The Path of the Masters: Julian Johnson M.A. B.D. M.D.

T HE AUTH OR

the olog ian a nd s u rge on , J ulian Jo hnso n w a s alsna keenpil o t an d dis t inguished a rtist.Ab ov e a ll . howe ver,Dr. John snn w as an ardent s eeker after truth. Atth e height ofhis wnrldly success , he abandoned an hisactivities except hissea rchfor truth; he answered the c all ofthe East forthe second timeinhisl ife.During his fir s t sojourninIndi a he enthu siastically taughtth egosp elof J esus Chri st. Whe n hec ame f ort he secondtim e, itwa sas ifth e h an d of Go d h ad pic kedhi m up fro m a remote c omer ofthe w orldan dw as guid in g him to the fe e tof the Master.

He as s id uo us ly c arried out the spiritual disciplin e ta ug htb yo ne of th e g rea tes t liv ingm asters, andwasrew arded b y the vision of the re al ity be y o n da llf orms and ceremonies. H e learn e d th e an c ie nt w is o mw hic hallmessengers ofGodeom e topre ac h .

D r. Jo nsou's lovef orhisMaster wa s unbou nd ed,hi s fa ith ' plic it,and h is devotion unflinching. He never return ed to the lan d of his ntr th -after meeting his preceptor hereinInd i a.

THE PATH OF THE MASTERS

CRETARY

.

Copyright © 1939,1957,1'972,1985,1993,1997 by

RadhaSoami Satsang Beas

All rights reserved

First Edition( printed-in France) 1939,2, 000 copies

Second Edition (reprintinU.S.A.) 1951, 2,000 copies

ThirdEdition ( revised) 1957, 1,000 copies

Fourth Edition (reprintinU S A ) 1958, 1,000 copies

Fifth Edition 1963, 2,000 copies

SixthEdition 1965, 3;000 copies

SeventhEdition 1969,3,000 copies

EighthEdition (revised) 1972, 5,000 copies

. NinthEdition 1974, 5,OOO copies

TenthEdition 1975,5,000 copies

Eleventh Edition1980 , 7,OQO copies

TwelfthEdition1980, 8,000 copies

ThirteenthEdition (revised) 1985, 12,000 copies

Fourteenth Edition 1988,12,000 copies 1993, 15,000copies

Sixteenth Edition 1997, 17,000copies

ISBN 81-8256-019-5

Prlnted by: Baba Barkha Nath Printers New Delhi 110 015

SECTION ONE

A COMPARATIVE REVIEWOF WORLD RELIGIONS

Preface to the Fifteenth Edition

IT IS NOW more than fiftyyearssinceJulian Johnson wrote The Path of the Masters. First published inFrance in .1939 under the supervision of Dr. Pierre Schmidt, the book hasservedasabeaconoflightby guiding many a storm-battered soul to the safe and tranquil haven of this . path toGod. It has run through fourteen editions and been translated into thirty languages, and it's special and undiminished appeal to the spiritual seeker from a Western background has necessitated yet another

Dr. Johnson's book is unusual inseveralrespects.Itwas written specificallyforthe Western seeker of God bya person of the West who had livedarich and varied life before coming into contact withthemystic teachings of the East.Hewas thus ina position to communicate easily with others from the same background. Itis perhaps thefirst modern book to record inEnglish the esoteric of the Eastern Masters with such clarity and compreIt describes inthe simplest of terms that perennial which tells how the Supreine, the source of all, can be through realization of the 'self'. Most significantly, itwas under the personal guidance of a spiritual adept of the order, a perfect Master, who himself stood witness to the SPlfltual truth expressed within the book.

Truth at that leveldoes not belong to any particular time, place Itspeaks t? the hear.ts who are earnest in deSIre toknow, Irrespective of their individual backgrounds.

THEPATHOFTHEMASTERS

That which. man communicates from the level of his mind or ego, from his individual perceptions, may, however, be limited toa particular temporal or spatial context, andfor this rea.sonwe need to bear in mind that the milieu in which the author was the same as ours today. From this perspective some mmor revisions have been made to the fifteenth edition which do not alter the substance of the teachings Dr. Johnson propounded. Footnotes and a foreword havealso heen added by the editor to providean insight into Dr. Johnson 's background and a glimpse of his times . . . . .

The 'author has explained the universal science of spirituality, and its relationship to the many religious systems of the world, as he understood it from hisyears spent in India. Consequently there areseveral .Sanskrit and Hindi terms in the text.These words are italicized and when their meanings are not made clear by the context, they are explained in the glossary.For ease of .reading, terms which occur frequently are italicized only the first time they appear. . . . . ..

We must thank all those who havegiven their tune and skillsto the various editions and revisions of this book over the years.We wishto end with an offering of gratitude and praise to the supreme Lord, who, inhis infinite wisdom and mercy, and through hissons,the Masters, has chosen togive shelter to such unworthy soulsaswe on the tried .and tested path tohis most glorious home.

Preface to the Third Edition

SewaSingh · . Secretary

THIS BOOK is now well known to the West and is almost aclassic onSant Mat inEnglish.Infact,ithas been instrumental in guiding many seekersto the path of the Masters. .

Dr. Johnson wasa man of many parts, and besides being a distinguished surgeon, wasalso an artist, scholar, pilot and an ordained minister of the church, and had been in India before, as a missionary. .

He could not, however, rest satisfied with orthodox religion and church dogmas. His soul longed for truth and firsthand: experience.Hefelt keenly that no departed intelligence) however great) couldbe asubstitute foraliving teacher. But whe re was one tobe found?

His quest was soon rewarded) and the guiding brought himtothefeet of the Great Master) whose picture adorns the first page of this hook. Athisfeet this apt pupil imbibed the principles of SantMatat firsthand) and under his supervision and guidance he practiced devotion and meditation; and this spiritual interCOurse went on uninterruptedly thenceforth. · .

ThOUgh hewasthe recipient of considerable attention and grace) hedid not accept things blindly and would quite often say) with a, smile)tohis satsangi friends in private conversab tion )"Iam from Missouri." ! And herein lies the great value of the ook.

1. An expression whereby Dr . Johnson meant, " Provetome that whatyouaresayingis true. " ·

Radha SoamiSatsangBeas Punjab, India

THEPATH OFTHE'MASTERS

Beinga man of strong conviction and penetrating judgment) he hasexpressed himself rather strongly here and there) but itis all in goodfaith. True tohisprofession)hehas not hesitated tocarryon the operation simplytosparethefeelings of the patient. Had he livedlonger)he might have softened some of hisexpressions) but hewas destined toleavethis world whilethe book wasyetinthe press.

TheGreatMaster)who inspired thisbook)isnomore)andhis successor) Sardar Bahadur IagatSinghMaharaj,hasalso joined him onthe other sideafterfinishinghiswork.Thesteady demand forthebook)however) continues andhas necessitated anewedition.The present Master) Maharaj Charan Singh) perhaps onaccount of myprevious associations withthe learned author) has kindly entrusted tomethe duty of revising and editing the book wherenecessary)before sending ittothepress.In doing this)while Ihavetakennote of thesuggestions and criticisms)myaimhas been not to mar the character and main trend of thebook.Mayit continue toserveasa beacon lighttoallthose struggling onthe Path!

Grateful ' acknowledgments areduetoMrs. Madelene Mutter forkindly correcting grammatical and typographical errors;to Mr.HarveyH.Myers)Col.C.W.Sanders and Dr.Pierre Schmidt forseveral corrections and usefulsuggestions;toMr.andMrs.P. Fripp)who happened tobevisitingDeraatthistime)forthe considerable painsthey took in ,revising and correcting the Index , andfor their helpingoing through theproofs; and last) but not theleast)toShri R. D.Ahluwalia and RaiSahib Munshi Ramfor kindlygoing through the manuscript withme and helping mein thedifficulttask of editing thebook.

]agmohan Lal

Prefaceto the First Edition

Noneis poor, 0Bhikha; Everyone hath gotrubiesinhis bundle. Buthowto open the knot he doth not know And therefore isheapauper!

BHIKHA (an Indian saint)

NO PROBLEM OF GREATER or of more moving import confronts ' manthan that of possibleawareness of hisownconsciousness)the deepsignificance of theplaceheoccupiesinthe world asawhole) andofthe purpose he should firstdiscover and then pursue. '

RadhaSoamiSatsangBeas

Punjab, India April 1957

This consciousness of Self! isthe primal metaphysical experience,wh ich, whilstcausing one to penetrate into one 's innermostbeing,atthesame time causesoneto penetrate into the universe . We cannot behold thisuniverseaswe could some spectaclebefore our eyes) forweourselvesare part of it;weaid inits formation; we are--as it were--fellow actorsina kind of drama , the variations of which depend on our subjectivelife whichexpressesits manifold incidents. Our affectivestatesare notto be consideredasmereaccidents, of interesttonoone but ourselves, towhichtheuniverse remains impassive,for thereby we penetrate into its intimacy and participate inthe innermost workings of itslife and gainthe revelation of itsmystery .

1. Self, called by Brunton Overself" and by Graham Howe 'I' and ' Me'.

LAVELLE

THEPATHOFTHE MASTERS PREFACE

Human scienceis peripheric and essentiallycentrifugal;itmakes a study of thevisible part of thesensibleworld,thesurface upon which-so to speak-thought reflectsitself upon itself. Spiritual science .is,onthe contrary, essentiallycentripetal;itstudiesthe internal thought from internal planes,thencetodeeper and deeperones , approaching nearer and nearer theAbsolutefromwhich alllifeproceedsandwhichistheone and' theonlyreality.

Itbehoovesus, wrapped-so to speak-in a kind of icy immobility, not to turn aside . fromallthe tremors of our individual beingin our effortstoperceiveaworldfromwhichwearetobe banished, and whichispossible of contemplation onlybyanimpersonal intelligence.Onthe contrary, itisbytheveryeffort of our dailystruggletoacquirethe most acuteconsciousness of this perpetual debatewith our selfinwhich our 'me ' constitutes itself, that weare .ushered intothevery heart of thisreality.

We moderns aresobusy studying the external world that we have,toagreatextent, forgotten to study the internal world.We worry about thecure of our aches and pains, our asthma and rheumatism, and takeno thought forthecure of our feverish desires and unworthy ambitions .

Itisstrange that though all must tread the path of life, sofew know whither theyaregoing!

How little do we know that which weare! How less that wemaybe!

templatesfrom without. Everything therefore isnecessarilyanappearance.Infact,realitycanonlybe attained within and not without ourselves.Man should turn hisgaze within in order tobegin thatmost marvelous of all explorations, since happiness comes onlyfromwithin.

Thedivinestrain hums all around us,yetweare of sogrossa nature that wehearitnot!Onlyby entering intothedivinesilence andclosing our earstotheworld of illusionscanwecatchthe celestialmelody,orelseweare but yieldingtotheillusions of our imagination and reaping bitter misery.

BYRON

We wander fromthecradletothe tomb, yetknow not our true destination, whichis not the tomb but rather thediscovery of our 'super-self'.

For long ageswehaveacceptedthe tradition of theexistence of twoworlds:one,theworld of appearances;the other, theworld of existences; and haveassumed that astheknowledge of thingsalwaysmeans our linking them to our being,the appearances alone areaccessibletous.Butitisamistaketoimagine that behind those appearances therearerealthingsperceivabletoamorepenetrating gaze,fora spectator canonly behold thethinghecon-

Thediscovery of ' self ' isfirst of allanact of inward retirement; itiswhatis termed the goingin. "We penetrate then "-says Lavelle-"into aninvisibleworld; but thisdiscoveryoccasionsanguishanditis presumptuous to march tothe conquest of this inner world without verydefinite directions, veryprecise counsels-hencetheabsolutenecessity of aMaster. ' Whoevergoethon a pilgrimage needeth apilgrimfortheway,behea Hindu, a Turk oranArab' (Maulana Rum). Then the outward universewithdr aws andfadesawayasdoesthe most beautiful scenerywhenthe playistoo dramatic, but soonweexperiencethejoy of therevelation;theuniverseisnownolongeranobject outside of ourselves, an enigmatobesolved;wenolonger contemplate itfromwithout , but fromwithin.Itssecretis our secret.Thisdiscovery, far fromcausingusasense of misery,becomesasource of confidence and of light and wesoonbegintosufferwhenwerefusetodraw fromthis well! Sothen,afterhavinglivedlongintheworldasa stranger,hewhotakesrefugeinsolitudeperceivesanewworld welcoming him, and byandby obtains thedirect perception of sUperiorplanes. "

.Inthemystery of solitary intimacy-magna solitudo-the individualandthe Supreme Being behold each other facetoface,for theformer returns tohisoriginal Self. "Itis"-says Hegel-"in the very h eart of myownsubjectivity that Idiscover true reality notinthemotleyspectacledisplayedtomyeyes.Itis contradictorytoseekfor existence outsideofmyself, sinceoutsideofthis Self Icanfindonlyan appearance forme; but I must seekforitin

T HEPATHOF THE MASTERS

thevery depth ofmybeing , since I,atleast, participate inexist" ence.

To understand this truth does not demand violence;itneeds onlyan inward reverence and awillingear. Truth reveals. onlytothosewhoseekandloveit.The g.reat of spiritual training isthe absolute union withthe primordial Self. .

This regeneration, this second birth, iswhat the?logianshavecalled ' the descent of theHoly Ghost." .The illumination is united toan infinite loveforthedivine-s-this inner flame,this simultaneous love and knowledgewhich,when born, rises and grows, until finally through a kind of impersonal ecstasy our whole being is kindled witha supreme desirefor union. (We call 'impersonal' that stateof intuition inwhich our thought isno longer ' divided into a thinking subject an world, but rather the outer world is abolished by ItS integration In our personal consciousness. Our personal consciousness isbyno means nullified. Nirvana is not the abolition of personality; on the contrary,itisthe completeness of personality.) . .. . "

" The summit of realitycanonlyberealized within oneself, said Buddha. AgreatSufiMasteradds that "the source of truth is within and he himself istheobjectofhis realization"; and accordingto Schopenhauer, " Theessentialtolife's happiness residesin what onehasin one's Self. Verilythe principal source of human blisscomes from within, fromthevery depth of one's being."

We cannot hope topossess other true riches than thosewe already bear within us, and we should use them and not neglect them, but theyare,alas,sofamiliartous that theyno longer appear ofanyvalue; and we pursue other tawdry whose possessionis denied us. Weare soweak that the world IS some- . times obliged to rebuff ustocauseusto detach ourselvesfromthe "

The kingdom ofheavenisinthe heart of thosewho real.ize God,andthewhole purpose oflifeistomakeGoda realIty; "Verily,itis simpler tofindawaytoheaven than to. ones wayon earth" (Hazrat Inayat Khan).Andhow true IS thissentence of theBible: " Thekingdom of heavenis within you"!

PR EFACE

Buthowarewetodiscoverthiskingdom?Isthis not the main objectof philosophy aswellas of religion?The former, alas,in spiteofthe numerous chairswhereitis taught andthe many writings of thegreatest philosophers, has not proved tobethe sourceatwhich ,the inquirer may quench his thirst. Inthefirst place, philosophy is.the of an and appeals to theintellect,the mmd. It IS adrysubject. Furthermore, philosophizinghasbeengoingonforages. Thousands of arguments andtheorieshavebeen put forth, but theyareonly lip-say-as the Indiansaints say-for theyhavenolife,and our knowledge of : God hath not advanced evenaninch!Butwehavereligion.Alas, concerningthe latter, wefullyagreewiththe opinion of Kerneiz: "Religion,tothemasses, means one of the most redoubtable instruments of servitude of the human mind, and the founding ofa new religion,howeverexcellentitmaybe,is but to found anew prisoninwhichto confine the spirit ." The consolations religions affordaremostly platonic andthe number steadily increases of thosewhonowadayscanno longer believeorfindanysatisfaction inreligion,forlack of manifest proofs andon account of the flagranthypocrisy of so many false prophets or of their militant followers.

Nevertheless,theexistence of thisscience of the unknown-the scienceofthesoul,we might say-is afact, and sooner orlaterall will ardentlyyearnforit.Someadvancedindividualsclaimaknowledgeofit, but thosewho approach thisdiscoveryrealize that itis theheritageofan extremely limited number. '

Uptothe present, the Occident had never been granted the privilegeofhavingtherevelations of thesages of this world in everydaylanguage. Heretofore, the philosophical and spiritual teachingswereveiled, and that iswhysuchteachingswereclassifiedasesoteric,knowableonlytoa limited number of the initiated . This initiation Was gained through secretrevelations,allegoricalandsymbolicwritingspossible of interpretation onlybythose thekeyandthe direct teaching ofthe Master tohis ISClple . Uninitiated mortals wereunableto penetrate the arcanum , sothatonlythe advanced spiritual souls could grasptheimagery

of thelanguage,thedivulgence of whichwas prohibited, and the meaning of which without thekeywas impossible of interpretation.

Rare indeed arethe Westerners possessing 'the knowledge', and thisis but right,forthesages of this world considered ituselessto cast'pearlsbeforeswine' and todeliverthe lucubrations of sterile . discussionofthis enfant terrible called 'the mind'-to non-prepared egos-directions, counsels,precepts, truths and linesofconduct for spiritual ascension. . . .

Heretofore, itwastheprivilege of a particular class of societyto penetrate into spiritual secrets.However,suchknowledgehasdegrees,.and starts fromthe simplest counselsto attain the profoundest truths, enabling the future discipletograspthe truth through hisown personal experience;itisnevertheless true that thefirststeps and certain more advanced stages, known alreadyto the priesthood, were safeguarded ina veiled form,inthesecret .books of the various religions of theworld.

. Liferefusestoyielduportodisplayits sublimest secrettothe slothful. If youwishtodiscoverthe depth of its meaning, why then, you must break upthefallow ground and prepare tosearch forit, and theplacetoseekitis within, forits treasures will neither be found outside of one's being nor canthefivesenseslay hold on them. Are, then, the methods of theyogishidden?

Doesarajastrewhisjewelsonthehighwayina public display? No,hehidesthem in thedeep treasure-chambers, inthevaults ofhispalace . Theknowledgeofthescienceof'Self' isone of the greatest treasures. a man candiscoverandpossess. Isheforthwithtoofferitinthebazaars 'forallandsundry?Letallwho

/ desireto attain andtolayholdofthis treasure . first ardently longforand then seek it That istheonlyway, and itisthe right way Knowledgeis hidden in order towardoffthesuperficial curious enquirer, the mentally unprepared and perhaps also thespir itually unworthy

The following questions and topics areset forth and explained inthis book in modern, simple and clearlanguage :

Whatisreligion? What areits promises anditsbestowals? Monotheism , polytheism, monism, pantheism. The statement concerningthe main religious movements of theEast and of theWest. Thevalue of ceremonies, rites and sacredbooks . What isGod? Whatare Thegreat spiritual hierarchies.The superior planesandhigh regIOns. The spiritual guidesofthepastand present time.Therole of theMasters. True andfalse Gurus and how to recognizethem.Thewaytorealize union withthe Supreme Being.Thevariousstagestobepassed through bythosewhoare willingto tread the pathway of theMaster. How to become a disciple. Asceticism. Theesoteric constitution of the human being. ,Thechakras.,Kundalini.The problem of desire.Thefiveperversions, or passions, and their antidotes. Thediversekarmas. Reincarnation and metempsychosis . Death and afterdeath.The variousyogas. The importance of the audible life stream. In short, all thatconcerns ' thescience of the Masters'.

The author has most satisfactorily adhered totherule of Aristotle,viz.: " Towrite express yourself inthe common language people, thmk likeawise man." Hereisacollection of spiritualwealth of theEastrevealedtothedazzledgaze of the est.,Hereweare not dealingwithvain promises suchasare giveninmost of theso-called philosophical societies and inso manybookswhichleadto nothing and nowhere. Nor does one hearwhenatlastnearingthelongsought-forgoal:"Oh,thisis not !or you,youare not advanced enough, itisasecret," and where thesoulflies . . h hi' away,Justat t every moment whenweseemto od ItS gleaming splendor in our hands andallweareleftwithis ;ore dead butterfly toaddto our molding collection" (Shri Prem).No, beginning toend itsets forth plainlythe o trodden m order toreachthe highest goal, 'the supreme union', .

Formerlyitidd . I. th ' was consi erea VIO anon todivulgethesecret of e mner path d' reveIdaccormgtotheyogis.Thissecretwas only tobe aeafterh .. dth' and . : avmg sustame e most difficult and rigid ' tests iscoCOunter tests . Thisis quite natural wherethe Patanjali system ncerned because of thedangers of thetests submitted toby

the chelas,' InthisexpositionofSantMat, contrary toso many , yogas,dangersand difficulties -do not beset thediscipleatanystep inthecourse of his spiritual practices.

"One reasonthis book is written now"-says the author-"at theexpress command of agreatMaster,istogivetoallwhomay possiblybeabletorecognizeitsvaluesome understanding of the priceless truth of theMastersofallages.The ancient screen of profound secrecy isnowremoved.Thereisnolongeranyneedfor suchsecrecy. It was not many centuries ago that nosaintcould speakopenly,exceptattheperil of hisownlife.The method of thesaintsexpressedhereissosafeinitself that no harm canresult fromgivingit out tothewholeworld, provided itbe guarded fromanyabuseormisuse."

Thereisnowadaysanincredible number of books written to , build abridgebetweenthe Orient andtheOccident;thereare innumerable books about yogas published incountlesslanguages, written byeitherOrientalswhocame tothe Occident tofamiliarizethemselveswithits trend of thought, orelsebyOccidentals whoessayedto penetrate theEasternspirit. ' ,

This publication is not an adaptation from others' thoughts but verilyarevelationforall concerned. Neither isita question of raceor religious currenttobeadaptedtosuittheoneortheother, nor isitthesearchfor points of mutual understanding. No,itis indeedtheverybasis of religion,therevelation of agreatmystery: theknowledge of our true originandhowonce more tofindthe Father's home asdidthe prodigal sonofyore,andthis through thescientific self-experimental process that everysinceresoulcan verifyforhimself.

The highway tobetroddenisheretraced,andwecanrepeatthe sentence of theSufiMaster,"The supreme purpose of lifeis to makeGoda reality"; forthispurpose,"give. us all youhaveandwe shallgiveyouallwepossess!"Do not theMastersteach that every giftofferedbyus without any thought of compensation isalready returned tous?

1. Hindi and Sanskrit terms areitalicized, and when their meanings are not made clearby the context, theyare explained intheGlossary.Forease of reading , however ; words whi ch occur frequentl y areitalicizedonl y thefirst time they appear

This book is not written withaviewtosatisfying curiosity orto pleasethe mind orthe imagination, but rather to quench the thirstofthetrue,sincereand humble seeker.Mentalacrobatics, tortuous, complicated philosophical .gymnasticsare not requisite, noristhereanynecessitytoporefor hours overapageoran extractin order toascertainthe author's meaning.

Theplain ' truth istoosimplefortheseekeraftercomplexity, lookingforthingshe cannot understand. Theintellectcreatesits ownproblemsandthenmakesitselfmiserabletryingtosolvethem! Truth always expresses itself withthegreatestsimplicity: Simplex veri sigillum!

Thewritingand publishing ofthis book havetheapproval of, andarein accordance withtheexpresswish of theGreat Master whoselifeandteachingshave inspired thesepages.However,as Dr.Johnsonwrote,"TheMaster himself must hot beheldresponsibleforanyinaccuracyor other imperfections inthisvolume. Thewriteraloneisresponsibleforthese;hemakesnoclaimsfor himselfandtakesnocreditwhatsoever."

Topracticeyoga out of curiosity, insearch of new sensations or in order togainpsychicpower,isamistakewhichis punished withfutility , neurosis orevenworse.None should seekinitiationintothemysteriesfrom unworthy motives, would surelyresult. '

BRUNTON

Arewetobelieve without proofs?Is blind faithindispensable? Theoretically, hewhoperceivesin himself thecall of theAbsolute shouldbe supposed to ' quiteverything: situation, family,friends, In ordertoanswerthiscall,asin the "comeandfollowme"ofthe Bible. Butinthe Occident thereisnoplace whither to resort to embracea particular philosophical discipline.Thereisnoplacein oursocietyforthe sannyasi. '

The method exposed in thesepagesdoes not inanywayrequire theseekertoleaveeverythingandstart out asapilgrimwith ' sandalsandpack,in order to submit toendless tortures andtests!

No,the part of the tr\le adept consistsin remaining in hisusual surroundings and there to earn hislivingina situation permitting him toliveasimple, honest and decent life. It is therefore inthe smokeof the battle of-dailylife that hehastomakehis way,

The battle oflife must bewon and not run awayfrom.Origen 's actof self-castration did not enablehimto attain that state that Hindu tradition terms brahmacharya, and rigid isolation ina mountain cave will not bring about that inner detachment fromthepassingshowof things whichisthesoilinwhichalone theflower of true wisdom cangrow.

SHRI KRISHNA PREM

Isitpossible amid the agitation of our modern lifeto adhere to any spiritual discipline?The author's answeriscategoricallyaffirmative. "The escapefrom one's surroundings canonlybe through isolationorflight. Certain peopletakerefugein themselves. So theyfind solitude inthe midst of the crowd" (Dr.Alexis Carrel). "Youcan" -says Marcus Aurelius-"at anytimeyoulikeretire intoyourself. There isno retreat more quiet , more peacefuland lessrestlessfor man than theone that hefinds inhisownsoul."

The perfecting required bythedisciple must begained there wherehis karma hasplacedhim.Buthe must progressively learn thevalue of renunciation of perishable things and find,evenin success and terrestrial happiness, that bitter savorbywhichhe recognizesheis but anexileintheworld, and toexperienceeven inthesweetest hours the poignant homesickness foralostnative land.Having reached thisstage,the realization dawns that one canbegintohearandseeonly when thephysicaleyes and earsare closed,as"hewho depends upon hiseyesforsight,hisearsfor hearing andhis mouth forspeech,heisstilldead" (Hazrat Inayat Khan).

.

The author plainlysetsforth, without anydigression,thenecessityforeverybeingseekingfor truth, firstto ardently desireit, . then tosearchforaMaster, aliving.Master.

Now, truth isnevera thing that onefinds but it IS always taught .usby somebody. Butitisessential that this teaching should not oppress us, but rather should it restore our 'Self', it should revealtous our libertyaswellasthevery meaning of our existence.

LAVELLE

Andthisispreciselywhatisrealized through the Surat Shabd Yoga.Thisyogaisalsocalled ananda yoga-the yoga of happiness and bliss--or again, theyoga of the Master. It is founded onthis cardinaland primordial notion of the Sound, the Word. Rememberthemagicalscene that Goetheplacedinthe beginning ofhis Faust; hishero took forhistext: "In, the beginning wastheWord."

Thelightrevealstheworld:itwas created bythe Word. Toseeis todiscoverthe work of creation. To hear istohaveasense of complicity withthe Creator.

Thisdivine melody-this heavenly bani-is the hyphen connectingthediscipletothe supreme being through theMaster. Thisisthefirstandone of the most important pillars of thisyoga saysDr. Johnson, "takesthe student stagebystagefrom theearliest beginnings onthe occult path uptothehighest,the supreme goal;andbythe virtue of that progress,hepassesfrom thestatus of an ordinary man tothe sublime degree of a Masterman!" .

Thesecondpillar of the building of thisyogais thelivingMaster. Dr. Johnson continues: "Before arriving atthe Master's feet, wegenerallyhavetomake our way through wholelibraries of booksonallsorts of themes. When wehavegone through them all andfinallycometorealize that theydo not offerthe ultimate solutionofourproblems,wecometo'thelivingMaster'.Itisonly thenthatthedovefindsrestforherwearywings!"

th the third pillaris satsang, viz.:thepresenceor company of e hVlllg Master, whoisalivetoGod .

Onlyheisalive,0 Nanak, Who isin tune withGod. All others aredead.

Heisa God-man. AwordfromhimisawordfromGod.He hasnoneedtoteach.Evenhispresencealoneiselevating,inspiring,stirringandlife-giving.Hisvery company is self-illumination-living inhis company isspiritualeducation.His tender smile radiateslight,bliss,joy,knowledgeandpeace.Heisablessingto suffering humanity. All agonies,miseries, tribulations, taints of worldillness,etc.,seemtovanishinhismerepresenceandone 's doubts areremoved.Hecanawaken through sight,touch,speech andmere thought. Hecan transmit spirituality tothe student as easilyasoneoffersfruitto another. Heisanever-flowing fountain- : headofthewaterof life. Athirstyman drinks onlywater.A thirsty aspirant whohasimplicitfaithinhisMasterandwhoisveryeager toimbibehisteachingscan drink onlynectarfromhim.Thestudent imbibesfromhisMasterin proportion tothe intensity and degree of hisfaithinhim 'and of hisferventreceptive attitude. Spirituality cannot be taught but caught.Onceonehas learnt thesecrets of spirituality atthefeet of theMasterandisenlivened withthelife impulsesreceived fromhim , heisno more required tobein constant physicalassociationwithhim.Hecan have inner associationwithhimanywhereandeverywhere.Hemay, l OWever,pay frequent visitswheneverpossible,and report onhisinward progress.

Sat means 'true orunchangeable'and sang means ' union'.Therefore union with that whichis pure and imperishable issatsang. Onthematerialplanesatsang will bethe coming in contact of manwithaMaster,theMasterbeingpure,relativetoman.Inthe absence of contact withtheMaster,thestudy of the literature of SantMatmayalsobecalledsatsang,for that 'alsogivesinduce- . ment togowithin.Hencestudy of asaint'swritingissatsang, company ofasaintissatsang,hearinghisdiscourseissatsang, goinginandmaking contact withthe sound current issatsang, and union of thesoulwithSatNamis satsang· all of which will bemade. clearinthisbook.

This trinity of SantMatistechnicallycalled: . Sat Guru -living Master, Sat Sang his company, and Sat Nam the true Name (Shabd, orheavenly bani) .

Wheneverthereisadesiretodevelop ' spiritual awakeningin order to attain thegoal,one should yieldtoit.

Themost important fact which differentiatesthismysticaldiscipline,thisyoga,fromallthose known istherealization .ofGod whilelivinginthisworld.

.

Dr. Johnson says: "All human hopesandeffortscenter about threethings:(a)self-realization,(b ) God-realization, (c) entering the kingdom of heaven , eitherinthislifeorinthenext."

" It isonlyinthis book that itisshownhowthisistobedone in thislifehere and now," and"itisthefirst attempt in history togive thissciencetotheWestbya Western mind," continues Dr. Johnson.

Whilstwritingtheselineswearedeeplygrievedin thinking of the author sorecently departed inthemiddle of the preparation ofthis publication, leavingustheheavyresponsibility of correctingtheproofs of this book forwhichheworkedwithso much ardor andlove. .

But our promise of modest collaboration will not havebeen giveninvain.Thistaskhas not beenacceptedblindly but on account of the immediate pledgetosatisfy our 'reasoning reason '. First,wereadwithdelightand interest hisworkdescribinghis meetingwiththelivingMaster, then his autobiography; finally, aftermuchmutualcorrespondence,wewereabletomeet him and discusseverypossible question concerning theverysubstance of thiswork.

Whatinterests ' usis that the author wasanOccidental,nay,an American, not a dreamer but apracticalmanwhowas first a Baptist minister, formanyyears preaching theGospel.Thenhe wenttoIndiaasamissionary;oh,theirony,to bring tothe Hindusthespiritualrevelation of theOccident!Hewhowenttoteach, learnedwithawe of his ignorance andwas soon overwhelmedin ascertainingthe limitations of theteachinghehadreceived,in comparisontothe incomparable riches of India concerning spiritualand philosophical matters.

.

Dr, Johnsoncouldnolongerbeartoteachandpreachtothose tOWard whomhefeltmoreandmoreapupilratherthanateacher,

andsohedecidedto return to America.Butsoonthe narrowmindedness of hisco-religionistsobligedhimtoleavethis intolerantandpetty atmosphere. Then hefolloweda postgraduate course .oftheologyattheUniversity of Chicagoandwas .deeplyimpressed by the broad-minded attitude and spirit ofhisprofessors.But moreandmorehis mind wasdwellingonallthethingshelacked, andthisfeeling of spiritual emptiness becamesoacute that he gaveuphistheologicalcareerandbegantostudymedicine,achieving brilliant success.He then established himself as a surgeonand becamesoskillful that veryquicklyhe acquired alargepractice anda hospital wherehewas continually operating. Hehadhis private motorcars andevenhisownairplanes.Hewasone of the firstAmerican amateur pilots.Theforegoingistosatisfythecriticsandtoshowhow thoroughly hewas equipped invariouspractical domains, havingbesidesa broad generalculture.

Hiswork,however,did not satisfyhimashefelttheuselessness of thissuper-activeyetpurposelesslife,andhis constant preoccupation wasto discover' atanypriceadefinite spiritual direction, andaboveall aliving Master whowouldbeabletoleadhimtoit.

OnedayhediscoveredtheMaster . whocouldrevealtohim whatheexposes today inthese memorable pages.Hegaveupall that he possessed-airplanes, motorcars, hishouse,thehospital, properties, patients-all hismaterial comfort acquiredby hard work,andwentbackagaintoIndia, but thistimeasa humble . disciple.

.

Towritea book istotelloneself one's secrets, but through it, the reader must feel that heisdiscoveringhis own; thisisthe author's desire.

Inafirstvolume, 1 Dr. Johnson describedhis impressions after spending sixteen months atthefeet of theMaster.He then settled inIndia,thistime not toteach but tolearn.

Dr.Johnson,the minister whopreached,thephysicianatthe head of a hospital anditsstaff,andonewhogaveorders,became the humble adept freedfromallthebaggage of the. past,in order

1. JulianJohn son, WithaGreat Ma ster inIndia ( Beas, India: Radh aSoamiSatsang Beas, 1982). Originally published, 1934.

toacquire'theknowledge'.Therethesickorcrippled Indian brothersandsistersweregiventheadvantageofhisprofessionalcapacities.He treated and operated free of charge.And thereon the bankoftheriver Beas, atthefeetoftheMaster, hewrotethiswork whichtoday constitutes his spiritual legacy, thefirst of itskind revealedto the Occident.

Inthecourse of our stayinIndiawehadtheprivilegeofdiscussingwithhimpersonallyallthe questions dealtwithinthis volume,andwe render homage of deep gratitude tohisunselfish and disinterested efforts,tohisperfect uprightness, rectitude and probity,tohistoleranceandhis untiring goodness.Dr. Johnson • . wasascholar of philosophy aswellas of literature; hewasalsoa man trained inscientificdisciplines,aprecious token forevery Occidentalmind.

Hereceived ' uswithopenhands, not totake but togive.His warm,benevolentand most generoushospitality,andtheacquaintancewiththeMasterhediscoveredinthe north of Indiaonthe bankofthissacredriver(fromwhichatsunrisetheimpressive : profileoftheHimalayasistobeseen),allthis will remain inthe verydepth of our heart asthemostmoving, happy andblissful experience.

"Godspeakstotheearsofeveryheart, but itis not every heart . thathearshim";nevertheless,hewhoseeks; finds-sooner orlater-and toeveryoneisgiventhemeetinghedeserves. It isthe destiny of everybeingto germinate inthe dark-as the germ of wheat-and todieinthelight.Butthisdeath , farfrombeingan annihilation,isinreality'a new birth'!

The prophet said:Godsaithtome Ido not livehighorlowat all; Iliveinthe heart ofthedevotee. If thoudesirest me, Then seekmefromhisheart .

The mosque isinsidethesaints, And thereresideth Godforthe homage of all.

Hewho ' has found him,seeksno more; theriddleissolved, desiregone,heisatpeace. Having approached fromeverywhere that whichiseverywherewhole,hepasses into thewhole.

BRUNTON

Pilgrimwho treadest themystic path, if thou searchest humbly andsincerely, thou wilst find in . Sant Mat-this voice of the silence-the resolution of thegreatenigma ami theperfect union withthe Supreme Beingfrom whom thou issuest. Dr. Pierre Schmidt Geneva, Switzerland October 1939

Foreword

DR. JULIAN JOHNSON wrote ThePathofthe Masters under thespe. cific instructions andguidanceofhisMaster,MaharajSawanSingh, to communicate thetimelessteachingsoftheMasterstotheOccidentalworld.Ifsomeofhispersonal statements seemstrangeto the modern reader,itisameasure of thewaytheworldhas changed sincethebookwaswritten.Hispersonalviewslend their flavorto thestyleofthebook,andforthisreasonitmaybehelpfulto .glance brieflyathislifeand background to understand hisperspective.

JulianJohnsonwas born inthe southern part ofthe United States ofAmericainthelatterhalf of the nineteenth century,hisfather havingservedintheUnion army in theCivilWar. Asa childhe experiencedahardand demanding life,ruled first byhisfatherand . thenbyhisstepfather with the stickandthe threat ofhell-fireand damnation.His conventional education wassqueezedbetweenrigorousdutiesin both home and farm, and was not given much importance.Hisautobiography,however,reveals that hepossessed certaindistinctivecharacteristicsfromhisearliestchildhood,and theseservedtoshape ' thecourseof his richandvariedlife.

Dr.Johnson demonstrated afiercely independent mind,andpreferredto depend forknowledgeand understanding onhisown observationsandexperiencerather than onhearsayorthedictums anddogmasofothers.He combined this independence withahigh level ofidealismandan .intenseandinsatiabledesireforknowllifelongsearchfor truth ledhimtopursue all manner of andprofessions,andincludedseveralperiods of study a;:d Hislifewasoneof extremes-i-time andagain t rOWIng himselfwholeheartedlyintoachosenfield,exploringit

1. Paul Brunton, ASearchinSecretIndia (NewYork, Weiser: 1981), paperback edition . Referencefrom srxth edition .

MASTERS FOREWORD

withpassionand thoroughness, and then abandoning itandsearchingelsewherewhenhecouldnotfindthesatisfactionhecraved. .

Theveryfirstjobhechoseforhimselfasateenagerwas that ofa cowboyonthegreatprairielandsofAmerica,mastering ·theart of thelassoandthesix-shooter. It wasnotlong before herealized that hedidnotwanttospend his lifeas nursemaid toherds of steer. Insteadhedecidedtoeducatehimselfandworkedhisway through . school.Influencedbyhisassociationwithtwoministers,he j oo becamealicensedpreacheroftheBaptist Church, althoughhewas notyettwentyyearsold.Afterafewyearsofpreachinghebecame disillusionedanddissatisfiedwithwhatheperceivedas"adaily round of activitiesdesignedtokeepthephysicalbodygoinguntil oldage and thegraveclaimit ." Hewasconvincedtheremustbe something moreto life-some higher purpose inbeing humanandsohe turned tomore education inthehope that hewould discoverthe nature ofthiscalling.

. Afterseveralyearsspentinearnest study-this timein college. hewasstill dissatisfied. Herecords that hefeltthe college processof education tobe overconcerned with words-words andevermore 'word s-whichrarely touched onthesubstanceofthematter.He craved that personalandexperientialknowledgewhichleavesno roomfordoubt.HedecidedtotraveltoIndiaasa missionary-to gotothe Orient toconverttheheathen.Atthisstageofhislifehe perceivedhimselftobeasuperior,civilizedperson,anacknowledged member ofthe Christian Church,possessingthe incontro vertiblerighttosalvation and entryintothe kingdom of God.In hiseyesall non-Christians wereheathen,andunlesstheywerepre'. sentedwithan opportunity tohear and receivetheteachings of Jesus,theywouldbe barred foreverfromthegates of heavenand salvation.

During histhreeyearsinIndia, contrary tohisexpectations,his beliefin both himselfandthe exclusive infallibilityofhisreligion was profoundly shaken.Circumstances brought himinto contact withpeoplewho,herealized,wereof superior education andspiritual understanding, andtheseweretheverypeoplehehadbeen thinking ofasinferior .andheathen.Hecameto understand the

superficial nature. of mostreligiousconversions, particularly among the poor andilliterate,whoseemedtogainlittle other than to substitute one set ofritualsfor another. HecameacrossthedoctrineofTheosophywhich,asan orthodox Baptistminister,hewould previouslyhaveperceivedastheworkingsofthedevil.Nowhehad toacknowledgetohimself that itwas both reasonableandrational in itsapproach.

Afterthreeyearshewasobligedto return toAmericaonaccount oftheill-health of hiswife.Helikenedhimselfto"a punctured tire, deflatedandflat,barelyabletokeepongoingdowntheroadof life. " Suddenlyhewas questioning deeplyallthedogmasandbeliefswhichhehad hitherto takenfor granted and upon whichhe hadbasedhislife. .Onceagainhedecidedto' searchfor answers throughstudyandscholarship,andhe returned to university-this timetostudytheologyandphilosophy.Attheend of five yearshe stillwasnowiser,hadfoundnoanswers, anddescribedhimselfas "achildlostinthewilderness,witharoll Of diplomas under his " arm.

Circumstancesledhimtoquestionevermorerigorouslytherole played by orthodox religionsinpeople 's lives.Finallyhehadcome totheconclusion that they "command thevery innermost impulsesof mind andheart, throttling every free movement ...driving onelikeahorsehitchedtothechariot of. dogmas,withthepriest holdingthereins."Afterhisfirstmarriageendedin divorce, Dr. Johnsonandacolleaguefromtheuniversitydecidedto marry and spendtheirremaininglivestogether. When theladyinquestion cametoknow of hispreviousdivorce,shedecidedagainst their onthebasis of herreligious sentiments . On another occaSIon hecametoknow thathe hadbeen turned down fromthepost ofpreacher,orminister, in a suburban parishon account ofhis ofdress.Suchincidentsservedonlytoreinforcehisgrow1ll.g conviction that orthodox religionwasnot concerned somuch With spiritualand transcendent realitiesaswiththe mundane protocolsofsociety.

ChAs a matter of he asa minister oftheBaptist . urchand returned hIS ordination papers.He then decidedto

. study medicine so that he could continue toserve humanity. Once againhe returned tocollege, but thistimetoacquirepracticalknowledge.By now hewas becoming increasingly convinced that those idealswhichhe had searched so intensely tofulfill through earthly activities and relationships could only berealizedby transcending thephysical plane and searching inthe realm of thesoul.Hewas now certain that there wasa higher wisdom to be known, but the question was how and wheretofindit. During the subsequent yearshe never lostsight of his primary goal to find and acquire this wisdom, notwithstanding the considerable wealth and successhe achievedatthe worldly level.Oncehe qualified asa doctor, heset upa private practice, which proved both successful and lucrative, ' and healso went onto learn howtofly, bought four planes, and established hisown private airline.

Thesewerethe 1920's-the years between thetwo world warsyearsof intense social and politicalactivity with much of the world inastate of ferment. Dr. Johnson had long been convinced of the idea that there wasadeep power, orforce,whicharises within . humanity fromtimeto time toawaken man tohis higher self and bring him into anage of enlightenment. Thisvery subject had been the substance of hisfinalthesisat university afterhis return from India. Having tried tofind fulfillment onhisown through every conceivable means known to him, he now began tofeelthe need of ateacher.Hebeganto search in earnest fora Master, an enlightened being who,by embodying in himself thisforce of truth and knowledge, would beabletoguide him toself-knowledge and happiness.Beinga man of histimes 'he linked hisideas of a spiritual renaissance with Gobineau's theory ofthe superior nature of the Aryanpeoples,a theory which was being given much attention in thosedays.The doctrine was discredited later when itwasusedby Hitler asa justification forhis appalling anti-Semitic obsession, but when Dr. Johnson was searching forthewayto truth, those terrible events had not yet taken place.

They weredaysof rapid developments inallthefieldsofscience. The atmosphere of intellectual ferment , of scientific progress and discovery, combined with Johnson's ownunflaggingzealforknowledgeto reinforce his optimism about the imminent glorious future

FOREWORD

f mankind. This optimism was validated for him when he methis Master and saw, with hisowneyes,aliving example of hIS aspirationsforall mankind. . India had already proved tobethecatalystforthe most signifit period ofchangeinhislife,foritwas during hisyearsasa that his thinking had been so profoundly disturbed, and theprocessof liberation from the constraints of orthodox dogma had begun in earnest. Onceagainhefelt drawn tothe ashe became increasingly convinced that the Master hewas looking for wouldbethere.He had aforceful and premonitory experience of thepresence of a Master inhislifewhen, of his ofintense introspection, heawoke one mornmg Withthefeeling of havingbeen actually floatinginanoceanof love-a blissful experiencewhich remained with him forseveraldays.Very soon after thisexperiencedestiny brought him in contact with an lady calledJulia R. McQuilkin, whowasadisciple of Maharaj Sawan SinghofBeas, Punjab, India. When Dr. Johnson questioned her as towhyshehad not told him anything about her Master earlier,she informed him that he had not been readyto hear her until then. He wroteimmediatelytotheMaster,and within hardly eighteen months ofthis encounter hesettledallhis worldly affairs and left America forIndia,neveragainto return tohisnativeland. .

WhenJulian Johnson reached thefeet of his Master itwasthe culmination ofan intense and life-long search.Finally and atlast hefound himself facetofacewiththeobject of hissearch,the fulfillmentofhis highest ideals,a being who could lead him to experiencefor himself thegreat truths of the creation. He had travelledfarfromhis starting point inan orthodox Christian familyin ruralKentucky, and fortherest of hislifehealways referred to those truths as-the wisdom of theEast. · .

Inkeepingwithhis nature, Dr. Johnson applied himself wholeheartedlytohis spiritual practice, and aftersevenyears of constant personal guidance and attention fromthe Master hewas requested . by him to document his knowledge-to communicate this path of God-realization tohisfellow men . This book, ThePathofthe Masten, Was theresult. If anyonefindsthe book too blunt, tooabraSIVe f thbk i . , ortootactless,letheorshe bear the context 0e00m

mind. A person of Dr. Johnson's nature, whosaid of himself,"Iam not tactful,Iam not orthodox, Inever was"-someone whorealizedhisobjectiveafter more than sixty years of hardships, false starts, counterfeit solutions, disappointments and disillusionmentsa could not beexpectedtodo anything other than give VOIce to hIS knowledgeinthemost outspoken tones.Sucha man wouldneverprevaricate nor beat about the bush forfear that others might then not hear and recognizethemessage contained inhis words. It wasamessagewhichhe himself hadstruggledto understand forsolong, and which,tohis overwhelming joy,he had found andrealized.

.

The reader may note that inhis treatment of worldreligions,Dr. Johnson emphasizesthoseaspects of thereligionswhichhaveimpressedhimthemost.These short 'descriptions are not intended as st.udies oranalyses, but rather asaglimpse into the true spirituality rmbedded inthesereligions.InthissectionDr. J?hnson also presents his opinion about thewayreligious. institunons haveorhave not remained faithfulto their original spiritual core.

Whenever wehearDr. personal voice,itisthevoice of a man whowasfiredbyhis personal contact withan omniscient human being,the embodiment of love,a true son of God.Hisown personal experience of thepower and glory of thisblessedassociation infused.hiswriting and caused him both tostrike out against all pathswhichhebelievedmightmisleadtheseekerfrom the true way, and tomake statements about an imminent time of peaceand . harmony earth .. .his assertions . maybe absorbed by the ill the spmt ill whichtheywere ,made,forinasensethey are incidental tothesubstance of thebook,whichisaclear and comprehensive explanation of thetimelessteachings of thesaints.

Faith Singh

Introduction

Iaipur, India

November 1992

•

THE SUBJECT MATIER of this book isso important, so far-reaching and revolutionary, that the task of presenting it appears tobean undertaking beyond the powers of any ordinary man. The writer realizeshislack of complete competency.. the.messageofthe Masters had tobegiventothe world atthis time, ill the Englishlanguage, and no one appeared whowas better Tohaveevadedthe responsibility would have been .to. a plainduty.Afteryears of carefulstudy,incloseassocIatIonWith theGreatMaster,besides much time spent with advanced and learned disciples of the Master, this duty wasassignedtomeasif by common consent.

. Iwishto record my obligations and thanks to those noblesouls whohavegivenso much help, and whohave been tome personallyaverygreat inspiration. They all reflectthe light of the Masters. They all gotomakeup that grand galaxy of spiritual luminaries pointing the starry wayto higher worlds beyond all stars.These menare not only learned inthe lore of this path, but they are quitefamiliar with the various systems of Indian philosophy and religion; and hence areabletomake intelligent discriinination between all of them and this path of theMasters.They themselves havechosenthis path not blindly but in full light of knowledge. With their collaboration, this work has been carried forward to completion.

It must besaid here aswellasinthe heart of this book, that thisis not another phase of Hindu philosophy. Neither isitVedantism. It is none of theschools and cults ofIndia. Thisis not a

INTRODUCTION THEPATHOFTHE MASTERS

cult, nor isitevenareligion,inthehistoricsense of thatterm. Whatisit? It isascientific method of enteringandrealizingthe kingdom of heavenwhilestilllivinghereinthe human body. Thatis thesumandthesubstanceofthisbook.Is that toomuchtoexpect?No. It canbedone,andthisbookpointstheway.Thatisthe greatworkofalltheMastersandsaints of all ages. Inthisbook, forthefirsttimeinhistory,thecompletestory of theMasters' scientific path isgiventotheworldintheEnglishlanguage,by onewhowas born amongtheEnglish-speakingpeople. It is,therefore,writtenfromtheWesternviewpoint.TheMasternowwishes tomeetthedemands of thatever-growing number ofstudents whowill not besatisfiedwithformalandceremonialreligion.In thisage of scientificachievement,theMasterwishesto offer a: spiritualsystem of self-realization and ofGod-realization which meetsevery demand ofscience.ForthefirsttimeadefinitemethodorscienceisgiventotheEnglish-speakingworld,whichshows theaspiringandyearningsouljusthowtoenterandpossess that kingdom of heavenspoken of byall prophets andallreligions. Manybooksgivehints, but. theydescribenodefinite method by . whichanyonemayrisetothehighestheavens during thislife. Most of them cannot doso,becausetheythemselveshave neither theknowledgenorthemethod.OnlytheMastershaveit,andthis isthefirsttimethattheyfelt that thetimewasripeforageneral distribution ofsuchalarge portion oftheirscience.

Forcenturiesmenhavebeentoldthattheythemselvesarethe templesofGod.Buttheyhavenotbeenshownexactlyhowto enterthosetemplesandtheretomeetGod.Thissystemoffersthe method.It gives thekeyto that temple. It bidsthe student open the do.or andenter.Eversincemenbegantospeculateconcerning liesoutbeyonddeath, mankind hasstoodsilentatthegraves ofItslovedones, shuddering at 'the dark unknown'. Buttothe Mastersandtheirstudentsthereisnodarkunknown.Theyknow .comesafterdeathaswellastheyknowany ordinary factof thislife.How?BecausetheMasterandhisadvancedstudentsare ableatwilltopass through thegatesofdeath,toseewhatisthere, andthen return tonormallifeatanytimeandasoftenasthey

wish.Thusthey have, whilestilllivinginthebody, conquered the lastenemy. .

Whenevermenhavestartedto think andreflect upon thehumancondition,theyhavefoundthemselvesdriftingwiththetides, helpless victimsofa thousand ills, drivenbyapparentlyblind forces, obstructedandharassedat every turn, wounded and bleeding, heartsickandweary;andtherehasbeen but preciouslittlethey coulddotochangethesituation.Whohas not realizedhisinability tocopewiththe thousand andoneenemies constantly besettinghispath?ButtheMastersandtheirdisciplesare not sohelpless. Theyare not likethechaffdrivenbythewinds.AMasterisa Masterindeed.Hecontrolslifeanddeath,andheholdstheforces . ofnatureinhis hand as a mechanicmanipulateshismachine.Life totheMastersholds no unsolvedproblems;deathtothemhasno terrors.To them thefutureisanopenbook,andjoygoeswith themallthedaylong,likethesweetchimeofbells.Sinceallthe worldisseekinghappiness,hereistheRoyalRoadtohappiness. It is el CaminoReal of theMasters.

ThisbookisnotanencyclopediaofOrientalphilosophy.Hence, butfew quotations aregivenfromthesacredbooksorso-called authorities.Ifthe student feltanyobligationtoacceptthese 'authorities', hewould not needthisbook.A short resume of the differentreligionsisgivenforthesakeofcomparison.Thebest features ofeachreligionorsystemaregiven,andthenaneffort hasbeenmadetoshowjustwhereandhowthescienceofthe Masters transcendsthemallandaccomplishessomethingwhich noothersystemdoes.Eachphilosophyorreligionisgivencredit for fulfilling aneedinthedayand country whenandwhereit evolved. Eachreligionusuallyrunsitscourseandbecomesobsolete.Onedifficultyhas been that no. religioniswillingtoacknowledge thefact .ofitsownobsolescence.Onlythemoralpreceptsof all religions-which areessentiallythesameinall,remainas .universa! truth.Eventhesearesubjecttoconsiderablechangeasthe . ages pass. Butbeyondallofthem,thescienceoftheMastersstands Out likethemajesticpeakofEverest,defyingthestormsofthe centuries. And this issobecausethescienceoftheMastersisa

universalscience. It is not 'limitedto anyone country ortime. Neither isitfor anyone group of people but forall mankind. Thesearesome of thefactswhichthis book attempts toelucidate.Wedo not believeanyapologyis required forthe manner of statingthisscience. Demonstrated facts of anysciencemaybe statedinpositivelanguage.Even though the statement mayappeardogmatic,yetitis not reallyso.Dogmaisa declaration of opinion whichthewriterassumestobefact, but concerning which hehasnodefiniteknowledge.Butifa man should assertwith Euclid that thesquare formed onthe hypotenuse of arightangle triangleisequaltothe sum of thesquaresformed .onthe other twosides,heis not statingadogma,heisstatingafactwhichany mathematician may demonstrate forhimself.Thecaseissimilar withthefactsgiven out bytheMasters.Theytellonlywhatthey know, andthey know becausetheythemselveshave demonstrated everythingtheyteach.Ifwegivetotheworldinthis book some of thefindings of theMasters,weare not giving out opinions nor dogmas nor theories.Andthisiswhywe must makecertainstatements which,on their surface,may appear dogmatic.Innoin- . stanceisthemere opinion of this writer evergiven; exceptwhere itisdefinitelystatedashis opinion and nothing else.

. The volume of this' teachingisgiven out asthefindings of the greatMasters,andthereaderisreferredto their writingsforveri fication of all that isgivenhere.Theirwritings aremostly in Hindi · andSanskrit, but theycanberead.Also, there isatleastonegreat . Masternowlivingintheflesh,atwhosefeetthiswriterhas had the inestimable privilege of sittingasan humble student for many years past.' Some of usbelieve that heisthegreatest' of allMasters knowntohistory,andwehaveforthis opinion whattousappears goodandsufficientevidence. However,thisisonlyan opinion, becausewehave not personallyseenall of thegreatMasters of history.Be that asitmay,heisalivingexemplar of all that is taught inthisbook. Concerning thesethings,hespeaksasone having authority, and not asthe pundits. Hehas not onlyread

1. The autho r is referring here to Maharaj SawanSingh , whopassedonin1948.He was su cceeded by Maharaj IagatSingh , and then Maharaj Charan Singh The present living ' Master is Maharaj Gurinder Singh .

theminabook, he hasexperienced them inhisownlifeandhe knows their reality.

WemayrefertosuchgreatMasters of thepastasShams-iTabrizand Maulana Rum of Persia; and in more recenttimes, KabirSahib,Tulsidas, Guru Nanak andhisninesuccessors;and stillmorerecently,SoamiIi,BabaIaimalSingh, and SawanSingh Maharaj of Beas,whoisthelivingMaster.Many others mightbe mentioned, scattered all through history.But their nameswould notbeknownto . many of thereaders of thisbook, and sothey wouldcarrynoweight of authority. Of course, many students Will ask: What about Buddha andJesusChrist?Also, Zarathustra and Mohammed?WeretheyMasters of thehighestorder?Happilywe arenotcalled upon topass judgment upon their degrees of mastership.However,letusaccept them asMasters and give them all loveand honor . Itwouldhavebeenajoytoknowthem.Tomeet anyspiritualmanorwoman,even of theyogidegree,isnosmall goodfortune. Personally, Ifeelsogratefulfortheprivilege of associatingwith evenadisciple of theGreatMaster that I would bewillingtobe hisservant,ifoccasionrequired.ThisisbecauseIhavesomelittle . ideaofwhatarealMasteris.A story istold of. Shiva, which well illustratesthis point. Walking through a jungle , he suddenly stopped,andwhilegazingatalargestone,tearsbeganto run downhis face. When askedwhyhewept,hereplied:«Ten thousandyearsagoarealsaintsat upon thisrock, and justto think, I . wasnotheretoseehim!" It is only thosewhohave known a Masterwhocanappreciatea Master , Soletusneverspeaklightly ofanyspiritualteacherorMaster.Letusrevereanyadvanced soul,pastorpresent.All honor andloveandpraisetothem.They arethesalt of theearth. Their livesradiatethesweet perfume, wafteddown through thecenturies,topurifytheair of history. Butthereisonevital point of importance which must neverbe whenwearediscussingtheMasters.ofthepast.Thatis factthattherealwork of theMasteronthis earth planelasts duringhis individual lifetime,andendswiththe end of that e.TheMasterassumes human formin order todoa particular

workwhichhecould not db without human form.Thisbeingso, howcanhedo that workafterleavingthe human form?Thisis only common sense.Eventhe supreme being himself couldnotdo thework of aMasteronthisplane,unlesshetook human form. Thisis not becausetheSupremehimselfislimited, but becausewe arelimited.We cannot receivewhathewishestogive,except through a human body. ' '

This is one of thetragicmistakesofhistory.Millionsofpeople todayimaginethemselvesfollowers of somedeadMaster.Butsuch athingisquiteimpossible.Cana woman marry a: deadman and livewithhim?Canadead doctor givemedicine?Canadeadjudge decideacaseat law? The relationship existingbetweenMasterand discipleisapersonalone. It involvesvastlymore than afewinstructions that mightbegiveninabook. Instructions insome codeofethicsis not whatmen need; Theyrequirethe personal aid of alivingMaster.

Ifanyoneimagines himself adisciple of adeadMaster,heonly deceiveshimself.Hemayreverethe memory of aMasterorread hiswritings.Hemayfeelinhis heart love and veneration forhim. Hemaybewillingtodieforthe honor of hisname.But .he can never bearealinitiate of that Master : He must looktoaliving Masterifhe , wishesto enter the path oftheMasters. Without a livingMaster,noonecanevergobeyondthe uncertain influence of a ceremonial religion.Thebenefits of suchreligionare problematicaL

Thosewhoinsist that one religionisasgoodas another, or that oneroadtoheavenisasgoodasany other road,aremany.And theyareright,asfarastheygo.Amongallthereligionsofthe world,thereis very littlethatanyonecanboastofassuperiortoall others.Eachonegenerallyimaginesheisrightand that all others arewrong . Supposeallroadsleadtoheaven, ' as truly asallroads ledtoRome.TherewasonlyoneRome, but thereare many heavens.Vast numbers of them,oneabove another; thehigherones morebeautifulandmoreextensivethantheonesbelowthem.Now, suppose all roads leadto the lowest heaven-all roads leading from this physical plane.Thatdoesnotimplythat all roadsleadto

thehigherregions.Thosevast 'heavensstretchaway to unimaginabledistances. And.the higherheavensare known onlytothe higherMasters.Theloweronesare known totheyogis ' andMastersofthelowerdegrees.Ifthelowerroadsleadtothelower heavens,therearehigherroads that ' leadtothehigherheavens, andtheseare known onlytothegreatMasters. Consequently, if the student wishestogotothehighest of them,he must seek out a realMastertoshowhimthewayandhelphimtowalk upon that path.

Andhereistheessential point of differencebetweenthe path of theMastersand that of allreligions and socalledMasters of inferiordegrees.Thedisciple must takehischoice whom he will follow,therealMasterwhogoestothehighestregions,ortheyogi whogoesintothelower .regions. Foritisafactwell understood by occultists that noonecangohigher than hisMaster. It iswiththe greatestsatisfaction that weareable ' toofferinthis book some glimpses of the path that leads to thehighestachievements. Ifyouaskhowweknow that this path leadstoregionshigher thanthat of any other system,I will answer that theevidenceis based upon experience. It is not a theory orabelief.Ifthose differentsystemssetforth their claims,andadisciple of theMastersgoesin side andtraversesallregions mentioned bythosesystems,andthengoesontosomeregionfar beyond anything they everdreamed of; is that not sufficientevidence? Of course,itis notpossibleto presentthis evidencetotheexternalsenses.Butto ashavegonehigher,itisconclusive.Thedisciple of 'the hIgher path knows,whilethereligionist of other schools, ' never havinggoneup,simplyguesses. .. .

OncealadyaskedtheGreatMasterhowheknew that therewas notsomehigherregionorsome path toahigherregion than anything known tohim.Hereplied, .«Verywell,ifanyonecan ;ho w methewayto anything higher than that knowntothesaints, shallgladlygowithhim!"

.

.Imustcall attention hereto theone thing that,aboveall,distInguishes thissystemfrom others-its central theme andthevital Content ofthisbook. It istheaudiblelifestream. It isthe most

important fact of the entire universe, and yetitis not well known toany of theworldreligionsorsystems of thought exceptthe Masters'.Howthis amazing facthasevercome about in history is not easytotell. Without thisfactorinreligion and philosophy, everythingelseis barren and uselessby comparison. To bring this greatfacttothe attention of the thinking worldisthe most revolutionary and important announcement that hasbeenmadeto theworldina hundred centuries. Thefact that the Creator himselfcanactuallybe heard vibrating through allspaceinmusical vibrations of the most enchanting qualityisafact of supreme importance, and especiallysowhenitis known that byfollowing this enchanting music anyone mayrisetotheextremeheights of spiritual attainment. Isthere anything else of comparable value?

Wehopethereaderwillkeepthisamazingfactin mind throughout his study of thisbook. It istheone thing of supreme valuein the book.. It istomakethisgreatfact known that the book has beenwritten.It should bealways and everywhere known that without thisone thing of supreme importance, no philosophy and no religionhasanyactualvalue.Atthesametime,letnoone com- . plain that thisismerelya dogmatic assertion. It is not so.Thisisa factwhichhasbeen abundantly proved bytheMasters.The entire thesis of this book is an attempt toelucidatethis great truth.

We may' call attention to Chapter Two,inwhicha brief review of worldreligionshasbeengiven.This chapter is intended tomeet the requirements of certain students. If different types of students do not findthis chapter necessaryor important in their studies, theymay omit it and go direct to that . sectionwhichdealswith pure SantMat, 'the teachings of theMasters'.Atleast,theymay dothisatthefirstreading, and then goback,iftheylike,to that sectionwhich constitutes a comparative study. It isbelieved,however, thatthis section will be of valuetoall students whowishto makea thorough study of theMasters'system.

Everyefforthasbeenmadetomakethis book asscientifically and historicallyaccurate as possible.Ifthecriticfindstoo many statements which emphasize this point, he will forgiveus,Ihope. Itisanextremely important point. H.P. Blavatsky oncesaid , speak-

ing of her EasternMasters:"Theyshowedus that by combining . sciencewithreligion,theexistence of God and the immortality of man 's spirit maybe demonstrated likea problem inEuclid."And thisisliterallytrue.All men will acknowledgethe importance of this demonstration, provided itcanactuallybe made. ThisisexactlywhattheMasters and their disciplesaredoingallthetime. ThegreatMasters of theEasthavebeenrevealingthe spiritual path inscientific terms for thousands of years, and even today Masterslive and demonstrate their scienceinIndia. That the bulk ofthe Indian population is now ina state of retrogression has nothing todowiththeabove historical fact. .

Many intimate .things intended fordisciplesalone, and which onlyinitiates will find of value,are omitted fromthisvolume. / Thisis not becausetheMasterswishto withhold anything of valuefromany honest student, but itisbecausesome of thosethings wouldbe of nousetothe uninitiated and might resultin confusionand misunderstanding. Hence,theyare omitted here. Until onehas become an initiate himself, and hasmadealittleheadway onthe path, thereare many thingswhich appear so astounding and revolutionary, sounlikeall that the Western peoplehavebeen accustomed tobelieveasestablishedfactsinpsychology and religion, that they will be inclined tocast them asideasunbelievable. Butwhenonehasgonealittledistanceonthe path of theMasters, heacceptsthesethingswithgreatjoybecausehehaspositive proof ofthem and isabletosee their rationale and their greatbeauty. Thestrongfood of an adult laborer cannot begiventoaninfant; neithercana man whoneverleftthe ground step into an airplane andtakeit through theskieswithskill and precision. Philosophy andreligion must cometothe consumer insuchdosesashecan assimilate.

Ifthe modern scientistobjects that wearetryingto extend the ofscience beyond itslegitimatescope,let him remember that SCIence hasbeenfor centuries extending its bounds, enlargingits fields of operation. Why should wetrynowto limit it?Shallwe denythatexactknowledgemaybehad concerning thesoul and thelifeafterdeath?Why should weso handicap our investiga-

tionsi It wereno part of wisdomtodoso.Letallscienceremain free. It hasfoughtwithecclesiasticismfor centuries togainthe freedom it now enjoys. ' Shallscienceitselfnow turn and attempt to circumscribe itsown activities? Shallittrytocurbitsown investigations? It cannot beso.

Sir Arthur Eddington said:"Iam not sure that the mathematician understands thisworld of ours better than the poet and the mystic."Science should neverbecomeconceited.Whymaywe not treat of heavenandhellin mathematical terms?SirJames Jeansadmitsinhis MysteriousUniverse that scienceis not yetin contact with ultimate reality.AndProfessorMaxMuellersaid: "Whoaretheblind?Theywho cannot seethe inner worlds!"Some gosofarastosay that ultimate realityis beyond theken of man. But that isa bold assumption, andis unbecoming toascientistin thesedays of superachievements . It isthentheaimand purpose of this book totakethe hand of scienceand introduce itto ultimate reality.Doesthis sound like vain presumption? Nay,itis not so. Todaytherearelivingmen, not one but many,whoareincon.scious contact with ultimate reality.

Onelivingmysticsays, "True religionconsistsin developing that attitude of mind which ultimately resultsinseeingoneinfiniteexistenceprevailing throughout theuniverse,thusfindingthe samedivinityin both artandscience."Thisisthehigherideal of science.Why limit sciencetothetesttubeandmicroscope?Real sciencefindsits ultimate domain inthose broader andmorebeautifulworldswhereonly the mind and soulmayenter,afterbeing purified fromthedrossofmateriality.

Ouspensky has written a book inwhichhe attempts toplace sidebysidewithscientificdiscoveries many spiritualrealities.Thus . heaimstoshow their proper relationships. That thereisavery definite relation betweenthe spiritual and thematerial should be . understood asa fundamental premise of allinvestigations. How far Ouspensky hassucceededisaquestion.Buttheideaisanoble one.Hemighthavedone better ifhehadbeeninpossession of the knowledge of theMasters concerning spiritual realities.Hewasa noblescientisthimself.Buthehadtoacknowledge that afterhis

mostdiligent explorations intothevariousfields of sciencehe always found himself brought upagainsta blank wall. His ANew Model of theUniverse isonly another attempt toexplain that of whichthe writers themselvesare entirely ignorant. Someare shrewderguessers than others.

It isonlywhenamanbeginstoriseabovetheworld of sense that heactuallybeginstoknow.The Tertium Organum of Ouspensky presumes to be a"keytotheenigmas of theuniverse."But amaninpossession of theknowledge of theMastershas that key, infact. Doubt not that suchakeyexists.EveryMasterhasit,and heoffersit without money and without pricetoanysincerestudent.Thescience of theMastersistheonlysystemintheworld whichoffersadefiniteandscientific anthroposophy. Rudolph Steinermadeanoble endeavor todiscoversuchascience.Hehad somelight, but itisapity that Steinerhad not theclearvision of a realMaster.Letus thank himandblesshismemory,however,for thegoodworkhedidincallingthe attention of theworldtosome ofthehigher truths. Doubtless .hedid much to prepare theway foranoblerscience.

. Any doctrine whichis to gainalastinghold upon the thought of mankind or touch theirlivestoanydegree must not onlyap pealtothe emotions, but it must carrya spiritual uplift that will changethelives of itsadvocates. .Thisisthegreatweakness of the prevailingreligions. Theiradvocatesdo not in their lives demonstrateanygreat superiority over their fellowmenwhodo not acceptthatreligion.Notonlyso, but that doctrine whichisto establishitselfinthe inner lives of thepeople must alsohavea definite appealtotheintellect.Gonearethedayswhen thinking people will accept anything onthe authority of a book orapriest. It mustsatisfy rational intelligence. It isjustherewherethescioftheMastersmakesits strongest appealto mankind at arge. It isrational. It isscientific.

al .of all, letussay, if thereader 's impulsesaresufficiently trUIStic andhewishesabovealltobe of service to mankind ' th y tothosewhomheloves,hecanfollownowisercourse antoqualifyasamasterscientistonthispath.No matter ifit

takes him five, ten,ortwentyyears to qualify,it will pay him well. He will actuallysavetime.Foronewhoiswellqualified in this master sciencecando more for humanity inoneday than he couldotherwisedointwentyyearsasan ordinary man. With assurance and highhopeswe therefore send out this volume onits mission of love.

TheMaster,theaudiblelife stream, and spiritual liberation duringthis lifetime-these three constitute the substance of thisbook.

The Path of the Masters

The Philosophical Background

1. THE NOBLE BIRTHRIGHT OF MAN

JUDGING PURELY fromthe trend of present-day events, noting the deep undercurrents of thought-religious, philosophical, scientific-it isthe opinion of this writer that within three centuries from now the science of the Masters will prevailoverthewhole world.Not,indeed,acceptedbyeveryone or evenamajority; but itwillconstitutethe dominant stream of thought and it will be generally acknowledgedastheking of thesciences.By that timea " highethical standard of conduct will be adopted everywhereasa wholesomereactionfromthe present chaosinmorals and standards.This will come about byauniversalincreaseinknowledge andanenlightenedconscience.At that timethebest there isin all systems ofreligionand philosophy will be separated fromthe Worthless, aswheatfromthechaff, and anewsocial order will be established upon the foundation of rational and scientific demonsn:ation. Asflowersandfruit adorn andglorifytheplant,so upon this ne.w intellectual,ethicalandsocial foundation agreat spiritual evolutIon will takeplace.This spiritual quickening will not be :d bythenewsocial order, but will itself become thefounfrui eadoftheneworder.Spiritualityis not theflower or the j tofethicsand of social reconstruction, but sound ethics and a USt Social order aregoodsoil out of which spirituality mayspring

up, when vitalized by the showers of livingwater. It willbe the function of the Masters and their spiritual scienceto supply those livingwatersby connecting men with the audible life.stream. Thisistheage of the intellect, but weare approachmg the dawn of the age of the spirit. That spiritual evolution will. then beex- . plained in terms of the science of the Masters.Is.thisa as- . sumption? We think not. Itisa rational calculation. IS the age of science-at leastits beginning. Forevensciencewill merge its supreme gloryin that age when spirit shallbe enthroned. Soul and intellect should sit side byside upon the throne of world empire. Theological speculation is dead, oris about to breathe its last.Even the most religious care but littlefor dogma and meta physical dissertations. They are searching forreality,for thing solid upon which torest theirtired '. are looking for reality in the realms of religion and the .spiritual Justas. as they are looking foritin agriculture and trade. The scientific spirit must eventually lead mankind to adopt the scien.tific odinreligion. And there is but one scientific method mreligion. There neverhas been but one. There nevercanbe but one. Thatis the method of nature, the method of the Masters. There is but one universal God, and there has been but one wayto approach him, and that is the method established by the Creator himself. This method cannot be altered or substituted by man. .

There willbe ·congestions and fevers, when the bloodstreams of the nations will become impure. There willbeyears of stagnation and decades of intense activity. There willbe moments of wild delirium. There willbethe dark days of war and the bright periods of peace. There willbe retrogression and advance, but the retrogression willbe only seeming, only temporary. Inreality, the world will move on slowly but steadily toward the new Golden Age. Of course, that new satyugal isyet many millennia distant. But the darkest days of this kal yuga-the Iron Age-have already passed.We need not be discouraged ifafew stormy years intervene, when sections of the world willbe war-torn by the most

1. Hindi and Sanskrit terms are italicized , and when their meanings are not made clear .by . the context, they are explained intheglossary.Forease ofre ading, however, words which oc cur frequently a re italicized only thefirst time they appear ,

violentsocial eruptions known to history. When these terrible days passed,all nations--chastened, cleansed and reorganized-will return willsettle down toa more steady by. bitter expenence can man learn the folly of . fratricidal stnfe. It IS utterly unthinkable that men will go on committing suicide . bywholesale slaughter, even under the sway of mob psychology..

When the happy days of sound sense and scientific reconstruction shalldawn, human raceshall move with quickened pace theera of light, In that new civilization the spiritual sciof Masters. will be the guiding star. In truth, this great SCIence willbe, and IS now, the fountain source of all world civilization. though the world doesn't know it.Butthisscience will corne into its own bya general recognition, when men shallbecomesufficiently awakened to profit byit. . . .

which is here istobe construed a prophecy. It IS onlyan expressinn of the author's private convictionsbased upon a of history and the obvious trend of presentdayevents.It IS believed that these convictions are shared bya great number of men whohave studied the situation. One thing must not forget.The supreme will must prevail in world affairs, We not worry.The whole world cannot goto the devil, the infinite one is guiding itsdestiny. .

Nations and individuals arestill rushing about trying tosell therrbih . h irt ng tforamess of pottage. They aresoeagertoachieve sense-gr ti fi. . a 1 cation. They know not their true iriheritance They go onddigginginthe earth for worms, when gold and diamonds lie unerthe'd alth ir o?rsteps. Man has not yet arrived on this planet, III OUgh, he thmks hehas. That being which imagines himself an, WhICh build -h d wri pr souses an wntes books IS only man in the ocess of b.Th· . . ' horn ' at being whogoes about calling himself o saptens IS only . . . Inofferin ' asuggestIOn,a promise, of what istocome. prehen.gthis book to the world, givingfor the first time a comthe n... statement of the Masters' scienceintheEnglish tongue . •••am purpose f th .. . , presentthe: 0 e wnter IS tohelp fulfill this promise. At eIdea that man has already arrived is the greatillusion.

But that he will arriveinduetimeisthefinestvision of the prophet.To prepare thewayforhisarrival,in ever-increasing numbers, isthe dominating thought of thefriends of man.

Allmenare born toan inheritance farabove and beyond their wildestflights of fancy.TheMasters sometimes compare thesoul toa beautiful queenwhowandersawayfromherpalace.Her mind becomesclouded.Shelaysasideherroyalrobes,clothes herselfinrags, and becomesanassociate of thelowest of thelow. Thisisacorrect picture of the situation inrespecttoallsouls, exceptthosewhohave become really enlightened by contact with aMaster.Theyhaveall descended from their original home inthe kingdom of light.Theyare children of theKing of kings.Butthey havelostallknowledge of their origin and of their noble inheritance.Their minds havegrownclouded, their perceptions dulled, andnowtheyhave not theleastidea of their innate powers and possibilities. Wandering about foragesintheselowlands of maya, theydrag out amiserableexistence surrounded, byfilthanddarkness.

whathemayyetbecomebyalittleeffort, that knowledge will give himthegreatestpossible inspiration. .

Menareextremely proud of their intellectualachievements,and indeedtheyareconsiderable.Butlying latent in man's brain isa capacityonemilliontimesgreater than heisnowusing.Great scientists 1 nowassert that theaverage man of todayuses ' onlya fraction of his brain cells.Thisisanamazingthing. What were thosecells put there for? What would happen, whatcouldman notdo, if he should awakentohispossibilities and .begintouse hisbrainat full capacity?Whocanenvisionsuchanawakening? Truly,thereal man has. not yetarrived.

2. MAN 'S FIRST DUTY TO KNOW HIMSELF

It was,therefore,extremely appropriate thattheancientsages pointed out man's first and primary duty.TheGreek philosophers said, insubstance : " Worshipthegods, if youmust; but your first duty isto find out whoand what youareyourself." Sotheywroteover the doors of their temples, "Gnothe Seauton"-Know Thyself. :And that is today thefirst command of the modem Masters.To know oneself,however,inthe meaning of that phraseasgivenbythe greatMasters,isa.verydifferent thing fromthe meaning givenit bythe modem psychologist.Thisfact will become apparent tothe readerasheadvancesintothisbook.Solongas man believes himself tobeonlya creature of theearth,a worm ofthedust, limited and bound bythephysical,he will remain so.Butheis only limited and bound becausehechoosesto remain so. When a . mangets but aglimpseofwhathereallyisnow,andespecially of

Ifwe but make note of onlyafew of theachievements of modemintelligence during the lasthalf-century,wemaybegintocatch glimpses of human possibilities.Weareamazedtodiscoversuch giganticand revolutionary changesinthe earth asthe diastrophic recordsshow hidden.awayin subterranean rocks.Butamoreamazing phenomenon presentsitselftothe student whenhetakesnote ofthe current records, during hisownlifetime,proving that greater changeshavetakenplace .during thelast half-century inthedaily lifeofman than inallthe preceding centuries sincethetime of Christ.Progresshastakentotheairplane,It doesn't walk anymore. It travelsat three orfour hundred miles per hour, and that will soonbeexceeded. Yetall of the modem achievements ot'man inscienceand invention; in control of the earth itselfand nature's forces, areas nothing when compared withwhat man maydo whenhecomesconsciouslyintohis inheritance. Theaccomplishmentsofthe mind, giganticastheymay now appear,areasthe play ,oflittle children when compared tothepossible triumph of the soul.Ifevery brain intheworldwere working at full even then theachievements of theintellectwouldbeas nothIng whdh . . w . en compare towatmaybe done by mmd andsoul %kin g together under the full ' light of spiritual illumination. thenmanhas subjugated hispassions, brought his mind under e Control of spirit,whensoulstands unfettered and undimmed, --

1.

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SeeAlexisC arrel, M. D., Manth e Unknown ( NewYork: Harper, 1935 )

, itis then and then only that he will begin toget some idea of his exalted birthright. . . /

The world hasalwaysgazed with awe upon a miracle. Butto the highly developed man) the Master) miracles arelike the play of children) as when a child blows bubbles. The real Master can manipulate the forces of nature asa mechanic manipulates the of his machine. Heis master of those forces. They must obey hun. Heis no longer a helpless drifter in nature's vortex. But how fallen from his high estate is the averageman! How pitiable hisplight! Bentasatwigbyevery breeze that blows)a prey toevery hostile creature"that crosseshispath)a victim of poverty)disease)pain) death)he doesn't know that heisa god clothed inrags!Heis master of the universe) going about begging a crust of bread. Heis aking) prostrated before his own servants. He isa prisoner) walled inbyhis own ignorance. Would hebefree?Hehas only towalk out of his self-constructed prison: "None holds ye, but yourself," says the noble Buddha.

3, THE NEW SOCIAL OR,DER

Scienceis the keynote of this age of the intellect. Scienceis the magnum opus of this age.It may almost besaidtobe the habit of theage.Itis the vogue . The practical or ,applied sciences aredaily becoming more popular. Toscience) men are turning more and more for the solution of all of their material problems. A little more than three hundred yearsagoSir Nicholas Bacon gaveto modern science ' her firstborn son)in the days when Elizabethan England wasin the zenith of her greatness . When that son) Francis Bacon) became Lord Chancellor) hewas already recognized asa philosopher. In him was thus early embodied the synthesis of world thought. He then laid the foundations of modern science.

The great Renaissance of learning began with RogerBacon) almost three hundred years before Francis Bacon. The torch of . . genius was then taken upby Leonardo da Vinci. It was thrown into the skyby Copernicus and Galileo. Their bold stand) 'in spite

of ecclesiastical suppression) gave hope to the timid spirit of the age., The research of and Vesaliuscalled out the slumbering genius of pre Reformation days) and then came Francis Bacon to call together the training school of Europe. It wasa time of general awakening from the dark night of medieval ignorance. Savonarola and Luther) John Knox and theWesleys, came into the general stir not so much to inculcate science but to awaken the stupefied spirit.At about the same time) Kabir Sahib and Guru Nanak were doing the same thing in India. They were trying to quicken the religious and spiritual instincts. In America the pilgrims wereat that time too busy fighting the Indians and building themselves homesto bother much about new concepts in religion and science.

It wasanera when the whole world was just begmnmg toSItup and take notice. Nevertheless) itwas the birth period of modern scientific thought.

Sciencehasalways had to contend with three powerful obstaclestoits progress) each of which was almost insurmountable. These three are monarchism) priestcraft and popular ignorance. Slowlyand steadily sciencehas been obliged tofighteverystep of its wayagainst these three. Can anyone explain this obtrusive phen?menon of history?Scienceis today almost universally recognizedasa great friend of man. Religion is supposed tobea friend of and the twohave been in deadly conflict during nearly :e penod of known history But sciencehas had one strong y in The function of philosophy has been totakeup of science give them aplacein rational thought . tai this respect the services of such men asBacon) Spinoza,Vol- : ire, Emerson)Berkeley) Kant ) Hegel)Spencer) Schopenhauer and even of N'thhall been of i . f ' te zsce)aveeen of mcalculable value to the genius o SCIence inits battles for freedom. Da . . . hrwmgaveto the world a method of study. But philosophy lighas alreadysaid too much about evolution . Now) thanks to the tthat could bdi d' . as' gl, not e irnme ) monarchIsm is dead. There is not to In e. vestige of itleft on earth initsold form. We need not take the phases ,of modern dictatorship. They will soon age.y autumn wmds. They are by-products of a passing

The second enemy of progress, priestcraft, is now an absurd anachronism. H.G.Wellscallsit"a funny tillexistsin an anemic form, but time and science will finishit slong. There remains now but one of the formidable threeere " .d popular ignorance-to block the progress of SCIence, an that isslowly passing away.Ina recent tour of the world, this writer was amazed tofindin almost everyvillage of the corners of the globe that the English language is carrying the rudi- ' ments of enlightenment and establishing schools where elementary sciencesare being taught. Truly, this is the age of SCIence, the dawn of universal enlightenment.

4.A GREAT SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

To the discerning student one thing more is , inthisgeneral forward movement of world enlightenment. It IS thefact along with scientific education there isa current of tual awakening. The student hasto look a little deeper seethis, It is not on the surface like the scientific wave and Ithas not affected so many people as the other. But today a tremendous forcein the world. There wasa time when Darwinism threatened tosweepall philosophy into the muddy stream of biology. Men were about to overlook the fact that souls existed. Butagam that light, which no superficial speculation could for long, has emerged from the fogs and now itdailygrows bnghter. Materialism no longer sits upon her throne unchallenged. ' ,

When Heriri Bergson entered the arena of modern thought, he at once did something to smash the mechanistic of t:he universe and toseeinthe world a complex whole, throbbmg light and life. 'Creative evolution' wasto him not an um- : verse evolving out of chaos by the blind impulses of physical but a thing of life and beauty and, above all,a thing of soul.Life IS more than apiece of mechanism fortuitously thrown together by blind forces.Lifeis not simply protoplasm acted upon by ical osmosis and electrical reactions. The duration of a living

organism is dependent Upon something more than a chance accumulation of cells, gotten together by natural selection and 'held together by the survival of the fittest . Bergson was ashamed that men should be thought of as machines. And Bergson ventures to hope that life may outlive mortal limits. No barriers canbesetup before the onward march of life.Hedeclares that the whole army ofthe living is sweeping onto somemighty achievement, and at lastit may "beat down resistance and clearthe most formidable obstacles, perhaps even death itself."

Bergson comes closer to the point ' of this book when hesays: "To explore the most sacred depths of the unconscious; that will bethe principal task of psychology in the century which is opening.Ido not doubt that wonderful discoveries awaitit there." If the psychology of the West would lend anear to the Eastern Masters, they would not be long in making these discoveries presaged byBergson. '

Thinking men havesetuptwo radically opposed viewsin biologicalscience. They are vitalism and mechanism. Vitalismpresup, posesacause of life entering into matter from a plane of being above matter, aswe know it. Professor H. H. Newman of the University of Chicago thinks that the vitalistic viewis opposed to that hypothesis which hasledtoall scientific achievement. But we doubt the truth of this, however much the good professor may believeitso. All that the scientist needs to assume isthe orderliness of nature and the universality of laws operating in the world of matter. This assumption is surely not opposed to the vitalistic hYJ?othesis. The scientist may then proceed with security. But the ultimate cause of biological manifestations is quite another mat-

We may assume that electricity works according toaset of edlaws.No scientist will question this, but the cause or the ' source of It' ill' , I eec nc energy st remams one of the unsolved probofphysicalscience.Soitis with regard to the source of life b sef.Like electricity, weseelife's marvelous display of activity Ut ph ' , \Vh' ySICal SCIence does not presume tosay whence it comes nor yetItheritgoes. The source of both electricity and life remains tobe dIscovered byscience. Why isthisso?Because physical

sciencehas not yet the means . of following either one of them to its ultimate source. Yet the Masters have such means. ' .

One trouble has been that the advocates of the vitalistic theory have assumed the existence of an unknown and unknowable force to which they attribute the of life. This has been one weakness which has deprived them of any chance to establIsh their own theory in rational thought. If this subtle force is unknown and unknowable, then we may not blame the matenalIstic scientist. forhis mechanistic assumptions. The one theory is . about as good as the other, or as bad. The fact remains that the position of the physical scientists not proven; do they claim that itcanbe proven. They SImply assume It and then believeit unscientific and undigpified for them to acknowledge the existence of anyforce which cannot be demonstrated in their laboratories. And we cannot blame them for this attitude. Until they know something of the science of the Masters, is doubtless the more rational. But the Masters are not $0 limited as ' are the physical scientists. Their scienceis more inclusive. Unlike all others who hold to the vitalistic hypothesis, the Masters do not . assume the existence of an unknown and unknowable force giving riseto the phenomena of life. They assume nothing. This is not simply an hypothesis for them . They deal ' with forces which they know. And the Masters know that lifeis due toaforce extraneous ' to matter, and they know that biological phenomena cannot manifestasa result of the known laws of matter and energy. On the contrary, these existas the direct result of the action of spirit upon matter, through the intermediary action of extremely subtle substances orforces that sciencehas not yet demonstrated. These finerforcesare,infact ,t he more 'refined forms of matter, which upto this date have not been demonstrated in the physical laboratory. ' . ' ,.

That mind and spirit playa vital partin every life upon this planet is, of course, not yet kn0:wn to. SCIence. But itiswell known to the Masters. Physical SCIence IS in no position to deny this factsowell known to the Masters. The Mastersareable to , penetrate into the deeper substrata of nature. They

cansee, the inner workings of alllaws and processes . There is not a blade of grass or an insect or an animal which is absolutely devoid of mind and spirit. Furthermore, mind and spirit are ,the activatingforces of all formsof life. Without them both, no living thing could survive forasingle moment. When matter is quickened by the all-pervading, life-generating mind and spirit, working in harmony, it begins to manifest the phenomena of life. When mind and spirit are withdrawn, lifeceasesat once and disintegration .sets in. '

All that physical science knows is that life manifests in certain ways. It follows certain well-attested laws. Scientists do not even trytoguess the ultimate causes of life. Only the .Masters, having accesstothe higher planes of being where 'the phenomena of both mind and spirit canbeseenby them, know that without mind and spirit both, no life can manifest on this physical plane or on any other plane where matter isa factor in such manifestation. Asa matter of fact, no physical scientist can possibly prove that thisis not so., They are simply obliged to say that they know nothing about It. Then to their weakening prestige they naively assert that no one elsecan possibly know anything about it. They are loathe toallow t he assumption of mind and spirit animating nature . But this is no assumption to the Masters. Assaid before, they know. It is just as 'unscientific' toassert that the mechanical laws of matter and energy can producelife asto assert that they , Neither can possibly b.e proved by the physical scientist workingalone. Therefore, one assumption isas good as the other, evenfrom the viewpoint of the theologian who claims that an unkn ' bown and unknowable forcedoes produce life.But,assaid the Masters assume nothing. They speak from perfect ho';ledge and they know that all biological phenomena on the P plane of lifeare due to the interplay of both mind and SPlrlt ti acmg upon matter. The Masters know what the oldest and mOst rendscih tall owne scientists avealways assumed as the fundamenaw of biogenesis. ' all masters the laboratory must not any longer try to 'squeeze e cosmos mto a test tube'. It cannot be done. The spirit is

abroad in the daylight and it must be heard. At the same time, we need not worry lestscience run away with religion and bury itin the potter's field.W (,. need not join with Rousseau inan effort to curb scientific thinking forfearit may snatch away our pet god. If , they cantake the god,let them haveit.Itis only aragbaby.We haveno need to push aside the demands of scienceto enthrone religion and intuition. Science and religion areno longer enemies. Indeed the hour is approaching, and now is, when thesetwoangels of lightshall meet inmystic union, and then it will beseen that they are not enemies, not evenfriends, but areoneandthe same being. And then will dawn the new age, the Golden Age. That will be the age ofreason spoken of by Thomas Paine. And it will be the age of the super-science, the period of the super-genius, the arrival of the superman, the man whohas , realized his true inheritance.

Justas the physiological psychology of James and others can never reduce mind tothe materialistic level of brain cells and nerveganglia, "secreting thought as the liversecretes bile," so the established facts of sciencecan never displace spirit from man or the universe. The most they can sayis that they know nothing about it.Science will eventually be obliged to recognize that spirit is the supreme forcein nature, aswellas the immortal spark in man himself. When science becomes vitalized by spirit, the age of true science' will dawn . Butat present, sciencehasnoway of demonstrating this fundamental fact of nature, and itis not tobe blamed forits limitations. We would only suggest that it avoid dogmatism until the day of its enlightenment. The two currents are now running along sidebyside, and as men gaininscientific knowledge? afeware beginning to look for the solution of spiritual and religious problems by the scientific method. When the world's thinkers adopt the scientific method inreligion, both science and religion will experience anew birth . Then it will beseen that all truth is one, itsseveralaspects being but parts of thesame . radiant being. And thisisexactly what the Eastern wisdom is now trying to bring about. As Francis Bacon threw into the sky the torch of science, and gathered about its blazing light the whole of

thinking Europe, evenso the scientific method of the spiritual Masters now offersto the world asystem which will enable all men to enter the domain of certified knowledge in religion, just as truly asin . chemistry or biology. When the masters of physical scienceshall,at the sametime, qualify as spiritual Masters, theage of pure science will open up. All spiritual Masters arealso masters of physicalscience; but uptothe present theyhave been veryfew in number, and their own work very pressing. Besides, the teaching of physicalscienceis not their mission. Webelieve, however, the must come when the spiritual dimension of reality willbe considered byall odds the most essential part of the curriculum tobe undertaken by the student whoaspirestobecalleda realscientist.

