THE  LIGHT  MUST
STRIVE FOR SOUL GROWTH.  The bodies which we have crystallized about us must
be dissolved,  and the quintessence of experience extracted, which as "soul"
may  be  amalgamated  with the spirit to nourish if from  impotence  to  om-
nipotence.  Therefore, the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was given to the an-
cients, and THE LIGHT OF GOD DESCENDED UPON THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE.  This is
of great significance:  The ego had just descended into its tabernacle,  the
body.   We all know the tendency of the primitive instinct towards  selfish-
ness,  and if we have studied the higher ethics we also know how  subversive
of good the indulgence of the egotistic tendency is; therefore,  God immedi-
ately placed before mankind the Divine Light upon the Altar of Sacrifice.

[PAGE 553]

   Upon  this altar they were forced by dire necessity to offer their  cher-
ished possessions for every transgression,  God appearing to them as a  hard
taskmaster whose displeasure it was dangerous to incur.  But still the Light
drew them.   They knew then that it was futile to attempt to escape from the
hand of God.   They had never heard the words of John, "God is Light,"   but
they  had already learned from the heavens in a measure the meaning  of  in-
finitude,  as  measured by the realm of light,  for we hear  David  exclaim:
"Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?  or whither shall I flee from thy pres-
ence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell,
thou art there.   If I take the wings of the morning,  and dwell in the  ut-
termost  part of the sea,  even there shall thy hand lead me and  thy  might
hand shall hold me.  If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me,  even the
night shall be light about me.  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee,  but
the night shineth as the day,  for the darkness and the light are both alike
to thee."

   With  every  year that passes,  with the aid of the  greatest  telescopes
which the ingenuity and mechanical skill of man have been able to  construct
to pierce the depths of space,  it becomes more evident that the  infinitude
of  light teaches us the infinitude of God.   When we hear that  "men  loved
darkness  rather  than  Light because their deed were evil," that also rings

[PAGE 554]

true to what we unfortunately know as present day facts,  and illumines  the
nature of God for us;  for is it not true that we always feel endangered  in
the dark, but that the light gives us a sense of safety which is akin to the
feeling of a child who feels the protecting hand of its father?

   To  render  permanent this condition of being in the Light was  the  next
step in God's work with us, which culminated in the birth of Christ,  who as
the bodily presence of the Father, bore about in Himself that Light, for the
Light came into the world that whosoever should believe in Christ should not
perish,  but have everlasting life.  He said, "I am the Light of the World."
The  altar in the Tabernacle had illustrated the principle of  sacrifice  as
the medium of regeneration,  so Christ said to His disciples:  Greater  love
hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  Ye are my
friends.  And forthwith He commenced a sacrifice, which, contrary to the ac-
cepted orthodox opinion was not consummated in a few hours of physical  suf-
fering  upon a material cross,  but is as perpetual as were  the  sacrifices
made upon the altar of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness,  for it entails  an
annual  descent  into the earth and an endurance of all  that  the  cramping
earth conditions must mean to such a great spirit.

   This must continue till a sufficient number have evolved who can bear the
burden of this dense lump  of  DARKNESS  which  we call the earth, and which

[PAGE 555]

hangs  as a millstone about the neck of humanity,  an impediment to  further
spiritual growth.   Until we learn to follow "in His steps,"  we can rise no
higher towards the Light.

   It is related that when Leonardo da Vinci had completed his famous paint-
ing "The Last Supper,"  he asked a friend to look at it and tell him what he
thought of it.

   The friend looked at it critically for a few minutes and then said:

   "I  think you have made a mistake in painting the goblets from which  the
apostles  drink so ornamental and to resemble gold.   People in their  posi-
tions would not drink from such expensive vessels."

   Da Vinci then drew his brush through the entire set of vessels which  had
drawn  the  criticism  of his friend,  but he was heartbroken,  for  he  had
painted  that picture with his soul rather than with his hands,  and he  had
prayed over it that it might speak a message to the world.   He had put  all
the  greatness  of his art and the whole-hearted devotion of his  soul  into
that effort to paint a Christ who should speak the word that would lead  men
to emulate His deeds.

   Can you see Him as He sits there at that festive board, THE EMBODIMENT OF
LIGHT,  and speaks those wonderful, mystic words:  THIS IS MY BODY,  THIS IS
MY BLOOD, GIVEN FOR YOU--a living sacrifice.

[PAGE 556]

   In  the  past period of our spiritual career we have been looking  for  a
Light EXTERIOR to ourselves,  but now we have arrived at the point where  we
must look for the Christ light within and emulate Him by making of ourselves
"living sacrifices" as He is doing.  Let us remember that when the sacrifice
which  lies before our door seems pleasant and to our liking,  when we  seem
able to pick and choose our work in His vineyard and do what pleases us,  we
are  not making a real sacrifice as He did,  nor are we when we are seen  of
men and applauded for our benevolence.   But when we are ready to follow Him
from that festive board where He was the honored one among friends, into the
garden of Gethsemane WHERE HE WAS ALONE and wrestled with the great  problem
before Him while His friends slept, then are we making a living sacrifice.

   When  we  are  content  to  follow  "in  His  steps"  to  that  point  of
self-sacrifice  where we can say from the bottom of our hearts,  "THY  WILL,
NOT MINE," then we have surely THE LIGHT WITHIN, and there will never hence-
forth be for us that which we feel as darkness.  WE SHALL WALK IN THE LIGHT.

   This is our glorious privilege,  and the meditation upon the words of the
apostle,  "God is Light," will help us to realize this ideal provided we add
to  our faith,  WORKS,  and say by our deeds as did the Christ of da  Vinci,
"THIS IS MY BODY AND THIS IS MY BLOOD," a living sacrifice upon the altar of
humanity.

[PAGE 557]

                           MAGIC, WHITE AND BLACK:

   From  time  to  time  as  occasion  requires  we  warn  students  of  the
Rosicrucian  Fellowship  in  our private individual letters  not  to  attend
spirit seances,  hypnotic demonstrations,  or places where incense is burned
by dabblers in occultism.   Black Magic is practiced by both consciously and
unconsciously to an extent that is almost unbelievable.   "Malicious  animal
magnetism,"  which is only another name for the Black Force,  is responsible
for more failures in business, loss of health, and unhappiness in homes than
most  people are aware of.   Even the perpetrators of such outrages are,  as
said, often unconscious of what harm they have done.  Therefore it seems ex-
pedient to devote a chapter to an explanation of some of the laws of  magic,
which are the same for the white as for the black.  There is only one force,
but it may be used for good or evil;  and according to the motive behind  it
and the use that is made of it, it becomes either black or white.

   It is a scientific axiom that "EX NIHIL, NIHIL FIT" (out of nothing noth-
ing comes).  There must be a seed before there  can  be  a flower, but where

[PAGE 558]

the  first seed came from is something which science has failed to  explain.
The occultist knows that all things have come from ARCHE,  the infinite  es-
sence of chaos,  used by God,  the Grand Architect,  for the building of our
universe; and , given the nucleus of anything, the accomplished magician can
draw upon the same essence for a further supply.  Christ, for instance,  had
some loaves and some fishes;  by means of that nucleus He drew upon the pri-
mordial  essence of chaos for the rest needed in performing the  miracle  of
feeding a multitude.   A human magician whose power is not so high can  more
easily  draw upon things which have already materialized out of  chaos.   He
may take flowers or fruit belonging to some one else,  miles or hundreds  of
miles away, disintegrate them into their atomic constituents, transport them
through  the air,  and cause them to assume their regular physical shape  in
the the room where he is entertaining friends in order to amaze them.   Such
magic  is GREY at best,  even if he sends sufficient of his coin to pay  for
what he has taken away;  if he does not,  it is Black Magic to thus rob  an-
other of his goods.  Magic to be white must always be used unselfishly,  and
in  addition,  for a noble purpose--to save a fellow being  suffering.   The
Christ,  when He fed the multitude from chaos,  gave as His reason that they
had been with Him for several days and if they had to journey  back to their

[PAGE 559]

homes without physical food they would faint by the wayside and suffer  pri-
vation.

   God is the Grand Architect of the Universe and the Initiates of the White
Schools  are  also arche-tektons,  builders from the primordial  essence  in
their  beneficent  work  for humanity.  These Invisible  Helpers  require  a
nucleus  from  the  patient's  vital body, which  is,  as  students  of  the
Rosicrucian  Fellowship know,  given to them in the effluvia from the  hand,
which impregnates the paper when the patient makes application for help  and
healing. With this nucleus of the patient's vital body they are able to draw
upon  virgin matter for whatever they need to restore health by building  up
and strengthening the organism.