Upon this splendid foundation the new social order Will be Soul culture and mental culture and physical culture, all working hand in hand, will produce the educated man. Without them all, no man canlay any claim to genuine culture. There mustbea resetting of cultural foundations. Political and social idealsare changing; evenethical standards are not what they were ' halfa century ago.Thishasled many good people to shiver with dread,lestthe future witness the total wreck of civilization. They nee? not worry. Out of the dyingpast,a brighter future will spring, ennched bya spiritualized science. days of the political demagogue are numbered, evenin Amenca.Theideal of every dreamer, from the days of Plato down tothelasthigh school boy,has been to establish the social utopia uponthebasis of natural science. Moore and Plato only reflected whichisin the substratum of every thinking brain; viz., that th no Idealsocial order caneverbe established until scienceis made efo dati f the U? 0 government. And thiscanbe done only when POhtIcian and money-monger are thrown out of office and Illen ernin t i . _. en m SCIence are given the reins of government But ,,-yen th. . M at IS . not altogether safe and sound asa working policy. sc,enof brams, of scientific training, experts in all branches of Ienceeahhi hi kill m•. t' caIgysedspecialistinhis own department us also be 11 d h. , mora :y soun ,t at IS, they must manifest soulaswell

N ODEMOCRA TI C GOVERNMENT KNOWN

. as intellect. And this will be an accomplished fact just as soon as religion is placed upon a scientific foundation-not . That will mean an all-around development of our specialists. When that happy dayarrives, such men as aspire to tions will firsthaveto show that they are guided in all essential matters byan enlightened conscience, inspired an unselfish love. After that, they will qualify in their several departments of science.A government by such experts, callit oligarchy, or what you will, shall constitute the first civilized government of history.

5. NO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT KNOWN

Men talk and write much about democracy. I suppose many Americans fondly believe that they live under a democratic of government. But that isa pet delusion, ataletobe told to children along with other pretty fairystories.It may be good for Fourth of July orators or men seeking election tooffice. But itis no more than an illusion. It only appears real because men and women vote toelect their favorites. There is not areal democratic government inthe world and there never has been one. There is nothing but oligarchy, and that is mostly an oligarchy of wealth . It is not . evenan oligarchy of culture. That would be infinitely better. Vot- . ersare simply manipulated. Afew men rule the nation. The masses move like sheep and doas they are told . Can you imagine a hundred million people going towar of their own free choice? They arealwaysled into war or driven into itbyafew ambitious or misguided politicians. Of course, when one nation goestowar, the attacked must defend themselves. And that is the only time when a war -isfully justified. But what starts the aggression? The five passions, ignorance and misunderstanding on the part of the leaders. The real people, the hoi polloi, are not governing themselves.«A government of the people, by the people, for the people"has never existed, except in the noble heart of a Lincoln or some such friend of man. What wereallyhaveisan oligarchy of (the men of influence'. And that generally means men of money. We -know that isso.

Hence theideal government, as herein suggested, would mean nothing more than the substitution of a noble oligarchy inthe place of an ignoble one. But even that is not theideal.It may be addedhere,asa matter of fact, that the real government isan ab solute monarchy. But the difficulty about that is that in order to secure such anideal monarchy, it would firstbe necessary tofind anideal monarch. There isthe rub. There is but one class of men ' ?n earth whocan qualify for that position , and they will not accept It-the great Masters. Their work is of a different sort.The next . best plan isa spiritual ized, scientific oligarchy. That oligarchy will layallthe emphasis upon the spirit.

Letus make a significant suggestion. Suppose a whole nation is inhabited bythe great Masters alone. What would be their form of government? Shallwe venture aguess? No government atall. And th at is,afterall,theidealsocialbody.But such an idealcan never beestablished until all men become idealin character. All that sucha body would need would be keepers of records and centers of exchange and directors of channels of communication. Theexpen se of such a nation would be but a millionth part of what the poorest nation now spends for the poorest government. Of course , suchabod y of men is but a dream inthistime ofKal Yuga.

I never.forget one dayat the University of Chicago, when PreSIdent Mckinley was addressing amass meeting of faculty and stu.dents. Professor John Dewey, 1 then head of the department of phIlo sophy, satbythis writer. Hewas keenly interested inevery word spoken byMcKinley.Itwas apparent, eventoa novice like that here wasa man alive with the fires of genius. McKiney made . some remark about the educated young men of the countrycarrymg the scientific spirit into all channels of social activity Pr £ . o. essorDewey turned tome and said, «That will never be done UntIl ' hII ' , SPlfItsavitalizethe processes of science . Spirit isthesoul ofth e universe. "

Ido not know ifhis later teaching bore out the import of this -I johnDewey ' th ft ' opher ed In e a . erDr. Johnsons d eath , became a world-ren owned ph ilosfor h i d ucat ?r and screntist, a Renaissance man ofthem odernage.He is best known the theones a ndh isinnovative systemwhich r eformed thelibrarieso f

remark. If inhis Democracy and Education hefailstolay enough emphasis upon the point which heso eloquently declared that day, perhaps itwasdue topreoccupation with other and, to him, more immediately urgent matters. He had a profound interest in humanity and itwashiswishto contribute somewhat tothe building of a better social order. Hisaimwastodothisby means of rational, scientific education. It was natural that he should lay the emphasis upon scientific training in actual work.The culture .of the spirit might beleftto men whose speciality that was-the Masters. It seems such apity, however, that Deweydid not know a real Master. He would have made a most illustrious disciple. So, when the dayarrives that the work of the educators, the scientists, the philosophers, all converge and join with spiritual culture inanew and universal science of allsciences, that will herald the dawn of the newage. That will constitute the inaugura- . tion of the new social order. If Deweyfailsto give much credit to the Bergsonian elan, itis perhaps because hedoes not feelthe necessity of talking too much about irrelevant things. Hewas busy with other matters. If Dewey appears tobe wholly Darwinian in his fundamental hypotheses, that does not mean that he has altogether forgotten the spirit. If he thought to establish the naturalist point of viewinallfields of endeavor, itdoes not mean that he believes the universe tobea jumble of blind adjustments toenvironment .. Dewey sums uphis conclusions bysaying:

The only waytoseethe situation steadily, and seeit whole, isto keepin mind that the entire problem (of all philosophy and endeavor) is one of the developments of science and its application tolife, Moral philosophy returns toitsfirst love: love of the wisdom that is nurse of allgood,

It maybe added here, although Dewey did not havein mind that "the wisdom that is nurse of all good" is the wisdom of the great spiritual Masters, Dewey may haverealized, or he may not haverealized, that inthe realm of the spirit lies that wisdom which is the very mother of allgood. When mankind learns to enthrone

NO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT KNOWN

the spirit and when itseeks enrichment of th iritb h ' , . ifi thdth e spmt yte SCIen ti cme 0, enweshall enter upon th fir al'of allhistory. ' est actu renaissance

Man is, the highest form of creation on this planet and heis onlya sojourner here. Once hiseyesare opened hkn thisworldis not his home and that Iivin, , . h : eows that fi d f '' g in Ite IS no more than aeeer 0 swine among strangers whil J: the li ,hiF t , , e tar awaye light burns III IS spalace.He knows that this world ' outhouse mth gnifi IS only a dark erna cent palace grounds of his Father's kin dom,The Masters tellus that above and bdhgthis terrestrial speck of dust liein num bleyon ltd e confines of erae wor s full of light andbeauty.To explore those worlds twill d during this lifetime is only a pom'on afan h topossess them o our eavenly birthright to most people that vast universe of finer worlds is locked d To many itis but afabric of poetical fancyBt :d t sh o III Itis locked indeed, but the Master tl:e e 0 ersIttoallwhowillualify universe of starry worlds rnab unl 1• By that key the entire ensexplored,Just how this i: toe ocked and ,their shining heavsecret of thE'be done constItutes the sublimest eastern wisdom.!

;---

,

As noted sp.. 111 theFored Ultual truth wor,Dr. Johnson 's ownlifeled him lYisdorn" s Were tobefound in theEastH.tothe conclusion that all great as synonymOus withSantMatth.tschinhisuseoftheexpression "EaStern , eeacgs of thesaints.

Spiritualdarknessbroodsovertheworldandallmenaresick fromit.Spiritually,andoftenphysically, thewhole .of mankind is sick,blind,deafanddumb,andcoveredwithsores.Cancersof moral corruption eattheirwayslowlyintothevitals of the human race. Nota man escapesentirely.

A

Review

of World Religions: Their Meaning and Analysis

1. THE SPIRITUAL PLIGHT OF MANKIND

THERE IS WONDER thatmen take to eveniftheyhave toinvent one. Voltairehassaidthatreligion 1S the solace. ofthe weak. Nietzschehasrepeatedthisinsubstance.Be that it theweakneedsomesupport,andIwouldnottake awayfromthem , evenifIknewwellthatitwasonlyan. roduct.Religionhasbeenahavenof formillionswho andsuffered.Itisundeniablethat rt has the unhappy whosoughtsurceaseofsorrowinanyreligionwhich happened tobe near them.Andwhocanblamethem?Adrowningman will graspatastraw. . Theworldis full ofdarkness,painandgnef.Thatfactcould n?t bekeptfromthenobleprince ashewas in hisfather's palace.Andwhenhesaw it mall ghastly starinhiminthe face, hewentforth,filled with compasslO n to seekagremedy. Every individual intheworld must seekthe path for . himself, andwalk upon itforhimself.

Trulytheworldisinalostconditio n, Thisisatheological term, butwemayuseitbecauseitismostapplicabletothesituation. Every manisBotonlysick, but heislostinadensewood,a tangledforest, without pathorcompass,nosunandnostars; because heisblind.Moreover,heissufferingfromtheworstcase ofamnesiaeverknown.Hehasnorecollectionofhisoriginal homeorinheritance.Inthisdeplorablecondition,hewanderson fromyeartoyear.Inadditiontothismentalandspiritualplight, manyaresufferingfromphysical ills; theyareheartsick,wornand weary.

Thisisapicture of the great majorityofthe human racein somedegreeorother. Are theynotlost?Theystumbleon,generally hopeless, pressingtheirwearyway,theyknownotwhither, andsometimesbythewaytheystopand pray. Butthereisno response fromtherocksandthetrees,andtheirgodsareassilent asthecold,distantstars.Eachnightdragsby,and the daybrings onincreasedweariness. Theycryforbreadandthereisnothing butstones.We ·arenotspeakingofthefavored few, but of the masses ofthe poor andignorant.Aretheynotlost?Eventhe majority oftherichand highly placedarenothappy.Hereand thereanisolatedindividuallaughs,whileothersseekreliefinmad passion.

!his pictureisnottoodark.Ifyouknowtheworldasthis WI1ter hasseenitduringthelastseventyyears,you will agree. But Why amIcalling attention tothedarksideof life? In order thatI maypointtotheremedy . Nearlyallmen,in addition totheir o.ther troubles,arebesetonallsidesbythe five enemies,thepas- S10ns-d' . nvenbythem under thelash, sometimesalmosttomadness. This affects therichasmuchasthepoor.When they cryfor foralittlecomfort,alittle moment of respite,the Pass10ns mkthei .. ithalizi d · . . oc eir victims Wl atant mg rop,acrust,some-

E SPIRITUAL PLIGHTOF MANKIND

timesa moment of deceptivepleasure,and then theydrive them on through thelongdaysandthe maddening years.Theyoung growoldinthevainsearchforalittlelight,an hour of Everywhere there isa constant fever of unrest,a never-ending searchforwhattheyneverfind.Most of them do not evenknow forwhattheyaresearching.

Ifsomedear optimist feels inclinedtoblamemefortellingthis truth, for painting a dark picture, lethim know that Iamdiagnosingthecasewithone hand whileIholdthe remedy intheother.I am not apessimist. Neither doIbelieveitwiseto shut one's eyes toplainfacts. Whereisthe man whocansayheishappy?If anyoneisalittleless burdened today,whocansay but tomorrow mayfind him againdeepintheshadows?Whereisthe or woman who can claim immunity fromsinandthepassions? Moral strength ispracticallynil,exceptinthecase of afew superior souls'. Of spiritual lightthereisno more than afeebleglimmering, aflickeringcandlehere and there intheuniversaldarkness . The bulk of humanity has neither morality nor spirituality.Themasses arereallysick, groping their uneasyway toward an unknown destiny . Thereisnofreedom, not evenphysicalfreedom.Whocan sayheis master ofhisownbody?The entire human raceare but driven slaves. Trulythe condition of mankind isdeplorable.Men struggleupanddowntheworldinafever of unrest,allthewhile crying for something, they know not what.And then afew tum to religionforrelief.Ifa man attainsalittle pre-eminence insome of thevirtues,heisseizedbyoneor more of the tormenting passions andisagaindraggeddowntothe common level.If not that, heis always trembling onthevergeofcollapse.Thereisnorest.From youth toold ' age,caresandanxietiesmultiply,whiletheangel of deathalwaysstandsinthe background awaitinghisdayand hour. There isnosecurity.Wealth,health,power, momentary pleasures, passinaflash and aregone . Happiness?Whereisit?Whocansay that hehas not asingle heartache orworry?Last of all,a man faces that dark unknown-at whichhe shudders andwonders.Thegreat reapermows him downandthe night falls upon him,leavinghim mingledwithhis kindred dust.

Atbest,lifeoffersonlyafewpleasantsensations,a brief delirium of power,amad moment ofpassion.Thencomesthelonely silence, thelongsilence, out ofwhichnovoiceo f consolationreachesthosewhoareleft behind. Isitany wonder thatinsuchaplight men turn toreligion?Isit surprising that manydesolatesouls, seekingpeaceof mind and spiritual light,rushawaytosomeconventortosomejunglecave? Thatis better than suicide.Religionis averygoodanestheticforthedullpainsoflife.Butwhocansay th at itcuresthe disease?

Pressed bythe 'commonills,thegreat majority seekone of three point s ofrefuge:theyeithersetupthe mournful dirge of thepessimist, o rru sh intothemadwhirl of the bacchanalian r evel, or they take toreligion. Of thethree , thelastissurelythebest.Nogoodto sitdownandcry.Nogoodto complain andindulgeinself-pityor findfaultwithothers.Stillworseitisto commit suicide. It isalways "bettertobearthoseillswehave than flyto others that we know notof." It isuselesstopreachpessimismtopeoplewith a healthy liverandgood stomach . Theysimplywill not haveit.A ' torpidliver anda constipated bowelhaveled many peopletoseek comfortinreligion or tohate their neighbors.

Ifamanplungesintothewhirl o f passionate sensations,he emergeswith bankruptcy staringhiminthe face. Always heismet withthe sterndemand: " Please remit." Everykisshasitsprice. Every pleasure comeswith the bill attached , and sooner orlaterhe ispressed to pay, pay, pay! Wewatchthepassingshow.Wechase afterthemirage.Finallythe disillusioned soulgoes out insearch of reali ty. Heis sotired of theshamand the counterfeit. Butwhere shallhefind reality? Frequently he turns, like Noah 's dove,homeWard again, findingnorestingplaceinthewholeworld. Nothing butadr earywasteand turbulent waves.Atlasttheseekercomesto theaptness of theMaster's picture of themanin mid-ocean In.a smallboa t, tos sed and drenched bygiganticwaves,withimll'lInent death staringhimintheface.Thisexplainsthe situation confr. f Iontmgmost of the human race.Themore enlightened man bee smuchas SilenusdidwhenaskedbyKingMidaswhatwasthe estfateforman.Hereplied: :

TH

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

Pitifulraceofaday!.Children of accidentsandsorrows!Why doyouforcemetosaywhatwerebetterleftunheard?Thebest of all is {mobtainable-not tobe born at all. Thenext best isto dieearly.

Manybrave souls -have quivered upon the brink of destinywith suchan outlook. Manyhavegone voluntarily back into thedarkness.

DOESTHEREMEDYCURETHEDISEASE?

what hasbecome of thelife that once animated them.Men must justgoonsufferingandfightingbravely,and then liedownand . diebravely.And that istheend.Butsuch doubtful soulsmight profitbythewords of Socrates of theold Greek dialecticschool. Ina moment of humble surrender hesaid:

Perhapswhatisnotintelligibletomeisnotthereforeunreasonable. Theremaybearealmofwisdomfromwhichthe logicianisbanished.

2. DOES THE REMEDY CURE THE DISEASE?

As a remedy forall of theseills, men have persistently turned to religion.Buthasit cured the disease? Isthereless pain and sorrow intheworld than before?Atbest,religionisno more than an anodyne,apalliative;inbigdoses,asort of anesthetic.But there is no cure init. Mankind, in pure desperation, hascreatedreligions tocoolitsfevershere and toescapehellinthenextworld.

Aguiltyconsciencemust, of course,assumeahell of somesort. Butdiditnever occur toyou,asyouread, that hellsareallcreated forthe ' other fellow? Likelaws,theyarecreatedtoregulatethe . other fellow. Out of the brooding shadowscomethepriest and the prophet holding acandlein their hands.Menfallat their feet andbless them for that candle of hope . It is no exaggerationtosay that atleastthree thousand differentforms of religionhaveappearedsince history began, and eachonehasbeeneagerlygrabbed upby hungering souls.Thewholeworld,sick and weary,longsfor a remedy foritsills.Itseeksrestfromits intolerable burdens . But whereshallitfind relief! Thatisthe ever-recurring question. Thousands and thousands of answershavebeengiventothis question, andstill there isno answer--except one. .

While many have turned toreligion,afewultra-scientific minds haveboldlydeclared that theyfind nothing inreligion.Theyfind notrace of agod,and nothing atallcomes out of thesilence beyond thegrave.Theashes of thefuneralpyregivenowhisper of

AndsothegreatMasterssay.Perhapstheremaybeworlds of wisdomfromwhicheventhe modern scientistsarebanished. If so, their banishment isself-imposed.Atleastitis not wise that thesescientists should assertdogmatically that suchworldsdo not existsimplybecause they have not beenabletoseethem.The Mastershaveseenthem.AndtheMastersare prepared to point thewaysothatanyscientistmaysee them ifhewishes and hasthe humilitytoacceptthenecessary conditions . Butintheabsence of knowledge,the multitudes havegenerally toreligion. Out of the common need, many forms of religron have sprung up,eachstruggling toward thelight.Butevena candleis better than nolightatall. It maybeaccreditedtothe . mercy of thegreatOversoul that so many religionshave beengiventotheworld,eachoneservingits purpose initsown dayandtime,whenpeoplewere not readyfor anything better. Thegreatest trouble withthesereligionshasbeen that theyexhibit adeplorable tendency tolivetoolongafter their day of usefulness haspassed.

infantis nourished byaloving mother whenit cannot take Solid A boundless lovesheltersand supports the human race and it,ineachdayandage,whatitcanbestassimilate.Itis In day of its majority that itisdrawnto the banquet table ekingwheretheMasterpresides. no. Onedifficultyhasbeen that the founders of religions' usually ••• enof' . , , SUbtle SPlfltual whothemselveshad penetrated tosome plane,wereobligedtoleavetheworldsosoon. Their work

DOESTHEREMEDYCURE THEDISEASE?

was not complete; they leftitto immature disciples who generally made amess of it.Lifeisso short. So seldom do the disciples become real Masters. The Masters tell their disciples that they have realized God in themselves, but as soon as they depart, the ' disciples begin tosay that they feel God in themselves. lies avast difference. The Masters seeGod. They do not feel hrm. And that constitutes an essential difference. Feelingis more or less ' blind and wholly unreliable. The Masters actually enter and explore the kingdom of heaven, the supraphysical regions, but the disciples read about itin books and begin to speculate. ' .

Religions have been fostered through feelings and metaphysical speculations. Butineverycase, the founders of such religions claim that they got their knowledge by sight and hearing, not byfeeling. Thus they speak from personal knowledge . Hence the ever-recurring need for living Masters. Letus not assert that wehave no need fora living Master. How does anyone know that hehasno such need? He is judging a thing about which he knows absolutely nothing. It isidleto plead that wehavea book, and all tion isclosed.You will not find any such statement m any religious book; and who issowiseasto make the assertion? is 'the most unwarranted assumption that hasever gone down mto history. Asick man may, with as much reason, assert that hehas no need fora doctor because hehasa book which gives him the prescription . . The living Master is the great physician whodiagnoses our individual cases and then administers the medicines. That is exactly the difference between all world religions and the scientific system of the living Masters.

Beforegiving the teachings of the Masters, it appears fitting" even necessary, to sketch briefly the several world religions and try to point out not their faults or weaknesses but their best elements, and also the services which they have rendered to mankind. If we indicate incidentally some of their shortcomings when compared with the system of the Masters, that will be done only to enable us to offer constructive suggestions. As said elsewhere, the best way , to indicate the deficiencies of anything istosetbyit something which is perfect. The difference then becomes apparent. No religion istobe condemned. No religion istobe denounced

asfalse.It may.be said,webelieve , that all religions aregifts from the great supermtendent of world history. The world is not run ning wild without a director. Letus not beso pessimistic. Neither isthedevil. the captain of thisship.Letus not think so poorly of supreme WIsdom. The world has been benefited by all religions in thedays of their inception. If some of their adherents have mistheir religion, that is perhaps no fault of the religion itself. Neither should we condemn or disparage any of their brave and ardentchampions. Much less should they be persecuted because of their beliefs. There is no greater or more heinous crime in history than religious persecution .

Each period in world history has had its own peculiar needs. Generallya religion has sprung up , apparently automatically, to need. But we should never imagine or assume that any religion IS the last word. Only the science of the Masters isallencompassing, and that isso because itis not a religion. Itis the path by which men in any age of the world may enter the kingdom of heaven. It isa science which may be demonstrated anew anyda y: Thus it ever alive and fresh, because itisalwaysin touch WIth ultrmate source. Any system based upon scientific demonstratIOn must be the same inallages.Its established facts of nature cannot change. Hydrogen and oxygenhave combined to water eversince the earliest mists began to hover over the pnstme r.ocks. And soithas been that the method of approach to which was established by the Creator himself, hasalways the e thesame, and will be the same, so long asthe human race ' or e planet itself, endures. ' ,

We ought to remember the words ofVivekananda about churches,andrIizi al . e gions m gener .We could not sayit better soletus quotehim: '

Theend of all religionsisthe realization of God.

(And tho d gen all IS oes not mean that one must 'feel' him; feelingis ery the result of suggestion.) He says: .

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

Theremaybea thousand radii but theyallconvergeattheone center,and that istherealization of God. Something behind thisworldofsense, this world of eternaleatingand drinking andtalkingnonsense,thisworld of falseshadowsandselfishness.Thereis that beyond allbooks, beyond allcreeds, beyond thevanities of this world-and that istherealizationofGod within oneself.A man"maybelieveinallthe churches inthe world;hemaycarryinhishead all thesacredbookseverwritten;hemaybaptize himself inalltherivers of the earth-still if hehasno perception of God,I would classhimwiththerankest atheist.Andamanmayhavenever entered a church ora mosque; nor performed anyceremony; but ifherealizesGod within himself,andis thereby liftedabovethevanitiesofthe world, that man isaholyman,asaint,call him whatyou will.... I will add that itis good tobe born in achurch, butitisbadtodie there. Itis good tobe born a child, butbadto remain a child. Churches,ceremonies,symbols,aregoodforchildren ; but when thechildisgrownup,he must burst eitherthe church or himself.

Sincethegreatswamisostronglyemphasizestherealization of God,itisfitting that we should trytomakeplainexactlywhat that means.In most writingsonthesubject,thereis but littleclearness . of statement. That isbecausethewritersthemselveshavenever experienceditandtheyhave but ahazyidea of whatit means.. "

First of all,itis not a feeling. Secondly,itis not ametaphysical speculation nor alogicalsyllogism. It is neither a conclusion based upon reasoning nor upon theevidenceofbooks.or . The basicideais that God must becomerealtothe individual, not a mental concept but alivingreality.And that canneverbeso until the individual sees him. Personalsightand hearing arenecessary before anything oranybodybecomesrealtous.Ihavenever seen Montreal, hence that cityisto me onlya mental concept. I haveseen London, and so that cityistomea substantial reality. Topracticallyallmen,Godissimplyan abstract idea,a ;nental concept. How canoneworship and lovea mental concept. When

DOESTHE REMEDY CURETHEDISEASE?

mostpeoplesaytheyloveGod,itsimplymeans that theyhavea certain emotion superinduced bysuggestion.Ithas not theleast thing todowith God-realization.

Now,the purpose of allreligions is, accordingtotheswami,to convert that mental concept into something that isrealtoexperience. It isonly then that the worshipper cansing, "Cognosce unum DeumPatrem omnipotentemf"-"I knowtheoneGod, omnipotentFather."Butthepoverty of allreligionshasbeen their inability tomakeGodrealto their devotees.Canyouimagine that men wouldliveastheydo, think andactastheydo,ifGodwererealto them,ifthey had actuallyseenhimandloved him? It is unthinkable.

It mustbeconfessed,sadas that confessionis, that noonesoul in all history hasbeenabletorealizeGodby and through religious doctrinesandceremonies, not evenbyprayers and mental devotionstoanideal. Weknowthisisso,becausesuchrealizationcan neverbeachievedbysuchmeans.Inthevery nature .of thecaseit isimpossible.Thebesttheycandoistoenableoneto feel alittle closertorealityortoquickentheimaginationalittle.Ifby prayersmarana, or simran, and concentration--one gets into subtleregions,eventosomesmalldegree,he will experiencealittleuplift. Andthatisgood,sofar . But that feeling will nevercarryhimto complete God-realization. What then istoleadhimto that supreme desideratum? TheMasterscan give youtheanswer , without equivocation.Thereis but one method of makingGodrealtothe seeker-that is,tomake him seeGodandhearhim. If yousay that itcannotbedone, that isbecauseyouare unacquainted withthe pathandthe method of theMasters. When the disciple of the Masterentersthehigherplanes and therebeholdswithhisown finervisionsomemajestic embodiment of God clothed indivine Powerandbeauty; and whenhehearsthe enchanting music of the nad-bindu, theaudible vibrations of theLordhimself,he then beginstorealizeGod.But that realizationis not complete,evenat point. When herisesbytheaid of that life stream tothestill hIgherplanes, and there ingreatjoyblendshisown spiritual being

withthe supreme Sat Purush, itis then that heexperiencesperfect God-realization-not before.

Fromthisfact,it must bemanifest that noreligious ceremony canaccomplishso much. No mental processcandoit.Itisa personalexperience that cannot behad upon this earth plane. It is not anexperiencepossibletophysicalconsciousness . Onesimply must enter thesupraphysicalplanestogetit. Not onlyso, but hemust rise toveryexaltedregions;andthiscanbe accomplished onlywiththeguidance of aMaster.

When thedisciple of theMasterascendsthe inner worlds,one after another, until heentersDaswanDwar,the third heavenly regiononthispath,hetherebeholdshimselfas pure spirit, stripped ofallmateriality. .And that is'self-realization '. Afterthat, if he advancestothe fourth andthe fifth regions,hetherebeholdsone or more of themostsublime manifestations of the supreme one, andthen,merging himself withthese manifestations of God,he comestoknowGod.And that isgenuine God-realization. There isnoother.Nomancanever know God until heconsciously becomes one withGod.Anything short of that is more orless speculative, imaginary,visionaryandimperfect.

Thisisthe summing up of thewhole matter. Churches,formal religions,belongtothe immature periods of human thought and evolution, that is,tothe childhood of therace.Eachreligionserves itsown purpose initsowndayandtime.Buteach must eventually give' wayto something more complete as mankind advances. Throughout thewhole of human history,theveryessence of religionhasbeenanefforttorealizeGod.Buthowfewhave ed!Onlythegreat spiritual Mastershave had theperfectsystem by means of whichitcanbe done , andtheMastershave ' beenvery few ,amongmen.Effortstoward God-realization have always failed, exceptandonlywhentheyhavefollowedthe path of theMasters; forthereisno other way.

. If nowwepassinrevieweach of thegreatreligionsforafew moments , weshallbeina better position toseeexactlywhatgood purpose theyhaveserved,andwhereinandhowtheyhavefailed . inthe supreme objective of allreligion.If ardent devotees of cer-

THERELI GIONS OF CHINA

tainreligionsinsist that manypeoplehavesucceededby their own methods, that isbecausetheyoverestimatea partial success.Something isgained,no doubt, bynearlyallforms and ceremonies,by prayersanddeeds of charity.But not complete God-realizationnotevenperfectself-realization.

3 . THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA

Thereligions of Chinawhichinvite attention hereare Confucian ism andTaoism.Confuciusisgenerallyregardedasagreatteacher and founder of anethicalsystem,ascheme upon whichhe hoped tobuildhisideal government, hisperfectsocialorder.Itwas not exactlyPlato'srepublic, but itwastobetheideal monarchy with an upright citizenship.Ethics,however,is not religion,and there - isbutlittle among alltheethicalsystems of theworldwhichis uniqueorindividual.To know howtolive properly among one 's fellow menis not thesameasbeingabletorealizeGod.Thetwo thingsare fundamentally different.

Intheearly periods of Chinese history, aform of religiousceremoniesandoccultpracticescametobe known asTaoism.Its inceptionis shrouded in obscurity. .Webelieveitdatesbackto extremelyremoteperiods,whensomerealMastergaveit out as anelucidation of theSantMat of histime.Butwhenitfirstappearedin history, ithadalready undergone theusual 'degenerative changes. Inspite of that fact,itstillhassome of the earmarks of .the fundamentals of the 'Masters'system.Allscholarsagree that TaomeanstheWay.ButthisWayhasbeenbadly obstructed by theusual rubbish of ceremonies and superstitions. Then cameLao Tse, agreat philosopher and reformer, whogavetoTaoismsome- whatof it . , al. , . dIS ongm interpretanon, He appeared toseeinitthe and more vital meaning. LaoTsewroteafamous book ed TaoT eh Ching. This book isan exposition of theWay accodi, thrmgtoLaotsean understanding. Initareechoes of many of e of theEasternwisdom,chief among whichisthe ofTaoitself,the nad-bindu of theVedas,thedivine shabd t e modern saints.

50

A REVIEW OF WORLD RELIGIONS

It will be noted that lao Tsewas not satisfiedwiththe mete ethics of anysystem.Ethicscannever constitute theWay. Byethicsno man canescapetheeternal awagawan, thecomingand goinginregions of matter. Togaintheheavenlykingdoms,escapingforeverfrom material worlds,the student must leavethe walks ofmenandgowhereethicshaveno meaning ' ,He must thefield of ethics,forethicshastodosolelyWith human ships.Intheregions of light,whereGod .is to b: realized,there IS noethics,norightandno wrong-there IS nothmg pure LaoTse had agreatdisciplewho . wrotethefollowmg beautiful words;"Theperfectmanemployshis mind asa mirror. It grasps nothing; itrefuses nothing. Itreceives, but doesn't keep.Thushe . can triumph over matter, without injury tohimself." . . .

Theideais that whenwebecometooclosely bound upWith matter wedescendtoitslevel, much to our owninjury.This brings'to our attention thegreat precept ofthe Indian Masters. vairagya; meaning complete detachment fromtheworld,while stilllivinginit.Do not allowittocling.to Do not allow yourself tobedraggeddownintothermre of It.Keeptheself aboveallworldly entanglements, likethelotusflower,whichholds its beautiful headabovethe muddy waters,even though itsroots are buried inthem.Thisisthe wu-wei of theChinesesages,the doctrine of the non-assertion of theself.Therecanbeno doubt but ifwe could get downtothe pure and originalTaoism , we would find asystemverycloselyalliedto,if not identical that of the Masters.

Taoismemphasizesthe doctrine of karma. TheChinese term for karma is yin quo. Nothing inall nature ismorece.rtain than thefact that no single thing oreventcan stand alone. It IS attached toall that has gone beforeit,andit will remain attached toall that istofollowit. It was born of somecause,andit mustbe followed bysomeeffectinanendlesschain. That whichisset motion anyindividual,be that individual man,dog, ·ornver, must ill effecteventually return to that individual. It IS a law.of nature. Attention and lovearethemeans of connectmg us With objectsexternaltoourselves. Whatever wedesirebeginsatonceto

RELI GI ONSOF CHI NA

I

Thisisafathomless precept ofwisdom. ..

That noblesage taught that man shall not glorym hIS own enlightenment whilehelooksdown upon all others who.arestrugglingin pain and holding himself upon apinnacle of self-righteousness.

Foryour true selfisthewholeoflife, and thewrongsof all othersareyourownguilt.Do not blamemenwhentheyerr, but purifyyourownheart.Do not beangrywhenthewhole worldforgetsthelawandceasestoabidebytheTao.Lookfor fault in yourself.The root of all evilis in you.

Cananyone set ahigherstandard? !t an forthehigh path oftheMasters. It IS in fact then teachmg, and that is whywe emphasizeithere. . .

Theaudiblelife stream combinesinitselfthemeanings of nearlyall of the interpretations whichhavebeengiventoTao. It islaw, itislife,itisGod . Itisthereal om. It isthe supreme atman. Itis themovinglife of all dharma, anditistheuniversal alaya. It shouldhavebeen translated into Englishas 'Word', although that isnotanexact Itisthedivine Word which supports thewholecreation,whichwasinthe beginning withGod,and whichwasitselfGod,bymeans of which all thingswerecreated. It isSound,the vibrating Shabd,whoseheavenlymusicenlivens all worlds. And itisthisShabdwhich constitutes thecentral theme of thegreatMasters of allages.AndthisisTao,asitis understood by thiswriter.

4. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TAO?

The word hasbeenvariously translated. ItisgivenasGod,provid law lifetheinfiniteone.InSanskrit ; modem scholarshave ence,,, .id translated itas aum or om,dharma,atman, alaya, etc.It IS evi ent . that thereisnocertain agreement among astothe.exact word to be usedin translating tao. Perhaps there IS n? any language .that will conveytheexactmeaning.One thmgls. eVldent, theyhavealllostthe inner meaning and todayonlythe thekeyto that meaning. That keyistheShabd,the.audiblelife stream. lam aware that all scholarsdo not seeinTaOismthe Shabd;assaidbefore, that isbecausetheyhave not thekeyto.Its understanding. Macauliffemadeanexhaustivestudyof.theSikh religion and translated the Granth Sahib, but heneverdlscove: ed themostprecious content of that book.Heclosed that Without aninklingoftherealvalueoftheAdi Granth. SoIthasbeen with most commentators of thegreat work of LaoTse. Of course, thiswasbecausethey had not the Master's key.Thishasbeenthe fateofnearlyallthesacredbooks.

Oneofthemeanings ' of dharma, accordingtotheMahayana school of esoteric Buddhism, is ultimate reality. It comesfrom ' to uphold'. It referstotheall-creative current, theaudible lifestream of theMasters,which not onlycreates but sustainsall things. It isthe of life, out of whichspringsalllifeinany worldand all biological phenomena upon thisplane. Hence ithas cometomeanalsotheform of allthings,thesum of all phenomena. l!nderlying all of thesemeaningsisthecentralidea of the creative current, thelifestream. This translation of the word dharma isexactlyequivalentto Tao.IfwetranslateTaoas atman, itisalsocorrect , Foritisthe Supreme atman, orspirit,whichagainisthecreativelifestream, the ca.useless cause of all.Ifwe translate itas om, wehavethesame meanmg Om watth.H ' d. and' s, 0 e ancient in us 111 general,thehighest th mostsacred sound symbol of the Brahm, AndBrahmwasto emthesuprb ' Thus .ul . erneemg.usItwodappear,howeverwemay approachItthtT. Of 'aao IS no more nor less than the supreme Word course it' thW. . Translaf' IS eay. It IS theRoyalHighway of thesaints. the aUdt g word asWay,we have -the samemeaning,because foreblelife stream is pre-eminently theWayItisfirstand theWay of thegreatMasters. It isthe pafu bywhichthe strea ers:d disciplestravel homeward. Without thislife IS nowaybacktothefeet of theSupreme.Allsaints ytesacred sound current. Theyride upon it.Itis that

WHA T I S THE MEANING OFTAO ?

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

which 'draws them up and which carries them upward on their journey. It is that which they give to their disciples by them in with it, It is that powerful enchantment by means of which they overcome the world and riseto spiritual freedom. .

So,ifTao -is the Way, it must be the way of sound, the way of ' thesaints. For there is no other Way. It certainly does not mean a system of ethics.Evenif Taoism has been coveted ' over by the debris of a hundred centuries, ithas, nevertheless, exerted a wholesome influence upon Chinese life. It is doubtless due to the influence of this grand concept, joined with the noble ethics of Confucius, that enabled the Chinese empire to hold together so long. A remnant of it, lingering among the Chinese people, may yet redeem them and enable them to build anew civilization upon the ruins of the old empire. Under the terrible stress of war, they are today showing signs of a renaissance. , If so, however, it must be purified and givenasanewmessageby some living

That old wisdom gaveto the best of the Chinese people a culture and a dignity which they have not entirely lost, even to this day. But no ethical system, no precept of law, not even the of the Taoitself, can endure against the disintegrating hand of time. No nation or people can permanently withstand the downward drag of t he passions unless they have living Masters to make the Way dynamic for them. Here isan important secret-the realcause of national, racial or individual degeneration is the lack of a living Master. Without aliving Master, they simply cannot the downward .. China hassat complacently', wrapped in the robes ofa rigid formalism forseventy centuries, atthesame time boasting of the most ancient civilization. There was such a civilization ; no doubt" when the pure Tao prevailed; but itis no credit to the nation that itwaslost. The country gradually sank into a stagnant philosophy of fatalism and ancestor worship, the , downward drift of which could not be stopped evenby Confucian ethics and the abstract doctrine of the Tao. But why blame China? All nations do the same thing, give them time enough.

5. THE ZORoASTRIAN FAITH

The Zoroastrian faith was founded by the great Persian or Iranian sage Zoroaster, or more correctly speaking, Zarathustra. Helived arou.nd 600 or 1000 B.C , To hirO. is attributed the religion of the magI, though doubtless the teachings and practices of the. werea much later modification of the real teachings of Zarathustra . m?dern aretheParsees of India. They are sometimes calledfire worshippers, though incorrectly. Thisis cause they look upon fire, and especially the sun ; as symbolical of the supreme one. Fireis regarded asan appropriate symbol of Godfor many reasons, and the symbolism is rich in thought F' t hi " . Ire convers into itself.Theflamesalways try to ascend heavenward. FIre IS the great purifier, destroying all that is unfit to endure. It alsosuggests the purity of heart which al . one can preonetoseeGod.Jesus and all the Masters agree on this point. alsocooks , foodthat. nourishes us, just .as the holy Shabd givesusthe spiritual nourishment , fitting itto our requirements . warms us when wearecold,so the divine current givesus and w:armth-which means 'love. Much more is include inthis symbolism if one, caresto pursue the subje ct. hisA of the sacred writings of Zarathustra and those of now comprise the Zend Avesta, the bible of the . ofZ :an fal,th. After the departure of the great teacher, a group ustra sfollowers formed .what came tobe as th magI or 'the . fth' " e or'.al Wise men 0 e East. These magi were probably the igm Sufis. It wasfr h toseJ . om among tese men that messengers went wheeesusatthetrme of his birth. For all truly wise men know n another mahatma is coming.

Zoroastria ism orevail ' Nineveh fro;lsm ed over the ancient gods of Babylon and itsdeclin ' Whthe of Cyrus, although it gradually drifted into e.enSIfteddodhd f i . nuggets of old'wnan e , 0 ItS accretions, many Iranian Angd his truth will be found m the teachings of the noble .t IS [; t links i dfi' Masters Aac 1 Ite mtely with the work of the great saint, the to whether Zarathustra himself wasareal Master or estwayto answer that isto invite you to theliving

Master, who himself will give you the method by which you may know all about it yourself, without even taking the word of the Master. The same may besaid regarding Jesus or any of the great religious characters of history. The Master cangive you thekeyby means of which you may win the right toa personal interview with any of those men. You will then know of a certainty their standing, not only at the time of their life on this earth but of their present status. You may meet them personally and converse with them.

One of the central truths of the Zoroastrian faith isits doctrine of the universal brotherhood of man. Zoroastrians believein one supreme being, notwithstanding many assertions to the contrary. The superficial student may readily fall into the error of believing that they taught twogods, one good and the other bad, a statement which may be found in some books. We know that the great Zarathustra never taught such a thing. The idea of two supreme beings is self-contradictory. No great teacher hasever suggested such a thing. Zarathustra taught that the supreme Lord was AhuraMazda, or Ormuzd, and that hewas the origin and embodiment of allgood.At the same time he mentions the existence of a negative power called Ahriman. This dark power ruled Overthe world and was the focal point of all that wecallevil;the sum, the embodiment,of all that affects man adversely;in quality-darkness.

Here isagem of truth not tobe overlooked. Itis strongly suggestive of the teachings of the Masters, for they frequently mention the existence of a negative power; but heisa subordinate to the supreme one, and herules over the regions of mind and matter, representing the darker side of creation. Thisdoes not mean that heis altogether bad, but in the very nature of things, what we call evil! inheres in negativity. Itis simply alessergood. '

There canbe no doubt but this religion came to Persia and the surrounding country likethe falling of showers upon a dry land. Its restorative action came during that period when modem civili-

1 The nature of evilitself will bediscussed in Chapter Five,Section7, and Chapter Seven, Section 10

zation was but an infant inits Mesopotamian cradle.The foundations of culture were laid by the Sumerians, and then by the Sumerian-Akkadian empires, more Semitic , in character, under SargonI and his successors. Thefirst empire known to history made Erech its capital atthe head of the Persian Gulf. That empirewasfedby the fertile valleys of the Tigris and the , Euphrates. Inthisvalley many tribes contended for supremacy during a period of fifty centuries or more. Into its gathering populations poured streams of Dravidians, Semites, Chaldeans and Aryans,the latter being mostly Medes and Persians . The old Assyrian empire gave waytothe new when Nineveh, fell into the hands of the more vigorous invaders in 606 B.C. '

At about this time came the great saint, or sage, Zarathustra, for whenthe teachings of the Masters become obscured and corruptanew comes .. In Mesopotamia a score of contending tribes, confusrng languages, and conflicting customs then found a new and unifying influence in the philosophy of Zarathustra. The onegreatmessage of the ages found a new statement. When Cyrus the Great established a broad empire upon the basis of the new , culture,he prepared the wayforthe .impetuous Alexander to spread its influence to the remotest bounds of the known world. Degenas Alexander himself was,he had been prepared for that very ffilSSlOn by the tutoring of Aristotle. Hence the chief service which Alexander rendered to mankind wasto break up the old crusts of thought, or rather of non-thought, and then -cultivate the , soil of the intellectual world foranew seed-sowing. The seedwas tobethe wisdom of Zarathustra, Socrates, Aristotle and Plato, each of which bore inits core the germs of the Eastern wisdom. Say whatyoulike, but the one thing that hasgivenlife and perpetothe philosophy of the Greek Masters is central golden 1. ..read of the Eastern wisdom: the wisdom of the great spiritual 4VJ.asters.

th HOwever, before Alexander came, the pure teachings of ZaraUstra had aIr dd th . l eay un ergone e usual degeneratIve changes at eastto ' w di some extent. When the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle as ISS em' t rnaetdhh roug out the world, the religion of the magi

. had already become covered over bya mass of senseless ceremony and corrupt practices. When Alexander was born, his mother was steeped in this poison of magian superstition. But the great Iranian had done the work for which he had come. His teaching had givenanew impetus to philosophy and religion. The dull minds of themasses had been forced todoalittle thinking. All future civilization wasto profit byits wholesome influence. Itis thus that thought, philosophy and religion are reborn from agetoage,as stated in the Gita.

But one thing must not be overlooked in this connection. When any Master leaves his theater of action, the doors of the kingdom of heaven are automatically closed fornew seekers sofarasheis con:' cerned. This may atfirst appear tobeavery strange thing, .even unjust. But itis not so; because every Master is succeeded .by another, and to him all may go who are ready. We may not forget that thisworldis never withouta Master. Tohimallwill go' who.are 'dulyandtruly prepared, worthyandwell qualified '. .

The restare then like. thefivefoolish virgins who brought no oil in their lamps. Whenever and wherever men run after creeds, priests and organizations, they may find . a religion of some sort; but they will .never find the wayto enter the kingdom . of God spoken of b.yall the great Masters. Only a living Master has the keyto that kingdom, and he alone can help the student to enter it. . In the religion of the noble Iranian, two OJ three features must be emphasized because they bear averyclose relationship tothe teach.. ings of the Masters. The most lofty ideal, the highest concept of a perfect life,was. expressed in the Avestaby the word asa, which in the Vedic terminology is equivalent to rita. It isclosely related to the Hindu dharma and to the Muslim .word Islam. Its central idea is righteousness, alifein complete harmony with the great law, meaning, fundamentally in harmony with God. The supreme Father, law-giver, life-giver, they called Asura Pita Nab, thesameas Ahura-Mazda. The way of approach to him was ash, the way of righteousness. From their sacred scripture comes the unequivocal declaration: "There is none besides the Creator, Ahura-Mazda: :

everything emanates from him and merges back into him at the end."

Thus he taught a definite monotheism. This supreme 'onewas formless, all-pervading and beyond all attributes known tous,like the Nirguna Ishwara, the Lord without attributes.

According to Zarathustra, there are six different ways ' the supreme one can make himself known to men. They are also called rays of light from the Supreme. They are spoken of at times asif theywere personalities, Amesh-Spenta, 'Holy Immortals '. They .are: (l) Asa-Vahista, supreme will manifested in the world ; (2) VohuMano, good mind, divine wisdom, pure -mindedness; (3) Khashathra- Vairya, the all-creative, all-sustaining power; (4) SpentaArmaiti, perfect piety with single-minded devotion ; (5) Haurvatat, absolute wholeness, perfection.vspirituality, and (6) .Ameretatat, immortal life, freedom from death or dissolution.

Thesesix represent both the maternal and paternal qualities .of God;thefirst three the ' fatherly and the last three the motherly nature of the Supreme. If we add to these sixthegreat central figure of Ahura-Mazda, we. have the sevenfold Lord,as taught by the prophet Zarathustra. ,

To students of the royal path of Sant Mat, there is one thing moreinthe system of Zarathustra which is of peculiar interest. In addition to the above-mentioned sevenrays of the divine one, he mentions another ray or power which hecalls sharosha or sraosha. The name is derived from the Sanskrit root sru, meaning 'to hear' . . Thisis most significant. It is quite clearto the student of the Masters that thisray of the divine one is somethingthatcanbe heard. Of course, this refersto the Shabd-dhun of Sant Mat.Itcan be, nothing else.Itis the audible life stream of the saints . .And we maywell infer that this important factwas not unknown toZarPerhaps, ifwe had his teachings in their purity, it would .e found that he made this sharosha his central theme. Hedistinctlysthhis i the sur . , ,aysatt ISIS e supreme thing for man toseek and to eul f bvate.Hesays that when one fully attains to sharosha the way osalvat ' . ds open before hi .' . Ion stan s open erore him, all obstructions bemg remOved Th' . . . . . I . IS IS mexact accord With the teachmgs Of the Masters . na prayer by Zarathustra, himself (see the Zend

Avesta), he says: " Oh, may sharosha go, together with Vohu -Mano, tothe person whom thou lovestl"He thus gives emphasisto sharosha asifitweretheone. of supreme importance.Thisisagainperfectly consonant Withthemessage of the saints . The person whom the supreme Lordloves,healwaysbrings into contact withtheholyShabd,and then his mind ispurified, afterwhichheistakenuptohisownhome.Thesaintsallagree that theaudiblelifestreamisthe only path of mind purification andfinal approach toGod.Thisisonly another instance of how allworldreligions,when properly understood, support thefundamentals of Sant Mat.

Thewayinwhichthe problem of evilisexplainedin Zoroastrianismhasalreadybeenreferredto.In harmony withthesystem of theMasters,the Iranian taught theexistence of anegativepower whoruledovertheregions of mind and matter, as subordinate to the supreme Ormuzd. Thisplacesevilinthecategory of pure negation.Ithasnoactualexistence. It isalesserlight. When is abundant, thereisnoshadow;and 'inabsolutedarkness, there IS noshadow.Soitiswithevil.TheMastersseeinevilonlyashadow,astate of incompleteness, aphase of growth, perhaps anecessary concomitant of evolution.Butin our ignorance,believingthe darknesstobe something real,wegrope about intheshadows . Butitisonlyanegation.The man whoneversawlightor heard of itwould not suspect that hewasindarkness.Tohim that darkness would be normal. Soitiswithevil. It isonlybecausewe know of agreater good that wefeelthe pain of theevil.

Tosumuptheentire philosophy ofevil,we must conclude that,asa matter offact, there is no such thingas evil. Evilasa realityis philosophically unthinkable, and therethe endsofarasmetaphysicsis concerned. The assumption .isarealityhascaused much confusion in philosophy and It isofnousetodenythedifficulty; we must assume that if evil exists,Godisresponsiblefor it.And suchan assumption landsus inamaze of philosophical difficultiesfromwhichthere to benoescape.Driventothewallbythis stern fact, many thinkers havedeclared that there .isnoGod . HowcantherebeagoodGod

in charge of aworld full of woeandsin? It isonlythe illuminating philosophy of theMasters that removesthedifficulty.Inauniversecreatedbyanall-wise God,whose fundamental essenceis goodnessandlove, thereisno room forsucha thing asevil. It simplydoes not exist. Butthereare many degrees of good, of the light.Initsfinalaspect,thereis nothing badintheworld, neither istheresin nor faultinanyone. What appearssoisdueto our limited understanding. .

Butjustwhatisit that weareallworrying about somuch? Whatisit that wecall evil? Whatever itis,itappearsquite real to us.Theansweris that anything whichwedo not likeiseviltous. Thisis, of course , the narrow andegoisticalviewpoint.Anditis justthisobtrusiveego that playsallthe mischief in our thinking. Butitisthe common way of lookingatthings.

Alittleboyiscalledinfromplaytohavehisfacewashed.He doesn't likethe procedure. Tohim, that isanevil.Hehowlshis displeasure.Hedisobeyshis mother andhastobe punished. To him , thatis another evil. Hesees nothing init but evil.Tohimthe wholeworldisa theater of evilsimplybecauseithasso many ' don'ts'initandso many washbasins.A man allowshispassions togetthe upper hand overhim, and he commits acrime.Hehas togotoprison.To him that prison is an evil.Butsocietydoes not regardthat prison asanevil.A man getsan appendical abscess. hastogotoa hospital and undergo an operation . It maybe for him todecidewhichisthegreaterevil,the appendicius orthe operation. Tohimitisallbadenough.Butsociety , . regardsthe hospital asarealblessing. It all depends upon one's VIewpoint, and there isthekeytothewhole question. A man .who Was cruel to hiswifeandfivesmall children gotaccidentallykilled. !o thatwife, his death wasaterribleblow,foritleftherwithan burden onherhands.Toher,hisdeathwasanevil,a Butlookedatfroman impartial, higherviewpoint,his eathwas probably thebest thing that could have happened, not . onlytosociety but tothefamilyitself.A thing becomesanevil onlyfromth .... e narrow egoistic viewpomt . Butwe cannot follow

the subject further at this time. The great up the whole matter bysaying: "Whatever the Lord does IS best..

From the exalted viewpoint of the supreme one, there IS no such thing asevil. Forhe knows what is best for all. ..

It may prove suggestivetousifwe remember that It IS only by bitter experience that men canbe brought to the path of love light. The sooner that change is brought about, the better" If much suffering is required to impress the lesson upon one.s mind or upon the minds of the entire human race. And soIt often happens that the more keenly men suffer, the itisfor them. Then suffering isa great blessing in disguise It .IS to assert that everything which men callevilin this world, involving suffering of any sort, hasits ultimate objective to bring the sufferer to the path of love . That means the path of the Maste:s. we . enter definitely upon that path, all semblance of evil disappears, evenas the night flees before the rising sun. If there were no other reason in the world to account forthe presence of suffering, this one reason would appear tobe sufficient. It is equally certain that just as soon asall men , the whole human race,corneto the path of love,evil will disappear from the world. :

Here isatleast one rational solution for the problem of evil. This is the thesis:evil, suffering inany form, hasasits primary object to impel people to turn toward the path oflove. weare not givingas the word of the Master, but asa suggestIon. There may be deeper reasons also. But inanycase,we may rest. that the plan of human life, including what men call evil, the best possible plan for the human race We may be permitted to make a suggestion: It IS OpUll?n that . germs, bacteria, are here toassist dissolving, eliminating the weak within aspecies, and they will not successfully attack the strong and healthy. They may appear tobeanevil, but not so. Many other things appear tobeevil because of our Ignorance concerning their proper place in the general scheme.

6. BUDDHISM IN INDIA

Gautama Buddha appeared almost simultaneously with Zarathustra in Persia and Confucius in China. LaoTsealso belonged to the same period. It wasa time of awakening in world history. Always when the time isripeforthesagestogeta hearing, they corne. What impression do you think an Emerson could have made upon uncivilized people?Saintsalwayscorne when there isafair chance of their getting a hearing, and today there are more saints manifesting than ever before. When more people are ready for them, more will corne.Weare sometimes asked why no saints corneto thebig European centers orto America. The answer is that when those people are ready forthe saints, they will go there. It is often said that among those people there are surely many good people, even better than some who corneto the Masters in India. And that maybeso . But moral goodness is not the only qualification for meeting a Master. Certainly, great intellects are not the primary qualification. Thefundamental requirements formeetingagenuine Satguru are humility, love, and freedom fromthe bonds of creeds. If asoulhas nothing else and stillhas these three, heiscloseto the path of the Masters. There is one thing more, however, which he must havein addition to these three. He must have earned that right during his past life or lives. If his past karma is not good enough, ifhehas not earned that supreme good fortune, he cannotgetit no matter how saintly he or she may bein this life.But if a person is particularly worthy during this life, it means that almost certainly he will meet a Master inhis next life.

Today there isa better chance than ever before in this yuga for theMasterstogeta hearing, and more people are corning to them. When still inore people are ready for them, more saints will Come in different 'p arts of the world. No enlightenment can possiblytakeplace until the people are sufficiently awakened to listen tothe teacher. This is self-evident. ' upon agesthe higher facultiessleep. Men live the life of You may shout your divine message into their ears, and It will only annoy them. They don't want tobe disturbed. They

will probably driveyouawayor kill you.They cannot hearwhat yousay.Theyareengrossedinsensualitywhileall of the spiritual instinctsarecovered under therubbish. It isonlyawasteoftime .to attempt toenlightenthem.And that isthe chief reasonwhythe greatMastershave not beenabletogive their messagetothe wholeworld.Theysimply could not doit.Thepeoplewould not haveit. When anewteachercomes , heisalwaysobligedto adapt hismessagetothecapacity of thepeople.He cannot alwaysgive his complete messagetothem.Butthepeoplegetalittleglimpse of thelight,afewglimmerings of the truth. Theteaching,evenif not thehighest,givesanewimpulsetorightlivingandthinking. Onestepisgained toward the ·goal.Graduallythesoilis prepared forthecoming of arealsaintwhoisabletogive them thehighest truths. Then history oncemorerepeatsitself.After that saintis gone,histeachingsare,intime, corrupted and forgotten.

Atthe time Buddha appeared, India wassufferingfromastagnant Brahmanism. Life in that country hadbeenfairly secure ever sincethegreatAryaninvasion.Thisistheblessing of a strong government. Even if itisaforeign government, itgivesthe countrysecurityagainstforeigninvasion and safetyfrom internecine strife.SoIndia, under theearlyAryanregime,hadpeaceandsecurity.Butwhenapeoplehave periods of rest that are toolong,they growfatandlazy.Thepeople of Indiabecamemeasurablyprosperous,peaceful,happy, dreamy andlazy.The priesthood grewin numbers andpowers,speculatedand,ofcourse,collected their revenues.Many -of them becamequiterich.Rajas endowed them withgreat wealth, Then therajas turned overtothepriests their ownsinsandworriesandwent hunting forbiggameinthe jungles. The common peopletoldlovestories , ate their sweetmeats, andlaydowntosleep.Theyawokethenextdaytospin more fine theories,makelove and eat.

Into thissort of lifecamethenobleprince of theSakyaclan, Siddhartha byname.Hebecame known lateras Gautama Buddha.Hewas born about 650 B.C. Fromhisfather'sgardenshe could lookuptothe snow-covered summits of theHimalayas whiletherestofIndia, hot anddusty, stretched away toward Cey-

lon-at that timecalledtheGoldenLanka.Astheboygrewup , he was carefullyguardedevenfromthesightofanyevilordisagreeablething.Butlater,whenoldage,sufferinganddeathcametohis notice,heresolvedtoseekreleasefromthesesorrows,notonlyfor himself but forall mankind. It wasan ambitious but nobleadventure.Helefthisfather 's palaceandhisbeautiful youngwifeand son. Mounting hiswhitehorseinthestillnessofthenightwhileall inthepalaceslept,herodeforth 'in searchoftheway'-the Way, th e Tao of liberation.Aftersix yearsofrigidasceticism,painful struggleanddeep meditation, lightcametohis inner sight,andhe became thegreatapostle of the Enlightenment. Hehadfoundthe Wayandwasoverjoyed, fairlysinginghis triumph. Thu s theenlightenedprincebegantoteach.TheDeerParkinBanaresrang withhis inspired voice,revealingtoallcomerstheFourGreatTruths andtheEightfoldPath.

7. AN SACRIFICE

Thereare more peopleintheworldtoday who followBuddhism th an any other religion, andthesemillionsregardthesacrifices of Buddhaasthenoblestexample of unselfishloveevermanifested.

It is true that the grandeur of that sacrifice cannot be overestimated. It wasbeaut iful beyondallwords . Butinthelight of theMasters teaching we know that suchasacrificewasquiteunnecessary .

It was unnecessary, evenfor hisown enlightenment, becausehe couldhavegainedfullandcomplete enlightenment athome.Asceticismis not atallnecessaryfor spiritual development , asBuddhah imself discovered after much suffering.

Salvationisan individual problem.Everymaninthisworld

?I ust findthat path andwalkonitforhimself . Nooneelsecando It f hi . orun,any more thanonemancaneatfor another. Allthese thIngs th. . fh . e SCIence 0 teMasterswillmakecleartothe student . . In everyagetherehaslivedarealMasterwhowasableto POInt thewaytothehighest attainments. But Buddhism wassuecessfulldi . thY isserninated, and It became known the world over roughthe system of itinerant monkssent out b y theMaster.

TheMastersteach that anysystemorreligionwhich cannot be followedby ;ill mankind is not anessential part or component of realreligion.Ifa spiritual scienceistobe of useto mankind, it must, beauniversalscience.Ifitis not suited toallmen, under any and all conditions of life, then itis not universal.Therole of theascetic monk, the hermit, the wandering sadhu, maybespectacular.Butitis not a spiritual role.To put onadistinctivegarb and set oneself apart frc ill therest of mankind maybeflattering tothevanity of that class, but itis not spirituality.Itisno part of a universalreligion. Anything which cannot bemadea part of the dailyregime of all men cannot beanessential element of any religion,whichistoappealto mankind asawhole. '

TheMastersteach that austeritiesareawaste of time and energy and lead to littleelse than increasedvanity. It is true that the Masters often undergo greatself-denials, and inthepasthave suffered persecutions and death; but theydo not purposely torture their ownbodies, nor dothey undergo needless hardships for exhibition purposes. TheMasterslay down adefinite method by means of whichthe inner enlightenment maybegainedbyanyone,justas .certainly and justasfullyas Buddha gainedit.Afew hours daily giventothe proper exercisesas outlined bytheMasters will leadtothe inner enlightenment induetimewithunfailingcertainty.Andthe beauty of itis .thatby this method not one or two isolated, exceptional individualsin history mayfindthe Way, but unlimited hundreds and thousands of men and women maygainit. Under the directions of one of thegreatest of the Masters,theyaredoingsonow,as personally witnessedbythis writer . Thewayis open forany number more. If Buddha gained ' anything atalltojustifyhissacrifice,itwastorecoversomeknowledge of thePath,knowledge that ,hadbeenalmostentirelylost among hispeople.

Therecanbeno doubt that inesoteric Buddhism, knowledge of the sound current. isshown.Buthow many Buddhists know that path?Sofaras spirituality is concerned, thewholeworld today is just about whereit was before Buddha came,sowhatdidhis sacrifice accomplish exceptto found another religion?Theethics

UNNECESSARY SAC RIFICE

of Buddhism are good; they provide one of thebest moral codes. However,thesame things hadbeen taught before, and they have been taught by many other religionssincehisday.Butethicsalone haveneveryet opened thewaytothe inner kingdoms, for though theymaycleanthe mind and prepare oneto knock atthe inner door,they will never open that door. That can be done onlyby one of thegreatMasters.

Toknow that sorrow exists, that thecause of sorrow isdesireis ' nottoridthe world of sorrow orof desire.The .same thing had been taught intheGita,byKrishna,longbeforethedays of Bud dha . Ifalltheworldknows that sorrow is born of desire,whatis thegood of that knowledgeunlessonehasacurefordesire itself? Buttheworldhasnocurefordesire, nor hasanyreligionsucha cure . OnlytheMastershavethe remedy. And that remedy must beapplied individually and directlytothedisciplebytheMaster himself.Toread about itinabook,ortolistentoa lecture onthe subject, will neverremovedesire, nor will italleviatesorrow.The cureisintheaudiblelifestream, and that can be madeavailableto theindividualbytheMasteronly.

Imayknow that my pain isduetothesting of a scorpion, but thatknowledgedoes not lessenthepain . Buddhism cantellyou howtolivea wholesome life; but fewreligions,ifany,cantellyou howtogetin touch withtheaudiblelife current, and thereby escapefromthe mad vortex of desires.OnlytheMasterscando that.The beauty of itis that theMasters not onlytellyou about it, themselves administer toyouitshealingwaters.They' do not wntea prescription orreadtoyoua chapter out of a book as do.ctors and priestsdo ; theygiveyoutherealmedicirieitself.You dnnk ofitandlive. Thereisthe entire thing inanutshell.

Thelife stream istheonlymeans of escapefromthefatalwheel ofeternal coming and going,desiring and suffering.And not a soulcanfindhisownwayto that stream, but everysoul whom the connects with that stream must findhiswayto liberation om all desire and suffering.He cannot fail.Itis quite uselessto tellany man that he must overcome desire.He cannot doitunless yougivehimthe proper means of accomplishing sucha stupen-

AN UNNECESSARY SACRIFICE ,

dt k Only theMasterscansupplythemeans.Andthisfact ousas. , hd explainswhy Buddhism ceasedtobe dynamic soonafter te eparture of itsillustriousfounder.Thesamefatehasovertakenall other religions without exception, It must beso.. Theexample of anoble individual makinga sacrifice pealstothe imagination andsympathies of mankind. B.uddhas sacrificegainedhim much admiration and agreatfollowmg, thesamemaybesaid of thedeath of Iesusonthecross.The ?lty of itis that thewholeworldfixesits attention upon the itself rather than on thelife and teachings of the if werethe all-important fact of hislife.ButJesus knew that his deathonthecrosswas not the thing forwhichhe had come . He prayed: "0 myFather,ifitbepossible,let this cuppass me." He had brought upon himself the wrath of the bydoingso many miracles, contrary tothe long-established rule of the Masters . Hisbleeding hands and feetmadea appealto public sympathy, yet, influenced by age-old doctnne human sacrifice,thepeopledid not question what wo.uld bysuchadeath.IfJesus himself had remained With his fora period of fortyor fifty years,he might have perfected his disciplesinhisownsystem of s:nt them out into theworldtogive thatmethod m ItS he " had received it fromhis Indian Masters.How ncher wouldhavebeentheworldwithsucha treasure carried wherebythewholeJewishpeople!The history of theworldItself might have been much brighter. ' . '

Astotheteachings of Buddhism, both and mo.dem, do not think itwisetotakeupspaceheretogive them mdetail. Our purpose inthis book is .nottodescribe other religions, but mention some of their salientfeaturessoastoaffordusan tunity to introduce thesystem of theMastersbyway of son Thereare many goodbookswhichgiveexcellent elucidations of the 'Buddhist system. ,

One thing wemay mention is .of peculiar to the mod ern student. Buddhismis receiving much attention bya certainclass of students whohavebeen most keenly disappointed

in Not knowingwhereelsetogo,theyare -turning to Buddhismmthe hope of finding that whichwaslacking' in their ownand other religions.Somefewbelieve thatarevival of old Buddhismiswhattheworldneedsnow. History mayrepeatitself in succeedingages, but history never runs backwards. Buddhism hasdoneitswork, and it will pass,asall other religions must pass in time.

Buddhismisnowdivided into two main branches,the yana, or ' greatvehicle',andthe Hinayana, or1ittle vehicle',' The former prevailsinthe north, andthe latter inthe south-another of thefact religionisoftena matter of geography. The difference of doctrme betweenthesetwoschoolsis not vital, thoughmany think itis.

Buddhist philosophy has been concerned withthe nature of the real,andtherelationbetweentherealandthe ' unreal , the phenomenal and noumenal; and speculation on this. problem has ranged from themostextremeforms of realismwhich asserted this phenomenal world tobetheonlyreality,tothe mostextreme form of idealismwhich denied all realitytothe phenomenal world.Themiddle path betweenthesetwo,the monism of the Mahayana school , seesexistenceasoneaspect of reality, phenomenal and noumenal being but twosides or poles ofone transcendental, eternalreality,whichunified them both.

f All of reminds one of theendless metaphysical speculations medieval Christian theologians.In marked contrast toall of IS, beholdthesimple,direct statements of theMasters, -based Dot upon ulati b d spec anon lut upon whattheyhaveseen and heard ' an therefor all. , , sci e person Y expenenced" factsreducedtoanexact lence.

ltdherc:n ts o fth e Hin lnYParticuI ar im call.their doctrme Thera vada The nomenclature is not o f portance mthi s context asthe author is emphasizing something else.

AREVIEW OF WORLD RELIGIO NS Q UOTATIONS FROM THEGITA

8. THE BHAGAVAD GITA

One of themost meaningful and interesting of allthesacredbooks ofIndian literature istheBhagavadGita , meaning 'the SongCelestial' . It comprisesthe instructions givenbyLordKrishnatohis favorite . discipleandfriend,Arjuna,onthebattlefield,beforethe greatwar recorded inthe immortal classic, the . Iamgoingtogiveafew quotations fromtheGitaasa special concession.This'SongCelestial'issohighlyregardedbyso many people, both EastandWest, that itappearsfittingto reproduce certain portions of ithere . Moreover,it forth about theclearestandmostexplicit statements concermng the preparationforthe path oftheMasters.Noearneststudent. of the "path canfail to profit byreadingtheseextractsfromtheGita.Theyare ofuniversalinterest.Theydo not mark out theMasters'path, but theyindicatethemental for path:...

Thosewhoregardethicsasthechief thing mreligion Will findin theGita about thehighest standard of ethicseverwritten.Ifthe moralist wouldaccepttheGitaashis standard, hewould needany other book toguidehimonthe path of m.oral If the whole of human society would adopt the GitaasIts standard textbook ofethics,therewouldfollowthemost revolutionaryandwholesome reconstruction of societytheworldhasever f

TheGitaleadsthe student uptotheverygateway of the path 0 theMasters.AllitlacksisthelivingMaster himself to open the gates and goin with the student. But just here liesall the difference between success and failure.No matter how perfect your preparation maybe , no matter ifyouhave memorized thewhole oftheGita,theBible,theKoran,andallthemoral of a thousand sages,yetifyouhavenomeans of actually entry intothe kingdom of heavenwithinyou, your .preparatIOn.Is useless, excepttogiveyoualittle better placement mthe andalittlepeace of mind inthislife. Remember always It IS not 'right living' here that counts .first.in !t IS the actual entry into that kingdom which hes within , Doctnnes and

theories will not help.Thecleansingprocessalone,whichcomes throughrightliving, will never open toyouthe door tothose innerworlds.TheMasteraloneholdsthekeyto that door . That upward journey itselfcan never bemadeexceptbytheaid of a living Master. If an earthen vesseliscleansed, that isonly preliminaryto' fillingitwiththeelixir.ThelivingMaster , andheonly, canfillthevesselwiththewater of life. .

Thefollowingextracts are afew of thefinest portions of the Gita.

9 . QUOTATIONS FROM THE GITA

Thewisegrieve neither forthedead, nor fortheliving. (ttiu)

The contacts of matter, 0son of Kunti,giving heat andcold, pleasureand pain-they come and go;theyare impermanent. Endure them bravely. (U:14)

Thisdwellerinthe body of everyoneisalways invulnerable, 0 Bharata;therefore, thou shouldst not grieveforany creature. (U:30)

Since thereal man cannot be harmed either inlifeorindeath thereisnoreasontoworry about whatmaybefallanyone.'

Takingasequal both pleasure and pain,gain and loss,victory anddefeat,girdtheeforthebattle. . (U:38)

TheVedasdealwiththethree gunas [attributes J. Be thou above these attributes, 0Arjuna; beyond thepairs of opposites,ever stead£' ast III punty, careless of possessions, full of theSelf[the supremeself] () . U:45

Thybusinessiswiththeactiononly,neverwithitsfruitsSolet ?ot fruit of anyactionbethymotive; nor be thou to Inaction attached () U:47

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

Perform actions,0 Dhananjaya, dwellingin union withthe divine, renouncing attachments , and balanced evenly in success and failure. Equilibrium iscalledyoga. (II:48)

Farlower than theyoga of discrimination [vivek] is that of action, 0 Dhananjaya. Take thou refugeinthe pure reason [buddhi]. Be united tothe pure reason.Pitiablearetheywho workforfruits. . (II:49)

One abandoneth here both goodandevildeeds; therefore cleave thou toyoga.Yogaisskillinaction. (II:SO)

Thesages united withthe pure reason. They renounce thefruit which action yieldethand, liberated fromthe bonds of birth, . theygototheblissfulseat. (li:Sl)

When the mind, bewildered bythe scriptures [readingtoo many books]shall stand immovable, fixedin contemplation [samadhi] then thou shalt attain unto yoga [union withthe Supreme]. (II:S3)

When a man abandoneth, 0 Partha, allthedesires of the heart [literally manas, 'mind'] and is sustained intheSelf[Supreme] by that Self, then heiscalledstablein mind [pravna]. Hewhose mind isfreefrom anxiety amid pains, indifferent amid pleasures,loosedfrompassion,fear and anger[thefivefoes of man]iscalledasage [muni--one whoobservesthevow of silence] of stable mind. (II:SS,S6)

Hewho,oneveryside,is without attachments, whateverhappensfairorfoul,who neither likes nor dislikes, of such aone the understanding iswellpoised. (II:S7)

Itmaybewellto remember that thisdoes not imply acallous indifferencetoallthings. It is something vastlyhigher than that. It meansasoulserenely detached fromthelove of material thingsor

QUOTATIONS FROMTHEGITA

events,fromall concern about them. The student attains thisattitudebecausehisloveis centered upon that which isabovethe things that perish. . ,

Man, musing on theobjects of sense, conceiveth an attachment tothese. From attachment ariseth desire;fromdesire,anger [krodh] cometh forth. From anger proceedeth delusion;from delusion, confused memory; from confused memory, thedestruction of reason [buddhi-discrimination, abilitytoreason];from destruction of reason he perisheth. (II:62,63)

Hereisa marvelous analysis of the downward path, stepbystep.

Butthe disciplined selfmoving among senseobjects,withthe sensesfreefrom attraction and repulsion [interested only asa spectator of thepassingshow], mastered bythe Self[supreme] hegoethtopeace. (II:64)

Thatisthe path of therealyogi,so beautifully contrasted withthe downward path of self-indulgence.

Inthat peace the extinction of all pain arisethforhim;for of himwhose heart ispeaceful, the reason soon attaineth equilibrium. (II:6S)

Suchoftherovingsensesas -the mind yieldethto, that hurrieth awaythe understanding, just asthegale hurrieth awayaship upon thewaters. (II:67)

He attaineth peace unto whom alldesiresflowasriversflow into theocean,whichisfilledwithwater, but itself remaineth unmoved . (11:70)

unmoved justbecauseitisfilledwithso much water. Sunilarlyifa man isfilledwith the lifestream,he cannot bemoved.

A REVIEW OFWORLDRELIGIONS

Thisistheeternalstate,0son of Pritha,having attained thereto,noneisbewildered [meaning that allknowledgeisclarified]. Whosoeveratthedeath hour isestablishedtherein,hegoethto the Nirvana of theEternal. (U:72)

Thisistrueonly of thosewhobytheaid of theMasterhave conquered firstthe andthenthehigherworlds .

Inthisworldthereisatwo-fold path-that of yogabyknowledge,and that of yogabyaction. (III:3)

Thisagaindirects attention tothe gyan marg ofthe pundits and the dharma marg, sopersistentlyemphasizedbycertainschoolsof , thought, both East and West-the path of goodworks.Butthis leaves out the third path,sourgently taught bytheMasters. It fails tocall attention tothe supreme path,thatofthe surat shabd margo Butthe bhaktimarg isreferredtoelsewhereintheGita. That isthe path ofdevotion. .

Balancedinpleasureandpain,self-reliant,to whom a lump of earth,arockorgoldareallalike,thesametolovedand unloved,firm,thesameincensure and inpraise,thesamein honor andignominy,thesametofriendor foe-he issaidto havecrossedoverthequalities [gunas]. (XIV:24,2S)

.

Hefrom whom comes no disturbance, who cannot bedis turbed byothers,whoisfreefromjoy[freefrom exhilaration over ordinary pleasure],fromanger , fearandanxiety , such a oneismybeloved.Hewhodoes not depend onanything,who is pure andactive, whodoes not care whether goodcomesor evil, and whoneverbecomesmiserable;whohasgivenupall effortsfor himself alone. suchaoneismybeloved bhakta A man winneth notfreedomfromaction [karma] by abstaining fromaction; nor by renunciation doth heriseto perfection. Norcananyoneforan instant remainwhollyactionless.For helplesslyiseveryonedriventoactionbythe attributes [gunas] ,

QUO TATIONSFROMTHE GITA

born of nature [prakriti, whichmeans matter out of whichall creation is evolved], (XU:lS-16; III:4S)

Hewho controls thesensesby mind, 0Arjuna,withtheorgans of sense uninterested, he performeth yoga, byaction.Heis worthy. (utir)

It stillremainsafact of historythat not one man hasever controlledhisorgansofsensejustbythepower of hisownmind, simplybywillingitso.Bywillpoweronemayholdimpulsesin check, followor not followhisdesires.But if oneistoovercome thedesiresandimpulsescompletely,one must find something whichthe mind likesbetter. It canneverbeaccomplishedbynegationalone.This supreme needissuppliedonlybytheheavenly melody,the bani. Thatistheaudiblelifestream,anditisfound only upon the path oftheMasters.

It isdesire,itiswrath, begotten bytheguna of motion [rajas]all-consuming, polluting-know thistobe OQf foehereon earth.Aflameisenvelopedbysmoke,asa mirror bydust,asan embryobythe amnion, sothis[thewholeworld]isenveloped byit[thewhirlpool of motion, engendering desire].Enveloped iswisdombythis constant enemy of thewise,intheform of desirewhichisasunstableasaflame (m:37-39) '

Thus understanding him,asgreater than thereason [buddhi] , restrainingtheselfbytheSelf,slay thou, 0mighty armed, the enemyintheform of desire,difficulttoovercome . (UI:43)

This imperishable yogaIdeclaredtoVivasvan;Vivasvan taught ittoManu[a prehistoric sage,orrishi]; Manu toIkshvaku told it . Thus handed downtheline,theking-sagesknew . Thusyoga, bygreatinflux of time,decayedintheworld , 0 Parantapa. (IV:1-2)

AREVIEWOF WORLD RELIGIONS

Andsoitistoday.Who but atrueMasterhasanyknowledge of ! theyogawhichleadsto .theheights of spiritual attainment?

This same ancient yoga hath been today declaredtotheebyme. For thou, 0Arjuna,artmydevoteeandmyfriend. It isthe supreme secret. · (IV:3)

Andyetthis supreme secretoffersno more than a good preparationforthe real yoga of thesaints.

Whenever thereisdecayofrighteousness [dharma], 0Bharata ; andthereisexaltationof unrighteousness [adharma], then I myselfcomeforth.Forthe protection of thegood,forthe destruction of theevildoers,forthesake of firmlyestablishing righteousness,Iam born from agetoage. (Iv:7- B)

rNothing couldbe more definite than Krishna's ownwordsconcerning hismission in the world.Butsaintscometodeliver men fromthis world-bondage ; not to improve theworlditself. Thus it Will beseen that there is 'avastdifferencein their missions. It is the duty of thenegative 'powertokeepthisworldinalivable condition. Although bad enough at best,it must not beallowed t<? become too bad.Thesaintsoften compare thetwomissions,the one of thenegativepowerandthe other of thepositivepower represented bythesaints,byreferringtoabigprison. The inmates maybeinneed of allsorts of thingstomake their lives more tolerable.Soacharitablyinclined man comesalongandoffers . them better foodor better clothing. Another man makes improvements inthe sanitary conditions. Butthe poor devilsarestill In the prison . Finallycomes another man armed withpowerfrom thegovernor,andheopensthe prison cells,swingswidethe doors andtells them alltogofree. Which onedoyousaywasthereal friend of theprisoners?TheMasteristhegreat liberator, whilethe agents of the other powerseek only toamelioratethe conditions of prison life but do nothing tosetfreethe prisoners themselves. Notecarefully Krishna's ownwordsastohis .mission. Theyare the authority whichnomancanquestion.Hesayshecomes not

TH

E YOGAOFTHEGITA

onlytoestablish .righteousness but to destroy the evildoers. Masters redeemevildoers;theynever . destroy them. If the student is not exceedinglyalert,therealsignificance of thispassagefromthe Gita will escapehis atJention. Krishnacomesfromageto .age to establishrighteousnessandtodestroyevildoers.Butthe great Masterscome not todestroy, but tosavesinners.Jesussaid:"Forthe Son of manis not cometo destroy men's lives, but tosave them" (Luke 9:56).

Saintspickupthedesolatesouls, hungry andweary,andbythe aidoftheShabdtheydeliver them fromearthly bondage andtake thembackhome. And this constitutes the essentialdifferencebetweenthework of therealMastersandthepowerswhichincarnatetorestorebalanceintheworld.

10. THE YOGA OF THE GITA

Astoa method of yogaor meditation, Krishna says:

Lettheyogi constantly engage himself inyoga, remaining ina secretplacebyhimself,with thought and self subdued, free fromhopeandgreed. Tn a place,established on afixed seat of hisown, neither very much raised, nor verylow, made of cloth,black antelope skin, and kusha grass,oneovertheother; therehaving made the mind [manas] one-pointed with thought, andfunctions of the 'senses subdued, steadyonhisseat, he should practice yogaforthe purification of theself. Holding the body,theheadandneckerect, immovably steady,looking . fixedlyatthe point of thenose,withunseeinggaze.Theself serene,fearless,firmin the ·vowof brahmacharya [keepingthe vow of continence, celibacy],the mind controlled, thinking of ' me, harmonized, lethimsit, aspiringafter me. (VI: 1-14)

Hereisthesecret method of theKrishnayoga.Ifweaddtohis m.ethodthe ancient custom of repeatingthesacred word om, you will have about all that the ancient or modem yogishaveever employedin their meditations. Infact,Krishna himself says:

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

Om, theone-syllableeternal,reciting, thinking upon me,he whogoethforth, abandoning thebody,hegoethonthehighest path. (vui.u)

Besides this method ofyoga,thereisnoyogicsystem of any , great importance except that ofPatanjali.Even that' isscarcelyan improvement upon theGita method.

Now,ifthe student undertakeshispracticeonthisbasis,he will surelygetsomeresults.Ifheisluckyenoughtoescape the risks whichfrequently attend suchpractices,he will getsomelight and increase' of powers.He will gainsomedegree of mental poiseand .he will findincreaseof JOY ,in living. tHe will soonfeelassured that heisontheright path leadingto full realization.He will bestimulatedtomoreloveandcharitytowardall.He will, in other words, becomea better andmoreusefulcitizen,whileaserenehope will fill his heart asheapproacheslife'ssunset.He will atthesame time earnalong,quiet sojourn intheastralheavens, but to return atlastfora rebirth inregionsofmatter.In other words,that student willbecomearealyogi,withayogi's understanding and powers.Andletit be emphasized always that thisisnosmall thing.Butwe must also remember that ayogiwhohas, notgone beyondtheBrahmLokis not aMasterorasaint.Thisisavery important distinction 'tobekeptin mind whenstudyingthispath.

Thereisonemoredangerwhichbesetsthe path oftheyogi.He ' maybe misled intobelievingthathehasactually .attained the highestthereisonthespiritualpath; that hehasreachedthe regions of immortality, beyondtheplay 'of birth anddeath,beyond thefatal'wheelofeighty-four'.Manynoblesoulshaveso believed,onlytodiscovertheirmistakewhenitwastoolate.Some havenotyetdiscoveredtheirerror. It maybeafter thousands or evenmillionsofyears,they will suddenlyfind out they must return tothescenes oftheir formerstruggles. It issomewhatlikea man earningasumofmoneyandthengoingtoaforeign country tospendit.Hemaylivethere for manyyears,inthe enjoyment of all that the country cangivehim, but whenhiscapital has been spent,heisobligedto return again.Justsothelaw of karma works

outontheastralandcausalplanes.Thereisnoreal immortality there.

Bythe method of theGitaalonenosoulhaseveryetescaped fromtheregionsof mind andmatter. It isquiteimpossible.Such escapecanneverbeeffectedbyanymeanswithin the"powersof anyman,excepta true Master.Millions of noblesoulsriseto beautiful ofthetwolowerworlds of light, and thereexperi- ' ence prolonged periodsofrest and enjoyment ofearnedgood karma. It isallacleverscheme of thenegativepower.Eventhe Gitaitselfsaysthatforsuchayogithereisriomore rebirth or death.Many have labored under thisdelusion.Itisapity.So cunningly arranged isthissystem,leadingtothebelief that they havefoundtheperfectway,whilethenegativepowerstillholds themprisonerswithinhisempire.

The path oftheyogimaybe recommended solongasthereis nothing better insight.Butthe path oftheMastersisinfinitely better. It alon e leadstocomplete liberation andabsolute immortality.Hewhowishestoescapeforalltimeand eternity thewheel of birth anddeath,thiseternalcycle of comingandgoing,lethim seekalivingMasterandenlistwithhimonthe path of Sunlt Shabd Yoga. Noneedtoquarrelwithfatebecausethereisno otherway.Why should youwishany other way? The Creator has establisheda royalhighwaytothesupremeregions. Isn't thatgood It is only onthe path ofthesaints that anyoneeverhas nsenorevercanrisetoregionsbeyondtheplay of karma,beyond thedownwarddragof mind andmaya.

Thelengthoflife upon theBrahmplaneisverylongindeed. It oftenextends .to thousands andmillionsofyears.But the saints are.familiarwithvastregionsfarbeyondandabovethe ,highest knowntoancientyogisorrishis.Moreover,theBrahm itself must soonerorlatercometoanend,whentheperiOdIC dissolutionstakeplace.Thisis taught by both the Vedasand Gita,anditisrepeatedintheUpanishads.If that regionitself destinedtocometoanend,howshallits inhabitants enjoy Immortality?Thereisnoassured immortality until thesoulhas reachedtheregionsof pure spirit,farbeyondall materiality. Only

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then isthesoulabovethe complications of mind and beyond the grasp of karma, beyond all dissolutions and grand dissolutions.

Letusnotenowthefinal instructions of Krishnatohisdisciple, especiallytohisbeloved bhakta, Arjuna.Thisishisgreatword,the supreme word of theGita.

It iscalledthe Mahavakya, thecrowningnoteinthe grand scale of theSongCelestial.Itisthis: .

With theLordinthy heart, withallthybeing,withhis grace thou shalt attain tothe supreme peaceandtheeternalstatus : So haveI expounded to thee aknowledgemoresecret than that whichis hidden. Further, hear the most secret, the supreme word [mahavakya] that Ishallspeakto thee-Become my-minded [Compare-"Let this mind beinyou,"whichwasalsosaidby Christ Iesus.] Devotedtome , to me dosacrificeand adoration. Infallibly thou shaltcome unto me;fordear thou arttome. Abandoning alllaws of conduct, seek refuge inme alone; I will releasetheefromallsin.Do not grieve.

(XVIII: 62-66)

InclosingthissectionontheGita,we must drop one word of caution. It isreferredtoinmanyplacesinthis book but it cannot beoveremphasized.Do not imagine that youmay become an accepteddisciple of Krishnaor of Buddha or of Jesusbyreading instructions ina book and sayingaprayerto him in your imagination. It canneverbedone.Theirmessageswerespokento ir owndisciples.

Truth itselfmaybeuniversal, but a spiritual Master can 'functionhereasaMasteronlysolong as helivesinaphysicalbody. Howdoweknow?BecausetheMastersallsayso;besides,thevery reasons that impelledhimtotakea human body inthefirstplace suggest that suchworkashehastodocanbedoneonly in a human body.Ifitwereotherwise, then heneverhadanyneed of comingin human form.Thisis not becausetheMasterislimited, but becausethediscipleis limited . He cannot receivehelp from a departed Master.Totrytomakea departed saintone 's ownMas-

T HEFO UR VEDASOFTHE HINDUS

ternowisonlytohugafonddelusion.Thereisno spiritual liberation without conscious contact withthe Shabd-dhun, and that you cannot possiblyget without alivingSatguru.As will beseen in Chapter 11, Section 9,. thethree links of thegoldenchainare absolutelyinseparable.Theyare: Satguru, Shabd-dhun, arid jivan mukti-the Master,theaudiblelifestream,andsalvation during thislife.Ifyouwantsalvation,you must firstsecurethe other two. Thereisno other way.

When Krishnasaidthose , lovelywordstoArjuna, promising "infallibly thou shaltcometome,"theyappliedto Arjuna onlyor any other of hisbeloveddisciples, but not tothepublicingeneral nortoanyfuturetimewhen someone just imagines himself tobe adisciple of Krishna. And thesameappliestoall other pastMasters,all other sacred books andall other religions.Ineverycase, thelivingMasterisnecessary if we aretopass beyond the threshold of theheavenlykingdom, beyond thegates of materiality.Every student whohasgonetohigherregionsknows that thehigherone goes,the more difficultitistogo without aMasterwithhim. Soonthestageisreachedwhereitisquiteimpossibletogo anotherstep without thepresenceand aid of aMaster.

11. THE FOUR VEDAS OF THE HINDUS

TheVedasare among themost notable of the ancient scriptures, generallyconcededtobethe ' oldest literature inexistence.However, longcenturiesbeforetheVedaswere reduced towriting, perhapsbeforetherewasaSanskritalphabet,theVedaswererefromfathertoson,almostinwhispers,so sacred werethey conSIdered. TheVedasare venerated becausetheyareold , aswell asfortheir contents. Butif one werelookingfor a book of knowledge,hewould not gobacktothe childhood of therace.SantMat, theVedasbyvast ' eons of time,istheoldestsystem of SPlfltual philosophy inexistence.YetIfearifit depended upon its ageforveneration,itwouldget but scant consideration frommodlivi thinkers.Thatsystemis today much appreciated becauseitis VIngtruth.

ThefourVedasare:

1. The RigVeda , 2 TheYajur Veda

3. TheSamaVeda

4. TheAtharvaVeda

IntheVedasweare confronted withthesamedifficulty that puzzlesusinregardtoalloldscriptures. It isverydifficultto determinewhatwasoriginally written andwhathasbeenadded during thesucceedingcenturies.Allscriptureshavesufferedsuch . additions and modifications during thecenturies.

TheVedas contain one hundred thousand shlokas, orcouplets, ofwhicheighty-six thousand dealwith problems concerning life . inthisworld. Fourteen thousand dealwithspiritualproblems, God andthegods,andtheheavensbeyondthisearth. "Thereare many loftypreceptsintheVedas, but unfortunately mixedinwith much that isnotsoelevating.Buteven that isduetothefact that theywere written forapeoplewhowerelowinthescaleofspiritualevolution,and human relationshipswerenecessarilyusedto illustrate spiritual truths. Doubtless,ifwehadthepureoriginal songsofthegreatrishis,wewouldhaveavery beautiful spiritual literature.

TheVedasexhibit -adefiniteknowledgeoftheaudiblelifestream. In them itiscalled nad, or nada. Doubtlesstheir authors had experimental knowledgeofcertainphasesoftheholy nad. This life current manifestsonallplanes,anditmaybeheardinSahasradalKanwal,theTuriyaPad,andtheBrahmLok.

writings ofIndia.Most of theoriginalwritings of thisclasshave beenlost,accordingto some authorities. One hundred and eight havebeenpreserved,and of thesenotmore than twenty are of superior valuefrom our viewpoint . Out of that number, thirteen havebeen translated and discussedby RobertE. Hume. Thiswork oughttobereadbyallwhowishtomake a carefulstudyofthe Upanishads . Duessen,agreat German student of Indian literature, says: "Toevery Indian Brahmin todaytheUpanishadsare whattheNew Testament isto the Christian." .

Schopenhauer said that theUpanishadshadbeenalifelonginspirationtohim; but his recommendation is not sovaluableas thatofphilosopherswho, abandoning thedarkeraspectsofthings, exalttheirownlivesbythe nobler preceptsofthe Indian literature.

ClearlytheUpanishadsteachthatthe path to spiritualization is fundamentallyself-abnegation . Addedtothat;theyenjoin vivek and vairagya, quitein harmony with the teachingsofthegreat Masters.Byallthesemeanstheyteachthediscipletoknowthe supremeBrahman,knowingwhom,thedisciplebecomesBrahman.Butweinsist that knowledgeneverleadsto liberation . The jnana yoga is not thechiefmeansof enlightenment. But the Upanishadslaydownsome other aids to spiritual attainment. "Amongthemare sama, dama, uparati, titiksha, samadhan, shraddha , and mumukshutva. "The latter two,which mean faithand longing,arealsoenjoinedbytheMastersasexcellentaids the " path. Especially is the lastoneregardedbytheMasters,as wen as theUpanishadic pundits, asthedrivingforceonthe spiritual path. Ofcourse,theobjectoflonging must beso ardently desired that all elsebecomesofsmall importance.

In Mundaka (II. ii. 3-4) , the Upanishads giveanaptsimilefor thedevotee: .

"

Arevivalofinterestinthe Vedas hascomeoutofthelifeand workofRamakrishna and hisillustriousdisciple; SwamiVivekananda.Infact, itwasVivekananda,more than anyoneelse,who stimulated interest intheVedantic philosophy throughout the world.ThewritingsofMaxMuellerhavebeenwidelyread, but chiefly: amongscholars,evenasthelucidexpositionsofShriAurobindo Ghose,who had giventotheGitaanew birth inthe land ofitsorigin.