   The Black Magicians are despoilers, actuated by hatred and malice.   They
also  need a nucleus for their nefarious operations,  and this  they  obtain
most easily from the vital body as spiritualistic or hypnotic seances, where
the sitters relax, put themselves into a negative frame of mind,  drop their
jaws,  and sink their individualities by other distinctly mediumistic  prac-
tices.   Even  people who do not frequent such places are  not  immune,  for
there are certain products of the vital body which are ignorantly  scattered
by all and which may be used effectively by the Black Magicians.   Chief  in
this  category are the hair and fingernails.   The Negroes in  their  voodoo
magic  use the placenta for similar evil purposes.   One  particularly  evil
man, whose practices were exposed a decade ago, obtained from boys the vital

[PAGE 560]

fluid  which he used for his demoniac acts.   Even so innocent a thing as  a
glass of water placed in close proximity to certain parts of the body of the
prospective victim,  while the Black Magician converses with him can be made
to absorb a part of the victim's vital body.  This will give the Black Magi-
cian  the  requisite  nucleus,  or it may be obtained from a  piece  of  the
person's clothing.   The same invisible emanation contained in the  garment,
which  guides the bloodhound upon the track of a certain person,  will  also
guide the Magician,  white or black, to the abode of that person and furnish
the Magician with a key to the person's system whereby the former by help or
hurt according to his inclination.

   But  there  are methods of protecting oneself from  inimical  influences,
which we shall mention in the latter part of this chapter.   We have debated
much  whether it were wise or not to call to call the attention of  students
to these facts, and have come to the conclusion that it does not help anyone
to imitate the ostrich which sticks its head into a hole in the sand at  the
approach of danger.   It is better to be enlightened concerning things  that
threaten so that we may take whatever precautions are necessary to meet  the
emergency.   The battle between the good and the evil forces is being  waged
with  an intensity that no one not engaged in the actual combat can  compre-
hend.  The Elder Brothers of the Rosicrucians and kindred  orders  which, we

[PAGE 561]

may say,  in their totality represent the Holy Grail,  live on the love  and
essence  of the unselfish service which they gather and garner as  the  bees
gather honey,  from all who are striving to live the life.  This they add to
the lustre of the Holy Grail, which in turn grows more lustrous and radiates
a  stronger  influence upon all who are spiritually inclined,  imbuing  them
with greater ardor,  zeal and zest in the good work and in fighting the good
fight.  Similarly the evil forces of the Black Grail thrive on hate, treach-
ery,  cruelty,  and every demoniac deed on the calendar of crime.   Both the
Black  and  White Grail forces require a pabulum,  the one of good  and  the
other of evil,  for the continuance of their existence and for the power  to
fight.   Unless they get it, they starve and grow weaker.  Hence the relent-
less struggle that is going on between them.

   Every midnight the Elder Brothers at their service open their breasts  to
attract  the  darts of hate,  envy,  malice,  and every evil that  has  been
launched during the past twenty-four hours.  First,  in order that they  may
deprive the Black Grail forces of their food;  and secondly,  that they  may
transmute the evil to good.  Then, as the plants gather the inert carbon di-
oxide exhaled by mankind and build their bodies therefrom,  so the  Brothers
of  the Holy Grail transmute the evil within the temple;  and as the  plants
send  out  the  renovated oxygen so necessary to human life,  so  the  Elder
Brothers  return  to  mankind  the  transmuted  essence of evil as qualms of

[PAGE 562]

conscience  along with the good in order that the world may grow better  day
by day.

   The Black Brothers, instead of transmuting the evil, infuse a greater dy-
namic  energy into it and speed it on its mission in vain endeavors to  con-
quer the powers of good.   They use for their purposes elementals and  other
discarnate entities which,  being themselves of a low order,  are  available
for such vile practices as required.  In the ages when men burned animal oil
or  candles made from tallow of animals,  elementals swarmed around them  as
devils or demons,  seeking to obsess whoever would offer an occasion.   Even
wax tapers offer food for these entities,  but the modern paraffin  candles,
are  uncongenial to them.   They still flock around our  saloons,  slaughter
houses,  and  similar  places  where  there  are  passionate  animals,   and
animal-like men.   They also delight in places where incense is burned,  for
that offers them an avenue of access, and when the sitters at seances inhale
the odor of the incense they inhale elemental spirits with it,  which affect
them according to their characters.

   This is where the protection we spoke about before may be used.   When we
live  lives of purity,  when our days are filled with service to God and  to
our fellow men, and with thoughts and actions of the highest nobility,  then
we create for ourselves the GOLDEN WEDDING GARMENT, which is a radiant force
for good.  No evil is able to penetrate this armor for the evil then acts as

[PAGE 563]

a boomerang and recoils on the one who sent it,  bringing to him the evil he
wished us.

   But alas,  none of us are altogether good.  We know only too well the war
between  the flesh and the spirit.   We cannot hide from ourselves the  fact
that like Paul,  "the good that we would do, we do not, and the evil that we
would shun,  that we do."  Far too often our good resolutions come to naught
and we do wrong because it is easier.   Therefore we all have the nucleus of
evil within ourselves,  which affords the open sesame for the evil forces to
work  upon.   For that reason it is best for us not unnecessarily to  expose
ourselves  at places where seanes are held with spirits invisible to us,  no
matter  how fine their teachings may sound to the unsophisticated.   Neither
should we take part even as spectators at hypnotic demonstrations, for there
also  a  negative attitude lays one liable to the danger of  obsession.   We
should at all times follow the advice of Paul and put on the whole armor  of
God.   We should be positive in our fight for the good against the evil  and
never let an occasion slip to aid the Elder Brothers by word or deed in  the
Great War for spiritual supremacy.

[PAGE 564]

                          OUR INVISIBLE GOVERNMENT:

   It is well known to students of the Rosicrucian Philosophy that each spe-
cies of animals is dominated by a group spirit,  which is their guardian and
looks after these, its wards, with a view to bringing them along the path of
evolution that is best suited to their development;  it does not matter what
the  geographical position of these animals is;  the lion in the jungles  of
Africa is dominated by the same group spirit as is the lion in the cage of a
menagerie in our northern countries.   Therefore these animals are alike  in
all their principal characteristics;  they have the same likes and  dislikes
with  respect  to diet,  and they act in an almost  identical  manner  under
similar  circumstances.   If one wants to study the tribes of lions  or  the
tribe of tigers,  all that is necessary is to study one individual,  for  it
has neither choice nor prerogative,  but acts entirely according to the dic-
tates of the group spirit.   The mineral cannot choose whether it will crys-
tallize or not;  the rose is bound to bloom;  the lion is compelled to prey;
and in each case the activity is dictated entirely by the group spirit.

[PAGE 565]

   But man is different;  when we want to study him we find that each  indi-
vidual  is as a species by himself.  What one does under any  given  circum-
stances is no indication of what another may do;  "one man's meat is another
man's poison";  each has different likes and dislikes.   This is because man
as  we  see  him in the physical world is the expression  of  an  individual
indwelling spirit, seemingly having choice and prerogative.

   But  as a matter of fact man is not quite as free as he seems;  all  stu-
dents of human nature have observed that on certain occasions a large number
of  people will act as though dominated by one spirit.   It is also easy  to
see  without recourse to occultism that the different nations  have  certain
physical characteristics.  We all know the German, French, English, Italian,
and Spanish types.   Each of these nations has characteristics which  differ
from those of the other nations,  thus indicating that there must be a  RACE
SPIRIT at the root of these peculiarities.  The occultist who is gifted with
spiritual sight knows that such is the case, and that each nation has a dif-
ferent  race spirit which broods as a cloud over the whole country.   In  it
the people live and move and having their being; it is their guardian and is
constantly working for their development, building up their civilization and
fostering  ideals of the highest nature compatible with their  capacity  for
progress.

[PAGE 566]

   In the Bible we read the JEHOVAH, ELOHIM,  who was the race spirit of the
Jews, went before them in a pillar and a cloud, and in the Book of Daniel we
gain considerable insight into the workings of these race spirits.   The im-
age  seen  by Nebuchadnezzar with its head of gold and feet of  clay  showed
plainly how a civilization built up in the beginning with golden ideals  de-
generated  more and more until in the latter part of its existence the  feet
were of unstable, crumbling clay, and the image was doomed to topple.   Thus
all civilizations when started by the different race spirits have great  and
golden  ideals,  but humanity by reason of having some free will and  choice
does  not follow implicitly the dictates of the race spirits as the  animals
follow the commands of the group spirits.  Hence in the course of time a na-
tion ceases to rise, and as there can be no standing still in the cosmos, it
begins to degenerate until finally the feet are of clay and it is  necessary
to strike a blow to shatter it, THAT ANOTHER CIVILIZATION MAY BE BUILT UP ON
ITS RUINS.

   But empires do not fall without a strong physical blow,  and therefore an
instrument  of the race spirit of a nation is always raised up at  the  time
when  that nation is doomed to fall.  In the tenth and eleventh chapters  of
Daniel we are given an insight into the workings of the invisible government
of the race spirits, the powers behind the throne.  Daniel is much disturbed
in spirit;  he fasts,  for fully THREE WEEKS, praying for light,  and at the
end  of  that  time  an  arch-angel,  a  race spirit, appears before him and

[PAGE 567]

addresses him: "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set
thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God,  thy words
were heard,  and I am come for thy words.   But the prince of the kingdom of
Persia withstood me ONE AND TWENTY DAYS, but lo,  Michael,  one of the chief
princes,  came to help me;  and I remained there with the king  of  Persia."
After he explains to Daniel what is to happen, he says: "Knowest thou where-
fore  I came unto thee?   AND NOW WILL I RETURN TO FIGHT WITH THE PRINCE  OF
PERSIA:  AND WHEN I AM GONE FORTH, LO, THE PRINCE OF GRECIA SHALL COME,  and
there  is  none  that holdeth with me in these  things,  but  Michael,  your
prince."   The archangel also says:  "In the first year of Darius the  Mede,
even I stood to confirm and to strengthen him."

   So when the handwriting is on the wall, some one is raised up to adminis-
ter the blow;  it may be a Cyrus, a Darius, an Alexander, a Caesar,  a Napo-
leon, or a kaiser.  Such a one may think himself a prime mover, a free indi-
vidual acting by his own choice and prerogative,  but as a matter of fact he
is only the instrument of the invisible government of the world,  the  power
behind  thrones,  the race spirits,  who see the necessity  of  breaking  up
civilizations that have outlived their usefulness,  so that humanity may get
a  new  start  and evolve under a new and a higher  ideal  than  that  which
ensouled it before.

[PAGE 568]

   Christ himself when upon earth,  said: "I came not to bring peace,  but a
sword,"  for it was evident to Him that as long as humanity was divided into
races  and  nations there could be no "peace on earth and  good  will  among
men."   Only when the nations have become united in a universal  brotherhood
is peace possible.  The barriers of nationalism must be done away with,  and
to  this end the United States of America has been made a melting pot  where
all  that is best in the old nations is being brought together and  amalgam-
ated, so that A NEW RACE WITH HIGHER IDEALS AND FEELINGS OF UNIVERSAL BROTH-
ERHOOD  MAY BE BORN FOR THE AQUARIAN AGE.   In the meantime the barriers  of
nationalism  have been partially broken down in Europe by the terrible  con-
flict just past.   This brings nearer the day of universal amity and the re-
alization of the Brotherhood of Man.

   There is also another object to be gained.   Of all the terrors to  which
mankind is subjected,  there is none so great as DEATH,  which separates  us
from  those  we  love,  because we are unable to see them  after  they  have
stepped  out  of their bodies.   But just as surely as the day  follows  the
night,  so will every teardrop wear away some of the scale that  now  blinds
the eyes of man to the unseen land of the living dead.  We have said repeat-
edly and we now reaffirm that one of the greatest blessings which will  come
from the war will be the spiritual sight which a great number of people will
evolve.  The intense sorrow of millions of  people, the longing to see again

[PAGE 569]

the dear ones who have so suddenly and ruthlessly been torn from us,  are  a
force  of  incalculable strength and power.   Likewise those who  have  been
snatched  by  death in the prime of life and who are now  in  the  invisible
world  are equally intense in their desires to reunite with those  near  and
dear to them,  so that they may speak the word of comfort and assure them of
their well being.  Thus it may be said that two great armies comprising mil-
lions upon millions are tunneling with frantic energy and intensity of  pur-
pose through the wall that separates the invisible from the visible.  Day by
day this wall or veil is growing thinner, and sooner or later the living and
the  living dead will meet in the middle of the tunnel.   Before we  realize
it,  communication will have been established, and we shall find it a common
experience that when our loved ones step out of their worn and sick  bodies,
we  shall feel neither sorrow nor loss because we shall be able to see  them
in their ethereal bodies, moving among us as they used to do.  So out of the
great  conflict we shall come as victors over death and be able to  say:  "O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

[PAGE 570]

                   PRACTICAL PRECEPTS FOR PRACTICAL PEOPLE:

   "If  I were to do business on the principles laid down in the  Sermon  on
the  Mount I would be down and out in less than a year,"  said a critic  re-
cently.  "Why, the Bible is utterly impracticable under our present economic
conditions; it is impossible to live according to it."

   If that is true there is a good reason for the unbelief of the world, but
in  a court the accused is always allowed a fair trial,  and let us  examine
the Bible thoroughly before we judge.  What are the specific charges?  "Why,
they are countless," answered the critic, "but to mention only a few, let us
take such passages as,  'Blessed are the poor in spirit,  for theirs is  the
Kingdom of Heaven;' 'Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth;'
'Take no thought for the morrow,  what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink.'
Such ideas point the way to the poorhouse."

   "Very  well,"  says the apologist,  "let us take the last  charge  first.
King James' version says: `No man can serve  two  masters.  Ye  cannot serve

[PAGE 571]

God  and mammon,  therefore I say unto you,  take no thought for your  life,
what  ye  shall eat or what ye shall drink,  nor yet for your body  what  ye
shall  put on.   Is not the life more than food and the body  than  raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air:  they sow not,  neither do they reap nor gather
into barns;  yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.   Are ye not much better
than they?   Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stat-
ure?   And  why take ye thought for raiment?   Consider the  lilies  of  the
field,  how they grow:  they toil not, neither do they spin.   And yet I say
unto  you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one  of  these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grasses of the field, which today is and to-
morrow  is cast into the oven,  shall He not much more clothe you,  O ye  of
little faith?  Therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat? or, What
shall we drink?  or,  Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  for after all  these
things do the Gentiles seek;  your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need
of  all these things.   But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and  His  righ-
teousness and all these things shall be added unto you.'"

   If  this  is intended to mean that we should wastefully squander  all  we
have in prodigal or riotous living,  then it is of course not only impracti-
cal but demoralizing.   Such an interpretation is,  however,  out of keeping
with the tenor and teaching of the whole Book, and it does not say so.   The
Greek word MERIMNON means being overly careful or anxious,  and  if  we read

[PAGE 572]

the  passage with this alteration we shall find that it teaches a  different
lesson which is entirely practical.   Mammon is the Syriac word for  riches,
desired by foolish people.   In the preceding paragraph Christ exhorted them
not  to become servants or slaves to riches,  which they must  leave  behind
when  the  silver  cord is broken and the spirit returns to  God,  but  seek
rather to live lives of love and service and lay up treasures of good deeds,
which  they might take with them into the Kingdom of Heaven.   In the  mean-
time,  He exhorted,  be not overly anxious regarding what you shall eat  and
drink and clothe yourself with.  Why worry?  You cannot add a hairbreadth to
your height or a hair to your head by worrying.   Worry is the most wasteful
and depleting of all our emotions, and it does no good whatever.  Your heav-
enly Father knows you need material things, therefore seek first His kingdom
and righteousness and all else needed will be added.   On at least two occa-
sions when multitudes came to Christ in places far from their homes and dis-
tant from towns where refreshment was obtainable,  He demonstrated this;  He
gave them first the spiritual food they sought and then ministered to  their
bodily needs direct from a spiritual source of supply.

   Does  it work out in these modern days?   Surely there have been so  many
demonstrations  of this that it is not at all necessary to recount any  spe-
cial one.  When we work and pray, pray and work, and make our lives a living

[PAGE 573]

prayer for opportunities to serve others, then all earthly things will  come
of  their own accord as we need them,  and they will keep coming  in  larger
measure  according  to the degree to which they are used in the  service  of
God.   If  we regard ourselves only as stewards and custodians  of  whatever
earthly goods we possess, then we are really "POOR IN SPIRIT"  so far as the
evanescent  earthly treasures are concerned,  but rich in the  more  lasting
treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven;  and if we are not out and out material-
ists, surely this is a practical attitude.