TheUpanishadsaresomeofthefinest portions ofthesacred

Taki great thebow, fix the arrow sharpened by . Drawing it with the mind, rapt in the Immutable, that target , that very Immutable. Om isthe bow, the sow IS thearrow, and Brahman isthetarget. One must pierce itwith a concentrated mind and so become likethearrow,one with it.

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Of course, thisappliesto such asgono further than Brahm Lok, and to whom om isthe most sacred word. Againwe must call attention tothe important that the Upanishads, however richinknowledge,lacktheliving Master and audible life stream, both of which are absolutely necessaryto full spiritual realization. Karamkanda and jnana singly or together, can never bring toany student Jwan mukti; which isthegoal sought byall. Surat Shabd Kanda isan absolute necessity . Sothe Upanishads, likeall other sacred books, belong to past ages, and lackthe quickening power of alivingMaster. supposing that the Upanishads, like other sacred .were wntten by Masters or inspired by them, why not gotoalivmg Master . now?We must 'always beware of the illusion that amere knowl-edge of a thing will bring tousitsbenefits. -

Inthe Nad-Bindu Upanishad of theRig Veda-some claim that thisis not in the original RigVeda, but of a later date-the audiblelife stream is plainly referred to and partly described:

Inthe beginning of practice, the devotee hearsmanyloud sounds, tenormore.They gradually increase inpitchandare heardmoreandmore subtly. Atfirstsoundsarelikethose comingfromtheocean,fromthe clouds (like thunder)and from cataracts . Inthemiddle stage, such ;is proceedfromthe mardang, thebellandthehom.Atthelast stage, those proceedingfromtinkling bells, thefluteandthe bina. Thushehears manysounds,moreandmore subtly,

Itis thus that theold Hindu scriptures definitely speak of the inner sounds. Then thissame Upanishad enjoiris:

Themind, having atfirst concentrated itselfonanyonesound, fixes firmly tothatandis absorbed init.Themind, becoming insensible to external impressions, becomes onewiththesound, as rille with water. Havingabandonedallthoughtsandbeing freed fromall actions, heshould always concentrate hisattentiononthesound.Justasthebeedrinksthehoneyanddoesnot

ANEPITOM E OF V EDICPHILOSOPHY

carefor anything else, sothe chitta [themind],whichis always absorbed inthesound, doesnotlongfor sensual objects.

Andsothe Masters teach that theShabd,the Sound, isthe only thing that will curethe mind from wandering after sensual ob- ' jects." The sound proceeding from Pranava, which is Brahman, is ofthe nature of effulgence;the mind becomes absorbed init."

All thisisin full accord with the teachings of the modem Masters.But most of the present-day sannyasis havelostall practical knowledge of the sound current. Thisinspite of thefact that they claimtofollowthe Upanishads as their bible. Instead of listening tothe Sound itself,they read some book that tells about it. And then , becausethey cannot hear the Sound themselves, having lost all knowledge of the method, they try to explain itawayasa mere figure of speech . Thisis now being done by most of theSikhs regarding their Granth Sahib, which is full of mention of theholy , Shabd.Thesamehas been done byTagore,the beloved poet of Bengal, inhis translations of KabirSahib.

TheSamhitas is a collection of Vedic hymns sung inpraise of thevariousgods and devas-Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Parjanya, etc. Hymn s sungtothegodswhile they-both gods and men-drank theirsomajuice and frolicked.Theseare perhaps the oldest specimensof Indian philosophy ever reduced to writing.

12. AN EPITOME OF VEDIC PHILOSOPHY

Webelieve that the entire substance of theVedic philosophy, which has stood theacidtest of rational criticism, maybe summed upin one theclassicalsentences. It maygiveus the keytothe under of allVedic literature, besides much that is modem. Note It well:

Ekamsatviprabahudhavadanti.

It means: " Thatwhichexistsisone;sagescall it by various names " Thi . • IS wasfirst writtenprobably ten thousand yearsago. It

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS AN EPITOME OF VEDICPHILOSOPHY

has run through all Indian philosophy likea golden thread:. It teaches not only that there is unity in the supreme one but unity among men and inalllife. In fact,all that livesis one life,. in origin, one inessence, and that essenceis permeated by the one universal spirit. Itis in that One that all things live and move and have their being.

If Hindu philosophy had never done anything else than give to . the world this one sentence, it would have justified its existence. It has modified all philosophic thought from prehistoric times down to this day. Out of ithas grown modern monism, which isso profoundly affecting all recent thinking. Until v:e seeno.thingin the world but the infinite one, all of these evils of which men complain will continue to beset our path and harass us.Weshall , make much of distinctions, . and selfishness will take precedence over altruism. Itis only in the Lord, in the spirit, in the life stream itself, that we come to know of a certainty that weareall one. When our entire consciousness blends into that divine current, then weshallsee nothing but that light and hear nothing .but that music. We shall become one with it. Until wesee the beloved one and hear the enchanting melodies of 'the all-embracing Sound', we shall wander through the universe like stray cornets.

Until wesee and hear him in everything, even in evil, perfect unity will not existforus. The very heart of this doctrine of onenessislove.Loveis the divine cement which unites allliving beings into one temple of light. The higher wego into the inner worlds, the more apparent this oneness becomes. Sitting in Sat Desh, the supreme region, 'one beholds the King of kings and says: "I am He!' ; Loveis the holy bond that holds all worlds together. What a pity that individuals should war ignorantly and blindly against each other.

Sideby side with this sublime concept, which teaches the oneness of all that exists,is another Sanskrit expression which sums upin three words the entire philosophy of kinship with all that lives.Itoffersa philosophical basisfor umversallove. Itdoes away with distinctions. It then prepares the mind to enter the path. Itis, "Tat twam asi." It means, "Thou artthat." Its underly-

ing concept is identical with the other sentence just quoted. Ithas a twofold actual meanirlg. ·First,it means this individual is that individual-no distinction. Second, it means that each individual isthe supreme Lord.

There isa point in the upward travels of the student of the . Masters when he beholds the majestic beauty and grandeur of one ofthegreat lords of the upper worlds. His name is Sohang. When the student sees him, the consciousness comes to him with an overwhelming joy-"I am that." This is the meaning of the word sohang. At that moment of sublime realization, the student knows thatheis one with the Supreme. That is pure Sant Mat; but it findsa distant echo in the Vedas.

It wasscarcely necessary that Spinoza should enlarge upon this basic truth. His entire philosophy was no more than athesis founded upon this ancient text. That text embodies the original idea of all modern dissertation upon the unity of things. Itis the legitimate mother of the doctrine of universal brotherhood of man and universal fatherhood of God. If weall sprang from one God and arestill one in him, we must beveryclose brothers. If all men had remembered that golden ideal, they would never have persecuted or sought to destroy one another. And thisis today one of the noble precepts of the Masters. Whatever my brother is,I am ; whether good or bad. Into this sublime concept, if we pour the stream of universal love,the world itself will become a paradise. All that ailsthisold world today isits lack of love. But men forget, andso they suffer.Assaid in another section, when all men turn tothe path of love, suffering will cease.

All Vedantic systems agree on three things: first,a belief in God, orthegods; second, that the Vedas constitute -the revealed mesof God,or the gods; and third, a belief in the cycles of world IstOry.

"

thTheVedasare divided into two portions, two currents running th r0.ugh all four of them-the karamkanda, or work portion, and th e ]nanakanda , the knowledge portion. Thisis the gyanmarg, or e of knowledge. The Upanishads belong to the jnana kanda They are intended togive enlightenment. They arealso edAranyakas,or the Forest Books.

Theyoga of worksandtheyoga of knowledgeare both taught in theVedas; but theyoga of devotion,the bhaktimarg, does not seemtoustobesufficientlyemphasized.The bhaktimarg, when vitalizedbythe nad-bindu, thedivineShabd,isthe supreme yoga of thesaints.Itis their path back home .

TheVedasteach another thing of great importance, avital truth; namely, that allmen should seekto know onething,knowing which,allelseisknown. What is that onething? The inner self. Hencethe importance of the injunction, "Knowthyself."

TheVedasofferavery beautiful simile:

Multitudes of people arelikethe million dewdrops in which the one sun isreflected. Untold millions of them, but only one sun. Sois our relation tothe eternal One.

TheVedicidea of creation is worth our merition here.InSanskritthe word whichis commonly translated as ' creation'isliterally 'projection' . The ancient sagescould not conceive of something beingcreated out of nothing. The supreme oneprojects himself into formand material substance.Thereforeheisstillin it,stillitslifeand ·essence.Everything that existsis then a unit in theuniversalbeing.In material thingsitmeans that his vibrations areloweredtothe material planein order that hemaymanifest upon that plane. .

Thisis illustrated by the phenomena of mind. Manas,buddhi, all of theelements of mind, aresimplythe projections of the cosmic mind, the mahat. This mahat then becomes manifested in vibrating thought. Nothing isevercreatednewexceptinitsform. . , Itssubstanceisaseternalasthe Creator himself,and through everythingthecreativeessenceruns.

TheVedasteach that fromstonetointellectallisthe product of onesubstance, akash. Thedifferenceliessolelyinthegreater or lesserdegree of its manifestation. Asthereis but onesubstanceat the substratum of allthingsinthe material universe,sothereis but one primary forcefromwhichall other forcesarederived.Its name is prana. Prana,acting upon akash, produces all forms.To

gain control overallforcesandmaterialsin nature, onehasonly to gain control over prana, the primal force . And therein liesone ofthebigsecretsoftheyogi.Yet that isonlyhalfthe problem. To gain control over prana, onemustfirstgain control overhisown mind-therein isthesecret of secrets.Thisisthe order of nature. Mindis superior toall other material forcesandsubstances . Mindcontrolsallelse.Infact, mind isthe primary motivepower throughout nature. Wedo not seeitas mind becauseweare not abletoobserve mind inaction.Itislike electricity-we canonly see its manifestations , not thethingitself. Mind controls all, but mind mustact through someagency,some intermediary. There aremanyofthese intermediate substancesandforcesinaseries gradedfromfine. tocoarse.Atlastwearriveatelectricity,1 well downonthescale;yetitistheh ighest intheseries thatscience has been abletograspand manipulate foritsownuses.

Science hasalreadycomeneartoproving that electricityisthe on esubstanceintowhichall other substancesresolvethemselves, everything ending atlastin protons andelectrons.Butthepracticalpointforusis, ifwewishto control theforces of thematerial world, we must beginwith mind control.Gaining complete mastery overthe mind, wethendirectthe mind toward theprana. Controllingprana, we compelit to manipulate thelowersubstances withwhichwehavetodeal.Amongthoselowersubstances , the first on e tobecomevisibletous, that is, visibleinitsmanifestation s, is electricity. Gainingthat,wemayplaywith nature's forces aswedesire.Andthisisthesecret of 'allmiracles . Therehavebeen thou sands of yogisor mahatmas of differentdegrees,ineveryage oftheworld,whohavebeenabletodoso-calledmiracles.Any Master cando them . Many of hisdisciplescandothem. Guru Nanaksaid: "Conquer the mind andyou conquer the Andthisisa truth knowntoeveryonewhohasmadesome advancement upon thepath.Thepractice of real yoga arousesthe powersin everyone-powers possessedbyeverybody, but lYIng dormant inmostpeople. When fullyawakened,suchpowers enablethe individual to transcend thelimits of reasonandsense -, I. H ere Dr. John son is r eferring to particlesandfields, intoday's t erminology.

LOSOPHY

A

REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

perception.Thissuggeststheverygreatvalue of true yoga.Hermann Keyserling says: "It isamazing that theenlightenedWest has not madestudy of yogaa part of itspublicschoolcurricula."

Everycareful student knows that oneofthegreatesthandicaps toprogressisthelackofabilityto concentrate upon thetaskin! hand.Yogateachespeopleto concentrate. Theaverage mind is likeapoolofwaterviolentlyagitatedbywindstorms:stormsof passion,ofdesires,ofdutiestobedone, of a hundred demands upon one'stime,ofrestless hurrying toand fro" of irritations, anxieties,worriesanda thousand other ills of mind. Concentrationisthecure . Donotallow yourself tobedeceivedinto imaginingthatyou will concentrate whenyouhavecircumstancesshaped to suit yourconvenience.Thattime will nevercome.Butifyou will concentrate first of all,you will soonbeabletoshapecircumstancestosuityourself.Thereispracticallynolimittowhatmay beaccomplishedby concentration.

T HEYOGA OFPATAN/ALI

practice of pranayam is udghata, the awakeIiing ofthe kundalini. This point hasbeen much emphasizedbytheyogis. TheMasters sayonlyalittle about it,excepttowarn students againstdabbling withforceswhichtheyhave not mastered. Pranayam isnota part ofthesystemofthesaintsandis not recommended bythem.All ofitsbeneficialresultstheMastersgainin another way,as will be shownlaterinthisbook. Kumbhaka is attained by restraining the prana through concentration oninternalandexternalobjects.This issupposedtoremoveallcoveringsofthe chitt, andgiveonepointedsight.

13. THE YOGA OF PATANJALI

Thefollowingisthesystem of yogaaccordingto the Patanjali interpretation oftheVedas. It is not part oftheMasters ' system, but sinceitissowellknownto students oftheoccultinall Orientalcountries,wewishtogiveitheresimplyasastudy.Butwe must warnall students not to attempt touseit,except under the directionsofa true yogi.Ithasitsdangers.Itisgivenineight stages. .as follows:

(1) Yamtr-Restraint. The non-killing ofanimalsormen; truthfulness,honesty, continence , non-acceptance of gifts, but giving freelytoallwhoneed.

(2) Niyama-Internal andexternalpurification;study ; worship.

(3) Asana---Sitting inthe proper posture, body erectandthe mind inperfectpoise.

(4) Pranayam-Controlling theprana,thevitalforce.Thisis generallydonebytheoldyogis,mostlyby controlling the breath, togetherwiththeexercise of the will. Theresult of theperfect

(

5) Dharma-Perfect concentration of mind bydrawingitto one point andthen holding itthere,keepingthe mind one-pointed.Thisis much emphasizedbytheMasters.

(6) Pratyahara-Withdrawing the attention entirelyfromall externalobjectsofsense,thengoingintothe inner world.This means,inthelanguage of theMasters, (closingthenine doors' . It islikegoingintoa room andthen shutting allthedoorsand windowssoastoavoid disturbances from without. Mind becomes calmafteritis withdrawn fromthesenseworld.Itis then ready forthenextstep.

(7) Dhyan-Holding the mind infixed contemplation upon oneobject.ThismaybetheMasterorany other object; but inthe systemofthesaints,itistheMasteronly.

( 8) Samadhi-Going beyondthesenseworldand entering the region of inner reality,thatissomesupraphysicalplaneofconsciousness. Thebodybeingnow senseless, the mind .and spiritrise toastateofsuperconsciousness. Samyam isanexaltedstageof samadhiwhereintheconsciousnessisonlyaware of the inner ofthings. It isatthis point that the student penetrates into the hidden mysteriesoftheuniverse.Thewholeworldthenis ascrystal, and allknowledgestandsnakedbeforehim.This IS pure samyam. Butthereisastate of consciousnessevenabove that. It iscalled nirvikalpa, that changelessstateof mind whenthe mindrisesabovealltimechanges,and itself changesnomore, possessing all.ThisisasfarasyogacangowiththeVedantists.

intothatstatewhere mind ' itselfis dropped as of nofurtheruse, andthepuresoul-s-unfetteredbyany instrument-knows allthings bydirectperception.Butthisisastateenteredwhenthesoul passesaboveandbeyondallmateriality,evenbeyondthecosmic mind itself.

Onthewaytothehigher attainments, thereisoneexaltedstate of mindmuchemphasizedbytheVedantists.Thatstateisgained whenthe mind is not disturbed byanysortof opposition or any evilthing.Ifattacked,the mind remainsquite undisturbed, calm asthestillwaters.Thereis then nosort of resistance,noantagonism, not eveninthought;nohatred,nofear;noanger,nota rippleonthecalmsurfaceofmind.Thisveryexalted state of mindiscalledbythe pundits titiksha. Butinactualpracticeitis hardlyreachedbeforethedegreeofMasterhasbeenwon.Tothe ordinary yogiitismostlytheoretical.

The student istaughtbytheVedas,andbytheMastersalso,to practice vivek, 'discrimination'. Butthereisaveryhighdegree of discrimination whichis not attaineduntilthe ,soulilluminesthe , buddhi. Whenthe ordinary faculty of discrimination isquickened bythedirectraysofthespirit,wegenerallyspeakof that asintuition.Butwhenthisprocessiscarriedtoperfectionandthe mind iscompletely illuminated byspirit,thenitiscalledbythe pundits nityanitya vivek, meaning that itisadegree of discrimination be-yondwhichthere is, nothing moretosee.The ordinary discriminatingpowersofthemind,the buddhi, are not abletorisetothe sameheightaswhenlitupbythespirititself.TheWesternpsychologistmaycallthisreason combined with intuition. Butit is simplythe buddhi, theintellect,quickenedbyspiritto an unusual degree.Untiltheyenterthepath,onlyafewindividualsareso endowed.

Perfect nityanitya vivek canhardlybeattaineduntilthesoulis , freefromallcoveringsandisabletooperatebydirectperception. Itmaybeginthisstatewhileyetafilmof mind hangsoverit.Only whenthesoulhaspassedbeyond that spherewhere matter obscuresitsvision, does it gainthetrue pratyaksham--direct perceptionandtrueknowledge.Thisleadsussomewhatbeyondthefield

oftheVedas.Theregionsof pure spirit,beyondall matter and mind,are unknown totheVedas.TheyareknownonlytotheMasters.

Thereisadegreeofspiritual illumination whichcomestothe individualasaresultof purity alone.Theworldhasseenmany suchcharacters.Letuscallthem natural-born saints,although they arenotrealsaintsinthetechnicalmeaning of that term. Whenapersonneverthinksanevil thought, neverdwells upon things of thesenseworld, nor desiresanypleasantsensationfor self-gratification, that person spontaneously attainsadegreeof spiritual illumination calledbythe pundits pratibha. Thisisthe lightofthesupremegenius,thegreatpoet,thegreatartist,the great philanthropist . Butsuchastheseareborn, not madesoby theirown thinking. :

Theabove classes arecloselyrelatedtothosewhoaresaidto radiatealightandaknowledgecalled ,dharmamegha. Thesoul appearsnaturallytobeclothedinlightandvirtue.Thisisspoken ofas'acloudof virtue' . Suchagreatsoul,whereverhegoes, is clothedinthismantleofglory. It canbeseenbyallwhoenjoy astralvision.Butsuchpeopleareveryrare.

Ahimsa is that attitude of mindwhichmakesitimpossible,for onewho possesses it,everwillinglytocausepain 'ofanysort, mentalorphysical.Thisisaverynoblevirtueanditisadecided stepforwardonthepath.Hewhohas attained itisclosetothe Kingdom.

Abhava is that formofyogainwhichtheyogi himselfas zero,nothing,havingno commendable virtue,voidofallvanity. Thisisgood but itisanegativevirtue. It onlyservestopurifythe vessel butputs nothing intoit.

Thencomesastillhigheryogacalled mahayoga. Thismeansa moreexaltedstate of mind inwhichtheyogiseeshimselfnot simplyasnothing, but asonewiththesupremeone,freeand blissful. Thisistobeattainedwhilecherishingthemostperfect humility.Otherwiseitisuselessto think aboutit.

Therearethreeconceptswhichitwouldbegoodtounderstand: desa, kala, nimitta-space, timeandcausation.Thisisthe

composition and order oftheuniverse. Other andhigheruniversesmayknownosuchlimitations. It iswellknowntotheMasters that inthehighestregions both timeandspacedisappearautomatically.Thiswouldgotoshow that theyaresimply limitations of materialworlds.Inthosehigherworldsalleventsandthings, whichweseeintime and space, stand forever present beforethe observer.Thentwoofthefetterswhich bind usherearegone. Thereisnoabsoluterealityintimeandspace. Theyaresimply our . method ofseparatingthingsandevents.Butwhenwearefree, those limitations naturallydisappear.Whenthesoulhasallknowledge,allpower, and isitselftheveryessenceoflove,whatisthere tolimitit?Timeandspaceare limitations. Thefreesoulis unlim ited.Therefore,toitthereis neither time -nor space;Itisonewith theSupreme.Thisconsciousonenessisthenthebasisofthemost perfectliberty,aswellasperfectjoy.

Wehavegiven extremely brief sketches ofthe highlights of Hindu philosophy, and wehavegiventhose portions whichwebelieve areofthegreatestvaluetothe student onthe path of the Masters. Weare not concerned withthosespeculative portions whichhave nopractical value forus.Wehavegiventhosesections,those gemsof thought, whichcoincidemorecloselywiththeteachings of theMasters.Thiswehavedone not to throw light upon the teachingsoftheMasters but tooffer corroborative evidence.The science of theMastersdoes not contradict ornegateanyofthe good thingsoftheoldscriptures.Itsimplyoffers additional light. It acceptswhathasbeen proved true intheoldsystems andthen uses them as stepping-stones togohigher.

THEJEWISH RELIGION

fromthepeopleamongwhomtheylived. Bythemitwasmodified and reconstructed into what isnowknownasJudaism.Theworld does not seemto understand, especiallythe Christian world, that theIewishreligionwastakenalmostbodilyfrom heathen religions.TheJewishreligionisas much heathen asisBrahmanism. It was born out of heathenism.Butfrom our viewpoint that is nothing toitsdiscredit . .Allreligionsevolvefromthose that were extantinthe culture prior totheiremergence,fortheyaspireto fulfill theneedsofatime, and apeople 's needsdo not change radicallyovernight . Areligionusuallyabsorbsintoits structure and doctrine thoseelementsoftheprecedingreligionswhichare stillrelevanttothepeopleitserves, and theessence always passes fromonereligiontothenext. Truth belongsto no race,classor country. It isuniversal.

TheearlyJewswere semi-nomadic shepherds,rangingthelands betweenBabylonia and Syria. Abraham had imbibed someofthe Easternwisdom,webelieve, and had combined itwiththeprevailing manner of sacrificialworshipofthedeityofhispeople, Yahveh, orAdonai. In thosedaysreligiouspractices throughout theworldwereprimitiveinformandstreamedwithanimalblood. Thereseemstobe something deeply rooted in human consciousnesswhichhas always led man tomake bloody sacrifices . Whatisit? It isdoubtlessthesubconscious recognition that 'sin mustbe atoned for,or in other words, that everydebt must be paid.And that is nothing more nor less than the Indian doctrine of karma , Karmaisonlythepractice of sacrifice reducedtoafixed ofnature.Amongsttheearliestpeoples,theycould not generalize thatmuch.Theyonlyfeltthat something must bedoneto payoff thedebt . Reducedtoits concentrate, thelawofkarmais nothingmore than that.

THE JEWISH RELIGION

TheJewishpeoplehavea unique and distinctivehistory.Abraham,hissonIsaac,andhis grandson Jacob,werethefounders of Judaism-, Abraham wasChaldeanby birth, of thecityofUr . Dr wasthen noted forits philosophical speculations,itsastrology wd itsoccult sciences. Judaismwasalmostwholly borrowed, absorbed

Sacrifice insomeformappearsintheVedasandisa concomiofallearlyformsofreligion.This amounts toanalmost unIversal recognition ofthe stem factthat nature demands full foreverything.Butthegreatmistake of man hasbeento 1m·· . agmevainly that hecanescape payment byanysuchtrickor SUbterfuge asofferingasacrificeasa substitute, a payment by

proxy.Early man triedto hoodwink nature byacleverscheme of substitution.Onlyinthechildhoodoftheracecouldsucha thought everhave entered the human brain.Bysuchaschememenonly deceivedthemselves.They certainly couldnotdeceive nature or thelord of justice;Notonlydidthisnaiveplanfailtoaccomplish itspurpose, but italsoaddedto"theguiltofthesinner.Insteadof cancellinghisdebt,it doubled it.Itworkedbackwards.Bysacrificingananimalora human beingforthe sins oftheliving,fresh sinswere committed andmoredebtincurred.Insteadofgetting rid ofpastobligations,thesacrificeraddedtohisdebts.Hisload ofkarmagrewheavierinstead of lighter. .

Abrahamwasa shepherd patriarch amongthewanderingtribes ofAmorites,Chaldeaninorigin.Butweare concerned hereonly withtheJewishreligion.Thatreligionissomixedinoriginthat it isdifficulttotraceit.BeforetheBabyloniancaptivity,thereligion wasnotverywelldefined.Abouttheyear 600 B.C., theJews were taken toBabyloninvirtual slavery. Duringthefollowingseventy years, partaking oftheculture and philosophy oftheirmasters, theyabsorbedtheircustomsandtheirmorerefinedwayoflife. Beforetheir return home, under thegracious patronage ofCyrus, theyhadbecomeaverydifferentpeople.Andrighthereisa point ofmuchhistoricsignificance,especiallyforChristians.Sincethe Christianreligion.was,andis,socompletelya reconstructed Iuda- : ism,it must beofinteresttoknowthatJudaismitselfwasso largelyderivedfromthereligionandcultureofBabylonia.We mayevengoonestep further back-the Babylonianworldview itselfwas founded upon theteachingsofthenoblePersian,Zarathrustra, withsomemodifications.Thusbyadirectline,theChristianreligion,asitfounditswayintohistory,maybeseenasa modified Zoroastrianism, withthefigureofChristtakingtherole ofthesacrificiallamb, although sacrifice, except that ofa pure and consecratedlife,hadbeenno part oftheteachingof Zarathustra. IfChristiantheologians "and historians resentthis statement, they maydowelltoexaminethehistorymore closely. Infurther proof ofthis statement, the pure andoriginal orthodox Judaism will be foundtoresembleverycloselytheteachingof Zarathustra, asset forthintheZendAvesta.

The Jews rebuilttheirholy city, Jerusalem; andbegananewlife, stimulatedbytheculture,awakenedbynewideals.Forthefirst timeinhistory, something like national unitycemented them into apeoplepossessingmanlyattributes.Henceforth,threemoraland politicalintoxicants stimulated Jewishactivity: (l) Thepromise madeto Abraham byJehovahthathewouldexaltthe Jews above allnationsandgivethemworldempire.Theywouldhave dominionoverall other nations-they weretoruletheworld.(2)Jehovah,whowasfirstregardedasthegreatestofmanytribaldeities, was nowproclaimedGodof all gods,andwithtimewasconceivedas theoneandonlyGod.This notion took centuriestocrystallize, andwithitcametheconviction that the Jews wereGod'schosen people.(3) finally, theybelievedthatagreatdeliverer,amessiah, wouldsoonappeartoleadthechosenpeopletoa full realization ofallthatJehovahhad ' promised.Thecherishedvisionofworld empireforachosenpeoplecouldnotberealized .any other way. Now, after three thousand yearsofwearywaiting,thereappears lessandlesslikelihoodthatthosepromises will everbe fulfilled. Nationaldelusionsareoftenendowedwithverygreatlongevity.

Thereisone thing about theJewishreligionwhichinterestsus here-the esotericteachingsofitssacredscriptures.IntheTalmudandtheTorah,fromwhichthe Pentateuch of theBiblewas taken,therearetracesoftheteachingsoftheEasternMasters. Thereisanesotericmeaning,theysay,inevery chapter (some claim,ineverysentence),quite incomprehensible to the ordinary reader.Onlytheinitiatescould understand thatdeepermeaning. Itwhollyescapedthecasualreader.Neitherwasitever intended forthem.Themajoritycould not understand; yetthetreasures mustbepreservedfortheworthy.Inthat hidden teaching,there aremanyglimpsesoftheShabdofthe Indian Masters;also,a moreorlessclearly outlined method of concentration, bymeans ofwhichthe student could penetrate the inner kingdom oflight. . It isafactof supreme importance, whichallmenshouldbear III mind,thatnosystemofethics,noculture,no spiritual philosophy,no information concerning the inner kingdom,isofanyvaluetothe student unlessheisatthesametime provided withthe

means of entering that kingdom. But that is the great oversight of all religions. Only thescience of the great Masters offers the definite means, the precise method. It isalso known that there have been many prophets and sages among the Jewsbesides those mentioned in the Bible. Some of them were doubtless well advanced on the path. Gradually, however, the Jewishfaith,likeall others in history, deteriorated -into a formal and ceremonial institution dominated bya priesthood. Priestcraft, th ; great menace of history!

There is another point which wewishto make clear regarding the Jewishfaith and its relation to the path of the Masters. That is the very definite marking of the higher path running through of theoldJewish scriptures. Wehave neither time nor spaceto trace that in detail . Butwewish simply tocall attention to it. Perhaps someone else may give it a more detailed study.

There is no conflict between ancient Judaism and the science of the Masters. The latter science simply carries the student further. For example, the Masters speak of the second region on the higher path, and they name it Trikuti. Thisis the Brahm Lok of the Vedas and the Gita . Itis the highest world or plane known to ancient yogis or rishis. It is the supreme region today to practicallyall religions.IntheJewish Kabbalah it probably corresponds to the plane known as 'the Atzilotic world'. The entire Kabbalah is replete with hints and references which cannot be understood, except in the light of the Masters' teachings.

In the Kabbalah there are six distinct stages in the body and four above.This corresponds to the Vedicsystem, where there are six chakras below 1 and four in the superphysical regions-they are the sun worlds, the moon worlds, the lightning worlds, and finally the Brahm Lok, regarded byitas the supreme region. In the Kabbalah they are named from below up, Malcuth, Yesod, Hod, Tiphereth, Netzach, Gevurah, Chesed, Binah, Chocmah, and Kether . They are regarded as theten manifestations of God, each with a name; ineach of these regions, the deity takes certain qualities and is named accordingly. They are,infact, ten different stages of the manifestation of the deity. These severalstagesareto be attained by meditation upon the corresponding centers.

1.The sixlowerchakr as are named in another section .

Kether is the crown region, the supreme, where the soul unites with Eheyeh, attaining what the Hindus name nirvana. Ateach of thestages upward, the soulgains certain virtues and powers, and realizesthe deity inan ascending scale of glory from stagetostage. For example, inthe highest region the soul realizes union with God.In Chocmah, hegains perfect wisdom, and understanding of the whole universe. In Binah, hegains understanding above ordinary men; inthis region the deity isYahveh Elohim. In Chesed, he is imbued with mercy asa chief virtue; in Gevurah, strength, severity, justice , law;in Tiphereth, beauty, harmony, rhythm; in Netzach, victory-God is known there as Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts.In Hod heisglory, splendor; inYesod, the foundation of all things, that out of which lifeflows. This corresponds to the generative center, the indri chakra of the Hindus. Last of all, t he lowest is Malcuth, meaning the inner kingdom, the lowest s ubtle plane, and it is there that the deity is seen as Adonaiha-Aretz, the lord of the earth, which corresponds to Ganesh of the Hindus.

An important mystical philosophy or theosophy of the Jewsis called the Kabbalah. The word is derived from the Hebrew kabal, signifying ' to receive', because itis the doctrine received from the elders.The word has sometimes been used,inan enlarged sense, to include all the explanations, maxims and ceremonies which have been traditionally handed down to theJews.Inits more limited acceptation , inthe symbolic science of Freemasonry from which standpoint we may interpret it,the Kabbalah may bedefinedas a system of philosophy which embraces certain mystical interpretations of scripture andmetaphysical speculations concerning the deity, manand spiritual beings. In these interpretations and speculations, according to the Jewish teachers, were developed the most profound truths of religion which , tobe comprehended by finitebeings , are obliged tobe revealed through the medium of symbols and allegories. 1

" The Kabbalah wasfirst taught by God himself toaselect com-

1. The followingextrac ts arefrom the arti cle " Kabbalah" in AlbertG. Macka y, M.D. , 33, AnEncyclopediaof Freemasonry (New York:TheM asonic Hi story Company, 1921). Copiedb y Ha rvey H.Myers, O range, California .

pany of angelswho formed a theosophic schoolinParadise.After the fall,theangels most graciously communicated this most heavenly doctrine tothe disobedient child of protop lastswiththe means of returning to their pnstme nobility and felicity... , From Adam,itpassedoverto Noah, and then to Abraham . .. Moses ... David and Solomon.... Noone,however, dared towriteit down till Simeon ben [ochai wholivedatthe time of the destruction of the second temple.R.Eliezer ... then collatedR. Simeon bert Iochai's treatises and out these composed the celebrated work called Zohar whichisthe grand storehouse of Kabbalism.

"The Kabbalahis divided into twokinds,thePractical and the Theoretical. ThePracticalKabbalahis occupied in instructions for the construction of talismans and amulets and hasno connection with Masonic science : The theoretical Kabbalahisagaindivided into the Dogmatic and theLiteral.The Dogmatic Kabbalahisthe summary of the rabbinical theosophy and philosophy. TheLiteral Kabbalahisthesciencewhichteachesamystical mode of-explainingsacred things bya peculiar use of the letters of words and a referenceto their value.Each of thesedivisions demands separate attention.

"I. TheDogmaticKabbalah. The origin of theKabbalahhas been placedbysomescholarsata period posterior the of Christianity, but itisevident, from the traces of Itwhichare found in BookofDaniel, that itaroseata much earlierday.It has been supposed tobederivedoriginally from thesystem of Zarathustra.

"The Kabbalistic teaching of emanation isbest understood by an examination of the doctrine of the Sephiroth.

"The supreme being,say the ·Kabbalists,isan and. inscrutable unity having nothing without him; and everythmg Within him.HeiscalledEnSoph, 'the Infinite One'. Inthis infinitude, he cannot be comprehended bytheintellect nor describedin intelligibleby human minds soastomakehisexistence perceptible.Itwasnecessary, therefore, that to render himself comprehensible, the EnSoph should make himself active and creative.Buthe

could not become the direct creator; because,beinginfinite,he is without will, intention, thought, desire or action, all of whichare qualities of afinitebeingonly.TheEnSoph, therefore, was compelledtocreatethe world inan indirect manner by ten emanationsfromthe infinite lightwhichhewas, and inwhichhedwelt.

"Theseten emanations aretheten Sephiroth, or Splendors of theInfiniteOne, and thewayinwhichtheywere produced was thus:Atfirst,theEnSophsent forth into spaceone spiritual emanation.Thisfirst Sephirah iscalledKether, the crown, becauseit occupiedthe highest position. Thisfirst Sephirah contained within itthe other nine , which sprang forth inthefollowingorder:At firstamale,oractive potency, proceeded fromit, and this,the secondSephirah,iscalled Chocmah, orwisdom.Thissent forth anopposite,female,orpassive potency, named Binah, or intelligence.Thesethree Sephiroth constitute the first triad, and out of them proceeded the other seven ... Chesed,ormercy ... Gevurah,orjustice ... Tiphereth, or beauty ... and these constitute thesecondtriad. From thesixth Sephirah came forth theseventh Sephirah,Netzach,orfirmness.Thiswasamale potency and producedthefemale potency named Hod, or splendor. From these two proceeded Yesod,or foundation, and these three constituted the third triad of the Sephiroth. Lastly, from the foundation came the tenth Sephirah,called Malcuth, or kingdom, whichwasatthe footof all, asthe crown wasatthe top .

"Thisdivision of theten Sephiroth into three triads wasarrangedintoaformcalledbytheKabbaliststheKabbalisticTreeor theTreeofLife[as shown inthe diagram onthe next page].

"

Inthisdiagram,thevertical arrangement of the Sephiroth is pillars. Thus thefour Sephiroth inthe center arecalled the mIddlepillar,the three ontheright,thepillar of mercy, and the .ontheleft,thepillar of justice.Theyalludetothesetwo ofGod, of whichthe benignity of theonemodifies the the other, so that thedivinejusticeisalways tempered by . e dlVme mercy.C.W.King,inhis Gnostics (p.12),refersthe th nght-handpillartothePillarJachin, and the left-hand pillarto ePill ar Boaz, which stood atthe porch of theTemple; and

"thesetwopillars,"hesays,"figurelargely amongst all the secret societies of modern times and naturally so;forthese illuminati have borrowed, without understanding it,the phraseology of the Kabbalists and the Valentinians." Butan inspection of the ar- ' rangement of the Sephiroth 'will show ifheis correct inhisgeneral inference that hehas transposed thepillars. Firmness would more' naturallysymbolizeBoaz,or Strength, as Splendor would Jachin or Establishment.

" Theseten Sephiroth arecollectively denominated thearchetypicalman,the microcosm, astheGreek philosophers calledit, andeach of them refers toa particular part of thebody. Thus the crownisthehead;wisdom,the brain; and intelligence,the heart, whichwas deemed theseat of understanding. These three representtheintellectual; and thefirst triad is therefore calledthe Intellectual World. MercyistheRightArm and justicetheLeft Arm andbeautyistheChest. These represent moral qualities; and hence thesecond triad iscalledthe Moral World. Firmness istheRight Leg, Splendor theLeftLeg, and Foundation thePrivates.These three represent power and stability; and hencethe third triad is calledthe Material World. Lastly, Kingdom istheFeet,thebasis onwhichweall stand, and represents the harmony of thewhole archetypalman. "Each of these Sephiroth was represented byaDivine name and byanAngelicname,whichmaybe thus tabulated:

THEJEWISHRELIGION

"Theseten Sephiroth constitute, in their totality, theAtzilotic world,orthe world of emanations, and from it proceed three other worlds,each having alsoitsten Sephiroth, namely,theBriaticworld, or the world of creation; the Ietziratic world, or the world of formation; and theAssiaticworld,orthe world of action; each inhabited bya different order of beings.[Butto enter fully upon the nature of these worlds would carry us too far into the obscure mysticism of theKabbalah.]

"These ten Sephiroth, represented in their order of ascent, from thelowesttothehighest, from the Foundation tothe Crown, forcibly remind us of thesystem of MysticalLadders which pervaded all of the ancient, aswellasthe modern, initiations; the Brahmanical Ladder of the Indian mysteries;the Ladder of Mithras,usedinthe Persian mysteries;the Scandinavian Ladder of the Gothic mysteries,and,inthe Masonic mysteries,the Ladder of Kadosh;and,lastly,the Theological Ladder of theSymbolicaldegrees.

tical interpretations of its mission and destiny as expressed ina vastKabbalistic literature, which ultimately found its most unified, most perfect written expression inthe Zohar, TheBook of Splendor, which rediscovered the kingdom of thesoul. Inventing awhollynew terminology, it did thisinaspecificsense, not then known in mysticJewry.Saysthe Zohar:

Believe not that man consists solely of flesh,skin and veins.The real part of man ishissoul, and the things just mentioned are only outward coverings. They are only veils, not the real man. When man departs thislife,hedivests himself of all the veils whichcover him..

"

II. The Literal Kabbalah. This division of the Kabbalah being, ashas already been said, occupied inthe explanation of sacred words bythevalue of the letters of which they are composed, has been extensively used bythe inventors of thehighdegreesinthe symbolism of their significant words. It is divided into three species; Gematria, Notaricon and Ternura. " Q.E.D.

Much more might begiven but itisforeignto our purpose. We havegiven this much to show that theJewishKabbalah, corresponding veryclosely with the . teachings of theoldrishis,has many similarities with the esoteric teachings of theEast when itis understood ata higher level which is coincident with the teachings of theMasters.

TheJews,as all know,werefinallydispersed and scattered among the nations. Many timesthey ran the narrow gamut of utter extinction. Atthesame time, their religious principles underwent changes, now fading out and now reviving;atone time theJews almost lost their identity and then they gained anew birth. Duringthe Middle Ages, exiledJewry kept itselfaliveby various mys-

The author of thiswas surely closetothe Eastern wisdom. It sounds much likethe language of aMaster.The Zohar, evenbeforeits author's death in 1305, had exerted avery great influence not only upon Jewish thought but also upon Christian thinking. How much itmayhave had todo with the general awakening of thatcritical time , itmaybedifficultto determine. Butby and by, eventhe Zohar failedtokeepalive the vigor of theJewish spiritual ideals. Materialistic world currents were constantly undermining spirituality everywhere among both Jews and Gentilesthe world over. It hasalways been so.It must alwaysbeso.

Religionislikea man ora nation-it hasits periods of inception,itsinfancy,its youth , its manhood and itsdecline.Atlast,old ageand dissolution claims everything from man tostar. Today the Jewishreligion , like many others, haslittlelefttoofferthe hungry seekerafter spiritual light exceptacode of ethics,thebest part of whichis common to all religions. Jews and Gentilesalikeareobliged tosearchfora more dynamic religion which can meet all the . requirements of an enlightened era. That new religion canonlybe theteachings of theMasters, their science of spirituality which is not areligionat all.

Christianity, one of the world's foremost religions, sprang from thefertilesoil of Judaism. But strangely enough, theJewshave been inclined totakeany credit for this gift. They have diSinherited their own child and steadfastly refused to give paren-

JESUSCH RIST AND TI-JE C H RIS TIAN RELIGION

tal recognition to their illustriousson.ManyJews,however, acceptJesusasone of their prophets. Therecanbeno doubt that if thedisciples of Jesushad not attributed tohim miraculous powers anddogmatic statements, Jesuswouldhavepasseddownintohistoryasone of thegreatest of the prophets, withhisJewishlearning enriched, asitwas,byapracticalknowledge of theEasternwisdom.

TheJewishpeoplehavebeen persecuted more than any other religious body inhistory. Throughout .theagestheyhavebeenthe object of the world's scorn, that worldwhichsoeasilyoverlooks itsown muddy face,andevenseems reluctant toacknowledge that some of theworld 's greatest thinkers and philanthropists have comefrom amongst theJewishpeople.Above aU, therehasbeen ahistorical mistrust between Christianand Jew, although itwould appear more logical that Christians, instead of hating the Jews, would give them creditforthegift of theirownLordandMaster. Awholepeople cannot be blamed for theactions of afew of their members inJerusalemtwo thousand yearsago. Didn't Christians burn and butcher thousands of other Christians during thereign of theSpanishInquisition?Didn 't our ownforefathers burn witches andpersecutetothedeathallwho didn't believeastheydid?

Religious prejudice is always blind and full of hate.Thecapital crime of allhistory,in the eyesofthepeople , hasbeenthepreachingandthe practicing of any doctrine subversive of theestablished institutions. It issafetosay that more peoplehavebeen murdered for that oneoffense than ' forallothers put together, including executionsforcrime.Anddoyouknowthepsychology of thisprocedure?Vanity.The"holy inquisitors" imagine themselvestobeverygodlike, verysaintly,becausetheyaredefending their ownreligion.Butinfact,theyexhibitthemostfiendishqualities,theexactantithesis of saintliness.Thereis nothing more devilish than a thirst forblood,firedbyareligiouszeal.Ifany man wonders how human beingscan commit suchcrimeswhile exhibitingreligiouszeal,lethimbe reminded again and again that religionand morality havenorelationtoeach other-none atall. It isonlygenuinespirituality,as taught bythegreatMasters,which becomestheverysoul of pure ethics.

15. JESUS CHRIST AND THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Letitbe understood atthevery beginning of thisdiscussion that thereisaverygreatdifference,a fundamental difference,between the Christian religion of history, that is, institutional Christianity, andthe precepts and practices of Christhimself.

Inthe modern Jesus of the Christian church, wefindtheideal of the imaginative Ireneus, not the adept of theEssenes-s-the obs cure refo rmer of Galilee.Wesee him under thedisfigu red Plato- Philonean mask , not asthedisciples heard him on the Mount.

It isone of thesaddestaspects of religious history that the or iginal Jesushadtodisappeartogiveplacetoan ecclesiastical icon.Thehistoricreligion of that name was not founded byJesus Christ. It was formulated andgiventotheworldbySt.Paul,an educatedJew.HewasschooledintheHebrewlaw, alsointhe neo-Platonism of theAlexandrianschool.ItwasPaulwhogaveto theworldthe Christian theology.Hiscentralideawasbased upon theoldJudaicsystem of sacrifice, and that itselfwas handed down fromtime immemorial, a bloody stream that has colored allhistory. Whenthenewreligionwas formulated andgiven out, itwas butlittlemore than anallegorical metamorphosis of Iudaisrn.Jesus wasnowmadethesacrificialoffering, " thelambslainforthefoundationoftheworld." It washis blood that wasto take awaythe sinsoftheworld.Thustherealmission of Jesus,whichwastolead hisdisciplestorealizethe kingdom of heaven within themselves, turned intoa bloody tragedy.Thewholesystemwasmade I?to acomplicated mixture of spiritual preceptsandmaterialpractices, andtheloftyideals of Iesusweredraggeddowntothematerial ceremonies of thesacrificialaltar. Human blood wasmixedwith and spiritual precept.Thiswasagrossinsulttothesublime Idealism of theMasters . .

a .ne of the strangest systems of theology took shapeasthedog. matIC religion of historicChristianity.Thecleanandgraciouslife,

teachings,anddeeds of Jesusofferedtothe world something very different.Almostfromthedayofhis departure, his spiritual missionandteachings began to undergo theusual corruptions and . misstatements. TheMasterwas not understood evenbyhis most intimate disciples,and later hisvery name was seizedbya corrupt priesthood to beutilizedby them asan instrument of self-aggrandizement-history repeating itselfoncemore.

Accordingtothe most authentic sources,JesuswasaJew, son of MaryandJoseph,whowasa member oftheEssene Brotherhood. Thebiblicalstoryof 'the immaculate conception' may not betakentooseriously. That Jesus had no earthly father, but «was begottenoftheHolyGhost"was doubtless invented tofitin with the theologywhichwasat that timebeing formulated. Upon thistheorythe theologian could claim that Jesuswas«theonly begotten SonofGod."The responsibility of his parentage was assumed by Josephaftersome explanations weregivento him in adream. That Jesuswas born according to natural law cannot be doubted by anyone whois acquainted withtheEastern wisdom orwiththe principles of human genesis.Eventhegreatest of saints come into thisworld just as other peopledo.

Jesus himself borethe name of Joseph until hewasgrownup andreceivedhis initiation. Hedid not assumethe name of Jesus until his spiritual mission wasdeclared. It was probably givento him byhislaterdisciples.Thetitle of Christ wasgenerally used for him oncehewasno longer; living. Nowhere isit recorded ashis own statement that helaidclaimtoanyqualityor character not possessedbyallmen. On the contrary, hedefinitelyasserted that the work whichhewasdoing could be done byhisdisciples.And it must be kept in mind that miraclesare not proof that hewho does them is something more than aman. It means onlyadeveloped man.Later statements making Jesusa demigod by birth bear all the earmarks of interpolations. Jesuswas brought upasacarpenter, livingwithhis parents inthe humble village of Nazareth, according totheNew Testament.

Probably ayearfollowinghisfirst reported discussion withthe

elders of hispeopleatJerusalem,hewastakento India byone of 'the wise men of theEast'who had visited him atthetime of his birth. Those men werethemagi of the Mesopotamian school.But thereisno doubt that they had communication ' withIndia,from where many spiritual teachings had emanated' sincethe beginning ofhistory. It seems probable that theonewho took Jesusto India wasan Indian yogiwhoatthetime of the birth of Jesuswas visitinginPersia and Mesopotamia.

, It is certain that Jesuswasdeeply imbued with both the spirit andthe method of a part, atleast, of theEasternwisdom.Sofar 'as hisownwordscanbe separated from the mass of additions and otherchangesmadeinthe record, his entire life and words were inperfect harmony withtheteachings of the Oriental Masters. Onlyone thing inhis life differedradicallyfromthe method of the saints' his doing of so many miracles. That isnever done by thesaints although theyhave plenary powerstodo them, and they candowhatevertheylike; but theydo not believe it awisepolicy todo them, exceptinrareinstances.

16. TEACHINGS EMPHASIZED BY JESUS

Therearetwo things emphasized byJesuswhicharealsostressed byallthegreatMasters.Theyare:

(1) Thevital importance of love, without which there canbe neitherwisdom nor religion;

(2) The immanence of the kingdom of heaven, whichistobe foundonly within man himself.

.Thesetwogreat precepts are cardinal inthe teachings of the saints, Whether Jesus had ever contacted areal saint in India or hadmetonlyyogisis another matter. From hislife and wordsit would appear that he had ashis Master ahighly advanced soul. Buth . " .e returned to hIS own country and found people burning With ' h. . ent usiasm andlove. When he returned toPalestine,hewas morean Indian yogi than aJewish prophet. He had pickedup mUchoftheteachings of themagiin Mesopotamia and of the

PythagoreansinEgypt.He was not unacquainted withthephilosophy of PlatoandAristotle.Being of pure heart andnoble purpose,impelledbyaverygreatlove,heat once settoworkhealing thesickand preaching thegoodnews of the immanence of the kingdom of God.

.

Thisheavenly kingdom wasbynomeansafar-off thing tobe realizedafterdeath, but avery present realitytobe entered upon hereandnow.AsMastersofall countries andageshavetaught,so Jesustooinsisted that thepeople should immediately depart from the ways of sin, and lookforthe kingdom withinthemselves, not inheaven.But alas! Hismessagewas but poorly receivedand meagerly understood even byhisowndisciples, much lessbythe multitudes. Theywerequite unprepared forsuchloftyidealism, suchrefined perceptions. Leastofallcouldthey understand the main point in it-that the kingdom of heavenwasa present realitytobeknownand entered upon inthislife.

Andithasalwaysbeenso.Eventoday, among themostenlightenedintheworld, but fewcangrasp that sublimeidea. They can imagineaheaventowhichpeoplemaygoafterdeath, but, when theyaretold that theycanpiercethedarkveiland enter upon that kingdom nowwhileinthebody,in full possession of their senses, theyhesitate.Most of them setthewhole thing downtoanoverwrought imagination. Yetthisvery thing wasthe heart andsoul of themessageofJesus,asithasalwaysbeena cardinal point inthe teachings of thesaints.

Herelies,infact,thegreat stumbling block of allreligions.They simply cannot believe it. They cannot imaginehowanyonecan possibly enter the kingdom of Godwhilein the body.Onlythe Masters,differingfromallchurchesandreligions, offer .a definite method and point toanexact path bywhichthe kingdom maybe entered now. With them itisnotheory, but avitalexperience.

Inthetime of Jesus,theJewsspeciallylookedfora temporal kingdom, andtheyprayedfor a messiah,agreatwarrior,who woulddeliver them fromtheRomanyokeandmake them the rulers of theworld.ButJesusspokeofa kingdom inside of themselves, whichtomost of them was rank nonsense.Theywere not

interested inhisfancies, impractical andsubversiveofall of their fondexpectations : Howcouldtheybeexpectedtobreakawaythe materialcrusts that bound their minds andlookinsideforakingdomwhich .they deemed onlyamirage of an impractical dreamer? Jesustold them that thegreat kingdom wascloser than handsor feet. Butthey turned away their incredulous ears. Jesus taught the Way,theTao,theheavenly bani, the bhakti marg, theSuratShabd path, but thepeople could not graspit.Evenhisdisciplesscarcely comprehended.Jesusinsistedonthedivine Logos, theWord,which wasthe prime factorinallcreation.Butitwentover their heads. He taught them asonehaving authority, anditonlyruffledtheir feelings.

\

Naturally,histeachings brought Jesusintoconflictwiththe authorities,especiallythehighpriestandthe Sanhedrin. Hisearly deathwasaforegoneconclusion.Afterthemerestmockery of a trial,he was condemned todeathonthecross,the most ignominious method of execution.Thedeathsentencewasapproved, under amild protest, bytheRoman procurator, Pontius Pilate.At thelastdark hour thegreat compassionate teacherexpired,crying outatbeingforsakenbyhisheavenlyFather.

Justwhyhewasforsakenatthelast dark moment byGod,in whomhehad trusted, isstillone of the profound mysteries re- . mainingtobesolvedbythetheologian.ButtotheEasternscience, the explanation isclear.Hehadassumedthebad karma oftoo manysinners whom hehadhealed,aradical departure fromthe method ofallgreatMasters. It isawell-knownlaw that ifwedo toomuchforpeoplewhohave not themselves earned suchfavors, thegivermustassumea part of the burden of thekarma of the recipient.Ifyougivea thousand dollarstoanyonewhohas not earneditandwhomaymisuseit,you yourself must be prepared tosuffertheloss, not only of whatyouhavegivenaway but of a amount in addition. Possiblyyoumaysuffer other penalties aswell.

Thedaydawnedsinisterandgrayoverthe Iudean hills.The streetsofJerusalemwerepackedwiththemobassembledforthe annualPassover.Thenoiseandtheclamorsurgedbackandforth

whileaslow procession madeitsway toward the north gate.The condemned prophet was compelled tocarry-hisowncross, but fell under its excessive weight,hisfacegrimywith perspiration and dust.Luckywas that Cyrenian whom theyforcedtohelpbearthe cross.Greathisgood fortune that hewasselectedfor that service. Betterfor him than ifhehad ridden out of thecityina chariot escortedby Roman legions.Howgladwe think wewouldhave beento render that service,tohave stood by that wayside,liftinga portion of theheavycross, perhaps alsowipingthesweat and dust fromhis face-that facewhichhadsmiledwith compassion upon so many sickandweary,I think it wouldhavebeenapleasure almosttohavetakenthenailsin our own hands ifwecouldhave savedthenobleoneasinglepain.

Over and overwehaveaskedourselves,whyisit that the best friends of man havesooftentosuffer most atthe hands of the ignorant mob?And then theydrovethenails into his hands and feet-those hands whichhad so graciously dispensed food and healthtothose multitudes. Yettheycrucifiedhim, and they hung a thief on either sideo f. him.Betterthegood fortune of one of thosethieves,dyingbytheside of Jesuswithaprayeronhis lipsfar better hisgood fortune than that of thehigh priest and the Roman procurator. Drearyaretheyearstocomefor them when thelawshall demand payment intoilingup thelong and rugged hills of timewhile bearing their burden of karma.Far better the fate of the thief dyingbytheside of Jesuswitha prayer upon his . lips.

Religious bigotry, ignorance and blind prejudice, firedbythe fivepassions,know not the terrible fate of karma theyweavefor themselves.AndsothegentleSon of Marydiedonthecross, but itwouldhavebeen better forhis murderers iftheyhad not been born.

Jesus perished beforehis work wasfairlybegun.Heleft behind asmall band of spiritually immature disciples, their training incomplete and feeling bitterly disappointed. From that terrible shock,few of them everrallied . Itdoes not appear that any of his disciples,exceptpossibly Matthew and Luke,couldhave -written

FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY

the books attributed tothem.ThefourGospelsthemselvesbear the stamp of Alexandrian influence, and one authority makes bold todeclare that allfourGospelswere written byAlexandrianmonks threetofour hundred yearsafterthe death of Jesus and hisfirst disciples.Thereappearstobeno certain knowledge on thesubject.Thereis positively no contemporaneous history to support thestory of theGospels.Toassume that theyare true history,just becauseonewishestobelieve them -or hasbeen taught that they aresacred scriptures, istogo around inacircle.

17. PAUL , THE FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY

TheEpistles of Paul belong ina different category . Theywere written much earlier than theGospels.They exhibit aneffortto remodeltheoldMosaicsystem into areligionbased upon Jesusas thesacrificiallamb.The ancient idea of bloody sacrificeprevailed inboth.Paulnowmadean attempt toresuscitatetheJewishsystern,uniteitwiththestories about Jesus, and then combine them intoanewreligion which might possiblybeacceptableto both JewandGentile . Of course,Jesuswasslainforthe sins of the wholeworld.Thiswas the central theme.Judaism and Christianity couldnow combine in a reborn and rechristened worldreligion. TheJewish scriptures would find their .fulfillment, and the disappointed followers of Jesus could rally around thenew interpretation.

Inthis manner Paul founded a reconstructed Judaism,which wentinto history as Christianity. The pure spiritual philosophy of theEasternwisdomwas submerged inamass of dogmaswhich was neither Indian nor Jewish nor even Christian . Itwas neither ' Egyptian nor magian. Neither was it Platonian nor Pythagorean.

It was neither spiritual nor material. It was neither sacrificial nor Was itintellectual. It was nothing definite . It wasmade of alittle of everything that had preceded it . Had it not beenforthepowerful organization of Romefirst persecuting and then embracing it,itis doubtful ifthisstrange mixture would havesurvivedtheage of

PAUL,THE

mystic speculation inwhichitwas born. Thatgentlespiritwhoso lovedhispeoplehadwastedhispearlsatthefeet of ungrateful swine,and then diedavictim of hisowngraciousenergies.Had hefollowedthe long-tried method of allthegreatMasters, history mighthavetakenadifferent turn.

We cannot heretracethe history of the Church, nor canwego atlengthintothedogmatictheology of thecreeds.Forthree hundredyearsthefollowers of Jesusmetinsecretplacesandquietly spreadthe doctrine of the redeeming blood of their crucifiedMaster.Atfirst stunned and rebelliousatthe unexpected death of theirLord,aftertheyhadsoconfidentlylookedforwardtohis kingship of theworldfollowingthe destruction of theRoman power,they then rallied under thenewstimulus.

Paulhadexplainedthedarkmystery.Therewasanoldsaying that itwasfitting that one should dieforthewholepeople.And theworldhasalways adhered to that principle.Evensolateasin oldMexico, human bloodran freely-they declared-"for thebenefit of thewholepeople." It istheage-old doctrine of sacrifice which ,wasmadea part of theteachings of theVedas.Sacrificial deathshad always beenacceptedasa matter of necessity: of course, Jesushaddiedforthesins of hispeople!Whyhadtheynot thought of that before?Nowthedeath of Jesus found itsjustificationand its rational explanation. After all, their faithhad not beeninvain. Theyhadsimply not understood thedivine method. Butnowit wasallclear.AlthoughJesuswastheir long-expected messiah,he was, ina more vividsense, their sacrificiallamb.Hehaddiedfor thesins not only of theJews but of thewholepeople,thewhole world.This latter concept,however,wasan enlargement upon the originalidea. It wasagenerous expansion of thefirstidea,and thismadethenewfaithaworldreligion.

Toan uncultured and emotional people,thisnewappealwas verypowerful. With minds fixed upon thenail prints inhishands and feet,hisdiscipleswerereadytodieinthename of thecrucified.The doctrine spread until no inconsiderable portion of the RomanEmpirewere Christians. Theywerefoundevenintheroyalfamily.Many of them diedfortheirfaith,andyet their numbers

increased until finallythereligionwasmadeofficialbythedecree of Constantine intheearly part of the fourth century.Theclimax of that evolution wasthe crowning of thehead priest inRomeas the pope-emperor of allEurope.Butby that timethereligion 'of the Church bore but slightresemblancetothesimpleand pure spiritual philosophy of Jesus,whogave it theinitialimpulse.Paul . onlyneededGregorytheGreattosetuphisreligionasthesole ' arbiter of human destiny,backedbythe most powerfulreligious organization evercreated.Thereligion which the empire had so ' bitterly persecuted nowrose phoenix-like fromtheashes of a burned andvanishingRome,tosetupforitselfa throne of universalempire. , '

WhenJesus came, there wasnovirilereligionintheworld. Paganism had already run itscourse, and most of theworldwasin adream of inoral and spiritual lethargy. It enjoyedits soothing ceremonialismand drank itswineswith untroubled conscience. Spiritualitywaspracticallynil.InGreecethepeople had set upan altartothe unknown god. That surely the climax of religious liberalism.Thedevotees of everyreligion found what suited them inthe Pantheon. OnlyGreek philosophers could have thought of that . Andtheyshowedakeensense of humor. The gods werefor ' themobandtheold women . Let them eachhavethegodheliked best,whilethe philosopher calmlylookeddown upon them from hissereneheights of self-complacency. What couldthemob know about philosophy anyway? Let them have their petgods.There wasno harm init . .

Thespirit of thetimeswasreflectedina remark madeby ,Pilate whenJesuswas brought beforehim. When the humble Nazarene spokeofbearingwitnesstothe truth , theRoman asked, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). Andthen, turning away,asifheknew that no , mancouldanswerthe question, hegave permission to murder the onlymanin theRoman Empirewho could havetold him what truth was.

If evertheworldneededa spiritual teacher,itwasat that time. Inthat hour of needthegentleSon of Marycame,andtheycrucifiedhim.Filledwithwisdomandlove,he had just returned from

theOrient . Hewouldhaveembracedthewholeworld , banished itspainsand filled itwithjoy. It waslikethebeautifuldream of the Sakya prince.Buttheywouldnotlistentohim.Theyshut theireyesandcriedout: "Awaywithhim!Crucifyhim!" Lovemockedand crucified! Wasthereevera .sadderspectaclein all history?Theheartthatachedforhispeoplewaspiercedby a Romanspear.BothJewandRomanconspiredto kill thebestman intheRomanEmpire. Suchhas always beenthenature of religiousbigotryandblindness.

18. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS

WhatnewteachingsdidJesusoffertotheworld?Whatwashis special contribution tospiritualworld-enlightenment? Like all the saints,herestatedsomeoftheold truths withsuch clearness and beautythattheywentdirectlytothehearts of hispeoplewiththe forceofnew truth. Wemayassumethathespokefromtheconviction of personalexperience, becausethatistheonlywaythat anymancanspeakwith authority. Thereisno doubt but Jesus had personalcontactwiththeaudiblelifestream.Hehad doubtlesstraveledinward upon it.

Assaidbefore,Jesuslaidstress upon twopoints, viz.:

(1) Thevital importance of loyeasthesoulofreligion,

(2)Theimmanence of thekingdom of heaven. Intheserespects,themessage of Jesuswasinexactaccordwith theEasternwisdom,fromwhichhehadderivedhisinspiration. Thedogmaticassertionsofhisdisciplesinlateryearsneednot concernushere.Thefollowingareafewofhismost pertinent sayings, richinmoralandspiritual values:

Blessed arethe poor inspirit;fortheirsisthekingdomof heaven. (Matt. 5:3)

Blessedarethepureinheart;fortheyshallseeGod. (Matt. 5:8)

THE SUBS TANCE OF THE T EA CHINGS OFJESUS

.One of theabove sayings -strikestheveke mgs of theMasters: . ryynote of the :teach-

Blessed arethepure in heart: £0 thhall .reysseeGod.

(Matt. 5:8)

TheWesternworld,asawholehashd : , thal 'neveratheremotetidf ere meaning of thisstatementIt . ths 1 ea 0 pureinheartisabletoenterth kin dmeansatanyonewhois duringthislifetime,andthere deed,blessedarethe eyes that bhld h' . m light, Inandapureheartarethe.e 0 a SIght! A clean mind prune neCeSSItIes forsuhhi ment,andsoteach all thegreatMt f hicanac reve bedoneconstitutesthemainthas efrths hIstory.Howthisisto . erne 0 IS book.

Ye haveheardhowthat -it hathbeen 'd . . neighborandhat tho sal , Thoushaltlovethy emeenemy, but I sayt1 enemies, blessthemtht un 0 acurseyou,dogoodtothemyou,oveyour that h y ou,andpray fer them that despitefull ate you. yuseyouandpersecute

(Matt. 5:43, 44)

For Who soever shalldothe will ' en, the sameismybthd o.fmyFatherwhichis in heavroer,an SIster and mother (Matt.U:50)

yethereforeperfect, evenas ; 0 IS perfect. urFatherwhich IS ill- heaven (Matt.5:48) .

Verily, I sayuntoyoE . littlechildren, e sha:;' xcept beconvertedandbecomeas (Matt. 18:3) Y notentermtothekingdom of heaven.

Thisisanothervital penetratetheveil theMasters.Nooneisableto ::::ilbecomes ashumble all vanity of thebig T ar expression: asalittlechild.Again,a

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself asthislittlechild, thesameisthegreatestinthe kingdom of heaven . (Matt. 18:4)

How often do the Masters emphasize the sweet humility which makes a strong man.like a little child! Humility is one of the first essentials of citizenship in the kingdom of light.

Then Petercameto him and said:"Lord,howoftshallmy brother sinagainstme,and1forgivehim, till seven times?" Jesussaith unto him:"1say not unto thee until seventimes, but until seventytimesseven." (Matt. 18:21-22)

" Master,whichisthegreat commandment inthelaw?"Jesus said unto him: "Thou shaltlovetheLordthyGodwithallthy heart,andwithallthysoul, and withallthy mind. Thisisthe first and great commandment. Andthe second islike unto it: Thou shaltlovethy neighbor asthyself. On thesetwocommandments hangallthelawandthe prophets."

. (Matt. 22:36-4 0 )

In this one statement of Jesuswe have the summing up of his entire teaching. In all philosophy and religion there is nothing of any importance except love. If every book in. the world were ..de- ' stroyed, every code of ethics, every sacred printedline on earth--except this one quotation from the lips of the humble and loving Galilean, the world would still have allit needs as 'an ethical code.Its only other need would be a living Master to lead it into the inner kingdoms. There is nothing in the world that anybody needs, except love and a little food; clothing and shelter.

This ismy commandment, that yeloveone another. , (John 15:12)

As if to impress this great law upon his disciples, he it in one direct command. Here is the solution of all SOCIal . lems-Iove forGodandman. He who can measure up to this

THESUBSTANCE O F TH ETEACHINGSO Fj ESUS

standard will be the ideal citizen of the ideal commonwealth in an y age of the world . .

Then Jesusgavetohis disciples the supreme test of discipleship. Asifhe knew that many would not live up to the great law,hegave them a definite criterion, a perfect measure, an infallible mark of discipleship , which should hold good in any day and age of the world , and in thisregard it may wellbe accepted that Jesus speaks for all true Masters:

By thisshallallmenknow that yearemydisciples, ifyehave loveforone another . (John 13:35)

Webelieveitsafetosay that if thedisciples of Iesus had livedup tothistest throughout history, three-fourths of the world's population would today be Christians. And itis equally true now that if any other body or group of men and women would emphasize loveasthesolelaw of their lives, living up toitsideals universally andunfailingly, that body-no matter by what name-would sweep the world likea prairie fire. This is the standard so urgently emphasizedbyall great Masters. It is almost unthinkable, incredible, that a man sofilled with loving-kindness, and preaching and living agospel of love; should himself be cruelly murdered bya blind mob of his own people . Webelieve there is nothing in the world sohellishas religious bigotry and blind fanaticism. '

Now yeareclean through thewordwhich1havespoken unto you. (John 15:3) ,

Here indeedisa puzzle to most thinkers. How can a word or a tea h' . ' cmg make anyone clean?A more correct understanding of that sentence might be:

Nowyeareclean through the Word of whichIhave spoken toyou.

What is that Word? It is the supreme cleansing agent of this and all worlds. It is the all-purifying audible life streain, men

tioned inthefirst chapter of St. fohn asthe prime Word out of whicheverythinghas emanated. Thatis what purifiesthe .mind and nothing elseknowncanpurifyit.Thisis taught by all the Masters.Andall history is full of failures,formenhave tried to purifythe mind andgain spirituality without .knowledge of this current. When thedisciple of any Master enters upon that stream consciously,heiscleansed of everyearthly impurity and madefit forhigherworlds.

Ifyeabideinme, and mywordsabideinyou,yeshallask what ye will and itshallbe done unto you. Herein ismy Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit;soshallyebemydisciples.As the Father hath lovedme,sohaveI loved you. Continue yein mylove.Ifyekeepmy commandments, yeshallabideinmy love,even asl have.keptmy Father's commandments and abide inhislove.

(John 15:7-10)

Hereisa stumbling blocktomostChristians:

Ifye abide inme, and my words abideinyou,ye.shallask what ye will and itshallbe done unto you . (John 15:7)

It isonly·the science of theMasterswhichmakesthe meaning of thissentenceclear, but veryfew Christians believeit true or possible of realization.Yetitis true that ifanydisciplelivesupto the instructions of theGuru,theMaster,anddoesthepracticeas theMasterdirects,abidingalwaysinthelove of theMaster,steadfastly thinking of theMaster and hiswords,verysoon that disciple reachesthedegree of development whenhisleastwishoract of will is automatically fulfilled. Not only will hegetwhateverheasks for but hehasonlyto will the thing andit isdone. Buthowsadly hasthe Church lostthereal meaning of thesewords! Words of infinitevalue,andyetsomeaninglesstomostpeople.Thisagain showsthefamiliarity of Jesus with theEasternwisdom.

Anew commandment Igive unto you, That yeloveone another.

AsIhave loved you, that yealsoloveone another.

(John 13:34)

Thisisonly reiterating whathesaidearlierwithso much emphasis.Yetagainherepeatsthedivine admonition:

He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, heitis that lovethme: and he that lovethmeshall beloved of myFather, L andIwilllove him, and will manifest myselfto him.

(John 14:21)

Howclearisthis;howidenticalwithwhatalltheMasters teach' thatifanydisciple loves theMaster and practiceswhattheMaster t eaches him,hewillsurely enter that kingdom of light wherehe willseetheMasterinhisRadiantForm.And that iswhatJesus meantwhenhesaid:

Iwill manifest myselftohim.

ThedisciplewillactuallyseetheMasterinside.Thisisoneofthe rewardsforfaithfulpractice.Anyonewhohashad that experience willtellyou thatthere isnojoyinthisworldso great as that which thediscipleexperienceswhenhefirstbeholds the radiant Master : It is the culmination of ages of struggle. It isthesignal of Victory in hislong battle with mind andmatter.Heisthenhalfwaytothe endofallhislaborsfor spiritual liberation.Iknowscores,even hundreds, of disciples of onegreatMasterwhodailysitintheir ownroomsin ' silent meditation, gointothe inner realms,there b ehold their radiant Masterandconversefreelywith him. Thisis the manifestation referredtoby Jesus. TheMaster always manifests himselfto those wholovehimandwalk.inhislight. .

Iamthe resurrection, and thelife:he that believethinme, though heweredead,yetshallhelive:And whosoever liveth and believethinmeshallneverdie. (John 11:25-26)

THESUBSTANCE OFTHETEACHINGSOFJESUS

Thisis literally true of alldisciples of any saint.To them there is absolutely no death.

Thelastenemytobe conquered is death.

Toeverydisciple .of aliving Master, death isan occasion of rejoicing,for the .liberated spirit simply steps out of the body ' as one would put off an old garment. Death utterly vanishes. Itis finally conquered during the normal course of his development when the disciple learns toleavehis body voluntarily to travel abroad in the higher regions. Thus, by entering the regions of socalled death whilein full consciousness, with great joy,thefear of death disappears.

, Ifye continue inmy Word, then yearemydisciplesindeed; and yeshall know the truth and the truth shall makeyou free.

(John 8:31-32)

The full meaning of thispassagecanneverbe realized until, rising the life-giving stream tothe regions of truth , one crosses .the threshold of the ]Ugher planes. Only then can anyone know the truth, and only when one knows the truth can one be free. Knowing the truth and attaining freedom are parts of one and thesameprocess.Risingto higher planes liberates the soul as naturally as. mounting to the skiesinan airplane relieves one from the drudgery of walking on the ground.

Iam ,thelight of theworld:he that followethmeshall not walk . indarkness, but shallhavethelight of life. (John 8:12)

Every 'Masteris the light of the world. He brings with him the light of the eternal 'one. If anyone centers his attention upon the Master and walks' inhislight, there canbeno more darkness in him. If the 'disciple opens the gates ' of lightinhimself,as the Masters urge him todo,hewalks unobstructed into the kingdom of heaven.Buthecandothis only by the light of the livingMaster. Itwasthiselementary truth whichJesuswastrying to inculcate.

Verily,verily,Isay unto thee,Excepta man be born .again,he cannot seethe kingdom of God. (John 3:3)

Hereagainisan extremely important message which has re- . mained in obscurity among Christians, although men continue to write books on it. It simply means being brought to light from the darkness,from ignorance to enlightenment, from blindness tosight, bythe action of the creativelife stream within . This will beexplained more fullyinthesection which treatsspecially of the

Sufferthelittle children tocome unto me,andforbid them not: forofsuchisthe kingdom of God.VerilyIsay unto you, Whosoevershall not receivethe kingdom of Godasalittle 'child,shall not enter therein. . (Mark 10:14,15)

Noonecan possibly carry with him a load of vanity through the narrow gates of light.

Ifyehadfaithasagrain of mustard seed,ye might say unto this sycaminetree,Be thou plucked upbythe root and be thou planted inthe sea; it should obeyyou. (Luke 17:6)

Howwelleveryyogi in the world knows the truth of thisstate . ment. Much more isthis true of the great Mas ters. It canbe done byeverydisciple of a great Master whohas made evenalittle on the Path, No need of aseries of mental gymnastics to dIspose of this statement of Iesus , Accept itas it stands. Don't try towriggle around it. It isa glorious truth. But the great trouble is that practicing Christians haveall lost the method of realizing it. Youhavetogotoaliving Master toget that secret. .

Therebesome standing here,whichshall not taste of death, till theyseethe kingdom of God. (Luke 9 :27)

hThis latter quotation isgiven here foraspecial purpose. It isto S ow that Jesus expected hisdisciples, some of them atanyrate,

to enter the inner kingdom during their lifetime,justasallMastersexpect their disciplestodo.Thisdefinitelyshows that Jesus was acquainted withthe sound current and had asystem of yoga wh ich should enable them togoinside during thislife.

Theaboveexamples of theteachings of Jesus will, we think, be sufficienttogive their general import. Hisreligionwas smothered, almostinthe hour of its birth, byits overenthusiastic nurses.Had not thelife and teachings of Jesusbeencoveredoverbydogmas and superstitions, itmighthave been handed downforalltimeas anillustriousexample of theEasternwisdom. Instead of that,a clever substitute was brought forwardlongafterthedays of Jesus and christened with much pomp and ceremony. .

Students must now turn tothelivingMaster,whoalonecan initiate them andtake them uptoregions of light.Ifyouhave foundsolacein contemplating Jesusin your imagination, then place your destinyinthe hands of alivingMaster, whom youcan seeandwhosevoiceyoucanhear,andwithwhomyoucanwalk onthe path of liberation. ComedirecttothelivingMaster,andhe will showyoutheway. The gates will swingwidetohimwhogives therightknock.

19. THE CHURCH NEEDS A LIVING MASTER

Concluding thisdiscussion of the Christian religion,letus not lament the present-day loss of prestigesufferedbythe Christian churches. It isagoodsign. It presagesaday of increasinglight. What the Church needstodayistorediscoveritsownMaster, but thekeyto that rediscoveryisinthe hands of alivingMasteronly. Willtheygotohimforit?Theologicaldogma, elaborate ritual and meticulous ceremony arenolongerabletoholdthe attention of thinking people.

ThelovingJesus himself iseven today a brighter starin the firmament of thought than hewasonthecross of Golgotha.To understand himasareal spiritual Masterenablesonetoappreciateandlovehim; but to think of himasthetheologicalprodigy of the Church istomake him impossibleto comprehend. Thelight ofhis life shineswithaluster not dimmed bytime,ifwecanseeit freefromtheologicaldogma.Butitisapity that heis not understoodbyhisprofessedfollowers.Theyarequiteunabletosee him apart fromhistheologicalrobeswithwhichthe Church itselfhas clothedhim.Hehasnowleftthis theater of action,andbecausehe hasleftit,he cannot takenewdisciples. That workisinthe hands of hissuccessors.

Finally, permit me to say that you will never understand thelife andteachings of Iesus until youcometoalivingMaster . Youmay holddiplomasfromallthetheologicalschoolsin Christendom, butyou will never understand thelifeand method of Jesus until youlearn them fromalivingMaster. If youwishtogainadmissionto that inner kingdom of light,so much stressedby, that humble preacher of Galilee,you will gain .it onlybythescience of theMasters under the direction of alivingMaster.But just solong asthe Church hugsanecclesiasticalimage of Christ,it will be extremely difficulttogetit turned looselong enough todiscover therealChrist.

OnlythisweekIhadaletterfromagoodmissionary.Thegist ofhisletterwas that hehadexperientialknowledge of Jesusashis Lord,and that I could not havehadanysuchexperienceorI wouldnever havegivenhimup . Therefore,Ineverwasareal Christian.This letter showstwothings:first, that ' thegoodmissionaryhadbeen thoroughly saturated withthetheologicaldogmaofSt.Paul , and that hasso colored hisvision that he cannot seeany other system; second, that heisbasinghis "experiential knowledge of Jesusas ,hisLord" upon his feelings . Hehasseen nothing , hehas heard nothing, but hehashadalot of feeling.Bya longcourse of suggestion through earlyandlateteaching,hehasa SUperinduced emotional attachment toan imaginary image,and that emotional attachment hecallshi s experiential knowledge.

Ihavehadthesameexperience.Iam not speaking ignorantly of thesethings. Neither wouldIspeaklightly of suchan attachment. Iknowhow much itmeanstothosewhostillholdtoit.I had all t he feeling , all the emotional worship that Iever heard of anybody

THE CHURCHNEEDSA LIVINGMASTER A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

having.Iwasas thoroughly 'converted' asanyone.I preached Jesusasmy'crucified Savior' asearnestlyandassincerelyasanyonecouldeverdo.Butaftermanyyears of study and critical analysis, Ifound that thewholesystemwould not bearanalysis, andthatmyown feelings were not sufficient proof of thereality of myfaith.

Since then Ihaveconversedwithmanymen of differentfaiths, andIfind that theyallhave feelings whichtheyallegeas proof positive of their religions.AdevotedMuslimtoldmeonlyrecentlythathe"feltinhissoul that the Prophet waswithhimdaily and wasleadinghimtothe true God,AllahtheMerciful."In HonoluluItalkedwithaveryfineEnglishmanwhoassuredmethat"the spiritoftheLordBuddhawasall-sufficienttoguide him on the path ofenlightenment."His inner feelings weretohim proof positive that Buddhism wasthebestofallpathsleadingto spiritual regeneration.

As saidbefore,itisperfectlycertain that feelingsarenosafe guide.Anybodymayhavefeelingsinplenty,in proof ofanything whichtheyhaveimaginedtobeso.Theonlysafeguideistolook for information whichcanbe corroborated bythree of thefive senses: sight,hearingand touch . Thenadd emotional experiences tothat, if youlike.Andthis conviction iswhyIbegantolookfora Master whom Icouldsee and hearandtouch,and then he put me inlinewithadefinite program during whichIwas taught tosee andhearonthe inner planes of light,quite independently of any feelingsor emotions. Itwas then that Ibegantowalkbysight and knowledge, not byfaithalone . (I hope thereader will pardonthis personalreference, but mymissionaryfriendcouldnot account formychange of faithexceptbychallengingthegenuinenessof myformerreligion.)

The main point is that anythingcanbe 'proved' by feelings. A deardevoteeinsists that shehasexperientialknowledgeofher Savior.AnequallydevotedMuslimor .Bud dh ist hasthesame'experientialknowledge'of Mohammed or of Buddha.Andwhat doesit all mean? It means that feelingsare not areliableguidein suchmatters.Everyreligionhasitsdevoteeswhoarejustassure

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oftheirexperientialknowledge. the path oftheMasters,however,the student entersthesuperphysicalworlds of reality 'in full consciousness,even superconsciousness-more wideawake than heis upon thisplane.Therehebeholdsthe radiant lord,hehears the enchanting music ofthosehigherplanes,heconversesfreely withhisownMaster upon thatplanewhere deception isimpossible,andtherehecomesto know, not believe.Ifhehasbeena Christian and isstilldevotedtoJesus,hehasan opportunity, on thoseexaltedplanes,tomeetJesusin person and talkwithhim. Andthisisno emotional reaction.Itisgenuineexperientialknowledge.

Lastofall,let it bekeptin mind thatnoonehastogiveuphis devotiontoJesusbecausehewalksonthe path of thelivingMasters.Bythispath,infact,hebecomesa, far better Christianbecausehecomesto understand therealJesusinsteadofthemanmadeone.Ifa man objects that he cannot havetwoMasters,we maysaythatnosuchclaimisevermadebyonewho understands thispath.Thiswriterhaslived during thereign of fivedifferent Britishsovereigns.Imaystillhaveafeeling of admiration and profound regardfor anyone of thosefourwhohavegone.Ipro fess loyaltytotheonewhonowoccupiesthechairsolongasIam underthe protection of his flag. But that does not implythatIam nowdevotedtofiveBritishkings.Myrelations,asaloyalsubject, arewiththeonewhoisnowliving.

Inlike manner, wehavetodoonlywithaMasterwhoisnow oratleastwaslivinginthebodyatthetime of our initiation . We cannot possiblyhaveanyrelationwithaMasterwhom weneversaw, anymore than wecannowbealoyalsubjecttoan emperorwhohaslongagopassedfromthisplane of action.Tobe aloyalsubjecttothereigning emperor doesnotimplyanydisloyorlackofloveanddevotion toward theonewhohasgone. NeItherdoesdevotiontoalivingMasterimplyanylack oflove for the departed Master . Butinthevery nature ofthecase,wecan havenodealingswithhim,except that oflovingmemory, while We areonthe earth planeandheisonsomeplaneoftheheavenly Worlds above.

20. ISLAM, THE RELIGION OF MOHAMMED

The word Islam means ' submissio n' (to the will of God). Islam's founders and advocates regard itasan exposition of the law of God.Islam, like all other religions, came to fill agap,to supply a need. It closed upagapin history. Arabia had been for more than fifteen centuries a reservoir of Semitic tribes, born and nurtured 'sons of the desert'. They were nomadic, warlike, vigorous and restless.In religion they wereidol worshippers. Mecca,even then, wasa noted center of pilgrimage, and the sacred Kaabawasalready an object of worship .

While Mecca thrived upon its revenues from pilgrims, the people derived some religious notions from Judaism and Christianity, both of which had their devotees inMecca and Medina. They were ajollylot, and merry .went their songs, mingling with the tinkling of the camel's bells. Into this medley of religions, this hodge podge of beliefs and sensual pastimes, Mohammed was born inthe Christian year of 570. Hewasa poor shepherd boy.He was imaginative, enterprising and deeply religious. He married a rich widow named Kadejah . That marriage gave him prestige, and when hiswife becam&is firstdisciple,hisreal work begari and rapidly gained in momentum.

Atfirst timidly, and then more boldly, Mohammed began to preach against the prevailing idol worship . "There is one God, Allahthe Merciful." Thiswashisfirst public declaration, and certainly that pronouncement wasgreatly needed inArabia. Of course, this antagonized those who profited from the idol-worshipping pilgrims. That struck at the tender spot among Meccans. Did they not prosper and drink their winesatthe expense of idol worshippers?Such disloyalty to the citywas "not tobe tolerated. Mohammed wasfinally driven from his home inMecca.He and hisclosest friend and best disciple, Abu Bekr, barely escaped with their lives. But they were welcomed in Medina, to which a good number of hisfollowers had already fled.Thisiscalledthe Hejira, or Hijrah, and it occurred in the year 622 A.D.

Gaining a considerable followingin Medina, the now-ascend-

ing Prophet returned toMeccaat the head of an army. He had but little difficulty in convincing his former enemies that they had been mistaken--of course, Mohammed wasthe true Prophet. They had not understood him. That wasall. And what was more important, Allahwas superior to their idols. They must now give them up and follow the one God "an dhis Prophet.

Then followedelevenyears of vigorous proselytizing. The matterwas urgent. Strong arguments had tobeused.Itwas no time for hairsplitting metaphysics which the illiterate Arabs would have never understood. Mohammed- knew that hewasgiving them something infinitely better than what they had. Hecameto Arabia likea great physician with a cleansing purgative. All Arabia came under thesway of the new Prophet. The desert stood upas one man and declared for the new order of things.

And then Mohammed died.His work was not finished-it had hardly begun. His devoted friend and disciple, Abu Bekr, became his caliph and carried on inhis name-Abu Bekrthe Faithful. The newcaliphwas the soul of the movement from that time forward. Hewasthe will and the strength of the campaign. Under him the religio-political conquests were carried forward toan amazing success, When Othman, the third caliph, died twenty-four years after the death of Mohammed, the empire of the Prophet extended overallPersia, the valley of the tworivers, almost tothe Indus on theeast and asfaras the western border of Egyptin the other direction. It embraced allSyria, wresting vast territories from the enfeebled hand of Rome, and extending northward asfarasthe Oxus.

.Thus, almost eagertodiein the holy cause, the more virile tnbes of the desert, firedbya hitherto unknown zeal, fought for Allah and his Prophet. Islam swept , likea prairie fire,overadjacountries. Theweak, unorganized and apathetic governments easily fell before the sturdy, driving hosts of the new faith.The mhonbund civilizations of the whole of Asia Minor and a part of t eM di e Iterranean coasts now fell under Islam and found inita new'fyi , ,urn ng and invigorating power, Truly, the torch of Islam setfireto th 1" bbihf ' . ere IgIOUS ru IS 0 extensive regions and restored a

AREVIEW OF WORLD RELIGION S I SLAM,T HERELI GION OF MOHAMMED

measureofhealthtoanenfeebledcivilization. Besides that,itset peopletothinking.

Thereisonegoodthing that war does-it awakenstheslumberingmentalityandquickensthecirculationinthe rheumatic limbsofanagingmorality.At that timethegreaterpart of Europe wasinastateofmental torpor. Ithadenteredthedarkageof Europeanhistory.Religionasaformalorganizationflourished; but that period markedthelowtideofintellectualactivityand spirituality. TorpidEurope wasbadlyinneedofsomesortof stimulant; ThenIslamcametothemlikethewineoflife.

Ittookalongtimetoquickentheenfeebledcirculation of a decadent period but eventuallythelearning,fosteredbyIslamin itschiefcenterslikeAlexandria,CordovaandBaghdad,gavethe .stimulustothegreatRenaissancewhichwassoontoshake all Europe.Judaismhadlost much ofitsformervitality.Thedark age of Christendom hadspreaditsblackwingsoverthe remnants of theRomanandByzantineempires.Europeitselfwasstagnant. Islamprevailed,notonlybecauseitwaspushedbyarmedforces, but becauseit deservedto prevail.Againitwassimplyacase of thesurvivalofthefittest.

Islamofferedmoreappealingideasanda better socialorder than anythingelsetobefoundat that time.Letitbe remembered that Islamwas born amonga barbarous peoplein a barbarous age.The stem andrelentlesscreedofIslamwasmoreorlessabyproduct of the times. Whatelsecouldbeexpected?Iftheneed is urgent, .theremedy must beheroic.Itiswellto remember also that thesupremeoneisinchargeofworld affairs, andwhatever hedoeswemayacceptasthebestthing that couldbedone under thecircumstances.Canyouimaginetheeffect upon thosewild desertpeopleif Mohammed hadpreachedtothemthesublime idealismoftheGita,orthecompassionateSermonontheMount? Theywould not havehadtheleastideawhatwasbeingsaid.Mohammed gavethemtheteachings they could comprehend, and no onemay doubt that itworkedwell. . .

WhentheMusliminvasionshadwornontoaclose,whenthe Islamicorganizationitselfhadbecomeenfeebledbytoomuch

success abroadandbystrifeathome,whenunparalleledabsorptionof conquered wealthhadgiventhe conquerors moraland intellectualindigestionand auto-intoxication, thenIslambegan itsowninevitabledecline.Forthisisthehistory of allsuchmovementsfromthebeginningoftime.

Theempireofthe Prophet nowextendedfromtheIndusonthe east,TurkestanandtheCaucasusonthe north, overall northern Africa, andintoSpainonthewest.When,in 1453 , Constantinople fell tothe final rallyofthearmies of Islam,theold church of Santa Sophiawasconverted into amosque and thelastGreekChristian weptbittertearsashefledfromthecityof Constantine. Hadit notbeenforthestrong hand of CharlesMartelatthebattleof Poitiers,thevictorioushordesofthe Prophet undoubtedly would havepassedthePyreneesandswept through allEurope.In that case-who shall say?-perhaps our fatherswouldhavebowedto theProphet andtodayweourselvesmighthavebeensaying five pr ayers dailywith our faces turned towardMecca.The teachings ofthecameldriverofthedesert,instead of the carpenter ofNazareth, mighthavebeenpreachedinallthechurchesofEuropeand America. After all,religionis not only amatter of inheritanceand habitbutalso of geography.

Andso, whatisIslam) that virilereligionwhicheventoday dominatesthemindsofsomanyof the human race?Letusgiveit alittlecarefulstudy.Itstheologyisnotcomplicated.Weknowof noworldreligionsosimple,directandunequivocal.Itsprinciples . are few andclear-cut:

(a)Firstofall,afirmadherencetothebeliefin ORe God,the unityofthesupremeone. " ThereisbutoneGodandhisnameis Allah. "

(b) "Mohammed is his Prophet." Other prophets hadcome andgone but Mohammed wasthelastandthegreatestofthem all. It was, therefore , thedutyofallthefaithful,aye,ofthewhole togivehimtheirundividedallegiance, their utmost devotIon andveneration.

.(c)Thefaithfulareofferedadoublereward:richesand honors Inthislifeandaparadiseofdelightsinthenext.Thathadthe approvaloftheall-mercifulAllah.

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

(d)The Koran, or Quran, is the holy book of is made up of a collection of revelations, or messagesreceived from Allah himself forthe edification and control of the faithful. The Koran is written in beautiful Arabic language. It contains much that is wholesome, stimulating and inspiring. Its substance isa code of ethics and laws , mostly suitable to the peoples of the day. Likeanywise physician, Mohammed gave them what was best suited to their needs at that time.

The Prophet must begiven credit forthe great he rendered tohis people. Hegave himself to the task of pullmg them out of the mire of superstition, afact which cannot be doubted by any unprejudiced student of history. . ' ,

Today,ifaseekerfor the light goestoa Muslim and demands to know just how he may enter the kingdom of heaven here and now ,he will .Idiscover that Islam, just likeall other religions, has no answer to that question. In this respect all religions stand in the same category, and Islam isno different. At best itoffersa . guideto right living among men-that certain of rewards inthe future life. It enjoins devotion to one God mstead of many. That there have been real saints among Muslims isafact 'of much importance. Saintsare not limited toany particular try,orto one people or one religion. The saints nevergot their higher knowledge from the Koran or from the Bible or other book. They never gotit from priests. Masters get their instructions and their initiation from other Masters. Then theydem- ' onstrate it for themselves. That isafixedlaw. ' .

The Surat Shabd Yogahas been known to some great Muslim saints. Among them wereHafiz, Shams-i-Tabriz, Maulan.a Rum and KabirSahib.Butthe orthodox Muslims do not credit these men because they were not altogether orthodox in their The point of greatest importance is that IS not derived from anyfixed and organized religIOn but .IS mouth toearby saints who have themselves expenenced It. 15 quite impossible that this all-important knowledge should be incorporated into a book and given out bya It be handed down that way. Hence 'the vital necessity of an ,unbrokenline of livingMasters.

I SLAM, THE RELIGION OF MOHAMMED

There is one very important principle which we should all learn and hold fast. It should constitute the mariner's compass when he starts out to explore the widesea of world religions. It isthis:

Any religion which , at present bases its authority upon one manorone book, and fails to indicate thewayforany other manto gain the same truth and the same spiritual eminence, fails tomeetthemost urgent spiritual needs of mankind.