   It is not so long ago that "CAVEAT EMPTOR,"  "Let the buyer beware,"  was
the slogan of the merchants who sought after earthly treasures and  regarded
the buyer as their legitimate prey.   When they had sold their wares and re-
ceived the money,  it did not matter to them whether the buyer was satisfied
or  not.   They even prided themselves on selling an inferior article  which
would soon wear out, as evident in the short-sighted motto, "The weakness of
the  goods  is the strength of the trade."   But gradually even  people  who
would  scorn the idea of introducing religion into their business  are  dis-
carding  this CAVEAT EMPTOR as a motto,  and are unconsciously adopting  the
precept of Christ,  "HE THAT WOULD BE THE GREATEST AMONG YOU, LET HIM BE THE
SERVANT  OF ALL."   Everywhere the best business men are insistent in  their
claim  to  patronage  on  the  ground of the service they give to the buyer,

[PAGE 574]

because it is a policy that pays, and may therefore be classed as another of
the practical precepts of the Bible.

   But  it  sometimes happens that in spite of their desire to  serve  their
customers,  something goes wrong and an angry,  dissatisfied customer  comes
blustering in,  decrying their goods.   Under the old shortsighted regime of
CAVEAT EMPTOR the merchant would have merely laughed or thrown the buyer out
of the door.  Not so the modern merchant, who takes his Bible into business.
He remembers the wisdom of Solomon that "a soft answer turneth away  wrath,"
and the assertion of Christ that "THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH,"  so  he
apologizes  for the fault in the goods,  offers restitution,  and sends  the
erstwhile  dissatisfied customer away smiling and eager to sing the  praises
of  the concern that treats him no nicely.   Thus by obeying  the  practical
precepts  of the Bible,  keeping his temper in meekness,  the  business  man
gains additional customers who come to him in full faith of fair  treatment,
and  the  added profit in sales made to them soon overbalances the  loss  on
goods which may have caused the dissatisfaction of other customers.

   It pays dividends in dollars and cents to keep one's temper and be  meek;
it  pays greater dividends from the moral and spiritual  standpoints.   What
better business motto can be found than in Ecclesiastes:  "Wisdom is  better
than weapons of war.  Be  not  rash in thy mouth, be not hasty in thy speech

[PAGE 575]

to be angry,  for anger reseth in the bosom of fools."   Tact and  diplomacy
are always better than force;  as the Good Book says:  "If the iron be blunt
we must use more strength, but wisdom is profitable to direct."  The line of
least  resistance,  so long as it is clean and honorable,  is  always  best.
Therefore,  "LOVE YOUR ENEMIES,  DO GOOD TO THEM THAT DESPITEFULLY USE YOU."
It  is  good practical business policy to try to reconcile those who  do  us
harm lest they do more;  and it is better for us to get over our ill feeling
than to nurse it,  for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap,  and
if  we sow spite and meanness,  we breed and beget in others the same  feel-
ings.   Furthermore,  all these things will apply in private life and in so-
cial intercourse just as in ordinary business.   How many quarrels could  be
avoided if we cultivated the virtue of meekness in our homes; how much plea-
sure would be gained; how much happiness would come into our lives if in so-
cial  and business relations we learned to DO UNTO OTHERS AS WE  WOULD  THAT
THEY SHOULD DO UNTO US!

   There is no need for the great mental strain that so many of us are work-
ing under concerning what we shall eat and what we shall drink.   Our Father
in Heaven does own the earth and the fullness thereof; the cattle on a thou-
sand hills are His.  If we learn truly to cast our cares upon Him,  there is
no doubt that the way out of our difficulties will be provided.

[PAGE 576]

   It is a fact,  acknowledged by all authorities who have investigated  the
subject, that comparatively few people die from lack of necessities of life,
but a great many die because of overindulgence of the appetites.   It is the
practical  experience  of the writer and numerous others that if we  do  our
work day by day as it appears before us,  faithfully and to the best of  our
ability,  the wherewithal for the morrow will always be provided.   If we go
according to the instruction of the Bible, doing all "as unto the Lord,"  it
does not matter what line of honest work we follow;  we are then at the same
time seeking the Kingdom of God.   But if we are only time servers,  working
for  fear  or favor,  we cannot expect to succeed in the long  run;  health,
wealth,  and  happiness may attend us for a little while,  but  outside  the
solid  foundation  of the Bible there can be no lasting joy in life  and  no
real prosperity in business.

[PAGE 577]

                       SOUND, SILENCE, AND SOUL GROWTH:

   Sincere students of the Science of the Soul are naturally anxious to grow
in  grace  that  they may serve so much better in the Great  Work  of  Human
Upliftment.   Being humble and modest they are only too painfully  aware  of
their  shortcomings,  and frequently while casting about for  means  to  fa-
cilitate progress they ask themselves, "WHAT HINDERS?"   Some,  particularly
in  bygone ages when life was lived less intensely than now,  realized  that
the everyday life among ordinary humanity had many drawbacks.   To  overcome
these  and further their soul growth they withdrew from the community  to  a
monastery  or to the mountains where they could give themselves over to  the
spiritual life undisturbed.

   We know,  however,  that that is not the way.  It is too well established
in the minds of most of our students that if we run away from an  experience
today,  it will confront us again tomorrow,  and that the victor's  palm  is
earned by overcoming the world,  not by running away from it.   The environ-
ment in which we have been placed by the Recording Angels was our own choice

[PAGE 578]

when we were at the turning point of our life cycle in the Third Heaven,  we
then  being pure spirit unblinded by the matter which now veils our  vision.
Hence  it  is undoubtedly the one that holds lessons needed by  us,  and  we
should make a serious mistake if we tried to escape from it altogether.

   But  we  have  received a mind for a definite  purpose--to  reason  about
things  and conditions so that we may learn to discriminate  between  essen-
tials and non-essentials,  between that which is designed to hinder for  the
purpose of teaching us a virtue by overcoming it,  and that which is an  out
and out hindrance,  which jars our sensibilities and wrecks our nerves with-
out any compensating spiritual gain.   It will be of the greatest benefit if
we can learn to differentiate for the conservation of our strength,  accept-
ing only that which we must endure for the sake of our spiritual well-being.
We  shall then save much energy and having much more zest in profitable  di-
rections than now.  The details of that problem are different in every life;
however,  there are certain general principles which it will benefit us  all
to  understand and apply to our lives,  and among them is the effect of  si-
lence and sound on soul growth.

   At  first blush it may surprise us when the statement is made that  sound
and silence are very important factors in soul growth,  but when we  examine
the matter we shall soon see  that it is not a far-fetched notion.  Consider

[PAGE 579]

first the graphic expression, "War is hell," and then call up in imagination
a war scene.   The sight is appalling, even more so to those who see it with
the  undimmed  spiritual vision than to those who are  limited  to  physical
sight,  for the latter can at least shut their eyes to it if they  want  to,
but the whole horror lies heavily upon the heart of the Invisible Helper who
not  only hears and sees but FEELS in his own being the anguish and pain  of
all  the  surrounding suffering as Parsifal felt in his heart the  wound  of
Amfortas,  the stricken Grail king; in fact, without that intensely intimate
feeling  of  oneness with the suffering there could be no  healing  or  help
given.   But there is one thing which no one can escape,  the terrible noise
of the shells, the deafening roar of the cannon, the vicious spitting of the
machine  guns,  the groans of the wounded, and the oaths of a certain  class
among the participants.  We shall need no further arguement to agree that it
is  really a "hellish noise"  and as subversive of soul growth as  possible.
The battle field is the last place anyone with a sane mind would choose  for
the  purpose of soul growth,  though it is not to be forgotten that much  of
this has been made by noble deeds of self-sacrifice there;  but such results
have been achieved IN SPITE of the condition and not because of it.

   On  the other hand,  consider a church filled with the noble strain of  a
Gregorian chant or a Handel oratorio  upon which the prayers of the aspiring

[PAGE 580]

soul  wing their way to the Author of our Being.   That music may surely  be
termed "HEAVENLY"  and the church designated as offering an ideal  condition
for  soul growth,  but if we stayed there permanently to the neglect of  our
duties we should be failures in spite of the ideal condition.