Inthelight of this principle, all world religions will be found wanting. Only the science of the Masters can meet the inflexible demands of this principle. The Masters do not tellyou how to live among your fellow men and then inform you that ifyousolive, you will goto heaven when you die. On the contrary, they tellyou thatifyoulive rightly among men, and then devote yourself to the practice of the Surat Shabd Yoga, you will enter the kingdom of heaven whileyouarestilllivinginthe body. And that constitutes a world of difference between the spiritual science of the Masters andallreligions.

Thefollowers of Islam have had the same difficulty to contend withasthefollowers of theBible. But their devoteesdo not realize that, and they would probably resent ' the suggestion. Thishasalwaysbeen the case with formal religions, where itislaid down ina bookjust what one istobelieve . No one can then go beyond the ?ook. Thought becomes crystallized and progress ceases. How can It beotherwise?As soon asa man joins a formal religion, heceases tolookfor anything newor better. Heis bound. It hasalways beensosince the earliest days of the Vedas. There hasalways been a tendency tocrystallizereligious thought and finallyto write it downina book astheverylast word to besaid.This means stagnation, ossification. Th · . . ' st IS tendency has in It another deadly menace . The next logical fori IS totry compel all men to accept what is written . Then howpersecutIOn and murder in the name of God. Can history s : a more ghastlytragedy?Usually when people accept a book ase authoritative word of God, then they assert that allrevela-

THE SIKHRELIGIONOFINDIA

tion isclosed.Thelast word has been said.Believeit now or be damned. Thishas been the supreme tragedy of history. The Vedas' the Shastras,and the Puranas, the Gita, the Mahabharat and the Ramayana; the Zend Avesta; the Bible and the Koran; and other religious , scriptures-all theseare books tobe worshipped and obeyed. They are declared, excathedra, tobethe inspired word of God.Ergo,itis the duty of all men to accept and believe ' them. And all of them arefettersto intelligence, no matter how good they may bein and of themselves. They become fettersbecause their followersinsist that all revelation isclosed. All spiritual instructions arefinished. Instead of listening toaliving Master in eachage, their respective books are considered tobe the infallible word. Crystallization of thought alwaysgoes before moral stagnation. Without aliving Master spirituality wanes,asa lamp goes out when the oilis exhausted. As soon asa religion becomes fixed, static,crystallized, upon that foundation a corrupt priesthood is established, and at once the whole thing begins to decline into an insipid formalism. Thisis history. It isno theory.

Only when the living Master comes with a vitalized and dynamicscience, only then canhe speak asone having authority. After all,wliatisaholy book atbest? It isa statement of the inner experiences of aliving Master. Then why not listen to the living Master now? Why not see him and hear him yourself instead of reading about some Masters wholived centuries or thousands of yearsago?Ineveryage,ifyouare prepared in your heart to stand before a Master, you will havenogreat difficulty in finding one. You must find him, forhe will findyou.Letme assure you that if you never meet a Master, itis your own fault.Youhave yourself , shut the door against him and barred him out.

Every true Master says,in substance, just asJesusdid, "The works that Ido,ye may doalso."

There isno monopoly on the path to the kingdom of heaven. The doors alwaysswingwide open to all who give the right knock. Theyareclosedonlyto the unworthy. If your religion is true, ifit is the word of aliving Master, it will show you how to enter the kingdom of heaven here and now.It became very tiresomefor me

to hear about what Iwastogetin heaven ifIbelievedso and so, and what I would getinhell if I didn't believe. When the Great Master told meso graciously that I had itin my power to enter that kingdom of lighthere and now,my heart fairly leaped with , gladness. That is what weallwant.

Thereal Master alwaysteachesyou that the kingdom of Godis . within y ou, and also that whosoeverseeksshallfind. Hedoesstill more: healwaysshowshis disciples the exact waytoenter that kingdom. More than that-he helps them tofindit.Forthisveryimportant reason aliving Master isalways essential. No matter how great your past Master; he cannot now actin that capacity, The disciple ina human' body must haveaMasterinthe human body. Thatisafixedlaw.At the time of hispassing,a Master turns over hisworkto another Master whoisin the body, and hecarries on untilhis time comestogo.

21. THE SIKH RELIGION OF INDIA

Thereligion of the Sikhsin India is distinctive. Ithas never gained world reputation. Although now numbering several million aditisstill practically limited to the Punjab in India, though Si1<?s are scattered all over the world. Yetthis religion is most uruversal inits fundamental principles, and is nearer to Sant Mat thanall other teachings. '

Thisreligionwas founded by Guru Nanak, whowas born in 1469 A.D., and died in 1539. Hewas contemporaneous with Kabir Sahib.After Guru Nanak came his nine successors. When thelast oftheten, Guru Gobind Singh,died, the rumor became current thatn 1 o more lvmg Gurus would come, and from that time on the Ad" G ' Sikhs I ranth, sacred book of theSikhs, would be Guru toall ".Thus the Sikhs bound themselves in exactly the sameway asdidth Christi h th '. e nsuans-s-t e orthodox body of theSikhs accepted Pre relIgIOUS dogma of an inspired book and aclosed revelation.

W?m that daytothis, that dogma has been their chief handicap. lthout ali Gd". ' , rvmg uru, eterioration must followas the night

succeedstheday.Forthis IS the history of allreligions from the beginning of time. It would appear that men will believe almost anything if propounded by some religious authority whom they haveaccepted. When 'th eSikhs accepted theAdi Granth, they assumed that the book contained the entire truth ever needed; and also that it would do the work of aliving Guru. This assumption of theSikhsisno more extravagant than the positions of both Christians and Muslims, whoclingso tenaciously to their holy books.

As intimated above,the content of theSikh religion isso nearly identical with that of Sant Mat that there is but little reason to attempt a separate analysis. Guru Nanak and his spiritualsuccessorsweresaints, Satgurus inthe true sense of the word, and consequently their teachings coincide withthose of all other saints.There canneverbeanydifference between the teachings inanyage of theworld.A hundred thousand years from now thescience of chemistry will certainly teach that hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water in . the relation of two ' toone.Soitis with the teachings of the saints, because their teachings areas much a scienceasis chemistry. The only problem tobesolved now is whether the man isareal saint or not, and that isusuallyaneasy problem.

There are certain cardinal and distinctive teachings and practicesemphasized byall saints. Ifa man teaches and practices these things, that is presumptive evidence that heisaMaster.Hemay be accepted provisionally asa saint, subject to further corroborativeevidence. If hedoes not teach and practice these fundamentals,he cannot be regarded asareal saint no matter what his other qualifications. Hemaybea good yogi,arishi; but hehas not gone tothe heights attained byallsaints.

Some of the cardinal precepts are:

(1) . First of all,thenecessity of a living Guru, a genuine saint whohas been appointed by the supreme Sat Purush toactas ,Gu ru .By livingwe mean one whoisstillinthephysicalbody. It is afixedlaw of nature that onlya humanly embodied soulcanact as Guru for those whoarestillin their physicalbodies.Afterhis .

death,or departure from his . body, .the Guru will still take care of all whom hehas initiated; but he cannot acceptnewdisciples. Thisis not because the Guru is limited, but because thedisciple himself isso limited that he cannot receivethe instructions and initiation from a departed Guru. Only man can teach man, and moreespecially, only ' man'can initiate man . Ifa departed Guru couldtakecare of newdisciples, then there would ,benoneed of Gurusatall on this earth plane.The supreme Father could doall thatwork himself without assistance.Butaliving,physicallyembodied Guru is absolutely . necessary because a man cannot ' be taughtbyany other known agency.

Ifwe stop to think forasingle instant, we would know that if God himself could not reach and instruct a man and lead him uponthe upward path, then surelyno departed Guru could doit. Thefact remains that a humanly embodied Guru isnecessary . because of our limitations; and that difficulty cannot be surmountedinanypossible manner exceptforthe supreme one himself to comein human form or send someone else.Assuggestedin many otherplacesinthis book, the -fatal error of all world religionsis their dependence upon a departed Master and the instructions left in theholybooks.

(2)The second fundamental of thissystem of the Masters,the pureSantMat,isthevitalfact of the audible life stream. Masters of all ageshave emphasized this stream asthe central factin their system.This stream isinfact nothing less than the supreme one, projecting himself on allplanes of lifeina constant stream of musical vibrations, through which flowsthe most incomprehensiblepowe r, life-giving and creative.These vibrations canbe heard, distinctly heard, byall students of the Master after their initiation andalittle practice. This stream istheall-creative power of the entireuniverse. It isthe ' life of all that lives, 'and it is, the chief by which the student returns tohis original home on the hIghestplanes of existence. It isalsotheone and only successful of mind control by which the student overcomes hispasand liberates himself from all downward drag.This current IS alsothe central factorin liberation and salvation from the end-

less rounds of birthsanddeaths. This' greatfact of nature isdiscussedelsewhereinthisbookmorecompletely. (Chapter Eleven, Section 3.)

(3)The third general truth emphasizedbythesaintsiscomplete liberation and spiritual triumph whilestilllivinginthephysical body.Thereisnowaitinguntilafterdeathto attain freedom. It is accomplished byand through the method of yogaas taught bythe Masters. It isacentral precept of SantMat that nothing canbe accomplished afterdeathinthe way of spiritual liberationunlessitis atleastbegun during this life. Ineverycase,whenthe individual has not been initiated during hislifetime,hemust return toearthlylife for another chancetomeetandfollowalivingGuru.Why?Because that appearstobetheplanofthe Creator andnomancan changeit. '

podion of the Eastern "wisdom.Butitisbasedalmostentirely upontheVedasand other scriptures of ancient India.Itdoes not dealatallwiththescience of the Masters.Therecanbeno doubt . thatitsleadersandfoundershadsome knowledge of theShabd,as maybeseenin TheVoice of theSilence and other writings of Theosophy, butthe all-important fact of therealSantMathas beencompletelysidetrackedbythe bulk of Theosophical writings.

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(4) Unlessamanisable to give initiation andleadhisdisciple upon the inner planes,heis not aMasterand should not beacceptedassuch.Andit must be remembered that initiation is of first: importance. Noonecantravelfaronthe path untilhegets initiation andnone but atruesaintor Satguru cangiveit. It is thereforethegravest misfortune ifamanfinds himself wandering aftersomemanorreligion without aMaster.

Now,allthese points are taught byeverysaint,byeveryreal Master.Therehasneverbeenanexception.Iftheyarenot taught by anyone considered tobea Master, then itisbestto look elsewhere.The 'testisinfallible.Andallthesethingsare taught withgreatclarityandforcerepeatedlyintheAdi Granth. Yetthe cardinalprinciples outlined bytheGurusintheAdi Granth have .been abandoned, and 'thustheveryessence of theteachingshas beenforgotten.

Thesystemwas founded by Madame Blavatskyandhercoadjutors,ColonelOlcottandothers, during the latter part of thelast century. Theosophy claimstoembraceall philosophy and religion, embodying allwisdom concerning God or spiritual matters. Butinthatregarditmaybe compared withthemorerecentmovementcalled Anthroposophy-which claimstobea complete expositionofthesum of wisdomrelatingtoman. Rudolph Steiner, the founder of the latter movement, discovered that allwisdom might not be couched inTheosophy,andhedecided thatif we could not know all about God,atleastwemightdiscoversomethingmore about man.Thismaybealess ambitious undertaking, butcertainlya more practicalone.

Theworld must acknowledge that Steinerhasdonemuch. It wasan unhappy dayfor Theosophy whenSteiner withdrew from it.But perhaps itwas better for philosophy itself.Steinerwas brought upasacareful student of the natural sciences.He was no impractical dreamer, as many have imagined him.Hesoughtreality,however, through recognition of the spiritual in nature. He wasanxious that thevital connection between our common physicallifeandtheoccult shoUld be known andrecognized.Bythis meanshe hoped toenrich both thephysicalandthe spiritual sides of human life.

22. THEOSOPHY

Theosophy (theos, 'God', and sophos, 'wisdom') isasystem of religio-philosophical teachings, together withacertaindegree of personal experience, which purports tobea summing up of a

Platolookedfor truth in spiritual ideasandideals,whileAristotleplacedtheemphasis upon truth asrevealed in thisworld. It wasthenoble ambition of Steinerto combine thetwoand ' thus enrich them both. Andthis,webelieve,wasadecidedstep toward theultimate solution. It appearsapity that thegreat movement of Theosophy,soauspiciously inaugurated, could not havehadthe advantage of Steiner's splendid personality andraregiftstoenable

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REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

ittoachievea nobler destiny.Asitwas, that organization -lost its most brilliant member . .

Wedo not believe that eventhe Theosophists themselves would claimtohavediscoveredaperfectscience of God,any more than Steiner would claimtohavedevelopedaperfectknowledge of man.Andthereisno doubt but both have contributed somewhat to European understanding of many occult truths. If the Theosophistshaddevelopedaperfectscience of God, then we might all adopt thepolicy of Omar whenhe ordered the Alexandrian library tobe burned. If theydisagreedwiththeKoran,theywere pernicious. If theyagreedwiththeKoran,theywere superfluous. Therefore, why encumber the ground withthem?Let them be burned.

Theosophy's main precepts are:

(a)The underlying principle that the manifest universeisthe onlywayormeansbywhichthe supreme onecanbeknown; that the ' supreme oneembracesall, isinfinite, eternal and unchangeable.

(b) That divine and universal principle manifestsitselfas man onthisplane; then the individual man attains his evolution by successive reincarnations under thelaw of karma.

Thesystemistakenmostlyfromthe literature of theEast, and maybesaidto embrace thebest there isintheVedas,theShastras and the Puranas. Infact, Theosophy isan attempt to . formulate theteachings of theVedasin modern language, adapted tothe requirements of the Western civilizations.

(c)The unity of all life-consciousness runs through the Theosophicaldiscourses. Theosophy does not accept metempsychosis'. This appears tobeaconcessionto European sensitivityonthe subject . But metempsychosis cannot rationally be separated from karma and reincarnation. Itisa third legtothe tripod .

Theosophy speakswith apparent authority concerning ' theGreat White Brotherhood', whomake their headquarters inthe depths of theHimalayas. That issaid to bethe governing body not only of the Theosophists but of theRosicruciansalso.Its functions are saidto extend tothe spiritual government of thewholeworld,

1. Reincarnation, poss ibly into alowerspe cies.

THEOSOPHY

whilekeepingavigilanteye upon thephysicalaspects of world evolution.Its hierophants, arhats, bodhisattvas, mahatmas , lords, etc. , allbusythemselveschieflyin world betterment. Theyaresaid to control the stream of evolutionary influence among allraces . and nations . To what extent thisclaimisjustifiedbythefacts,we arenotcalled upon tosay. Thepolicy of allgreatMastershasbeen fromthe beginning, asitisnow, not tojudgeothers. That this brotherhood and allsimilar organizations have their mission to perform,beneficialto mankind, may not ?e doubted . that theirmissionisidenticalwith that of Krishna,as stated mthe Gita, may not be questioned. Thisfactdefinitelyplaces them. Thevisible headquarters of the Theosophical Societyare inMadras.AnnieBesantwasthe guiding genius of theSocietyfor many years.Bishop Leadbeater and others have written voluminous expositions of its doctrines and methods of operation. There wasa timeinthe history of this writer's study whenhe regarded the teachings of Theosophy asthebest summing-up of theEastern . wisdom.But that wasbeforeheknew anything about thereal Masters and their science.Yettherecanbeno doubt but that Theosophyisadecidedstepforwardin spiritual knowledgeasitis generallyavailableto Western students. Itisapityitstopssoearly in itswork of marking out the path, and itisagreaterpity that it ha s noreadilyaccessibleMasters.Itis but little comfort toa hungrysoulcryinginthewildernesstobe told that insome distant day, ifheworks hard enough and liveslong enough, hemaybe granteda momentary glimpse of some of thegreatones. If a man feels theneed of alivingMasternow, he will cryinvaintothe noble hierarchy in their snow-covered Himalayan retreats .

misunderstanding concerningworld betterment. World betterment isno doubt agood thing to keep in mind. Itisanobleincentive forwork , but asa matter of factitis but little more than afond delusion.

Permanent world betterment canneverbe accomplished duringthe present world cycle. Theworld will improve slowly, but this improvement will not come about byany human effort.The change will comebymeans of agreater spirituality beingdiffused through thewhole human race,asthenewGoldenAge approach. es.Butthereisverylittle that any of uscandotospeeditscoming. Andyet, of course,we should continue todoallin our power, ifonlyfor our ownsake. Philanthropy'is itsownreward.Itregistersgoodkarmainallwhodevotethemselvestoit.Itcleansesthe mind andpurifiestheheart.Butwe should neverforgetforone, moment that our.chief concern istoseek our own spiritual evolution.Thisissofortworeasons:first,becausewecando but very littlefor others until weourselvesarequalified;second,self. improvement iswhatweareinthisworld for-it is our firstduty, our mostsacredobligation.

AllthesefactsarewellknowntotheMasters;therefore,theydo not waste .theirtimein premature effortsatworld betterment. The greatsaintsworkonindividuals, rather than masses,aimingto remove them foreverfromthis'wheel of eighty-four' instead of . tryingto improve the prison 'inwhichtheynowlive.Inthese materialregions,sorrows,pains,disease,death,andwhatmencall evilareallinevitable.Theycanneverbe eliminated entirelyfrom earthlylife.IntheGoldenAgestheseevilsare reduced toa minimum, but theyare inherent inmaterialregions.Thegreatsaints, knowingthis, 'propose to removesoulsfromthisregionforever instead of tryingto improve their conditions. Thatexaltedworld of lighttowhichthesaintstakeusisinfinitelyaboveand beyond Triloki,ortheThreeWorlds, known totheGreatWhite Brotherhood.Those superheavens are known onlytosaintsand their students , whoarethemselvesonthewayto becoming saints.

Themission of theGreatWhite Brotherhood, asdeclaredby themselves,isidenticalwith that of KrishnaasstatedintheGita,

namely,todestroywickednessandestablishrighteousness.There is therefore aperfectfellowshipand unanimity of purpose betweenKrishnaandthe Brotherhood. Butthefarhighermission of thesaintsistoremovesoulsforeverfromtheregions of evil.If you find achildstuckina mud hole , wouldn't it be better topull him out ofthe mud hole,cleanhimupandtakehimhome, rather thanengageall of your energiesincleaningupthe mud holeitself, whilethechildisleftinthemud?

Andso,this constitutes thechiefdifferencebetweenthemission of thesaintsand that of mahatmas of other grades. .

One of thegreatdifficultiesnowwith liesinthefact . thatifa neophyte goestoone of their representativestoaskfora definite method of yogabymeans of whichto rend theveiland enterthe inner kingdoms,hegetsareply couched invagueallusionsandindefinite postponements. ItsMastersare too difficult toapproach.Butanymanwhocomesfromthefourcorners of the earth toseearealMastermaywalkrightuptohim,sitdown andtalkwithhimface-to face.Thatisaveryvitaldifferencetoa hungry student , Howearnestlydidthis student knockattheTheosophists'doors,onlytobetold that ifheworkedandwaitedlong enough,itwasjustpossible that someday he might be granted a glimpse of oneofthegreatones. But when hearrivedfromAmericaandsatdownatthefeet of one of thegreatest of saints,hewas welcomedwithloveand full instructions.

Ofcourse,thisis not intended asacriti cism. Theosophy is simplyadifferent method. Leteachcarryonaccordingtohisown plans. Butitistheextremegood fortune ofanymanwhofindsa saint,a r eal spiritual liberator, instead of aworldbuilder.ConstantlyreferredtoinTheosophical literature, the 'Masters' sitserenelyin their far-offHimalayanretreatsandoffer but littlecomforttobeginners.Atbest,thechances of everadvancing to full fellowship withthoseaugustbeingsarequiteremote;theyare neithertangible nor visible. When a student isstruggling hardest withhisown complicated problems,heistoldbysome outpost subordinate of thoseexalted onestojustgoonstruggling.Ifhe winsthebattle,hemay ultimately be granted the boon ofthe ' mahatma's darshan.

Buthowdifferentwhentheweakestandthe poorest maycome andsitdownatthefeetoftheGreatMaster,lookintohiseyesand receivehisfatherlyencouragement!Pricelesspearls of wisdomfall fromhislips,freetoallwhocan receive them-no guesswork,no darkuncertainties,no vague hopes,nolongwaitingand wondering.Thegreatfathersimplytakeshis children home, wrapped ina mantleoflight.

Butthereis something ofstillgreater importance tothestudent,evenifhesucceedsingainingthe darshan oi the TheosophicalMasters. Theosophy has not graspedthe full import of the audiblelifestream.Yetthatisthemostvital of allconsideratioris. It isalludedtoin TheVoice of theSilence and some other literature . Butitsgreat importance isnot brought out.Thisgreatcen tralfactsovitaltothe student iscoveredoverbyamass of details, whichhas but minor value,ifanyatall.Neitherdoes Theosophy ' introduce youtoalivingMasterwhoisableto 'tune youin'with thegreatlifestream.Yetthisisthemain precept of theMasters. NowhereinalltheTheosophical literature is that centralfact of nature set before the aspirant asthe sinequanon of spiritual attainment.

Manypeopletalkloudly and write voluminously about mind control.Yettheyknowabsolutely nothing about themost important factorin mind control.Thesaintstellus,andmanyofus knowbypersonalexperience, that mind control is never accomplishedexceptbyand through theShabd,theaudiblelifestream. Indian historyis full of instances of nobleyogiswhosatinmeditation,evenforcenturies,strivingafter mind control, but failedat lastwhen confronted by temptation.

Far back inanearlyage,one . greatrishi,Vishvamitra,issaidto havesatforseveral thousands of years, and then,allofa sudden oneday,hefellfor a 'pretty girl.Hehadtriedto control his mind bynegation.Butit cannot bedone . The 'mind must havesomethingwhichitlikesbetter,ortheseworldly temptations will invariablysweeponeoffhisfeet.Anysystemwhichdoes not make theSuratShabdYogathecentral portion of itsschemeinspiritual exercises cannever withstand thedownwarddragof mind and

matter,withitsnumberlessappealstothesenses.Andwhatisstill more important, without theShabdthe student cannot gofaron theroadofspiritualliberation.ThatisthegreatoversightofTheosophy,asit IS of all other religio-philosophicalsystems.

Finally, thehighestgoalof Theosophy falls short of theobjectiveofthesaints.Accordingto their own literature, thegreatest of TheosophicalMastersgono further than the ' first,orpossiblyina fewinstancesthesecond, station of thesaints.Thisisonlyabeginningonthe path oftheMasters.Itis apparent then that where Theosophistsstop,thesaintsbegintheirupwardjourney.From that point they proceed tothehighestplanes, and tothehighest individualachievements.The mahatmas ofTheosophy,greatand nobleastheyarewhenjudgedfromtheviewpoint of ordinary men , areonlybeginnerswhen compared withthegreatMasters. Thisisnota matter for disputation or argument. Itmaybedeterminedinthemostscientific manner bypersonalsight and hearing.

Attachyourselftoone of thegreatMasters;thengoinsideand seeforyourself. Onthe inner planes allthingsaremade dear. Mastersofthe ' lower order do not evenknowofthe supreme heights attained bythesaintsbecausetheythemselveshavenever gonethatfar.Theygenerallyimaginethattheyhavegonetothe highestregionswhentheyreachBrahmLok,thesecondregionon thepathoftheMasters.In that respecttheyarelikethefollowers oftheGitaandtheVedas.Thisisbecausetheyare not abletogo furtherthanBrahmLok without areal totakethem.They believe also that Brahmisthe supreme deityofall.FortheTheosophicalMastersthemselvesthe assumption maywork out very well, but fortheir students itisextremely unfortunate.

·

23. CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ASA RELIGION

ChristianScienceisonemoreof the considerable number of offshootsfrom orthodox Christianity.Thereare 'vastlyincreasing numberswhorealize that modern Christianity is not thegenuine

teaching of Jesus. LoathetogiveuptheChristiansystemaltogether, yet imbued withthescientific spirit of theage,great of conscientious Christians have sought some sort of reconciliation . . MaryBakerEddy,a brilliant student, begantostudy,write and lectureonwhatshe regarded asa reconstructed Christianity. She built upher system-perhaps unconsciously-upon thelaw of suggestion, and gaveitthecatchyname of Christian Science.

Heridea appeared tobeto combine theessentialelements of the religionand then infusethe compound withawholesome decoction of modern science.Sherecognized,as many religious thinkers realizetoday, that any religionwhich ap.peals to the emotions alone, .depending upon themforthe renovation of character without satisfyingtheintellect, cannot long endure. Ifshe couldofferareligioussystemacceptableto modern thought, adaptedto modern needs,it would bethegreatest boon of theage.It wasanoble conception. Hersystemwasaheroic attempt tobridge theoldgapbetweenreligion and science,tomollify their warring antagonisms. .

The new doctrine spread rapidly. Many of the most intelligent and awakenedpeople of America embraced itgladly.Itwasa distinct advancement and, had itnotbeenforthenew ' system itselffalling into philosophical niceties, that system might haveled itsvotaries out into thelight,readytofollowarealMaster. '\las! It would bedifficultnowtosaywhich of thetwo,the 'dogmatic theology of the Church orthe metaphysical postulates of ChristianScience,isthe more difficultfortheintellecttoaccept.

Of course,one of the most virile and appealingtenets of the newfaithwasitsemphasis upon thehealing of bodily ills,atonce and without medicines.Itsamazing record of cures cannot be doubted byany honest investigator, although a very considerable percentage of them were not permanent. (Neither arethe of doctors always permanent, any more than those of Christian Science.)Butsomewere permanent. .

Thesystemstilladheresto Christ asthegreathealer of disease. Christian Scientistsdo not agree that their curesaremade through mental forcesacting under thelaw of suggestion.Jesusisstillthe

healer; In grappling withtheage-old problem of sin and evil VersusagoodGod, Christian Science tried toescapefromone horn ofthe dilemma only tobe impaled upon theother.The new doctrine denied theveryexistence of evil,insisting that evilwasno more than a delusion of the carnal mind. Allsin, all pain,all sickness, allevil of every sort, areonlymental illusions. But since evil seemedtobetiedupwith matter in: some sort of inseparable connection, itbecamenecessarytodoawaywith matter itselfin order togetrid of evil.Evilwasonlythe darker side of matter, and matter itselfwasonlyan aberration of mind, adark phantasmago- . ria, incidental tothis mortal existence.

ThusMrs.Eddy made acleansweep of the entire problem, and itwasdoubtlessa .master strokeifonlyitcouldhave found aplace in rational thought. There is neither evil nor matter. Stillpeople . keptonbelieving that theyhadbodies, and whatwas worse, they continued tofeelpaininthosebodies-s-even .Christian Scientists themselves. How could theygetrid of thati Mrs.Eddyreplied that ' since neither matter nor evilexisted, pain could not exist,even if youdidfeel it. What peoplebelievedtobepain,the thing they longedsotogetridof,wasonly another delusion of the mortal mind.Ifthere were nobody,itwasclear that therecould not be anypainin that body.Thepainwasonlyasmall delusion within a bigdelusion. That waslogical enough.

Logically it should havebeenclearsailingfrom that timeon. When confronted by bodily sickness,orwhatpeople persisted in feeling assuch,thecalm practitioner simplytold her patient that shehad nothing atall but a mental illusion. Drop it.Forgetit.The . prescription wassimpleenough. Just correct your thinking, and 'evil automatically disappears.Itwasa beautiful theory, and it seemedtoworkinsomecases.Butpeoplekeptongettingsickand dying, Christian Scientistsaswellasothers.EvenMrs.Eddyherselfhadtopassthesamewayasallothers.She couldn't entirely disposeofthe errors of her mind. .

.Thereisstillapowerfulappealinthesystem.Suffering humanIty will graspeagerlyat anything whichoffersrelief.Incidentally,it offersone of the most serious indictments of medicine.Ifmedical

therapy wereasefficientasits advocates claim, Christian Science would probably neverhave come into existence. If religion and physical therapeutics canbe combined in one palatable dose, what more can anyone ask?Its religious aspectis but little more than a new attempt to restate orthodox Christianity in practical terms. Christian Scientistshave been too busy with their healing work to think much about theological problems. Anyway, those problems have only a remote interest for them.

The student of first principles will ask what the keyisto that large measure of success which Christian Sciencehas enjoyed. As said before, the answer liesin the well-known laws of suggestion. Mind is the greatest power operating inthisphysical universe-mind activated by spirit. Of course, all mind is vitalized by spirit, but once activated by spirit itis mind that controls allphysical forces through prana, the primary force. .

Mind is the chief instrument of spirit forall contacts with the physical universe : Mind hasits methods of operation. In what is called the subconscious reservoir of mind, there liesan almost limitless store of energy, If byany means that reserve power can be made availablefor our use, there is practically no limit toits scope of action. It has been found that by and through suggestion, the conscious mind may draw upon the subconscious foritsreserve power. Christian Scienceoffersa method of applying that power to human needs. If the conscious mind canbe made accept the dictum that there isa power availableto remove pam and cure disease, beneficial results must follow.

But the new system added one more factor to the healing process. It taught that this latent power did not resideinall men tobe drawn upon at will, but itwasgivenby the Lord on occasion. If wehavefaith, the power comeswheriweoffer the proper prayers. This appealed to the religious sentiments. Many people tothis day havenoidea that itis simply a method of suggestion and autosuggestion . They firmlybelieve that they are healed by direct .intervention of the Lord. And sothisis .th e explanation of that considerable degree of success which has attended the spread of Christian Science.Itisalso the keytothesuccess of all other

healingcults and systems,no matter what their names, including New Thought and the much-lauded Oxford Movement.

Christian Sciencehas been so preoccupied with its own reforms andespecially with the healing of the sick, that ithas had but little timeto devote to the major problems of thesoul.Everysoul hungers foritsrelease from this region of ' mental illusions'. We all have had enough of them. Weare more than fedup with them. It maybe accepted asa metaphysical apperception that there isno body, and therefore no pain or disease. It may be conceded that all ofthese things areonly errors of the mind-misled and trouble.some mind-yet the great majority of people do not seemtoenjoy their illusions. They arestill looking about for some means to . getrid of them. They would likeso much tofind some means of escape.

Butnow,after many decades of trial, Christian Scienceoffers noescape.The world is right where itwas before Mrs. Eddy was . born, Twenty-six centuries ago the noble Buddha thought he had discovereda method of escape from sorrow by pointing out the cause of sorrow. But nothing happened and sorrow went on,like theflowing of rivers . Now Christian Sciencetriesto getrid of itby denyingitsexistence. . .

Stillthewhole world goes around seekingapillto stop its pain . Whatisthe trouble? Ihave myself seen many good Christian Scicrying piteously foran anodyne. What iswrong?The old dIscrepancy between theory and fact. Cures come and cures go but human illsgo on forever. And they will goon. The new has done nothing at all to provide for the future happiness o mankind when they pass the gates of death. The new systemis anexcellent ethical society. It inculcates cleanlivingaswellas clean thinking. Butithas nothing superior to the old church dog. mastooffertothedying man. . Wh . benItcomestoa study of that kingdom of heaven spoken of y all the prophets and Masters, the book Science and Health has nota sing! . ", enew suggestion toorrer.Inthis respect it drops to the common 11 fall 1" . H" f bieve 0 reigions. umamty IS lefttoits eternal cycle o irth and death, itsendless coming and going, desolate and

AREVIEWOF WORLD RELIGIONS

weary,togo on nursing its mental illusions, theages come and go.Itisonlythescience of the offersthecertain way of liberation from allwoes and allillusions.

MODERNSPIRITUALISM

24. MODERN SPIRITUALISM

This movement can hardly becalledareligion.Yetin recent years ithas built churches and appointed ministers. Its central theme is the medium and some sort of communication between this world and the superphysical planes.Ifwesetaside ninety percent of the findings of modern Spiritualism asunreliable,stillthere enough authenticated factsto prove its hypothesis. The International SocietyforPsychicalResearchoffers data to most ulous.Ifasingle well-authenticated communication between this world and that of disembodied spirits can be established beyond all possibility of doubt, then the fundamental of the materialists isforeversweptaside. And yet not onlyone Instance but thousands of them have been given.Inthis regard modem Spiritualism has justified itsexistence.

That movement has proved conclusively, incontrovertibly, fullyasanyfact of sciencehasever been proved, that thedeath. of the body does not terminate theexistence of the intelligence occupied that body. From itsvast of etyforPsychicalResearchhas made substantial contributions !o knowledge.The movement has thus givento mankind a certain assurance which nothing elsehasevergiven on such alarge The public consciousness,whilerecognizingthe which.Spmtualism has rendered, yethesitatesto approve of ItbecauseItrecognizes that Spiritualism is not free fromserious defects.The phenomena may be acknowledged, but Spiritualism's methods are not above criticism. '

Itiswell known to students whohave become familiar with the .vil the prac- seance performance that many senous es accompany . tice of mediumship. It isno argument tosay that such evilsare not the legitimate results of mediumship but areduetotheabuse

ofit.Thefact remains that evils of agrave sort do attend the practice of mediumship. And the worst disastersfall the ' medium. This alone is sufficient to condemn the practice. The knowledge gained through mediumistic process maybedesirable, but that knowledge is gained at too greatasacrifice. Moreover, it canbegainedbya better method unattended byany harm to anybody. '. ,

Far superior information maybe gained bythe independent method of the Masters, with no untoward resultsto anyone. In fact, becoming a medium is not a development inanysense of the word. It istheexact antithesis of development-it isa decided disintegration, a deplorable degeneration, an absolute loss.But the method of theMasters,while proving vastly more than Spiritualismevercan prove concerning the higher worlds, atthesame timeleadstothe most splendid development inall that raisesthe inferior man to the exalted status of the superman. If anyone wishestofollowthis subject, he may profitably read TheGreat Psychological Crime by John E. Richardson, at that time known as T. K. This book certainly showsinthe most conclusive manner the destructive nature of hypnosis and mediumship. It -should be readbyevery student of the phenomena of mediumship and hypnotism.

Whilethe Eastern wisdom universally condemns mediumistic control asa bad thing and a decidedly unreliable method of gettingmessages from thedead,yetthe findings of Spiritualism generally coincide quite accurately with the teachings of the Masters asfaras those findings go-but they are generally extremely limited in their . scope.The knowledge gained through mediumship seldomgoes beyond the outskirts of the intermediate regions betweenthe earth spheres and the veryfirst region of the Masters, thatistosay, the pure astral. Hence, the revelations made through mediums are extremely limited.

. Contrary tothe teachings of theMasters, Spiritualism persists In thefond belief that mediumship isagift.Butinfactitisa terribleloss. Richardson showsinthe most incontrovertible manner that the greatest crime which canbe committed against indi-

vidual intelligence isto deprive that intelligence of the right and power to control itsel f. It isa distinct humiliation , a decided degradation , to reduce the medium tothelevel of onlyan 'instrument' tobepla yed upon at will b y some other intelligence.

The realMaste r isne ver an .instrument. Heisnevera medium. He enters the . spiritual regions on hisown right and byhisown powers.Heisne ver con trolled. Hehas nothing todo with controls.He controls himself.Hesees and hears whatever there isto see and hear, independently and freely. There is not theslightest element of subje ction intheprocess of mastersh ip. It istheexact opposite. Allhisfaculties and powers are unfolded and strengthened, and they remain always under hisown sovereignwill.This . constitutes theessentialdifference between thesubjective process of the medium and the independent method of theMaster.

Someone mayraisetheobje ction that the Masters exercisesubjective control ove r their di sciples. Butthisob jection isduetovery serious misunderstanding of thefacts. It is true , wespeak of perfect obed ience tothe Master . But that does . not imply that the M aster exercises arbitrary control overthedis ciple. TheMaste r ne ver controls hisdiscipleexcept by love.Hevery seldom , ifever, givesa command . Hegenerallyoffersadvice ,a ndhedoes that in the most unassuming m anner. It isa fundamental law among all Masters , even among good yogis,th at thedisciple must beleft whollyfreetoexercise unhindered hi s ownpowers.Ifthe Master can everbesaidtoruleatall, heruleswithlove , not with authority . Theslightestwish of the Master islawtothedisciple; but that isbecausehelovestheM aster, and alsobecauseheknows that the Master isalwaysright. It isafact,asevery advanced disciple of a saintwillattest, that there isnosuch thing inthis world as perfect freedomforanyoneunlessanduntilhelearnstofollowarealMaster.

One other subject should not be overlooked inthis connection. Whilethe medium seldom goes beyond theverylowestplanes of the subastral regions ,yet that is not eventhe beginning point of the upward penetration of theh igher worldsbytheMasters.Hence , mediums know absolutely nothing about the pure spiritual region sa nd,infact , theyvery rarely cont act eventhe pure astral

zones. Their fields of operation arefar below that. Their act ivity is generally limited tothe subastral regions or what may be termed ' the magnetic fields'. Theselie just abovethephysical world , and yetfar below the purely astral.

In those lowerregionsitisgenerallyalower order of spirits whichare contacted bythe mediums . Webelieve, and wehave good reason toassert, that no high-level intelligence, such asany ofthegreat and noble characters of history, evercomes back to communicate through mediums . Therefore , when some spirit claimstobeSocrates, or Abraham Lincoln,itis better todismiss the matter atonce . It isonlya pretense of some designing intelligences,floating about thelower magnetic planes connected with the earth and whowishto attach themselves to mediums or sitters,orwhowishtohave some funattheexpense -ofpeople who cannot detect their fraud. It is a most pathetic thing that themedium is not ina position tosave . herself from such imposition. Shecansee and hear only what her controls wish her tosee and hear-nothing more. Sheisinnosense independent. When some fond mother is supposed to come and communicatewith her family,givesadvice and messages of love,suchadvice should be taken with extreme scepticism . When a medium is ledtobelieve that a mother or father or some noted historical character is her guide or her Master, suchaclaim should beset downasfalse. No real Master ever works througha medium. Itis qu ite unthinkable. Not doesany other highly developed spirit ever usea medium . Sucha thing is quite impossible. He knows that suchaprocessis wrong . When weare told that a particular person isone of theguides,wemayaccept that asapossiblefact.In truth isone of the most common of all procedures. But how much IS such communication worth?Ifyouareseekingadvice on some ofthe most important concerns of life, would you gotoanignorant person for such advice? Certainly not. And do not imagine that becausea person haspassedto some of thelower superphysicalplanes , hehas thereby acquired vaststores of knowledge which he IS anxious to communicate toyou . ' Theonly difference betweena dead person and aliving one isthe simple fact that the

dead onehaslaidasidehisphysicalbody.Hehas neither gainedin wisdom nor improved .in character bythechange.

Asidefromits contribution totheknowledge of survivalafter death, Spiritualism has but littletooffer.Itsfindingsonlyconfirm tosome extent theteachings of thesaints.Infact, Spiritualism isa sort of echo,a distant echo, of whataresaidtobeold Tantric teachings, withsome additions, Butthesystemlackstheexalted idealism of theEasternwisdom.Itlaysitsstress upon phenomena, instead of the unfolding of spiritual powers and increase of wisdom . Itwantstodevelop mediums instead of Masters.Infact, it lacks utterly the method forthe development of Masters.Ifithad sucha method, itwouldnevertolerate mediumship . Instead of goinginsideandwitnessingreal phenomena, asMastersdo,it preferstobringthe phenomena outsidewhereitcanselltheshow for <1; dollarperseat.(Itisonlyfairtothe better sort of Spiritual. iststosay that suchthingsare not approved of bythem.Incase of honest mediums whoneverselltheirservices, but whofirmly believe that theyareserving humanity, we commend their motives but deplore their methods .)

Spiritualism lackstheloftyvision of theyogi. Hiscalmselfabnegation isquite unknown totheaverage medium. Andno medium hasanyincrease of natural powers.Hesuffersa distinct loss of hispowers,just .in proportion ashe fallsavictimtothe control of others.Inallcases,the medium isquitehelpless to distinguishbetweenthe true and the false. Heseesandhearsonly whathis controls wishhimtoseeorhear . Not infrequently mediumship endsintotal moral bankruptcy, andoccasionallyinthe insaneasylum.

It will beseen that while both Spiritualism and mastership arriveatthesameconclusionsregardingthepersistence of theconsciousness beyond the death of thebody,theyhaveverydifferent methods of arrivingat their conclusions . Theone class-the Masters-work bya normal, natural method, a constructive method, resultingingenuine development andvastincrease of wisdom andpowers;yetthe other class-the mediums-fall victimstothe mostdestructivepsychologicalprocess which haseverbeenin-

THEROSICRUCIANS

ventedbythenegativepowerstomisleadmen.The method ofthe Mastersis independent and constructive, while that of themediumsiswhollysubjectiveanddecidedlydestructive.

2 5. THE ROSICRUCIANS

TheRosicruciansareasociety of occult students saidtohave originatedin Germany inthe century.Itis n?w wide organization with headquarters III SanJose, California.Like Theosophy,ithasderivedmost of itstenets from theVedas.Ithas itssystem of meditation andpromisesits students inner light'.In thi s regarditgoes beyond many other systems. Justhoweffective thisyogamaybe,we cannot speakdefinitely,excepttosay that · aftertwoyearsoffaithfulpractice of these methods, nonoticeable valuewasdiscovered by thiswriter.Perhapsitwasmyownfault. However, looked at nowinthelight of my personal experience uponthe path of theMasters,theRosicruciansystemhasitsown limitations .

TheRosicrucian Brotherhood claims allegiance tothesameGreat White Brotherhood asdothe Theosophists. Whether itconsiders itselfa twin sisterto Theosophy is not clear; but ifso,one of the twinswas born alongtimeaftertheother. Theosophy isstillinits infancywhen compared withthe mature years of Rosicrucianism. Tochoose between them presents much thesame problem as that which confronted theyoung man who had todecidewhich of the twinshe would marry.Hefinallydecidedhewouldleave them bothalone.Sincehecould not tell them apart,complicationsmight developinthefuture. .

Thesetwogreat organizations are both good.Theyhave both doneanobleservice.Butthiswriter,afteryears of courting the two,tryingto understand them both, finallydecided that he had betterlookforan outstanding systemwhich had norivals.But thishenever found until he met theGreatMaster.After that event,all other religionsand philosophies took their placesinthe background.ThescienceoftheMastershasnorival.Onceitis

THEROSICRUCIANS A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

known, all other systemsareseenin their relative importance, just asa candle losesits value attherising of the sun.Yetin the absence of the sun, the candle may beveryuseful.

The most serious shortcoming of the Rosicrucian system,like that of itssister Theosophy, isitslack of areal,living Master to whom the student may go.Its literature says much about Masters, hierophants, mahatmas, and arhats, and whets the spiritual appetite without producing the nourishment. Most of these Masters leadanelusivelifefar beyond the busy haunts of men, in ' the silent depths of the Himalayas, and when an anxious student inquires just how he may find one of them, heis told that no ordinary sinner may approach them.

Thecaseis much the sameas with a man who isverysick and is told that the great physician isso occupied with important matters that he cannot seean ordinary man. Butifhecan hold out until heiswell and strong, he may eventually be permitted an interview, Of all men in the world who aresick and weary,it is the sinner, the struggling soul down in the depths, who needs the strong hand of the Master. Both Rosicrucians and Theosophists promise the student that someday, if helives long enough and works hard enough, he may getaglimpse of one of these great ones.

Once I wrote toa man who 'claimedtohave spent yearswith some of the Indian Masters. Iasked him how I could findone.He replied: "When yehave gained perfect self-mastery, yeare then in the presence of the Masters."

There isno doubt about the technical accuracy of thisreply. Sending out his 'wireless' vibrations to the whole world, that calm ' and passionless mahatma, who sits serenely inhis Himalayan retreat, may do some good, but what I wanted wasaliving Master who wouldgive me some personal attention.

Iwas not much interested in world vibrations just then. I wantedaliving Master whose faceI would see with these physical eyes, whose cheering voiceI could hear , whose gracious hand I could takein mine. There is no doubt but Rosicrucianism isin touch with some of the remnants of ancient yogism, ,floating more or

lessloosely through many lands.Butasa teacher of successful yogaitlacks the clear markings of a to attainment, and itlacksaliving Master to guide one.ThIS writer speaks from personal experience, not hearsay, just as.hespeaks from personal experience concerning the path of the samts. .

One fact should make the discerning student pause and thmkif he should beableto attain all that the most advanced representatives of Rosicrucianism claim, it iseven then but a mere glimpse into the higher realities. It is only a beginning on the path of the saints. None of them go beyond the very threshold of the real kingdom of light.Allthiswearesaying not tofindfault, nor to disparage these organizations, but because itis much for mankind if the factsare boldly made known by one who IS ,ma position to know them. If any earnest student feels inclined to challenge these statements, let him come toareal Master for the proofs . He may have them in great abundance. -

Letusgive credit tothesetwo organizations, astoall others, for the good they have done, and letuslove them forit . Butat the same time, let us recognize their limitations. Let us then seeka path which hasno limitations, and which leadsto the very spiritual goal.A student who enters upon the study ofa spiritual philosophy and selectsa definite path should, if possible, know of a certainty that heis entering upon the main highway of the Masters and not upon some bypath. 1).s a matter of fact,as anyone may prove for himself, ifa student should gainall that is promised onany of theselower paths, even becoming one of their greatest mahatmas , he will stillbe only a beginner on the path of the great Masters.Letusgive them full credit for their helpto mankind. It would beavery great blessing indeed, if all men had attained a half of their development, a tenth of their wisdom and powers. Letno one be offended atthis statement. It is made in humility and love, but it had tobe made because great issuesareatstake. Everywhere men areseekingaway, and with them all, the great question isto enter upon the main highway to the city of light and not togo astray on some other path, leading toa blind alley. Itis doubtful if those great souls themselves know of the higher attain-

ments of thesaints or of their higher path, leading toregionsto whichthe Masters alone haveaccess. How many of earth's millions actually know of theregions attained bythese mahatmas of the White Brotherhood? Likewise, there are many whoare now ontheplanes of the Brotherhood who know of nothing higher. In anycase,weare not todespisethe matriculate becausewe ourselveshavethedegree of master of arts.Weareall brothers and weareall striving asbestweknow.

One more point of importance maybe mentioned here. It may helpto explain the method of all occult brotherhoods, which operate differently from theMasters.The occult brotherhoods are not seekingtogive their light to mankind. It is not their chief mission. They accept but veryfewdisciples and these they train to become their. successors..Their work is world betterment and riot especiallyto liberate individuals from the world and its entanglements. However, the work of thegreat Masters or saints istotake people up and out of this world toa better world.The worlduplifterscometodestroyevil and establish righteousness. The saints come totake people totheir eternal home. Working alone-that is, without aliving Master-as allhavetodoin churches and occult societies, students canmake but verylittle headway atbest.Finally they must allslip back into thefatal rounds of births and deaths. From this ever-rolling wheel,no man can hope toescape without thehelp of alivingMaster.

26. THE BASIC ELEMENTS OFALL RELIGIONS

It is now in order to sum upthe teachings of allreligions and try to point out their several positions inthe scheme of theMasters. Letus hasten tosayinthefirstplace that the Masters condemn no religion. None of them aretobesetasideasfalse.If they had not some good, they would not havesurvived.Infact,they would not havecome. If they had not come to fill arealneed, they would not havecomeatall.

There isa decided inclination inthese days toinsist that all

THEBASIC ELEMENTS OF ALL RELIGIONS

eligions areequally good and effective, that theyall but r iff th1 ding tothesamegoal.This is avery chantable dl erent pasea .,. andliberalview, and istobe ThIS VIew a step forward toward the much desired brotherhood, With an end toreligiouswars and contentions. Many have beenmadetoestablishan ecumenical council of all religIOns. World congresseshave been held.This should be encouraged, by all m.eans. It would bea delightful conclusion tothewhole matter Ifwe couldsayhere and now that allreligionsareequally good and that all of them leadtothe highest goal.In that case, there would beno more advantage in discussing the subject-no need atall ther books. Thesaints themselves would have no further mISSIon. Just tum overthe world toa congress of priests and letusallgoto themovies. WhywQrry? dmit But unfortunately, such is not thecase.Wemay frankly a 1 that one religion is about as good as theyareall equallyeffective. On that basisallmaybe admitted into one grand amalgamation.Butafter that has been done and the ·compound has been tested,it will be found tohavetwoserious,defects. There aretwovital points at which allreligionsfail. One IS. thelack of a . livingMaster. That isa need which none but thesaints supply.No religion hasit. That requirement, an absolute sine qua non, marks the poverty of all world A second sufferedbyallreligionsis their loss of all conSCIOUS Withthe audiblelife stream; and theydo not know how Yet isthe most vital consideration on the path of spiritual Wemay truly say that without this conscious contact, ones IS invain;it would have been better not tohave been b,om . It will be practicallyuseless,exceptasa pleasant socialfr,atermty.,

There are three greatlinksinthe golden living Satguru, the audible life stream, and sptntual liberation . These will be discussed more fullyin their proper places.Theyarerepeated hereforthesake of emphasis. · . .

If weanalyzeall historical religions,weshallfind that they sistoffivebasic elements. They are: (1) superstitious assumptions , (2) emotional 'extravaganzas, (3) ritualistic ceremonies, (4) meta-

LOVE,THEESSENCE OFRELIGION AREVIEWOFWORLD RELIGIONS

physicalspeculations, and (5) ethicalprinciples . The proportions of theseelementsvaryfromthelowesttype of fetishismuptothe sublimestethics of anEmerson.Butallreligionsbearthe stamp of thesefiveindifferingdegrees.Whateversmalldegree of bhakti, (devotion',or dharma, (goodworks',maybefoundinany of them, theyallfit into theframework of thesefive centralingredients, In .some of them vaguereferencestotheaudiblelife stream aretobe found, but forthemost part theyhavelostanyadequateknowledge of it. It isquiteevident that inthesefiveelements of world religions, there is but little,ifany,genuinereligion.

What then isgenuinereligion? Religion isanindividual experience. Itisa realization. No man call sayexactlywhat beauty is. It is anexperiencebased upon arelation between thingsandindividualintelligence.Beautyisajoyspringingup out of that relation.

Beauty is astep toward reality.Inessence, beauty isaform oflove. It isaray of lightfromtheinfinite heart of things.Soisreligion.It isalight. It islove. It isjoy. Truereligionexistsonlywhenthesoul findsjoyintheinfinite.Religionis not found increedsorceremonies . Again,letusemphasizethefact that religionisan individual experience . Andjustaseach individual's experienceisdifferent from that of allothers,sohisreligionisdifferent from that of all others.Ergo,thereare just as many religionsintheworldasthere areindividuals.

Religionis not an outward expression . It cannot beexpressed outwardly. It isan inner experience.Forthisreasonreligioncan neverbe couched informsandceremonies.Itcanneverbe bottledupincreeds,like canned beans. It canneverbegivenbyone manto another. Neither caniteverbe written downin books.

Onereasonwhythereisso much confusion inreligious understanding isbecauseevery man's .experience isdifferentfrom that of every other man.Myreligionis not thereligion of any other person,unless that person hashadexactlythe same experienceas I havehad . Insomeclumsy manner, primitive man began tocreateaform of propitiation, aceremony,asacrifice. Hewatched with terror thedriving storm and he concluded that there must be somesort of malignant power behind it. It issignificant,in inter-

preting human psychology, that man 's first conception of God was that of a malignant being. It waseons of timelater that love entered into theidea of God.As man gotfavorsfrommen and animalsby doing something topleasethem,hisnext thought was todo something topleasethosegiganticforceswhichlie behind natural phenomena. Out of theceremonies and sacrificeswhich he then instituted hegotsomesort of personal experience,and that constituted hisreligion.Butthereligion of that primitive manwasadifferentsort of religionfrom that of a modern Kabir. Yetitwashis religion andit should berespected. It wasthebest hecoulddo.

27 . LOVE, THE ESSENCE OF RELIGION

It should not bedifficultnowforustobridgethegap of the centuriesandarriveatsomesort of conclusion astowhatgenuine religionis.Letitbe said withalldueemphasis , that there isno such distinction astrueand false religion, forevery man's religionisfor himtrue and genuine. It ishisexperience.Butjustwhatconstitutesthedifferences,whichweallknow exist? That differencelies inthedegree of objectiverealitywhichlies behind our individual experiences.Ifwe build areligion upon our own mental images, uponalong period of suggestion and autosuggestion, our experiences will not be founded upon objectivereality. If we build upa form of religion upon assumptions, superstitions, speculations, oursystem will belikethehouse built upon sand. When tested,it will not stand. But if our religious thinking andexperiencesare founded upon reality, our religion will standeverytest. . Sucha man will experiencereligion upon the highest' possible plane.Thatreligion will yieldthefinestfruitagebecauseitis nourishedinthesoil of reality.Thelogicallessontobederivedfrom thisfactis that everyone should dohis utmost toassure himself that hisreligioustheories,his thinking andhis personal experiencesare founded upon reality, upon facts.Andit cannot betoo stronglyemphasized that nosuchassurancescanbe had unless

feelingsare ruled out, and our convictions are based upon actual ,sight, hearing and touch . If you think that such a foundation for our religion is not availabletoyou, that is because you have not met areal Master.

And now, what is the content of that religion which will stand alltests?Itis the religion experienced by the Masters and their disciples.Its content islove.In the infinite heart of things, love and reality will be found to be one and thesame thing. Theabsence of love means the absence of reality. Everything elseisillusory.Afull realization of this sublime factis genuine religion. Itis a great joy. If there is anyone thing that distinguishes a Master from all other men, itislove.The thing passeth all understanding. The Master is the only man in the world who experiences religion initsfull and complete sense because heloves most. Hence, if we concentrate the entire discussion into one fundamental thesis, there will remain nothing but love.Love and religion, then, are one and thesame thing. Religion,love, reality, are all one.

Having now discovered the precious radium content of religion,itisa simple and logical conclusion that there is no such thing as genuine religion in the creeds and formalities of world religions. Only the living Master can open the doors of light for , us. Only hecangiveusthe waters of life.Heis the embodiment of infinit e love, and he alone can open forusthe fountain of love. When hedoes that, we discover for the first time that there is no other religion nor can there beany other. When we drink of that fountain, wehave .life eternal. Wehavea religion which embraces all ' other religions, a religion of perfect oneness , with boundless love.

Some teachers say that we should begin religion by loving mankind. ' That will leadustolove God, so they insist. That isavery nice theory, and surely anything that leadsustolove our fellow men isa good thing. There is nothing we need more than that. But will this theory work? How many people have you seen who have actually proved this theory in practice? Ihave never met one. But Ihaveseen many who found their wayto God by the shining path of aliving Master, and after that they became greatlovers of

i ovt: THE ESSENCEOFRELIGION

mankind. They learned toloveeventhelowliest of every 1 t d flower Their whole lives became flames of creative love. panan. tho 1" • And that is genuine religion. There isno other. But IS re igion IS attained only on the path of the Masters: . ' .

The Masters alone can tune the soul m With heavenly bam, the audible life stream. all, this lifestr.eam IS source of all loveinthe world . It is because the Master IS ?ne With that stream that he manifests so much love. It is when we meet a d he unites us with that stream, that loveis born, and WithIt, ItS an .dhi. twin self-religion. When a man has once gamet IS mner experience,hehas the dynamic life within himself to meet all temptationssuccessfully and live the lifecalledfor by the finest of ' ethics. Never otherwise. To make morality a means attammg religionisto work backwards. Ethicsisa means of mind cleansing, although not a perfect means at best. But that oneto start on the path of God-realization. What important, ethics never generated love. Therefore, .ethICs religion nor the soil out of which. grows: Genume ethics IS the fruit of love and love is the life-giving fruit of the great current. We treat our fellow men properly because welove them. We do not love them because we treat them right . ' .

Ethicscan never form the basis of a universal religion, forethics cannot create love. This is why weso often witness the strange phenomena of intensely religious people so hatred. Their theories about God, the heavens and spmtua} hberation are worthless because they . are not founded on knowledge. Take out of any religion its code of ethics and.it not survive asingle month, except in those forms where ItS

.All ' .. vilizatIons ceremony forits psychological effect. pnrmtive Cl love ceremony forits own sake. .'

Wemay indeed contemplate a lofty example of loving to the extent that wefeel ready tooffer ourselves toIt,grvmgup everything, evenlifeitself. If we doso,itis inspired by the love whichwellsupin the soul in response to that pull. But that sort of loveis not of the highest order. Itis mostly sympathy, an appeal tothe emotions. So much loveisso much religion. We must not

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164

deny that manynoblesouls;withheartsoverflowing loving ,sympathy and deep interest inacertaincause, .have laid d?WD theirlivesfor that cause.Buttheperfectlove,Withperfectlight) comesonlywhenonemeltshissoulintotheinfinitesoulatthe feetofalivingMaster. '

LOVE,THE ESSENCE OFRELIGION

realizedonlyinthedeepchambersofthesoulwhenthemystic contacthasbeenmadewiththedivine bani andthesoullearns of acertainty that thereis nothing intheworld but love.

,

'

It is true that mostreligionspreachloveasthevitalfactorin religion. Upon love toward Godandmantheybasetheirethics. Butwiththosereligionsitismostlyatheory.Everybodypreaches anddesires love, but hewisheshisneighbortobeginfirst.Here againithas been proved times without number inhistory that institutional religionand fundamental ethicsdo notalways travel together.

The human mind takesmanya twist and tum. Someofthe worstcharacters in historyhavebeenamongthemostreligious. Nothing ismoreconspicuousinhistory than theincessantpreachingofloveandtheincessantpracticeofhatred.Butthepreaching oflovemakesaverystrongappealtointelligence,becausewe an recognize that loveisthesavingessenceoflife.Allreligions,therefore,makelovetheir foundation, in theory. Itmakesgood mater"; ialforsermons.Butfeweverbuildcharacter upon that foundation.Thereasonfor that istheylacktheessentialdynamics of religion.Theyhave not theall-powerfulstream of lovetogive life, totheirreligion. Their loveisgenerally stored awayinthelibrary.

. MenbuildbeautifulGothiccathedrals,fill them withmusicand ceremony and goonpreachingethicsandlove.Butaftertheceremonyisover,a throng ofwell-dressedmen and women hurry awayto their bigdinners,theirbanks,theirfarmsandtheirsecret passions.Whereisthelove?Whereis the religion? Jes.us said that love should bethedueguardandsignofdiscipleshipThisisthecentral point ofemphasis 'inthesystemoftheMasters. Butunlikealltherest,thegreatMasters practice love. theend, all know that thecoreofreligionisthe of theindividualwhenhehasfoundthegreatlove. It canbe nothmg , else.' Religious corporate bodiescomeandgo, but ethics a?ides. It willabide.Butgenuinereligionisquite 1S not to beconfusedwithanysystemofceremomes. It 1S a thingtobe

Butinalltheprevailingreligions,thisopeessential content is conspicuousbyitsabsence.Ifanisolatedindividualhereand there isfilledwithlove,unselfishservicebeing the rule of hislife, that does not imply that hisreligion should havethecredit.Onthe contrary,his love has enriched hisreligion.Ifitwere not forthe lovingsoulsall through historywhohave brought totheirseveral religionsthe contributions oftheirownindividuallove,thosereligionswouldhavemade a 'very poor showing. When some noble individualshines out inhistory, then thepriests tum andsay:"See' whatourreligionhasdone! " Asa matter offact,they performed theirnobleservice actuated byalove that sprangupinspiteof theirreligion.Ceremonialreligionhasneverdone 'anythingto enrichanyone'slife,exceptfortheethicaland eesthetic culture of refinedceremonyandmusic.Butwhyoffer that inthenameof religion? Realcultureisfaraboveallreligions.

Mostreligions are likea combination salad-they aremadeup ofa number ofevergreenvirtues,achoiceset of handsome dogmas,alittleoilofbeauty,afewslices of wholesomephilosophy, seasonedwiththesaltand pepper ofgoodworks,flavoredwith thedressingofprayer,garnished with anattractiveritual"and servedbyapolishedwaitercalledapriest.Thismayhavesome valueasacleansing diet.but the bread of lifeis not init.When the hungrysoulcontactstheaudiblelifestream, then and then only doeshe enter upon lifeeverlasting.And only then doesheexperienceperfectlove,vibrating through everyfiberofhisbeing.

Whenall institutional religionsare abandoned, true civilization will dawn.Theyhave always beenthe most serioushandicaps to progress.Theyhave always actedasbrakestothewheels. What thenwilltaketheplaceofthosereligions? Nothing. Thehousewill beclean. What will men put intothehouse then? Lovewillfill every room init. Love will furnishitandlightit.Lovewillspread itstables.Lovewillsingitssongs.Lovewillplayitsgames. From its happy doors,lovewillgoforthto subdue the world' nay,to

AREVIEWOFWORLD RELIGIONS

embracetheworld.And then all men will know what .religionis becausethey will knowwhatloveis.

If you askagainjusthow the coming civilizationisto attain this summumbonum of philosophy and religion,I will say,asissaidso often inthesepages,by and through the scientific method ofthe' great Masters ; For theirsisthe path of love,the prem marg, the bhakti marg, the shining path of the ages!

28.KEY TO THE ANALYSIS OF RELIGIONS

Tothe student of history,especiallythe history of religions,it must often occur that there ought tobesome ,explanation of the multiplicity of religions and of their many conflictingelements. Where and howdidtheyoriginate? What isthesoil out of which theyhavegrown? If they are so many paths toGod,asthey all claim,whydotheywagesuch incessant warsagainstoneanother? Isthereany substratum of truth common to them all? If so,how shallwediscover their fundamentals?These and many other similar questions fairly thrust themselves upon the impartial student. Webelieve there must beananswertothesequestions. When all religionsareanalyzed, there will bea residuum showingacommon origin and exhibiting common properties. . .

Toavoidgoing into the matter atanygreatlength,letusgo straight tothe heart of the question. Religion, any religion, is the inner experience ofthe individual. That wehavealreadydiscussed atsomelength.Toget that experience,he must leave the outer .id 1 world,in thought atleast, and goinside. How doesonego e. By detaching himself fromthe outer Or sense world . and drawing his attention fromallsense objects; then concentratmg . the attention upon something inside . This appears simple enough, and itisthe method of acquiring allreligious experiences-leavingthe outer world and entering ·the inner world of consciousness. Tothisruletherecanbeno exceptions. No matter whatthe religionis,one must goinsidetogetit. . .

To" statethe matter more explicitly, concentrating the attentlon

KEY TOTHE ANALYSIS OF RELIGIONS

upon something inside of oneself isthewaytoallreligiousexperiences.Thisis true of thesystem of theMasters and itis true of all other systemswhichyieldany sort of religiousexperiencewhatsoever.Buthereisthecrucial point-as the methods differ,so will theexperiencesdiffer.The method of theMastersis 'scientific and exact.All other methods are more orless haphazard and uncertain. This very fact explainswhytheresults of theMasters' method are uniform, no matter how many thousands of timestheexperi- ' rnentsmaybe performed and no matter how many millions of years apart theyare performed. Italsoexplainswhythereissuch endlessvariety and confusion inthe resultsobtained byall other methods.

Thereisavastdifferencealsointhedegree and extent towhich one penetrates the inner worlds, and sothere must beacorre sponding differenceintheresults obtained. Thisfact further accountsforagreatvariety of inner experiences and avariety of religionsbased upon thoseexperiences.Onemayleavethe outer world and enter veryslightly into theregions of thought. Ifhe concentrates at that point, thought-forms will build up about him, and problems will besolvedsofarashisown thought can solvethem.These thought-forms canbeseenbyanyonewhohas astralvision.Thisistheregionwhere mind playsitsgreatestdramas.Itisonthis plane that mind goes, on creating and molding and shaping asitdesires.Allthewhilethereisa constant stream ofsuggestion pouring in upon the individual. Thishelpsto mold his thought-forms. Finally, many of such souls whoare more senareactuallyabletosee their own thought-forms and they . unaginethey haveseensome great characters outside of themselves. Those thought-images will often talkto them out of the depths of the subconscious self.

Therehasneverbeenareligion founded, nevera good book . written, never agood picture painted, neveragood poem composed,nevera good invention developed,except by going inside to Someextent, and there concentrating onthetaskin hand. Even if oneis not conscious of theexact thing heisto accomplish, hegets resultsby concentration. That isthegreat thing inthe process-

.168

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perfect concentration, becoming oblivious to the outer world of senseandcentering attention upon ' that whichistobefound insideofman.Thisisthewayof attainment, no matter inwhat lineofendeavor.No matter whatoneistoachieve,thisistheone andonly method leadingto success. Concentrated attention isthe key that unlocksallstoresofwisdom , of truth andofspirituality.

Butthereisonedifficultyinthisprocess. It iswhenthe student comesfacetofacewithhisownmentalcreations.It is then that he is almosthelplessunlesshehastheguidingdirection of aliving Master. It hasbeenthe unfortunate experience of thousands of goodmenandwomenwhohaveenteredtosomedegreeintothe innerconsciousnessthattheygot theimpression that God orsome angelor -relative wasleadingthem.Theyhear"thevoiceofGod," they say. Ortheygettheimpression that Godhimselfis giving themsome command or instruction . Butasa matter offact,such visionsorvoicesorimpressionsare,asarule,theirownmental creations. .

Thisprocessisplainlyvisibletoanyonewhohas independent astralvision, but theindividualhimselfisrarelyabletomakethe distinction becausehehas not such independent vision.Hefondly believes God is speakingtohimdirectlywhenheisactually hearing nothing but thefaintwhisperings of hisownmind,coming up outofhissubconscious self. Heis deceived, self-deceived. Arid so oftenhe announces that hehasreceivedamessagefrom God or . that Godisleadinghimtodocertainthings. .

Manypeoplesay that Godhas ordered them to commit murder ordoallsortsofatrocities, but itistheirown disordered mind.I recallamanandawomanwhoweremyfellowpassengers OJ! the · steamercrossingtheseastoHongKong.Theyweregoingro.Tibet asmissionaries.They were goingto that almost inaccessible region,solelyonthestrengthofapersonal "command fromGod." Tothe student of psychological phenomena, itwasquite apparent that their "command from God"was nothing more than the .creationoftheirownminds, superinduced byalongcourse of suggestion. .

Soithas happened manytimesinhistory.Newcultsarestart-

GUARDINGONE 'S OWN MENTAL PROCES SES

ed , movements inaugurated, sacrifices madeandbooks written solelyonthestrengthofsuch "commands fromGod."Theseindividualsthemselvesare not to.beblamedfortheirmistakes.They aretobepitied.Mostofthemareverysinceredevoteesoftheir religions. Thetroubleis that theyhavenosafeguard;theyhaveno reliableguidance.They cannot seeinsidesoastodetectthefraud thatisbeing perpetrated upon them bytheirownminds. As soon . asapersonentersonlyalittledistanceinside,heis always confronted,andfairlyassaulted,by multitudes of hisown thoughtforms.Aidedbythesuggestions of others,theyhave nearly all takenshape outof his own past training andtheideashehasheld for .longperiodsoftime.Theyspringupoutofhisownlongcherisheddesires.Intheend,theymisleadhimintoallsorts of bypaths.

Thispsychologicalprocess,webelieve,istherealsourceofmost ofthatendlessvarietyofexperienceswhichpeoplecallreligious, andwhichaccountsforthegreatvarietyofreligions.Nooneis safe fromsuch misfortune until heisdirectedbyalivingMaster, whohimselfisabletowatch,withclearvision,all internal experiencesof both himselfandhisdisciples.Moreover, at thetime of initiation,every student of a livingMasterisgivenample safeguardswhichmakesuch unhappy experiencesquiteimpossible.

29. GUARDING ONE 'S OWN MENTAL PROCESSES

Every student of theMastersisobligedtokeepavigilanteye upon hisownmentalprocesses.Whenhebeginstoenterthe inner planes,eventotheslightestdegree,hemustbeware of hisown mentalcreations.Inallofhiswakingconsciousnesshe IS toremember that this mind ishisworstenemy,aswellashis mostuseful instrument. Butthemain point is that he must keepit undercontrolevery moment. The mind isausefulservant, but a verybadMaster.

. It isonlythe student ofarealMasterwhoisgiveneverysafeguardagainstbeingdeceivedbyhisownmind. It isonlythefol-

A REVIEW OFWORLD RELIGIONS

lower of areal Master whocan differentiate between the true and the false,ashebeginsto en1er those subtle regions of the mind. He cannot dispense with the leadership of the Master in such dangerous zones. Without the Master, heis almost sure to go, astray. . The mind playsa thousand tricks,Itis most unreliable, and itis habitually beset byits own thought -creations, harassed by itsowndesires and dominated byitsown passions.

In the light of all of these facts.js it any wonder that the world isfilled with conflicting notions on religions,aswellas on other subjects?Butassaidabove, the method of the Masters offersa perfect safeguard against such disasters. That method indicates exactly what your attention istobe concentrated upon and where ' itistobe centered . It .alsogives you the most precise and effective means of testing every experience inside. And lastly,ittakesyou into the inner regions with eyeswide open, with the consciousness more intensely awake than at any other time; and most important of all, the Radiant Form of the living Master is right there with the student to instruct and guide him.

Under such conditions, the student cannot go wrong or make mistakes, neither can hebe imposed upon byhisown mind or that of anyone else. On the inner path, the student must understand, he will be met and tempted bya thousand and one different sorts of spirits and conditions. He will be attracted ina hundred ways.Every emotion will be played upon to mislead him. Only with the Master is he perfectly safe.

Againletitbe emphasizedthat everything good comesfrom the light within. Nothing of value can possibly come out of terrestrial matter or material forms.Alltheseare perishable and of temporary value. The deeper one penetrates into those finer regions of truth and reality; the more perfect ishislight. If hehas the help of the Master who has himself penetrated those regions and knows every step of the way, he cannot goastray.He never getsafalse impression and henever organizes a misleading cult out of his own disordered impressions. He never imagines himself ledby . God. God never talks directly to people in that way. The sooner we learn that fact.theb.etterfor the world and our own individual . souls. God hashisway of leading men tothelight.

GUARDING ONE'S OWN MENTAL PROCESSES

There are just two methods used by the supreme one:firstis the method of the whole world, ledby natural law, personal experience, and experimentation-trial and discard. The whole world is going on thisway. They haveno Master. They haveto look out for themselves. They go on treading the wheel th rough successivelives and fromage to age.They accumulate knowledge by experience. If they liveupto the best that experience has taught them-their own experience and that of others-they will risein the scale of evolution.

The second method is that of followinga Master. The supreme onehasso designed it that the Master istoleadall men to the perfect light.It simply cannot be done any other way.We cannot find our wayalone . The Master, and he alone, canlead the soul to the perfect light and tothe original home of the soul inthesupreme region. The plan seemstobe that common experience shall lead the people upto where they meet the Guru, and after that the Guru takes them home to the eternal regions.

Outside of thesetwo methods of dealing with the human race , God never interferes intheaffairs of men. He never speaks t o anyone,heis never seenby anyone, nor doeshe impress anyone 's mind. If one gets impressions or hears voices or seesvisions,he must understand that the supreme one has nothing todo with it. An individual may be impressed byor spoken toby sorneone-isome inferior deity, some angel or some ordinary disembodied soul-but never the supreme God. If you imagine that heis doing so,believeit not. Togetto where yousee or hear the supreme one isanexalted attainment, far above that ever experienced byany mortal, except areal saint or Master. And real Masters areextremely fewinthis world. '

One further word of warning must begivenhere.Even if you seevisionsinside, beware of them. If you meet individuals-men, angels,even someone appearing asGod.or claiming tobeGod, or any saint-beware that youare not deceived. If youwereadisciple of areal Master, you could not bedeceived.You would havea definite and infallible method of testing each vision or appearance toproveif they are genuine as claimed. Butifyouhave not this armament, you are almost sure tobemisled.

The mind is most treacherous; andbesidesthat,thelower subtleworldsarefilled with millions of other minds whoarejustas treacherous as your own.Believe them not.TheGreatMastersays we should not evensalute them orspeakto them unlesstheMaster introduces them tous. If youimagineyousee the Lord himself,any lord whom youregardhighly,do not allow that vision to carryyouoff your feet.Ifyouhave not the Master's test,youare more than likelytobe imposed upon. Thevisionmaybeacreation of your own mind oritmaybethe creation of some other intelligenceoran impersonation. Beware of it.

OncewhenIwaspassing through asevere storm intheMediterranean Sea,weexpectedtheshiptosinkany minute. Of course weprayed,aswebelievedinprayer.Iwas amused tohearone man actuallyswearingathis bad luck. Our thoughts naturally turned to that world beyond thisworld of storms. BeingaChristian, .my mind naturally turned toJesus.Long hours I meditated upon Jesus, and prayed occasionally.My poor wifesatbyme and prayed,whiletearsrandownherface.Finally, tired out bylong waiting and suspense,Ileanedbackagainstthewall of the dining saloon and tried torelaxthetension.Alovelyvision presented itselftome.Theheavens opened and IsawJesus descending to'wardmewithgreatlight and a host of angels about him. Hisarms were extended tomeinwelcome.Iwaswildwithdelight.Then . thescenewas suddenly shutout, and Iwas brought backtothe physicalplane bya great plunge of theship and a hard bump on -theback of myhead.Thereis not theslightest doubt inmy mind now that Idid not seeJesusatall, but onlyanimage of him createdbymyown mind.

I remember that several months ago,a woman gotupin satsang here and related that shehadseenLordKrishna many times.She .saidshehadbeenafollower of LordKrishnaforfortyyears.Asked ifhehadevertalkedtoher,shesaid; "Many times"; but shewas puzzledbecausehedid not alwaystellthe truth. Heoften told her thingswhichdid not cometrue.Thefactisquite apparent that the lady .had neveractuallyseenLordKrishnaatall, but had seen only herown mental creations of him. Of course,such creations are

not reliable communicants. Andsoitiswith thousands of visions, numberless messages, and hosts of guides and controls-most of them are nothing more than the mental creations of thepeople themselves,whohaveno means of protecting themselvesfrom such impositions.

Onthe other hand, itmaywell occur that . somevisionsare based upon fact and aregenuine.Takethe well-known instance of the founder of Mormonism. JosephSmith,areligious youth, tryingto determine after long prayer and deep meditation which of the many conflictingreligionswasthe true onefor him tofollow, hadaclearvision.Hesawanangel and was told by that angel that thereweresomeplates hidden inarockinthe mountainside, the exactplacebeing ' showntohim.Hewent there . and found the plates and translated them into theBook of Mormon. He .might havehada genuine vision of suchanangel.Thoseplatescould havebeenplaced there centuries beforeby wandering tribeswho wereearly Christians, descendants of some of thelosttribes of Israel.Theangel might havewished that theybe restored tothe knowledge of man, and so directed theboy.Theboywasagood subjectforsucha contact. Hewas of pure mind, singleness of purpose, and he concentrated deeply. Under the circumstances, it was not difficultfor him to enter thesubtleregionssufficientlyto gainaclearvision of theangel.

The main point is that without theclearvision of theMasteror theinfallibletestgivenbyhim,noonecaneverbesure of whathe seesorhears. Until onehastheassistance of theMaster,itiswiser toavoidall inner experiences.Aboveall,one should discount all voices that hehears . Eveninthecase of disciples of arealMaster, ' itis not wisefor them toassume that theMasterisleading them unlessthey have something better than impressions togo by. Nine chancestoonethey will be impressions of their own minds. Itis onlywhenthediscipleactuallyseestheMasterinside, and even thenonlyafterapplyingthetestwhichtheMastergives,mayhe follow. ·Afterthetest, if itisthe Master infact,he will remain and manifesthimself.Ifheisafraud,he will disappear. For thereis notasingledeceiverinallthesubtleworldswhocan stand the Master'stest.

ANALYZ INGRELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS

Takenochanceson being deceived, either by your own mind orbyanyoneelse,foritiscertain that many will trytomislead you.Notonly 'earth-bound' spirits, but many agents of thenegativepower lurk about the physical planewiththesole purpose of preying upon the ignorance andcredulity of theinexperienced. Trust them not.Untilsuchtimeasyoucanreallyseethe inner Masterandgivehimtheofficialchallenge,andhe responds toit properly,you should never followan uncertain lead.Get your instructions fromaMaster, either personallyorbyproxy. It is much safer. Ihave known so many goodpeoplemisledbysome such impostor, andwhenaskedwhytheydo not gotoareal Mastertheyaresometimesoffended,sayingtheyhaveaMaster inside.Inallsuchcases,theyaredeceived,fornorealMasterever works that way.

Itisonlyafteryouhave conquered allbarriersandstoodbefore · your radiant Masteronthe inner planesataplace known asAshtdal Kanwal--only then you maysafelyfollowhis leadership inside.From that point onyou cannot bedeceived. Then youcan talktohim,facetoface,asfreelyasyoucantalktoanyoneinthe body. Againwesay,followno impressions or voices.Never . .Goby sightand military challenge.Remember,you are passing through averystrange country about whichyou know nothing, andno languagecouldeverdescribetoyouthe multiplicity of ways and means that areemployedtoleadvisitorsastrayin order tokeep them fromgoinghigher.Proveallthings;holdfastto that which isgood.

andvariety, missionary enterprises,therevivalism of Moody and theWesleys. Analyzethework of suchmenasGeorge Jeffrys and theOxford Movement of Buchman . Studythework of theDoweys, theGlen Volivas, the Salvation Army,theNewThoughtists,Unity, andall of thelittle denominations springingupamongthechurches aswellasinall other religions. .

Everyworldreligionis full of differingsects.Allthesehave their psychological interpretations. Theyareexpressions of somephase ofreligiousexperience.How many of them maybeduetothe mental aberrations of their foundersweare not ina position to say.Butineachandeverycase,they haveariseri out of somesort of inner experiences,even though itis altogether possible that some of these inner experiencesmaybe attributed to paranoia. (Buteventhen,theymay have certainpsychologicalandreligious value.) Acarefulanalysis should bemadeinallcasesand .the phenomena should be studied impartially asa doctor would study anewdisease.

Thereis another important class of religio-philosophical movements of modern timeswhich demands special attention . Those religious movements referredtoasevangelismmake their appeal almostentirelytothe emotions . Theygenerally misinterpret their own emotional outbursts asthework of thedivinespirit.They believeandprayandexhort, and readtheBible and . sing. they seldomthink.Theyhavefaith.

ANALYZING RELIGIOUS

Keepingin mind theseprinciples,onemaystudycriticallyallancientand modern religious movements insofarasthedata can be obtained. Youhavebeengiverithekey that will unlock themysteries of them all.Theperfectscience of theMasters will be your criterion. Apply that yardsticktoallreligions.Applythetesttoall such movements as modern evangelism,proselytism of everyform

Butthereis another classwhichmakesits .appeal more directly totheintellectandseeks substantiation fromscience.Inthis group . maybe mentioned MaxHeindel, Rudolph Steiner,Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Vivekanandaand Hermann Keyserling. Seekingrealityinthe spiritual nature of man and theuniverse,thesemenall endeavortoinculcatesomeaspect of truth, whileatthe same time theyregardthephysicalworldas more orlessillusory.Theultimateappeal of such movements istospirit instead of matter, to an enlightened understanding rather than toreligious emotions. Wemaywellconcede that each of thesemenhas had personal experience of ahigher .reality,atleastglimpses of something more substantial than thepassingmaterialshow.Each of them maybe

givenaseat of honor inthe great brotherhood of light.Theyhave each had their own inner experiences, and eachhas written down hisfindingsasbesthe could inthe hope of contributing somewhat tothegeneral enlightenment. As soon as anybody goesinside,eventotheslightest extent, and brings out anew truth or a new interpretation of anold truth, he will getafollowing.People hunger for truth and realityeven though but few of them know what it is that they want.

Thisprocess of re-examination and shifting of emphasis must goon just solong as the world lacksthescientificsystem of the Mastersbywhichtotravelonthe path of certitude. TheMasters, .unlikealltherest,guessat nothing-neither do they speculate nor follow impressions. Theyfollowno 'guides'. They hearnovoices callingto them out of thedarkness.Theywalkonno untried paths.TheMasters .speakfrom personal experiences,based upon a knowledgewhichwasfirst handed down to them by their own Masters and then: proved bythemselves.Eachfact,experience, or hypothesis istestedby them and proved.After that it ·becomes their ownknowledge and then they canspeakas one havingauthority. They then teach their students tofollow the same path of scientific experimentation. .

Challenging every phenomenon presented for their consideration,they work alsowithanawakenedconsciousness and in broad When they have tabulated and tested allthefacts, they go forward on thebasis of certifiedknowledge.Theytake nothing on belief. Theyaccept nothing simply becauseitis written in a book.The book only records theexperiences of other men. They seek their ownexperiences and write their ownbooks. Whatever is not definitely known to them issetasidefor further investigation. With theMasters,onlypositiveknowledgehasfinalvalue. As a matter of fact,intheprocess of becoming Masters, all knowledgeis mastered by them. The netresult of their method is that all theMastersareinperfect accord withone another; and that is becausetheyallhave found the truth inits completeness, and the body of truth isone,no matter in what ageorby whom itis discovered.

The Masters an.d Their Duties

1 WHO AND WHAT ARE THE MASTERS?

THE TERMS USED todesignateMasters and other highly developed menaremany. Master, asthe term isusedinthisbook,isequivalentto saint(sani, in Sanskrit). It isalsothesamein meaning as Satguru, although thereisan additional meaning to Satguru. All Satgurusaresaints, but allsaintsare not Satgurus.A Satguru isa saintwhohas been appointed by the supreme Guru, SatNam,to actas Guru on hisbehalf.The ·Guruisa sort of viceroy,orexecutiveofficer,whodoeshis work onthisplane: . Satguru (sat, meaning 'true',and .guru, 'light-giver') isthe chief instrument of the supreme ruler to contact this world of humanity. It isalsothesameas mahatma, ifwerefertothe highest order ' of mahatmas. (This word.is often used rather looselyin India, generally meaning anyone whohas attained somedegree of emi?ence in spiritual orreligious matters-mahatma, from maha, great',and atma, 'spirit'.) Ayogiisa mahatma of alower order than a true saint.The original meaning of yogi was 'one who had attained union with God'. Thesystem of practices by means of whichhe attained that union iscalledyoga.Butthegreat majority

HATIS

of yogis, both ancient and modem, are men who have reached only the first degree or less on the path of the Masters.

The Masters themselves divide all mahatmas into four classes:

1 A sikh meaning 'disciple', one who has gained the first region.

2. A sadhu, one who has attained the third region. By courtesy, one who has gained the second station may becalled sadhu.

3 A sant, one who has definitely gained the fifth region, there being eight regions inall.

4 . A paramsant, meaning 'supreme saint', or one who has reached the highest possible attainment in the supreme region.

It will be noted that these degrees are based upon personal and individual attainments. They are not conferred degrees. They are degrees which one hasto grow into by hard work.

A rishi is one who has attained considerable development, similarto that of the yogi. There is a general understanding in India that a true rishi ranks higher than ayogi. This may besoin theory, but in actual practice we doubt if there is any difference. But in both theory and practice the Masters or saints rank far superior to either yogis or rishis because their attainments arefar higher. The Vedas were given out by great rishis. Maha rishi is simply a 'great rishi'.

Muni means somewhat the same asrishi. The Hebrew word for rishi or muni or yogiis ro'eh. The Greek equivalent is episcopos, meaning a superintendent of spiritual ceremonies or practices. It .alsohasan esoteric meaning, indicating one who looks down with clearer vision upon all things and hasa higher viewpoint than others. The ancient rishi was half priest and half prophet. He was the prohita of the Vedic age, the high priest-eounselor of kings. Noted examples of such were Vishvamitra and Vasishtha, high priests tokings. All of these were mahatmas but not Masters.

Among Muslims .andSufis,a Master is spoken of as murshid, murshid-i-kamil, fakir, shaikh-ul-mashaikh, or pir-o-murshid. These terms are intended tobe equivalent to saint; although they have been much misused in these later days. They are now often applied to men who are neither saints nor .Masters, but may be on their wayto mastership and have accomplished something.

AGEN U INE MA STER?

Assaid earlier , in the technical terminology of this sciencea .sai nt, O J; a Master , is one whohas reached the fifth region , called Sach Khand , there being eight principal planes inall.

A Satguru isa saint who has been appointed by the supreme Lordto perform the dutie s of giving narn , or initiation" and of leading the disciples back to their home inSach Khand. Heis then t heexecutive officer of the supreme Lord .

A paramsant, or supreme s aint,is one whohas advanced to the h ighest possible degree, the supreme region of pure spirit. These severaldegreescanbe obtained only b y h ard work and individual de velopment.

Inthi s book th e term s Master, Satguru and saint will be used syn onymously, but meaning i nallcases one who has gained the exalted status of saint ,r isingto the fifth region byhis own efforts with the aid of his Guru. If the student istogain any proper und erstanding of this teaching , he must keep thisfactalwaysin mind. A saint, as the word is used in this book, has absolutely no referencetoa canonical saint of the Church . Su ch saints are made saints b y decree of the highest a uth or ity of the Church , while the real saint s develop into saints by their own h ard w ork, under the direct ions of their Gurus and by their help. There isno other wayto . . bec omereal saints.

2 .W HA TI SAG ENUINE MASTER ?

T heMa ster is the most highly developed man known to history, and consequently, by virtue of his . development , hehas become . th e mo st splendid specimen of inanhood, the noblest of the noble . No t so much emphasis is ordinarily laid upon physical perfection, but hi s body must be a good one. A skilled workman must have goo d tools if heis to dohisfinest work. It is generally understood t ha tn o man with a defective bod y, any s erious deformity, can eve r become areal Satguru .. Hism ind also must be of avery high typ e-keen, penetrating , quick of wit, and sound of judgment , He m ay not have been educated in the schools, but his mind must h ave undergone th e severest training and disc iplin e. AM a ster at-

THE MASTERS ANDTHEIRDUTIES

tainsallknowledgewhichcouldpossiblybegivenintheschools, andvastlymore.Inallrespects,theMasteristhehighesttypeof man,whenjudgedas man. In him allofthe excellences ofthe civilized man reachtheirhighestexpression.He must bethesuperman inallrespects, not inoneaspectalone.Inhimallthe virtuesrecognizedbytheworldarecarriedtothehighestdegree ofperfection. .

IfIwerelookingforaMaster,Iwouldfirstofallmakethemost critical inspection ofthe man's lifeto determine ifhehadany of the ordinary imperfectionsofcharacterusuallymanifestedbythe average man. IfIfound him tobea perfect man, when studied as man,Iwould then beginmystudyofhimasaGuru.But if he ' failedtopassinspectionasaman,Iwouldatoncegiveupthe searchinhimforGuru,orMaster.

TheMasteristheonly man manifestinginhistoryinwhom individualism and universalismare combined intheir full expression,inspiteoftheassertionofsome philosophers that sucha combination isimpossible. That is,theMasterstandsalone, is a law unto himself,doeswhathepleases,haswhathewants,comes andgoesabsolutelyathisown will, andasksfavorsofnoman. Neithercananyman hinder him intheexecution of his will. He is theonly man whohasnoneedtoaskfavorsofothers : He has all thingsathisown command. If hesuffers hardships orinconveniences that isbecause he choosestodosoforsomepurpose.He isthe supreme giver, not areceiver; that is,he always paysfor what hegets.Heisslavetonoone,isnotimeserver,is bound by noruleor custom outsideofhimselfandisacitizenofthewhole world.Atthe same time,heisanidealcitizenofthe commonwealthinwhichhelives.Hemergeshimselfintothesocial order andservesall without becoming subservienttoany. .

TheMasteristheteacherofall,thelightand inspiration of all, whether theyknowitornot.Everyonewhomeetshimis nate whether herealizesitornot.Hisowngreatlovealonebinds himto allmenandanimals,toeverylivingcreature.Heis both themasterofmenandtheirservant,yetheisneverfetteredby human bonds.Henevershirksanobligationorfailsto perform a

WHAT ISA GENUINE MASTER?

duty.Heloves, but withserene detachment. Lovinginthismanner,hecangivegreaterlove than any other man without becomingaslavetotheobjectsofhisaffection.

Thereis but onetowhomtheMasterbowsin humble submission-the supreme Lord,SatPurush.Hissovereign will isthe only law theMasterrecognizes, that and theuniversallawofall laws-love. YettheMasterbreaksnolawofman, but supports all goodgovernments.Hislifeandteachingsareuniversal.Hebelongstonoraceortime, but toall nations andalltimes.Heisa citizenofthe world-more correctlyspeaking,havingcomedown hereto bring light,heisafriendlyvisitorinthisworld.Heisthe ambassador plenipotentiary oftheKingofkings. It istheMaster, anyMaster, together withthelifestreammanifesting .through the Master, that wasreferredtointhestatement:

That wasthe true light,which lighteth every man coming into the .world. (John 1:9)

TheMasteristhebestexampleforallmen,kingorpeasant.He isgenerallyamanoffamily, though not always. Heisnoascetic anddoesnotencourageausterities.Hedoesnotconsider -it asin tokeepthebodycomfortable,wellfed and healthy;in fact, hesays thatitisaduty.

TheMasterlivesintheworld though heis not ofit.Heenters thestreamof human lifetohelpothers,yethehimselfstands alooffromthewavesof human passion.Hehas attained allvirtues,yethedoes not partakeoftheweakness attributed tovirtue bysuchphilosophersasNietzsche.Hebelievesindevelopingthe highestpossible degree of strength,yet that strength must never beseparatedfromthemoralqualities.Strength minus love and humilityproducesabrute.TheMasterhasbecomestrong,strongerthananygiant of bodyor intellect-for hehas unlimited power;yethecombines with that strength thenoblestvirtuesofthe humbleandthegentle.The tenderest sympathiesofthe mother donotexceltheall-embracinglove of theMaster.Hethusbecomestheidealof both PlatoandNietzsche.Allpeoplefindin

THE MASTERS AND THEIRDUTIES

him inspiration forthebuilding of noblecharacter.Atthesame timeheisequallytheidealforthewarriorgoingforthtodefend hiscountry.Heistheideal of poeticalsong,thegenuine romantic . characterofall idealists. .

Lastly, theMasteristheidealinreligion.Inthe innermost re- . cesses ofthesoul,ineveryaspect of life,heiseverywhereand always king.Inshort,heisthestrongmanwithno weaknesses, thegoodmanwithnofaults.Intherealmofreligion,theMaster isa paradox.Hehasnotheology,teachesnone,yetheisthemost religiousmanonearth.Hissystemis not areligion,yetitleadsto themostcompletereligiousexperience,andthemosthappy.Heis absolutelyuniversalinallhisteachings.Hehasnocreed, yet he never: antagonizesanycreed,sector institution. Henevercondemnsanyman -or anysystem.Hefindsnofaultwithanybodyor . anything,yethedrawsthesharpestlinesbetweenthegoodand thebad.Tothesaint , thereisreally nothing badintheworld, neitheristhererealfaultinany man. Whatwegenerally point out asfaults,theMasterconsiders weaknesses, illness.Forthemhehas onlypity,notblame.Henevercriticizes nor scolds nor abuses nor lectures,noteventhevilest of sinners.TheMasterteaches that the habit of criticizingothers, ' orfaultfinding,isoneof the mostserious weaknesses . Besides, itadvertises both thevanityaridthe ill temper of thefaultfinder.

TheMasterlivesandteachespositive truth. Heovercomesevil withgood.Tocorrectfaultsinhisdisciples,hesimplypoints out theoppositevirtues.Heteaches that to point out afaultisonlyto advertiseandstrengthen that fault;itneverremoves the fault. It onlyaccentuatesitandatthesame timeawakens other evilpassionsin both thefaultfinderandhisvictim.NordoestheMaster eyer holdill will, notevenagainsthisenemies.Heliterallyobeys the injunction ofIesustoloveone'senemies.Forheloveseveryone,regardless of character.Are not allmensons of the common Father?He gives lovetoallandseekstoserveall. He -is always masterofthesituation , no matter whereheisplaced.Heisnever disturbedbythewhirlwindsofpassion ' surgingabouthim.Serenelyhewatchesthemadshowandseekstoguideothersinthe waysofsanity.

WHAT I SA GENUINE MAS TER?

Nietzschewarnsus that the superman has not yetarrived, and sowehave .saidinthefirstfewparagraphsofthisbook, but we werereferringto the masses of mankind, andNietzschehadnever seenaMaster.TheMasterhasarrived;infact,hehas always been here,sincetheverybeginningof human lifeonthisplanet.If modern philosophy must makewaragainsttenderness,letsuch philosophersbeholdin the Masterthebest refutation of theirarguments . Allmen must concede that ifstrengthcanbe combined with tenderness,wisdomwith . love,theidealisattained.Even Nietzsche,inhis ' morelucid moments, acknowledgedthatParsifal's gentlenesswasasnecessaryasSiegfried'sstrength.Strength, standingalone,isonlyhalfamanatbest. It takesthetwotomake arealman.Sothemastershipof our superman consistsincombiningstrengthwithall Of thefinervirtues,plus something which isabovestrengthandabovevirtue.Nietzschedid not knowhow tocombine the twoinoneman.He 'had neverseenaMaster,and perhapswould not havebelievedthatsuchabeing-couldexiston earthtoday.Ifanyof our materialisticcritics,inafitofrebellion against what -theyconsidertheweaknessofthepurely 'feminine virtues',disparagereligionanddiscouragelove,let them lookto therealMaster. If theyareinclinedto upon Christ as an impracticaldreamer,letthemmaketheacquaintanceofareal Master.

.

The re isno doubt inthe mind ofthiswriter that European philosophyhaswaitedlong enough forsomedefiniteknowledge ofagenuineMasterin order that itmayperfectitsidealism.If materialisticscholars, .exaggeratingDarwinism,hold that thefuturewelfare of theracedemands that allemphasisshallbeplaced Upon strength-strength ofbodyand of mind-without reference tothespiritualman,thenlet them takenotethatintheMasterwe havethesuper-geniusoftheirdreams, without losingthemoral andspiritualvalues.Iftheyfeelinclinedto kill offtheweakand degeneratespecimensofthe human race,intheinterests of the raceitself, then letthemwatchtheMastersolve that problem.Let themobservehowtheMaster,with superhuman love,wisdom andpower,beyondthekenofthescholar,takeshold of themoral 'degenerateandmakesastrongmanofhim. .

TH E MA STERSANDTH

Hewhoadvocatessuch barbarities inthenameofsocialrefinement ismuchlikeamanwithadefectivearmhavingit amputated atonce,whenwithalittle rational treatment itcouldhavebeen restoredto normal usefulness.Howshallsocietyanswer,onthe ' dayofkarmicreckoning,forthe murder ofthe poor degenerate whoiscalled. upon todiein order thatthe human racemaybe strong?Howshallhebe compensated forthelossofhislifein order thatothersmaynotpartakeofhis weaknesses? Acivilized social order must think notonlyofitself but ofthe leastofits members.Theoldplatitude " thegreatestgoodtothegreatest numbers»isoneofthegreatestinsultstorealcivilizationthathasever beenadvocated . It hasbeenmadeanexcuseforthecruel murder ?f unt.old thousands ofhelplessvictimsofa shortsighted policy. .

If,liketheRoman,the modern philosopher must makebravery, courageand manhood synonymouswithvirtue , thenlethimbeholdthelivingMaster,inwhom humility is combined withmajestyand strength insuchperfectchemistrythat,likeatomsofcarbon inthe diamond, theyformthe purest gem of human character.Finally,ifmeninsist that thegoalof evolution isthedevelopment of brute strength rather thanmorality,why not lookforan ideal superman whocombines unlimited powerwitha flawless morality?Eitherthat,ortake the oppositeextreme:setto work under government regulationstobreedgiantsof mind andbody byscientificmethods.Ifthatweredone,whatdoyou think would happen?Atthefirst provocation theywouldstartawartodestroy one another.,

Ifyouhavesofarbelieved that a combination ofgentlenessand lovewithgreatstrengthis impossible, thatisbecauseyouhavenot seenalivingMaster.Weknowheisareality.Wehavelivedand workedbyhissideformanyyears.LikeJesus,wetoocansay:

Wete stify to that which wehaveseen , and bear Witness to that which we kno w.

This book is not a ' compilation oftheories. It isa statement of facts.

3. THE MASTER MORE THAN SUPERMAN

Ofcourse,theMasterisa superman. Butheismore than asuperman; that is,hetranscendsallofthe limitations ofmereman.His fieldofactivityreaches out beyond that which . theeyecanseeor theearcanhear.This , of course, takes us out ofthephysical laboratory.Wemustgowherethemicroscope cannot follow, where thescalpel cannot dissect.Justasthe astronomer couldnotfind Godwithhistelescope,soyou will not find our Masterwithyour X-ray. That thereisan inner and finerworld,numberlessworlds whichphysicalscience cannot bring downintoitstesttubes,may bedisputedby our materialist.But that isbecausehehasnotseen them,andhedoes not knowhowtogetat them : Atthesame time,hisegotismisloathtoacknowledgethepossibilityofanythingbeyondthegraspofhisforceps . Thismaybecalledthe mental habit oftheage. Always thereisthedanger that science, liketheology,may become toodogmatic.The individual scientist himselfmay not be blamed forthistendency.Yet, not onlydo , these inner worldsexistandarewellknowntotheMasters, but any student whofollowstheformulaoftheMasters , mayprove thesamethingforhimself.

,

TheMasteristhesuper-scientist.Thebest of.our physicalscientists,when compared withareal 'Master, -is nomore than a childtryingvainlytofit together hisblocksto build atoy Realknowledgeisgainedonlywhenamansurpassestheachievementsofthe superman andenterstheregionsofreality.Butthose regionsliefarabove and beyond the outermost confinesofthe physicaluniverse.Themassof phenomena makingupthespectacleofthisworldare but feeblereflectionsofthesublimereality. Thephysicalscientist will atonceobject that itisimpossiblefor anymantoleavethe theater ofthisphysicalplaneandenter that ofthesuperphysicalregions.Heinsists that the, physicaluniverse isthelimitofthelegitimatefieldofscience.Henceheconcludes thatbeyondthisfield; thereis nothing; ifthereisanythingthere,it isunknowable.Thisword unknowable isnotaword that sounds well 'inthe mouth ofa modern scientific student. It is high time thatthis bedeclaredobsolete.

THEMASTERMORETHANSUPERMAN

Thephysicist declaresthat everything relating tosuch higher worlds,beingquite beyond the legitimate sphere of science, must beset down asmere speculation. Why?Simplybecausehehas not been ableto include such experiments inthe routine of hislaboratory work. Butletusask,isthisthescientific attitude? Isit 'scientific' toassert that anything cannot be done, just becauseit has not been done? Or becausehe himself has not seenit done? When, a hundred yearsago, men boldlyasserted that flying through theair without thewings of a' bird was contrary to thelaws of nature and so could neverbe done, was that thescientific attitude? Today men are making headway byusing one law of nature to overcome the action of another law.Thesame thing is being done . in ·the work of thegreatMasters.Theyare super-scientists. The business of the true scientist istomakedue investigation first, then givehis judgment afterwards or withhold judgment for further light.Thegreatest of modern scientistsareasyetonlyinthe kindergarten classes of the school of sciencewhich .is now being built up.

This world isthe theater of intellect;atleastthisis one of its fields of operation. It istheplay of the mind. Inthisfield,science has made many a conquest and will doubtless make many more. But there isavastfieldfarabove and beyond theplay of the mind, wherethe developed spirit alonemay enter. It is into this higher region of the spirit wherethe Master goes, and itis there where his realachievementsaremade. Entering thereby .methods well known to him, hefinds that this earthly world is nothing more than the mud-silt of nature's vast and complicated structure. Above and beyond this world of shadow and pain lie innumerable worlds of intense light.Theyarerealworlds,full of beauty; color, rhythm andjoy.

Escapingforthetimebeingthe limitations of thebody, ' the Master travelsinthose higher worlds,infull consciousness, and then he returns to .report what hehasseen and heard and otherwise experienced. Heknows, among other things, that death is onlyan appearance, an illusion ; When a man leaveshisphysical . body atthe time of what wecall death, ' he simply steps out into

other and higher worlds.Hetakes with him afinerbody,whichhe nowuses unconsciously, and on that higher plane heusesthe finerone just asheusesthephysical body here.Going about whereverhepleases, clothed inagodlike vesture of light, wisdom, power and beauty,the Master explores the higher regions,wholly unknown tothe common earthman. Thisis but aglimpse of the realMaster.To understand areal Master fully, one must oneself become aMaster.Cantheinsect comprehend theman?

So many people 'findit difficult tobelieveinMasters.One of the strangest freaks of the human mind isits tendency to discredit all modern things,especially those relating to religion, and togive , the emphasis and gloryto that whichis ancient. It cannot accept that whichisrightbeforeitsowneyes, but it will swallow instantly what was written ina book twoor three thousand yearsago. It cannot believeinalivingMaster, but itfindsnodifficulty 'atallin accepting the story of some Master wholivedin , the dim and distant past.

That men should everhave developed the strange notion that all mastership and all revelation of truth should belong topast agesisone of the anomalies of history.Anditisone of the most unfortunate. Isn't it more reasonable to look forknowledgeto come out of modern experience, rather than tolookforit among apeople belonging toacivilization of long-past ages? Surely, if we were looking for expert technique in plant culture, we would not gobackto primitive man wandering along the shores , of. some primeval sea.We would think of Burbank, thefirstthing.Butifa manwantsexpert information onreligion,hereferstosome prophetoryogiwho wandered about the world before man ever dreamed that the earth was round and traveled around thesun.Ifpastages could produce aMaster,a Christ, a Buddha, whymaywe not look foronenow?

Letusbesincere and practical about the matter. Itisidletosay that Mastersare not needed now becausewehavea book that tells us about apast Master-as much reason to' assert that man does not needfood today becausehehasa printed menu that tells him about thefood that wasservedayearago.Besides, we know itisa

THAN SUPERMAN

fact that Mastersareheretoday.Wehaveseen them, conversed with them and livedby them foryears.Thefact that great spiritual Mastersliveon earth today isthe most important, the most cheerful and the most hopeful announcement that haseverbeenmade. And thelight of the modem Master. isinnoway dimmed by comparison withany of thepastMasters. Whatever wisdom, love, compassion or power of miracleswhichwerepossessedbyany of theoldMasters , thesesamequalities will be found inthe modem Master in norespect diminished. This book may be regarded asachallenge and an invitation to modem intelligencetoseekalivingMaster, and for men toseefor themselves whether these things are true or not . You will not find the Master hidden awayinsome Himalayan retreat. He will meet youasa man among men.

T HE MASTER ANDTHESUPREMEONE

India,accusingme of idolatry and "blasting my monotheism" by worshipping a Guru. I replied that Iam not worshipping the Guru inthesense that he meant. Ilovehim; and loveisakinto worship. Itis about theonly kind of worship I ·know anything about. Ifhe meansby 'worship' any sort of fear, then I must confessIdo not ' fear' either the Guru orGod.Ilove them. Irevere .them and love them. Theoldsaying quoted fromtheBible that " thefear of God isthe beginning of wisdom" I regard asone of those terrible misapprehensions which have crept into literature unawares. Fear, rather than being the beginning of wisdom, isthe beginning of destruction. Itislovewhichisthe beginning of wisdom-that wisdom whichis of thehighest order. .

4. THE MASTER AND THE SUPREME ONE

Thereis one quality of thegreatMasterswhichI hesitate towrite down herebecauseitissodifficulttoavoid misunderstanding on thissubject;yetit must be written. It isafact that there isno difference between therealsaint, or Master, and the supreme beinghimself; that is, there isnodifference,except that a saint is h umanly embodied and istosome extent limited by that embodiment. And when wesay that the supreme one is embodied in this man whom wecallasaint,letno one be troubled. Wedo not mean tosay that thewhole of the supreme oneisso embodied. We could not beaccused of suggesting that the infinite one has abandoned the presidency of theuniverseand enclosed his entire godhood inthisone poor human body!The supreme one is the infini te, limitlesswhole of spiritual existence. It would be absurd tosuggest that the universalsoul of allsouls, of allworlds, could bewholly centered in and limited tothisonephysicalbody.Butit isnevertheless true that the supreme soulhas taken form in this body.

Only afewdaysagoI had a letter fromagood missionary in

Suppose weagree that the supreme beingisalllove, wisdom andpower, that he is omnipresent, all-pervading. The Master is exactlythesame , exceptastohisphysical limitations. Spiritually hehasno limitations. Butthe body is not theMaster. It isonlya covering, one of hisready instruments. Hemay,at will, leavethe body and work upon any of the higher planes;each plane that he ascendstogives him greater freedom and scope of action.He himself, being onewiththeinfinite,hasno limitations. Only the materials through whichheworks limit hisactions;inlike manner they limit the actions of the supreme being himself.CanGod himself conversewithyou,as man with man, without first becomingman?The omniscience of theLordmay not beabletoexpress itself through thephysical brain of theMaster.But the Master may,inasingle minute, risetoregionsabovethe sphere of brain activity,wherehis consciousness automatically expands evento thelimitless.

Thereal Master isas ubiquitous as the infinite himself.Andthis isnoillusion.Forexample,ifa Master hasa hundred ora thousanddisciples,eachdisciple will seetheliving Master inthe inner chambers of hisbeing,no matter wherehemaygo. Of course,to dothis,he must have attained alittle development of his higher faculties.Thediscipleknowshis Master asthegiver of alllife,the Lord of theuniverse. That issobecauseonthe inner planesthe Masteris identical withthe supreme one.

THE MASTERS AND THEIR DUTIES

THEMASTERS ANDTHEIRDUTIES

Ifone must ask, "How canthesethings be?" theansweris, "BecausetheMasterisonewiththeSupreme, and the supreme oneisexpressing himself through the Master's form. " The Master'sformistheLord'sform. Whatever the universal spiritis,the individual Master is.Identical insubstanceand attributes. Thereis a beautiful and inspiring concept associatedwiththisidea of the MasterbeingonewiththeSupreme.Each man isa potential saint . andis therefore potentially identicalwiththeSupreme.He ?nly needs development andrealization. Sainthood is therefore thesupremegoalofall human evolution. , ,

, The Christian theologian may not besofarwrongwhenhe assumes that Jesuswasthe true Godinhis very essence.Jesus himself said:"IandtheFatherareone."SoalltheMastersteach. But the Christian falls short of the grandeur of hisownphilosophywhenhelimits that divinitytojust one Masterinallhistory. , This narrow viewrobsthenoble concept of allitsvalue.But that principle,in order that itmayfertilizethe ' entirefieldofphiloso phy, must be extendedto include not only numerous Masters, but it must includeallmenasa potentiality.

That scripture whichspeaks of Jesusas"theonly begotten Son ofGod"need not betakentooseriously. It hasalltheearmarks of an interpolation slipped into theoriginal record to support the contentions of somelater disputant. Besides,ifthispassage is to betakenliterally,itprovesentirelytoomuch.IfJesuswas ten of Godina manner differentfrom that of any other man, then God himself must have, descendedtothe human levelto perform sucha function. Certainlythe part playedbyhis mother was not differentfrom that ofany other normal mother, according tothe recorditself.Willany theologian go that far? ,The more comfortingfactremains that therehavebeen many sons of God, and surely will be many more. But whentheycome into human life, theycomeaccordingtothe ' method by.the. Creator himself.Doyou think the Creator would himself disdainto use his ownmethod?Ifitis unworthy of a ' God-man'tohaveamere manforafather , it must beequally inappropriate forhimtohave a woman fora mother. One isjustas human and assinfulastbe other.

Intheprocess of their development, allMasterssimply expand thegodlikequalitieswithwhichthey,in common withall other men,wer.e born. AnytrueMasteris 'a divineman,arealson of God.Moreover,every man hasinhimthe latent possibilities of suchexpansionstobecomeason of God.He , onlyrequiresa livingMastertohelphimdevelop it , Heneeds but theflames of mastershipin another man to light the fires in ,himself.

When anyMasterattains sainthood, hegainsconsciousoneness withtheSupreme. It istrue that all 'menhave that onenesstoa degree, but few of them areconscious of their noble inheritance. TherealMasterisconscious of it. That isone of the distinguishing qualities of aMaster.He knows hisrelatiortshipwiththe supreme Oversoulandisconsciouslyable to exercisehis .powersandprerogativesas a son of 'God. Heis then more truly and accurately named ason Of God than isanyearthlyman .a son of hisfather. Partaking of hisqualities, ipso facto, oneandthe 'same in essence and endowed withthesame attributes, heisliterally part of the all-embracing Father.Thatmeans that henceforth, whiletheMas termayspeakandact through hisbody much thesameas others do"yetinreality he isthe supreme onewhoisacting and speaking.Heisno longer amere man with clouded and limited .understanding, buta man whohas become God, and 'aGodwhohas becomeman.Andthen, out of a boundless love,theMaster says:

Thisisforanymanwhowillwalkon the path of the saints.

5. TIME LIMIT OF THE MASTER 'S WORK ,

Thereisonevery important consideration regarding the work of allMasters,whichappears never tohavebeen understood byWesternpeople.This .is 'thefact that theirwork is time-limited. This means that eachMasterhasadefinite period inwhichtodohis' work. When that time hasexpired,hisworkon earth isfinished. That limited period is during the life of theirphysicalbodies.That beingthecase,logicallythey cannot work among men Without

TIME LIMIT OFTHE MA STER ' S WORK

192 theirbody. When that body passesortheypass out ofit,their work onearthisfinished.

THE MASTERS ANDTHEIRDUTIES

LetusassumenowthatyourMasterofancientdayswasareal saint,aMaster,a prophet, orwhatevertitleyoumaywishtogive him,and that hehad all thepowersascribedtohimby your religion. What thenisthedifference, whether youfollowhim Or a livingMaster?Thereisavital difference-you simply cannot followthe departed Master-not at all. Neithercanheinitiateyou onthe spiritual path. If you think youcanfollowhim,youonly deceiveyourself.It cannot bedone.Youonlyimagineyoufollow "him. Youmayreadhis 'preceptsand try toobeythem, but in that youare not followingtherealMaster.Hehas nothing at -all todo withthematter.Hehimselfdoes not knowyou.Youmaytryto put intopracticetheprecepts taught byhim.Tosomeextent you maydothat.Buttheteachingsof that Masterwere not hisalone. He didn't originatethem.Theybelongtouniversal truth. Hedid notneedtocomeintotheworldjusttogive out thoseteachings. Theywereherelongbeforehistime. . .

Agesbeforethetime of Jesusor of Buddha,every single-precept taught byeitheroneof them waswellknownintheworldand formeda part ofthe fundamental code.Ifyouliveuptothose . teachings,youare not therebyfollowingthat particular Masteror anyone Master.Ifagiven precept hasbeen taught bysevenMasters during differentagesoftheworld, are youtherebyadisciple of all sevenofthem?Youaresimplywalkinginthelightofuniversalethicalprinciples,regardlessofindividualMasters.You will doubtlesssay that yourMasteristakingcareofyoutoday, but that isnomore than an assumption unsupported byasingleshred ofproof.Yourfeelingisnoproof.Anythingcanbeprovedby feelings. Thedevoteesoftendifferentreligions,eachclaimingto followadifferentMaster, will all declarewithequalemphasisthat they all feeltheir Lordinsideofthemselves.

Wherethenistherealcruxoftheproblem?Somethingbesides feeling, something besidesthe authority ofabook,isneeded.And thatneed .is a livingMaster. No man livingtodaycanpossibly followa departed Masteranymore than a Hannibal orAlexander

ora George Washingtoncanleadtroopstobattletoday.Theperiod oftheiractivityon earth haspassed. It isthesamewith spiritual Masters.Achild cannot get nourishment orlearnvitallessons fromadead mother. Asick man cannot obtain medicinefroma deaddoctor; neither canadead jurist tryacaseatlaw.TheMaster ofpastageshasgonefromthisfieldofaction,andthushehas finishedhisworkhere.Whydidheevercomehere?Todowork whichhecouldnotpossiblydounlesshecameasaman.Hehad tohaveaphysicalbodytodohiswork.When his workwasfinished, helefthis body and turned overhisworktohissuccessor.And thisisthe method of the supreme Father . Weneed not quarrel withit.Wedidnot order it so, nor didtheMastersthemselves createit . It isan arrangement ordained bythe supreme Lordhimself. God's method ofworking among men isbyand through livingmen.Howcoulditpossiblybeotherwise?Ananimalcould not teachus, and we cannot seeanybeinghigher than man.

Now,supposewelooktoabook. Wasn't that book written by someman,andwasn'titsimplyarecordofthatman's experiences? What thenisthe harm if some man livingtoday has asimilar experienceandthentellsus about itfirsthand?Bookslong-ago handed down always sufferchanges and appearatlasthaving but littleresemblancetotheoriginalrecord.Howcanwebelieve them or depend upon them?Andeven if thoserecordswereabsolutely trueandperfect,it isnotthe precept weneedhalfso much asthe . livingMastertotakeusbythe hand andhelpuswherewe cannot walkalone.No matter if all thewisdomof all theageswerewrittendowninabook,itstill r emainsafact that the student can noheadway without alivingMastertohelphim put that teachingintopracticaleffect.Itsimply cannot bedoneany other way,asmany of usknowbyexperience.

EveniftheancientMaster, present inspiritasclaimedbyso many,werereadytoassistus,itisimpossibleforustoreceivehis help.Ifwe must depend upon feelingsandimpressions,weare ' mixedupwithsomany feelings andimpressions that itisquite impossibleforustodistinguishbetween them soastoknowwhich arefromGodortheoldMasterandwhichfrom our ownsubcon-

HOW SHALLWE RECOGNIZE AMASTER? THE MASTERS ANDTHEIR DUTIES

scious minds .. There is, therefore, nosafe method, excepttowalk by sight in the fulllight, when and wherewecansee our Master and listen tohis well-known voice.This requirement isfor today just the sameasithas been forallages.Itcanneverbe otherwise, so long as men do not haveclear vision on a higher plane.

If it ,were possible fora departed Master to reach usnow, then there never would have been the need for a ·Master atall. The Creator himself could have come tous and done all that was needed. The veryfact that a Master wasever needed is sufficient proof that one is needed today, because the conditions are the sameinallages.Leaving out of consideration the question of the book, the daily and constant guidance and help of the Master isas much needed now asever.Assuredly,ifa departed Master can helpnow, the Creator could doas much without the lielp of anyone.

Wemay concede that neither the -Creator nor the departed Master is limited, but weare limited. We cannot with safety or certainty receivehelp from one we cannot see. Hence, itstill remains afact of nature that not even God himself can instruct us or give usthe needed help on the upward path without a Master in human form toactashis agent and spokesman. Our earsare too dull, our eyes too dim, to hear and seehis manifestations. Thisis the greatest stumbling block of allreligions. Trying vainlytofollow him in their imagination, their adherents cling desperately to . the dead Master while they reject the living Master.

If youinsist that your dead Master is not dead, then I will cheerfully agreewithyou.Heis not dead, but hehas . leftthis theater of action, Heisno longer in touch with humanity. His present work iselsewhere. There isno doubt that departed Mastershave certain work todoin connection with their disciples, but not in other worldly matters.

If you insist that your departed Master is here with you because . you call feel him in your soul, then I must insist again that your feelingsareavery unreliable guide. Most of such feelings are .but the play of one's own mind, a deceptive play of a fond imagination, probably worked upby centuries of theological

Let us illustrate this point, foritis of extreme importance. Once the famous Billy Sunday, an American evangelist, told aseekerfor spiritual light that he could feelJesusinhissoul. This he offered asfinal proof that Jesuswas actually present in him. He thus assumed that there was nothing more tobesaid on the subject. Butthe seeker replied , "In like manner the devotees of all religions can prove the truth of their severalclaims. They allfeel their Mastersinside.No religion hasa monopoly on feelings."The reverend gentleman had noanswer.

All men will recognize, if they think of the matter atall, that feelingsareno proof in religious matters. Still, your devoted believergoes on never doubting that hisfeelings are conclusive proof that hisreligious assumptions are true tofact. The wise man will learn to discount feelingsas proof of religious dogmas. What then isleft? Upon what shalla man relyasproof? There is but one wise course, but one wayto know what youaredoing:go to aliving Master whom you can see and hear , whose hand you cantakein your own, and then use your common sense. The Master does not askyoutotake anything for granted or tobelieve what hesays just onhis statement alone.He offers you a definite method by which youcan prove things foryourself, not by feeling but by sight and hearing. Fortunately there isascientific spiritual path wherein men maywalkbysight with afirm and certain step.

6 HOW SHALL WE RECOGNIZE A MASTER?

Having said so much about the Master, itis now quite appropriatetoask: How shallwe recognize a true Master ifwefindone? How shall one distinguish between the genuine and the counterfeit? Or by what means shallwefindaMaster? Whither shallwe goto look forone?These and many other similar questions present themselves and demand rational answers.

Inreply,thefirst point of importance is what wemaycallcumulative evidence. Ihave never seenthecity of Paris and soIdo . not positively know that Parisexists, but judging from the cumu-

THEMASTERS AND THEIR DUTIES

lativeevidence,Ibelieveitdoes.Accordingly,examinealltheevidence supplied by others. Giveitcarefulanalysis.Notealsothe credibility of thewitnesses. That is important. Consider their intelligence and general character and takespecial note of their motives.If many people of high standing and good intelligencebelieveina certain man asaMaster , then at least youmay proceed tolook into the matter further.

When youseehim,give him the most criticalstudy.Forone wholeyear,I lived and worked and traveledrightbytheside of myMaster and took . note of everythinghesaid and did,even watching theexpression on hisface during crises,suchaswhenhe was attacked by opponents withfierce arguments and abuse.I · watchedhisreactionswhenpeoplecamebefore him confessing their sins . I watched him whenhewent into thehovels of the poor toseethesick, and I studied him carefullywhenhe entered the homes of therich.Iobserved him carefullywhendealingwithtwo rajaswho tried tobowathisfeet.I took cateful note whenstreams . of peoplecame along offering money forsomepublic building, likethesatsanghall;alsowhenpeople tried togive him money or other thingsforhimself. Under all conditions, I found hima perfectman, asaMasteris supposed tobe.Aperfect character-as a man-is the foundation of spiritual mastership . If a man has not that tobeginwith,onehad bette\ let him alone . Seeifa man appearstobeall that hasbeensuggestedinthe preceding pages about Masters . Compare notes.Takeplenty of timetofind out thefacts.Bealwayson your guard againsthasty conclusions, either fororagainst. Hold an open mind, evenlong afteryou think yourself convinced-s-alittle more convincing will dono harm. The matter isextremely important. You cannot affordtomakeamistake. It is unfortunate togotoa counterfeit Master.Butitisfar more unfortunate toallow yourself to be turned awayfromarealMasterbysomehasty . .That is in fact arealdisaster.Finally, never mind if youare convinced against your will or predilections . Letfactsdirect your conclusions.

.

Secondly,listentothevoice of intuition. Ifyouare not suffi-

HO W SHALLWE RECOGNIZE AMA STER?

ciently convinced bytheprevious considerations, let your own intuition giveits testimony. That,like impressions and feelings,is not conclusive, but it helps. Ifyouareatallreadyforthe path of theMasters, your intuitive faculties will bewelldeveloped.Use them. How doeshe appear toyou?Howdoesheimpressyou? What effectdoeshehave upon youwhile in hispresence? When youleavehim,doyou appear to yourself a better man than before ordoyoufeeldepressed? Of course,feelingsare not atall conclusive.Thiswehavealready emphasized atsomelength.Butthey maybe considered forwhattheyare worth inthe sum of evidence tobeweighed.Howdoes he impressyouthenextday? The next month? Doesit appear toyou that you might possiblylove and honor him and beexaltedin character bysuch devotion, ordo youfeeldepressedafterleavinghim?Doyouhavetoreason yourself into liking him or doyoulike him inspite of your predilections?Theseyou may weighwell. .

Andyetall of thesethingsare .not conclusiveproofs.Thereis but onewayto know beyond all peradventure that a man isa Master-that istosee him onsomehigherplane,where deception isimpossible . See him where spiritual qualitiesare manifest toall. Ifyou see the Master thereinhis radiant form, youhave nothing moreto worry about . Youhave found your Master and you know itjustas certainly asyou know that youexist. If yougoto that higherplane,however, and failtomeet your Master there, then you must look further.

Thereisone more very encouraging truth that must not be overlookedinthis connection . If youareseekingtheMaster,heis approaching you , and youmustmeethim. It isonlya question of gettingreadyfor that greatevent. One of theoldestsayings of the Easternwisdomis:

Whenthe disciple is ready, t heGuru appears.

Inthese latter daysthe writer has had sufficient proof ofthis andent maxim.We know itistrue, just asweknow of the truth of other points ill thisteaching.Letno hungry soulbe discouraged.

THE MASTERS ANDTHEIR DUTIES 198

You simply must meet the Master if you are ready for him , and to be extremely anxious to meet him isfairly good evidence that you are ready for him. There is nothing within or beyond the seven seas that can keep you away from him; But look wellto your preparation. Remember, thevessel must firstbe cleaned before the water of life can be poured into itbythe Master.

Having now found the Master, what next?Follow him . with unwavering faith and determination. In other words, after you have once accepted a man asa Master, accept his formula also and work it out with absolute fidelity. If you run up against many problems which cause your boat torock, hold a steady hand upon the oars of self-mastery and waitwhile you work. Atfirst there will be puzzling questions. At times you may be inclined tosay outright, "I cannot believeit.". But just hold such things in reserve and wait. . Do not jump at conclusions. Let them come toyou. Wait and work.By and by, your questions will answer themselves; you will be surprised how veryeasily. Whenthelight becomes strong, the darkness vanishes. .

Remember that your entire life's thinking has now tobe reorganized. Do not make the mistake of trying tofit the Master 's teaching into your old thinking. It will not work. Neither can you bring your old notions into the newsystem. Drop them all and start anew.Later on you can pick them upagain, if you do not like the new. Suspend judgment until all evidence isin. Work upon the principle that truthcannotbe damaged by the light. Make the sci- . entific method your own. :and then go on gathering evidence, all the while holding an open mind. Guard well against vanity of opinion; that only obstructs the path of knowledge. Opinionis of nogreatvalue. Only facts count on this path. Do not allowan old opinion to block your wayto the facts : Remember, thisis the path of scientific demonstration, not asystem of beliefs.

OB/ECTNE INDICES OFMA STERSHIP

has been said about the Masters, there areafew infallible indices which serveto distinguish real Masters from all others who may poseas Masters. Some of them are:

(1) First and most noticeable is the important fact that real Masters never charge for their services, nor do they accept payment in any form or any sort of material benefits for their instructions. Thisisa universal law among Masters, and yetitisan amazing fact that thousands of eagerseekersin America and elsewhere go on paying large sums of money for 'spiritual instruction'. Masters arealways self-sustaining. Theyare never supported bytheirstudents orbypublic charity.

(2) Masters never boast of their mastership or of their spiritual powers or attainments. Ifany man claims tohave attained the highest 'in spiritual development, that claim of itself may be taken as conclusive proof that hehas not attained so much. Masters always show the utmost humility, but they never make their humility obtrusive. They never do anything to advertise their humil. ity or to exhibit it to public gaze.

(3) Masters never complain of their treatment at the hands of others . Even if you abuse one, he will not reply angrily nor will he speak ofit afterward. They never speak of their hard luck or of the ingratitude of their beneficiaries. .

(4) Masters never findfaultorblame others either to their faces or behind their backs, no matter what the provocation . They speak no ill and they never lecture others concerning their shortcomings. Theyexalt the positive virtues, keeping silent about the evil,exceptto .answer questions or give necessary warnings. .

(5) Masters never punish anybody, evert their worst enemies or those who have mistreated them. They leave the punishment of evildoersto the negative power, whose business itisto administer justice. Their livesare governed entirely by the law of love. T,hey · give of their light and love,evenasthe sun givesits light and heat, and ask nothing in return .

7. OBJECTIVEJNDICES OF MASTERSHIP

We mean by objective indices that sort of evidence which other people, anybody, may see and understand. In addition toall .that

(6) Masters are never given to ascetic ,practices or unreasonable austerities. This is one quality which differentiates them from certaintypes of yogis. Masters insist that everyone should give atten-

VERY DIFFICULT TOFIND A MASTER THE MASTERS ANDTHEIRDUTIES

tion tohis health of body aswellas of mind and soul. They always teach that itisa duty tokeep the body clean, healthy and well nourished . Of course, they teach that itis wrong to eat too much. And nothing should everbe taken into the body that is not a wholesome food or drink. They teach also that the body must never be made an instrument of passionate enjoyment just for the sake of pleasurable sensations. When you see anyone giventoselftorture or to self-indulgence, you may know at once that heis not a Master. Some yogisseekto control the mind by torturing the body, but that isa vain effort. Mind can never be subdued that way.

(7) Masters never goabout begging fortheir living. They are always self-supporting. The Master' isalways the giver, but never a beggar. Neither does he permit his disciples tobeg their living while sitting around in idleness . So when you see anyone begging his living or charging for -his spiritual instruction, you may know that heis neither a Master nor even a disciple of a Master. Guru Nanak says: "He who earns an honest living and givesaway something out of it-in charity, knows the Way."

(8)A real Master never performs miracles forpublic exhibition. He may do miracles on special occasions and for particular reasons, but ineverycase' itis kept a secret from the public. It isa fixed with real saints that they will never do miracles to win disciples.Yogis often do miracles, healing the sick and other things, but real Masters never do them, except on very special occasions and for urgent reasons.

(9)Allgenuine Masters teach and practice the audible life stream, or sound current; calledin Hindi the Shabd. That is the central theme of all their discourses, the very core of their meditations. A5 this current is the life of the world itself,soitis the life of every Master throughout allhisdaily practices . Itis the paramount theme of which hetalksatall times . If a man preaches and p ractices the life current, itis presumptive evidence that heisa Master, although itis not conclusive. But if a man does not preach and practice it, does not mention itinhis discourses, that alone is the most conclusive evidence that heis not a Master. This is the uni-

versal teaching of all ,Masters, most conspicuous in their teachings and practices. Let this, then, be your chief test of all men posing as Masters and of all systems offering to guide you to higher worlds. If they have not the life stream as the very essence of their system, they have nothing.

(10) If any yogi, or other claiming tobea Master, teaches that Brahm , Lok, or the region of Brahm, is the highest of all heavens and that Brahm is the supreme God, then you may know of a certainty that he isnot a Master. For Brahm Lokis only the second of the higherregions, or planes, while above that aresix other planes, in an ascending scale , each higher and greater than the one below it. In the grand hierarchy of the universe, Brahm, the ruler of Trikuti and the Three Worlds, is but a humble subordinate under the supreme one.

The above are only afew of the outstanding indices of mastership. There are many others. But a careful study of these will actas sufficient safeguard against deceit by pretenders. The counterfeit Master will always show his cloven foot if heis carefully watched fora short time.

8 . VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND A MASTER '

We -have already said that if one is ready fora Master, he cannot failtofind one. And yetwe must say that itis extremely difficult tofinda Master. How areweto reconcile these two statements? It is,infact , the most difficult of all undertakings for the man who is unprepared, and yetitis the easiest thing in the world for one whois prepared. Asa matter Of fact, if one is ready for the Master; he cannot fail to find him. To some of us here at the Great Master's little retreat , it appears simple enough. Anybody from 'the four quarters of the globe may come to him. There is no secrecy, no mystery about him. Heis quite tangible and visible.He lives an open life before the world. He travels in motorcars and trains , as ' others do.Hesits before his disciples ,and talks to them in groups, large or small. And yet how veryfeware they that find him! How

verydifficulttodiscoverhim!I think it maybesaid , ill all truth, that unless the Master himselfwishes tobe found, noonewill ever find him. Andhewishesonlythosetofind him whoarereadyfor him.

It istrue,peoplemayhearhis name . Theymayevenbe told that heisa Master. Butthey will neverdiscover him as aMaster. Therearetens of thousands whocome and gothewholeyear around, even listening tohisdiscourses, but many of them never makethegreatdiscovery.Villagersliving within twomiles of him, whohave met him scores of times,haveneverdiscoveredhismastership.Wewrite about himtofriendsin distant lands, but even though wewritepages about him itneverdawns upon them that hereisalivingMaster.Theysimply cannot seeit.Educated, thinking men and women comehere, attend thesatsangs,listentothe Master's words , ask searching questions, and then go away without discoveringtheMaster.Theysimply cannot see him unlesstheyarereadyfor that critical point in their longcourse of evolution.

I remember a man from Europe whocamehereafewyearsago and remained a month. Hehadnofaulttofind, and evenasked for initiation. But,aslatereventsproved,he had nevera glimpse of consciousness that herewasarealMaster.To .this man the Masterwasjustan interesting teacher of spiritual philosophy, one among many whom hehadseen.Thefellowwrotemelongletters afterward,tellingin rapturous hyperbole howGodwasspeaking to him intheflowers and singingto him through thebirds.Buthe hadnoinkling of thedivinemusicwhichwas dynamic inthe livingMaster . HehadneverdiscoveredtheMaster.Why?Because hewastoofull of himself.Hebelieved himself a reincarnation of the poet Wordsworth. HecouldhearGodcallingto him innature , hesaid, but hisearswere deaf tothevoice of the supreme onespeakingto him through thelivingMaster.Hewasobsessed by certain ideas,allrevolving around himself, and that obsession blinded hiseyes. .

A man once. built hiscabininthegoldfields of California.He livedthere and raisedafamily. He prospected over and through thehillsall about hiscabin and atlastdiedin poverty. Buthisson,

KNOWLED GEVE RSUSBELIEFS

digging down tolaythe foundation of anewhouse , struck arich lead and became a millionaire. Plenty of goldwas right under the veranda of hisoldhouse, but hediedinpoverty.Suchisoftenthe casein spiritual matters. Thosewho cannot seetheMasterbecausetheyare self-blinded diein spiritual poverty,whilevastspiritualrichesarecloser than the house theylivein .

Many will readthisbook, of whichthe main theme istheliving Master,yetthey will put the book down without catchingaglimpse of thereality.They will neverdiscovertheMaster.Why?Filled with their ownideas, blinded by their own preconceptions, they will pickupthe book and will not beabletosee anything inthe ' book. Noonecan discover the Master until certain inner preparations have been made. Thisisthesecret of thewholemystery.You must be prepared "in your heart." Whenever and wherevera man isso prepared, is "oflawful age and well recommended," iswilling . to disrobe himself of hisownrags of self-righteousness and then come humbly beforetheMasteras"a poor blind candidate,"knowinghisown blindness and knocking for admittance tothe chambers of light, then and then only will the Master order the door opened to him . Then and then only will hediscovertheMaster coming " out of theEast"togive him light.

9. POSITIVE KNOWLEDGE VERSUS BELIEFS

Before concluding our discussion about theMasters,itisin order tosay that the Masters,beingwhattheyare and knowing what theyknow,neverguessorspeculate concerning thegreat truths entrusted to their care.Theirscienceis based upon positiveknowledge, not theory.Theycare nothing formerebeliefsor opinions. Theirsystemisadefinite and exactscience.They therefore speak withthe authority of incontrovertible experientialknowledge.Con- · sequently,ifa body ofgreat truths-facts-are boldlyset downin this book withan apparent dogmatic assumption of finality,letit notbe attributed totheegotism of a sophomore. If a man goesto Alaska and laterwritestohisfriends that hehas agold

POSITNE

mine and alreadyhasinhispossessionone hundred thousand dollars worth of nuggets,he would not beaccused of egotism. becausehe made the announcement, He would just be considered lucky.Ifthis American writer hasdiscovered, and nowwrites down inabook, certain revolutionary truths worth more than millions of goldnuggets,he need not beaccused of unreasonable assumptions . Letthe reader take time toinvestigatetheseclaims, prove them forhimself.Applytheacidtest.

Some of thesefactsinthescien ce of the GreatMaster,never before made known to Western people bya Western man, are indeed so extraordinary that they may atfirst provoke incredulity. Theyare amazing and theyare extremely significant, more than ' theymayatfirst appear . The unqualified statements herein made areduetothesimplefact thatthe writer is only servinginthe humble capacity of an amanuensis, a literary assistant,towrite down exactly what the Great Master teachesinthelanguage of his ownpeople. And hehas done the most critical study of the Master and his teaching after more than sixyears of sojourn right with theMaster, and was aided inthese studies bya number of Indian gentlemen whowere both scholarsandlong- time disciples of the . Master.

The most painstakingeffort hasbeen made to correctly formulatea statement of theseteachings and present them inawaytobe easily comprehended. Therefore, letitbe kept in mind that what ' is Written hereis neither aset of opinions nor a metaphysical scheme spun out of theweb of fancy. It isexactly what theMastersthemselveshaveseen, experienced and therefore known. No more, noless.This account isbased neither on hearsay nor derivedfrombooks.Butveryfew quotations aregiveninthis work because this book is not intended asa compendium of book learning.The substance of this work wasgiven direct tothe writer bya verygreatlivingMaster,whichisatthesametime identical with that whichhas been taught byall true saintsinallages.This latter facthas been tested by comparison of theliving Master's word withthewritings of allsaints,sofarastheyareavailableinSanskrit,Arabic,Persian, Hindi, UrduandPunjabi.

The writing and publishing of this book has been done afterthe approval and according totheexpressedwish of theGreatMaster, whoselife and teachings have inspired thesepages.The writer makes no claimsfor himself and takesno credit whatsoever.He hassimply done hisbestto prepare these materials for publication.In doing so,hewishesto record atthisplacehis gratitude to the Master and hiseverlasting obligation for the privilege of living in daily association with him for ' allthese precious years. During all that time,the Master never tired of giving instruction, patiently listened tothe many questions-e-endless numbers of them-and carefully elucidated all problems withlimitless patience and untiring endurance . Hours upon hours, dayin and day out, asmall group of ushavesat around the Great Master,asking questions and listening tohis words of wisdom.

Men and women of keen minds and unflaggingzeal have come herefromall quarters of the earth, plyingthe Master withevery conceivable question, coveringevery problem in philosophy and religion.Toallthesediscussionswehave listened and made notes ofthe Master's replies.Wehaveneverseenthe Master failto have readyalogical and convincing .answer;his , scienceis clear and rational. Hespeaks with equalclearness and convincing force,no matter whether heis talking toan ignorant peasant oraSanskrit pundit. Wehaveoftenbeen amazed tosee them allgoawayconvinced and perfectlysatisfied, many returning later toaskforinitiation. Not infrequently, wehaveseenthekeenestcritics Come purposely tofindfault, but remain to worship . . Last of all,theGreat Master himself lays down the challengeto thewhole world to come into the laboratory of individual experience and experiment, and proveforitselfthe truth of the teachings of thesaints. That must constitute thefinaltest , and the Masterwelcomessuchatest.

We must not failto publish hereone more word concerning the substance of this book and the Great Master,whohas been its inspiration. That is,the Master himself must not be heid responsibleforany inaccuracies or other imperfections inthis book. The writer aloneis responsible forthese.

10. THE DUTIES of THE MASTERS

AwordmaybesaidregardingthedutiesoftheMasters, although much istobesaidelsewhere concerning theirfunctions.TheMastershave many dutiesinthisworld, but weshall mention only four of thematthistime:

(1) Thefirstandforemost and the primary dutyofthegreat Mastersisto connect soulswiththe audible life stream and then take them upand out ofthisworldtotheirownoriginalhome. Thisisdonebyaprocessonemightdescribeas 'tuning in '.

By many agesofself-indulgenceintheseregionsofgrossmatter,everyonehasgottenhimself out oftunewiththeinfinitestream oflife.Thisstream,wave, or current iscomparable tothe electromagneticwaveoftheradio. It fills allspace around usandwithin us, but wedo not knowitand cannot hearituntilweare tuned into harmony withit.Beingso out oftune, man wandersonfor agesin'the prisonhouse of ma-ya'. Andno man canever get himselfinto tune again,unaided. It isinthisregard that thesaint,the Master,becomesarealsavior, redeemerand deliverer.Itisawork which cannot bedonebyanyone excepta livingMaster;andwith- ' outitbeingdone,noonecaneverescapethepainfulcycle of birth anddeathinmaterial regions. This is thegreatworkoftheMaster.

(2) Thenextwork of theMasteris to teach theWay tohis disciples.SotheMasteristhegreatteacheraswellasthegreat physiciananddeliverer.Healonehas the keytothe kingdom of .heavenwithin.Healone tan guidethewanderingsoultothe open door. Without aMaster,nosoul call everfindhisway out of the . circleofbirthsanddeaths. It simply cannot be done. Hemayrise a little distance.Hemaygainthefirst,possiblythesecond,region onthe upward path, but thereheisautomaticallystopped.Fur ther than thathecannevergoalone , andnone but Mastersknow thewaybeyond that . Thewisdom and personal help of theMaster are both absolutelyessential if oneistoadvanceanyfarther than a merestartonthepath.

Thesecondary function of theMasteris that of ateacher. But weshould always remember that thegreatwork of the Masteris

that ofarescuer,aredeemer-s-toliberateus from 'the eternal wheel'. Whilehis secondary function isthatofateacher,yetthe formerisbyalloddsthemore important. Ifthe student were givenevery precept ofthisscienceandhadthemost detailedinstructions that couldbegiven of allthe secrets of initiation, they wouldavailhim nothing without thepersonalhelp,oftheMaster. And this isthe main reasonwhyno book canevertaketheplace ofalivingMaster.

(3)The Master isa perfect exemplar forall mankind as to character,nobilityandspirituality.Heistheidealman) and tohimall maylookfortheoneperfectexample of character and conduct. Allmayimitatehim,followhimimplicitly,and then theymayrest assuredthatnomistake will bemade.TheMasteris not onlya great spiritual light,heisalsoaperfectman.

(4) The fourth function of theMasteristo bringlightand love intothe world, so that allmen, not simplyhisdisciplesalone but thewholeworld, ·mayprofitthereby.Thisisa part of hissecret work.No One mayfollowhimintothesecretchambersofhis retreatandthereseeallfeaturesofthegreatwork that heisdoing. Hisspecialwork is forindividualdisciples, but heworksalsofor all mankind. Letus statethis point inthemostconciselanguage, so that it will be understood. There isnotaliving being inallthe world who does not receive benefit fromthe Master. This statement may not be easy to understand atfirst, but itis literally true . The Masters 'aresometimescriticizedfor "not comirig out anddoing something fortheworld."Buthowlittle do suchcriticsknow about whattheMastersaredoing!TheMasteris 'the lightofthe world'. TheMasterincreasesthesumtotal of thelightandthe loveofthe. wholeworld,andevery sentient individual getssome . benefit.Weneed not worryoverthe method. Thefactofgreatest importance tous allis that the supreme Fatherilluminesand blesses,thewhole world through and bytheagency of theMaster. Andheliberateseveryindividualsoulbythesame instrumentality. Thisishis method. Ifthecriticinsistsonknowingwhyhe has adopted this method, hemaybereferredtothe Creator himself fortheanswer. It isoutofthesphereofmyknowledge.Iam

THE MASTERS ANDTHEIR DUTIES THE DUTIES OFTHE MA STERS

WHY SURRENDER TOAMASTER?

content toknow that itisso, and that knowledgeisasource of greatjoytome.

11. WHY SURRENDER TO A MASTER?

Iamsure many of our critics will say:Why surrender yourindividual will or personality toaMaster? Isn't that goingbackinto voluntary slavery? Isn't that another way of crushingindividual initiativeand strength of character?

Theansweris that complete surrender tothe Master istheonly avenue orpathto complete liberation. Thismay sound rather paradoxical, but it isn't ifyou understand whatcomplete surrender to theMasteractuallymeans.Firstletussay that theword surrender is not asuitable term forwhatis meant inthis connection, but it is about thebest term wehave.Itwouldbe better tosay that one fullytruststheMaster . Thatisequivalenttosayingthataperson trustshishigherinterestsinthehandsofanexpert. It isas if asick manweretogotoaskilledsurgeon.An operation isneeded.He has thought overtheentirematter.Hehasdecidedonthecompetencyofthesurgeonandthenplaceshislifein that surgeon's hands.

.

Another illustration mayhelp.Supposeyouarelostinadense forest.You haven't theleastidea of thewayout. You might wander around intherefordaysorweeksand finally die of starvation and thirst.Butalongcomesanexpert woodsman fully acquainted with the woods.Heoffersto show youtheway out. Now, will you quibble about surrendering yourown will tohis?Yougladlyaccepthisoffer.Butsuppose, in .addition tobeinglost,youhave becomeveryill and weak,quiteunabletowalkout.Nowour strong woodsman kindlyofferstocarryyouout.Willyouquibble about surrendering yourindividual will tothewoodsman?That wouldbetheheightof folly, certainly.Yetthisisanexactparallel totheplightofthesoul,whichislostinthemazes of thisworld of mind and matter and does not knowhowtomakeitswayto spiritual liberty.

Evenifwhileyouwerelostintheforest y.ou 'hadalltheneces-

sarymapsandchartsandknewwhichwaytogo,youcould not get out because of your illness;andfor that reasonyouneedthe help ' offered. SoitiswiththeMaster.He not onlyshowsusthe . wayout, but' heofferstohelpuswherewecouldnotpossibly makeourwayalone.Thisis whyno book isofanyusetous and .nothing elseis of anyvalue,unless' wecangettheactualhelp needed.Thegreatestfriendwecouldpossiblyhaveisonewhonot onlytellsushowtoescapefrom our difficulties, but .who offersus theneededhelp.ThisistherealMaster. .

Again, another illustration may helpto clarify thematter.A manisto 'make a journey toaforeigncountry.Heconsidersthe means of travel.Hestudiesthedifferentshiplines,therailroads andtheairlines.Aftercareful discriinination, hechooseshismeans . oftravel.Heenters,letussay,the particular airlinerandsitsdown. Theplanetakesoff.Nowhis period of individual judgment and discrimination isfinished.He surrenders ' himself to that ship and itspilot.He cannot dictate.Hisdutyistositdownand trust all to thepilot.Theskillofthe .pilot and the trustworthiness oftheship arenow depended upon totake him safelytohis .journey's end. Hecannolongerdictate.His period of independent choiceisover andthetime of absolute trust hascome.Sohemakeshisjourney. Thesame situation confronts everyonewhowishestomakethe journey tohigherregionsandescapethisworldofdarkness and pain.Hemayuseallthereasoningpowers,allthekeenintellectual discrimination hepossessesinselectingtheMaster; but afterhe hasdonethat,he must trust theresttotheMaster.Thereasonis thattheMasterisexpert about thosethingsofwhichhehimselfis totally ignorant. Andifheisevertomakethejourney,hesimply must trust theMaster .

The surrendering oftheindividual will is 'onlyabugaboo. It isa cryoftheego,avainalarm.Ithasnovalueatall.Youreally surrender nothing totheMasterwhichyou ought tokeep. It is merelyacaseof entrusting your higherinterests to thehandsof anexpert.Youaccepthisaidandguidanceovera path quite unknown toyourself.Howcould you everget out of thewildernessifyouobjecfedtothe proposition ofyourfriendwhowishes

THE MASTERS ANDTHEIRDUTIES

tosaveyou? How could the man makehis trip inthe airliner ifhe . persisted inhis right to pilot that airplane himself when he knew nothing about it?A man issick, and an expert physician offers him medical aid.Ifthesick man says,«No,I will not allow anyone elsetogiveme medicine; I will bemy own doctor or surgeon," such assertion of theegois not onlyfoolish but suicidal.

It isa well-known fact that no true Master ever imposes his own will upon anystudent. It isa cardinal principle with all true Mastersneverto cramp the freedom of their disciples. Of thisthey are extremely careful.The Master isthelast man livingto dominate any other intelligence.He seldom evergivesa command. He simply advises.

What is reallymeant by complete surrender toa Master isthis: Out of perfect confidence and great love,thedisciplegladlyfollowswherethe Master leads. That isthe sum of itall.No need of . quibbling over something that has no value and no meaning. Let itpass.Use common sense.By perfect surrender toaMaster,in this sense, onegains everything, ending inthe most perfect liberty . Thisiswellexpressedbyone great Sufi,whosaid:«Giveusall youhave and we will give you allwepossess!"By surrendering all totheMaster,yougaineverything. .

times.ButthelivingMaster, Baba SawanSingh Maharaj, hasalready initiated approximately eighty thousand. Thisisa marvelous record, far beyond anything recorded until today.Inonesingle month, April 1933, he initiated four thousand nine

What is the meaning of thischange of policyi First , becauseso many more have applied for initiation inlateyears; and that is undoubtedly becauseso many more are ready forthe path. Second, the Masters havenow abandoned therigidtests formerly imposed upon applicants and are now willingtoacceptdisciples of lesser qualifications. Why?The Masters themselves know best. Butwemayoffera suggestion or twohere which will explain the matter, in part atleast . .

THE MASTERS' CHANGE OF POUCY

One very important changeinthepolicy of the great Masters has recently taken place and many may wonder atit.Thischange of policy relatesto their method of accepting disciples.In ancient times,even down tothelastfew centuries, the ' great Masters were . veryexclusivein their choice of disciples. Hence novitiates were few.Discipleswere accepted onlyafterthe most severetests,the most trying ordeals.Theselectfewwho passed thesetestsreceived initiation. But now that policy has been modified. TheMasters, during thelast hundred years or so , have accepted practically all who applied, unless their karmas weretoobad.SoamiIi and Baba . .Iaimal Singheach initiated. about four thousand during their life-

InthisKal 'fuga, the Dark or 'Iron ' Age, theills of life upon this planet havegreatly multiplied. Hence, the mercy and loving .sympathy of Sat Purush, thegreat Father, has led him tomeetthe willing-minded more than halfway. ' Now practically every person whofeels inclined toward the Satguru and wishestofollowhis path is accepted byhim.Toreach that 'momentous decision isthe one thing of paramount importance inallone 's life. What isthe result? Many initiates , entering the path halfheartedly and but ill- . prepared, naturally fallbythewayside when assailedbysevere temptation. But what istheharm?Some good has been done. Thepreciousseedhas been lodged in their minds and souls . Sooner or latertheyall must return tothe path. That return , according tothe Masters ' teachings , cannot be later than three or four subsequent incarnations. Inthe meantime, theyhave been greatly helped in their upward struggles.Thisis done out of great mercy and lovingkindness of the Satguru himself and the supreme one.

The main point is that each individual whogets initiation, after ages of pain and struggle,hasatlast come tothe decision toplace ' his destiny inthe hands of the Guru, and of hisownfreewill and accordhasaskedfor initiation. He then meetsthe Satguru, the executiveofficer of the Supreme, and the Satguru takesoverthe charge.Thefinal liberation of that soulis then absolutely assured . inthe universe canpossiblydefeat that end. It isonlya

1 T hetotal n umber of initiated byM aharaj Sawan Singhdu ring hi s lifetimewas

question of alittletime. What doesit matter if that souldoes stumble frequently before he learns to run alone? , '

One more significant point must not be overlooked. Thecritic hasno right to demand perfection inthe character,and conduct of , everyinitiate.Beginnerson this path areallstrugglinginthe clutches of mind, pursued and harassed bythefive passions. It must be expected that these passions will get the better of them occasionally.The only important point is that iftheydo stumble and fall, theyfall with their faces toward the light. No man whoisonce initiated into this path can possibly getthe consent of hisown mind to turn thewhole of hislife into channels of evil. If initiates fall,theyhaveonlytogetupagain and go on, that is" ifthecritics will let them aloneor, better still,give them alittlelove and sympathy. If they fall,the Master himself never condemns. The sinner is just as sure Of thelove and help of the Master asisthe most saintlydisciple.Theonlydifferenceis that the sinner loses what he has gained and slips backward on the path. . ' '

The attitude of the Master toward the offender ought tobean example tous, We must always scrupulously avoidlayingtheblame . either upon thedisciple or upon thesystemitself.No matter what anyone does, initiation itselfcarriesno instant and radical change of character. It aloneconfersno perfection of character. Perfection, requiring possiblyyears of hard work and close application tothetask,isa matter of slow growth. " '

Still another point, if properly understood, mayhelpustobe more charitable toward our erring brothers. It isafact of com. mon .experience, well known to the Masters and other careful students, that among thousands of people who appear for initiation, many otherwise very noble souls will havea one-sided mind. That is, one side will behighly developed, trained, of anoble quality,whilethe other sidemaystillbe under thesway of vilest of thepassions.Thisfacthas often proved a great stumblmg block toobservers.

Remember, the mind isa part or an agent of thenegativepower.Thenegative power isthe universal mind. Butthesoulisa . spark from the supreme one.Every mind is what itis from ages of

pastexperiences. It israre that any person hasan all-round development. Nearly allare one-sided to some extent, and not a feware terribly warped. Thesearetobe pitied, not blamed. Negative traits will appear so long as there is not an all-round and well-advanced disciplinary training. .

Inthe meantime, the divine spark ineach one, always strugglingfor freedom" striving hard against adverse currents, reaches out afeeble hand toward theMaster.In great kindness the Master takes that hand, unclean though itmaybe.After that, itmay . require years of patient study and hard work to build up the character , to strengthen the will and throw off theevil passions. To suchasthese,letusgive cordial sympathy and ready assistance, not forgetting the time when weourselveswere passing through ' thefires. Happy theday when everyoneshall learn never tofind fault with any other person until he himself isfaultless.

13. THE FUNCTION OF THE SPIRITUAL MASTER

FarbackintheVedicage,thegreatrishissaid: "Three things which are rare indeed areduetothegrace of God,namely,a . human birth, the longing for spiritual liberation, and the protecting care of the perfect Satguru." . .' .

The question isso often and -persistently asked: "Why the need ' ofaMaster?" It comestous from all parts of the world and it will not be denied ananswer.The egotism of theaverage man, the ' Western student in particular, isalwaysreadytoassert that he needsnohelp.Hesays proudly: "I am the architect of my own Ishall direct my own destiny. I demand the right of direct approach toGod.Nooneelse has any right to stand inmy way." " " ,

isa proud and bold declaration, worthy of. the bravest Castilian. It reminds me ofa little kitten which I once met on a path. Hewasfeasting on the remains of a lizard. When .camenearhim,he bowed uphisback and began togrowlatme ill avery threatening manner. Out of respectforhisrights, I walked

THE FUNCTION OFTHESPIRI TUAL MASTER '

around himatsomedistance.So, if thebravest of menseefitto announce their independence-even of the Master-I must not quarrel withthem.Irespect their position, but Iamvery doubtful of -their securitywhenthedeepwatersoverwhelmthem.Inthe dayof his opportunity, suchamanshutsthedoors of thekingdom inhisownface.

.

Ibelievethis proud attitude is partly a reaction of modern intelligenceagainsttheuseless intervention of thepriest.Assuch,it isawholesomereaction.Butthe position of theMaster,relativeto hisdisciple,isasdifferentfrom that of thepriestasdayisdifferent fromnight.Atbest,thepriestisonlyan imitation Masterwitha . commission toactasateacher.Heteaches not whathe himself knows but whathehas . readinabook.TheMasteroccupiesa unique position; evenasateacher.Heteaches not .what he has readina book orlearnedinaschool, but whathe knows from personal experience. Besides, theMasterismore than a teachermuch more. Teaching,whileextremely important, istheleastimportant of theMasters'work.The entire field of theactivity of the Mastersisvitally important andwe must spareno effort to understand it.Inthis book we must makeitcleartothereader,if possible.

intotheplane, nor howto start itifhewereinit.Itsdoorsare lockedandhehasnokey.Thepilot has wiselylefttheplane locked, forifan inexperienced man should undertake to start itbeforehe knewwhathewasdoing,hewouldsurelybringdisaster upon himself.And that isexactlythe situation regardingthosepeople whoimaginetheycanascendto spiritual heights without even knowing anything about howtostart.Inanycase,even if hewere togetstarted,the man never couldmakethe journey. A hundred difficulties stand intheway,absolutely insurmountable difficultiesforthe inexperienced man.Butfinally coming tohissenses, he humbly saystothepilot:"Takemeas your pupil and teachme to fly. " Itisa momentous occasionwhena man or woman comes tothis attitude in spiritual matters. .

-

. Perhapsthe matter maybe further elucidatedbythe use ofan illustration , a comparison. Letussuppose that a man livingonthe plains Of the Punjab wishestomakeanairplanetriptoLhasa,the capital of that almostinaccessibleregion of Tibet.Wewill -assume also that everyonewhomakes that trip must flyhis own plane.A modern airplane, equipped forflight,nowstandsonthefield ready to takeoff.But our man knows nothing atall about flying. Hewas neverinanairplaneinhis tfe. What canhedo?Getinto that planeallbyhimself,pullthe throttle andtake off? Thechancesare ninetoone that hewillwrecktheplaneand break hisownneck. Sohehesitatesinspite of hisownegotisticalimpulses.

Nowcomesanexperiencedpilot . Hehasbeenover that route manytimes and hehasalicenseto enter that region,alsofor stopping at intermediate stations.Heoffershisservices.Butthe man proudly replies:"No, thank you;Ishallflymyownplane.I needthehelp of nooneelse."He doesn't evenknowhowtoget

Thetwo of them nqw enter the plane . Theexperienced hand of thepilotnowguidestheplaneasitleavesthe ground, whilethe beginner,gettingthe touch gradually,also holds thecontrols.They makea short journey intothesky and return. The student hashad his initiation . He hasbegunanewlife; but heis not much of a flyeryet.Thelessonsare repeated daily. Theflyingsense of the student growslittlebylittle.Hebecomes 'air-minded', astheysay. Graduallyhebecomesmore independent. Nowhecan take offby himselfandtravel through theairforlongdistances.Buthedoes notdaretogoalone yet. Flyingisnochild'splay. Onehastogrow intoit.Byandby,heisabletofly independently andalone. Anyonewhohasever learned toflyanairplanewillneverforget thedayand hour whenhefirstascendstheskyallbyhimself. Thenhegetshislicense.Hedivests himself of every impediment andis prepared togohigher than everbeforetomakethe journey whichhehadin mind fromthebeginning.Heis keen tostarton that longandperilous journey, although he cannot makethistrip alone.Hehasneverbeenover that wayandhehas not the remotestidea of thecourseheistotake. Neither canitbetoldto him in Thereis no map,andthe directions cannot evenbereducedtowriting.Sohereagainheishelpless without thepilot. Andevenifheknewhow to go, there isstill another difficulty.He is unknown tothe watchmen alongtheway,andhehasno license

to enter thoseregions.He Will not berecognizedand will surely be turned backatthefirst landing.

Thevery nature of thistripissuch that he must firstmakethe journey and meetthe authorities of thevariousregionsbeforehe cangethislicenseto enter alone.Thishe must doin company ' withanexperiencedandlicensedpilot,who will introduce him and recommend him. Thereisstill another difficulty.Ifhewereto undertake the journey alone,thechancesare ninety-nine toone hewouldbeledastrayintosomedangerousregionfarofftheway. Tile wayhecanlearnonlybytraveling.overitin company with theexperiencedpilot.

Still another difficulty confronts our traveler.Hehasto land at four intermediate stations, ateach of whichhis entry will be challenged;andwhen admitted, he will require special information concerning the journey, which ' noone will give him exceptthe pilotwhotravelswithhim. Without that he willcertainly beobliged to turn back.Ateach of these intermediate stations , heisobliged torestforatime and accustom himself tothe rarer atmosphere of thosehigher .regions.Itisnowmanifestfor many reasons that he cannot makethetripatall .without theexperiencedpilot,even though heisabletoflyhis .ownplane . Theexperiencedpilot therefore sitsintheplanewithhim; together theycross mountains, valleys and many regionsneverbeforetraversedby him, risinghigherandhigher. . ..

Atlengthhe approaches hisfirstlanding, and helooksdown upon a wonderful sight:agreatcity, more beautiful than anyhe . haseverseenbefore.Heis enchanted, a thousand varicolored lights,gleaming brilliantly inone grand cluster.Sohelands and looks around thecity.His pilot-companion meets allchallenges andopensthewayforhim.Heissodelighted that hewouldlike to remain there forever, but his pilot urgeshimtoadvance.They must gohigher without too much delay. The journey hasonly fairlybegun.So they enter theplaneonce more andclimbthe luminous sky,theairfilledwithmillions of diamond-like particles resembling stardust. Theycometoasecondlanding, more beautiful than the first,withnewcolorsaffecting them likestrains of beautiful music.Butagainthe pilot orders anadvanceaftera

short rest.The third andthe fourth landingsaremade,eachgrowingmore beautiful than thepreceding.Nowtheyareinextremely rareand pure atmosphere, thesnow-coveredpeaks of the Himala yasgleaminginthesunlight.

Finally, they lookdown upon theoldcity of Lhasaitself,the end of theirjourney.Theycometorestandthe watchmen challengethenewcomer.Howdidhemanagetofindthisregion, and for what purpose hashecome?Bywhose authority hashe entered thesesacredprecincts? Then thepilot himself stepsforward and vouchesforthevisitor.The watchmen recognizethepilot and bowlowbefore him. They know him astheexecutiveofficer of their supreme lord. Hispowerand authority to enter that and all other regionsare universally recognized.They proceed then tothe court of theking himself, where our visitorismadewelcome, and thepilotisaffectionately embraced bytheking. It is then forthe firsttime that the newcomer knows that thepilotwasno ordinary . man.

Thisis but an imperfect yetapt illustration of whatactually takesplacewhenadiscipleis taken uptoSachKhandbyhis Master.Theairplaneisthelife-givingShabd,and upon that both Masteranddiscipleride upward to their" home inthe supreme ' region , crossingall of the intervening regions . Bythis journey the traveleris emancipated fromtheslavery of crawling upon the earth. Of course,thepilotistheMaster.SotheMaster performs thedoublefuriction of first teaching hisdisciple and then of actuallytakinghim upon the ' upward journey. ' Afterallcontactshave beenmadeon behalf of thepupil, and hestandsbeforetheKing ofkings,hereceiveshis power and authority totravelinthe future onhisownresponsibilityandbyhis ' ownright.Butthefirst journey Simply must bemadein company withtheMaster. It can neverbe made any other way,forreasonssuggestedinthe narrat ive.

Our illustration ' falls short inone respect-while thetripto Lhasamaypossiblybemadeonfoot,even though itis laborious anddifficult, yetthetriptothehigherregions, more subtleworlds, cannot bemade by-any other means than thelife current, symbolizedbytheairplane;andthe student must havethe company of

theMasteronhisfirst journey up.Thosesubtleregionsliefar aboveandbeyondthe remotest bounds ofthephysicaluniverse, . aswemeasuredistances.AndtheWaynomanknows, nor canhe knowbyintellectualactivityalone.Hesimply must travel · overthat path in person andhe must havethe company ofaliving Master to takehimwherehecould not possiblygoalone. That path oflighttothecity of lightnomanhaseveryettraveled exceptin company withthe master-pilot.

Thereisone more point towhich it maybewelltocall attention. It isknownto all Masters that manygoodyogis,rishis,etc., havemadethe journey tothefirstregion, corresponding tothe firstlanding in our illustration. Bytheslow and laborious,sometimesperilous, methods of pranayam, of Patanjali,and other systems,they have madetheirwaytothefirstregion,knownasthe astral.Theyhavemadethetriponfoot , sotospeak.Andthis is no ·smallachievement.Theydeserve much credit. Buttheonesad feature about theirachievementis that theretheyare automatically stopped.Theycannevergobeyondthatregionbytheirown unaided efforts.Many of them,beingquitesatisfiedthere,do not evenwishtogofurther,whilemanyothersdo not know that there isanything further on.Some great religious and spiritualleaders, wellknowntohistory,aretobeseentheretodaydoingtheir meditations, and theyarequitehappy.Butasa matter of fact, theyhavemadenomore than afairstartonthe upward journey. Eventuallytheyall must return toearthlylifeforanew birth in order tomeetagenuineSatguru. Without suchaMastertheycan never enter thosemanyhigherregionsof incomprehensible light andbeauty . .

From our illustration it will beclearlyseen that both the master-pilot and the ' airplane,theSatguruandtheShabd,areabsolutelynecessaryifoneistomakethecomplete journey tothose bright worldsof immortality. Itcanneverbemadeinany other · way. It isalogicalconclusion,therefore, that thechief concern of human lifeistoseeka true Master and place one's destinyinhis hands.If one failstodothis,one'slifeisspentinvain,no matter whatelseonemayaccomplish . .

The Creation and Order of the Universe

1. THE COSMOGONY OF THE MASTERS

THE SCIENCEOF THE MASTERS; indealingwith man and hisdestiny, mustalsodealwiththeuniverseofwhich man isapart,aunit. Noonecangain even anintellectual understanding of hisown interestsuntilhehassome comprehension oftheuniverseofwhich heisanintegralpart, and withevery part ofwhichheisinsome manner related. By theword universe, asitisusedinthisbook,we meanvastlymore than afewgalaxies of stars,sunsandplanets pointed outby astronomers. We must includeanalmostendless seriesofhigherandfinerworldsaboveandbeyondthesweep of thetelescope,or of anY telescope that caneverbemade.These worldsareutterlybeyondthe borders ofthephysicaluniverse.

Anysciencewhichignoresthosehigherand more subtleworlds cannot claimtobeanall-inclusivescience.Infact,therealscientisthasnomore than learned thealphabet of hisscience until he passesbeyondthelaststar that glimmersinspace, and heenters thoseregionswherethephysicaleye cannot function.Happily,

THEFOUR GRAND DIVISIONS OF NATURE THE CREATION ANDORDEROFTHE UNNERSE

every man is endowed with afiner vision, which may be awakened and used on those higher planes. :

The cosmogony of the Masters will be found quite different from that of all other systems. This isso because the Masters have afar greater range of knowledge than all other men. Their fields of operation liefar out and away from all physical moons. They know about the creation and order of this universe of so many parts from personal study arid exploration. Begimiing. from the lowest stratum of earth and ranging upward to the highest heavens, the Masters know everyfoot of the ground. The nonmaterial and the suprasensuous are just as familiar to them asare the rivers and the mountains of this terrestrial sphere. Besides their ability tosee the universe as it is today, they .are ' alsoabletosee the entire past history' of the universe likean open book. '.

The great Masters do not concern themselves too much with how or when .this universe carne into existence. They know this also, but they do .not hold this knowledge of any great valuetoa student beginning on ' the path. They do not care whether the entire universe came into existence bya word of command out of nothing, or whether itallcame into existence asa from the Creator. (The latter viewwas held by the old nshis and other Indian philosophers. It may be that worlds appear and disappear like bubbles, on the waters of an infinite ocean; or it that universes appear and disappear likea tortoise 'extending feet and then drawing them into ,his . shellagain. The old scholars could not conceive of something coming out of nothing, hence their word for creation is accurately translated by our word .projection.) The Masters do not attach any great importance to problem of whether there everwasa time when the did not exist or ifa time may come when itshallceasetoexist.Although they do know these things, they attach buy practical importance to them. They set themselves the far more Important task of liberating human souls from this world bondage. They seldom discuss the ultimate problems of the infinite. .

Letus accept things as we find them and try to make use of them hereandnow.Thisappearstobethe working pnnaple

of the Masters. When wehave had the good fortune to ascend the supreme heights, when all knowledge is ours.by and through the . orderly expansion of our capacity to understand, all of these questions will doubtless be answered to our entire satisfaction. They are already matters of common knowledge to .the saints themselves, but they findit almost impossible to conveythat informa tion to the .ordinary human intelligence. Fortunately, weareable tograsp something of the creation and order of this universe, including all universes of a higher order, and weareableto correlate them all into one grand system. This is due to the grace of those great Masters who have broken the bonds of time and space.

2. THE FOUR GRAND DIVISIONS OF NATURE

The entire universe .of universes is divided into four grand divisions,each marked out and differentiated from the rest by certain characteristics of the substances 'composing them and the nature . of the phenomena tobeseen there.

(1) Beginning with our own world as the point of departure, the first grand division is the physical universe, caned in the language ofthe Masters Pind. Itis composed chiefly of matter of varying density, coarse in quality, but mixed with asmall percentage of mental and spiritual substance-just enough . togiveitlife and motion. Spirit is the only self-acting substance inexistence. Without spirit, matter is dead, inert. In fact, there is nothing in. all creation wholly devoid of spirit, for without spirit; matter itself would ceasetoexist. Matter is not therefore a thing apart from spirit, but it may itself be considered as spirit ina much-depleted form.Soit may besaid of mind.

.

A comparison may be made with the oxygenin our atmosphere. Fiftymiles above the earth's surface there is insufficient oxygeriin theairto sustain human life;its percentage in the compound isso small.Thisis somewhat similar .to thepercentage of spirit in com pounds of the physical universe. The lower end of creation, of which the physical universe is a part, may becalled the negative

poleofallcreation,in which spirit-although itinheresasthe essentialelement of its existence-is inahighlyexpanded, unconcentrated form.Toenableustogetamentalgraspofthesituation,supposeweimaginethe pre-creation substancetohaveexistedsomewhatintheformofanegg.Thelargeendmaybe thought . ofasthepositivepole,inwhichtheoriginalsubstanceexistedand stillexistsinahighly concentrated form.Soitis polarized. The small end isthenegativepole,inwhichthesamesubstance exists inaless concentrated form. . .

In ' theprocessofcreation,thesmallerend,ornegativepole, becomesnot separated but differentiatedfromtheoriginalmass, and then subdividedintothree distinct portions. The uppermost ofthesesubdivisionsis Brahmand, themiddle portion isAnda, and the nethermost one isPind,thephysicaluniverse.Allthisend of creation,thislowersection,is composed of coarse matter, while thehighersectionsare much finerinsubstance,asoneadvances , tohigherregions.Thislowersectionhasa much lower ,rateof vibration than anysection above it. .

(2)Assaidearlier, the grand divisionjustabovethephysical universeis Anda. Thewordmeans'egg',referringtoitsshape. If we must placeitinspace,letusassume that Andaliesjustabove andbeyondthephysicaluniverse.Butheretheterms above and beyond have but little meaning.Thefactis that thesehigherworlds areseparatedfromthisworldmorebytheiretherealqualitiesthan , bytheirlocationinspace. It isjustasaccuratetosay that those worldslieinthesamespace limitations, separatedbytheirqualitiesonly; but whena person passesfromoneto another of them, itappears that hetraversesimmensespace.

Wemay say that heascendsfromoneset of threedimensions to ahigherset,from a lowerplane of consciousness, toahigher one.Butall that is not soeasyto comprehend. Thoseexpressions convey but littleidea of whatactuallytakesplace.Forconvenience ofexpression,wemayaswellspeakoftheseregionsasplanes,one abovetheother.They are certainly aboveinthequalityoftheir substance,in vibration, and in their lightandbeauty.

Thesubstance of Andais much finerinthe structure of its

atoms,inits vibratory activityanditsdegreeofdensity. The concentration ofsubstanceincreasesindegreeasoneascendstohigherworlds,anditbecomesmorepositive.

Andaisalso much morevastin extent than thephysicaluniverse.Thecentral portion of that universemakesupwhatiscommonlyspoken of astheastralplane.Itscapitalorgoverningcenter is named SahasradalKanwalbythesaints.In that grand division liemanysubplanes,so-calledheavensandpurgatories,orreformatories,all abounding inanendlessvariety of life-numberless continents, rivers, mountains, oceans,citiesandpeoples . Allof themare of ahigher order thananythingknownonearth,more luminous and morebeautiful,exceptthe reformatory portions, which 'havebeenspeciallydesignedand'setapartforthatpurpose, Theyare both schools and purgatories, intended ineverycaseto rebuildcharacter.Totheseschoolsmanyof earth's peoplepass at thetime of theirdeath. .

Ofcourse,all these ' areinvisibletothephysicaleyebecause of theirhighervibrations . Theydonot,forthatreason,comewithin therangeof our vision.In terms ofthesolarspectrum,theylie aboveand beyond theultraviolet of science.Butthe students .of theMasterdevelopahigher instrument ofvision,bymeans of whichtheyseethoseregionsasplainlyastheyseethisworldwith thephysical eyes. .

(3)NextaboveAndalies Brahmand, the third grand division. Thistermmeans'theeggofBrahm'.Itisegg-shaped,likeAnda, butismuchvasterinextent. It isalsomore .refined and full of light,markedlymore than thephysicaluniverse.This third grand divisionis composed mostly of spiritsubstance, but ismixedwith arefinedsortofmatter.AsAndacontainsmore of spiritsubstancethanPind,inlike manner, Brahmand isricherinspirit thanAnda.Infact,spirit predominates in Brahmand justas mat ter predominates inPind,whileAndais rather onthedividing linebetweenthetwo. . .

Lastofall,wearriveatthehighestgranddivisioninall thefinest .andpurest, composed entirely of pure spirit. ThIS regionisdefinitelybeyondthesphere of mCl;tter. Thereisno

CREATION ANDORDEROFTHE UNIVERSE

mind inthisregion.Theplaneofuniversal mind isthelowerend ofBrahmand.Justas mind isthehighest order of matter inexistence,itisleftbelowthe pure spiritualregions.Itisexcludedfrom the supreme grand division.Thelowerendof Brahmand ismade up almost entirely of mind substance. Itissoconvenientlysituatedthatwhenasouldescends into materialregions, it maytakeon itsnecessarymental equipment, required forallcontactswithmaterialworlds. . .

Inthislast and highest grand divisionwediscovertheregion of universalspirit.Itsnameis SatDesh, whichmeansin our languagethe 'abiding country' or'real country'. Itistheregion of truth, of ultimate reality. Of course,this grand divisionis much . vasterinextent than anyregionbelow it, alsofarmorebeautiful and full oflight.Thelightofthatworldissointensethatnoman onearthcan .formanysortofestimateofit . Ifwesay that one singlesoulliving there radiatesalightequalto that of sixteen timesthetotallightcapacityofoursun,itistrue, but utterly beyondall comprehension. The lord ofthelowestsectionof that exaltedregion, whose nameisSatPurush,radiatesalightfrom his body equaltomanymillionsof our sun .. Butwhocan .formany , sortof mental picture of it? .

Whatevermaybesaidof that region,theMasters,whohave themselvesseenit,tellusthatnowordscanconveyanadequate ideaofwhatisthere.Itis inhabited bycountless multitudes of pure soUls who nostainofimperfection,nosorrowandno death.Thehappinessofits inhabitants isperfect. what morecan one say? Perfectionmeansthere cannot beanythingbetter.Sat Deshisitselfdividedinto four distinctplanes,thehighestandlast ofwhichisthesupremeseatoftheinfinite,theabsolute,thesource andcreatorofall that is. ' '

Assaidbefore , thecreation and divisionofthewhole of existenceintofourseparatesectionsmay be duetothe polarization of the 'pre-creationsubstance,the primordial elementofallworlds. This primordial substancemaybecalledGod , ifthemonistsinsist,orwhatever term thereadermayprefer.The upper portion wasthepositivepole,andthelowerwasthenegative; whilethe

middle portions were neutral zones, partaking of the properties of both, but growingmorepositivefrombelowupward.Whenthe creativeimpulsewasgiven, thepositivepolebecamemoreconcentrated,whilethe nether polebecame correspondingly depleted.Then out of the negative pole-its extreme fashionedallmaterialworlds,these constituting thesunsandplanets withwhichwearefamiliar.

Thetwo intermediate granddivisions .aresubdividedintoalmost .numberlessworldsorzones,eachhavingitsownforms of life. Amongtheselowersubdivisions,especiallyinAnda,aretobe foundnearlyalltheheavensandparadisesofthevariousreligions. It will be remembered thatthetop,orzenith, of thepositivepole ischargedwithspiritsubstancetoan 'extremedegree,whileaswe descendtowardthenadir,the extreme negativeend,spiritsubstanceundergoesagradual diminution, Asaresult of that thinning-out process,those zones experiencea corresponding darkness,untilfinallytheytakeonmore and moreofthosequalities whichweassociatewith evil. ,

Allthat human consciousness asevil,orbad,ismade sobya diminution oradepletionofspirit.Thismeansdarkness , or-course, lesserlife,lesserlight.Man Cannot livehappily without spirit,andthemorehe departs fromspirit,themoreheexperienceswhattohimisevil.Aswithanindividualman,soitiswith worldsthemselves.Thelessspiritsubstanceinthem,thedarker theyareandthemore troubles areexperiencedbytheir inhabitants. '

Wehavenowgiven but amere outline sketch of thefour grand divisions ofcreation.We will nowtake them upingreaterdetail. Aknowledge of theseworldsis of greatvaluetousinmanyrespects;besides,thesubjectis, extremelyfascinating.AMastercould writeabook or manybooksoneachofthesegreatworlds. .

Again,letus remind thereaderthatwhatis written hereisnota weboffancy, but isliteralfactbased upon theexperienceofthe andtheir disciples. Theyhavetraversedthoseregionstimes Without number andareasfamiliarwiththemaswearewith portions ofthisworldoverwhichwe have traveled.

224 THE CREATION ANDORDEROFTHE UNIVERSE T HEFO UR GRANDD NISIO NS OF NA TURE

3. SAT DESH, THE HIGHEST REGION

Beginningfromabove ·andgoing downward, wecomefirsttoSat Desh (sat, 'true', and desh, 'country').Many other names have been applied toit,suchas Nij-Dham, SatLok, Muqam Haq and SachKhand.These names areusuallyapplied to thelowestsection of SatDesh, but occasionallytothe entire grand division.Thisis theregion,orplane, of pure spirit.Allenjoyingthegreatest conceivable happiness, its inhabitants are pure spiritsinsuch less numbers asno man canestimate. It isthe supreme heaven of allheavens, but itisquite unknown to many of the world religionsbecause their founders hadneverreached that exaltedregion.Itis known tosaintsonly,whoalonecan enter it. It cannot bedescribed. ' In substance and arrangement it iswhollyunlike anything known inthisworld. Neither canthe human mind imagineit.Thissectionissovastin extent that no sort of understanding of itcanbeconveyedto human intelligence.No .mindcan graspit.

All that thesaintscansay of Sat 'Deshis that itislimitless.Itis theonlyregionwhichthegreatsaintsinsistispracticallylimitless. Wemaysay, although no mind cangrasp the thought, that it embracesallelse, and is both the beginning and the end of allelse. Itisthegreat center about whichall other worldsrevolve.Anything whichwe might say about it would be incomplete and only partially true,sodeclarethesaints.Ifthe entire physicaluniverse withits countless millions of suns and their planets wereallgathered together ina ' singlecluster,eachsunbeinga million lightyears distant fromany other sun,yetthis entire ensemble would appear no more than afew dark specksfloating ill theclear and luminous sky of SatDesh.In that happy country, asun such as ours, but a thousand timeslarger, would appear as a tiny dark spot,soverygreat is thelight of that world. .

. Thisregionisthe -grand capital of all creation, the center of all universes, and theresidence of the supreme. Creator-Lord of all.

From this center of all light; life and power,thegreatcreative current flows outward and downward to create, govern and sustainallregions . It passes out fromthisregion somewhat likethe

HE SECONDGRAND DIVISION

radio emanations goingforthfromagreat broadcasting station. It istheaudible life stream,the most important factorinthesystem of theMasters.This stream permeates the entire system of universes; A thing of great importance tousis that themusic of this ever-flowing current, the stream of life,canbe heard byareal Master and alsobyhis students whohave advanced evena little onthe Path . Andletus reiterate that unlessa Master teacheshis students howthis current istobe heard, heis not aMaster of the highest order. . ,

This grand headquarters of all creation istheregion of immortality.Itis unchangeable, perfect,deathless . It isforever untouched by dissolution or grand dissolution. Soareits inhabitants. This region will be referred to many timesinthisbook.Itis subdivided into four distinct planes,eachhavingitsown characteristics and itsownlord,or governor. Butthedifferencebetweenthesesubdivisionsis very slight . From above downward theyarenamed: RadhaSoami Dham, meaning ·'home of the spiritual lord'; itis alsocalled Anami Lok, meaning 'nameless region'.The next plane belowthehighestisAgamLok (agam, 'inaccessible', and 10k, ' place').The third plane is AlakhLok (alakh, ' invisible', and 10k, ' place').Thelast of thesehigherplanesisSachKhand (sach, ' tru th' , and khand , ' home').Thelastoneisalsocalled Sat Lok, 'the true place'.Bythe Muslim saintsithasbeencalled Mukam Haq, meaningthesameasabove, 'the home of truth'.

Thelight of allfour of theseregionsissovery intense that itis impossibleforany mortal togetan understanding of it. It cannot bedescribed.ThegreatSoami Iisums uphis statements regarding thisregionbysayihgsimply that itis all love. .

4 . BRAHMAND, THE SECOND GRAND DIVISION

Thesecond grand divisionfromabove downward is Brahmand (meaning ' theegg of Brahm', assaidbefore).Thisreferstoits shapeandalsotothe governor or lord whoisitsruler.Brahmis supposed by most of theoldrishis to bethe supreme being of all

BRAHMAND,T

THE CREATION ANDORDEROFTHE UNIVERSE

creation, becausetheyknew of noonehigher.Butthesaints know that there is not onlyoneBrahm, but countless numbers ofBrahms, who are governors overso many Brahmands. For it must be understood that there arecountlessAndas and Brahmands, eachcircling about the supreme regioninitsown orbit, and each of them , hasitsown governoror ruler. Brahm was the highestgod known tothe ancient rishioryogi, and sothe name of Brahm is retained ' bythesaintstodesignatethe ruler of the Three Worlds, which includethephysical universe,Anda, andthelower portion of Brahmanda, named Trikuti. The upperportion of Brahmarid iscalled ParBrahm. ' '

Assaidbefore,this grand division ismostly spirit insubstance, but ismixedwithacertain amount of pure, spiritualized matter; it ' isthefinest order of matter and includes mind. This iscalledthe spiritual-material regionbecause spirit dominates theregion.The substance of that division graduallybecomesless and less concentrated aswedescend toward thenegativepole of creation. The lower portions become coarserinparticle, and more and more mixedwith matter. Inthelowerend of Brahmand, mind issu- ' preme.Itispracticallyall mind, for mind .itself is matter of the finest order. Of course,even mind ismixedwith spirit substance tosomeslightextent,otherwiseitcould not exist.Allworldsbecomeashade darker aswedescend,becausethereisless and less spirit substance inthe composition. Trikuti, thelowestsection Of Brahmand, isthe home of universal mind. It isfrom that region that all individual minds arederived, and to that regionall minds must return whentheyare discarded during the upward flight of

Brahmand isextremelyvastinareawhen compared withthe physicaluniverse, but smallwhen compared withthefirstgrand division. It isitself subdivided into many distinct regionsorplanes. Some mention sixsubdivisions; but asa matter of fact,thereare scores of subdivisions in that one grand division, almost numberless subdivisions, each constituting aseparate and distinct world. Divisions and .subdivisions shade into one another so imperceptibly that it is not easytosay just whereoneends and another

begins.This accounts in part forthe many different descriptions ofthoseregions and thegreatvariety of namesassignedto them.

5 . ANDA, THE LOWEST OF THE HEAVENS

Andalies nearest tothephysicaluniverse . ItscapitaliscalledSahasradalKanwal, meaning 'a thousand-petalled lotus' . Itsnameis takenfromthegreatcluster of lights which constitute the most attractivesightwhenoneis approaching that world.Thisgreat group of lightsistheactual ' powerhouse' of the physical universe. Out of that powerhouse flowsthepower that hascreated and now sustainsallworldsin our group. Each of thoselightshasadifferentshadeortint;they constitute the most gorgeousspectacleas oneenters that magnificent city of light.In that city of splendors maybeseenalso many other interesting and beautiful things. Also,heremaybeseenmillions of the earth's most renowned people of allages of our history. many of them areresidents of thisgreatcity and country. Naturally theyare quite happy.Itisfar superior to anything everseen on thisearth.Yetthisis but the first station onthe upward path of theMasters.

Thisregion constitutes thenegative part of allthe supraphysical zories. That is,itlies most distant fromthepositivepole of creation . This region is sometimes classifiedasa part of Brahmand, but thesaints prefer to consider itasa separate grand division of creation.Ithas many distinctivefeatures of itsown.Lying nearest tothephysicaluniverse,itformsthe port of entry forall ' the higherregions.Allsoulswhoarepassingtostillhigherregions pass through it . Thegreat majority of human ' soulsatthe time of death passtosome .subplane of thisregion. But veryfew, comparatively,godirecttothis central portion of theSahasradal Kanwalregion.Itis through all of theseregions that theMasters and their disciples must travelon their wayto higher worlds.

Thissection of creation is not immortal or imperishable-neitherareits inhabitants. Many of its inhabitants believe that they have attained immortality because their lives there go for

ANDA,THE LOWEST OFTHE REA YENS ' THE CREATION ANDORDEROFTHE UNNERSE

extremely long periods of time, but there isno assured immortality \intil onereachesSatDesh.Allbelow that issubjectto death and dissolution.

.

There aretwokinds of dissolutions. Theone, simple dissolution, .whichreachesuptothelowestsectionin Brahmand, aregion called Trikuti; this occurs after many millions of years.The other .isthe grand dissolution, which occurs after immeasurably long periods of time and extendsuptothe top of Brahmand. Of course, . both of these dissolutions include the entire physical universe- · everysun, moon and planet init.At that timeevery star and its satellitesarewiped out, and then followsa period of darkness equalin duration tothelife of theuniverse. When the period of darknesshasexpired,anew creation is projected, and theheavens aremice more alivewith sparkling stars. With eachnew creation beginsanew Golden Ageforeach planet and its inhabitants. But between minor dissolutions there arealso periods of renewalfor thelife of each planet, when Golden Agessucceed dark ages.

There isageneralidea,findingitsway into most religions, that this world istocometoan end. And sotheMastersteach.Butthe endisavery different proposition to what itisgenerally supposed tobe.It will comeata time when allworlds of the physical universe will bedissolved,and,after periods of darkness and silence, newworlds will take their places.The inhabitants of all of those worldstobedissolvedare drawn upto higher regionsina sort of comatose state,tobe re-placed upon those worlds when theyare readyfor human habitation. Those souls will then beginanewlife here under more favorable conditions. These periodic dissolutionscometothephysicaluniverseaftermany, many hundreds of millions of years. No man need worry now,lest that timeis near at hand. It is many moons awayyet..