   There remains, therefore, only one safe method for us, namely, to stay in
the din of the battle field of the world, endeavoring to wrest from even the
most  unpromising conditions the material of soul growth by  unselfish  ser-
vice,  and at the same time TO BUILD WITHIN OUR OWN INNER SELVES A SANCTUARY
filled  with  that silent music which sounds ever in the serving soul  as  a
source of upliftment above all the vicissitudes of earthly existence.   Hav-
ing that "living church"  WITHIN, being in fact under that condition "LIVING
TEMPLES,"  we may turn at any moment when our attention is not  legitimately
required by temporal affairs to that spiritual house not made with hands and
lave in its harmony.   We may do that many times a day and thus restore con-
tinually the harmony that has been disturbed by the discords of  terrestrial
intercourse.

   How  then shall we build that temple and fill it with the heavenly  music
we so much desire?  What will help and what will hinder? are questions which
call for a practical solution,  and we shall try to make the answer as plain
and  practical  as possible,  for this is a very vital matter.   The  LITTLE
THINGS are particularly important, for  the  neophyte needs to take even the

[PAGE 581]

slightest things into account.   If we light a match in a strong wind it  is
extinguished ere it has gained a fair start, but if the little flame is laid
on  a  brush heap and given a chance to grow in comparative calm,  a  rising
wind will fan the flame instead of extinguishing it.   Adepts of Great Souls
may remain serene under conditions which would upset the ordinary  aspirant,
hence  he should use discrimination and not expose himself unnecessarily  to
conditions  subversive of soul growth;  what he needs more than anything  is
POISE, and nothing is more inimical to that condition than NOISE.

   It is undeniable that our communities are "Bedlams,"  and that we have  a
legitimate right to escape some noises if possible,  such as the  screeching
made by street cars rounding a curve.  We do not need to live on such a cor-
ner to the detriment of our nerves or endeavors at concentration,  but if we
have a sick, crying child that requires our attention day and night, it does
not matter how if affects our nerves,  we have no right in the sight of  God
or man to run away or neglect it in order to concentrate.   These things are
perfectly  obvious and produce instant assent, but the things that  help  or
hinder most are,  as said, the things that are so small that they escape our
attention entirely.  When we now start to enumerate them, they may provoke a
smile of incredulity,  but if they are pondered upon and practiced they will
soon win assent, for judged by the formula that  "by  their  fruits ye shall

[PAGE 582]

know them," they will show results and vindicate our assertion that "Silence
is one of the greatest helps in soul growth," and should therefore be culti-
vated by the aspirant in his home, his personal demeanor, his walk, his hab-
its, and paradoxical as it seems, even his speech.

   It is a proof of the benefit of religion that it makes people happy,  but
the greatest happiness is usually too deep for outward expression.  It fills
our whole being so full that it is almost awesome,  and a boisterous  manner
never goes together with that true happiness for it is the sign of  superfi-
ciality.  The loud voice, the coarse laugh, the noisy manner, the hard heels
that sound like sledge hammers,  the slamming of doors,  and the rattling of
dishes are the signatures of the unregenerate, for they love noise, the more
the merrier,  as it stirs their desire bodies.  For their purpose church mu-
sic is anathema; a blaring brass band is preferable to any other form of en-
tertainment, and the wilder the dance, the better.  But it is otherwise,  or
should be, with the aspirant to the higher life.

   When  the infant Jesus was sought by Herod,  with murderous  intent,  his
only safety lay in flight, and by that expedient were preserved his life and
power to grow and fulfill his mission.   Similarly,  when the Christ is born
within the aspirant he can best preserve this spiritual life by fleeing from
the  environment  of  the  unregenerate  where  these  hindering  things are

[PAGE 583]

practiced, and seek a place among others of kindred ambitions provided he is
free to do so; but if placed in a position of responsibility to a family; it
is  his  duty  to strive to alter conditions by precept  and  example,  par-
ticularly by example, so that in time that refined, subdued atmosphere which
breathes harmony and strength may reign over the whole house.  It is not es-
sential  to the happiness of children that they be allowed to shout  at  the
top to their voices or to race pell-mell through the house,  slamming  doors
and wrecking furniture in their mad race;  it is indeed decidedly  detrimen-
tal,   for  it  teaches  them  to  disregard  the  feelings  of  others   in
self-gratification.   They will benefit more than mother by being shod  with
rubber heels and taught to reserve their romps for outdoors and to play qui-
etly in the house,  closing doors easily, and speaking in a moderate tone of
voice such as mother uses.

   In childhood we begin to wreck the nerves that bother us in later  years,
so  if we teach our children the lessons above indicated,  we may save  them
much  trouble  in life as well as further our own soul growth now.   It  may
take  years to reform a household of these seemingly unimportant faults  and
secure  an atmosphere conducive to soul growth,  especially if the  children
have  grown to adult age and resent reforms of that nature,  but it is  well
worth while.  We  can  and  MUST at least cultivate the virtue of silence in

[PAGE 584]

ourselves, or our own soul growth will be very small.  Perhaps if we look at
the  matter from its occult point of view in connection with that  important
vehicle, THE VITAL BODY, the point of this necessity will be more clear.

   We know that the vital body is ever storing up power in the physical body
which is to be used in this "School of Experience,"  and that during the day
the desire body is constantly dissipating this energy in actions which  con-
stitute experience that is eventually transmuted to soul growth.   So far so
good,  but the desire body has the tendency to run amuck if not held in with
a  tight  reign.   It revels in UNRESTRAINED motion,  whistle,  sing,  jump,
dance,  and do all the other unnecessary and undignified things which are so
etrimental to soul growth.   While under such a spell of in harmony and dis-
cord  the  person  is dead to the spiritual opportunities  in  the  physical
world,  and at night when he leaves his body the process of  restoration  of
that vehicle consumes so much time that very little,  if any,  time is  left
for work, even if the person has the inclination to think seriously of doing
such work.

   Therefore,  we  ought by all means to flee from noises which we  are  not
obliged to hear, and cultivate personally the quiet yet kindly demeanor, the
modulated  voice,  the silent walk,  the unobtrusive presence,  and all  the
other  virtues which make for harmony, for then the restorative  process  is
quickly accomplished and we  are free the major part of the night to work in

[PAGE 585]

the  invisible worlds to gain more soul growth.   Let us in this attempt  at
improvement  remember  to be undaunted by occasional  failures,  remembering
Paul's admonition to continue in well-doing with patient persistence.

                  THE "MYSTERIUM MAGNUM" OF THE ROSE CROSS:

   Occasionally we get letters from students voicing their regret that  they
are alone in the study of the Rosicrucian Philosophy,  that their  husbands,
wives, children or other relatives are unsympathetic or even antagonistic to
the teachings, despite all efforts of the said student to interest favorably
these  friends and thus obtain companionship in their studies,  or at  least
freedom from their bent.   This friction causes them a certain amount of un-
happiness according to their various temperments, and we are asked by  these
students  to  advise them how to overcome the antagonism and  convert  their
relatives.   This we have done by personal letters and have been  privileged
to help conditions in not a few homes when our advice has been followed; but
we  know  that frequently those who suffer most acutely are silent,  and  we
have  therefore decided to devote a little time to a discussion of the  sub-
ject.

   It is truly said,  very truly,  that  "a little knowledge is a  dangerous
thing," and this applies with the same force to the Rosicrucian teachings as

[PAGE 586]

to any other subject.   Therefore, the very first step is to find out IF YOU
HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE to be on the safe side.   So let me ask the  question:
What  is  the Rosicrucian teaching which you are so anxious to  have  others
share and to which they object?  Is it the twin laws of "CAUSATION" and "RE-
BIRTH?"   They are excellent for explaining a great many problems  of  life,
and they are a great comfort when the grim reaper appears and robs our  home
of some one near and dear.   But then you must remember that there are  many
who  do not feel the need of any explanation whatever.   They are  constitu-
tionally as unfit to apply it as a deaf mute is to use the telephone.  It is
true that we work to better advantage when conscious of the law and its pur-
pose, but let us take comfort from the fact that these laws work for good to
all whether they know it or not, and therefore THIS KNOWLEDGE IS NOT  ESSEN-
TIAL.   They will suffer no great loss because they do not embrace this doc-
trine,  and  they  may escape the danger incident to the  possession  of  "a
little knowledge."