6 : THE GRAND DIVISION OF PIND

The fourth grand division, beginning fromabove , iscalledPind.It isthegross material orphysicaluniverse.Herecoarse matter pre-

dominates, there being but asmall percentage of mind and astill smaller amount of spirit. Our earth isasmall and ' insignificant member ofPind. It embraces allthesuns and their planets known or unknown to astronomy. It extends out into spacefar beyond thereach of any telescope . Astronomers have never been ableto count these worlds-although as their instruments become more perfect,therange of their observations is extended. Who shall set limitsor indicate bounds tothose starry depths? Who can number thenumberless? Who can circumscribe theboundless?Tothefarthest extent of space; wherever there isa material sun oraspeck of dust,theyareall included inthis fourth grand division whichthe Masterscall Pind.

Inthisdivision,coarse matter predominates. Permeating this coarse matter are many finer substances, including mind, and last ofall there isa modicum of spirit togivelifetoalltherest . Inthis lowest of alldivisions of creation there is but littlelight and avery lowgrade of lifewhen compared with Brahmand, But if compared withSatDesh , this world is pitch darkness, and the life 'here, in comparison to that, isscarcely knowable at 'all.Its subiscoarse, Clumsy, inert and full of all manner of imperfections. These imperfections, as said before,areduetothe paucity of spirit atthispole.This condition of negativityisthesoil out of whichallevilgrows. . . ' .

Evil, then, is simply darkness,theabsence oflight, which means the absence of spirit.Howeverrealit may seemtous, negativity is of reality, and theabsence of reality is the absence of spmt. Foodisarealitytous, but hunger is alsoareal condition to Our consciousness . Hunger isduetotheabsence of food. In itslast analysis,all pain, all longing, alldesire,isonlyacry of the mind andsoulfor more light, more spirit.Inlike manner, evil i sdueto theabsence of spirit.Andthe reason wehaveso small a percentage of spirit substance atthis end of creation isbecausethisisthe pole of all creation. Pind isthe extreme negativepole. It IS sofar depleted of spirit that it liesina state of semI-death,a condition of heavy inertia overwhich broods deep shadow.

T HE GRAND DIVISION OFPIND THE CREATION ANDORDEROFTHE UNIVERSE

THE CREATION ANDORDER OFTHE UNIVERSE

Out of this condition rise all the manifold difficultiesexperiencedby mortals onthisplane of life.Asoneleavesthislowest plane and begins to ascend toward thepositivepole of creation, the lightincreases,andhence there is more life, more beauty and more happiness.This is all entirelyduetotheincreaseinthe percentage of spiritontherespectiveplanes.Love,power,wisdom, rhythm, perfection of everysort,taketheplace of negative conditions whichprevailinthelowersections of theuniverse.

It should besaidhere,with all possibleemphasis, that justin proportion tothedegree of spiritsubstanceprevailinginany re gion,world, person orthing, will itsperfectionsbemanifest . And viceversa:In proportion tothelack of spirit, imperfections will showthemselves.In 'proportionas matter predominates, those stateswhichwe call evil will becomemanifest . A depletion of spiritis,therefore,theonefataldisease of thephysical 'universe. Out of that state all other diseasesspringup . Inthelastanalysis, webelieve there is but onediseaseinthe world-spiritual anemia.

GodandtheGrandHierarchy

of the Universe

1. THE PERPLEXING QUESTION OF GOD

THE BIGGEST AND OLDEST question ever propounded to human intelligenceis: "Is there aGod?Ifso,whoorwhatishe?Where andhowmayhebe contacted, and hasheany word of himself for mankind?"Although trainloads and mountains of bookshavebeen writtenin attempts toanswertheseandsimilar questions, there hasneverbeen but oneanswergiven, and therenever can be but one. That istheanswergiven bythe Masters.Why?Becauseonly theMasters know theanswertoany of thesequestions.All others onlyguessandspeculate. .

Youhear much about meetingGod,asif he weremerelya sort of king-emperor, and all you required wasapriesttogiveyouan introduction. Men philosophize about 'God-realization'. Men of all schools of philosophy agree that the summumbonum of .all existenceis 'to realizeGod '. Buttheyhavenoideahowtogo about it. 56 .theyread and talk,and many setthemselvesupto teachtheway.But nobody on earth hasevermetGodor ·realized

Godexceptbythe method of the Masters or the path of theMasters. It cannot be done any other way.The Masters aretheonly men inthe world , therefore, whoarequalifiedtodiscussthe ti bject of 'meeting God'. . ' L

Groping after the truth inallages, men have attempted to , nd their waytoGod, or to catch at least some glimpses of u11erstanding on thesubject.But their succ:ess has been problematical. Theyhave carried on their search by many and devious paths, and over far-reaching fields.Yetthesearchitselfhasled mankind slowly toward the light. From therishis of old, from Zarathustra and the magi, from Hermes and Plato, down to Kant and Edwards and Northrup, these questions have been repeated in plaintive wails, and a lonesome echohas been theonlyanswer. Who can really know God but one whohas himself ascended tothe spiritual heights,where God is openly manifest to sight?

At the sametime, throughout history men have gonealong creating godsin their ownimage.Tothe material scientist, God is amere abstraction, silentasthe sphinx. Many sincere students takerefugeinagnosticism.Theysay, with Ingersoll, that man stands '.between twogreat mountain peaks, the eternal ,past and the : eternalfuture; and rio man cansee beyond either of those peaks. Only hope maygivea -little encouragement. Theologians, ina frantic . effortto prove theexistenceof-God, point to the construction and order of nature, the rhythm of the universe, itsfixedlaws and its ' onward flow, which theysaysuggestanall-wise and all-powerful Creator. But after all, ;my argument based upon logical premises is just aslikelytoleadusastrayasthe dogmatic assertions of the theologians.

Justasonecynichassaid, "There isnolielike history"; soit maybesaid that there is nothing more misleading than logic. God can never be made arealitytoany man by mere logic,by books or .byfeelings.AndIsincerelybelieve that anything which hastobe proved bylongprocesses of logicis not worth proving . In other words,ifthe thing is not self-evident, it -is of littleuse.Ifany theory or teaching hastobe established by laborious processes of reasoning, I think that very fact shows .that weare on the wrong

track and should seeknew methods of establishing the hypothesis. Theonly method of proving theexistence of God whic H. is worth our time isthe experiential method of thegreatMasters,because no other method hasever succeeded and none of them canever succeed.

Diditever occur toyouasavery strange thing that God has not givento mankind any definite and easy method of knowing about him ?Yetasa matter of fact,hehasgiven out such a method and itisaccessibletoall, but men have blinded themselves to that paththrough ages of self-indulgence, and now they stumble along inthe darkness which they themselves have created. Andyetthe method ishere and itiswell known totheMasters;all others may haveitif they will acceptit. Men blame Godfor their own blindness, ' when they will not enter the doors of light which stand open right before them.

Hearing novoice of the ,supreme oneinallthe dark caverns or starry galaxies of nature, some of our best scientists and philosophershave come tothe conclusion that there isno answer to 'o ur original question. They declare that this universe is built upon the laws of physics and chem istry, and that alllife, including man, is' the product of avast mechanism, guided solelybyfixed laws and predetermined processes.Itisonlya broad ocean throwing upthe multiform phenomena of this world, as whitecaps oil theseaare thrown upbythe winds and thewaves.Even human thought, they claim,is nothing more than evanescent and useless flames emitted bythe heat of cerebral commotion. God, they say, isan invention ofthefearful,arefuge of the coward. Men create him in order to propitiate him inthe hour of trouble. Man himself isonlyaphysical accident tossed into the vortex of existenceso that he may eat , sleep, breed, and then die.Because men canfindno God with theirtelescopes or their microscopes, because they cannot locate himinthe nervous system of thecadaver ', theydecide with . a grand flourish that there isnoGod! C'est fini, unpoint,c'esttout! The discussion isatanend.

Onlyafew weeks ago,Ireadinthe papers a statement by Pro- . fessorJulianHuxley,a scientist of a distinguished family.Likea

GOD AND THE GRAND HIERARCHY

PERPLEXING QUESTION OF GOD

236

GODANDTHE GRAND HIERARCHY

man whohas drunk deeplyof fresh water, andfor that reason feels nothirst,hesaid that he feltno needoftheGodhypothesis, andcouldfindno proof ofGod. It isour notion that thesatisfaction gleanedfromknowledgesometimesblindsmantothe full- , nessofhisinheritance. If onlyhehasdefiniteknowledgeofthe path oftheMasters, then newworldsof thinking andrejoicing openuptohim. ' ,' ,

I must notehereanextremelyinterestingcoincidence.Atthe verytimethattheEnglishpaperswere announcing thatthisgrand- , , sonofthe distinguished scientist, Thomas H.Huxley,feltnoneed oftheGodhypothesis,agreat -granddaughter of another immor- . talscientist,Alexander Agassiz, wasactuallyherein toseek definiteknowledgeofGod through thescienceoftheMasters, Thusthevariouscurrentsofhistoryrunalongtheirseveralcourses. Inspiteofall doubts and blind alleys, theworld will nevergiveup itssearchforGod.AsSaintAugustinesaid:

Thou, 0God,hastmadeus unto Thyself,andthe heart of man iseverrestless, until itrestsinThee.

Ayearorsoago,therewasa noted Indian, anAryaSamajist 1 who hadspentthegreater portion ofhis .lifeinpublic ,lectures, devotedtoGod,religionand human .service. Hehadafinechar acter.Butjustbeforehisdeathhemadetheastonishing announcement that hehad , spenthislifeteaching something ofwhichhe had no proof atall, and that hewas approaching hisend,gazing ,intoblankdarkness.This ' is pathetic indeed.Ifonlyforasingle moment He hadplacedhis hand in 'thatofalivingMaster!There isno other meansor proof whichcan stand thefinaltest.Hewho walks upon the path oftheMastersknows about- God,andhe knows about the home ofthe . soultowhichhe istraveling- He walks inthelightalltheway,inincreasinglight!

Mechanicalandmaterialisticconceptsare perhaps no better andnoworse than the doctrines ofGodderivedfromreligion. TheonesetbelieveinGod without rational proof, and the other

1. AryaSamajis the name of a Hindu reformist movement .

THE PERPLEXING QUESTION OFGOD

set deny theexistenceofGod without rational proof.Iimagine thatagracious,infinite 'Fatherwouldlookwithequalpity upon both classes; fortheyare like children stumbling alongin 'the , darkness,too proud toplacetheirhandsin handsof their fatherthathemayguide and support them.

,The many doctrines of God-both forandagainsthisexistence-are onlytheinevitable by-products inthe manufacture of the superman, in that age-longstruggleforthe truth that shall strikethelastshacklefromthe superman andset him free.It IS good that men sostruggleandspeculate,evenwritebookswhen theyhave nothing elseto .do.Itis better thanplayinginthemud. Never mind iftheydo not contain ' ashredof truth. Out ofall these labor pains,the superman will be born cryingpitifullyfor themilkoflifewhichonlytheMasterscangive. That cup of ' bounty theMastersholdintheirhands,invitingthe thirsty world t6 drink. Alreadythereactionhad setin, evenbeforethe materialisticwavehadhalfspentitself.Beforetheflowers of sweetcharity hadcoveredthegraves of Darwin,HegelandSpencercomes Bergsontotellthephilosophers:

Therapidadolescence of Spencer's philosophy isduelargelyto the replacement of thephysical(fixedand mechanical) bythe biological standpoint inrecent thought; bythegrowingdispo, sitiontoseetheessenceandsecretoftheworldinthemovement of life, rather than inthe inertia of things.Andindeed, matter itselfhas in our dayalmosttakenonlife[a truth taught bytheMasters during all theages].The study of electricity, ' magnetism,andtheelectronhasgivenavitalistictingetophysics-so that instead of a reduction ofpsychologyto physics-whichwasthemore or lessconscious ambition of English thought-we now approach avitalizedphysics, ,andanalmost spiritualized matter.

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Thisisaheroicstruggletowardthe position oftheMasters. physicalsciencehashaditslaborpains and enjoyedthem, It will perhapssitstilllong enough tosee that itwasonlysuffering

WORDOF CAUTION TO SCIENTISTS

frompseudocyesis.Possiblyitmaythenlistentothevoiceofthe Masters,whoalonecantell them withcertainknowledge that the movingforceinall nature is spirit, and that the fountain source of allspiritisthe supreme one,whommenhave named God.

2.A WORD OF CAUTION TO SCIENTISTS

Some modern scientistsboldlyassert that theydonotbelievein God,andtheygiveasreasonsthetwofollowingassertions(they cannot becalled more than assertions):First,theysay that there is noevidenceto support the contention; andsecond;theysaythey do not "needthetheistichypothesistoexplaintheexistenceofthe universe.Ofcourse,theyleave out ofall consideration themore gentlevoicesoffaithand intuition. These,theysay,havenoplace in realscience.Thusthewholesubjectisrelegatedtotheattic of metaphysicaljunk. "

Butsurelythisisanunfair aswellasan 'unscientific' disposition ofthematter.Underlyingthis attitude is, of course,the gra-: tuitous assumption that theexistenceofGodis both unknown andunknowable. It istherefore,sotheyassume,atbestnomore than anhypothesisinventedbyanunscientificagetotrytoaccount fortheuniverse . Thisschool of scientistsdeclares that no onecan know anything about God.ButIsuggest that thisassump- . tionitselfisnomore than another hypothesisbased upon their ownlackofknowledge.Why should anyscientistassumethat becauseheknows nothing about God, nothing isknownorcanbe known?Thisissurelynotthescientific attitude. Secondly,standingsecurely, asthey believe, upon the mechanistic theory ofthe " physicaluniverse,theyserenelydeclare that theynolongerneed thetheistichypothesis.Andbecausetheydo not need it,therefore itis useless. Ergo, theydo not believe in God;thatbeliefisanold woman's superstition. . . " " " "

IfGod'sexistencewerenomore than anhypothesis , and nothingdefiniteor certain could beknownonthesubject, "thenwe mayaswellconcede that the position of the mechanistic schoolis

unassailable.But fortunately theknowledge of theMasters is not founded upon hypotheses.Theyhavecertainknowledgeonthe subject, asdefinite and asscientificasanythingin mathematics or physics.Ofcourse,therearemanyhypotheseswhichawaitdemonstration onthe part ofthebeginner.I remember wellwhenmy professorin mathematics gavemetheold problem inEuclid:"The squareformedonthe hypotenuse ofarightangletriangleisequal tothesum of thesquaresformedonthe other twosides."Ihadto demonstrate it,proveit,beforeitwasrealknowledgetome.And thatisexactlythe method oftheMasters.TheyknowofGod becausetheyhavemadethe experiment andhavetheproof.The Mastersknowthatthereisasupremeandall-sustainingone,whose chief attributes are wisdom, love and power.

It mustalsobe understood that the knowledge of theMastersis notaslow product of evolution,an accumulation oflearning gatheredup during longagesofstudy.Itis not thesum of knowledge accumulatedinlibrariestobe memorized bystudents. It is not a record of acquired information. The method oftheMastersis unique.EveryMastergainstheentiresumofknowledge, de novo, duringhisdevelopment. That knowledgeisgainedbyadefinite lineofindividualendeavorandpersonalexperience.It is notsomethinggatheredupbyhimfrommanysources, but itisgained fromwithinhimselfbytheexpansion of hisownconsciousness. Anymanmaygainthis development and.this knowledge,providedhehasthescientific method of theMasters.Inthelightofthis illuminating fact, oneofthe assumptions of physicalsciencedisappears.Adefinite,certainknowledge of Godcanbeacquired.

Maywenow venture aword of caution?Isit not possiblethata mechanistichypothesisisno better than atheistic?Mayitnotalso turn outto "be true that evenifsomephysicalscientistsknow nothing about God, nor evenrecognizetheneedofone,yetin spiteofthat,othersmayknow something about him?Remember " thatthegreatMastersdo not speculate.TheGodoftheMastersis notaGod inventedbymetaphysics, nor isheacreation of theologicaldogma. If somemanorclass of men, liketheMasters, shouldeventuallybefoundwhodeclare that theyhavecertain

knowledge of God,knowledge that has been obtained by and through a method just"asscientificasany known to the physicists, maywe not give them credit for their greatachievement?Willthe scientific world befair enough to give them a hearing? Shouldn't thephysicalscientists tread alittle more cautiously upon ground withwhich they are not familiar?

Besides, what isthe harm if men should givealittle more kindly . consideration tothevoice of hope, of intuition, of faith?Iflove whispers to them in the .secret chambers of thesoul, shouldn't their intellectbewillingtolisten? It ought not tobe considered beneath their dignity. Butover and aboveall other considerations comethegreatMasters,whogiveusthe 'most positive assurance that some certain knowledge of Godhas been gainedby them. Shallwe not atleastlistentothem?Ifsome obscure astronomer should announce that hehas discovered anew nebula far out in space,thewholescientific world would situp and take notice. Why this painful lethargy in matters of thegreatest importance? A listening earisone of the first qualifications of a genuine seeker' afterknowledge.

3 WHO OR WHAT IS GOD?

The most common concept of Godis that oft a creator. Wecan only think of .a creator as doing something, and sowe picture him . as creating and managing theuniverse.Weareobligedbytheurge of our own minds to account for things aswefind them, -orat leasttotry; and so the most natural conclusion is that somepower has created them. For the present wemayleave out of consideration the curious query asto whether God created man or man created God. History provesthe latter contention; logicassumes theformer.Butwehavealready said that both logic and history are unreliable.

If westealback into the shadow of dim prehistoric ages and there watch our ancestors puzzleoverthe multiform phenomena of nature , wemayreadily conclude that God,orthegods, sprang out of the imaginative faculty of man. Most of the gods, even in

WHAT IS GOD?

theVedas,aresolike men 'in character that their parentage is quite unmistakable. Tothecareful student of history there is nothing more clear than .thefact that mankind has- been busy constructing gods afteritsownimage . Yet when weread,evenina book so modem astheBible, that God created man inhisown image and likeness,wefindourselves not sohighly flattered after all.IftheGodwho made usis not greatly superior to our image andlikeness,we need not feelso proud of our lineage.Thejob,so faraswecanjudgeitat present, is not so complimentary to the Creator ifweare supposed tobelikehim. Of course,thismaybe duetothefact that wearestill in our sprawling infancy. We may yetgrowup more intheimage of our Father.Letushope.

Sothe world is full of gods . In India alone there aresaidtobe many millions of them. Therest of the world is not sorichingods asIndia.A man canalwayshave plenty of gods when he hasn't much else.The Western world is more interested in pounds and dollars than itisingods.Afterall, perhaps the Western viewpoint is more practical. Pragmatism is the watchword of Western civilization.Too many gods, 'anyway,likecooks,spoil the broth. And this writer is doubtful if anymere man canuseinhis philosophy more than afew dozen higher-levelgods. Perhaps one is enough. Butso much depends upon what one means bythe word God. Here,infact,isthevery heart of the question . Thebig discussion about God and thegodsis mostly adisplay of words and ahankar, ' vanity'.Seldomdoesthe writer onsuchsubjects know eventhe alphabet of what heistryingtodiscuss . How canheknow?Hehas neverlistenedto the message of the only onewhoreally knowsthelivingMaster. What isthe practical value of going around ina talking about God? If youweregoing to study any other Important fact of nature, you would gotoan expert who himself has reduced that subjecttoanexactscience, if such person and suchscience could befound.If there isnoscience of itoreven knowledge, then whytakeuptime and energydiscussing It . TheMastersaretheonly men on earth whopossess accurate knowledge of mind, of spirit, and of theway of approach toGod. :m d their science,likeall other realsciences,isbased upon actual Individual experience.

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WHOOR

4. NAMES OF THE SUPREME BEING

Inthe literature ofthesaints,Godisexpressedby many words, suchasSoami,Ekankar, Nirankar, RadhaSoami, ' Akal,Nirala, Anami,Agam,Alakh,Sat Purush, Prabhu, Prabhswami,Hari Rai, Akshar,Parameshwar,AksharPurush,etc.Allofthesewordshave beencoinedinanefforttoconveyto human intelligencesome ideaofwhatthesaints think ofGod,orLordGod,thehighest power. Ekankar meansthe ' oneoneness ', thebodyofoneness. Nirankar means 'without bodyorform'. Soami or Swami means the 'all-pervading lord'. Radha Soami-radha, 'soul', and soami; 'lord'-'the lord ofthesoul'.Theword radha, inHindi,when reversedbecomes dhara. Thismeans 'current' or 'stream ofenergy',the attribute of thesoul. When the dhara isreversed,whenit turns upwardsawayfromthecreation,itbecomes radha, thesoul. Akal means'timeless'. Nirala means'peerless',havingnonelike him. Anami means 'without name'. Agam means'inaccessible'. Sat Purush, 'true lord', isthereallyexistingLordasdistinguished fromall hypothetical gods. That whichis not sat doesnotreally exist. Sat means 'truth', 'reality','existence'. Hencethe fundamentalideaof truth isexistence.The untrue does not exist;thetrue does.Hence truth and existence aresynonymousterms. Purush implies'being ', and 'being" implies ' creative energy'-predominatingandpresidingLord,thesource of creativeenergy. 'Prabhu means 'lord, havingpower and control'. Prabhswami means 'allpervadinglord,havingpower'. HariRai meansthe 'lord whohas realpower',theactualking of all,likeSat ·Purush.Thisisusedin contradistinction to Dharam Rai,thenegativepower , whocontrolstheThreeWorlds.Itimplieslawandorder. Dharam is'law', 'order ', 'system',anditisusedalsotodesignate or 'a?y religioussystem.HariRaiisSatPurush,orAkalPurush,while Dharam RaiisKal Purush, Kal,orBrahm.

Thewholeuniverseisconsideredas one, the true Ekankar.There isperfectonenessintheuniverse,whichisalsocoexistentwith God-infinite, unlimited. Hence,theSoamiis nirankar; that is, formless.Assuch,heis without personality, hence without name.

He cannot besaidtobe 'anywhere' asheiseverywhere.Sinceheis everywhere,all and everything,he must beimpersonal. Of course, - hemayassumeany number offorms, but none of theseforms embracehisentirebeinganymore than onesunembracesthe sumtotal of physicalmatter. .

WhenSoamilimitshimselftosomeextent,howeverslightly,he becomesAgamPurush.Ifalittle more limited, he isAlakhPurush,andwhenhetakesadefiniteformforthe purpose of administeringtheaffairs of theuniverse,hethenbecomesSat Purush, or SatNam . SatNamthenbecomesthefirstdefinitelylimitedmanifestation of the supreme one.Butheisnotlimited,exceptasto form.SatNam, ' true name', isthatwhichdefineshisindividuality, and points definitelytothefirst personal manifestation ofthe infiniteone . -:. .

Thenamesofthesupremebeingin other languagesbesidesthe Sanskritand Hindi areas many asaretheideas.of him.Godisan Anglo-Saxon adaptation of 'good'.Heisthechiefgoodorthe sumtotal of good.DeusistheLatin name , signifying.something ' like ' supreme emperor'. TheosistheGreekappellation, meaning thechiefofthoseaugustpowerswhosat upon Mount Olympus andruledtheworld.AdonaiElohimorYahveharesome of the Hebrewnamesassignedtothegodwhowasfirstatribaldeity of the Jews, but waslater proclaimed Lordoverallgodsandworlds. Hewasthe supreme lawgiver, the commander of all thearmies of Israel.Hewasthemajestic warrior whosewrathwasso much to befeared. ThisistheGodto whom SirRichard Burton refers whenhewritesinhis Kasidah of Abdulel Yezdi: "Yahveh,Adon, orElohim,theGodthatsmites,theman of war!"Fancythepsych?logical reaction of tender childhood under theteachingwhich dailyheldupsuchagodtothem!Nowonder Kingsley, in Alton Locke, says: "Our God,orrather, our gods,untilwe were twelve oldwerehell, therod,theten commandments, andpublic opmlOn."

Howtrueitis,as most ofusknowbyexperience, that theseare thefourshapesassumedbytheGodwho presided over our childhood!Iwas brought upinaverystrict orthodox Christianhome,

GODAND THE GRAND HIERARGHY

NAM ESOFTHE SUPREME BEING

Godsolovedtheworld, that hegavehisonly begotten Son. ' (John 3:16)

Godlovedtheworld,ofcourse, but he hated me,anditwas always atoss-upwhetherIwastolandinhellorheaven. ingtomostofmy relatives, thebettingwasabouttentooneIt wouldbehellforme. It was always amysterytomehowGod could .love theworld,nastyandwickedasitwas,so thanhelovedhisownsonwhomheallowedto bekilled. if Godwasall-powerful,whydidheallowhisownson, ",:hose centbloodfloweddownhissidewherethespearhadpiercedIt,to benailedonthecross,topayforthesins of theworld? .Ifhe morepowerthanthedevil,hecouldeasilyhavetoldthedevilto stayinhisownhellandleavetheworldalone. .. .

Iwould have beenashamedto acknowledge, with Kipling,that such a GodwastheGodofourfathers.HowaccuratelyheportraysthissameGodinhis "Recessional" whenhe says:

God of our fathers, known of oldLord of our far-flungbattle lineBeneathwhoseawful hand we hold Dominion overpalmand pine. LordGod of hosts,bewithusyet Lestwe forget-Lest weforget!

Thesaintsare not sticklersfor Theyfranklyconcede that the supreme one ' is anami, 'nameless',andsotheysay, In substance,"Takeyourchoiceastonames ." .d

. ThereisAllahtheMerciful,ofIslam,whosenthislastan greatestProphet,Mohammed,togatherintoonearmythedesert tribesandbreakupalltheiridols.Thereare Indra and varunatheancientgodswhoshine out ingreatmajestyamongthehosts ofgods mentioned in Vedicliterature.ThereareBrahm, Brahma,

Vishnu,andMahesh,andahostofothers , allgodsofthesacred books. ThereareAkshar,Parameshwar,Purush,and Purushottam , Sanskritnamesforthecreativeandgoverningpower.Zarathustraspoke ofOrmuzd, andtheNorsemanspokeofThor.

OmistheSanskrit sound symbolforthesupremeone.The NorthAmericanIndiansspeak of Manitou,thefather of themall, whoruledoverallthetribes. Itis asignificantfact,worthy of moredetailedstudy,thatamongallofthe North AmericanIndianstheprevailingidea of Godwasthat of afather.Tothemhe wasneveran angry deitywaitingtostrikethemdownfortheleast disobedience. Hewasnever though t ofbythemasawrathfulgod tobe propitiated andworshippedbybloodysacrifices.

Thesaintshavegivenmanynames to thesupremebeing,accordingtothe country inwhichtheylivedandthelanguage used bythem . Butallsaintsrecognize that no na me i s adJquatc-. No namecaneverdescribeGodorconveyanyfairconceptionof his attributes. It is to contend foraname.Whatisthe difference whetherwesayRadhaSoamiorRamor Allah? Itis quiteimmaterialwhetherwesay pani (Urdu) , eau (French), amma (CherokeeIndian), hudor (Greek), aqua (Latin)or water. Theyall meanexactly thesame.

So we seethatamong all peoplesandin all languages,notonly isthenameitselfdifferent but thefundamentalideasofthedeity aredifferent.In almost everyland,the ,people, in totalignorance ofGod, havegoneoncreating anthropomorphic godstotheir heart 's content. These gods,theirrecordingsecretariesattheir righthands,are all givenhighseatsintheheavens,fromwhich they keepavigilanteyeuponerringmortals.Nothingescapes ' the recordingangels'. HowIdislikedthosepryingmischiefswhenI wasaboy.Ofcourse,theideamustberight,as by thelawof karmawemustpayforeachoffenseinduecourse.Aknowledge ofthekarmiclawiscertainlythesourceof all suchideasasrecordingangelsor punishments forsin. '

Inspiteof all theconfusionregardingnamesandcharacteristics amongthegods,thererunslikeagoldenthread through all the aCCOunts thecentralideaofagreatoverrulingpowerwhichis

greater and better than man. That much has been universally concededeversincetherace emerged from prehistoric times.The godsare mightier and better than man. Therefore, we should look upto them withfear and trembling-in some instances withreverence.Afewgreatteachers,likeJesus, taught that Godwas to be loved.AlltheMasters throughout history have taught that love of Godwasthe central virtue of allvirtues, and atthesame time they haveall taught that Godwasloveitself.Theoldidea that hewasa being of wrath tobefearedwas nothing better than asurvival of primitive savagery. .

That the supreme Father, now inthisage of semi-civilization, should demand that his innocent son, pure-minded and loving, pour out his blood upon thetreetowashaway our sins, appears tomeso utterly inconsistent withanyidea of a spiritual God whose . chief quality islove, that Iam amazed "that civilized man could think of itforasingle moment. AndyetIusedtobelieve and preach itwith greatzeal.I wanted to snatch afewsouls from the impending fires of divinewrath!I hope myloving Father has forgivenmeforsuch crude notions of him. It wasallduetoignorance and wrong teaching.

Butnoonehasevergivenany description oranalysis of the divine attributes. Nor has anyone ever imagined himself capable of doing so.We 'must give the theologians credit forsuch modesty.Godbless them . Nothing more than shrewd guesseshave been offered. About thebestwehave been abletodoisto attribute to the Creator human virtues in infinite degree . And thisis not illogical. Since man was created byan infinite good,he must have derived his good qualities from that infinite good.Wemayconcede,as .a matter of fact, that man himself has created most of the godsor devils known tohistory;yetinspite of this,the supreme reality stands but faraboveall sham gods.Heis truly the sum of allgood.

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No sooner, however,arewe comfortably settled inthesewholesome convictions whenthe knotty problem arisesas to whencewe got our evil propensities. Theseareso painfully manifest that they must beexplained.Shallwe attribute them to that same infinite

good?Theone conclusion is just as logical asthe other. Ifwe didn't get our evilqualities from the creator and author of all good,wheredidwegetthem?Againwe must becareful that our logic doesn't prove too much. Rightherelies one of the most difficult problems of allreligion and philosophy. Frantic efforts havebeen made toreachsome sort of a satisfactory conclusion, but sofarinvain.Itisonlytheknowledge of theMasterswhich offersthekeytothis knotty problem: What isthe origin of both . goodandevil, and what are good and evil, per se? "

The old-timers could think of nowaytosolvethis problem of evil, excepttocall on the devil to account forit.Sothe burden was laid upon him without theslightest proof that hewastheguilty party.Sofar, they haveneverbeenableto produce him in court to answertothecharge,forthesimple reason that theyhave hot beenabletofind him. Theyonlyassume that heis;secondly , they assumehisguilt .

We all findourselvesin possession of two opposite sets of qualities,theonewecall bad and the other wecallgood.Thesetwo setsworkin opposition toeach other. They tend inexactly opposite directions, and they end in totally antagonistic results.Hence, lifeislargely made up of warswaged incessantly betweenthese two opposite sets of qualities and tendencies. This much is gener- .. ally conceded byallschools of thought. Butwhere did weget these qualities? What appears tobestill more important , smceweall know wehave them, is-how arewetoget rid of them?Thesearebig questions. It is neither logic nor common sensetoassume that such opposite qualitiescanbederived from thesamesonrce.Can men gather 'bothfigs and thistlesfromthe Theanswertothesetwoenigmas will begivenin Chapter FIve, Section 7. We repeat here that only the wisdom of theMastersholdstheperfect solution tothese problems. . rBut Mastersdo not attempt any sort of analysis of thesu p being.In that theyarewiser than many others. Menhave wntten voluminously, laboriously, about God.Theyhavetalked him asifhewere their next-door neighbor. Thesefellows remmd one of thelittle princess whowasaskedbythe archbishop

MONOTHEISM, POLYTHEISM, MONISM AND PANTHEISM GODANDTHE

togoforawalkwithhim.Shereplied:«Allright,I will go, but if youaregoingtotalk about God,you needn't bother. I know all about him already!"Asa matter of fact, the less men know about God,the more familiarlytheytalk of him.ThegreatMasters,who know most,are content tosit ·insilentreverence, ' evenatthe thought of the supreme Father.

No description of Godcan ever begivento mortal man. That is becauseno man could understand sucha description ifitwere given, and secondly,becausenolanguageinthe world contains the thought-forms necessary. Man on this plane istoo limited in comprehension. ThereasontheMastersknowso much more about God than anyone elseisbecause they havefewer limitations than anyone else. Their capacityto know hasbeenvastly increased duringtheprocess of becoming Masters.

Letusbesatisfiedtosay that there isa supreme Creator and that heisthe source of all that exists.This much theMasters know, and this much maybe told tous.Butfor anyone toassert that hehas full knowledge of Godis equivalent tosaying that heis equaltoGod.TheMasters know agreatdeal concerning the manifestations of God, but Ihavenever heard one of theMasters claimto know all about the Supreme. ThegreatMastershave explored the entire universe, from thephysical plane tothe pure spiritual, and they have reported many of their observations. Besides,we know that their knowledgeis practically unlimited, yet theyfindit impossible todescribeinwordsall that they see. and know of the higher regions. Nor could theyfind words toexpress itif they could bring it down tothislevel.

What then istheanswer of theMastersto our originalquestion, whoor what isGod?Allthesaintsagree, and the inhabitants of the higher worldssay, that there isone supreme, infinite essence; that heoritis composed of pure spirit substance; that heresides in and permeates the supreme regionashis headquarters orcapital,fromwherehe projects himself into and permeates all regions throughout creation. Heisinnoway limited. Evenifhetakes form-which heoften does-that formdoes not limit him, becauseheis not limited to that form. That formisonlyan infinitely

small fragment of himself.Heis universal spirit, moving forth ina living stream, vibrating through allspace, entering in and vitalizingall that exists.Heisthe dynamic life of everything that lives. Thusheis impersonal, universal, all-permeating, omnipresent, and all-sustaining. Heisthelife,theveryexistence of all.Heisexistenceabsolute.

Buttothis all-embracing, all-sustaining forceno name canbe applied whichisatall descriptive orexpressive. There is,however, universal agreement among the world's best students that thesupreme, central power is benevolent; that initor him love, wisdom andpowerare combined in their highest conceivableexpression. Andthisisthe highest ideal of Godeverconceivedor formulated inthe minds of men. And thisisthe teaching of allgreatMasters.

5. MONOTHEISM, POLYTHEISM, MONISM AND PANTHEISM

Weare now ina position tocall attention toone of the most unique features of SantMat,the teaching . of theMasters.This information atthesame time solvesonce and forall the much debated question of monotheism versus polytheism. Wehavespokenofthe supreme Creator asthe one all-embracing essence.We havesaid that from him proceeds thecreativelife current which notonlycreates but preservesthe entire universe.Now,this should constitute asufficientlyvirile and definite monotheism tosatisfy the most scrupulous champion of orthodoxy. Letusagree then that monotheism isan established and concrete fact. Anything that wemaysay hereafter cannot modify oralter this fact. There andcanbe, only one supreme, infinite essence, creating and mtermingling with all that existswithitslife and the foundation ofits perpetuity. Weneed not be disturbed by that class of theists whoinsist that Godis not immanent inhis creation but sits apart onhis imperial throne, separate and distinct fromhisuniverse.In anycase,the monotheism of thesystem remains undisturbed.

.Many students are alarmed overthe words monism and pantheIsm, but these words are not so threatening as they may sound.

Afterallissaid,thesesystems of philosophy only mean tosuggest awayora method bywhichthe Creator keepsin touch withhis . creation.Inallcasesthe Creator isthe supreme one,thesame universalessence.No man cansay that pantheism is not afact, becausehe cannot prove that Godis not present everywhere and that allthingswhichexistare not parts of him.Ifafew students followthe supreme one down into his creation and there lose sight of him , that need not discourageus. .

No man cansay that monism is not afact,becausenoonecan separateGodfromhisvisibleuniverse. Who shallsay that there is anything inexistence but God? It would beaboldassertion.The moment we introduce anything into theworldwhichis not a part of God,we .introduce a bewildering duality into thescheme of things, landing ourselvesinamaze of philosophical difficulties.In anycase,there remains the supreme essencewho brought this entiresystem ' into existence and isstillitsLord. What doesit matter whether hehasmadetheuniversehis body or whether he stands outside of itand,likea master musician , controls his orchestra?Inanycase,themusicishis product. We need not worry too much about technicalities or methods.

Ifthe monotheism of thegreatMasterssmacks of the pantheism of Spinoza, let it beacknowledged that Spinozawas not far fromthe truth. "God-intoxicated man," ashewascalled,hewas groping neartothegreatreality.Wemaygoevenastep furtherifthe teaching of theMastersis not pure monism, then itleadsus verycloseto that position and revealsthe element of truth that liesconcealedinthetheory.Afterall,whocanassumeasecond creative principle intheuniverse?Isthereanyforce outside the supreme one?Ifso,whatis that force and whenceitsorigin? Bow can there be anything in nature whichis not a .product of the monogenetic process of the supreme -one? If there is, then there "is noall-inclusive supreme one.Any other conception appears unthinkable and onlycarriesthe student around inawhirl of empty words. '

Afterallissaid,thecosmosisone, and thecreativepower operatingitisone . It may manifest itselfindiverseways and forms . Whocan separate thecosmositselffromtheforcewhich brought

it into existence and now sustainsit?But that form of monism, whichgoessofarastoidentify spirit and matter and make all of these identical withGod,is not acceptedbytheMasters.If that sort of monism insists that thephysicaluniverseisitselfGod, then theMasters will not agree. They will not agreeevenifthey include allhigher ' universesinthe grand cosmos and make it identical withthe supreme one.Whiletheinfinite cannot be separated from his creation, eveninthe innermost recesses of thought, yetthe infinite spirit is not theuniverse. That essenceis something vastly more .

Ina :very true sensetheuniversemaybesaidtobethe body of God, but the body of a man is not theman.Itisonlyhisphysical covering.Suchan assumption is not only avery clumsy hypothesis but isalso rank materialism of asort.The body is not the man, yetthebody,downtoitslastcell,is permeated and governed by the spirit whichistherealman. If the spirit is withdrawn fromthe body, that body diesatonce.Inlike manner, ifthe infinite essence were withdrawn fromtheuniverse,thewhole thing would disintegrate.Justas human bodiesdie and suffer dissolution, socertain portions ofthe material universegrowold and dissolve,onlyto reappear charged withnewlife and vigor.Thisisinevery instance . duetospirit substance being withdrawn from that portion of creation.But spirit itselfis not subjecttoanysuchchange . Thesoul, likeits Creator, iseternal,deathless.

The sum of thisdiscussionis that there is absolute unity inthis universe,organic unity and oneness throughout, and thereis but oneuniversalforce,creative and all-sustaining, which is never separatedfromit, nor canitbe separated. Itisan organic whole. Ifyouwishtocallthisuniversalforce 'God', then youhave your monotheism in perfection, absolute and unassailable.Andyou haveatthesametimea monism whichrecognizes but onesubstanceintheuniverse, manifesting itselfinanendless variety of forms. .' .'

There remains but one philosophical difficulty, and that is due t? inability of our minds tosee ultimate reality.Thedifficulty . lies in our inability toreconcilethe doctrine of one substance with themanifestdifferenceswhichweseetoexistbetweensubstances.

Atthe extreme poles of existence, itis not easytosee how wood or stone canbe one with spirit, how atreecanbe one with an angel, and stillbe different from each other. But physical hasgivenusan illustration which mayhelpusto , grasp the Idea.It hasalready proved that substances which show very different propertiesare composed of identical electronic particles, the difference being duetoa different arrangement of those particles. Thisat least may suggest that what is pure spirit at the extreme positive pole of creation may at the negativepole appear tobe something quite different-this difference being duetoa thinning out of particles and a different arrangement of what isleft . . Butthisleadsus beyond our depth. An analogy may be drawn from another fact of nature known to the Masters. Looked at from this end of creation, each individual man appears tobea separate doer, acting on his own impulses and being responsible forhis own actions. But the same man, looked at from the top of creation, the supreme region, disappears asan individual actor, and inhisplacethe supreme one appears to be the only doer. Our difficultyliesin being unable togeta comprehensive view of the entire problem from asingle standpoint. ,

As the pundits say that akash is the primary substance out of which all worlds are formed, and prana is the primary force which movesall creation on material planes, so now we may havealready demonstrated that all matter isresolved into electricity. And the grouping of the electrons with their nuclei is simply the method which nature has adopted to present us with all the many varieties of matter and material things aswesee them. Thisis only one step nearer toan understanding of the all-inclusive unity ?f nature . Working backward in the reverse order from the way in . which the present universe has come down tous,we must at arrive at the one primordial substance out of which the entire universe has been evolved. And when wefind that one universal essenceit will beseen that itis identical with the supreme essence which men have named God.In no case can iteverbe conceived that anyone part of this world canbe wholly separated from the rest of it . It isan organic whole. It isone.

6. THE GRAND HIERARCHY OF THE UNIVERSE

In the ab?ve discussion, we imagine wehave disposed of the question of monotheism versus polytheism. But what wehave now to say may atfirst appear to disturb our monotheism. Yet the disturbance is only superficial.Uptothis point this chapter has been a preparation for what remains tobesaid.

What isthe grand hierarchy? Itis that grand galaxy of lords, rulers, creators, and governors of all the heavenly .spheres.We have spoken of the four grand divisions of creation, cuid brief mention has been made of the many subdivisions. Now,inevery subdivision, sphere or plane, from , the highest down to the lowest, there isa lord or ruler or governor. These lords, rulers and governors are great soulswhohave been appointed by the supreme oneto discharge the duties assigned to them in their respective regions. They areeach endowed with certain godlike powers and prerogatives, among which isthe power of creation.

To obtain a better understanding of the whole scheme, letus sketchvery briefly the creative process asitis taught by the Masters. When the supreme one wished to bring the universe into being,his primary movewasto create the firstfocus of action whichmaybe regarded as one step downward toward the nether pole.Thiswas done, of course, after the initial concentration of all pre-creation materials at the positive pole and the resultant lesser degree of concentration at the ' negativepole.Thisfirstfocus of action wascalledAgamLok; and its lord, Agam Purush, whowas brought into existenceatthesame time, was the first individual manifestation of the supreme one.All subsequent creation was nowtobe carried on through thisfirst individual manifestation. !he creativeenergy, now working through him, brought Into eXIstence the next region below him, which the saints have AlakhLok, and its lord , named Alakh Purush. Then, workIng. through him, the fourth subdivision and its lord are created. ThIS regionthe saints callSach Khand, and its governor they call Sat Purush orSat Nam.

Sat Purush is now to carry on all creative activity below him.In

preciselythesame manner every into existence, and atthesame time the lord of each region IS created and assumes charge of his station . This process goes.on until .last is reached, just abovethephysical universe . This IS Anda,aswe have already seen.The lord of that region,Kal Niranjan, now exercisingthe powers assignedto him, into the entire physical universe, and thewhole creative process IS complete . . . . .

Butthe program of creation was not sosimpleasItmay al?pear from theabove statement. Itwas extremely complicated. Not only wereafew grand divisions created, but numberless subdivisions, zones and subzones, region afterregion, plane after plane, each differing from therest, and eachone ruled overby.a lord or governor appointed bythe Creator, each with powers proportion tothe duties assignedtohim. For example, there IS not only one Brahm Lok, the region so prominently spoken of in the Hindu scriptures and believedby them tobe the highest plane ?f spiritual existence, but there are numberless Brahm Loks, with its Brahm ruling overit. There aregreat numbers of subordinate worlds,eachonerevolving about a higher plane or world much as planets revolve about thesun.Each sphere has its . There is not onlyonephysical universe but countless universes, and eachone of them hasits own governor. There IS not onlyone world likethis but, as you maysuspect, numberless such worlds revolving about their respectivesuns, and each hasits own spiritual ruler. The number of planets thus inhabited issogreat that no mathematician could count them ina thousand lifetimes,evenifhe could see them. .

Thus itwillbeseen that from the highest subdivision of all creation down tothelast and smallest planet or planetoid that maybe inhabitable, floating about among the countless stars, are lords and rulers appointed by the supreme one through his hierarchy of subordinates. The duty of each of theseisto out thewill and purposes of the Supreme. They are , hisexecutIves, hisviceroys,hisduly appointed governors . Assaid .before,. these rulers is subordinate totheonenextabove him, deriving of his powers from that one.

It is thus that the entire universe of universeswas created and organized, and is now governed bythe grand hierarchy. Thelowest member of this governing body isthe governor of asingle planet, and the highest isAgam Purush, whowasthefirst individual manifestation of the universal power. Each individual member of this grand hierarchy isLord .God over all below him, and through eachone of them all powers flowto the onenext belowhim. Upon each planet there arealso many subordinates working under the orders of the planetary ruler.At the foot of this grand hierarchy stands man himself.Hehashis own individual sphere of action-s-each member of the entire human race; and among allthe men of the world arevast numbers of individuals whoareselectedbythe planetary ruler to perform certain functions and duties. As arule,theyare not aware that theyhave been soselected and empowered. Nevertheless, they are working under orders, whether they know it or not , and they must servethe ' supreme power whether they willit or riot.This world is not joggingalongina haphazard, chaotic manner. Itis ,moving on according tothewill of the Supreme . It must attain thefinaldestinywilled by the Supreme, and no one candefeathis purposes.

Inthis grand hierarchy, the great ' Masters occupy a unique position. Theyarethe greatest among men . Not onlyso, but they work not under orders of the planetary ruler or any subordinate . ofthe grand hierarchy but under the orders of the supreme Sat Purush himself.Theyarehis chief executives on earth and they haveaspecial duty different from that of all others of the hierarchy; that is,torescuesouls from the maelstrom of material worlds and take them uptoSach Khand, from the bondage of the wheel of transmigration to spiritual liberty in the supreme region. That is their chief duty and that theyare doing, assaid before, under the direct supervision of the Supreme himself, quite independently of any of the subordinates, rulers or governors of subordinate regions.Theyhave this unique serviceassignedto them there isno other way that human soulscanescape from this bondage, this prisonhouse of maya.

Without theMasters,everysoul would be doomed to circulate

GODANDTHE GRAND HIERARCHY

through these regions of matter, worlds of pain and shadow, for endlessages.Itis thus that the loving kindness of the Supreme has provided the means of escapeforall who will avail themselves of it, and at the same time the Supreme has converted this material region into a training school forus. If we meet these conditions bravely and do the work as assigned by the Master, we become God-realized ourselves and rise above all material bondage to worlds of light and joy.

Into this general scheme, according to the earnings of his own karma, every individual man and woman takeshisplace,doesthe work which he must do, and creates new karma according tothe individual liberty of choice which hepossessesat the moment. When his work is finished, he departs to some other scene of action according tohis karmic earnings . And so the entire scheme carries on from agetoage, from yuga to yuga.

An interesting question now arises. Are wetocallall of these members of the grand hierarchy 'gods'? If not gods, how shallwe designate them? For we must not offend our rigid monotheists. If man isa part of the supreme one; issued from hisvery being, a . projection of hisveryself, then the individual man isnoless than agod,evenifavery humble specimen . The son of an animal isan animal; the son of a man isa man, and so the son ·of a god must beagod. What then shallwecallall those great lords and rulers? If wecall them gods , then our jealous monotheist will callus bad names for introducing another sort of polytheism. Mer all, what danger is therein a mere name? Why should it worry usso?We cannot just call them men. They are much above men, aswe know ourselves .

Just what isagod,anyway?Letus define the word, if only to clarify our discussion. Agodisa great being endowed with superhuman powers and prerogatives, among which arethe creation and governance of worlds. We acknowledge that thisdefinition is somewhat original. You will not finditin the dictionary. But it suits the purposes of this book and it accords with the teachings of the Masters. It will help ustokeep our meaning clear when weuse the term god. There are, therefore, many gods, with varying powers and degrees of authority; and still there is, presiding over them all,

THE NEGATIVE POWER

but in supreme authority. More accurately speaking, all godsm existence areso many individual manifestations of the supreme one.This should be .acceptableto our monotheists .

One other point requires a word of explanation, Weare not to thinking of any but the supreme being as endowed WIth creative powers. Thiswas because wewere not acquainted with the tea.chings of the great Masters. They know that many of the grand hierarchy have creative powers-practically all of them to some extent. For example, ithas been stated above that Kal· Niranjan is the creator of the physical universe. For thisveryreasonhehas been often mistaken for the supreme God of allcreation. Many devotees who go no higher than his region firmly believe him tobe the supreme God. But asa matter of facthe . , a. humble seatin the grand hierarchy. In spite of he IS the creator of this entire physical universe and he remams Its governor. He carries on here according to the will and orders .of the supreme one, as handed down to him byhis supenors: He generally referred toas the negative power becausehe IS stationed at the negative pole of creation. Yethis powersarevery great when compared with man's.

.It may be mentioned in passing that everyreal Master hasereative powers . Hehas the powers of life and death. Creations and dissolutions areinhis hands. The powers of any real Master far excel of Kal Niranjan, who actually created this world. But of a Master is not creation. His work liesin another Hecando whatever helikes but his work is definitely is no part of his duties to create or govern worlds. He Inthis world asa friendly visitor, and while here hedoes not Interfere with the routine management of affairs.Thisis one reathe whyhe seldom doesa miracle; hedoes not wishto contravene t e law.

7. THE NEGATIVE POWER

InSant Mat frt '. d .' equen mention IS mae of the negative power. We are now In.. . a position to explain exactly what is meant by that .

GODANDTHE GRAND HIERARCHY

term. It refersto that individual in the grand hierarchy who occupiesthe position of creatorandgovernornearesttothe poleof creation . Heis not thelowest in the hierarchv. him aremany subordinates. But of allthe negative powers)he IS supreme.Therestmaybecalledhisagents and subordinates. They carryon under hisorders)justashecarries on under the orders of hissuperiors.His name is Kal Niranjan , and his headquarters lie . atthe summit of Triloki, commonly calledtheThree Worldsthat is)thephysicaluniverse)Pind;theastralworld)Anda; and the causalworld)Trikuti)orBrahmLok,whichisthelower end of Brahmand (designatedas Trikuti or BrahmLok).

. Thesethree .greatsubdivisions of creation)inthe minds of the ancient rishis, constituted the entire sumofcreation.Beyond that theyknew of nothing. Kal Niranjan was then regarded asthesupremeGodoverallcreation.Buttothesaints)heisthenegative power) so named becauseheisat the negativepole of creation withmanyregionsabove him. Thesaintsalone know that he occupiesa subordinate position inthegrand hierarchy. Theyknow alsoofhis imperfections when compared with members of the grand hierarchy whooccupyhigherpositions. .

Contrasted with thisnegativepower)thesaintsspeak of Sat Purush asthe positive power.Herulesthewhole of creation from thepositive end of alltheuniverse of universes . Whilehe himself is not theveryhighest of allthe manifestations ofthe supreme one)yetheisgenerally regarded bythesaintsas our FatherandCreator.Heis)infact)Father and Creator tous.It 15 a significantfact that below him no member of the grand hierarchy haspowertocreatesouls.Theyhavecreativepowersovereverything else) but nopowertocreateasoul and nopowertodestroy asoul.InSat Purush, the supreme creativeenergycomestoperfect manifestation forthefirsttimeinallSatDesh.Agam purush andAlakh Purush aresoclosetotheuniversal)soslightlydifferentiated) that Sat Purush isgenerallyregardedasthefirst actUal completeexpressionofthe supreme one.He then festasthe supreme executivepowerofthewhole creatIOn. Hl5 region)SachKhand, may then be known asthegoverningcenter oftheentiresystem of universes.

NEGATIVE POWER

isinrealitythe supreme onetakingform and estab lishmghis theKing of kingsattheverygates of the supreme region, He IS thesovereignLordwith whom saintshave todealmos.tincarrying out their , sacredmission of returning soulsto final .home. To him all subordinates payhomage andfrom him they orders.HeisthegreatFather)the supreme Guru)thelightgiver of all saints.Tohimwe must all return ifweareeverto re-enter our original home. Heis our true Father.Heis our God.Allgods)lordsorrulersbelow himwemaylove and .honor) but our supreme devotion belongs toSat Purush, forhe IS therealLordGod of all worldsinexistAlakh Purush andAgam Purush, theinvisibleone and the . areso utterly incomprehensible) so fathomless and impersonal, that we approach them evenin thought. ·But Sat stands betweentheinfinitelightandtheereand somtime)whenwehavebeen purged of every imperfection, wemay approach him as our Father) 'see him with . ourglorified eyes) and receivehisgraciouswelcomeback home . Inthemeantime)whilewe sojourn inthis dark region of matter ) we todealwiththenegativepower. With himwe must contend in our ,for spiritual freedom. Itishis duty totry toholdushere)whileIt IS our duty totrytoescape.Theresulting purgesus and makesusstrong)andfitsusfor our homewa.rd Journey.Thiseverlastingfight)thisstruggleinawelter of pamand blood and heart cries)isdesignedbythe supreme Father topurgeusandmakeusclean)readyfor our homeward ascent. Letusneverbecomediscouraged.. All of thisisdesignedbythe Fatherfor.ourbenefit.It much asifoneentersa gymnasium ro take exercise. Ifwemeetthesedifficultiesintherightspirit)we greatly p:ofit, by. them.Theidea of pain andstruggleis to p . geusandinspiremusalongingtoriseabovetheregions of pamandshadow. . neAt.the present timeweare sojourners inthe country of the gatlvepower and our first duty is to find our waybackto our own home Whilh b' . It ..eere)wearesu ject tothelaws of this country IS tothe1fth . . . . seaws 0 e negative power that we refer whenwe

.

speakofthe laws of nature. Heisthe author of all as we know them. Forheis . the creator and lord of thephysical universe.HeistheGod of practically allthereligions,for but thesaints and their .students know ofany other god;yetthis negativepower,soexalted and souniversally . worshipped the supreme LordGod,isinfactonly.a power .m the grand hierarchy. of theuniverse.He 1S the negatrve power, and as suchhe must havesomenegativequalities. Of course,when compared with man, heisveryexalted,full light, wisdom and power. It is only when compared with the posmve power that hislesserlight becomes manifest . Tothisveryfactwemay the origin of what wecallevil;for 'evilis but alesser This problem will bediscussed more fullyin Chapter Seven,Section 10. . Subordinate tothegreatnegativepower, there are three others whose names must be mentioned here.Theyarethe famous Hindu trinity-Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.Thesearecalled,sons of Kal Niranjan . Oriental cultures explain abstract concepts in terms of human relationships tomake them more easily So these three aresaidtobesons of Brahm, whose other pame 1S Kal Niranjan. Thefemale counterpart of Kal Niranjan is who infact represents another creative current. Out -of the of .thesetwogreat currents, three subordinate currents flow into the lower 'worlds, and to these are attributed the creation of alllower worlds.These three became creators, lords and governors of lowerworlds under theirfather, Niranjan , andtheir mother , Shakti, Theyaresaidtobe more directly under the supervision of their mother. .

Infact,these three represent creative currents; they carry the creative impulses from thegreaterpowersabove.Buttheyhave beengiventhese individual names as persons. It-is wellto ber that allcreative currents may become personal, that 1S, take individual formandassume individual duties. Now these three have generally been accepted as the trinity of ?ods, mo.s t commonly known in their pantheon. Millions worship them spiteof their subordinate position. Theyeach perform a cert31Il function incarryingonthe work oftheworld,in producing human

bodies, and inkeepingthose bodies going.Theyareagents of the supreme power inserving mankind. Theyare not godstobe worshipped. Who will worship hisservants?Theyare subordinates in the grand hierarchy. Buteach ,of them has certain powers and prerogatives, and within hisown sphere heisall-powerful.He carrieson according todefinitelaws and ruleslaid down forhis government. Theseagainarelaws of nature. Brahma, Vishnu and Shivamaybe regarded asservants of thenegativepower,orhis working committee. Inallrespects,theydohis bidding, eachin hisown department.

Stilllower than thesethree, there is another current orgodor powerwhoisalsoone of the working forces, helping to carry' on the administration of thephysicaluniverse.His name isGanesh. Hestands practically atthefoot of thelist of subordinates whose businessitistoserve mankind and helptocarryonthe work of thisworld.Inthe subtle regionsclosetothe earth, there isagreat ho st ofbeingscalled devas , devtas, spirits,etc.Thesearegenerally calledangelsinEnglish.Theyarebeings something above ordinary men and helpto man in many ways.Theyhavegreat powers and are quite willingtoservepeoplewholivein harmony with them .

Last of allis humanity itself,attheveryfootofthe grand hierarchy.If man worksin harmony withallthosepowersabovehim, he will surelyreceive their help and will eventually risetothe po sition wherehewillfinda Master and then accomplish hisfinal return home. .

It maybesaidwith emphasis that between man and allthose exalted beingswho compose the grand hierarchy there isno differenceatallinquality, .that is,in. theessential character of the souLThereisadifferenceindegreeonly,adifferenceinthefullness of endowment. The fundamental qualities of spirit arewisdom , power and love. Thelargerthe measure of these three asoul PO ssesses, the higher doesit rank inthe grand hierarchy.

Analysis of Man: The Psychology ofthe Masters

1. THE NEW -OLD PSYCHOLOGY

IN ORDERTODISCUSS intelligiblysomeof.themost important teachingsoftheMasters) itis necessary toofferatleastabriefoutline of their psychology.Andletussayatthe outset that whatwe mean bypsychologyis not what that term has . cometosignifyinthe modem schools.Asthe word isusedinthisdiscussion ) itincludes thescience of mind and soul-what they both arein fundamental structure and function)andthe relation betweenthetwo , as well as their reactions under test conditions .

Thispsychology of theMastersis both theoldestandthenewestpsychologyknown.Itistheoldestbecauseits main points have been known and taught bytheMasterseversincetheybeganto instruct students onthisplanet. That wassolongago that no historian caneven attempt totrace it. Itwasoldagesbeforethe Vedas wereever heard of) and itwasonlywhenthe pure teachings of thesaintsbegantobe obscured and corrupted that theVedas came.ItwasoldlongbeforetheChinesesagesbegantospeculate

upon theabstruse and theunknown)theoccultandthemystical. It wasoldlongbeforethegreatcataclysmchangedtheface of the continents andraisedthe Himalayan mountains to their present height. It wasoldwhenthefirst known empire) stretching back intoSatYuga,theGolden Age) built itscivilization upon thegreat plateau whichisnowTibet and theGobidesert. It wasoldbefore theSanskritlanguagewasspokenin that central empire of prehistoriccivilization;fortheMasters)system has watchedthedecline ofSanskritandthe simultaneous decline of all known civilizations .

It must be remembered that mastership is not a product of modem civilization.Ithasbeenthe chief factorin producing all civilizations) including the modem one.Mastershaveexistedin this creation formillions of years) andthesystemnow outlined in this book hasbeen taught bytheMastersto their disciples ' for millions of years. Always during prehistoric eras)whilethe majority of theracewasonthedecline) descending toward whatwenow call primitive savagery) theMastersheldaloftthe torch of spiritual truth) pointing thewayforallwho had eyestoseeit.Tothoseas wouldlistentothem)ineveryagetheMastershave taught this age-oldpsychology and at thesametimegivenexactknowledge of theyoga of theaudiblelifestream . of theMastersis also new)becausetodayscarcely asinglescholar in Europe orAmericahasever heard of it.Ithas never itswayintoany of the modem schoolsor into any book.Uptothepresent)fewrepresentatives of EnglishspeakingpeopleshadeverlivedwithagreatMasterlong enough tolearnhisscience and towriteitdowninabook.Thismaybe bv ofthefirst attempts in history togivethissciencetotheWest yaWesternman.Theteachings of theMastershavescarcely been heard of intheWest.

Itmust)however)bekeptin mind that thisis not another stateoftheVedanticphilosophy. It isno more Vedantism than it IS IslamorChristianity.Thereal, science of theMasters,aspreinthisbook, must neverbe confused withthevarious Hmdu systems) philosophies orreligions. It is none of them . This

ANALYSIS OFMAN

writerwasonceaccusedof"goingcrazyoversome Hindu religion."ButthisisnoHiridureligion. It not areligionatall. Hindu philosophieshavemanyfeaturesin common withSant Mat;butthemost essential dements ofthissciencearequiteunique andnotwidelyknowneveninIndiaamongthevastmajorityof Indian scholars.Thisisbecausethe Hindu pundits havebeenso preoccupied withtheirownsystemsoflearning that theyhave nevertakenthe trouble toinvestigatetherealscienceoftheMasters.Learningoftenstandsinitsownlight.

What thenisthepsychologyofthe Masters} Thisis almost equivalenttoaskingwhatis man himself.Becauseinorderto answerthequestionwe must firstanalyzeman.Inspiteofthe, oftquoted statement ofPope, that thegreateststudyof mankind is man,howamazinglylittledoesmanknowabouthimself!The greatbody of modern psychologicaldissertationsbypsychologists isbased upon the phenomena of human consciousnessasaremanifestedindailylifeorinthelaboratory.Manhimselfthey scarcely attempt toanalyze.Theyare not tobeblamedforthis,because theyarenot equipped todothework;besides,theydonotbelieve thatcompleteknowledgeofthe constitution ofmanisavailableto science.Theyknow nothing oftheMastersor of theirscience. Indeed itis doubtful ifthe great psychologists have the facili. tiestomakesuch analysis. Theyhaveneitherthe facilities nor the method.'

Of late years, much emphasishasbeenplaced upon psychoanalysis-far toomuch,wethink. What meanshavethepsychologistsforagenuineanalysisofthe psyche? Theyhavewrittenmany bookson psychoanalysis, which sound sovery profound, all attempting toexplainmental phenomena intermsofphysicsand physiology-hence the , physiologicalpsychologyofMacDougall andothers.Greatandpainstakingeffortshavebeenmadetocataloguementalreactionstogivenstimuliandtoestablishthe tionsofeachreactionto all others. Out of thismoreorlessfruit-

1. Sincethe 1930'S thevariedfieldsofpsychologyhave developed extensively,from behavioral and mechanistic systems to richer, humanistic approaches which toa fuller understanding ofthe human consciousness.Inthefinalanalysis,however,It IS the livingMasteralonewhocanleadthe individual toself-realization

WHAT ISTHEREAL MAN?

ful soilgrew the far-reachingpostulates of Dr.SigmundFreud, upon whichwasfoundedtheso-calledscience of psychoanalysis, a systemonceso popular but whichappearsevennowtohaveentered upon itsdecline.

Andsothepsychologistcontinuestostudythese phenomena, but hehas not even touched themore important facts of the constitution of manhimself.Heis not tobeblamedforthis,as saidbefore,becausehehasnotthe facilities forsuchastudyand analysis. Atthiswriting, we believe that thereis not asingle noted Westernpsychologistlivingwhocanspeakwithassuranceofactualknowledgeastowhethermanhaseither mind orsoulapart fromhis body.

Whileaman lives, wecanexamine,recordandstudyhisphenomena.Whenhedies,thescientistputshimonthetable,dissecting instruments in hand. andwhatdoeshefind?Neither mind norsoul, nor anyconsciousness.Noresponsetohis instruments. Hefindsonlyan inert thing,a bundle of musclesandbones,of brainandnervetissues,which gives noresponsetohistechnical apparatus.Thescientistwalks out of his laboratory puzzledand dejected.Whathasbecomeofhisman, that beingwhoonlyyes- ' terday thought, hoped,loved,andthendied?Certainlyit isn't that thingwhichliesthereonthetable, that thingwhichyoucancut withyourknife, that thingwhichyoucansliceoffandplace under yourmicroscope. Map surely isn't that helplessthingwhichyou wrapina shroud andlowerintothegravetobecomefoodfor worms? Surely not that!

2. WHAT IS THE REAL MAN?

Whatarethe component partsoftherealman?Thisquestion will beansweredin yourlaboratories . Neither will youeverfind In hypotheticalpsychoplasmtherealbasisorthegenesisof Thesadfactisthat modern psychologyknowsnothIngat all abouttherealman, nor doesitevenclaimtoknowso Letusgiveitcreditforthat.Psychologyis not tobeblamed forItslimitations.Wedo not blameababybecauseit cannot ,

W HA TIS THEREAL MAN?

walk Thesciencehasstruggledheroicallytogainwhatlittleknowledgeithas, and we cannot deny that ithas accomplished much that is of value.Itisapity,however, that its present knowledgeis not converted into practical values.Letus thank itstireless workers. Neither canweblamepsychologyforitsfailuretosolvethe most important problems of itsownscience. It could not doso.It nevercandoso. It is working under toogreata handicap. Itcan neversolvethese problems bythe method of theschools.It must eventually turn totheMastersforhelp.

Who cansolvethemystery? Who telluswith certainty just whatis man orhis inmost constitution and component parts? When shallthe world be startled bythe announcement inthe morning papers that a man's mind and soulhavebeenisolated and demonstrated as fundamental realitieswhichscience must henceforth recognize?Wefear that announcement isyetsome distanceinthefuture.

Butthereare men today who can tellexactlywhat man isin everyaspect of hisbeing. There isonlyoneclass of men inthe world whoare equipped togive 'us this information, and theyare not known tothe body of scientists.TheyarethegreatMasters. Theyare the super-scientists. How doesitcome that they know so much more than the schools-the greatschools of the modem age? Itisbecausetheyaloneare equipped and abletoseparate themselvesfromthephysicalbody, look upon themselves apart from that body,and,last of all, separate themselvesfromthe mind and look upon themselvesas pure spirit.Theyare then ableto look down from their lofty viewpoint and study the entire phenomena of their ownlivesaswellasthelives of others. Thus they areabletoobservethe behavior of bodies, of minds, and then of pure spirit detached from allcoverings.

TheMastersareabletodoallthisinfull eonseiousness and can report their findings and record them. TheMasterscan a<;tuall:y see their own minds and the minds of others, and observe their behavior.Thisprocess,strictlyscientific,maybe done under the most rigidtest conditions, and maybe repeated as often asmaybe desired and byas many different peopleasmaybequalifiedfor

the experiment. Their findingsareinallcasesexactlythesame when done under thesame conditions. Certainly the Mastersare theonlyqualifiedscientistsorpsychologists.Theyalonecompass the entire field of science, and nothing everescapes their scrutiny. Thevery word psychology, takenfromtheGreek psyche, means 'the science of the soul' . That assuredlywasthe meaning attached toitbytheoldGreekMasters.But modern scientistshave made it almostexclusivelya study of the mind, and evenat that theyare practically limited to psycho-physiological phenomena. They never know whether theyaredealingwith chemico-physiological reactions of brain and nervetissuesorwith something whichis independent of brain and nerves.Nopsychologistcantellyou withassurancewhat thought is.ButtheMasterscantellyoubecausetheyareableto see thoughts and watch them form and disappear. Mental reactions, under allsorts of stimuli, are just as visibletotheMastersasphysical reactions arevisibleto other scientists.Finally,theMastersareableto detach themselveseven fromthe mind itself and observethemselves and others as pure spirit. It isonly then that the Master obtains perfectknowledgeas towhat man is. When heactuallyobserves himself as spirit only, free from all coverings including mind, then he knows that he isessentially spirit and that mind and allbodiesare but instruments,coverings needed onlyfor contacts with matter in material regions .

Letus now set down afew of the observations of theMasters concerning theactual constitution of man.Indoingso,weinvite thepsychologists of theschoolsto enter the laboratory of the Masters and makethe experiment forthemselves. It would bebest for them iftheycameinthe spirit of thegreatscientistAlexander Agassiz, whosaid: . . .

Letthescientific student sitdownbeforethefacts,asalittle child,andenquireofthem.

ItisuselesstocometothegreatMastersunless' onecomes in that spirit .

3 . THE SEVERAL PARTS OF MAN

Beginningwiththelower stratum, wemaysaythat,firstofall, manisananimal.Heisaphysicalbody,calledin Sanskrit sthul sharir. Thismuch will notbedisputed,exceptperhapsbythose whodenytheexistence of allmatter.Atanyrate,we all know that wehavesomethingwhichwecallbody,whichsometimesgets hurt orsick,andwhichfinallydiesand returns tothesoil. Thereisthen another maninsideofthisphysicalman,amuch finerbodycalledbytheMastersthe sukhsham sharir, or'subtle body', nuri sarup, or'lightbody'. It is commonly calledtheastral bodybyWesternstudents who havealittleknowledgeonthe subject.Itissocalledbecause when seen, itappearstosparkle withmillionsoflittleparticlesresemblingstardust. It ismuch lighterandfiner than thephysicalbody.Thisbodyeveryperson possesses anduseshere .andnow , although hemaybe unconsciousofit;anditis through andbymeans of thisfinerbodythat the mind andsoulareabletomakecontactwiththephysicalbody andtheoutsideworld.This filler bodytakesshapein harmony withthecharacteroftheindividual.Ontheplanewheretheastral bodyfunctions,nodeceptionispossible.Everyoneisseenjustas heis.Thisastralbodyhasits five sensesjust the sameasthe physicalbody. When thephysical body dies,thisfiner body remains asthe instrument of expression upon that higher plane oflife.

Insidetheastralbody,andquitedistinctfromit,thereisstill another body much finerandmoresubtle than the astral. It is calledbytheMastersthe karan sharir. Thatmeans 'the causal body',so named becauseinitistherealcauseorseedofallthat is evertotakeplacein that individual'slife. It isalsocalled bij sharir, meaning ' seedbody'.Thisbodyisasmuchfiner than theastralas theastralisfiner than thephysical.Itmaybedividedintotwoor morestrata,each of whichisgivenadifferentname. It issometimescalledthe mental body. It mayberegardedasa portion of the mind itself,actingasasortofsheath around thesoul, very sensitivetoimpressionsfromthesoul.Itsfunctionistoreceive

and transmit impressionsbetween mind andsoulononeside, andbetweenthe mind andtheastralbodyontheotherside.

Inthisbodyaperfectrecordisleftofeveryexperienceofthe individual, running through allofthecountlessagesofitsexistence.Out of all of theseexperiencescharacterisformed,andfrom that characterallactions flow. Ifoneisabletoreadthoserecords, astheMasterandmanyotherscando , hecanseeexactlywhat thatmanhasdoneorhaddoneto him during hisentire pastalsowhatheisgoingtodointhefuture. It isallthere,thefuture inseedform,thepastinvisiblerecord.

The karan sharir is man's highestandfinest instrument ofaction,except mind itself,andit is not easy todifferentiatebetween thisbodyandthemind,astheyare both partsofthesamething. It is through thisbody that thesoulcontactsallthelowerlevelsof life,working through thestilllowerbodies,as mentioned above. Bothbelongtoandaretakenfromuniversal mind and both must eventuallybe returned touniversalmind.Bothareofextremely highvibrations,and both are full oflightandendowedwith great power.That endowment comes,however,fromsoul .

Themindisthe fourth unit inthe construction of man.We havealreadysaid that itissocloselyrelatedtothe karan sharir thatitisnoteasytodistinguishbetweenthem.Forclearnessof thought,letusassume that mind issomethingfiner .than karan sharir, moresubtleandincloser proximity tothesoulitself. It is . alsoendowedwithmuchgreaterpowers,becauseitisincloser relationwiththesoul.

Solongasweareinmaterialregions,wemustretainthe mind andthe karan sharir. If wearetomanifestontheastralplaneswe mustalsohave both the karan sharir andthe sukhsham sharir, the causalandtheastral. Andifwearetomanifestonthephysical plane , wemusthaveallthreeoftheabove instruments. Finally, whenanindividualrisesfromthephysicaltotheastral, then the andfinallyleavesthecausalonhisupwardjourney,he dIscardsallthree instruments. Thisisbecausehenolongerneeds them.Whenhereachestheregionnextabovethecausalplane,he findshimselfclearofall instruments andbeholdshimselfaspure

PARTS

spirit.He then knowsallthings,rejoicesinall things, by direct perception-without instruments of communication or mediation. That regionis known toMastersasDaswanDwar.

It maybedifficultforusto understand how a person candiscard his mind and still know anything. Thisisbecausewehave beenso accustomed toregard mind as the instrument of knowing, but asa matter of fact,itis not mind that knows. Mind aloneisas powerlessto know asisan automobile, Butitisa good instrument usedbythesoulto contact objects of knowledgeon material .planes. Butthesoulalonedoestheactualknowing. ,Forthisreason,when thesoulrisestoDaswanDwar and above,ithasno need of the mind orany of the material bodies. It knows,assaidbefore,by direct perception. All knowledgeis open toit without anysort of instrument.

The mind itselfis sometimes divided into different sectionsaccording tothe plane upon which one is operating. The nijmanas, 'inner mind', carriestheseeds of all actions within itself. It carries the .sanskaras, i.e., impressions of all former lives. Sometimes we speak of thecausal mind, the sukhsham mind, and the physical mind, according totheregionorplane upon which the mind is operating; but itisonlya distinction for A more detailed discussion of the mind isgiveninthe next section. Last of all,wecometothereal man-the soul,orthespirit. Thesetwo terms weuse synonymously. Thisis the verycore ofhis being, and itisthe fifth unit inthe structure of thebeingwe call man, aswesee him inthislife. Remember, hehasallfive of these elements whilelivingherenow.Butallthelower units, whichare only instruments, hediscardsonebyoneasheadvances upward. Thisisbecausehehasnousefor them onthe higher planes,each . instrument being suited forexpressiononly upon a particular plane of life.

Thesoulisthereal man, the atman , orassome prefer to call it, the purush . The individual soulisa spark from the infinite light,a drop from the ocean of being. Assuchitisonewith Him--one in substance, one inqualities. It isinthesoul that all consciousness and all power resides.Allbelowthesoul,eventhe mind itself,is

unconscious, automatic, and mechanical inaction.Infact,everything inexistenceis entirely dependent upon spirit foritslife and activity.Eventhe humblest plant orthesmallestinsect lives and carriesonitsactivitiesby virtue of spirit ; the tiny spark of spirit that givesitbeing.Allelse inman passesawayoris discarded by him onhis upward flight toward perfectfreedom.

Were it not forthe soul's temporary sojourn inthese material regions, there would benoneedforany of these instrumentsthesebodiesandthe mind. Owingtothe extreme fineness of spirit,it cannot contact the coarser worlds without an intermediate instrument. Hence itisobligedto clothe itselfin some sort of medium of contact. Forthisvery reason the supreme being himself cannot manifest on these material planesor appear to men andgive them instructions. A material body isnecessaryinall cases.This again is one reason whyaliving, embodied Guru is necessary. It isthe only waythe supreme one can manifest himself to man onthis plane .

A soulisasoul,no matter how highorlowmaybeitsstatus.Its statusisgenerally measured byits instruments, especiallyits mind. Inanycase,thesoulisaderivative of the Supreme and identical in substance.TheMasterstellus that the entire universeisfilledwith souls. There isno vacant spacewheresoulsarenot.Some of them have better minds and better bodies than others. In other respects . thereisnodifference between amoeba and man, between aninsect . andasavant.Thisfactmakes clear thesignificance of the teaching oftheMasters concerning transmigration. Metempsychosis is not soeasyforthe Western mind. Butwhencarefully studied, itbecomes not onlya rational explanation of many mysteries but it offersa most beautiful spectacle. .

Ilook out upon my garden vegetables,fruits and flowers.In that garden are thousands of precious souls kindred tomyself, strugglingby means of their tiny sparks of intelligence,striving toward thelight , each one slowlyrisingto something a higher than itself.Theyareall ascending thescale of evolution, as our physicalscientists would describe the situation. This phenomenon emphasizesthe common brotherhood, the fundamen-

HE ANALYSIS O F MIND ANALYSIS OFMAN

tal kinship, between allliving beings, including animals. It offersa sublime picture, this grand procession of all living forms, slowly moving toward that "far-off divine event» spoken of by Tennyson. It isthe best consummation of all evolution when the last grain of dust shall enter the light of immortality.

4. THE ANALYSIS OF MIND

We are now ina position togoto the very center of our psychological problem. Weare ready toanalyze mind itself,to discover . itsseveral parts and its functions. If modern psychology were prepared totellusexactly what mind is,it would beina position to give the world areal scientific psychology. Butas said before, the Masters alone areabletotellusexactly what mind is.In the region of Trikuti, the causal world, the mind is acquired. The soul inits descent through that region picks up the mind asits equipment foruse on the lower planes. That region is the seat of universal mind. It is the region from which all mind is derived. Justas the soul originates in the region of universal soul,so now the mind is acquired inthe region of universal mind. Mind is joined tothesoul, not ina permanent union but ina time union. Letus say,afterafashion,it is wrapped about it,coveringthesoul, and at thesametime obscuring much of itslight and hampering itsactivity.

. I remember once I put on a diving suit whileIwas connected with the United StatesNavy during the Great War . I had tosee just what itwasliketowalk on the bottom of the sea.I know not . how much that suit weighed.The boots alone wereso heavy that I had tohavehelptowalktotheedge of the boat from which Iwas toslide down into the sea,sixtyfeetbelow.But when -I waswalking on the bottom of the sea,Ifelt no particular weight in those boots. But itwas equipment I had tohave.Inlike manner, the numerous bodies which the soul acquires on itsway down constitute an enormous handicap if one wishestogoupagain.Butifhe wishes togo down or remain down heis obliged tohave them .

Now thesoul, equipped with this necessary handicap, begins its

career in regions of mind and matter. At that moment it begins to accumulate karma. Before that it had no karma, except that which the Eastern wisdom calls adi karma. Thisisthe primal karma, and it consists of the action of the creative force,thereal Shabd, whose function itisto bring soulsto the material planes in order that they may begin to accumulate experience. Now the soul begins to acquire experience upon its own initiative. Itsera of swabhava; or swadharma, 'self-regulation ', now begins. This means that itbeginsto establish an individual law of its own life,its own regime , and to create its own destiny. It begins toenjoy,tosuffer,to reap rewards and topay penalties. And this is the beginning of its own karma. Thus it inaugurates its long, long series of earth lives.By each and everyact from that time on, it stores up karma. Even when itisleastactive,stillitis making karma. And inall of this activity,its mind isits chief instrument. Itis the mind working always under thelaw of cause and effect that creates karma.

The mind is not self-conscious or self-acting. Ithas no power of autornotion or of initiative. Itis simply a machine, though highly sensitive and extremely powerful when motivated by spirit. Asa machine, itcanbe made todo what it was intended todo, and that only just like any other machine. It will never do anything different from what itwas fashioned and trained todo. Of course, all machines are automatic in action, but we speak of the mind as an automatic machine for the sake of emphasizing that point. Thisisan important fact which must be made asclear and as definite aspossible. It isanew thought to the Western world. Weare not accustomed to think of mind asa machine. We havealways been taught that if there was anything that had powers of origination and initiative, itwas mind. But that was because we had been taught a wrong psychology. Mind and spirit have greatly confused in Western psychology. Only spirit can think, ongmate, and takethe initiative. Mind works only when activated bythesoul.Butin Western psychology mind and spirit are generally confused. But few,if any, know the difference between them ' D" . rvme mind' isa common expression among certain students. But there isno divine mind. The supreme divinity isfaraboveall

ANALYSIS OFMAN

mind. Only thenegative power and his subordinates have minds just like human beings.The fundamental difference between mind and spirit, between the . soul and the instrument, must be understood ifweareto comprehend thepsychology of theMasters or to understand ourselves. Much depends upon this point in our understanding of the fundamental problems of thisscience.

Wehave now seen that mind is only an instrument whichencumbers thesoul, obscures itslight and impedes itsprogress, but itis absolutely necessarywhileweare operating onthese material planes.Inthe second place,aswehavesaidso many times; the mind isonly a machine. Mind alone cannot think, cannot will, cannot love.It cannot remember nor suffer nor enjoy.Todoall of these things it must, inevery instance, beactivatedbyspirit.

Spiritaloneisthe motive power to mind, just astheelectric current isthe power that movesthe machinery. Justaswe cannot seethe current moving the machine, so we cannot seethe spirit moving the man. We think only of the machine whichwecansee. Weseethe human body and we have become accustomed to think of the mind asthe chief power moving it.Buteveryactivityin the universeiscarriedonbyspirit, and spiritonly.Spiritworks through many intermediate substancesontheseplanes. Without spirit, mind isas inert assteel. Mind is matter just as truly assteel, but infinitely more refined. Thus it stands nextto spirit inall of itsessential qualities.The chief function of mind istoserveasan instrument . of spirit forall contacts withthe material worlds.

Of course, mind isa most useful instrument, provided itis kept under the control of the spirit. Mind isanexcellent servant but a very bad master.Your automobile or your airplane isafine in "; strument fortravel.Butyou must keepit under control and guide it.Ithasno will but your will. Soitiswith your mind, exactlyso. If your car .is permitted to run wild, under fullpower,itissureto cometogrief.Itknowsno better than to run on asithas been trained to run. It cannot see and it cannot reason.Soitiswith mind, inevery particular. Itis your servant, but if it becomes your master itmayspeedily bring disaster upon you.Wehavealways

ANTA SHKARANS

been taught that mind reasons, but itdoes not reason.Itactswith automatic precision exactlyasitis stimulated toact.

Mind isabletocarry on deductive processes, but ithasno power of induction. How oftenthisis demonstrated inthecaseof hypnosis.Give the subject certain premises, no matter how absurd theymaybe,he will act upon such premises with automatic deduction. Butsucha mind has no power of synthesis and ra• tional induction. Spiritalonehaslightinit, and spirit alonecan work independently and rationally.Wehaveonlytoobservea littlethe actions of peoplethewhole world over.Everywhere and allthetime,peopleact more like machines than they dolike rational beings . And that isbecause they are .moved by mind in grooves, just astheyhave been taught toact.Itistherare individualwhodoes independent thinking, and when one does that itis becausehis spirit hastosome extent become emancipated from the domineering control of mind.

5. THE FOUR ANT ASHKARANS

Thissubjectissovery important that we must devotealittle more timetoit.We must makeourselvesfully acquainted withthe mind inallofitsfaculties and itsseveral modes of action. Mind is divided into four parts, calledin Sanskrit antashkarans, or antahkaran . This means 'inner modes of action' .Wemaysayit has four primary attributes, facultiesorqualities.Thesefourdivisions of mind are named manas, chitt, buddhi, and ahankar.

(1 ) Manas is ' mindstuff', per se. Itis that whichreceives and registers impressions through thesenses of smell,taste, hearing andfeeling. Its chief function is taste. Ittastes,relishes,enjoysor rejectswhatit doesn't like.Feelings and tasteare practically the samething.All of its reactions are automatic. The manas enjoys whatithasbeen ' trained tolike, and its reactions are instantaneous.It either likesatasteorrejectsit automatically. It then passesonitsfindingstothe buddhi forfinal judgment.

( 2) Chitt is that facultywhichtakescognizance of form,beauty,

"

ANALYSIS OFM AN

I " hythm harmony andperspective.Itenjoysthosethings, " coor,r, ," ' t and whatitdoesn 't likeitrejects.It receives Its mosly through theeyesasits instruments of perceptl?n. It. then passes ,fiditothe buddhi Inall of thesereactlOns,Itsprocesses onItsnmgs . . ' areasregularand automatic asarethe reactions of chemistry..

(3) Buddhi istheintellect proper, that power the asIts chief instrument of thought , When empowered by spirit, It. prod thought It discriminates anddecides.It then passes judg- , uces. d ,. " " all thefindingsofthe other twofaculties . Its ecisions ment upon are then passedontothefinal court ofexecution, (4) Ahankar acceptsthedecisionsofthe other ontoitby buddhi and executesits It, the facultyof mind. Itisalsothe themdlVldual.It IS the facultybywhichthe individual self and itisthefacultywhichenablesthe individual to dlstmgmsh tweenhisowninterestsand that ofothers.Itisthefacultywhich, whenexaggerated,becomesvanityoregotism.

To sum uptheabove: manas--receives andtastes chitt-«takesnoticeofform and beauty buddhi-discriminates and decides ahankar-executes orders . Thisleadsustoone of the most important and most practIcal ofallthefactsand operations ofthe mind. The mind has ' not four fundamental facultiesor attributes but ithasfivedestructIve modes 'of actionwhich manifest themselveswhenthe above-mentioned facultiesbecome -disarranged, abnormal orperverted: fivedestructivemodesare perversions ofthe norm:I facultiesnses tothedownwardimpulsesofmaya,the world of andse he " That istosay,thoseveryfacultieswhichwere by Creator for man's usemay become so by df they become destructive instead ofconstructIve, mstea d W ecall them thefivedestructivepassions.It IS extrem Y goo. hink f them as " important that we them. Wemayt 10 diseased conditions ofthe mmd. ", of When the mind is working normally inItslegItimatespheres

action,itiscarryingontheworkitwas intended todo . Butwhen theleast perversion ofits normal facultiestakesplace,thesefive destructivemodestakepossession of oneor more orall of them, and control the mind. Solongas spirit controls the mind, the fourfaculties perform their proper function and thesepassions cannot manifestthemselves.Butwhenthe mind runs wild, out of control, under theimpulse of oneor more ofthefivepassions,it generallyheadsfor destruction.

Thesefive destructive passionsare: kam, krodh,lobh, moh, ahankar. InEnglishtheyaresexpassion(whichhas become lust), anger,"greed, attachment to material things,andvanity . Thesefive passionsreallyincludeall other evil moods of mind whichcanbe thought of.Thesepassions take possessionwhen mind isallowed to run wild, out of the control ofthespirit.

Fireisagoodservant.Butthe moment itis out of control, it maybecomeverydestructive. It is thesamewiththe mind . Generallythe more useful and powerfulan instrument is when properly controlled, the more destructive itmay become when out of control. It is sowith mind. It isthe most powerful instrument availabletospirit, but it must be controlled.

Letus not condemn nature, but tryto understand and obey " her.Sheis our bestfriendifwefirst learn toobey. Understanding her,wemayworkinclose cooperation withherto our verygreat advantage. It maybe assumed that all pain andallsuffering,mentalorphysical, whichmenareevercalled upon to endure, haveas their chief function todriveus toward a more perfect cooperation with nature. Ifonlywecouldlearn that lesson,itwouldsaveus manya ruined life, many a heartache, and many awreckedbody. Butsolongaswedo not obey nature, "we must goonsuffering endlessills.

Wemarvelatthepowers of electricity.We stand inawebefore thegiganticenergyletlooseattheexplosion of a ton of TNT • We findourselveshelplessbeforethe onward sweep of a mighty cycl?ne oravalanche . Butalltheseforcesarefeeblewhen compared WIth thefully ,awakenedpowers of mind . Thechiefdifficultyis that but fewpeopleknowhow .to awakenorinvokethepowers of

ANALYSIS OFMAN

mind.Anditisagoodthing that more don't, intheirpresent stateofmoral and spiritualevolution.Butwhenmenbecome morallyresponsible,theirpowers will automatically increase. .

Thereispracticallynolimittowhat mind dowhe.n proper.lyawakenedand trained and vitalizedby spmt. y?gl, knowinghowtoawakenand control thepowersofhisownmind, canstopa train atanyplacehemaywishittostop.Hecanstarta downrushofraininfive minutes out ofaclearsky,orhecandry upafloodofwater.Hecan do almostanythinghelikes.Butthis isonlyplayingwith natural forces.All miracl.es. are but theplayof mind.Theyarenotthe operations ofanydivinepower, most peoplebelieve.Buttodothesethingshemustlearntwo thmgshe must becomemorallyresponsibleandthenhe must learnhow to control hisownmind.After that hecandowhathewishes.Of course,he will notwishtobreakany moral law.Ifheweretodo sohewouldlosehispowersatonce.

'It stands to reason,anditis substantiated byourdailyexperiences, that ifsuchgiganticpowerswereletloose, out oriftheycouldbeinvokedbyanevil it mightb.rmg terofthemostterriblesort. It is,therefore,amostgracious provisionofthe Creator thatnomanisabletoinvokesuchpowers untilhehasfirstlearnedto control hisownpassions,checkall evil tendenciesandallselfishimpulses . Otherwisesuchamanmight wreckthewholeworld.ButtheMasters can dothese things-not onlytheMaster but manyofhisadvanceddisciples. . .

Theessential point hereis that the mind is averygreatpower . and .it must bekeptincontrol.Rightlyused,itmaybemade . workmarvels, but ifallowedtoassertitselfina lawless ma.nner,It may bring unspeakabledisastertoitsowner, to othersaswell.Wheneveranyofthe five evil paSSIOns IS allowedto run wild,itmeansineachandeverycasethata force whichwas meant for our goodhasbeen turned into ment of destruction. Nofaculty of mind everworksof It IS motivated byspirit,anditisas automatic inits as IS the explosion of a stickofdynamite.Itisonly when spirit takescontrolthat mind isdirectedinsafeandsanechannels. It may ·then be compared toafinecarwithagooddriveratthewheel.

THEFOUR ANTASHKARANS

Every agitation, stimulation, orexcitationof mind inanyofits functions creates thought-forms whichmaybeseenonthesubtle planes. Thoughts arethings,justas much ascloudsorhouses.The fourfaculties mentioned before,whensetin motion byanysortof stimulus,beginautomaticallytocreate thought-forms andset waves in motion. Andthe mind will dothesethingswiththeprecisionof chemistryormachinery.It cannot dootherwise. It hasnopower tooriginate independent thought, nor canitreason upon any proposed course of action.

Wearewellaware that thisisall contrary toourWesternpsychology.ButWesternpsychologydoesnot understand themechanism of mind. Mind cannever will to depart fromitsbeaten path,anymore than alocomotivecan will toleavethetrack upon which it hasbeenset.Habitisthechief method ofmentalaction. Habitsarelikenedtogroovesinwhichactions run . The first thing which mind does,afteritisagitated and brought into action, isto establishagroove,whichwecallhabit.After that, itis much easier forittogoon.Aftermany repetitions, the mind runs on. very smoothlyinitsgrooves and enjoysit.Andit much resents being disturbed andcompelledtoget out ofitsgrooves.Eachtime mind isagitatedbythesamething,it will react justasitdidearlier.

Weoftenhearpeopleblamingothers,insisting that theycould do differently, iftheywould. Yes, but they cannot will to dodifferently.Theycanchooseonlywhattheirmindshavebeenpredisposedtochoose,unlessanewimpulsecomesinfromthespirit. And that is not frequent intheaveragelife.Peopleareusually driven slaves of habit and custom .

Mind will neverselectanewcourseofactionunlessanewforce entersintoitfrom without itself.Otherwise,it will goonindefinitelydoingexactlywhatithasbeen trained todo. Mind does not wanttododifferentlyfrom what ithasbecomeaccustomedto doing. It resents innovation. It dislikeschange.Itlikesvariety of action,yes, but itwants that sortofvarietywhichithas already learnedtolike. Mind accepts without question whatithasbeen taughttobelieveas truth orright. It will neveracceptanything else,unlessthenew thing isforced upon it.Notethe unreasoning

ANALYSISOF MAN

action of mind under hypnosis.Hypnosisdeadenstheaction of the buddhi, and then the mind cannot 'act,evenonthebasis of its own individual experiences.Itreadilyacceptsandfullybelieves whateveritistold,no matter howabsurd.