   In  India where these truths are known and believed by  millions,  people
make  little  effort at material progress because they know that  they  have
endless time, and what they do not accomplish in this life may wait till the
next or a later life.  Many Westerners who have embraced the doctrine of re-
birth have ceased to be useful members of their community by adopting a life

[PAGE 587]

of indolence, thereby bringing reproach on these so-called higher teachings.
If your friends will have none of this teaching,  leave them alone.   Making
converts  is  by no means the essential point of the  Rosicrucian  teaching.
The Guardian of the Gate will not examine them as to knowledge,  and he  may
admit some who are entirely ignorant of this matter and shut the door in the
face of others who have devoted their lives to studying,  lecturing on,  and
teaching these laws.

   Then if the doctrines of "Causation" and "Rebirth" are unessential,  what
about the COMPLEX CONSTITUTION OF MAN?   Surely it is essential to know that
we are not merely this visible body, but have a vital body to charge it with
energy,  a desire body to spend this force, a mind to guide our exertions in
channels of reason,  and that we are virgin spirits enmeshed in a  threefold
veil as egos.  Is it not essential to know that the physical body is the ma-
terial counterpart of the Divine Spirit, that the vital body is a replica of
the Life Spirit, and that the desire body is the shadow of the Human Spirit,
the  mind  forming the link between the threefold spirit and  the  threefold
body?

   No, IT IS NOT ESSENTIAL TO KNOW THESE THINGS.  Properly used, this knowl-
edge is an advantage,  but it may also be a very decided disadvantage in the
case of those who have only "a little knowledge"  in that direction.   There
are many such who are always meditating on "the higher self"  while entirely
forgetful of the many "lower selves" groaning in misery at their very doors.

[PAGE 588]

There are many who dream day and night of the time when they will take their
daily  SOUL  FLIGHTS as "invisible helpers" and ease the sufferings  of  the
sick and sorrowful,  yet would not spend a five cent car fare and an  hour's
time to bring a poor, friendless soul in a city hospital a flower and a word
of cheer.  Again I say that the Guardian of the Gate is more likely to admit
him who did what he could than him who dreamed much and did nothing to  help
his suffering fellow man.

   If  you could get people to study the Rosicrucian teachings  about  death
and the life after,  you would feel it important that they should also  know
about  the silver cord remaining unbroken for a period  approximately  three
and  one-half days after the spirit has left the body,  and that it must  be
left  undisturbed while the panorama of its past life is being  etched  into
the desire body to serve as arbiter of its life in the invisible world.  You
would  like them to know all about the spirit's life in  purgatory--how  the
evil acts of its life react upon it as pain to create conscience and keep it
from repeating in a later life the acts that cause the suffering.  You would
have them know how the good acts of life are transmuted into virtues  usable
in later lives as set forth in our philosophy.

   You have no doubt been surprised at the assertion that a knowledge of the
great  twin  laws  in  unessential.  Probably  the next assertion that it is

[PAGE 589]

immaterial whether others learn about the constitution of man as we know  it
may have scandalized you;  and you will undoubtedly feel shocked to have  it
stated  that the Rosicrucian teachings concerning death and the  passing  of
the spirit into the unseen worlds are also comparatively unnecessary to  the
purpose  we  aim  to accomplish.   It really does not  matter  whether  your
relatives  understand  or believe in these teachings.   So far as  your  own
passing is concerned, an earnest request that they leave your body quiet and
undisturbed  for the proper period will probably be carried out to the  let-
ter,  for  people  have  an  almost  superstitious  regard  for  such  "last
requests";  and if any of your friends pass over,  YOU are there  with  your
knowledge and can do the right thing for them.  So never mind if they refuse
to take up that part of the Rosicrucian teaching.

   But the student may say, "If a knowledge of the before mentioned subjects
which  seems of such practical value is immaterial to advancement,  then  it
follows that study of the Periods, Revolutions, World Globes,  etc.,  is en-
tirely so.   That disposes of everything taught in the 'COSMO,' and there is
nothing left of the Rosicrucian teaching which we have embraced and to which
we have pinned our faith!

   IS NOTHING LEFT?   Yes,  indeed, ALL IS LEFT,  for those things mentioned
are only the husks which you must remove to get at THE MEAT IN THE NUT,  the
kernel of it all.  You have read the "COSMO" many  times perhaps.  Maybe you

[PAGE 590]

have  studied it and feel proud of your knowledge of the world mystery,  but
HAVE YOU EVER READ THE MYSTERY HIDDEN IN EVERY LINE?   That is the great and
essential teaching, the one teaching to which your friends will respond,  if
you can find it and give it to them.  The "COSMO" preaches on every page THE
GOSPEL OF SERVICE.

   For our sakes Deity manifested the universe.   The great creative Hierar-
chies have all been and some of them still are OUR SERVANTS.   The  luminous
star angels,  whose fiery bodies we see whirling through space,  have worked
with us for ages,  and in due time Christ came to bring us the spiritual im-
petus  needed at that time.   It is also significant in the extreme that  in
the parable of the last judgment Christ does not say, "Well done, thou great
and erudite PHILOSOPHER, who knoweth the Bible, the Kabala, the "COSMO"  and
all the other mysterious literature which reveals the intricate workings  of
nature" but He says, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: * * * enter
thou into the joy of thy lord.  * * * * For I was an hungered,  and you gave
me meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; * * * ."  Not one single word
about knowledge; THE WHOLE EMPHASIS WAS LAID UPON FAITHFULNESS AND SERVICE.

   There  is a deep occult reason for this:   SERVICE BUILDS THE SOUL  BODY,
the glorious wedding garment without which no man can enter into the kingdom
of the heavens, occultly termed "THE NEW GALILEE,"  and  it  does not matter

[PAGE 591]

whether we are aware of what is going on, so long as we accomplish the work.
Moreover, as the luminous soul body grows in and around a person, this light
will teach him or her about the Mysteries without the need of books, and one
who  is thus God taught knows more than all the books in the world  contain.
In due time the inner vision will be opened and the way to the Temple shown.
If you want to teach your friends, no matter how skeptical they may be, they
will believe you if you preach the gospel of service.

   But you must PREACH BY PRACTICE.   You must become a servant of men your-
self if you would have them believe in you.  If you want them to follow, you
must lead,  or they will have the right to question your sincerity.   Remem-
ber,  "ye are a city upon a hill," and when you make professions they have a
right to judge you by your fruits; therefore SAY LITTLE, SERVE MUCH.

   There are many who love to discuss the harmless, peaceful life at dinner,
oblivious  of the fact that the red roast on the table and the cigar in  the
mouth dull the effect.   There are others who make a god of the stomach  and
would rather study dietetics than the Bible;   they are always ready to but-
tonhole  their friends and discourse upon the latest food fad.   I knew  one
man who was at the head of an esoteric group.   His wife was antagonistic to
occultism and the meatless diet.  He forced her  to  cook  his vegetables at

[PAGE 592]

home,  and told her that if she ever dared to bring meat into HIS kitchen or
contaminate HIS dishes with it,  he would pitch her and the dishes into  the
street,  adding that if she must make a pig of herself she could go and  get
flesh food in a restaurant.

   IS IT TO BE WONDERED AT THAT SHE JUDGED THE RELIGION BY THE MAN AND WOULD
HAVE NONE OF IT?  Surely he was to blame, being "his brother's keeper,"  and
though this is an extreme case, it makes the lesson more obvious.   It is to
the  everlasting praise of Mahomet that his wife became his first  disciple,
and  it speaks volumes for his kindness and consideration in the home.   His
is an example we should all do well to follow if we would win our friends to
the higher life,  for though all religious systems differ outwardly THE KER-
NEL OF ALL IS LOVE.

[PAGE 593]

                              STUMBLING BLOCKS:

   Not  infrequently the remark is made by people who have no sympathy  with
our  aspirations  to live the higher life,  that it unfits  people  for  the
world's work.   Unfortunately it cannot be denied that there is seeming jus-
tification for the assertion, though in reality the very first requisite for
living the higher life involves an obligation to comport oneself irreproach-
ably  in dealing with material matters,  for unless we are faithful  in  the
little  things,  how  can we expect to be  trusted  with  greater  responsi-
bilities?   It has therefore been deemed expedient to devote a lesson to the
discussion  of some of the things which act as stumbling blocks in the  life
of aspirants.