Mindmaybe trained 'toaveryhighdegreeofskillinanyline of activity.Andthismarksoneverygreatadvantageofits automatic quality.Itshabitsmaybe turned intogreatachievementsas,for ' example,inmusic.Butatfirstthe mind mustbecompelledto do asdesired,andit must beforcedto continue in that wayuntilit hasbecome toit. Then it likes'to goondoingit.

The mind, whenactivatedbyspirit,forms thoughts, andeach thought takesadefiniteshapeon the astralplane.Theymaybe seen there byanyonewhoenjoysastralvision.Oftenthisoccurs on subtle 'planes much lower than the pure astral,forthere are manysuch.Afterthe mind hasbecome accustomed to createa certain routine of thought, itlikestogooncreating thoughts in exactlythesameway: Italwayslovesitsownway,anditcannever believe that any other wayisquiteasgoodasitsownuntil ,that . other wayhasbeenforced upon itby personal experience.

Mind adoresroutine. Canyouteacha machine tobelieve that it is not goodto run intoatree?Canyouconvinceit that the highwayis better? Youmayarguewithithalfaday,and then tum itlooseon full powerandit will gostraight into atreeif that tree happens tobeinitspath.Soitiswithmost 'people.They will usuallygoondoingastheydidbeforeinspiteofall rational persuasion.Ifa little light filtersinfromthespirit,a person may change 'hiscourse of thinking oracting, but neverotherwise.If the mind enjoysacertainsensation, it wishestorepeat that sensa- , v tionasoften as possible,quiteregardless of whether that sensa- . tionisgood ' forthe person ornot.Andthisiswhywehaveso many drunkards, libertinesanddopefiends.Itisalsowhypeople indulgeinanger,vanity,etc. Mind willusuallydowhat it likes, regardless of consequences,unless checked; byfearorsomehigher impulsefromthespirit. , ' , .. ' ,

Itisonlywhen buddhi interferes that mind willforgoan indulgence offeredtoit. Of course,ifit feels painfromacertain perfor-

manee,itinstantly rejects ' thatmodeofaction regardless ofitsown ultimategood.Itis not .easyforamantostickalance into his ownabscessorallow someone elsetodoit,even though heknows itisbestforhim.Itisonlywhenthe reasoningspirit asserts itself thatonewilldosuchathingforhisown ultimate good. Unreasoning children will never consent . tobe hurt, even ' whenthey knowitisbestforthem.Perhapsinsuchcasesthe buddhi has not reachedsufficient development forthespirittomakeuse of it.

Mind aloneis neither moral' nor immoral"anymore than your automobile is.Itisamachineastrulyasyourcar.Cannibalscan seenomoresininkillingandeatingaman than youdoinkilling andeatingachicken.Tosome other people both aresinful.Morality,sinandrighteousnessarelargely matters 'of custom and geography.Socialcustoms,ceremonies,rites,religionsand politicsareallbased upon mentalhabitsandare' usually handed down fromone generation to another.

Customs makeitwronginone country .to enter atemplewith shoeson, while in another country itiswrongtokeep your hat on . Custom makes itwronginonesectiontohavemore than one wife,whilein another itis 'asign of povertyor inferiority tobeso limited.Mentalhabitshave all theinflexibility of anironmachine. Infact, iron maybebent; but youtrytochangealong-established customand your neighborswillseekyour immediate destruction.

Thewhole human raceisaslavetocustom.Everysingleindividualinthe country may condemn that custom -butat the same timeeveryone willdohisbestto perpetuate it.Allofthisisbecause mind, both individual andsocial,ismachinelikeinitsaction . It cannot reason.Canyou imagine vastarmiesgoing out withdeliberateaimto destroy each other if they hadthe power to reason? Crimeandmoralrectitude are both mentalhabits. Internationalstrifeisonly blind personal passion run wild,enmasse.

There aresomeadvantagesinthis .machinelikeactionof mind, but thereisonevery grave menaceinit.Ifthe mind, through a gradualprocessofsuggestionandexperience,becomesaccustomed tocertaingrooves of action.jt often leads to the wreck andruinof the individual inspiteofhimself.That is anextremely pathetic

ANALYSIS OFMAN THEFOUR ANTA SHKARANS

aspect of the matter. How many arethecases of this sort within every man's observation! People becom e-entangled in the net of habits and customs, while deep in their hearts they ardently wish to get out of them but have not the power of will or strength of character to extricate themselves. They go deliberately and knowinglyto destruction inspite of themselves.

The more a habit is indulged in,the more easily and certainly the mind will run in that groove.Even indulgence tothe point of utter exhaustion never conquers the mental bond of a passion. That rather establishes itall the more firmly.At the same time, the soul itselfbecomes less and lessableto impress itself and itswishes upon the mind oreventogeta hearing atall.Finally the habit becomes so strong, so overpowering and dominant, that it simply runs wild when firedby some passion, sweeping all before itto ruin.

Irecall once Iwaswalking along the streets of St.Louiswith another man. Hewasa pitiable drunkard. He had been entrusted tomycarebythe hospital management where hewas being treat- . ed.We passed by saloons, and inevery such instance he hesitated, gazed longingly into the saloon, whilehis whole body stiffened and trembled. Anawful struggle wasgoing on inhis mind. The old mind wanted totake him into the saloon. Butformy mind and my strong right arm acting inan opposite direction, he would havegone into the saloon inspite of his own better judgment. But his power of judgment had become weak.Reasonno longer sat upon its throne. It lay paralyzed in the wreck of his manhood. Passion for drink had usurped the throne.

It must be known that the soul isan exceedingly fine and delicate thing. It has tremendous power inits own sphere of action. But on thefields of coarse material, ithas but little power of selfexpression. On the other hand, ifthe soul · a trained and responsive mind, it may do almost anything itdecidestodo. That is why mind control , through spirit, isso important and isso insisted upon byall the Masters.

Mind may againbe divided in another way,besides the four faculties. It may be spoken of as the higher and the lower mind.

Thisisa common classification.Butitis not ascientificclassification . There is only one mind acting on different planes.It may alsobe divided into three parts: the pindimind or the lower-world mind-that mind which manifests itself in the common affairs of thisworld; second, the sukhsham mind-that mind which works on the astral plane; and lastly, the karan mind or the nijmanas-« the true inner mind, or the causal mind.

These three correspond tothe three bodies of man and the Three Worlds in which the three bodies operate, eachinits own sphere. Butwith equal logicwe may say there aresix minds, becauseeach of the above-mentioned three may be divided into two, a higher and alower.Inthis world, for example, we may speak of a higher mind, which engages itself in the highest forms of thought activity, such as philosophy, literature, music and art. The lower mind engages itself ingrossly material things-money-making, eating, drinking, and the indulgence in any of the passions. Butin anycase, there is only one mind functioning on different planes and upon higher or lower things on each plane.

At the top of all, the mind which lies next to spirit is the real nijmanas, the purest and best.Below that, each substratum of the mind becomes more and more adulterated with coarser and lower substances. Last of all,at the verylowest stratum, there isa sort of mind which is but little more than electromagnetism. When the attention is on thislower plane, itis the lower mind which works. .. It is here engrossed in its own desires,its passions and itsplays. When the attention is on the astral plane, itis the sukhsham mind which isused, and when the attention is on the causal plane, itis that mind which is working. But ineach and everycase,itis the same mind playing upon different planes of existence.

The higher mind, the nijmanas, isa sort of pilot or gyroscope, whose function itistoreceive the impressions of the soul and pass them on tothe subordinate minds for their regulation. But the important point is that allaspects of the mind are automatic. None of them ever calculate results or assigna moral content. Each of them accepts what isgiventoit and reacts upon it without question or consideration . Neither doesany aspect of the mind

ANALYSIS OFMAN

everconsiderwhatisbestfortheindividual,exceptjustwhatit hasbeen taught byexperiencetolikeordislike.In other words, mind is not a rational entity.Itreacts automatically andalways upon thebasis of whatitlikesordislikes;itneverconsiders what isbest.Ifanyelement of calculation entersintotheprocess,you maybesure that alittle of thelight of spiritis entering intothe affair.The mind, if givenastimulus,oraswesay,a temptation, will always actin accordwith the sumtotal of itsownpastexperiences.It cannot actinany other way.It cannot even will toactany other way.

6.A NEW FORCE ENTERS THE MIND

Thereadermaynowask,very appropriately: Ifthe mind always actsautomatically,andinexactlinewithitsownprevious training , howdowe account foranyneworradical departure fromthe beaten path of itshabits and desires?Theansweris:onthebasis of anewdrivingforce entering the machine from without. Howcan achild quitits play,washitsface and gotoschool?Onlybecausea drivingforcefrom outside of itselfentersthemachine. How does amancheck himself from something hewishestodo, turn around anddotheexactopposite?Becauseadifferentdrivingforceenters themachine,andhe obeys-has to obey-the stronger of thetwo impellingforces.

, Afriend of mine wasin mortal combat withtheenemyonthe battlefield.One of theenemyhaddrawnhis bayonet topiercea comrade of myfriend.Myfriend shouted tohimtohalt,atthe sametimelevelinghis gun ontheman.That man was bent upon destruction. Hiswholeimpulsewasto kill. He supposed itwas his duty to kill. Then whydidhestopand drop hisbayonet?Simply ' becauseanewforcehad entered the combat-the fear of losing hisownlife. The stronger of thetwoforcesprevailed , compelling himto drop hisweapon and holduphishandsin a , token of ' surrender. Itisalwaysso.

Physics is thebestgroundworkforthestudy of mental phei1om-

A NEWFORCE ENTERS T HE M IND

ena.Thereis not asingleaction of mind which cannot bereduced to Newton's laws of motion andthereactions of chemistry.Itis no wonder that modern physicistsareinclinedto bring allmental reactions under their mechanistictheory of theuniverse. In the absence of complete knowledge, theyarefullyjustifiedintheir conclusions.Ifwehadtodealalwayswith mind alone , andspirit never entered intothe problem, the mechanistic theory would . a pplywith ' perfectaccuracy.Itwouldfiteveryfact of experience. Butwhenintelligentspiritbeginsto enter theplay, thereisno foretellingwhatmayhappen.Spiritoperatesbyitsownlight.And mind must follow whether itlikesornot.

Ifnowwecanfullyrecognizethe astonishing fact that mind is onlyan automatic thing, insentient and nonintelligent, subjectto the laws of physicsandchemistry , weare prepared forthenext great truth in thepsychology of theMasters.Itisthe illuminating fact that all intelligence, light and powercomefromthe soul. This statement iswithout qualification.Itisliterallyanduniversally true . Alllight,allintelligence, harmony', rhythm , beauty,wisdom, love, morality andpowercomefromthesoul.Theyare, allderived fromthe spirit and areall impartedtothe mind by the spirit , just asthe electric current gives power to the bulb tomakeit incandescent.

Thesoul,however,oftenworks under aserious handicap, as previouslysuggested.Thisworldis not itsnative habitat . Hereit is obligedtowork under and through aseries of coverings, analogoustomy cumbersome diving suit-eoverings of mind andmatter . Though mind isarefinedsort of matter,weare accustomed tospeak of it 'as apart from matter . all of itscoverings,the soulfindsitexceedinglydifficulttoexpressitselfandhaveitsown . way. Itoftenfindsitselfquiteunable to control itsown mental instrument. Itsabilitytoexpressitselfatalldepends upon the responsiveness of itschief instrument. If that instrument becomes unruly,defectiveordiseased, thesoulispowerless. '

Allthecoverings worn bythesoulserveto burden itandto weakenitspowers of expression. Mind maybecalledthecerebrum of thesoul. If that instrument hasbeco ,me perverted,

misshapen, distorted, diseased, then thesoul cannot work normally through it,any than the mind can work through a diseased brain. Thefinerforces of mind and spirit simply must havefit instruments of expression, or they cannot function on the material planes.The mind can become diseased just as much as the brain. Then thesoulishelpless. It can only sitback and watch thewreck and sufferinsilence.

The balance of adjustment between mind and soulisexceedinglyfine. It caneasily become disturbed by throwing into their delicate structure aforeignbody.Theseforeign bodies arethevile passions.

The Great Master sometimes compares the uncontrolled mind toacamel without a guiding string.Itislikelyatany moment to stampede and 'run away.Itmay then run on madly toitsown destruction. Remember that thesoulsitsinthe innermost chambers of being likethe captain inhisship.Hesits there inthe cabin and controls hisship.Buthis control depends upon hisabilityto keep open thelines of communication with all parts of hisship, andthen upon theinstantresponse of all subordinatesto his every word of command. But if mutiny breaks out due toakeg of whisky being brought on board among the crew; if the pilot is imprisoned and replaced byanenemy, and the captain locked in hiscabin, then that captain ishelplesseven though hebetheking himself.Heisonlya prisoner inhis 0WI\ ship.Thisispreciselythe situation of.thesoul when thefive mutinous passions run wild and take possession of the ship-the mind and body.

Remember that thesoulisinthe enemy's country and isalways surrounded by those fivefaithful servants of thenegative power, thepassions; and besides,thesefiveare much addicted to intoxication. Thesefive ate commissioned to mislead thesoul and mind and make trouble for them . It is their business.The worst feature of thisis that the mind itself rather enjoys being swayedby them. It hasaclosefellowship with them and it lends a ready earto their whisperings. They seek constantly to stir up mutiny, allthe more so when one of them or all of them together become intoxicated

with some new temptation. It is then that they all cooperate toset all of thefaculties of the mind ina whirlwind of rebellion against the spirit, thereal captain of theship . Of these fivefoesweshall speak more particularly in Chapter Six,Section 7. It is sufficient tosayhere that both mind and spirit must beforever on guard against them.

Thesoul and the mind maybe likened tothe captain .and his mate, the chief executiveofficer. If they relax discipline forasingle moment, the enemy maygainthe upper hand. One must be alwayskeenlyalert.Alittle bird lands inmy garden toseekfood. While doing so,I notice that it never relaxes attention forasingle instant, but iskeenly watchful lestacat or other enemy might approach . It isalwaysreadytotakeflight.Soit should be with us. We must bereadyany moment to retreat into our haven of refuge wherethefive enemies cannot come,thesacred chambers of thesoul and the holy Shabd.

There isone thing in particular which thesoul should guard against-that is, the insidious creeping-up, serpentlike, of bad habit. All habits tend togrow stronger with repetition, as we know. All indulgence fastens the chains of habit. Atthe beginning habits maybeeasily checked and broken bya determined will. Butby and by they become so strong, the outward and downward movement so impelling, that thesoulis quite helpless. It then rushes on todisaster.Everyone of thefive enemy passions uses the method of habit tofastenitsclawsinthe heart of itsvictims .

A man inasmall boat was drifting down the Niagara River just abovethe falls, People on shore shouted a warning to him, but he paid no attention to their warning. When, alittlelater,hefelthis craft impelled forward with increasing -speed,he awoke tohis peril, but itwas too late.Hewas then ' quite powerlesstoescape the current. So "it is with all bad habits. There isa point, afatal moment, a deadly crisis, when thesoulisno longer ableto handle the situation. It cannot reachthe mind, and the mind itself isin thegrasp of arelentlessfate created byitsown conduct.

7. THE FIVE PERVERSIONS OF MIND

Anyoutline 'ofthepsychology of theMasterswould not becomplete without particular mention of thefivemodes of destructive mental actioncalled the passions. Wehavesaid that theseare perversions of the normal faculties. Theyareso.Ifa mind iskept strictlywithinitslegitimatefield of action,doingits duty only,it will never becomesubjectedtothesefivedestructiveprocesses. They arereallymentaldiseases superinduced bythemisuse of normal faculties.Theyareaspecies of psychological morbidity. Buttheyplaysucha tremendous part intheaverage human life thatwemuststudy them aswewouldstudyacancerinthehope of findingacure.

TheMastersteach that therearefivedifferentmodesofdestructive mental activity.Theyaremodes of obsession . Theyare deadlydiseases,eachgivingrisetoa distinct pathology inthe character of theindividual.Theydestroybyinsidiousinfection anddissolution.Theirendisdarknessanddespair.Butwemust insist that nature, or the negative power, shall not be blamed forthese mental carcinomata. Theseevilpassions cannot take root in man unlesstheyare ' invited. Thisfact must not be forgotten. Unless, through self-indulgence,maninvites them to becomehisguestsandfriends,theycannever enter thepremises. Unlesshe Willingly playswith them theycangetnohold upon him.

Self-indulgence,theworstof all sins,isaflaunting invitation to thesefivetocomeinandtakeuptheirabode.Andwherethey enter theyatoncebegintoforgethechains of evilkarma. When onceamanhas turned overhis conduct tothesepassions,they placeeverysort of temptation beforehim,assuming all possible formsattractivetothesenses.Theymakefalsepretensesandhold out alluringpromises.Togainafirmerhold upon their victims, theygivea modicum of pleasurablesensations.Theytryto victimsbelieve that thesepleasureswillgoonforever. When dISappointment comes , asit must always .come,they promise that just around thecorner,afterafewmorestruggles,alldifficulties

will Anendless round of delights will then carry them toa sereneoldage.

Always the ultimate goodisjustahead;yetyouneverovertake it.Theyholdupthemirage of wealth, of love .andpleasures,of power ' and position, onlytodrawus into valley of death. Theend of all of thisisanendlesscircle of births and, deaths, stretching on through thecountless yugas, treading th.e wheel.The end findsusjustassecurely bound asthebegmnmg.If a man byheroicstrugglegainsalittlehigher ground, thesefive soondraghimdownagain,drivinghim under thefatalwheel,the wheel of eighty-four.And thus thewearyagescome and go.

Thesefive deadly passionsare: kam, krodh, lobh, moh and ahankar. Thesedenote: kam-sex passion; lobh-greed; moh-undue attachment to material things; ahankaf-vanity or egotism.We must nowexamine them insomedetail. (1) Kam, or lust,isa normal function, but whenallowedto run intoan abnormal demand , itbecomesdestructive,degrading.In its broader meaning kam includes all abnormal desires. It includedrugs,alcoholic drinks, tobaccooreventastyfoodswhich areeatensimplyforthesake of enjoying their tastes-any sort of appetitewhichseeksindulgenceforthesake of enjoyingapleasant sensation.Insomerespectsthisisthe strongest of thefiveandso themostdeadly.Itis dominant overthevast majority of mankind.Itholds them asifby iron chains. It drags them alongall through life.Day . and night it haunts and . taunts them.Atevery turn itdisplaysits attractions. It appearsinthe most alluringgarb anditsteps out in unadorned seductive abandon . It blindsthe mind. It makes man forgetevery moral obligation . .

Diverseareits methods ofintrigue.Variousareits blandish . ments. ' Alluringandfalseareitspromises.Last of all,whenyou havewasted your vitalityinitsindulgences,ittossesyou upon the rubbish heap.Itcoarsensitsvictimtotheleveloftheanimal. cloudsthe perceptions anddullsthewits.In return forall of this terribleloss,whathasittooffer?Apleasantsensation,a mad moment of delirium, whichiscalled"havingagoodtime."A passingfrenzy, ' andan hour lateryou,the victim, find yourself

ANALYS IS OFMAN THEFIVE PERVERSIONS OF MIND

sittingaloneinthegathering darkness,withnewchainsforged aboutyourneck,wonderingwhyyouwereeversuchafool.

Thechieffunctionof kam istopullmenand women downto the common animallevelandkeepthemthere. It obligesthemto fix their attention upon that whichis common to both manand brute. It isaprincipleofpsychologyverifiedbytheexperienceof everyonethatwhateverthe mind dwellsupon, that thingbecomes apartoftheindividual.Wegrowlikethatwhichwecontemplate. The more vividlythe thought dwells upon anything,themore thatindividualbecomeslikethethinghethinksabout.

Forashe thinketh inhis heart , soishe. (Proverbs 23:7)

Butthislawof 'mindcanbeutilizedforgoodaswellasbad. The Mastersutilizethesamelawintheirspiritualexercises. If our attention isabsorbedinthegood,wepartakeof that good. If we dailycontemplatetheMaster,webecomelikehim.Ifwe think longandearnestlyuponthesupreme . Father,ourloveforhim increasesandwebecomemoreandmorelikehim. Butif our thought dwellsuponthebad,thesamethingtakes place-we partakeofit,become saturated withitandgrowmoreandmore likeit.Thenweareattractedtowardit and craveit.

Viceisa monster of so frightful mien, Astobe hated, needs but tobeseen; Yet seentoooft , familiar with her face, Wefirst 'endure, then pity , then embrace . POPE

Thisisawarningagainstthefatalcreeping-up habits which fix themselvesinour inmost being. It islikethe habit-forming drugs.Thehiddenobjectofallthisistoblindthe .mindand bind thesoul, reducingthemtotheanimalplane.Thenetresultisthat manistherebyreducedtotheanimal level.

Ifsexwereusedforitslegitimatepurpose,itneednotbecome an instrument ofdegradation . But whenwefallintothetrapof

self-indulgence,webegintodescend toward theanimal , plane. Nature hasgivenussomethingwhichisnecessaryforthe perpetuation of life upon thisplanet.Itis within our control;orshould be.But if wereduceittoan instrument of self-indulgence,we simplywaste our energyandcloud our minds,endingatlastin blankstupidity, .likeany ordinary animal.Whensexcontrolsthe individualinstead of himcontrollingit, 'thedegeneration of that individualisalreadyanaccomplishedfact.Heisthensimplya biped.Howcanhecallhimself homo sapiens? . .

Therearemany minor phasesofthispassion.Afeware:

(a)thecravingforalcoholicdrinks, (b)thedrughabit, (c)thetobaccohabit, (d)gluttony, (e)theabnormal talk habit, especially telling dirty stories, (f) sexbooksandobscenecinemas, morbid sexfantasies,dwelling upon sexpictures, (g) useless games, cardsand billiards" whichhaveno valueexcepttodefeatan opponent, a morbid sort of self-gratificationfeedingone 's vanity;thehabit of laziness,orkillingtimebyjustlying around inidleness.

All of thesearephases of kam, whosecentral core isself-indulgence, which istheprinciple of evil inallthesethings.Thatinany formisanevil.Everysingleact of self-indulgencelowersone's moralstatusandbindshimtotheworld of sense.Thisistheworst poisonforthespirit.These .phases ofkam pullonedowntoward theanimalplanewhenoneshouldberisingtowardthespiritual plane.Sensualityisan unmitigated evil,no matter whatformit maytake.Itisall kam , and kam isone of the five deadlyenemies of thesoul. · ' .

.(2) Krodh, anger,isthesecond of thedeadly five. Itsactionisto stirupstrife,causeconfusionandscatterthemind.Then it cannotconcentrate. It isafactofexperiencethatnopersoncanpossi-

ANALYSIS OFMAN

292 bly concentrate his mind atthe center of asgiven bytheMastersolongasheindulgesinfits of anger.It IS an utter impossibility.The two cannot gotogether.Angerdestroyspeace, neutralizeslove,engenders hatred and turns individuals and groups intoenemies.Andallforwhat purpose-to satisfyafiendishim- . pulse toward destruction. . . .

Angeristheextreme opposite oflove ' .As IS sum of all good,soanger must bethesum of allevil.It IS certainlythe most destructive of thevilepassions.Ittears down, destroys,weakens, and annihilates everyfinerqualityof mind and soul. It burns up all that isnoble.It 'isa consuming fire, born of thefires of destruction.Attheend,itleavesthevictim nothing but awreck of his better self, burned-out, blackened and dead,likeforesttreesover , whichagreatfirehasswept. . .

Suchisanger,thedestroying, consuming passIOn. Of course,Its ultimate objectistodestroythe individual whoindulgesit . Its destructiveactionisaimedatothers, but its most destructiveaction falls upon theonewhoindulgesit.Itcreatesfor bad karma and binds him more securelytothefatalwheel. If Itleads tocrimeasitoftendoes, then theshackles of slaveryaremade , that much stronger, the burden that much heavier. . . ;

Krodh isaveryusefulservant of thenegativepower . Solongas it dominates the mind, itisimpossiblefor that individual tomake anyheadwayonthe spiritual path.Itsendisdarkness and death and rebirth under thewheel.

Some of the minor phases of krodh are:slander,evilgossip, backbiting, profanity, faultfinding,peevishness, relsomeness,surliness,grouchiness,jealousy, resentment, combat, maliciousmockery,destructive gument forthesake of defeatingthe other party, haughtmess ill will, etc.All of these and more arethe bastard brood of rheir parent krodh, afilthy litter of snarlingpups..

Thelaw of theMasters,beingthelaw of nature, IS cannot beevaded.It must beobeyedorone must reap pam an anguish . That lawis:

THEFIVE PERVERSIONS OFMIND

Nevercriticize,neverfindfault,neverabuse; Neverevenblameanyone, either tohisfaceor behind hisback; Never hurt thefeelings of anyone, man or animal; Neverletaharshor unkind wordescape your lips, Butspeakalwayswords of love, truth andkindness.

Arulelaiddownbythenoble Buddha isa most excellentone forallmentofollow. Hesaid that ifyou propose tospeak,always askyourself: Isit true, is it necessary, is it kind? .

Thisisone of themostinflexible of alllawsforsuchasseek spiritual advancement. Letnooneimagine that hecanignorethis lawandstillmakeheadwayonthepath.It cannot bedone.The path of loveleadsto enlightenment and libertyandthehighest heavens; but theway of anger and anevil tongue leadstothe darkesthell.

Webelieve that angermayaptlybe compared tocancer.Itis,in fact, mental carcinoma. Initseffectsitis more deadlytothe mind than canceristothebody.Itisan ailment whichafflictssucha largepercentage 'of mankind, and itsagoniesare often drawn out overthewhole of alifetime. Then whenphysicaldeathcomes,the mind hasbecomeso poisoned that there isno moral valueleftin it.Strangely enough, thisterribleafflictionhasreceived but slight attention inthe literature of mental therapeutics. It has had but little consideration eveninethics.Yetitisone of thedeadliest of human ills,andleadstosome of the most horrible disasters.We itbrings more pain and grief into theworld than any other diseaseor perhaps all other diseases. . . '

It must not be forgotten that this mental diseaseisalsoafactor in producing many of the common physicalills.Itsflood of sufisworse than any imagination can picture. Itissimplyappallmg.This mental cancereats .itswayinto and through theinmost mental fiber.Thegreatpityis that it doesn't kill outright. It wouldbe better for mankind if itsdeadlyactionwere instantaneous,likethefumes of alethalgas.

Thisdisease of anger,leavingeverywherea trail of suffering, of and of terribleheartaches,generallydragsonforyears. ThIS diseasemanifestsitselfbythefollowingset of symptoms:

ANALYSIS OFMAN THEFIVEPERVERSIONS 'OF MIND

(a) thinking ill ofothers, (b)takingoffense easily, (c)criticizingtheactionsofothers, ' . . (d)lecturingordiscoursing on the .mistakesofothers either to the personhimselfortoothers about him, (e)chronicfaultfindingor pointing out thedefectsof characteror conduct of others, makingthem out to bereallybad, (f) scolding,naggingor haranguing others, (g)habituallyblamingothersfor all that goeswrong, (h)vileabuseandcursingothers, ' . (i)actualfighting,quarrelingor trying toinflictinjury upon others.

Andthe student should always remember that amentalinjury or wound isoftenmorepainful than aphysicalwound,and sometimesslowertoheal.These nine symptomsaresomeofthemost common manifestationsof this deadly disease. Itisgenerallydesignated 'the evil tongue'. Compared withthis evil tongue,theplague isamildaffliction. Qfall ·bad habits,ofalldefectsofcharacter, thereis nothing that smellsof corruption anddeath SO badly. Unlikemostphysicaldisorders,whichmaketheirvictimssuffer the brunt ofthedisease,thisafflictionreacts upon otherseven more -painfully than upon the patient himself.Itislikeapoison gas,.spreadingdeadlyfumesinthewhole neighborhood.. . . '

Oneuniquefeatureofthisfouldisease is thefact that Its aregenerallyunwilling to concede that theysuffer thedisease, but generally insist that itis others who havethediseaseand theythemselvesarethe innocent victimsof .the of others.Thisisanalmostuniversalmanifestationofthe disease. To evensuggest that the patient issufferingfromthediseaseisusuallysufficientto throw himintoaviolentspasm.Younevercantell when thisfoulabscessisgoingtoexplodeinyour face. Iteruptsat thesmallestprovocation,andits malodorous fumes fill thewhole neighborhood. .It isn.ot i.nfrequent that suffer advancedstagesofthisdiseasebecomesick of lifeand comIl1l

suicide,even if theydonotkillsomeoneelse. Manytimesthe victimcommitssuicide,ratherthanendurethe tortures ofliving nearsuchaperson.

Oneofthemostpatheticfeaturesofthisterriblediseaseis that death does notendit.Inthatrespectitis so much worsethanany merephysicalailment. It isinthemind,andthesufferertakeshis ' mind withhim 'atdeath,so that eveninthenextworldthedisease continuesits ravages. It will continue toafflicthimuntil, through sufferingandself-control,helearnstoremovetheailmenthimself'. Thisisonediseasethat .no doctor cancure. It mustbecured bythe patient himself.Suicideonly aggravates thetrouble.Butlet usclosethisdiscussion. It is unfitting that our mindsshoulddwell longeruponit.Thismuchhasbeensaidonlytoplacetheterrible thingopentothe gaze ofallmen,inorder that theymayunderstandits nature andsolearnto avoid it.Everypersonshouldshun itashe would themostdeadly,themost savage, junglebeast.

(3) Lobh, greed,isthe third member of thisunholygroup . It is oneofthemostpoisonousofthemall.Thefunctionofgreedisto bindus to materialthings,andsocloudourmindstoallhigher values. It tiesustothebaserthingsofearth.As kam bindsusto theanimalplane,so lobh binds ustothemineralplane,onestep lower.Hence greed isevenbaser than lust. It makesforusagod ofgoldandsilverand jewels. It identifiesuswiththembyfixing our attention andaffections . upon them.Theendisslaveryto them . WeaIth then master,insteadofservant.Likeall theotherpassions,itslowlyforgesitschains about us.

Manautomaticallydropsdownto . theplaneofthethinghe loves. Amiser soon becomes but littlemorethanan incarnated heapofgoldandsilver,ofbondsandsecurities; ' oflandsand houses.Onewhothinksof nothing else butmoneyandmaking moneygraduallybecomeshard of heart ; andeventakesona facial expression of , relentlessdrivingforce. Such apersonispitiless. Nothingcounts but money . Hedrivesothermen,evenwomen andchildren,inhis ' factories,grindingwealth out of them.He . goesongrindingmoregold out ofthem.Pity,loveandkindness havelongagodepartedfromhismentalprocesses.Hecan

THE FNE PERVERSIONS OF M IND

nothing but profits. What mattersit if human fleshisfedtohis mills? ' The blood of thosemenand women is to, be turned into streams of revenue.

Happily,webelievethis picture does not applytoaverylarge percentage of peopleengaged in commerce.Butitdoesapplyto some. As kam degradesand krodh consumes,so lobh hardens. Thispassionis probably the most relentlessslavedriver of them all.A mind under theswayof lobh is but littleless than petrified intelligence. Lobh has many minor phases,suchas:

(a)miserliness , (b)falsehood, (c)hypocrisy, (d)perjury, (e) misrepresentation, .· (f) robbery, (g)bribery, (h)trickeryofallsorts .

Thesearealltheusualwaysandmeans of pickingupeasy money.The poorest man intheworldishewhospendshistimetrying toget something fornothing.Itcanneverbedone . Histime is whollywasted.No man hasevergained permanent benefitwithout payingtheprice.JohnD. Rockefeller saidjustbefore his death: "The poorest man intheworldishewhohas nothing but money!"

Ifthetimeevercomeswhenmengive thought onlyforwhat theyactuallyneed,thispassion will die of attrition. Civilization will takea tremendous strideforward.Ifmen will think more of giving, and lessof receiving, the human race will stand closeto mastership.TheMasteristhe supreme giver.

(4)Moh; attachment, whichmeansdelusive attachment, infatuation,isthe fourth of thedestructivepassions.Thisisperhapsthe mostinsidious,the most deceitful of them all.Itcreepsupslowly upon itsvictims,liketheothers,oritcomeswithflares of trum- . petslikethefanfare that goesbefotethe approach of anobleman. Itgenerallycomeswiththe appearance ofwell-dressedrespect-

ability.Ithasanoblebearing.Itcomes as agentleman, with good credentials . It announces itselfasyourfriend and ally.Itsideasare plausible.Soitreadilygainsaplaceinthefamilyasaclosefriend. Itdoesseemsoveryreasonableand proper that one should have andenjoyspouse,children,positions of honor and of publicservice,money, houses.Iands andsecurities.Indeed,wemayconcede thatsuchthingsarenecessary and proper. Theindividual knows that , andthen our gentlefriend, moh, stepsin ' withsuchbenevolentairsand says: "Yes, surelyyou must give diligent attention to thesethings;itisyourduty."

Rightthere and then moh beginsitsdeadlywork under the guiseofa most respectablefriend,Its method isto blind youto therelativevaluesof yoursurroundings andassociationssothat you may begintosetafalse valuation upon them.Afteryouhave becomequite absorbed inthem, then you willhavenotimefor anything else. Thatisexactlyitspurpose.Thereisthecrucial point ofthewholematter.Notimefor self-improvement . Notimefor spiritualdevotions.Notimeforaltruisticservice. Youarekept foreveronthego most of thetimebetweenyour home and office, busywith your familyandaffairs.Youhardlyhavetimeforeating andsleeping, not tospeakofself-cultureorlovingservice. : Rememberthatthe liberation of yourownsoulistheonething . forwhichyouareinthisworld. Nothing elsecounts.Butitisthe purpose of this moh to keepyoufrom doing that onething; if Itcankeepyoufromeven thinking about the matter, it "is well pleased. If, however,youdo think about it,itatoncestepsupand tellsyouthatjust now youhavenotimefor that sort of thing.By andby,whencircumstancesaremorefavorable,youmay attend

Itisforthevery purpose ofkeepingus blinded to out own higherintereststhatthenegativepowerhasemployedallofthese five passionstodog our paths allthedays of our lives. For this reason moh will tellyou that you must not neglectyour routine duties.Theysimplyhavetobe attended to.Atthesametime,to pacifyyou,itpromises that thetime will sooncomewhen your

.

burden of duties will growless,when circumstances will grow more favorable. Then youmay attend to your spiritual interests.

Mohistheking of procrastination. You must waitfora more convenient season.Butatthesametime,itkeepsyoubusywith trifles.Why worry about spiritual matters now?They will take care of themselveswhenthetimecomes. No needto worry about them until youaredead. Then they will automatically solve themselves! Allthe 'whilethis smart friendis slyly adding to burdens and complicating yourlife. It sees toit that the promised leisurenevercomes.

Worries, anxieties, and business complications followeveryone , tothegrave.Seldomdoesoneevergetawayfrom them. Almost thewhole of your lifeis spent intryingto perpetuate thephysical existence, the animal self.Therealobjectforwhichyoucame into theworldhasbeenforgotten. Perhaps you .neverevenknewwhy youcame. Indeed, but veryfewpeople know whytheyare here . . Most of them seem not atall interested to know anything about it .

Youareaslaveevento your cows,dogs,horses, and carsninety-eight percent" of your precious timeis spent in penal servitude tothe animal body.Andfor what purpose?Justtokeepit going.Andwhykeepitgoing?In order that you may continue beingaslavetoit. When theycomeback fromthe cemetery where theyhaveleftyouina pretty velvet-coveredcasketoverwhich theyhaveshoveledthedirt,theysettle down todivideupwhat youhaveleft, and forthwith forgetyouin that same mad scramble which monopolized all of your attention, until thefinaldarkness overtook you.

Andthisisexactlywhat your smooth friend, moh, does foryou. Itskillfullyholds your nosetothe grindstone until the verymoment whenthe doctor saysitisallover and pullsupthe sheet over your face.Youhavebeensoverybusyall your life, and yet you have not hada 'moment'stime to dotheone thing that was really worth doing.Youhave,infact, been verybusyall your life doing nothing. Youhave worked likethe battle of Gettysburg, but what hasit brought you?Only increasing worry, pain, and then the finaldarkness.You return tothewheel that grindsaway through

all the yugas. Naked and empty-handed youcamehere; emptyhanded and naked youdepart.Results? Nothing, simply treading the . wheel.You return totheeternal cycle perhaps even more securely bound than before. Moh hasscoredheavilyforits master . Theonly thing worth doinginthislife, but fewpeopleeverdo that, istofindthe path of spiritual freedom and walk on.it. ''

(5) Ahankar, vanity,oregotism,isthelast of thedeadly five. The word ahankar hastwo meanings . First,itisthefaculty of the mind whichgivesusthepower of awareness of theself,selfdifferentiation, the l-ness . It is that facultywhichexecutesthe mandates of the buddhi inthe interests of self.Butthe abnormal exaggeration of thisfacultybecomes ahankar, whichisvanityor egotism. It isthe enlargement of theegowhichbecomesacancer by cell-proliferation. .

Youknowacancerisa condition inwhich normal body epithelialcells become much enlarged.Soitishere. The normal ego is all right, but whenitbeginstoswell out of all proportion, then ittakesonthe nature of adisease.Sovanityisan overgrown ego. Ahankar isa malignant enlargement of the 'I'. That faculty, whichisquitenecessaryforthe preservation of the individual in thislife and forthe proper placement of that person in relation to all others , becomessoovergrown that the normal selfbecomesfor himthe center of theuniverse.Thisis malignant selfishness.This passionistheworst of all insomerespects , although itisdifficult tosayjust which ' isthe worst one.Oncethe Master wasasked which of thefivewastheworst, and helaughinglyreplied , "Each ofthemisworst. "

Ahankar hasa thousand clawsbywhichtodig into the minds ofitsvictims.Itsdeadly poison infiltratesthe entire being.Beginninggenerally in infancy,itseldomceases to 'operate until death. Itfeeds upon itsown refuseand itwaxes strong upon materials furnished bythe other four.Infact,itoftenfeeds upon thedecayingcarcasses of theothers.Howoftenvanityis nourished bythe death of theothers!Howvainpeoplebecomeovera partial subjugationofthe other passions. Not infrequently dothey become vainover their own humility. One of the commonest manifesta

ANALYSIS OFMAN

tions of vanityisa pretended humility.Thismaybeconsciousor quiteunconscious.

Ahankar isthemost sturdy and masterfulofthelotandithas thegreatestlongevity.Howoftenwehearoldmenandwomen talkinggarrulously, recounting theirformerexploits. Nothing can checkthem.Vanityholdsthefield and continues tooperatelong afteralltherestaredead. As a matter of fact,itoftenkillstherest in order tohave something toboastabout.How many timesmen areswelledupoversometriflingvictoryorvirtue,andwomen growvainovertheirownvirtues! Ascetics, posingasthe humblest of people,growvainovertheir -apparent saintliness.Self-righteousnessisone of the most prevalent and most malignant ofthese mental diseases.

Itiswellknowntothosewhoareonthe path that egotismis thelast of thehatefulfive to surrender. Its method isto distort the viewpoint,to present everything out of proportion, .makingitself thecenteroftheworld.Itdestroysallsense of humor. Younever seeavain person withanyrealsense of humor. If hehad,he couldn't bevain.Vanity will setacrown upon itsownheadand wonder whyallmendonotrushtoacknowledgeitking.It will braylikeanass and imagineitselfsinginginagrandopera. It cannot seeitselfbecauseitsees nothing but self.It will strut likea peacockwithonlycabbageleavesfortailfeathers.Butitcannever seeitsownimperfections.Itseesall of itsown shortcomings reflectedinothers,whileitimaginesitselfperfect.

Thechief function of ahankar istoblockthe path of truth. It is the bosom friend of error.Itcompletelydeceivesitsownvictims, making them self-satisfied, whenthey ought tobeseekingtheir own improvement. It will preventpeoplefromseekingnewthings. Itisthemainfriendand supporter of ancient superstitions. It establishescreeds, appoints a priesthood and buildsuporganizationsto propagate itsowndogmas . Itthenassumes that out of its own superior wisdomithasselectedtheonlyperfectsystem of truth . It will not then acknowledge that itcouldbemistaken and goesonhuggingitsassumptions.Itdefiesthewholeworld,demanding unqualified support foritsdeclareddictums.Andworst

THEFIVE PERVERSIONS OFMIND

ofallitoftenseeksthe instant destruction ofallwhoopposeit . , Itsonebig assumption is: Iam right; hewho opposes meis wrong; to sustain theright, Imust destroy my opponent.

This assumption hassoakedthepagesofhistorywith innocent blood.Todayitisbusyfomentingstrifeamongnations.Blind egotismandits bastard child,selfishness, aretodaysowingthe seedsof international dissatisfactionand germinating wars.God knowswhattheharvestshallbe.

Ahankar bitterlyresentsallefforttoenlightenit.Howcanit admit thatitiswrongor that itneedsenlightenment?It will goto 'war atthedropofahattodefenditsownself-assertedrights. It neverthinksofthe other person's rights. It takesoffense easily, like krodh. Itisextremely touchy-sensitive, theycallit. It seesno weaknessesinitself, but itneverceasesto point out thefaultsof others.Itisthe boon companion to krodh. Thus,blowingits own horn, itstrutsacrossthestageoflife.Anditblowssoloudlythatit . cannot hearanyoneelse.The minor phasesof ahankar are:

(a)Bigotry.

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(b)Self-assertion;inseasonand out of season,it thrusts itselfforward.

(c)Itmakesobtrusiveshowofwealthorpower,itis gaudyindress,exhibitsa domineering attitude, is bossy, scoldingandfaultfinding.Inthisphaseitjoins handswith krodh. Its fundamental assumption isits owninfallibility.Man under theinfluenceof ahankar imagines he isadvertisinghisownvirtuesby pointing ou t.thefaultsofothers ; whileasa matter of universalexperience,heisonlyadvertisinghisown shortcomings. Soitiswithallfaultfinding.Heassumes superior airs, demands hisownwishes,which hecallsrights,andtriesto punish othersifheis opposed. triesto attract the attention ofothers bynoiseor other show of self,loud and constant talking,ortriestoimposehisown opinions upon others . Helovesoffice and power overothers.

302

ANTIDOTES TOTHE DEADLYFNE ANALYSIS OFMAN

(d) frequently interrupts others whenthey are- talkmg.

(e)Helikestomake public speeches,iseager to seehis own name in print, makesa show of hisownpiety, lovestomakelong prayers in public, and hemakesit a point toletthe world know about itifhegivesa penny tocharity. , ,

(f) Hedearlyloves .titles, honors; collegedegrees, and enjoysseeingthe mob bow down tohim.

acter.Thesoul must become absorbed in that luminous reality, and it must forget all else. That 'realitygives strength and will until the man becomes something more than man: He becomes aliving ' power, reborn and exalted. Then thesefiveevils slink away like beaten dogs.Thisisrealliberty.

Justasthefive passions maybe regarded asthefiveagents of desolation, sothefive virtues may be looked upon as fiveangels. They hover overusalways,readyto extend their aidifwe look to them forhelp or comfort. They. will greatlyassistinthe upward struggle. Weave them into thefiber of your character. They will help much. As those fiveevil passions include in themselves all other evils,sothese five virtues include in themselves all other virtues.They should be contemplated long and deeply. Here they areset opposite toone another, the virtues and thevices:

ANTIDOTES TO THE DEADLY FIVE

To sum upthe discussion of thefive mental diseases,letusplace them. and. their antidotes sidebyside.The , Masters classify all ma.nkind mto two main divisions-manmukhs and gurumukhs. ThIS means those whofollowthe dictates of their own minds and those whofollow the Guru. The manmukh is the onewhofollows . the mind, obeysitsevery whim, and does just what itlikes.Heisa slavetothe mind and itspassions.Butthe man whosefaceis always toward the Guru isthefree man and theonewhoisdeveloping hisown powers tothe greatest extent possible.Heis not under the ever-grinding wheel of birth and death, the grinding ,wheel of desire and karma.

Butthis sublime achievement is accomplished onlybythehelp of the Master (the Guru) and the Shabd-the regenerating Dhun, the audible life stream. Noonecaneverdoitalone. There is positivelyno other cureforthe passion-none but thevoice of , God ringing through thesoul. When that holy symphony is heard, these miserable fivelose their power and drop away.Positively, theonly cureforthesefivedeadlydiseasesisthelife stream, ' opened uptothedisciplebyhisMaster.Somehelp may be had from contemplating the opposite virtues.But one must neverdepend on such contemplation for the final reconstruction of char-

Passions and Their Remedies

VICES kam , ' krodh lobh mob ahankar

7.

Karma and Reincarnation

1. WHAT ISKARMA?

THE TWO DOcrRINES OF karma and reincarnation are important considerations inthescience of theMasters.They are acceptedas facts of nature not onlybythe Masters but bypracticallyallschools of Oriental thought. More than half of the . human racetoday accepts karma and reincarnation asestablishedfacts of nature. Since reincarnation dependsonkarma,letusdiscuss that first. Karma(from kr, inSanskrit)means that 'law of nature which .requires that every doer shall receive the exact result, or reward, of his actions. Initslastanalysis,itis nothing more nor less than the well-knownlaw of cause and effect.Itis known inphysicsasthe law of compensation orbalanceor equilibrium. In jurisprudence itisthelaw of justice.Allthe courts of thecivilizedworldgive official recognition tothelaw of karma everytimetheymete out rewardsand punishments. Inethics,asinciviland criminal law,it isthebasis of rewards and punishments, thedecisive principle of rightandwrong conduct.

Rightactionsarethosewhichcreate good karma.Badactions createbad karma . Thisisthesimplestpossible solution of the

WHAT ISKARMA?

many questions of right and wrong.Intheethics of Jesus, karma is reduced tothesimple question of receivingwhatonehasearned, reapingwhatonehassown.In the law of Moses,itwas reduced to therule of aneyeforaneye and a tooth fora tooth. Thisisan exact,even if crude, conception of thelaw of balance.Inemployment of labor,itisthe principle of fairwages.In barter andexchange,itisthebasis of thesquaredeal.In spiritual scienceitis calledkarma, but itisthesainelaw. .

The underlying principle is that 'everyact performed byanybody must befollowedbyits natural and legitimateresults.Thisis alawsouniversal that itisamazingwhyallmenhave not grasped itsgeneralsignificanceandapplieditinethics,thesameasin mechanics.Itisrecognizedinphysicalscience. Without itthere couldbenoscience.Itisrecognizedalsoinsociallife.Allthe worldover,everybodyrecognizes that he must payforwhathe gets. It isonlythefoolwhotriestoget something for nothing. Eventhe man whoimagines that hehassucceededhasonly run in hisowndebt,as .Emerson says.

Itisonlythe Western peoplewhohave not yetawakenedtothe application of thislawtoethics,psychologyandspirituality.The Eastern wisdom, however;recognizestheuniversality of thelaw and instead of callingitthelaw of compensation, they call itkarma.Anyway,why should the Western worldbefrightenedatthe word karma? If the student will pick up any book onphysics,he will discovertheworking of thissamelawinevery problem confronting him.Forexample,a carismovingalongthe road ata speed which bearsadefiniteratiotoitsweight and the amount of powerapplied.Ifyouwishtoincreasethespeed, must either reduce the weightorincreasethepower. hi everycase,thelaw of compensation isthechieffactor to bedealtwith;one must payfor whathegets. From that fixedlaw of theuniverse,therecanbeno deviation,noexception.

Gobackto Emerson again.Readhisessayonthelaw of compensation. Heshowshowthesamelawoperatesineveryfield of human thought andendeavor,the moral and the spiritual aswell asthephysical. Emerson was not ignorant of the Eastern wisdom.

The light of hisgeniuscame out of theEast. And thisisthelaw of karma according totheMasters. It is upon the universality.of the , action of thislaw that the Masters construct their ethics, just as definitely as the engineer is guided by that lawin building his bridge. Directly applied, thelaw of karma demands that every livingbeing,every creature, from primordial protoplasm to human brain, from .amoeba to archangel, from mind and soultothe creator of the Three W orlds--everyone must receivetheexact balance of accounts, theprecise compensation foreach and every act.Andso,thisis karma.

Letitbe kept in mind that noact whatsoever, no matter how apparently trivial or unimportant, canbe performed without its correlated karma. Letfalla billiard ball upon the earth, and the entire globeisaffected by it. The world isneveragainexactlythe sameasitwas before thefalling of that ball.Itis karma. Leta .single word escape from one 's mouth, ·and not only isthe hearer affected by it, but bythelaw of action and reaction a portion of theeffects Will return upon thespeaker. Then asthesetwoare affected,all mankind will be affected tosome extent, no matter how slight these effectsmaybe.Thelawis there. Thewhole of humanity isneveragain quite thesameasitwas before that word was spoken. This ought to makeus all stop and think before we speakidle or ill words. Remember, thewhole of mankind are linked in ·one mental, spiritual and karmic bond. What affects one, whether for geod or bad, affectsall, to SOme extent. Hence our karmic responsibility; Thelaw of karma isthe underlying . principle of personal responsibility.

. Itisa well-known law of physics that action and reaction are equal, but opposite in directions. Thisisthe lawthat brings back upon, the doer, inspite of himself, the legitimate results of his conduct. He must gather the fruit of hisownactions. That reaction he cannot possibly escape. Hence, every action performed . hasits double karma based upon thislaw of action and reactionitaffectsthe recipient and it returns upon the doer. The doer is alwaysa recipient of thesame act So action and reaction are ·the dual forms of karma. This extends to the smallest motion of aleaf

quivering inthebreezetothesway of a planet inits orbit. It binds the lizard that devours itsinsect and it binds the philosopher givinghislecture. Karma isa universal law embracing every unit of theliving throughout the numberless worlds of theuniverse. Noneedtogo into lengthy details.The central factis not difficult of apprehension. It issufficientto remember that everyact of every individual must registerits correlated effects. And thisapplie s toevery individual inexistence, from amoeba to man, from cavern rock to milky way.Thislaw holds sway just asrelentlessly and definitely inthevegetable and animal kingdoms asinthe human. Nothing that existsis exempt from thislaw.Wemay mention, however, that the law of karma extends onlyuptothe regionwhere mind and matter cease.Inthe empire of mind and matter , karma isuniversal; but there isa higher universe of worlds where pure spirit governsall, and there isno karma there. How is th at? Becausein that world there isa higher law which supersedes all other laws-that isthelaw of love.

2 .KARMA BINDS THE WORLD TOGETHER

The universality of thelaw of karma is' one of the chief factors which binds all of life together, not only human life but also the animal with the human. Animals and humans compose onebig family with a complicated but inseparable history and an inseparable karma. Hidden awayinthisgreatlawisthe main reaSonwhy men should not kill and eat animals-also why men should not m istreat animals.

Thegreatfact of importance tousallis that according tothis lawweareall constantly creating karma, incurring debts, and all of thesedebts must be paid off. That is the whole problem inafew wo rds. It isa pity that all mankind cannot graspthe full significance of thislaw. If they could, thewholesocial structure would be remodeled. Every debt must bepaid.To put it otherwise, no man canpossiblyget something for nothing. Hemaygoindebt; but ifhedoes, that debt must be paid by him sooner or later. The

exactdayand hour of payment is not always noted byus. It may not beknownwhenwearetopay; but theonefact of importance, whichstandsabsolutelyunalterable,is that everyone mustpay. That istheessence of thematter.

Notonlydoes nature frequentlyallow much timeforthepayment, but itmaybe extended overlongperiods,ininstallments. Afterall, nature isgenerous.Sheverygraciouslyallowsthe sinner plenty of timefor repentance and compensation. Ifmenwere wise,they would never run into herdebt.Andiftheydid run into herdebt,theywouldseizethefirstpossible moment to payoff the debt.Inanycase,men should always bearin mind that theycannot possibly 'beat thegame'. It canneverbedone.Soonerorlater full payment must bemade,oftenwithheavy compound interest. Thisveryfact of nature's generositywithtimefor payments sometimesleadstoterrible misunderstandings. The wrongdoer himself isoftenledtobelieve that hehasactually beaten thegame.He imagines that hehas contravened the law.Butheonlydeceives himself.

Theobservertoooften complains that thereisnojusticeinthe world.Henotices .the sinner going apparently unpunished, while therighteousare unrewarded. Justice apparently miscarries daily rightbefore our eyes,andthereseemstobeno hand torightthe . wrongs. It is just there that thescheme of karma andreincarnation comestotherescueandoffersa rational explanation.

Itmay happen, and it certainlydoesfrequentlyoccur, that a man's life accounts are not balanced atthetime of hisdeath.Is thelaw then of noavailinhislife?Hashereallydefeated the law and mocked the administrator of the law? Bynomeans.Thatlaw itselfisinviolable. It canneverbesetaside.Noonecandefeatit. But,assaid before! nature isgenerousandgivesusplenty of time forpayment.Thedeath of any individual is not theend of his career. It isonlytheend of one chapter inhislonghistory. "But.so longasheowes one farthingtothelaw,he must return tomake payment.Also,ifthereisany karmic relation betweentwoindividuals, that relationship canneverbe ' terminated until allaccountsaresettledbetweenthem.Andthisbringsustotheassociatedlaw of reincarnation.

In Yoga and Western Psychology byGeraldineCoster,weread :

It is our custom toregardthis philosophy of karma asone of indolent, easygoingfatalism,andto attribute toit many of the evils of Easternsociallife.Butitisinrealitythecomplete negation of fatalism,in that itdeleteschance,destiny,inthe colloquial acceptation of theword,andtheidea of an overrulingProvidence, all threefairly common conceptions inthe West. It represents man asthesoleandabsolutemaster of his ownfateforever . What hehassowninthetimes of hisignorance,he must inevitablyreap; but whenheattains enlightenment,itisforhimtosowwhathechoosesandreapaccordingly.

Thisisa point that deservesthespecial attention of the student. Thisgreat doctrine, instead of leadingtoadull fatalism, isinfact theonlyteachingintheworld that showsexactlyhow man isthe architect of hisown fortune, the creator of hisownfate.Inthis systemthereis not room forthe arbitrary decrees of acapricious deity.

Inthelaw of karma thereistheperfect solution of our social andeconomicdifficulties.How?Notewellthe underlying principle.Thewholeworld,the Western worldin particular, is profitmad. Human energiesaredevotedto heaping upprofits.Butthe worstfeature of thisis that peopledo not care howtheygetprofits or whether theyhavetogivevaluereceived. Nowsupposethislaw of karma becamedeeply rooted inthepublicconsciousness,what wouldresult?Supposeevery man knewinhis inmost conscious- . nessthat hesimplymustpayforallhe gets, whatwouldhappen? Nomanwould "even attempt the irrational andimpossibletask of tryingto accumulate a fortune forwhichhehasgivennoequivalent. What then wouldbecomethe modus operandi inall 'business transactions? Every manwould seek firstto render a servicefor what he expects to get. Hewouldknow that hehastopay.Hisfirst consideration would then be: HowcanImake adequate payment? Nowhethinksfirst of all:How much can I takefromothers?How much canImakethisbusiness yield? Hedoes not considerwhetherheistoearn money but onlyhowhecan get hold of it.

Itmaybesaidnowwiththe utmost assuranceof truth that just solongasthissystemprevails,thewholeworld will present . a giganticscrambleofrobbers,eachtryinghisbesttotakefromall therest, but the robber does not stopto think ofthedayofpayment. Neither does theaveragebusinessman.But ifhe werefamiliarwiththisgreatlaw of karma,ofthebasiclaw of justicewhichis automatic in its administration, hewould not engageinthis moralscramble, but wouldfirstofallqualifyhimselforestablishsome enterprisewhosesoleobjectwasto render aservice.Theninreturn hewouldexpectonlyajust compensation forthatservice. Thisisthe fu'ndamentallaw ofa rational economics, of aworld interchange of commodities,andofasocial equilibrium that will standalltests. Modern business methods are nothing more nor lessthanabelatedsurvivalofthedaysoflawless plunder, pillage andthe destruction oftheweak.And most of thisduetoalack of understanding ofthelawof karma-that is,people do notrealize thattheysimply must payforwhattheyget.Theygoonblindly tryingtotakefromotherswhattheywant,regardlessofmoral principle.

mistake.Hecan neither leavethisrecord behind him nor canhe concealit.Whereverhegoeshisrecordgoeswithhim,justas trulyasadog'stail always followshim! It isa part of him. Whereverhegoeshe must facethisrecordand pay it . Thisisafixedlaw ofnature,asunfailingastherevolutionsofastarin its orbit.

Whenasoularrivesinthesubtleregion,he must thereappear beforeajudgewhosejusticeneverwavers,who cannot bebribed, andbeforewhomtherecords cannot be falsified. Therehe must answertoeveryitemandtherehe must payinfull. If he finds himself bankrupt in that court, ifdebtshangheavily upon him,he isassignedto another life under conditions which permit himto makepayment.This,however,isthedivinejusticewhichisflavored withmercy.Ifhispasthasbeenverydark,hemaybeobligedto undergoaremedial punishment toimpress upon his inmost consciousnessthatcrimedoesnotpay.Thenhehas another chance. Inthe subsequent lifeorlives,evenifhedoes not remember his punishment, itseffectsremaindeeply embedded inhissubconscious mind, andsointhat subsequent life,instead of likingthe thingwhich brought himso much grief,he will havean innate aversiontowardit.He will avoidit.Thisaccountsformanyof thosedeep-seatedaversions,likes and dislikes,withwhichpeople areborn.

WHAT IS REINCARNATION?

When deathovertakesaman, "heissimply transferred ortransported to another fieldofaction. That isthesumofit. And his accounts.go withhim. Thatisa point generallynotknown,orat leastitisignored.Tomostmendeathislikeaplungeintototal darkness.Theyhavenoideawheretheyaregoingorwhatisto happen tothem.ButtheMastersknowexactlywhatisto happen toeachoneafterdeath.Andamong other things,theyknowthat everybodytakeshisaccountswithhim.Settlementhastobemade sometime.Andso,iftheiraccountsare not settledbeforedeath, theysimply must return tothisworldforthesettlement.Nosoul caneverdetachitselffromitsaccountsuntiltheyaresettled.Stored upineach karansharir, thecausalbody,istheseed of allhis karma,aninfalliblerecord,inwhichthe recorder nevermakesa

Ifa person's lifehasbeenfull of good -deeds, kindnessandlove, heisassignedtoaheavenoraparadiseorsome sort of delightful environment-by whatevernameonewishestoknow it-where heenjoysthefullrewardofall he hasearned.Ineverycase,his karmaismetandfully satisfied. Hegetsexactlywhathehasearned and nothing else.Rememberthatkarmaincludesthegoodaswell asthebad.Ifoneearnsthegood,he must getthegood. Nothing canpossiblydefeat that law. When one'skarmahasbeenworked outonanyofthesubtleplanes,andthetimeisripe,he returns to earthinanew birth, thatnew birth anditsentiresettingbeing also determined byhisgoodorbadkarma.Soagainhegetsexactlywhathehasearned, but nowhehas another chance to improve hiskarma.

Thereisanoldsayingthat though themillsofthegodsgrind

AND REINCARNA nON

slowly, yettheygrindexceedinglyfine.Thatisonly another way of , sayingthatonecanneverescapehisownkarma. It suggeststhat although nature maybegenerousastotime,intheend full payment must bemade.

Whyis another lifeon earth necessary? Why cannot allaccountsbesettledonthesubtleplanestowhichonegoesafter death?Theansweristhateveryone must return toearthlylifein order thathemayreapwhathehassown, and makeallpayments under identical conditions of life,whichensuresperfectjustice; also, to permit theindividualtoimprovehis karma tothe point wherehemayeventuallyescapefromthekarmicwheel of birth anddeath.Thisescapecanneverbeaccomplisheduntilhisaccumulated good karma outweighshisbadandbringshimtoaliving Master.Forthisisthe supreme, rewardofgood karma-meeting theSatguru,who will eventuallytake him out of thearena of struggle, out of thereignofkarmiclaw.This latter achievementis always theremoteobjectheld in viewbythe supreme Father.That is,infact,"theonefar-offdivineeventtoward which thewhole creation moves"-final liberation of thesoulfromthewheel of birth anddeathanda triumphal entryintothe home of thesoul beyondthereach of karma.

NowthegreatMasters,whoviewthis drama of human life fromthehigherplanes,know that theindividual must return to thislife, and thathe does return againandagainin order that he mayanswerthedemands of thisuniversallaw.Andthisconstitutesthe round of births and deathswhichwecall reincarnation, orthewheel of birth anddeath.Whenthe hour ofdestinystrikes, everyone must leavethis theater of action.Inthesame manner . . andbythesamelaw,everysoulwhoresides temporarily inany of those upper regions must closehiseyes upon that sceneandcome downagaintoanew birth calledforbyhiskarma.Thetime,the locationandthe parents forhisnewlifeareallarrangedbythe same law-the law of hisownkarma.Heisthentogetwhathe hasearnedhere,in addition towhathehasexperiencedoverthere. Heis not gettingadoublekarma,aswassuggested by one student. Part of his karma ispaidoverthere,andthe unpaid portion heis

W HATIS REINCARNATION?

togethereinhisnewlife.Heis born intoanewbodyandslowly awakenstotheconsciousnessofanewlifeonearth.Helivesthis newlifeandaccumulatesanewsetofkarmasbesidespayingoff theoldscores.

Thereisone other very interesting point tobe remembered here.Inthenewlifeofa reborn child,theparentsaremeeting theirownkarma,justasthechild -is, Soperfectis that systemof karmiclaw, that allindividuals concerned meetatexactlytheright timeandinexactlytherightrelationshipsoastomeetand payoff theirkarmicdebts.Supposethata married coupleare under a karmicdebttosomeonewithwhomtheywere connected insome wayinapreviouslife.Nowthey payoff that debtbytheirservices asparentsandtheyearsofcareandlaborthey must give.Sothe parentsareworking under thelaw of karma astrulyasisthechild in returning tothislife.Botharemeetingits stern demands,which no man caneverescape.

This constitutes theeternal awagawan, so ' oftenspokenofby the Oriental student of spirituality. Awagawan means ' comingand going'.Solongastheindividuallivesandoperates under thelaw ofkarma,he cannot escapethiscomingandgoing.Thisiscalled bytheMastersthe chaurasi ka chakra. It means ' thewheelof eighty-four '. Andthisisamarvelous phenomenon. Theidea ac-, cordingtoEasternmythologyis that theindividual, accompanied bythe mind and itsloadofkarma,moveson through almost endlessagesfrom birth to birth, passing through theeighty-four lakhs 1 ofdifferentkindsoflivingbeings.TheEastern scriptures explainthatinthisworldthereare approximately eighty-four lakh speciesoflivingbeings:

Threemillionspeciesof plant life; Twomillion,seven hundred thousand of insect species; Onemillion,four hundred thousand kinds of birds; Nine hundred thousand kinds of water animals; Four hundred thousand kindsof land animals, includingmen andotherbeingsjustabovemen but closelyrelatedtothem,

1 Alakh isequivalentto 100 ,000 ; eighty-four lakh amounting to 8 ,400,000.

KARMA

suchas devas, etc. These are generally known asangels and demons by Western people.Theyare sometimes seenbyus when conditions arefavorable.

This -makes 8,400,000 species,eachwithits uncounted millions of individuals. A wandering soul, making itswayfrom birth to birth, maybe required topassalong and tiresome course through all of them, provided its karma callsforthat.Itmaypass through onlysomeof them, then return tothe human status, but, inall cases, just asits earnings mayallow.The round of all of these forms oflife, assaidbefore, constitutes thewheel of eighty-four. It depends upon the individual entirely asto how many of thesehe orshe ma y havetopass through. TheMasters 'tellus that there is noe,scape fromthiswheel until onemeetshis Guru and learns to contact the audible life- stream . Thisis more ' fully explained in Chapter Eleven,Section 6.

Let . us now return tothesubject of karma. Thetwosubjects, karma and reincarnation, areso interrelated that they cannot be separated. Indiscussing either one , we must refertothe other.

There are three kinds of karma recognized bytheMasters:

(1) Thefirstiscalled pralabdh or prarabdh karma, which means 'fate karma'. It is that whichhasbeen earned inoneor more ' previous lives, and upon whichthis present lifeisbased.This sort of karma the individual must payoff during thislife.He must live it out tothefullextent. There isnoescape from it,asarule, not . evenifonehasaMaster.The Master can destroy it but generally doesnot. That isbecausethistype of karma must bemet and paid bythe individual . It is compared toan arrow shot from the bow. . whenonce shot into theair,it must gowheretheforce of thebow has determined that itshallgo ; There isno changing that after it is once shot forth.

(2)The second kind iscalled sinchitkarma. This means 'reserve karma'. It maybe compared to money deposited inabank,ina savings account. Butinthiscaseitis drawn upon not atthe will of the individual but atthe will of the lord of karma. Hemay draw

upon that and assignittobelived out atsuchtimes and placesas hemay determine. The individual has nothing tosay about it.

(3)The third kind of karma is kriyaman, the 'daily karma', whichweare making fromdaytoday during thislife.Now,this sort of karma maybe disposed of inseveralways:Wemaysuffer orreapits payment atonceoratsome other time .duringthis life« . orwemayhaveit stored up essinchit karma tobe drawn upon at somefuturetime according tothe will of the lord of karma.In that case, it may become fate karma fora future life.

It maybesaidhereinpassing that whena Satguru takesover anyoneashisdisciple, that factmateriallyaltersthedisciple'skarmic status ; Hiswhole destiny undergoes a complete change. That all depends upon the will of theMaster,for then the Master ishis karmiclord,The Satguru is superior toall other lords of destiny. Hemaydo whatever hepleaseswiththe karma of hisdisciple; but asarulehedoes not interfere with the pralabdh karma of anyone. That isgenerally considered fixed and final. It must be endured or gathered as what onehassown. With all of therest,theMaster maydoashelikes according to whatever he thinks isbestforthe disciple.He may require thediscipletolive out allhis sinchit karma whichhas been stored up against him, aswellas that which heis creating from daytoday.Inthiscaseonemaybe disposing ofallthreesorts of karma atthesametime. .

Ifadisciplefinds himself obligedto endure much, hemayconsole himself that the Master is doing allhecantocleanthevessel as soon aspossible. When lifeends,his record will be dean, and he will befreeforever.Ifthe Master doesthis,itis out of great love, knowing that when thedisciple ' isatlastfree,he will be thankful that theMaster put him through itallatonce and finished it.Butthe Master will never allow the burdens to become too heavy.Oftenheevenbearsa portion of them himself, out of great loveandsympathy.Inanycase,the Master alwaysdoes what he knowsisbestforhisdisciple,forheis himself the embodiment of loving kindness.

KARMA AND REINCARNATION

4. METEMPSYCHOSIS, A BITTER PILL

Transmigration is apparently a nasty pillfor the Western student. Forthis reason, in order toplease our theosophical friends and those whom Theosophy is trying toplease,we would be gladto leavethis out, even though itisa part of the Eastern wisdom. But since it isa part of the teachings of all great Masters, it cannot be left out toplease anyone. The Creator has not leftit out of his . scheme; how canweleaveitout? The Masters sayitisa part of life itself and it must be reckoned within any scheme of philosophy that tells the whole truth. Itis not a question of what welike , but a question of thefacts of nature. It islike death itself. None of us appear tolike that any too well, but weall know that we must acceptitasa part of the routine of life on this planet.

Our egotism ought not mislead us.The concept is not so bad as it may atfirst appear. We know weare related to the animals in many ways.We know that our conduct is often like that of animals , sometimes pitiably lower than that of animals. Isn't it a disgracefor your beautiful body tohaveto return to the dirt, to crumble into afilthymass of decaying carbon, calcium and Hp? Yet, that isexactly what happens. It is because that is the way of nature, and none of uscan change it. That beautiful child, innocent and joyous, pure as the lily, sweeter than the rose, must return to earth and become food for worms. Is there anything more appalling?Yet that is nature. Shallwe dare accuse nature of cruelty? Nature isalways generous and kind, even though we may not alwayslike her ways. .

If the mind leadsan animal life, thinks likean animal and acts likean animal, isn't it quite natural that it should return to the animal form whose character it most resembled during life? The disgracelies not in descending to the animal form, but inso conducting oneself that it becomes necessary totake the animal form. There againis the operation of the eternal law.You must .in instance get just what you have earned. If you have not livedlike an animal, itis certain that you will never return to the status of an animal. We know that degeneration isas much alaw of nature

asis growth and evolution. And if a man doesgo down, is that a more deplorable thing than the descent into the grave of afair and beloved form todecay into ashapelessmass of corruption? They are both nature's processes. They are not within our control, but by obeying thelaws of nature wecan avoid descending to any lower status. That much is certain. Butnomancan violate nature's laws and escape her penalties.

You know itisafact that a man's conduct may be much worse than anything of which an animal would beguilty. Where then is the incongruity if that man returns tothelowerlevel,as the fruit of his own actions? Atthe same time, isn't itan inspiring thought that an animal which youhave loved may gain human birth and risetonobility? Doesn't that seemtobe more in accord with the love of the supreme one?You will concede that there isnoobjection tothe lower orders of life rising to something higher. Your. theory of evolution has prepared youfor that . Butyou worry much over the idea of a man going down. Isn't there an incessant rise and fall,as concomitants of evolution? Isn't there ebb and flow, progression and retrogression, advance and retreat? Degeneration and dissolution is just as much a part of nature 's processes asis evolution. Of course, itis not fitting that a man should descendto assume the animal form. But the real misfit liesinhis conduct which obliges him togo down .

Youdo not object tothe doctrine of evolution. If you could look back into some prehistoric jungle and there see yourself asa wild animal, later rising to the human 'statusaftersatisfying the law of karma bysuffering and enjoying asan animal does, wouldn't youfeel inclined to bow in reverence tothe majesty of that law which isslowly but surely bringing allforms of lifeto the higher . levels? If we admit the ascent of livingforms,weare obliged to admit the descent of forms. That issoevenifwe think of the · forms of species themselves, the mere physicalforms.We know theyare capable of very great improvement. No one objects to the idea that this human form hasevolved from the more human animal forms of lower species. Why should we object to the rise or fall of the minds and souls of individuals? They are subject to the

same general laws of improvement and degeneration. Building up and crumbling down are but thetwo sides of oneprocess.Wesee thetwoprocessesgoing on sidebysidein all nature . .

Catch but aglimpse of the sublime spectacle!Eight million and four hundred thousand ,livingspecies, untold billions of individuals, in each of whom isa spark of the divine essence-s-their tiny lightsglowinginthe darkness, but slowly awakening toa higher consciousness! Can there be anything more inspiring?Eachoneis working on,tirelessly awaiting theday of final liberation from the wheel.Ifyouarealover of animal life,canyouconceive of a more inspiring truth?

Youinsist that you do not object ifthelowerformsrisetothe higher because your theory of evolution has prepared your mind for that. But you do not fancythe retrograde movement. Again, letmeurge that a man does not need togo down, and he will not dosoifhis conduct has been worthy of his status .asaman.But if being a man sorichly endowed, he deliberately choosestoactlike an animal, heforfeitshis dignity and invites degradation and humiliation. Even then, all is not lost. If he descends tothe animal levelbyforce of his .animal-like conduct, hemayrisetothe human levelagain when hehas expiated hissins and purified his \ mind-in other words, when hehas paid his karmic debt.

The mercy of the Supreme is never -ending. Heis long-suffering and patient. No matter how longitmaytakethe prodigal sonto . come tohissenses and return, alwaysthelightis kept burning in his Father's palace, waiting forhim.He must 'come home when thefull measure of his karma has been paid.Ifa man sinks down by unworthy conduct, hemay come upagainbysuffering and good deeds . Ifmydogormy horse servesmefaithfully and with love, that is sure to stand tohiscredit.Lifeisfull of giving and taking.Ifthegiving is more than thetaking, then by just that much the individual rises toward a higher life.Thisistheunfailinglaw of karma, the principle of eternal balance.

In studying thelaw of karma and its operation, one thing more must not be overlooked. It isthe very important fact that noindividualcaneverpaythedebtforanother. Theologians have made

the terrible blunder of ignoring this fixed and immutable law of nature. Theyhave built up their theological dogma of thevicarious atonement in contravention of thelaw of karma. IfJesus could paythe debt of the whole world byhis death on thecross, then the greatlaw of justiceitself becomes inoperative. By that veryfact, the Creator would annul hisownlaw. Even ifJesuswere himself the incarnated Creator, and if he should take upon himself the sins of mankind, the entire scheme of justice would collapse, and theold plan of animal and human sacrifice would bejustified.

Atbestsucha doctrine isa virtual acknowledgment that the Creator was .disappointed in man's conduct. After man had createda debt which he could not pay, the Creator himself had topay itforhim.Butto whom didhepayit? Who heldthemortgage?To say that he paid itto himself makesthe death of Jesus on thecross no more than a grandstand play or a bid for public sympathy. To say that he paid ittothedevilexalts that worthy tothe status of an equal partner ina questionable transaction. It makesthe Creator , an absurd actor, obliged to makethebest of a bad muddle. Tosay that he paid the debt of all mankind tothelaw of justice itselfis but a subterfuge of words.

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Thewhole dogma is built up on theoldrule of sacrifice and substitution, which was but a trick of ancient man totry to escape the legitimate consequences of hisownactions.By that means theyonly deluded themselves into thinking that they had escaped their karma; but asa matter of fact, they greatly added to their karmic burden. Sacrifice isaveryold and almost inseparable concomitant of theslowly awakening consciousness of the inviolability of the karmic law.Theyknew they had todo something to escapethe consequences of their moral debts, but they didn't know what todo.Thewhole scheme rests upon the assumption that God and thedevilare running a dual .empire:thedevilinthe ascendancy most of the time inthis world, theLord himself being but little more than a nominal sovereignobligedtokeepupappearances under an embarrassing situation. IftheJews and particularlySt.Paul,who created the Christian theology, had been well informed on the immutable law of karma, theidea of thevicari-

REINCARNATION EXPLAINS MUCH

ous atonement would never have been dreamed of. It isdirectly opposed tothe eternal law of justice which runs throughout nature. I

ofpurity,justiceand love? Theseand a hundred other questions . pressthemselves upon usall, and theyhavenoanswer,exceptin theschemeofkarmaand reincarnation. Thisis not thefirstlifeof allofthosepeople,andsoeachoneentersthislifebringingwith himallofhis inherited tendencies-sanskaras, theMastercalls them.

5 . REINCARNATION EXPLAINS MUCH

. Ifkarmaand reincarnation area little difficultto understand, especiallyamongWesternpeopletowhomthewholeideais rathernew,onalittlereflection it will befoundtheonlyrational explanation of someofthemostcomplicatedproblemsoflife.For example,whydoessomeuselessoldmanlingeron foryears, a burden tohimselfandeveryoneelse,while' abeautifulchild,full ofpromiseandjoy,hastodiesuddenly?Onlykarmaandreincarnation offer any satisfactoryexplanation.Toexplainitastheinscrutabledecreesofadeity, arbitrarily interfering in the affairs of human life,istoinvitedespairandunbelief.Asa matter of fact, the parents areto understand thatthechild,duetohisownpast karma,wasfromtheverybeginningallottedjust that brief span of life,andthey must be thankful thatthechildwas 'loaned' to them forthat brief period.Thechild,dueto his ownkarma,hadbeen allotted "just that lengthoflifeandnomore. That time being finished,hehadtogo.His short lifewasonlyonescene,justa brief appearance, upon thestageofhiscareer.Thislittleacthad tobeplayed. It wasalsooneepisodeinthelifeoftheparents. That much ofkarmainthelivesof both parentsandchildhadto bepaid. When itwaspaid,therewasno further needforthechild toremainthere, . any more than anactor should remainonthe stagewhenhisactisfinished.

Again,whydosomepeopleenter . thislifewithsuchterrible handicaps,whileothers, apparently lessworthy,are born inthe lapoffortune?Whyaresomechildren born with superior intelligence,whileothersarehopelesslydull?Whyaresome born with criminaltendencies,whileotherscomeintolifewithalivelysense

1. Itma y be empha sized here that saint s can and dotakeup on themselves karmas of others in certain ca ses, This , however , d oes not apply to those wholived either before or after them.

Eachonecomeswithadefinite program outlined forhim,accordingtohispastrecord.Thisishisfatekarma. That program he mustcarry out. When thelastactofthat program hasbeenperformed,thescenecloses.Theendcomes. It must come.Moreover,theend cannot come until thelastact of his preordained life hasbeen performed. Hethenpassesto another life.Thereagain hisfutureisassignedto him onthebasisofhisownearnings . In this manner everyindividualmarkstimeinthegrandcalendar of the ages. Theonly thing thatcanever bring this monotonous routine toanendisthemeetingwithalivingMaster. When a manhasthis opportunity, itimpliesa good fatekarmaand that thesupremecrisis of hislongcareerhascome.Hisdeliveranceis closeathand.

If a student feels inclinedtoaskwhyallmenhave not the opportunity tomeetaMaster, the answeris ' again,theirkarma. Theyhavenot earned that privilege.(NomancanmeetaMaster untilhehasearnedtheright.)Andwhentheyhave earned the right,thereisno power intheworldthatcankeep them away fromthe Master-not eventhe stormy watersofsevenseas.There isnoinjusticeinthisthing.Never mind if you think somewho nevermeettheMasterare much better people than somewhodo meethim.Wehavenotsufficientdatatojudgewhoismostworthy.

IfsomepeoplearefavoredinIndia,whileso many goodpeople inEuropeandAmericahavenosuch opportunity, itisbecause thesepeopleinIndiahave earned theright.Godonlyknowshow manylongandwearyagestheyhavewaited and sufferedand . worked,onlytobe born inIndiawith but littleofthisworld's goods,andeven poor mental equipment, yetwithheartsfilled withlove,readytofollowtheMasterwithnomisgivings,nomentalpullingback.Theymayhave nothing else,manyofthem.They

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maybe poor and ignorant, but theyhave much goodkarma, and sotheyfindthemselvesatthe Master's feet.Onthe other hand, a maninEuropeorAmericamayhavegreatintelligence, . wealth and position, yethis karma of pastlivesmay not have entitled him tomeetaMasterinthislife.Thatiswhysuchmendo not meet him. It is not becausetheylivesofaraway.

It maybeasserted without qualification that ifa thousand men andwomen,orevenonealone,inAmericawerefully prepared to meetaMaster,theywouldfindhim,evenifhehadtocomeacross theseastothem. When anymanor woman has earned theright to stand beforeaMaster, there isnopowerinthe universe that . cankeephimawayfromtheMaster.Thetwo must meet.Butin everycaseitisgood karma that bringsthesoultotheMaster.Itis wellknown among advanced students of theoccultthat:

Whenthe disciple is ready, theGuru appears.

Wemaybeasked, what isthefinalgoal of goodkarma?The answeris that it will bringthe individual totheMaster.Thatis the extreme good fortune , theveryhighestreward of goodkarma.His early liberation fromthewheelis then assured.

However,reasonaswemay,thefinaland only conclusive proof of the doctrine of karma and reincarnation comeswhenoneentersthe inner worldsand there beholdsits operation foroneself.It is then not a question tobesettledbyelaborateacademicdiscussions,bylogicor . belief.Likeall other teachings of the Masters, thisis founded upon observation and personal experience, upon sightandhearing, upon positiveknowledge.Thesethingsareas wellknowntotheMastersasarethe common phenomena of wheatgrowingorhousebuilding.They behold them in operation, and therefore theyneed not guess.

When anyoneentersthehigherfields of knowledge,heisable towatchthe operation of karma and .reincamation. With clear visionheisabletoseeits application to others aswellastohimself.At that stageeveryoneisabletoseeclearlyhisownpastlives. Hedistinctly remembers them. It is then that heknows that he

WHAT HAPPENSAFTER DiATH

haslivedbefore,andheknowsjustwhere and whenhelived. Also,heknowshis karmic earningsandlosses.Hecanseeexactly howthelaw of karma and reincarnation works out inhislong . succession of lives-how hecameandwent,times without number,always bringing withhimhis unsettled accounts.He remembers just howhesufferedorenjoyed,accordingtohisdebitsand credits.Heknows that always hehadtopay,paytothe uttermost. Thegreatlawis then nomere theory tohim.

6. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH

Aftera person dies,heorsheistakenbythemessengers of death tothesubtleregions where Dharam Rai, 'the righteous .judge ', .sits enthroned tojudgeevery individual accordingtohisdeserts. .

Inthe Christian lands these ,messengers of death areveryappropriately calledtheangels of deathorthedarkangels,for -dark · indeed theyare, but inIndiathey-are -called yamdoot orthe messengers of Yama,theking of the dead.Thisjudgeisalwaysin court totakecare of all comers-no .longwaiting,sitting in some jailcell. . .

Nooneever questions the judgment, No comment ismade,no long-Winded oratory forthedefense, no pretended .righteous con . demnation of the prosecution. The prisoner himself makesno complaint and -asks nofavors.He knows heisgetting justice and consentstothe judgment. Heis then takentotheregionor condi tionwherehehas earned hisresidence,be that goodorbad.He remainsthereforafixedtimeaccordingtothe judgment just rendered and handed downtohim.After that period hasexpired, heis returned tothisworldorsome other worldtobeginanew life.Thisisthe routine procedure. Hemay enjoy arestinsome heaven()r .paradise,somepleasant region perhaps many times .. morebeautifulanddelightful than any portion of thisworld.There' hemay remain forone year, a thousand oramillion years,all depending upon his karma . Thehigherhegoes,thelongerthe period of hisresidencethere. . . . .

AND REINCARNATION

But if one's lifehasbeenofalower order, hemaybetakento some purgatory or reformatory; often there t? durethe punishment earned by him durmg hIS lifetrme . If hIS life hasbeenone of grossmisdeeds, of cruelty and greed,of murder and robbery, of slander and debauchery, he cannot escapethe legitimateresults.He must meetthe appropriate punishments. Butthereisonefeature about .allsuch punishments that must be understood-they are remedial and not vindictive.Theyareintended forhisgood,to produce a reformation of character.And theyare not eternal.Butthelawisinexorable;each 'one must get . just what hehas earned and just whatis needed toimpress upon his inmost consciousness that crimedoes not pay.

Dante's "inferno" is not all imagination . Inthelowersubtle regionsare many sections adapted toserveas reformatories and . training schoolsfor evil-minded individuals whohavepassed on afterleadinglives of wickedness.Inthose regions allsouls must meetthejustrewards of their deeds.Thereisnopossibleescape. These purgatories maybesevereor mild, according tothe earning of the individuals who 'gothere.

Thehell of the Jonathan Edwards typeisa horrible finality. Happily that doctrine isnowalmosta thing of thepast.It is no longerusedto threaten and horrify sensitive children tomake them obey.Itissaid that actuallyattimespeopleinthe church of Edwards would involuntarily catch hold ofthe benches tokeep fromslipping into hell,asitwassovividly portrayed byEdwards inhis sermons. But of course,such teaching is supported bythe Bible, and we cannot blame Edwards.Hewas conscientious--I usedto preach it myself, but I noticed that not many peopleever took itveryseriously. 'Now the inclination among religi?us isto expurgate their religion of allsortsofhells. That IS gomgto . the other extreme. .

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The problem must be met and rationally solved.Factsarefacts, no matter whether theyareagreeableornot.We must facethem. And theMasters know the proper solution. They know that all . soulsmeetinthenextlifeexactly what theyhave earned, and therethey must face their karmic debts and pay them. Iftheyhave

HATHAPPENSA FTER DEATH

filled their minds withevil, that evil must be eradicated insome way. Infiniteloveholdsontothe erring one and takesmeasures to reform him , to purify hism ind and bring himuptoahigher plane.Howelsecanitbedoneif not byacourse of remedial and disciplinary punishment and training?Butwhenhis period of training anddisciplineisover,heisfreeto work hiswayto -higher planes and better conditions, Havingbeendul y impressed with the evil natureofhisformerconduct,he will notreadilyreturnto it

When a man beginsthenextlife, heentersit chastened and humbled , more inclined tomercy and gooddeeds.He then hasan opportunity tomakegoodkarma.In going tothose disciplinary regions,thereisnosuch thing asdespair,nohopelessfinality. Thereiskindnesseveninsuch punishments, kindness and infinite love.The punishment isforthegood of himwho endures it.Ifhe had not earned it , hecould not havebeencalled upon to endure it.The supreme Father neverforsakesanerringsoul , not evenin hisdarkest hour.

Afterh is period of disciplineisoveronthesubtleplanes ; he m ay be required to re-enter earthly lifeinsomelowerform , to finishuphis karmic schooling.Ifhehaslivedhis earthly lifeona verylowplane,in degradation andshame,hemaybeobligedto comebackin some animalform, bitterly humiliated andchastened.Butinanycase that soul, that tiny spark ofthe infinite light , isneverextinguished.Itissimply obscured and humbled. The mind is circumscribed and limited tosuitthe limitations of th e animal brain. When he returns tothe human planeagain , the mind is naturally expanded tosuitthenew brain. Inthe animal brainwemaysaythe mind issimply darkened , imprisoned, and itslight obscured . .

Eachtinybit of mindstuff drawnfromtheuniversal mind is . ' what that individualneeds forthe normal expression of his lifemthe body hehas . Thesame mind goeswitheachone through of his karmic career , but ineach body itisobligedtoadjust Itselftothe instrument ithas.Inthe brain of adog , forexample, the mind is circumscribed and limited. It is cramped into such narrow confines that it cannot exercise itsfullcapacity.Butas

KARMA

soonasittakes human formagain,itautomaticallyexpandstoits full expressionasa human. When the mind of ahigherlevelman is liberated fromthe narrow limitsofthe human brain,itisthen expandedtoits full powers ,of expression upon ahigherplane.

Students often ask: What isthe explanation whenone person , suffersinjusticeatthehands of another?Theansweris that there isnosuch thing asinnocencesufferinginjusticeatthehandsof another.Letusexplain: It onlyappearssobecausewe cannot see theentire drama atoneglance.Weseeonlyisolatedacts, unrelatedepisodes.It must be remembered that thislawofkarmais universal.Ineverycaseasoulgetsexactlywhatithasearned,no moreandnoless.Thereisnosuch thing as innocence sufferingat thehandsof tyranny orcruelty.Do not accusethe Creator of ' mismanagement ofhisaffairs. What seems injusticeinso many casesisonlyanappearance.Howdoweknow?Becauseonthe inner planesthosewhoarequalifiedcanobservetheworkings of thelaw.

If not inthislife,then in apreviousone, that 'innocent' person haddone something toearnexactlywhatheisnowgetting. If he hadnotearnedit,hecould not nowgetit.Itisimpossiblethat 'anyone should sufferaninjustice, though itoftenappearsasifone issufferingthegrossestinjustice . Butassaidbefore, that isbecauseweseeonlyanisolatedact of theentiredrama.Whatever onegets,hehascertainly earned insome period of hislongcareer.

When someoneimposes upon another whatappears to bean injustice, and looked atfromallaspectsoftheaffairknowntous itisaninjustice,weknowthe 'recipient has earned itatsometime, somewhere-yet 'thatdoes not excusetheonewhoinflictsthe apparent injustice.Hemaybeeverso guilty. Even ifheis administeringajust punishment to the other, itdoes not excusehimfor theact.He should risetoahigherlaw and give out loveand , kindnessinsteadofaneyeforan eye-ifhe didso, he himself wouldearngoodkarma.Butthiswayheincurs further obligationswhichhe must payatsomelaterdate .

It isinjusticefromthe standpoint ofthe man whoinflicts injury . Nevertheless,hemaybe returning someactofinjusticeor

injurywhichhesufferedinsomepreviouslife. .Thisactuallyhappensinmanyinstances.These transactions areoftenextremely complicatedfrom our limitedviewpoint.But if theactorhadreturned goodforevilinstead of sternjustice,hewould himself' havefared much better inthelongrun.Inno case isaman justified in injuring another, evenifhehasbeen injured bythe. other. Innocaseisanyonejustifiedin returning evil forevil; but in every casethe wrongdoer must sufferforhisevilconduct"even if the suffering must comebywhat is' calledan act ofGod,likea storm orrailwayaccident,wherenooneindividualisresponsible.(A storm maycomeandblowhishousedownandbreak his bones; karmicdebtsarepaidthatwayveryfrequently .) .

Themoral ,responsibility of abadactisinnowiselessened because his victimhad earned the ill luckfarbackinsomeunknownpast.Bearin mind that thereis always an automatic executionofkarmicdebts. It must come, and itgenerallycomeswithouttheconscious participation of thepartiesconcerned.Onlyone who has inner visioncanseeitsworkings.

7. HOW TO DO KARMALESS ACTIONS

Thereisonemoreextremely interesting phase of karma which , oughtnottoescape our attention. Wehavenowseen how itbinds us.Weshallbe interested toknow ifthere isanypossibleescape fromcreating karma, eveninthecaseofdisciplesoftheMaster. ' There i snoescape from karma once itiscreated. When the debtis incurred, it must bepaid . Butthereisawayofliving without creatingkarmaat cillo Wehavealreadysaid that allliving beingscreate karma byeveryact of their lives. TheGitasaysthat inactivityitselfcreateskarma,andnoonecanescape it , But there isaway. What is that way? Byactingalwaysinthename of the Master . TheMasterhimselfiskarmaless.Hehasmet and satisfied all ofhisown karma bytheaidofhisownGuru.Afterthat,he risesabovetheactionofthe karmic law.Heisnolongersubjectto thatlawbecausehehasrisenabovetheplaneofitsaction.Heis

HOW TO DO KARMALESS ACTIONS

free from thelaws of allregionswhere karma operates. He Can neveragainbe bound by that law.All work whichhedoesis now done inthe name of the Satguru whom heserves,seekingtoplease him only.Hehasnodesires of hisown.Hedoes nothing without the full approval of the Supreme, and allhedoesis constructive. If he made an*: karma atall, if sucha thing werepossible,it would begood karma, and good karma elevatesone.But the Master has already attained the supreme status. How canhegohigher? Hence karma could havenoeffect upon him.