   In the Bible story where the king sent out his servants with  invitations
to the feast he had prepared,  we are told that his invitations were refused
on various grounds.  Each one had material cares, buying, selling, marrying,
therefore they could not attend to the spiritual things,  and such people we
may  say  represent  the  greater  number  of  humanity  today,  who are too

[PAGE 594]

engrossed  in the cares of the world to devote even a thought to  aspiration
in  the higher direction.   But there are others who become so  enthusiastic
upon the first taste of the higher teachings that they are ready to give  up
all work in the world, repudiate every obligation,  and devote their time to
what they are pleased to call "helping humanity."   They will readily  admit
that it takes time to learn how to be a watchmaker,  a shoemaker,  an  engi-
neer,  or  a musician,  and they would not for a moment dream of  giving  up
their present material business to establish themselves as shoemaker, watch-
maker,  or  music teacher just because they felt enthusiastic about  or  in-
clined  to  take  up such work.   They would know that  lacking  the  proper
preparation and training they would be doomed to failure, and yet they think
that just because they have become enthusiastic over the higher world's work
and devote their time to service similar, even though in a lesser degree, to
that rendered by the Christ in His ministry.

   One writes to Headquarters: "I have given up flesh eating,  and I long to
live the ascetic life, far from the world's noise that jars upon me.  I want
to give my life for humanity."  Another says:  "I want to live the spiritual
life,  but I have a wife who needs my care and support. Do you think I would
be justified in leaving her to help my fellow men?"  Still another says: " I
am in a business which is unspiritual; every day I must do things  which are

[PAGE 595]

against  my higher nature,  but I have a daughter dependent upon me  for  an
education.  What shall I do: continue or give up?"  There are of course many
other problems presented to us,  but these serve as fair samples,  for  they
represent a class which is ready to give up the world at the slightest  word
of encouragement,  and rush off to the hills in the expectation of sprouting
wings immediately.  If the people who are in that class have any ties,  they
break them without a scruple or a moment's consideration.

   Another class still feels some obligation,  but could be easily persuaded
to repudiate it in order that they might live what they call " the spiritual
life."   It cannot be denied that when people get into this state  of  mind,
when they lose their ambition to work in the world,  when they become shift-
less and neglectful of their duties,  they merit the reproach of the  commu-
nity.

   But as already said such conduct is based upon a misunderstanding of  the
higher  teachings  and is not at all sanctioned by the Bible  or  the  Elder
Brothers.

   It is a step in the right direction when a person ceases to feed on flesh
because  he  feels compassion for the suffering of the animals.   There  are
many people who abstain from flesh foods for health's sake, but theirs being
selfish motive,  the sacrifice carries with it no merit.  Where the aspirant
to  the  higher  life  is  prompted  to  abstain  from flesh food because he

[PAGE 596]

realizes  that the refining influence of a meatless diet upon the body  will
aid  him in his quest by making the body more sensitive to spiritual  influ-
ences,  there is no real merit either.  Truly,  the person who abstains from
flesh  foods for the sake of health will be much benefited,  and the  person
who  abstains  to make his body more sensitive will also get his  reward  in
that respect, but from the spiritual point of view neither will be very much
better.   On the other hand, whoever abstains from flesh food because he re-
alizes that God's life is immanent in every animal just as in himself,  that
in the final analysis God feels all suffering felt by the animal, that it is
a divine law, "Thou shalt not kill," and that he must abstain out of compas-
sion,  this  person is not only benefited in health and by making  his  body
more sensitive to spiritual impacts, but because of the motive which prompts
him  he  reaps a reward in soul growth immeasurably more precious  than  any
other consideration.  Therefore we would say by all means abstain from flesh
food, but be sure to do so prompted by the right spiritual motive or it will
not affect your spiritual interests one iota.

   When the enthusiast says that he wants to get away from the world and the
noise  that jars upon him to live the ascetic life,  it is truly  a  strange
idea  of service.   The reason why we are here in this world is that we  may
gather experience,  which is then transmuted into soul growth.  If a diamond
in the rough were laid away in a drawer for years  and years, it would be no

[PAGE 597]

different  than before,  but when it is placed against the gridstone by  the
lapidary the harsh grinding process removes the last atom of the rough coat-
ing  and  brings out the beautiful,  luminous gem.   Every one of  us  is  a
diamond  in the rough,  and God,  the Great Lapidary,  uses the world  as  a
grindstone which rubs off the rough and ugly coating, allowing our spiritual
selves to shine forth and become luminous.   The Christ was a living example
of  this.   He did not go away from the centers of civilization,  but  moved
constantly among the suffering and the poor, teaching, healing,  and helping
until  by the glorious service rendered,  His body was made luminous on  the
Mount of Transfiguration,  and He who had trodden the Way exhorted His  fol-
lowers  to be "in the world but not of it."   That is the great lesson  that
every aspirant has to learn.

   It is one thing to go out in the mountains where there is no one to  con-
tradict or to jar upon our sensibilities and keep our poise there; it is an-
other thing entirely to maintain our spiritual aspirations and keep our bal-
ance  in the world where everything jars upon us;  but when we stay on  this
path, we gain a self-control which is unattainable in any other manner.

   However,  though we are careful to prepare our food well and  to  abstain
from  flesh eating or any other contaminating OUTWARD influence,  though  we
want to get away to the mountains to escape the sordid  things of city life,

[PAGE 598]

and  we  want  to  rid ourselves of every outward thing  that  may  prove  a
stumbling block to our progress,  still what about the things that come from
WITHIN,  the  thoughts we have in our minds and our mental  food?   It  will
avail  us not one iota of good if we could feed our bodies upon  nectar  and
ambrosia, the ethereal food of the gods, when the mind is a charnel house, a
habitat of low thoughts, for then we are only as whited sepulchres,  beauti-
ful  to  behold from without but inwardly full of a nauseating  stench;  and
this  mental delinquency can be maintained just as easily and perhaps it  is
even  more  apt to be maintained in the solitude of the mountains  or  in  a
so-called  spiritual retreat than in a city where we are busy with the  work
of  our  vocation.   It is indeed a true saying that "an idle brain  is  the
devil's  workshop,"  and  the safest way to attain to  interior  purity  and
cleanliness  is  to keep the mind busy all the time,  guiding  our  desires,
feelings,  and emotions toward the practical problems of life,  and working,
each  one in his own immediate environment, to find the poor and  the  needy
that  he  may give them whatever help their cases require and  merit.   That
class  which  has not ties of its own may profitably make ties of  love  and
friendship with those who are loveless and friendless.

   Or if it is the care of a relative--wife,  daughter,  husband,  or anyone
else that claims us, let us remember the words of Christ  when He said, "Who

[PAGE 599]

are my mother and my brother?"  and answered the question by saying,  "Those
who do the will of my Father."  This saying has been misconstrued by some to
mean  that Christ repudiated His physical relationships for  the  spiritual,
but it is only necessary to remember that in the last moments of His life on
earth He called to His mother,  giving him to her as a son and charging  the
disciple  to care for His parent.   Love is the unifying force in life,  and
according to the higher teachings we are required to love our kin,  but also
to extend our love natures so that they may also include everyone else.   It
is good that we love our own mother and father,  but we should also learn to
love other people's mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, for universal
brotherhood can never become a fact so long as our love is confined only  to
the family.  It must be made all inclusive.

   There was one among the disciples of Christ whom He loved especially, and
following His example we also may bestow a particular affection upon certain
ones,  though  we ought to love everyone and do good even to them  that  de-
spitefully use us.  These are high ideals and difficult of accomplishment at
our  present stage of development,  but as the mariner steers his ship by  a
guiding star and reaches his desired haven though never the star itself,  so
also by setting our ideals high we shall live nobler and better  lives  than

[PAGE 600]

if we do not aspire, and in time and through many births we shall eventually
attain, because the inherent divinity in ourselves makes it imperative.

   Finally then, to sum up, it does not really matter where we are placed in
life,  whether in a high station or a low.  Present environment with its op-
portunities and limitations is such as suits our individual requirements  as
determined by our self-made destinies in previous existences.   Therefore it
holds for us the lesson we must learn in order to progress properly.   If we
have a wife,  a daughter, or other family relations to hold us to that envi-
ronment, they must be considered as part of what we have to reckon with, and
by  doing our duty to them we learn the required lesson.   If they  are  an-
tagonistic to our belief, if they have no sympathy with our aspirations,  if
we  have on their account to stay in a business and do things which  we  are
not pleased with,  it is because we must learn something from these  things,
and  the proper way for the earnest aspirant is to look conditions  squarely
in the face with a view to finding out just what it is that is needed.  This
may not be an easy matter.  It may take weeks, months, or years to solve the
problem,  but  so long as the aspirant applies himself  prayerfully  to  the
task,  he may be sure that the light will shine some day,  and then he  will
see  what is required and why these conditions were imposed upon him.   Then
having  learned the lesson or found out it purpose,  he will if he  has  the
right spirit prayerfully bear the burden, for he will know that he  is  upon

[PAGE 601]

the right road and that it is an absolute certainty that as soon as the les-
son of that environment has been learned a new way will be opened up showing
him  the next step upon the path of progress.   Thus the "stumbling  blocks"
will have been turned into "stepping stones,"   which would never have  hap-
pened if he had run away from them.   In this connection we would quote  the
beautiful poem.

             "Let us not waste our time in longing
               For bright but impossible things.
             Let us not sit supinely waiting
               For the sprouting of angel wings.
             Let us not scorn to be rush-lights,
               Everyone can't be a star,
             But let us fulfill our mission
               By shining just where we are.

             "There is need of the tiniest candle
               As well as the garish sun;
             And the humblest deed is ennobled
               When it is worthily done.

             We may never be called on to brighten
               Those darkened regions afar,
             So let us fulfill our mission
               By shining just where we are."

[PAGE 602]

                           THE LOCK OF UPLIFTMENT:

   Have  you ever seen how ships going up a canal or river are  lifted  from
one  level to another?   It is a very interesting and  instructive  process.
First  the ship is floated into a small enclosure where the water  level  is
the  same as that of the lower part of the river where the ship  has  previ-
ously been sailing.   Then the gates of the enclosure are shut and the  ship
is cut off from the outside world by the high wall of the lock.   It  cannot
go back to the river without; even the light is dimmed around it,  but ABOVE
the  moving clouds or the brightest sunshine are seen beckoning.   The  ship
cannot  rise without assistance,  and the law of gravity make it  impossible
for  the water in that part of the river where the ship has been sailing  to
float  it  to  a higher level,  hence no help may be looked  for  from  that
source.

   There are also gates in the upper part of the lock which prevent the  wa-
ters on the higher levels from rushing into the lock from  above,  otherwise

[PAGE 603]

the inrushing water would flood the lock in a moment and crush the ship  ly-
ing  at the bottom level because acting in conformity with that same law  of
gravitation.   It is from ABOVE,  nevertheless, that the power must come  if
the ship is ever to be lifted to the higher level of the river, and so to do
this  safely  a SMALL STREAM is conducted to the bottom of the  lock,  which
lifts  the  ship VERY SLOWLY AND GRADUALLY BUT SAFELY to the  level  of  the
river  above.   When that level has been reached,  the upper  gates  may  be
opened without danger to the ship,  and it may sail forth upon the expansive
bosom of the higher waterway.  Then the lock is SLOWLY emptied and the water
it contained added to the water at the lower level,  which is thereby raised
even if but slightly.  The lock is then ready to raise another vessel.

   This  is,  as said in the beginning,  a very interesting and  instructive
physical operation, showing how human skill and ingenuity overcome great ob-
stacles by the use of nature's forces.   But it is a source of still greater
enlightenment  in a spiritual matter of vital importance to all  who  aspire
and  endeavor  to live the higher life,  for it illustrates  the  only  safe
method whereby man can rise from the temporal to the spiritual world, and it
confutes those false teachers who for personal gain play upon the too ardent
desires  of the unripe,  and who profess ability to unlock the gates of  the
unseen worlds for the consideration of an initiation fee.   Our illustration
shows that this is impossible, because the immutable laws of nature forbid.

[PAGE 604]

   For  the purpose of elucidation we may call our river the river of  life,
and we as individuals are the ships sailing upon t;  the lower river is  the
temporal  world,  and when we have sailed its length and  breadth  for  many
lives,  we inevitably come to the lock of upliftment which is placed at  the
end.  We may for a long time cruise about the entrance and look in, impelled
by  an  inner urge to enter but drawn by another impulse towards  the  broad
river  of life without.   For a long time this lock of upliftment  with  its
high,  bare walls looks forbidding and solitary,  while the river of life is
gay  with bunting and full of kindred craft gaily cruising about;  but  when
the inner urge has become sufficiently intense, it imbues us with a determi-
nation not to go back to the river of worldly life.   But even at that stage
there are some who falter and fear to shut the gate behind them; they aspire
to ardently at times to the life on the higher level, but it makes them feel
less alone to look back upon the river of worldly life,  and sometimes  they
stay  in this condition for lives,  wondering why they do not progress,  why
they  experience no spiritual downpouring,  why there is no uplift in  their
lives.  Our illustration makes the reason very plain; no matter how hard the
captain might beg, the lock keeper would never think of releasing the stream

[PAGE 605]

of water from above until the gate had been closed behind the ship,  for  it
could  never lift the ship,  for it could never lift the ship an inch  under
such conditions but would flow through the open gates to waste in the  lower
river.   Neither will the guardians of the gates of the higher  worlds  open
the stream of upliftment for us,  no matter how hard we pray,  until we have
shut the door to the world behind us, and shut it very tight with respect to
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, the sins that so easily beset us
and are fostered by us in the careless worldly days.   We must shut the door
on  them  all before we are really in a condition to receive the  stream  of
upliftment,  but  once we have thus shut the door and  irrevocably  set  our
faces forward,  the downpouring begins,  slowly but surely as the stream  of
the lock keeper which lifts the vessel.

   But  having left the temporal world with all its deed behind  and  having
set his face towards the spiritual worlds,  the yearning of the aspirant be-
comes more intense.   As time passes he feels in increasing measure the void
on  both sides of himself.   The temporal world and its deeds  have  dropped
from him as a garment;  he may be bodily in that world,  performing his  du-
ties,  but he has lost interest;  he is in the world but not of it,  and the
spiritual  world where he aspires to citizenship seems equally distant.   He
is  all  alone and his whole being cries and writhes in  pain,  longing  for
light.

[PAGE 606]

   Then comes the turn of the tempter:  "I have a school of initiation,  and
am  able to advance my pupils quickly for a fee,"  or words to that  effect,
but usually more subtle; and who shall blame the poor aspirants who fall be-
fore the wiles of these pretenders?  Lucky are they if,  as is generally the
case,  they are merely put through a ceremonial and given an  empty  degree,
but  occasionally they meet one who has really dabbled in magic and is  able
to open the flood gates from the higher level.  Then the inrush of spiritual
power shatters the system of the unfortunate dupe as the waters of the river
above would wreck a vessel at the bottom of the lock is an ignorant or mali-
cious  person were to open the gates.  The vessel must be lifted slowly  for
safety's  sake,  and so must the aspirant to spiritual upliftment;  patience
and  unwavering persistence in well-doing are absolutely indispensable,  and
the door to the pleasures of the world must be kept closed.  If that is done
we  shall surely and certainly accomplish the ascent to the heights  of  the
unseen world with all the opportunities for further soul growth there found,
for it is a natural process governed by natural laws,  just as is the eleva-
tion of a ship to the higher levels of a river by a system of locks.

   But how can I stay in the lock of upliftment and serve my fellow man?  If
soul growth comes only by service,  how can I gain by isolation?   These are
questions  that  may  not  unnaturally  present  themselves to students.  To

[PAGE 607]

answer them we must again emphasize that no one can lift another who is  not
himself upon a higher level, not so far above as to be unreachable, but suf-
ficiently close to be within grasp of the reaching hand.   There are,  alas,
too  many who profess the higher teachings but live lives on the level  with
ordinary men and women of the world or even below that level.  Their profes-
sions  make the higher teachings a byword and call down the scorn of  scoff-
ers.   But those who live the higher teachings have no need to profess  them
orally;  they  are isolated and marked in spite of  themselves,  and  though
handicapped  by the misdeeds of the "professors,"   they do in time win  the
respect  and  confidence of those about them;  eventually they call  out  in
their  associates  the desire of emulation, they convert them  in  spite  of
themselves, reaping in return for this service a commensurate soul growth.

   Now is the time of the year (Christmas) when the crest wave of  spiritual
power envelops the world.   It culminates at the winter solstice,  when  the
Christ is reborn into our planet,  and though hampered by the present  (from
the limited viewpoint) deplorable war conditions, His life given for us  may
be  most  easily  drawn  upon by the aspirant  at  this  season  to  further
spiritual  growth;  therefore all who are desirous of attaining  the  higher
levels  would do well to put forth special efforts in that direction  during
the winter season.

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