Now, if the Master's disciplewishestoescapethe creation of karma of anysort,let him do whatever hedoesinthe name of the Master,actingashisagent.So long ashedoes that, he will not createnew karma, becauseheisactingsolelyas the agent of another, and alwaysthe principal is responsible fortheacts of his agent.Buthe must dothis not merelyina ceremonial way but withhis entire thought and soulin it. Indeep earnest let him do allthings,everydetail of hislife, inthename of hisMaster. This . will, per necessity,oblige him todoonly what he thinks hisMaster will approve of Whenheapproachesataskoraproposedact,he will remember thatit is tobedoneinthename of theMaster.He will fix his mind ontheMaster, and then inlove and devotion he will dothe work asa genuine servicetothe Master and inhisname. ·He will remember that nothing ishisown.Allbelongstothe Master becausehehas dedicated alltothe Master-even his mind and hisbody,aswellas his.property, Sohe must use them allas if hewereusingthe property of another, and use them exactlyashe believesthe owner would liketohave him use them. '

Everything then is used only intheservice of theMaster.Even the eating of-one's ownfoodistobe done asanact of serviceto theMaster.Yourwholelifebelongstothe Master and istobe spent inhisservice. Then youeatin order tokeepthe body in good condition, that it may goon rendering good service. There is avery meaningful sentence written by Guru Nanak, whichsays:

Body, mind and wealth;give all tothe Guru; obeyhiscom mands, and reapthereward.

Ifthecriticobjects that thisisgoingtoofar, that it sounds likea schemetogetthediscipletogiveuphis property totheMaster, let him know that the Master never under any circumstance takes overthe property of a student. Noreal saint or Master everacceptsa penny fromhisdisciples.The Master acceptsthedisciple's money just asheacceptsthedisciple's mind and body,asagift of love and trust. Nowthe Master holdsa moral titletothem;the student goesonusing them justashedidbefore, but heuses . them inthe name of theMaster,whois now the realowner, They areusedforanobleservice and cannot beusedforanyselfishor unworthy purpose. Ifheis about to commit an unworthy act ; the student will remember that his mind and body arethe Master's property and- he cannot use them improperly. Sothisisa protection forthedisciple . . ,

Butthe ' main point under consideration hereis that ifthediscipleuseshis mind andhis body and hiswealthallinthe name of theMaster,heis not creating any karma. EsseritiallyitistheMasteractingand not thedisciple.Thediscipleisonlythe ' agent of the Master.Solongasheisactingsincerelyand wholeheartedly asthe agentanddisciple of. theMaster,itisreallythe Master whois acting. When our lives are sincerely dedicated tothe path, wegive upalltothe Guru and we think only of doing his commands. Jesussaid: - -

Ifye continue in my word, then 'areye my disciples indeed . (John8:31)

Andthisisso regarding thedisciples of any Master : Inayat Khan,a noted Sufi, says:

Giveusallyouhave, and we will giveyou all wepossess.

Andin that saying there is much wisdom and agreat promise. It means that ifthedisciplegivesup all-mind , body,wealth and soul-to the Master, theMaster will in return givethedisciple suchwealthasnokingeverpossessed.The Master will give him

riches that surpass allelse on earth, and inexchangeforthe surrender of himself tothe Master, he will gaina freedom that makes him master of alimitless empire. It is not that the Master wants thedisciple's mind or body or property. Itisfor the benefit of the disciple alone that the Master asks him to dedicate allto him. Suchagift on the part of thedisciple generates more loveinthe disciple and enables the Master todo more for him, and atthe same time it protects thedisciple from making mistakes .

Allthis means that thebig 'I' must be elimirtated from the disciple's innermost thought. Humility and love must takeitsplace. Perfect devotion tothe Guru will lead you into thelight. The supreme advantage infollowingthe Guru is that you will never makemistakes,forheknows what isbest and correct inevery possibleemergency.Innosenseisthe personal liberty of adisciple . ever circumscribed or limited by surrender tothe Guru. The discipleis more free than everbefore.Hehas no more fear of anything.Hegoeswherehepleases and does what helikes with the most perfect assurance .

Hereisa divine paradox-by surrendering all to the Guru, you gain your liberty.Bygiving everything to him, you gaineverything. Only that man isfreewho walks behind the Guru. Only that man is freewhoalwaysdoesthe will of theMaster.Forthe .will of the Guru isthe will of the supreme Father. And that is reallythesecret of thiswhole matter. The Master isthe representative of the Supreme. Byfollowing him, wefollowGod.

Itmaybewellto note here that there aretwo different administrations of karma-that of Kal,thenegative power, and the other of Dayal,themerciful. Guru and Dayalarethesame, and both refertothe supreme being,theLord of the infinite universe.Kalis the lord of karma for .this world and allregionsuptothesecond-Trikuti. Karma is administered by him to thegreat bulk of humanity. Infact,incase of allwhohaveno Guru, theyfollowthe routine outlined above, and karma holds swayover their lives from agetoage. From the wheel of karmic destiny there isno escape,except when onemeetsalivingMaster.Butthevery moment a person is initiated bya Guru, that is, becomes hisdisciple, allhis karmic accounts are transferred tothe Guru 's keeping,au-

romatically passing from the hand of thenegative power. After that, the Guru, working under the directions of the supreme positive power, administers the karma of hisdisciple. From that hour forward,Kal, or thenegative power, has nothing todo with his accounts and has no power of control overhim.Theagents .of death cannot approach him, nor canheeverbecalled into the courts ofDharam Rai for judgment, Hisdestinyin this life and inthe nextrestsentirelyinthehands of hisGuru.TheMaster then administersthekarma ofhis disciplejustashe thinks bestforthe disciple.

8. KARMA AND THE VEGETABLE DIET

It iswell known that the majority of the Indian population do not . eatmeat.(The Muslims and afew modern Hindus doeatit.)This is not altogether because they cannot afford meat, Most of them objecttoit because itinvolves the taking of life. Underlying that objection isthelaw of karma, which has been familiar to Indians for many thousands of years.Saints and their disciplesdo not e,at meat , fish,eggs or any sort of animal foodforthesamereason.It involvesthe slaughter of animal life, and that means the assumption of karmic debts . Letus now see how it works out both in theory and in practice.

Invegetables there is but one active tattwa, or elementary condition of matter. That is jal, which means 'water'. It referstothe . liquid state of any substance. Ininsects there aretwoactive tattwas,agni or 'fire', and vayu or 'air'. Agni referstotheresolving . state, or heat;it means a transitional state of matter. Vayu refers tothegaseous condition of matter. In birds there are three active tattwas:jal,agni and vayu. In the higher animals there are four active tattwas: prithvi (earth), jal,agni and vayu. Butin man, and in man alone,allfive tattwas areactive. As a matter of fact,allfive tattwas arein everything intheworld, but they are not active. Akash isthelastone, which isactivein man alone.

Now,thelawby which we are governed isthis:The greater the number of active tattwas that are combined in the living individual, the higher heisinthescale of evolution and alsothe greater

KARMA AND REINCARNATION

the responsibilityinvolvedin killirig that individual-hence, the greaterthe burden of karmaassumed in killing.Butsincemanhas toeat something in order to continue hislifehere,theancient sagesandMasters selectedthe least harmful substances, that is, those ,thingsinthekillingandeatingofwhichthereistheleast karmatobeassuined.Theydecidedon vegetables; noanimalsat all. Ofcourse,thereissome karma tobeassumedineatingvegetables,asthereislifein them too.Butinvegetablesthere is the lowestformoflife, and hencetheleastkarmainvolved.Thisisthe 'chiefreason why thesaintsdonotapprove of killingandeating animals.

Thesecondreasonis that theeatingofanimalfoodinterferes withone'sspiritualrefinement. It dragsapersondown toward the animalplane.Itisa fad that solongasoneeatsanimals,he will be moreorless likeanimals. Itis unavoidable that we should become likewhatweeat,justaswebecomelikethatofwhichwe constantlythink.We must absorbitsqualitiestosomeextent.How could itbeotherwise? That is but common sense, and Ibelievemost people will agreetoit.Itmaybetestedbyanyone.Aheavy animal diet Will always awakentheanimalpassionsanddragone'sthoughts downtotheanimalplane.Butthedisciples of thesaintshaveas theirchiefaimandeffortinlifetoriseabovetheanimalplaneand to unfold their spiritual powers.Hencethey must not eat that which will pull them down totheanimal level.

Another reasonis tha t' ananimaldietisan unhealthy diet. It fills thebodywith impurities, the purine group especially-uric -acid and other by-products of animal-food digestion.Allthese bring ontheir train of evils-rheumatism, mental dullness,heavinessandlaziness,appendicitis,etc.Therefuseintheintestinal tractfromanimalfoodsdevelopssolublepoisons that are themselves deadly,andifa person goeson manufacturing andabsorbingthem,theymayleadtodisease,anenfeebledoldageoran earlydeath.

,

Butthe student of theMasterswishestokeephisbodyinas perfecta condition aspossible.Thisisone of the oft-repeated commands oftheMaster. Then itstandstoreason that he must

REINCARNATION AND SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION

selectthe purest and least harmful foodsavailable.Thismeansa diet of vegetables,fruits,grains and nuts,andalldairy products.

StudentsoftheMastersarestrictlyenjoined not toindulgein , intoxicatingdrinks.This ' isbecausethey confound theintellect, vitiate judgment andalmostdestroy discrimination, leadingto creatingbadkarmas.Underitsinfluence,onemaydothingswhich result ina heavykarmicdebt that canonlybewipedoffinseveral incarnations,besidesbringingshameand dishonor here. Both body and mind suffer,theresulting mental slaverybeingagreat impediment intheway of spiritualpractice.

9. REINCARNATION AND SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION

Connected withthisgreatfact of nature isa problem ofvital . interesttosocietyingeneral.Itisthis: Reincarnation and karma offersocietya sound basis upon whichto proceed indealingwith allsortsof human irregularities.Theygivethecourtsacluetothe problemsofthe criminal. Theyofferaworkingprincipleinapplying the lawofjusticetoalloffenders . And ' whatisofstillmore importance, theysuggesthowsocietymaygreatlyimproveitself byestablishingamorehealthy environment forits unfortunate members.Andlastly,theyoffera most salutarysuggestionasto thebest methods of education andthe buildingof character.

Thefirstsuggestionofferedis that theweak,thecriminallyinclinedmental children in grOWIl-UP bodies, must allbetreatedas patientsforthephysician rather than asvictimsforthe hangman. Theyarenotfullyresponsible, ' Rot in ' thelaterstage of theirdegeneracy.Manyof them havelongsincepassedthestatus of personalresponsibility.Thenisthetimeforsocietytostepinand applythe methods Of afather , totheendthathissonmaybe restoredto normal health . Society should neverbefrightenedat word nepotism. Let hidebound conservatism talk. What iswrong I f societydoesplaythe part of grandfather toaweak member of its family? Itisfarmore humane than actingthe part ofthe tyrant executingaweakling.So much themorecredittoit. It iscertainly

more tothe credit of the ,social order toplaythe part of a grandfather than toreverttothelaw of thejungle . Theone method isthe crown of civilization,whilethe other isonlyan anachronism in thelongstruggleforthesurvival of thefittest. It issimplyalingering remnant of barbarism.

Allsystems of education should beso adjusted that theweak shall be madestrong,evenasaweakmuscleis strengthened by exercise.The right sort of impulses must be encouraged, whileall destructive tendencies maybecheckedbya rational application of science.There should bean applied science of ethics aswellas of agriculture.

Sympathy should take theplace of vindictive punishment; "the aimbeingtorestorethe individual toastate of health and normality.The purpose should bealwaystochange him into 'agood citizen.Butit should be known toallbythistime that noonehas ever yetbeenmadegoodby punishment. Theuniversalexperience of criminal institutions is that the criminal comes out more hardened than ever, and more criminally inclined.Hefeelshe nowhasarealgrievanceagainstsociety.Ifinrareinstancesa man comes out of prison witha reformed character, itisbecause of his own inner nobility, and the reform hasbeenfosteredin himself in spite of his prison career.His better nature has found timeto assertitselfinspite of the hardening tendencies of prison life.

Aknowledge of reincarnation will makeagreatdifferencein our treatment of both men and animals. It will teach us that we areall bound upinone karmic bond. We cannot then mistreat animals, neither canwego on killing and eating them . Knowing that weareallinone common brotherhood, this great truth will inspire more love and kindly consideration toward everyliving being. '

Allthese points will beclarifiedin our understanding ifwe remember that thisis not our first and onlylifehere, nor will itbe our last-unless wemeetaMaster.This understanding will help , the courts and the educators. It will show them how people bring with them into thislifeallsorts of tendencies and inclinations not be accounted for.Thesequalities must then bedealt

REINCARNATION AND SOCIAL RECONSTR UCTION

withona rational basis,keepingin mind that the ultimate aimis to eliminate the destructive tendencies of delinquents instead of tryingto destroy the delinquents themselves.Society must endeavortodevelop constructive ideals and build character.Onlyin this waycansociety build foritselfa structure worthy tobecalled acivilizedstate.

Civilization and governments have changed from age toage,in eachagetakingshapeto correspond withthe inner development ofitscitizens. Not onlydothesaintsteach that therewasaGolden Agefromwhichthe human racehasdescended, but they point out the more important fact that suchdescenthasbeen marked byagradual degeneration ' of mankind from their pristine glory; also, that this degeneration has resulted in ' establishingdifferent sorts of governments and totallydifferentsocialorders.TheMahabharat says:

At first there wasneitherstate nor ruler;neither punishment, noranybodyto 'administerit . Thepeopleused to protect one another byor through innaterighteousness [dharma] anda livelysenseofjustice.

SantiLIX: 14

It isafactwhich must sooner orlaterbeacknowledged that kings,rulers, courts, judges,priests, policemen, lawyers and regal punishments areallmarks of racial degeneration and not indices of ahighdegree of civilization , as many fondlybelieve.Wewould much liketodiscussthissubject more fully, but thisisa statement ofSantMat and not atreatiseon education and government.

All the sacred literature of ancient Indiateaches that kings,states andcivillawscame about because of thedegeneracy of mankind. Of course,thisisa new ideatothe . West.ButtheWestmaydo wellto ponder overit . Asevil tendencies became more and . more manifestinsociety,some regulations hadtobe adopted to protect society. Then asystem of lawswas worked out tosuitthe conditions. Manu became thegreatlawgiverforIndiaasMoseswasfor the Jews. Lawsweremadesuitabletothepeople and thetimes.A . definitecode of conduct wasestablished,a sort of constitutional

law.In ManuSamhita (VII:14-32), thecodeisset forth asthe concrete will of God,the foundation and support of society.It is the cornerstone, thepillar of thestate.

It isanold trick of priests and kingstoteachthe mob that whatever theygive out isthe will of God. It makesa better impression.A moral codeservesthe will of Godby restraining theevil tendencies of men, protecting theweak, and tosome extent developing the higher impulses by inculcating higher ideals.It then aidsall well-disposed peopletoestablisha wholesome self-regulation in their ownlives.Ifastateoran individual is governed by this fundamental code or law of life,.it must followthedivinelaw.

The most successful stroke of statesmen wastomakethepeople accept their lawsas identical withthedivinelaw. If astateisonce established upon the supreme law,itisina position tocarry out the will of the Supreme . Thiswasreallythe underlying principle upon which kingsusedtoclaim their (divine rights'. But that was amisuse of thewholeidea of alawoflife.Therealcode could be . onlya righteous law.Therealcode had inview just as much the divinerights of thepeopleasit had thedivinerights of kings. Overthis bar of divinerightseventheking could not trespass.

We cannot failtomake note of the fact that asthe human race entered upon itsdeclineincivilized standards, there wasa transfer of the center of government from within man to enacted statutes-in other words , from moral .standards deeply embedded in the inner consciousness of thepeopletolaws written inbooks .

When the time came that the fundamental law of lifewasno 'longerinthe hearts of thepeople but inbooks, then thedecline of civiliiation had alreadysetin. When the time comes, if itever does, when fundamental law will again become established in the public conscience, enacted statutes with courts, judges and prisons will passawayasuseless adjuncts of a more sane government.

The divisiondutravail of which Durkheim speaksisacommonwealth inwhicheverycitizensharesinthegeneral responsibilities and rewardsof good government. And thisisthe only stable,aswellastheonlyjust, government-be that government either monarchy ordemocracy.Thiswasthe sort of government

Manu hadin mind, aswellasPlato . But their ideas found adifferent expression in different times and among different peoples. It maybesaidalsoto embody the highest ideals not only of Plato and Manu, but of Moses,ofKarl Marx and of EugeneDebs. Mod- . ernsocialismisonlyaphase of theold , oldstruggle toward the realization of acivilized government. Webelieve that whenthis longstruggle, worn ontoitsfinal conclusion, has reached its . ultimate solution, society Will finishup just whereit began inthe Golden Age· withno government atall,except that whichhasits fundamental codeinthe hearts of thepeople.

Most modern writersfailto call attention tothe gradual change in governments and social orders duetotheprogressivedegener acyof mankind. They keep thinking too much of our ascentfrom thejunglebeast.Andtheyarerightasfarastheycansee. But therewasa period ofdescent,longages of descent,beforethe comparatively modern era of ascentbegan. That earlierpe riod the evolutionist cannot see, forhehas not sufficient data at hand. Itis onlythegreatMasterswho are familiarwith that period . .When theGoldenAge had longpassed,andtheSilverAgealso,the Copper Age witnessed many degenerative changes . Kings and priestsand manifold weaknessesmade their appearance. Slowly then camethe Iron Age, marking thelowestebbin individual and social degeneration. It was during that period that modern laws, governments andsocial regulations beganto appear. The anarchistis quitecorrect intheory. Butfor anarchy toprevailwith social equilibrium, it would benecessaryforthewholeraceto becomeidealcitizens , individually governed bythe fundamental law. Their self-regulation must comefroma pure heart andan all-embracing love. Unfortunately, that condition -does not now prevail . Butitwillprevail,ifeverthetimecomes when all men , havingfirstdeeplyfixedtheGreatLawin their hearts , shallset out upon the path of theMasters.Shallwedare hope forthat?

Coming backnowto our starting point, the establishment of the principles of Sant Mat-with fullknowledge of thewhole schemeof karma and reincarnation-must clarify and rationalize all philosophy.Uponthis new interpretation of fundamentallawa

KARMA AND'REINCARNATION

new state and anewsocial order will be established in which every man woman and child will receivethe best sort of treatment and , protection, 100kIDg inevery instance to their ultimate good; and the keynote of that philosophy will belove. And the path of love is the path of the Masters. "

Last of all, knowing the law that every man must reap what he sows, and that hecanneverescapethelaw,no rational being will go on ruthlessly mistreating hisfellowbeings and indulging himselfinvilepassions. That would be equivalent tosuicide:No man inhis right mind will injure himself.Thisgreatscience of the Masters teachesus that to injure another person isonly another form of suicide.

KARMA AND T HE N ATUREOFEVIL

10 KARMA AND THE NATURE OF EVIL

Karma is bound up with allforms of sin and evil,aswellas of righteousness .

These three cannot be separated: Both sin and righteousness create karma . It may be of usetogivealittle more careful study to thesethree.Inthe sacred literature of India, dharma, 'righteousness ', is doing right, obeying thelaw, and this means doing 'what istobe done'. Adharma, 'unrighteousness', is disobedience of the law of dharma. Thesame teaching runs through allreligions: the Law of Moses,the Eightfold Path of Buddha, the Will of Allah-in fact,the Commandments of God.No matter by what name the systemmaybecalled, they areall the same : Finally,todo.whateveris written inthelawis regarded as righteousness. Todisobey issin . But nowhere isit told exactly what sin and righteousness are, per se. And that is because all people gobya book oflaws. No oneexceptthe Masters has attempted totell what the substance of evilis or theessential content of doing right. When the time comes

that mankind will look within their ownsoulsforthe fundamentallaw, and not ina book, all of thesedifficulties will beavoided. Justwhy it is that certain conduct is wrong and forbidden and why certain other conduct is good canbe known only from the teachings of theMasters,forno one else hasever told us.Thisis goingto 'the bottom of the problem, but ithas not been done in anyreligion.Religiousleaders .simply write down their commandments ina book and assign penalties for their violation. Nearly all of them sum upthe matter bysaying:"Dothe will of God." And whenwe come toalittlecloser investigation of the matter, wefind that the commands of thelawgiverare assumed tobethe will of God. Who istotellusexactly what the will of God is? Of course, thepriests and the prophets and thekings . Butifwechallenge their credentials tospeakforGod, they callus bad names. Ask them just whyanygiven thing, likestealing,is wrong, and they will giveyou many reasons, but not the fundamental reason. Ask one of them why adultery is wrong, and he will tell you because it is forbidden in the Ten Commandments or some other book of law.And that isasfarashecango. What constitutes good con duct? What constitutes bad actions?Noclear conception of the fundamental nature of these transactions canbe gathered from the literature. ,

Butinall discussions which claimtobe of ascientific character, these deeper problems must bemet. Otherwise weshallonly cloud our subject,ending just wherewe began, inamaze of meaningless words.Thescience of the Masters isabletoofferanexactdefinition of all terms relating to the science and toreach down 'to the very inmost substance of the questions under discussion. For that reason,weare endeavoring togive underlying principleshere rather superficial definitions orrules.The reader may then make ?IS ownrules and laws.Thefirst of these fundamental principles IS that whichexplains what is fundamentally evil or wrong. It isas follows:

Whatever bears thequalityor character of any of thefive evil passions, orinanyway hinders or delays thesoulinits

KARMA AND REINCARNATION

progress toward spiritual freedom, is wrong. Whatever raises the consciousness is right.

Thisprinciplemaybe elaborated tosuitthereader. Another guidingprincipleis:

To keep onthepathof spiritual progress, themindmustbe maintainedatits center behindthe eyes; any action pulling itdownfrom there retards progress and can, therefore, be called wrongdoing.

We must notforget that thedoerisnottheonlyonetobe consideredinanystudyofrightandwrong conduct. Thedoer andtherecipient both mustbeconsidered.Ifacertainacthasthe effectofdelayinganyoneelseon . the p athofspiritual liberation, thenthatcourseofaction must beconsideredwrong.Thesimple sumofthe matter isthatnooneistobe impeded on .hiswayto thelight.Anygivenact .that hasthe 'effectofhelping another party inhis spiritual progressisto ' beconsideredgood.The ultimate effect upon thehigherinterest of all concerned must bethe prime consideration.

Do not bemisledby that old but erroneous maxim:thegreatest goodofthegreatest number. That is one ofthe most unfortunate' slogans that evergainedrecognition. It soundsplausible but itis utterlymisleading. That sayinghasbeenusedforcenturiesto' justify murder inthenameofsociety. Nothing canbemoralorgood ifasingleindividualhastobesacrificedtogainit.Whoisgoingto makegoodtothevictim?Who shall compensate him forthe rivationofhis natural rights?Ifa man misuseshislibertyorhis privileges, hemayforfeit that libertyorthoseprivileges, but by meansor upon anysortofpretext should hebedeprivedof hIS life.Societycantakeawaya man's libertyandsocietycan it.Butsociety cannot restoreone'slife.Moreover,suchasacrifice is not necessaryto protect society.

Lastof all, what isevil itself? Webelievethereisno better definition than that givenbysomediscerning students of both

LOVE, THE PASSKEY TOTHE KINGDOM

EastandWest,whosaythatevilis onlya lessergood.In other words,thereisnosuch t hingasevil, per se. Perhapsaclearer expressionofthesame truth maybefoundinthestatement:Evil is but ashadow,alesserlight.Theshadowwellillustratesthe nature ofthething that troublesusso much and about whichwe talk 'so muchandknowsolittle.Letusanalyzeit.

Ashadowissimplylesslight, nothing else. In total.darkness thereisnoshadow.Totaldarknessis nothing.' Neither is there shadowintheperfectlight.: Butifsome obstruction shutsoffa portion of thelight,thenwe ·haveshadow.Thereisa spot or surfacewherethereislesslight than that whichshines upon the surrounding region,andthatisashadow.Thefinalconclusionof thewhole matter is that justasshadowisalesserlight,soevilisa lessergood . Wefeelsomepaininthelessergoodbecausewecrave theperfectgood.Amisguidedego thrusts itselfintotheforeground and obstructs theperfectlight.Justhowthisworksoutin detailI think maybelefttothe reader. It will notbedifficult to followit.

It isalogicalcorollary that the cure of evilis unobstructed light. Whenthisoccurs,asinthecase of theMaster,then all evilvanishesasdarknessdisappearsintheperfectsunlight.

11. LOVE, THE PASSKEY TO THE KINGDOM

Oneofthemostamazingand thought-provoking of all phenomenainthework of theMastersis the gathering of thesimpleand thelowlyattheirfeet.Howhavetheymanagedtofindhimwhen somanymillionsof'thebestpeople'oftheworldhavefailedto doso?Howhavetheycome,thesewho understand solittle?Whatevermoved them toseekspiritual liberation whentheyscarcely anymore than toeat,sleepandworkalittle? It is doubtful Ifmanyof them evenknowwhattheyseek. What inner urgehas ?rought themonsuchastrangequestwhentheflameof their Intellectissoverylow?Hereinisadivine Readslowly

andcarefullythefollowingsuggestion,lestyoumissthe main point: ' .

Thekeytothismysteryis the greatmercy of the Supreme; that and the great love of these people. Remember that thebest thing in the world is not a matter of superior brains. We need not set ourselves upon apedestalbecausewehave more intellect than some others. Ionceknewa strange couple-a man and adog.The dogwas one of the most lovable and loving of animals.But the man wasan ordinary reprobate. Toseethesetwo together and witnesstheunselfish devotion of thedog,itwas not difficulttosay which had the superior soul.Inlike manner some of the poorest and roughest-looking specimens of human beingsmayhavesuperior souls.

We ·should remember that noonecancometotheSatguru until his good karma brings him.Sothese poor people must have alot of good karma, even though appearances may not it. Their good karma was not utilized to purchase worldly position andwealth, but itwas applied tosecure something vastly more important-the darshan, 'meeting and beholding', of theGreat Masterfacetoface.Theycome not withgoodbodies and prosperousenvironments, but with aninheritance ofinfinitelygreater value-a love,acapacitytolove,like that poor dog,an inheritance which brought them directlytothe Master's feet.They had but oneidea; namely, that aloving Master would take them up out of themiseries of thisworld. That ideawas all they required. They did not need to know anything else.Even though theydid not haveany of this world's goods and cameasthe humblest of mo rtals,verygreatis their good fortune. Tofind one's waytothe Guru isfar better thantobe born an emperor. . .

Butlookatthesepeople!Dothey appear asif fortune had smiled upon them?Some of them have misshapen bodies;somearepoorly developed,have distorted features;somewithfaces drawn haggard,weary and old-looking attheage of twenty. If old In years,the poverty and misery of centuries is stamped all over them. Ask them a question which requires an intellectual and yougetonlya blank stare. How Millet's "Man Withthe

Hoe."Edwin Markham should behereto paint a word-picture of thesepeople. But Markham blamesthe tyranny of governments for that slanted brow and extinguished light.Thisiswrong.Every man has . made himself just what heis,inspite of themistakes of governments. Poor asthesepeople appear, theyare among theluckiest of men.Theyhavecomeup out of thedarknesstobe enfranchised sons and daughters of theKing of kings.Theyhave hit upon a direct route tothepalace of their 'Father.And what has brought to them such good fortune? Their love. Againyou will ask: How havethese poor and lowlyonescometothe Satguru, whenso many millions of the world's greatest and most privileged,with keencritical minds, care nothing fortheMaster? Or if they do care,theyseemtohaveno opportunity to 'meethim. How hasthis paradox of lift: -come about?Mercy and love-the mercy of the Supreme and thelove of theselowlyones.A capacity toloveisa , nobler quality than thecapacitytorule.These poor peoplehave nothing else, but they arerichinlove . Whileyoutravel about in your beautiful cars , these humble people trudge alongoverdustyhighways , weary of limb,bearing theirroll of bedding and a morsel ortwo of food.Two,threeor fourdayssome of them walk, determined atanycosttosee their belovedMaster.Some of them cannot affordevena third-class ticket, but theyare determined tobeatthe monthly satsangs and sitbeforetheMaster. Today theysitinone grand concourse, perhapstwelve thousand . Herethese poor and lowlyminglewiththe rich and the educated. I watch them. Suddenly that dullfaceloses itsblankness.Aflash of lightchangesthewhole countenance. Theysmile;thewholefacelightsup with joy. Theyfold their hands. The Master has come. Theygazeat him with rapt attention . Theirwholebeingisagitated,joyous. It is their Satguru,thelight oftheworld! That islove, adoration , devotion!No matter how poor theycame into the worldasmen, now they are multimillionairesin love.

We know that love isthe passkey tothe kingdom of heaven. It maybe that the conduct of somefew of thesepeoplemay turn out

tobeatrifle shady attimes.Butafterall,theyare but 'little children of thelaw '. Always there is that two-sided aspect of character.Anditisverydifficultto eradicate, even amongst the highest types of men.The other aspectis made up almost entirely of a greatlove. Humble and simple,with minds of little children, such people have nothing to block their waytotheMaster,likethe worldly-wisehave.Jesussaid:Unless men become aslittlechildren, they cannot enter' the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). Love and faith and humility: These virtues they have, these poor and lowly people.

Lovewill admit youtoall heaven-worlds. Loveisthe golden coin current in those worlds. That sort -of lovehas brought these people totheMaster. It has opened to them the doors whichever remain closedtotheselfish and thevain. They maybebeggarsin ragshere, but over there they a re princes of therealm.

How/great a thing islove!I think no man can write itdown.No man willever understand it u ntil he himself arrivesinthekingdom of love.If our good karma, running through a thousand centuries, should bring us nothing more than acapacitytolove, then itwere not invaintosuffer and toilupthe .long steepgrades. Thelove ofthe humblest soulissogreata thing that itexalts and ennobles not only that individual himself but everyone.elseinthe world.Thewhole of human life upon the planet isexalted, and to some extent purified, bythelove of onenoblesoul.Ifitwere not for , thelove that isintheworld,the entire fabric of human and animal life would crumble into darkness and chaos.Every person wholovesevenalittlein purity and unselfishness contributes that much toward the elevation of thewhole of humanity. '

The question isoftenasked: When all themistshavecleared away, when a poor and uneducated man stands sidebysidewitha man of great intellect and learning upon the bright shores of Sach Khand, what willbethedifference between thetwo? What advantagewillthe man of learning haveovertheother?Theanswer isnoneatall. His intellect hasnever taken that man toSach Khand. Intellect will never take anyone tothe higher regions.Love and lovealonewilldo it-love and thehelp of theMaster.

Mind goesonly to the second region and is there discarded asa thing of no further use. When thesoul of this poOl; man shall stand bytheside of an Emerson or aPlato on that fairshore, there will beno difference at all between them. Bothare drops from the same infinite ocean. And that entire oceanislove . Nothing but love. Pure spirit and pure love. There is not asingle drop of mind in all that ocean. There isno intellect there-nothing of the ordinary earthly man, except spirit-only pure soul and a boundless' love!

without usingLatin and Greekwords?Ina work whichdealswith ascience more accurate and exacting than that of medicine,we cannot dispensewithtechnicalterms.In that ancient languageare many terms giving the minutest shades of to everypsychological and spiritual experienc: to.man. ThIS isconclusive proof that psychologyand spiritual expenences been reduced toascience when Sanskritwasa spoken language in itsformative periods. TodaySanskritsustainsthesame relation to spiritual scienceasdoGreek and Latinto medicine orany of the other physicalsciences.

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The Existence of Higher Worlds

1.A NEW CONCEPT OF THE UNIVERSE

To THE ORIENTAL MIND, thereis nothing newor startling inthe idea of higheror inner worlds . Thepeople of theEasthavebeen accustomed tosuchideasfor countless centuries. Neither dothey question theability of a man to enter thosefinerworlds during hislifetime.Hesimplyhastobequalified under aMasterwhohas himself accomplished thetask. The Easthas had suchideas, and many of its mahatmas have worked them out in individual experience during untold thousands of years.And not onlyhave they worked out those ideasin practical experience but theyhavereduced .thoseexperiencestoan exact science.Thiswas done ages beforethefirstpages of history were written .

Butitisthe ' veryideaitselfwhich concerns us most atthis time. I remember asa young man it took mefourorfiveyearsto developtheabilityto entertain theidea of inner worlds,or the finer worldsabovethephysical, and of thepossibility of actually learning anything reliable concerning them.Dueto my old orthodox training, theveryideaitselfwasalmost beyond me.Itall appeared tomethe most visionary dream, fantastic ; the rankest folly of abiased mind. Butin theEastitis not so and neverwas, sofarasweknow . Theyhavealwayshadtheidea.

.

TheSanskrittechnical terminology of thissciencebearssilent witnesstoits authenticity and something of itsvenerableage.In this volume many Sanskrit terms havebeenused, and suchuse could not wellbeavoided.Thisistobe regretted insomerespects. Manypeopleobjecttotheuse of Sanskritina book printed. in English.Buttheydo not realize Ute difficultiesinvolvedin todo without it. Would you trytowritea book on medicine

Meditation and seeing and hearing of things within oneself, trance,samadhi, leaving thebodyandgoingouttotravelinhigher andfinerworlds,arealltothe Oriental mind quite normal ideas. Theactual accomplishment of suchthingshasgenerallybeenleft tothosewhoarespeciallyqualified.The Masters; however,tellus that thewayis open forany man todothesethingsifhe will train himself forthem.TotheWestthis entire subjectisstill more or lessbizarre, abnormal and fanciful.Such things areoften attributedtosome mental peculiarity ortosome pathological state of brain and nervous system.The practical Western man regards suchthingsas produced bya morbid state of mental excitation, more orless unwholesome. Of course,theydo not concede that suchexperiencescanbe reduced toascience.Thisis unfortunate fortheWestitself.Kiplingmayhavebeenrightwhenhesaid:

EastisEast, and West isWest, and neverthe twain shallmeet.

Butit will bea fortunate day for both East and Westwheneach shall impart tothe other thevastwealth that isin them both; when the West shallgiveto the Eastits magnificent scientific spirit and method, itsmarvelousachievementsin manufacturing, incommerce and industry, and aboveall,its splendid and masterful forward movement inall things that makefor material betterment. It will beanequally happy dayfor mankind when the materialistic West -shall imbibe from theEastitsscientific method of mental and spiritual demonstration. The psychology of the Orient is just as much needed inthe West asthescience of the West is needed inthe Orient. Today the West thinks that theEastonlyhasa psychology.It doesn't even think there isascience of thesoul.

But the point wewishto emphasize hereisthe importance of the Oriental viewin regard to spirit and mind. Theveryidea of 'going inside' of oneself and there seeing and hearing things called occult, or experiencing astate of superconsciousness resulting ina super-refinement of mind and soul,arealldifficultfor Western thought. ThisisbecausethewholesubjectisnewtotheWest.It has never been adaily routine among usasithas been inthe Orient. Long before thedays of Herodotus, oreven of Manu, the subject was familiar toevery child intheEast. Among ussuch notions, eventoday,are limited to men and women whoare generallycalled impractical dreamers orvisionaries.

It isalsoafact of history, though almost universally ignored, that allreligionsinallageshave had their own methods of silent meditation and of goinginside and developing inner experiences. And theyhaveallachieved something alongtheselines. Out of those experiences the various religions themselves have sprung up.Devotees of every religion inthe world have,tosome extent, tapped the fountains of the inner life.Thisis true in Christian history aswellasin ·all other religions.

Among most modern Christians, the method of goinginside has been lost, just asithas been lost among thefollowers of all other religions.Itisonly the saints of theEastwhohave kept alive this knowledge and transmitted itasa pure science. Howeverisolated experiences aretobe met withhere and there among the devotees of allreligions; but theyare 'moreorless sporadic and

QUOTATIONS FROM PROMINENT CHRISTIANS

uncertain, both asto method and results. There wasnosystem of teaching everyone how todoit. Mankind, inthegreatmass,has almost forgotten that men havesoulsor, more accurately speaking,aresouls.

Letusnever assume that civilization itselfisthecause of the diminution of suchexperiences.Itis rather a terrible loss which civilization has imposed upon itself through ignorance and selfindulgence. Civilization is suffering from overemphasis upon materialvalues.But when acivilizationariseswhich understands both material and spiritual values, and combines thetwo and carries them forward sidebyside,areal civilization will be born to supersedethe present.

2. QUOTATIONS FROM PROMINENT CHRISTIANS

To support the statement that some forms of concentration and inner experience have been practiced bydevotees of the Christian religion,wewishtogiveafew statements taken from the history of saintly persons of Christianity. Theyareallthe more valuable because they coincide exactly,sofarastheygo,withthe inner experiences of thesaints and their disciples of today.Thefollowingareafew accounts taken almost at random from Mystic Experiences of Medieval Saints»

(1)Vision of St.FrancisXavier:

AfterthisprayerIoncefoundmyself inundated withavivid light;itseemedtome that aveilwasliftedup from beforemy eyesofthespirit,andallthe truths of human science,even those that Ihad not-studied, becamemanifesttomebyan infusedknowledge.Thisstateof intuition lastedfor about twenty-fourhours,and then, as if theveilhadfallenagain,Ifound

1. A. Poulain , S. J., Mystic Experiences of Medieval Saints (Kegan,Paul. n.d .), Translated fromtheFrench, Des Graces d'Oraison.

THE EXISTENCE OFHIGHER WORLDS

myselfas ignorant asbefore.Atthesametime,an interior voice saidtome:"Suchis human knowledge; of whatuseisit?ItisI, itismy love, that must bestudied."

Howtrulythis corresponds totheMasters'experienceas far as theseexperiencesoftheChristiansgo!But of course)theMasters gofarbeyondthisexperienceintoworldsfarmorevast)intoriches of thespiritimmeasurablygreater.

(2) Vision of St.Ignatius:

Ashewasgoingtopayhisdevotionsatthe church of St.Paul, about amile out of thetownofManrea,andwassittingonthe banks of the Gardenera, his mind was suddenly filledwitha newandstrange illumination, so that inone moment, and without anysensibleimageor appearance, certainthings per- . taining tothemysteries of thefaith) together with other truths of natural science,wererevealedtohim,andthisso abundantly andsoclearly, that he himself said that if all the spiritual light whichhis spirit hadreceivedfrom ' Goduptothetimewhenhe wasmore than sixtyyearsoldcouldbecollected into one,it seemedtohim that all of thisknowledgecould not equal what wasat that moment conveyedtohissoul.

Thisexperienceisalsoidenticalwith that ofevery student of theMasterswhoenters upon the threshold of theastralzone. Notethe 'enlightenment' ofGautamaBuddhasoloudlyproclaimed totheworld.YetmanyofthegreatMasters and theirdisciples havehadsimilarexperiencessincethen.Itisa common experiencehereonthebanks of theBeasRiverin .this goodyear of 1939. .Whatapity that thesegoodmenandwomenofthemedievalages did not havethe method of theMasters)so that theymighthave goneforwardwiththeir inner experiencesinstead of beinglimited toasinglesporadicflash of the inner light. Under arealMaster thispowermaybedevelopedso that thoseexperiencesmaybe repeatedat will, andthenonegoesfarbeyondthem.

QUOTATIONS -PROM PROMINENT CHRISTIANS

(3) Visionof Herman Joseph:

Andashe stood therepraying,hewas suddenly raisedabove himself insucha wonderful manner that hecould not afterwards account forit,andtheLordrevealedtohimthewhole beauty andglory of the firmament and of everycreated thing so thathis longing wasfully satisfied. Butafterwards,whenhecame tohimself,the Prior couldget nothing out ofhim than that he hadreceivedsuchan unspeakable rapture fromhisperfect knowledge of the creation, that itwas beyond human understanding.

Thisalsoaccordsfullywiththe experiences oftheMastersand theirdisciples. They sitin meditation with mind one-pointed at the inner center,fixed upon the supreme Lord and thehigher worlds;thenthe light comes)andwith it their inner longingsfor lightand understanding areperfectlysatisfied.Greatjoy fills their wholebeings.

Butthereisone important point whichwe ought to mention here. It issaid in Herman Ioseph'sexperience that "theLordrevealedtohim.'. .)) This takesthe matter out ofthecategory of scientific experiment andmakesit depend upon thegrace of the Lord.ButtheMastersknow that suchexperiencesareavailableto anyonewho knows thescientific method ' anddevoteshimselfto thepractice..Thosemedievaldevotees simplystumbled intothese experiences through their extraordinary love and devotion.How muchmoretheycould ' havedone if onlytheyhadbeenfamiliar withthe proper method! Besides) thentheycouldhaverepeated thoseexperiencesanydayand hour theychose.

(4) VisionofSt.Benedict:

Hesawalightwhich banished awaythedarkness of the nightupon thissightamarvelousstrangethingfollowed.Thewhole world, gathered-as it were--under one beam of thesun,was presented beforehiseyes.Forby that supernatural light,the

THE EXISTENCE OFHIGHER WORLDS

capacity of the inward soulis enlarged. But albeit the world was gathered together before hiseyes,yetwere not the heaven and earth drawn into any lesser form than they be of themselves, but the soul or the beholder was more enlarged.

Thisisafactof common experienceamongdisciples of the Masters.Theentireuniverseseemstostanddirectlybeforethe beholder,and whether theuniverseitselfis brought intolesser spaceorthecapacity of the beholder isenlarged,theeffectisthe same.Thevisionappearsquitenormal.

(5)ExperienceofSantaTheresa:

When our Lord suspends the understanding and makesitcease fromits actions [bythisshe means that the normal activity of the mind is brought toa .standstill, made motionless], He puts before it that which astonishes it and occupies it;so that without making any reflections [without reasoning things out] it shall comprehend in a moment more than -we hendin many years, with all the efforts .in the world.

ThedisciplesoftheMasterknowthatin a single moment of ' inner illumination vaststoresofknowledgearereceived, running through yearsandagesofourtime,andincludingmanyworlds. Also,inone instantaneous flashonemayreceiveacompletevisionofhistoricalevents stretching over months and years.Again SantaTheresa says:

Inan instant the mind learns so many things that if the imagination and intellect spent yearsin trying to enumerate them, it would be impossible torecalla thousandth part of them. Although no words are pronounced, the 'spiritis taught many truths. If,for example; it beholds any of the saints,it knows them at once, aswellasif acquainted with them foryears.

There appear tometwo things inthis spiritual state [inner raptures]: the longing tosee God, obscuring allelse, which might

QUOTATIONS FROM PROMINENT CHRISTIANS

even endanger lifeitself,so intense is the desire; the other isan excessivegladness and delight, which isso extreme that the soul appears to swoon away and seems on theverge of leaving the " body.

NowletthecriticexplainhowsuchanintenselongingforGod canbegeneratedbyan hallucination, athingwhichtheindividual neverfelt, nor even thought of,inhis normal stateofconsciousness.TheMastersknow that suchlongingis induced bycoming intocloser rapport withGod during samadhi.Thereisanaffinity betweeneverysoulandthedeity. Insamadhi, whentheworldis shutout,Godattractsthesoulwithgreatforce,duetothe natural affinity.TheMasterssay that ifa person werecleansedofhis earthly attachments, andallofthecoveringswereremoved,the soulwouldgouptoGodlikeaskyrocket. Nothing couldholdit back.Thesoulisdrawn to' himasan iron filingisdrawntowarda greatmagnet. It istheloveofthesoulsetfreefromthe bonds of matter.TheMasterssaythat if asoul, untrained and undisciplinedfor such experiences,weretobesuddenly transported to oneofthehigherregions,theretocomeneartothe throne ofthe supremeFather,theupwardpull upon thatsoulwouldbesostrong thatitsphysicallifewouldbe terminated atonce.Itcouldnot endureitandremaininthebody.

(6)AngelaofFoligno says:

There is nothing then that the soul understandeth or comprehendeth tobe compared with ' the rapture to which shecan inwardly attain. For when the soulisliftedupabove herself by the illumination of God's presence, then she understandeth and taketh delight and resteth in those good things of God that shecaninnowisedescribe,for they areabovethe understanding and aboveall manner of speech and aboveall worlds. But in thesethe soul swimmeth injoy and knowledge!

It isthe common experienceofdevoteesoftheMasters that , theydoreally"swiminjoyandknowledge!"Itisalsotheircom-

THE EXiSTENCE OFHIGHER WORLDS

mon experience that they cannot put into words their experience. Theseareaboveall manner of speech. 'Thereisyetonefeature of these inner experiences,justasshesays,whichastonishesthedevotee. It isthefact that they transcend all other experiences of one's life' inthe depth of their joyandthesublimeradiance of their light.Againshe says:

AndIwasso full of charity [love] and withsuchjoydidIhave understanding of the power and will and justice of God , and not onlydidIhaveknowledge of those things about whichI had enquired, but Iwasalso satisfied with regard toall things. ' ButthisI cannot make known inany words whatsoever;foritis whollyabove nature.

How will the materialist explainsuchmarvelousflooding of the soulwithlove,suchloveandjoy,iftheyarederivedfroman hallucination? If theyaresoderived, then it werewell that all mankind should liveina perpetual state of hallucinations. Letthe criticexplainhowsuchvaststores of knowledgecancomefroma pathologicalstate.If,aswe know wellitispossible,amanmay enter samadhi an ignoramus andcome out asage,itwerewell that allmen could suffersuch ' intoxication of the cerebrum' for thewhole of their lives.

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(7) Marina deEscobar says:

When inadeepecstasy,Godunitesthesoul suddenly tohis essence, and whenhefillsherwithhislight,heshowsherina moment of time the sublimest mysteries.Andthesoulseesa certain immensity and an infinite majesty-the .soul is then plunged, asitwere, into avastoceanwhichisGod and again God Itcan neither finda foothold nor touch the bottom. The divine attributes appear as summed upinonewhole,so that no one of them canbe distinguished separately.

QUOTATIONS FROM PROMINENT CHRISTIANS

Thosewhowould attribute suchexperiencesto mental aberrations,let them explainhowsuchmajesty,suchlove,suchjoy,such numberless wonders neverbeforeseenoreven heard Of, quite unknown tothesesaintly Christians during thewhole of their earthlylives,canallbelaidbeforethesoulsosuddenly. It iswell known anduniversallyrecognized among medicalspecialistsand psychologists that inall pathological psychoses nothing newor totallydifferentfromthe patient's formerexperiencescanbeintroduced into the dream or hallucination. Yetinnearlyall of these spiritual illuminations, theexperiences transcend allsights,sounds and ideaseverbefore had bythesubject;and not onlythat, but theygo beyond anything known orexperiencedbyany person on earth during his normal life.Thesoulisliftedup .into superconsciousstatesutterlyunlikeand beyond anything ever beforeknown orevenimagined.And then, with them all,agreatjoyisfeltsuch asno earth-limited mortal haseverfelt.Againthissamegoodlady says:

Aftersomevery thrilling inner experiences,she exclaimed to God: " Lord, how incomprehensible arethy judgments! Who shall understand them?"And then Godanswered:"Thelittle and the humble of heart, those whohaveleftallforme, and whoseekonlytopleaseme ."

This sounds almostlikeanechofromtheGita.Itisalsoa paraphrasing of thewords of Jesus, and itisin full accordwiththe fundamental teachings of theMasters.

Afterasserting that faithis converted into knowledge by inner experiences , and being askedbya priest how he could then sing the "Credo" atHighMass , herepliedbysingingina loud voice: "CognosceunumDeum Patrem omnipotentem!"-I know the oneGod, omnipotent Father . ..

THE EXISTENCE OFHIGHER WORLDS

In other words,he declares that henolongerbelieves, but he knows.Andthisknowledgeisalwaysbased upon inner experiences· mind you, not upon feeling,which . isalways of doubtful and' uncertain value-but upon sightandhearingonthe inner plane . .

INNEREXPERIENCES O F MEp IUMS

phenomena ofearthlylife. When asoul, evenin the smallest degree, separatesitselffromthisdullearth, itrisesintorealmsof unimaginable beauty,joyandlight.Andwiththatholyvision comesan understanding so all-comprehensive that thesoulislost inwonder. , .

3-. INNER EXPERIENCES ANALYZED

Inthishypercriticalage,whenmaterialisticscience dominates the public thought of theWest,thereisa tendency to attribute all inner experienceswhichare out of the ordinary totheimaginationorto some pathological condition of the brain andnervous organism.Butafterreadingtheaboveextracts,which,inthemain, .asfarastheygo,coincidewiththeexperiences of theMasters and their students, letusaskoneortwo pertinent questions.

It will be admitted bypsychologists that allexperiencesdueto pathological conditions orto abnormal imagination, superinduced by .suggestionorautosuggestion, must fallwithintherange of that person's pastexperiences, or of suggestionsmadeto him, orwith. inhis inherited tendencies . Hecan never see,hearorotherwise experience anything totallyforeigntohisown past history orto some combination of suchexperiences. Nothing entirely new: can , be introduced into theexperience. "

Afterreadingtheaccounts of these inner experiences,ascited above,letusaskhowweareto account forsuchvastand sudden increase of knowledgeneverbeforepossessedoreven heard of by .theindividuals,oreven known toany of their ancestors.Also, howare we to account forsuchintense joy, thelike of whichno ' mortalever feels inalifetime of usualroutine?Howareweto account foravision of things, of beautiesandgloriessuchasno mortal eversawonthis earth-things which cannot even bedescribedin human language?Theseand many other points involvedmaywellbe .consideredbytheinvestigator.

, TheMastersteach that suchexperiencesare superinduced by reality,inactualworldslyingonaplanehigher and finer than our earth,planesquite beyond thegrasp of materialscience. They are justasreal,however-aye, much more real' than the routine

The student, contemplating this path , should letthevery idea of inner worldsand inner experiencesof supramundane reality sinkintohisconsciousness.Lethim remember that our common everyday worldly sight and worldly understanding are atbest onlyfeeblereflections of thesublime reality whichlieswithi n, in anendlessseries of finerworlds . Thenlethimholdfastinhis mind thepracticalfact that suchhighe r andfinerworldsmaybe enteredandpossessedbythe student whilehestilllivesinhis presentbody.Letus not sellthis birthright foramess of pottage. Thosedevoteesofthe Church havebeenabletodonomore thanto enter the outer borderlands of thosehigherworlds,while th e realMasterspass at willabovethose borderlands andgoonup tothe supreme heights.Andtheydoall of thisbyadefinitescientific method, while religionists areworking under agreat handicapbecausetheyhavenowell-defined method. Mostof them just ' happen onto' their experiencesbyforce of theirloveanddevotion but without knowledgeoftheWay.Also,in marked contrast withthesesporadicand haphazard experiencesofthereligionists, thesaintsand their discipleshavecomplete control ' overtheir innerexperiences,being .able tocomeandgoatwill, t o remainon tho se upper regionsaslongastheywish,andto return tothem whenevertheydesire.Thisisavitaldifference.

4 . INNER EXPERIENCES OF MEDIUM,S

Thewholeworldismoreorlessfamiliarwiththatclassofphenomena knownasSpiritualism : It is manifested ' through mediums.Theinnerexperiencesof mediums mustbe noted here . Many prominent menandwomenhave lent themselvestothemost searchinginvestigations of theseexperiences. Theworldisfullof

THE EXISTENCE OFHIGHER WORLDS INNER EXPERIENCES OFMEDIUMS

mediums and half-mediums ofallgradesand conditions, some good and somequestionable.Someof them produce the most astounding phenomena; whileothers turn out tobelittlemore than pretenders. Takingthegenuine productions ofmediums,let usanalyze them verybrieflyinthelight of theMasters'knowl- , edge.Theyaloneknowthefacts,anditishighly important that someofthosefacts concerning mediumistic phenomena should betold.

Inthefirstplace, mediumship isa misfortune . Itis not agift,as someclaim, nor is it adevelopment.Itisamisfortune.Its processes aredestructivetothebestinterestofthemedium.Itis closelyalliedto hypnotism-a destructivepsychologicalprocess, destructiveto bothvictim and operator.No matter ifitisusedto ' trytocure disease. Itisneverthelessdestructive.Thenetresults areadistinctmoralandpsychologicallossto both parties.Mediumshipisaspeciesof hypnotism performed by disembodied spirits upon thesensitive medium. Evenso-called automatic writing andallied phenomena, whicharebelievedbySpiritualiststo be quite .free fromall hypnotic obsession,areneverthelessapartially subjectiveprocess.Ifpracticedfor 'alongtime,theyleadtocompleteobsession. Mediumship isa breaking-down process,never developingor up-building. The mediuin always remains under the control ofherguides.Shecansee nothing, hear nothing and do nothing, exceptjustwhathercontrolswishhertodo.Sheisin nosensean independent-actor. Sheisonlytheir (instru ment'.The underlyingprincipleofevilintheprocessesof mediumship and hypnotism is that nopersoncanbe controlled by another intelligencewithout injury.Therefore,nooneshouldeverbesubjected tothe control of anyone else. Theonlyway that anyintelligence caneverdevelopitselfistohavefreedomtoassertitself.

. Secondly,theresultsof mediumship arenot always reliableor dependable.They mayor may not be true experiences.Hermessages mayor may not bebased upon facts.Her predictions arenot reliable.Sometimestheycometrue, but moreoftentheydonot. Thewriterisspeakingherefrom abundant experiencewithmediumsofallsorts.

Thirdly,the medium 's guidesorcontrolsaregenerallyof.alow orderofintelligence,oftenfromtheranksoftheworldly minded andpassionatemob, but seldomofanyhigh order ofintelligence ormoralcharacter.Thisisa lamentable factnowbecomingmore andmorerecognizedbyallwhovisittheseancesofmediums.If somedearrelativeornoblecharacterofhistoryis supposed tobe oneofthecontrols,itisnevercertain, but the medium isbeing imposed upon evenifsheherselfisnottryingtoimpose upon her sitters.Sheisnotina position todetectthefraudbecauseshecan seeonlywhat her guideswishhertosee. .

Andlastofall, the mediumistic contactsare all onthesubtle planesbelowtheastral,sometimes much below,whereonlya lowerclassofspiritsaretobecontacted.Therearemanysubplanesfarbelowthe true astralzone,anditistosomeof that mostpeoplepassimmediatelyafterdeath.Theretheylingerfor theirallottedtime.The pure astralplaneisveryhighandrefined when compared withthelowerregions,anditisonlyaveryhigh classofpeoplewhogothereatthetimeoftheirdeath.Thisfact maybe understood whenitisknown that mostofthefounders of worldreligions,greatyogisand mahatmas knowntohistory ; are stillwithinthelimitsoftheastralregions,anduptothisdayhave notbeenabletogobeyond them . Ifthey cannot gofarther than theastralplane"howcanweexpectan ordinary man or woman to gobeyondthem? . '

Vast multitudes whichno man can number, ofallsortsand conditions ofsouls, inhabit thoseplanesandsubplaneslyingbetweentheearthlyandthepureastral.Mostof them will neversee theastral until they return foranew birth and thenpracticeconcentration under the direction ofaMaster.

Itisnosmallachievementtoattainthepureastralregion.Its capitalisthefamous City of (the thousand-petalled lotus'. Mediumstalkoftheastralplane, but asa matter offactveryfewmediums,ifany,evergetaglimpseofthepureastralregions.Haveyou ' everheardofa medium whoevenclaimedtohaveseen(the mountainoflight'calledtheSahasradal Kanwal? Ihaveneverknown onewhohadeven heard ofit. That is proof positive that theyhad

THE EXISTENCE OFHIGHER WORLDS

never entered the astralzone. If theyhad, they could not failto mention this,the most conspicuous feature of all astral worlds Their fields of observation liefar below the astral-in one or more of the numberless subplanes, some of which are only a fraction the earth plane, barely invisibleto the physical eye. Roammg about through these subplanes are that vast multitude of souls whom we speak of as 'earthbound'. Out of that number afew appear to men occasionally asghosts.

It must be kept in mind that higher-level spirits will never take any part in the practice of mediumship. They know itis not a wholesome thing. Besides, they liveona plane farabove and beyond anything ever contacted by mediums. We must never believe their stories when they tellus that some great historical character,a fond father or a mother, or some world benefactor has come to hold communication through a medium or toactasa guide or control. If we accept five percent oreventen percent of mediumistic r.evelationsas genuine, then all . the rest may beset down as .rubbIsh : any itis not awise thing to indulge in the practice of mediumship or evento attend their seances. There isafar better way of approaching the higher world-a saner and safer method. Theway of mediumship is the way of subjection of degradation. '

Buttheway of the Masters is the way of independent developof soul culture and of spiritual mastership. It is the only nght way, and itisthe only possible wayexcept that of theyogi,to go beyond the lowest subplanes of the subtle worlds: The yogis may ?o tothe. pure astral, but only thesaints, the Masters, goto the higher regions of pure spirit.

.

5. INNER EXPERIENCES OF THE MASTERS

Now, what is the difference between the inner experiences of the mediums and those of the Masters?Allthe difference in the world. While those of the mediums are subjective-i.e., controlled by others-the inner experiences of the Masters are constructive, they

INNER EXPERIENCES OFTHEMASTERS

arealways under the control of the Master himself. The Master is never controlled by anyone. What hesees and hears, hesees and hearsbyhis own powers and inhis own right.Hedoes not need or accept thehelp of anyone. Herisesfreely and byhis own powersto anyone of the subtle planes or worlds whenever hesowills. When hehas arrived there, hegoes about at will, explores those regions tohis own satisfaction and returns to the physical plane whenever hewishes. Moreover, while sojourning in any of those higher regions, the Master is acknowledged lord of those regions; and thisisso because he represents the supreme one wherever he goes, and hehasall powers togo where hepleases and do what he . wishes.

If the Master wishestoleavethis earth plane, he simply concentrates, and byhis own will leaves the body and goesupto whatever subtle world he may wishtovisit. Arriving there, hevisits with the inhabitants there, looksover the country, and then returns here when hechooses. The going and the coming are not difficult for him-no more than stepping from one room to another here. Andhe remembers hisexperienceswhileupin thosehigher worlds, although itis often verydifficultfor him totell about them on account of our lack of sufficient language and mental imagery. Thus the Master goes and comes athis own will and keepsin touch with any and all of the higher worlds, just ashe may wishto do. When his work here isfinished,he simply steps out of his body and leavesit.

The Microcosmic Centers in Man

selvestobe shut offfromtherest of the universe-those vast unknown regions inhabited by numberless hosts of beingslike ourselvesor superior to us: Butitisneverthelessafact that we maygetin touch withthewhole of that outlyinguniverseifwe choosetodoso.

1 . MAN HIMSELF A MICROCOSM

OF subjecthasbeen purposely leftforspecialcon sideration.It might havebeen made a subdivision of the constitution of a of psychology.Butitissovery important that we WIsh togrveIt more emphasis. . Avery comforting fact known totheMastersis that the Creator hasso constructed man that heisable,when properly informed and trained, toplace himself inconscious communication with theentireuniverse.Atfirst thought, thiswould appear but aflight of fancy, but itisliterallytrue. It canbedone.Thisissobecause of theway man hasbeen constructed. Andthisiswhywespeak of man asa microcosm , alittleworld.Heisinfactareplica of the entireuniverse of universesonaverysmallscale,andfor that very reasonheisabletoreachconsciouslythe entire universelying outside of himself. It isbecausehehasin himself adefinitesomething whichbearsaspecial relation toeveryseparate part of the outlyinguniverse.Thisisamarvelous thing . It issovery wonderful that we approach itwithdeepreverence.Mendo not ordinarily that theyareso remarkably endowed.Theyfeel them-

Andassaidbefore,in order to fitus forsuchconsciouscommunication, wehavebeen 'organ ized, put together and adjusted by theCreatorsoastoconstitutea small universewithinourselves, withcertain parts orcenterswhich correspond withcertain portions of theoutlyinguniverse.Hence man himself, takenasa whole , isatrue microcosm , alittleworldoruniverse . Weare indeed ' fearfullyand wonderfully made ' (Psalm 139:14) . We need not gointodetailhere.The student maydosoifhelikes.Letthis behisclue:Every individual part of man,ofhisphysicalorastral orcausalbody, holdsadefiniterelationshipwithsomeparticular part of theoutlyinguniverse.Thisisthekey.This relationship isthe key toallpossibilities.Inevery man thereisa center more 'subtle than thephysical,invisibletothephysicaleye, whichissoadjusted that itmayserveasameans of communication withacorresponding section of the macrocosm , thegreatworld.Andthisis our opportunity, our oneandonlymeans of contacting those subtleworlds. If wehad not thesecenterswithinourselves,we couldnever know that thoseregionsexisted.Every student would dowelltopausehereandthink.Forthesake of emphasis,letus repeata portion of whatwe'have justsaid.Thewhole thing must bemadesoplain,soclear, that noonecanfailto comprehend it. Microcosm 'smallworld',and macro cosm means'large world '. Man is the microcosm, andinside of man areseveralotherstillsmaller microcosms, eachone of whichhasadefiniterelationtosomepo rtion of theoutlyinguniverse.Weare not isolated fromthebigworldas we feelourselvestobe.Wehavetheability, when our facultiesareawakened,toactuallyholdconsciouscommu.nicationwiththe most distant heavens,toexplorethe utmost regions of space.Thisapplies not onlyto all physicalworlds of galaxies, but toalltheastralandthehigher spiritual regIOns. Thereisnolimit. What marvelsareinman! How littledoes the manrealizehis 'nobleinheritance!

Theentireexistenceofmanis wrapped upinalargerbeing.He himselfis but acellinthebodyofthecosmos. 'Yet,takenasan individual,manisasmalluniverse.Moreaccuratelyspeaking, man,allwithinhimself,isaclusterofuniverses.Takehisnervous systemalone,forexample . Dr. Alexis Carrelsays that thecerebral substancecontains . more than twelve thousand million cells. These areassociatedseveraltrilliontimesina manner most complicated bymeansoffibrils.Everysmallestparticle of thisvastsystem worksin harmony withevery other part,sothattheentiremass . behavesasonesingleunit.Andthis complicated system of brain andnervousthreadsisthe instrument of thought onthephysical plane of consciousness. .

ButDr.Carrelis not aware that themarvelousplayof thought is upon a plane justabovethephysicalandcanbeseenbya 'finer instrument of vision.Heknowsit cannot beseenwiththephysicaleye. If onlyhecouldweigh thought withhis laboratory scales! Butthereisa way forhimtoactually seethoughts, TheMasters seethem.Thedynamicenergy of thought isderivedfromasource which cannot be standardized inthelaboratory.Yettheworking of thought-forces isplainlyvisibletotheMaster,eventomany whoare not Masters but whohaveawakenedthisfaculty.

Dr.Carrelspeaks of the mind as"themostcolossalpower in theworld."Andinthisheisinperfectaccordwiththeteachings of the Masters.Littledomensuspectthecolossalness of that power.Yetthegreatscientistaskswithsimplenaiveteif thought is produced bythecerebralcells,likeinsulinfromthepancreas. Of course,he doesn't understand the mechanism of thought because hehasnoknowledge of the constitution of man abovethephysicalplane.Thisisapity,forsuchagreat student of nature would gofaronthepathifheoncegave himself toit. Could sucha colossalforce,ashedeclares mind tobe,arise fro th thephysiology ofthebrain?Thatnoblescientisthas,webelieve,onefoot upon the doorstep ofthetemple of wisdom . Many other earneststu-, dentsaretimidly approaching thattemple.Theyhavereached the limit of present abilityinmaterialresearch,andsotheystand amazed, wondering iftheremay not Ibe something beyond f

reach of theirmaterial instruments , something which transcends invalueall that theyhavethusfarachieved.

Manisindeedthemicrocosm, complicated and wonderful in structure. Inhimlies hidden thesumtotalof 'all universes.How trueitisthatthegreateststudy of mankind isman!Thepityis that sofewhaveevertakentheadvice of thesages.If,asscientists say,I theaverageman of today .does not use more than onemillionth part of his brain cells,itisequallytrue that man has not yetexploreda millionth part of thosenumberlessworldswhichlie out beforehim,towhoserichesandbeautiesheisstillastranger. Buthemaymakesuch explorations ifhefindsthe method . ..

As intimated above, man is not onlyaliving microcosm, relatedtothewholevastuniverse, but heis himself awholesystemof universes: Eachcellinhisbodyisastillsmalleruniverse,andeach atom ineachcellisastillsmallerone.Notethenucleusofeach atom , surrounded byitselectrons.Therelativedistancesbetween thoseelectrons, when compared with their sizes,arequiteasgreat asthosebetweenanycentralsunanditsplanets.Thusthebody of manisavastand complicated system of universes,evenmillions ofuniverses,clustered .together ,inasingleunit.Andatlast,this single unit itselfis but anelectron in thegreat macrocosm of the heavens.Manis indeed acompletereplicaofthevastsystemoutside of himself.In that factliesagreat hope. It isa gracious promise.

Thismarvelous microcosm hasbeenofferedtothesoul,not haphazardly, but soscientifically adjusted thathemaytakehold of itand through itcome into possession of hisnoble inheritance. Hecandothisbythestudy of self, not bydissectingthe body of hiscolleague.He must goinside of himselfandseewhatisthere. Thiswillawakenallhissleepingfacultiesandliberatehislatent powers.Doingthis,hewillthencomeintoconscioustouch with the entiresystem of worlds, both physicalandsubtle,fillingendless space.Theexactprocess . bymeans of whichthisistobeaccomplished willbe revealed by the Master toeach of his students. TheMaster himself hasaccomplishedthis stupendous task,and

1. Alexis Ca rrel, Manth e Unknown (NewYork : Harper , 1935).

MAN HI MSELF A MI CRO CO SM

THE MI CRO COSMI C CENTERSINMAN

heisnowina position toguideotherswhowishtodothesame thing.Mostmenareentirely ignorant of thisgreatgiftwithwhich abenevolent nature hasendowedthem, but everyonemaybecomeconscious of itifhewishestoand will taketherightsteps. HehasonlytolookforalivingMastertoopenthewayforhim.

The important point forusnowis that becauseofthismarvelous construction of man himself,heisabletoopenconscious communication withtheentireuniverseofworlds, both physical andspiritual.Thisany man maydo,if properly guided,andifhe iswillingtodotheworkrequired. It issimplythe method which heneeds,and that hecangetonlyfromalivingMaster . Eachand everyman,whenproperlytrained,isabletodetach himself fromthe physicalbodywhilestilllivingin that bodyinperfecthealth,and thentravel ,to 'allparts of the outlying universe. Everyonehasthis ability whether heisconscious of itornot.

During longagesandmany successive birthsinregionsofcoarse , matter,themajority of menhavelosttheknowledgeofhowthis is done. Theyhave nowtorelearnthelostartfromtheMaster.They mayregainalltheforfeitedprerogatives.The inner faculties must nowbereawakenedandtheir proper functionsrestored.Asthe physicalbrain , isin touch withallpartsofthebody through its nervoussystem,justsothereareintheastralbodycertain important centersbymeans of whichtheintelligencemaygetin touch withtheentireastralworld.Inlike manner, other centersactas points of departure for communication withtheir corresponding higherandfinerworlds.This contact isestablished,andthe propercentersawakened,bymeansof concentrated attention atthe point or centerchosen under the direction oftheMaster.Andthis isthesecret of all yoga, theobjective of alloccult exercises. By concentrated attention atanygivencenter,theconsciousness is awakenedat that center, and fromtheretheawakenedconsciousnessmoves upward towardthosesubtleworldswhicharecorrelatedto that center.

,. I

2. THE MICROCOSMIC CENTERS

Beginningfrombelow,themicrocosmiccentersare: (1) The mul chakra) calledalsothe muladhara orthe guda chakra, andthe chardalkanwal . Thisfirst chakra is situated neartherectum. It governselimination.Thesecentersareshapedsomewhat likethelotusflower,moreorless round, and the number ofdistinct partsarespoken of aspetals.Thislowestonehasfourpetals, thehigheronesincreasingin number. It isan interesting fact that thesebody chakras taken together haveexactlyfifty-twopetals, corresponding tothefifty-twolettersintheSanskritalphabet, and eachpetal gives out asound,a distinct musicalnote, correspondingtooneoftheSanskritletters.Thesesounds can: be heard by any person whosefinersense of hearinghasbeenawakened.He canthenseethese chakras andlistentotheirsounds. It isclaimed thatthesefifty-twosoundscompriseallthe , soundswhichcan possiblybemadebythevocalorgansofman.Theysay that the ancientrishis,listeningtothosefifty-twosounds,fashionedacharacterforeachone,and that istheway the Sanskritalphabetcame intoexistence. '

(2)Thesecond chakra iscalled indri chakra- or lingachakra. It isalsocalled shatdal kanwal» Itis situated nearthesacralplexus and ithassixpetals. It hastodowith reproduction.

(3)The third chakrais named nabhi chakras Itisalsocalled ashtadal kanwal» It issituatedata point nearthesolarplexus.It haseightpetalsandmostlyhastodowithgeneral nutrition.

(4)The fourth centeristhe hridachakra» Itisalso named , dvadasdalkanwal. Itis situated nearthecardiacplexus 'andithas twelvepetals.Itisrelatedtothegeneralcirculationoftheblood ' andbreathing,sofarastheheartisa part ofthe breathing

1. M ul, ' root',and chakra, 'wheel'. Guda means 'r ectum' ,and chordalkan wal means 'the lotu s offour petals'.

2, lndri relates to ' sex',and chakra , to ' wheel'. ,

3 Shat, six',and kanwal, ' lotus'.

4, Nabhi , 'navel'.

5 .As hta, ' eight'. ,

6 H rida; ' heart',and dvadas , ' twelve'.

THE MICROCOSMIC CENTERSIN MAN

tus.(This function is not yetrecognizedbyphysiology, but we . knowthatifitwerenotfortheheart,theoxygeninhaledbythe lungscould not beconveyedtothewholebody.)

(5)Thefifthcenteristhe kanth chakra» It liesnearthecervical plexus. It hastodowithrespiration.Itisalso named the shodasdal kanwal, thelotus of sixteenpetals.

(6)Thesixthcenteriscalled dodal kanwal, thetwo-petalled lotus.Itissituated behind theeyesonalevelwiththelower part of.the ,eyeballs, but exactlyinthecenter of thebraincavityat a pomt mthesubtlebody corresponding tothe position of the pineal gland. That istheseat of the mind andsoul.Thatisthe center of control overthebody.Allcentersbelowthisoneare subordinate. All'deities'orforceswhicharesaidtogovernthe bodyarethemselves subordinate tothe mind andspiritofman, whichresideatthiscenter.

Justabovethiscenteris another center ; called chardal kanwal; whose function istosupplythefourfold antashkarans (mental faculties) of the mind withfaculties of action.Thesefourfaculties are manas, buddhi, chitt and ahankar. Eachof the- petals of this lotushasitsownsound,andthesefourcompletethefifty-two letters of theSanskritalphabet.Thisisthelowestofthesixcenters inAndaandliesnearesttoPind.

Justabovethe antashkaran four-petalled centercomesthe tisra til, the third eye,atwhich point theMasterteachesustoconcentrateall attention whenwemeditate.Thusthesoulresides permanentlyin dodal kanwal, thehighestcenterinPind,andfrom this centerthe concentrated attention isfixedonthe tisra til center, skippingthe antashkaran center.The attention inthis manner crossesthelinebetween Pind andenters ATIda, whenceitdeparts on itsupwardjourney.The tisra.til isalsocalled shivanetra, eyeofShiva',and nukta-i-saveda; 'the black point'. In the system . oftheMasters,all concentration isbegunatthis point andisheld thereuntilreadytogohigher.Allthelowercentersaredisregarded.Thisisone of the fundamental differencesbetweenthesystem of theMastersandthat of allyogisfollowingthePatanjali method

1. Kanth , 'throat', and shodas, ' sixteen'.

THE MEANING OFGOING WITHIN

ThustheMastersactuallybegintheirworkwherethe other systemsleaveoff, .for few, ifanyofthem,goabovethiscenter.While theMastersknowof the lower chakras, orcenters,theydisregard them as unimportant.

Therearemanycentersstillhigherinthebrain,eachcorresponding toaregioninthehigherworlds.Therearetwenty-two important centersin man's subtlebody,besidesalmost numberlesssmaller ones whichmaybelikenedtothesmallernervegangliainthebody.Theyallhavecertainfunctions.Butinthesystem oftheMasterswearenot much concerned withmore than tenor twelveofthesecenters.

WehavegiventhesixcentersinPind, the bodybelowtheeyes, notasa part oftheMaster'steachings but asastudy.Thisis becausesomanyyogisemphasizetheseandusethem.Butthe Mastersdo not usethem.Theybegin their concentration atthe tisra til, andfromtheretheygoonup.Ifonebeginsthere,the nextstationabove tisra til is ashtadal kanwal, thelotusofeight petals,andthenthenextabove that isthetruecenterofallthe astralworlds.Itsnameis sahasradal kanwal, andthisisthefirstof thegreatregionstraversedbytheMastersontheir upward journey.Atthis-pointalmostalltheyogisstop,many of them fully believing that theyhave attained thehighest.Butitis,ineffect,the starting point oftheMastersontheir upward journey towardthe supremeregion. That lieseight distinct stages above--or seven, exclusive ofSahasradalKanwal.

Sahasradal Kanwallies justbelowtheBrahmLokoftheHindus,knowninthetechnicallanguage of theMastersas Trikuti. . Thatisthesecondstageintheir path. Buttotheancient Hindus andtheVedas, that isthe end ofall,theresidence of thesupreme God.InthescienceoftheMasters,Brahmisknownasthenegativepower.

3 THE MEANING OF GOING WITHIN

One point maybe mentioned heretoavoidconfusion.TheMastersandtheir students oftenspeakof'goinginside'.Theyspeak of

THE RELEASE OFTHEKUNDALINI

worldsinside man's body.Theyspeakofgoinginsidein order to begintheirupwardjourney, and that thisgoinginsideisaccomplishedby. concentration atthe tisratil. Allthis, if not propedy understood, maybeconfusing.We must knowexactlywhat is meant by'goinginside'.Many prophets, including Jesus,speak of the kingdom ofGodwhichisinman.Theseexpressions need not causeusto wonder iftheyare understood. Theydo not mean that thereareactuallyworldsor kingdoms insideof man's body or brain. If theseteachershad that in mind, thenwewouldknow of a certainty that suchworldswereonlycreationsofafertileimagination. But whatis meant is that those other andhigherworldsare gainedbyfirst withdrawing the attention fromthe outer world andthencenteringitwithinoneself.

In thecase of theMasters'system,the attention iscenteredat the tisratil. When such concentration hasbeepgained,the attentionisallinside.Thewholeofthe mind andsoulhaveleftthe outer worldandgoneinside.Onlythe inner worldsexistforus, the outer worldhavingbeencompletely shut out from our consciousness.Thenwegoon holding our attention atthe inner center.Slowlyandgraduallythesouland mind gatherall their forcesatthat inner centerand,finallyleavingthephysicalworld entirely, penetrate through some inner aperture and enter ahigherregion.Wemaycallitahigherdimension.At that moment, the soulpasses through the inner 'gates of light' and steps out intoa newworld.Thosehigherandfinerworlds,whichoccupylimitless spacetothe uttermost bounds of theuniverse, are thenspoken of as 'inner worlds'.Theyaretheworlds'inside of man'. Theyareso referredtobecauseone must firstgoinside,takehis attention inside,in order toreachthem.Thisisthena convenient method ofreferringtothesefinerworlds.

THE RELEASEOF THE KUNDALINI

Sincethis matter hasbecomesowellknownandsogenerally discussedby all writersonoccultthemes,itappearsneedfulto

mention itherein order toexplainwhytheMastersdo not deal withitin .particular . It haslongbeenregardedby students of the occultsciencesasunwiseandevendangeroustowritedownorin any other wayrevealto the uninitiated any of thesecrets of the inner path. It istodayregardedamongyogisasabreachoftrust,a violationofone 's personalresponsibility.Hencetheyogisarevery reserved about imparting theirsecretsuntilafterthemostrigid trialsandtests.Andindeed that istheonlysafeand sound course onthe path of theyogis.Butthis precaution does not applywith equalforcetopeople,or about secrets) onthe path oftheMasters. Thosewhowork under thePatanjalisystem of yoga must beware. Why?Becausetheyogi's path isbesetbymanypitfalls,whilethat oftheMastershasnodangersunlessaperson turns deliberatelyto wickednessafterhis initiation. Andthe path oftheMastersis safeguardedbyitsveryownnature.

Letusillustrate. Under the pranayama exercises, the kundalini isreleasedorawakenedfromits dormant stateinthe indri chakra or swadhistanacenter. Itliesnearthesacralplexusandisassociatedwiththe function of reproduction. It isthecreativecenterin man . This kundalini issaidtobeagreatpower. When awakened bythe proper .exercises, thisforcerises through thecentralcanal ofthespinal cord knownto anatomists asthesixthventricle; but tooccultistsitisthe sushumna path withtwosmallercanals,one called ida, ontheleft,andthe other called pingala, ontheright. Whenthe kundalini risestothebrain,fullyaflame,thereisaseries of important changeswhichtakeplaceintheconsciousness,especiallyinthefeelingsandemotions.Theindividualis 'on fire',soto speak.Hehasalsoaverygreatincreaseof powers-powers over theforcesof nature andpowersover other people.If,however, thatindividualhas not been properly prepared for thesechanges byarigorousprocessof training inself-controland mind purification,theresultsmaybedisastrous . Eveninsanityordeathmay follow.

Butnosuchdifficultiescanpossibly attend thepracticeofthe systemoftheMasters.Why?BecausethescienceoftheMasters doesnot permit theawakening of the kundalini until thedisciple

THE RELEASE OFTHEKUNDALINI

, has gained self-control and mental purity. It-cannot be done until that timer cleansing has taken place.Thisisavital point. In the system of the saints all development is attained bya natural, slow growth and reconstruction. It is not a forced process; and for that reason it sometimes takes longer tosee the light on this path than upon that of the yogi.Butin the long run, this path of the Masters leads upward bya much more rapid climbing.than can possibly be done on the yogi's path, and itleadsto heightsnever dreamed of bytheyogi.

The student of the Masters unfolds his powers aseasily,as naturally asaflower opens its petals to the sunlight. This path may therefore befollowed and itsexercisesmaybe practiced by anyone . from childhood tooldage.But this work must be done under the supervision of aliving Master. That must neverbe forgotten. If anyone presumes togohis own wayalone, even with this book as hisguide,heis foredoomed tofailure. If youhaveallthe knowledgeinthe world and -have not a Master, youhave nothing.

Butletno man think that because the path of the Masters is slow and comparatively easy, the final results Will beless than those tobe attained bythe more difficult path of the yogis, The contrary is true. The path of the saints includes inits accomplishments all that anysystemhasever promised or attained, and then goesfarabove and beyond anything ever dreamed of by ancient yogis. It iswellto repeat here for emphasis that a good yogi is one whohas gained the first region on the path of thesaints.Thisis the pure astral. It liesabove the sun worlds and the moon worlds of the yogis and the rishis. The Sahasradal Kanwal center is sometimescalled the lightning world bytheVedicwriters.

Areal saint or Master is one whohas attained the fifth region, calledSach Khand, four distinct regions or universes beyond the highestachievements of the yogi. The saint hasalso corresponding increase of powers and understanding beyond those of the yogiortherishi.The Masters gainall that isever accomplished by the more laborious and even dangerous method of the yogis, and they gainitin much less time. After that they go on upto heights never dreamed of or imagined toexistby any of the old yogis or

Vedantists . If any man feels inclined to doubt these statements, there isawayto prove them. Come toaliving Master and test the truth of them for yourself. The way is open and an invitation is hereby extended to any honest investigator.

Seek, and yeshallfind; knock, and itshallbe opened unto you. (Matthew 7:7)

Mental Preparation for the Great Work

1 . A FLAWLESS MORALITY

THAT EVERY MAN must come tothiswork"duly and truly pre ': pared, worthy andwellqualified"isa primary fact.Ifheis not so prepared inhisheart,heneednotcome.Neithermoney nor power, nor worldly honors nor position nor learning will availhim anything.The inner preparation simply must bemade. Letusnowexaminebriefly what' that preparation consistsof. Bythephrase 'flawless morality ' is meant that he must beonthe levelwithhisfellowmen;he must behonest,sincere, just andkind.He must beunselfishinhisrelationsanddealings.He must neverliveoffothersifheisableto work, andthisapplies to womenaswellasmen. It appliestoeverybody. One must earnhis ownlivingifthatlieswithinhispower.He must seekto d? whateverservicehefindsat hand todo.He must use hIS wealth, if hehasany,todogood , andneverforselfishgratification. He . must leada simple, straightforward life, and become a noble exampletoallothers . He must bechaste, both in mind andin

practice . Eveninthemarriagerelation,he must notbegivento overindulgenceofhispassions. In other words,he must bewhat theworldgenerallycallsagoodman,notgiventoanyformof self-indulgence.Andwhenhehas attained that much,heisready forthenextsteponthispath.

Itisquiteuselessforany but men of good intention toapproach theMaster.Yetthereis encouragement forthosewhose pasthas not beenuptothe standard. A man mayhavehada checkeredcareer,evenacriminalrecord.Manyofthebestmen of history cannot boastofthe most exemplary conduct 'duringthe first period oftheirlives.Butthe point of supreme importance is theirpresentattitude of mind-that andtheir present conduct. If theyhavedefinitelyleft behind them allshadypathsandnow standfirmly upon a platform of righteousness, determined tolive properly inthefuture,theyaresuitablecandidatesforthegift of initiation, provided theyhaveadeepandabidingdesireforthe Masterandhispath.Thisdesireistakenforgrantedinallwho seek initiation . As to whether oneisreadyfor initiation ornot, that canbe determined onlybytheMasterhimself.Butinactual practice,amongpeopleofahigh order ofintelligence,itseldom happens that anyoneapplieswhoisnotfitforthepath.Iftheyare notready,they will notknockatthedoor.EvenJesussaid:

Knock , and itshallbe opened unto you.

(Matthew 7:7)

All students will dowellto remember that we are not toexpect perfectionofanybeginner.Thatwereto tum thewholeprocess around. Perfectioncomesoflongpracticeonthepath,and not at thebeginning. ·Therefore,itisagreatmistaketo demand that a . personshallhaveperfectedhislifebeforeheappliesfor initiation . Heseeks initiation that hemayperfecthislifeasadisciple of the Master.Astarving man doesnotwaituntilheis strong before he takesfood.Hetakesitin order togetstrong.

2. THE NEXT STEP IS VIVEK

Thisisreallythefirststeponthe path oftheMasters.Foragenuinemorality,awell-orderedlifeistakenfor granted asthe prima. ry consideration and asa foundation upon whichtobecomea disciple.Butinbecomingadiscipleorin approaching this path thefirstrequisiteis vivek. Thismeansright discrimination. Ittakes ina broad field. Simplified,itmeansthatoneistouseall of his

He must think out thingsthoroughly,especially regarding thIS path and hisownspiritualinterests. No oneis toadvance blindly. He must think longanddeeply. He must carefully discriminate between that whichisgood and whatisless ,good,betweenthetrueandthe false, theusefulandthe useless.

Whiletoo many booksusuallyconfusethe student, yetone must readall that isavailablewhichpromises to helpmakethe path clear.Underlyingtheentire problem will ·be·found certain ' greatuniversal truths andprincipleswhich should belearnedwell andkept always inmind.Greatgeneral truths helponetodecidea multitude of details.Getafirm grasp onafew fundamentals and thenuse them indecidingallelse.Allth is andmoreisincludedin thetechnicalterm vivek.

Afew fundamental principles ' maynowbeoffered.Butfirst of all,keepin mind thatawell-establishedmoralityisthe foundation upon whichwebuild; without thatwe cannot evenstart.Butassumingthat,we must nowbeginavery thorough exerciseofthe rational intelligencein order to determine justwhere we stand relativetothispath. Ifit will not standthemostsearchinginquiry, itis not worth our time.Exploreitsdepths,examineeveryphilosophicalprincipleand compare theprinciples of thissciencewith allothers,andthendrawconclusionsonthebasis of factsand sound judgment.

Thefirstgeneralprincipletobeexaminedhereis that whichis couchedinone of theoldest classical sentencesknowntothe Vedicliterature. It shouldbe of immensevalueto any student of philosophy. InSanskrititreads:

Ekamsatvipra bahudha vadanti.

Translated,itmeans: "That whichexistsisone : sagescallitby . " vanous names.

Thiswas written byagreatrishi, probably ten thousand years ago. ' It has run through all Indian philosophy, and ithasprofoundlymodifiedthe thought ofallthinkers.Itteaches that there isperfect unity inthesupremeone.Itteachesalso that thereis perfectunityinalllifeintheentireworld . All that livesisonelife, oneinessence, permeated andvitalizedbytheoneuniversalbeing.Itisin that universalone that allthingsliveandmoveand havetheirbeing.

If Hindu philosophy hadneverdoneanythingelse than giveto theworldthisonesentence,itwouldhavejustifieditsexistence. Out ofithasdevelopedthemodified monism of modern thought. Untilwesee nothing intheworld but thesupremeoneasthesoul andlifeofall,everysortofevilwill continue to beset our path. Weshallmake much ofdistinctions.Weshall continue to set ourselvesapartfromall other beingsanddevelop selfishness. It is onlyinthegreatuniversalone,inthespiritinfinite, that we come torealize that wearealloneininterestswithauniversalkinship. Untilweseetheinfinitegoodeverywhere,evenin evil.this perfect unitywill not existforus. .

More important thanallelse,theveryheartofthis doctrine of universalunityislove.Thatis,thewholeinfinite, universe is held together inone bond, and that bond islove. If wecan bring ourselves toa full realizationofthisgreatfact,thenwearereadyfor thepath.Ifwecometoknow that theinfinite one; allbeings of thisworld, and ourselves,allmakeuponebeing,thatbeinggov.erned bythegreatlawoflove, then weare readyto goforward withfacestothelight .

Sidebysidewiththisnoble concept is another Sanskritexpression,whichinageneralway supports thesame fundamental idea. It sums upinthreewordstheentire philosophy of our kinship with alI that lives. It formsa rational basisforauniversallove. It laysthe foundation fora common interestandauniversal brotherhood, including alllivingbeings. It is: .

Tat tvam asi.

MENTAL PREPARATION FORTHE GREAT WORK

Itmeans: "Thou art that," and hasatwofold practical meaning. First,itteaches that this individual is that individual. Thisis not nonsense. It means that every individual issoclosely akin to all others that noreal distinction canbemadebetweenthem.Ina veryrealsenseeachoneis identical withevery other one and they are all of thesamedivineessence.Theirinterests cannot possibly be antagonistic. .

Secondly,thisSanskrit epigram means that each individual is the supreme one.Thereisnoessential difference, then, between the supreme good and the individual man,Theyareonespirit, oneessence, and we should regardourselvesaslivinga part of the infinitelife and as expressingdivinityineveryact of our lives.The man is just a spark fromthegreatcentralsun, but identical in substance.Thereisatimeinthe upward journey of the students of theMasterswhenthey behold themajestic beauty and grandeur of one of thegreatest lords of the upper worlds.His name is Sohang. When the student beholds him,heis amazed tofind himself insuchperfectonenesswith that wonderful soul.At that moment theconsciousnesscomesto him withoverwhelming joy"Iam that!" Thisisthereal meaning of the word sohang. As the student advances upward on this path, hehasan increasing consciousness that heis himself onewiththe supreme one.Thisis pure SantMat, but itfindsanechointheVedas.

This doctrine of universaloneness, and founded upon ita universallove, is probably the most important philosophical principle that enters into the mental preparationof the student forthis path. If hecanacceptthis and makeita part of his thinking in all of his relationships, heisreadytogoforward.Hisfaculty of discrimination isalready accomplished. .

Asa part of one 's searching discrimination, he should beacquainted withthefour modes of mental . action.He will then be abletosee dearly what must be done to handle any situation. From then on,hecanactalwayswith clear-cut understanding. Theyare: (1) Scattering, running out afterallsorts of objects,pleasures,works,friends, properties, etc.Thisisthewaythe mind acts most of thetime. For a student of theMastersthisisone of the

THECHRIST ATTITUDE OF MIND

most troublesome qualities, and it must beovercomebeforeconcentration canbeeffected. (2) Darkening, dullness,laziness, then injury,evilofallsorts, ending in destruction. (3) Gathering, strivingto overcome the scattering and darkening tendencies and reversingtheprocesses, and beginning to gather the mind atone point . Thisisthefirststep toward concentration. The beginning is madeby confining the attention toone thing atatime, then selectinga center of attention. (4) Concentration, the one-pointed form of mental actionwhich,whenperfected,leadsto samadhi, or goingwithin. It isonlythe superior soul,afterlongpractice,who attains the fourth form of mental action.But that isthegoalforall who enter the path of theMasters. Out of that thegeniusis born, and thecrown of allgeniusis mastership. Thosewhoseekto enter this path must decidedly bring the mind under suchdisciplineas toridit of thefirst and second forms of its habitual action completely, and then $ain the third and fourth forms.

3. THE CHRIST ATTITUDE OF MIND

Hiswholelifebeingone of devotion and service,Jesusisavery inspiring exampleto anyone approaching the path of discipleship. It iswell that weseektofind out his mental attitude toward the whole of life, and especially toward the kingdom whichheassertedliesinside of man.Hislifeindicatestheway of discipleship.If onetriestolive and think likeJesus,he will thereby fit himself to enter the path of theMasters.

The very core and substance of the teachings of Jesusislove toGod and man. If one has not this love,at least to some extent, itis quite uselessfor him to approach theMaster . Jesus saidsobeautifully:

Bythisshallallmenknow that ye are mydisciples,ifyehave loveoneto another. (John 13:35)

Andsothisisreallythe supreme test of discipleship-love for allthat lives . Wehavealreadygivensome of thosegreat philo-

MENTAL PREPARATION FORTHE,GREAT WORK

sophical principles of oneness upon which , tobasea universal love .

The amazing love which so characterized thelife of Jesusiswell ' emphasized inPascal's Mystere de Jesus. "I haveloved thee more than thou hast lovedthy defilements," said Christ toPascal. Truly this sort of loveis characteristic of the ' genuine ' Master. If the Masters did not loveus better than welove our defilements, there would be but little hope for any of us . Thisisthelove of the Master which passeth all human understanding!

Finally, when Jesuswas undergoing his long fast,hebravely resisted temptation, showing the most splendid loyalty and the highest type of manhood. Thedisciple entering this path must always maintain such a mental attitude inthe presence of tempta tion . He must never waver or weakeninhislove or his loyalty}

vesselis equivalent tofillingit . TheyreadtheGita and other books, imbibe many of their sublime precepts, and then sit down contentedly to imagine that theyarewell on theway toward thegoal. Thisisa delusion. Those books and ideals will neverlead anyone to spiritual liberty.The reason is that theycannevertaketheplace of aliving Master . Theideals,even if thoroughly assimilated, only servetocleansethevessel, to prepare the mind for something real. The student is just then readyto begin the great work. When that preparation is made, theliving Master will then givetothestudent the nectar of immortality, which isto fill thevesselanew afteritscleansing .

Ifthedisciplehas attained the mental attitude suggestedabove, heis then readyforhis initiation by the Master. If hedoes not attain this attitudeuntil afterhis initiation, he must certainly attainit before he can advance veryfar on the inner path.

4. THE GITA IDEAL OF DISCIPLESHIP

Lord krishna, intheGita,hasgiven some of thefinestideals of discipleship tobe found inall literature. If anyone approaches the path of the Masters inthe mental attitude taught by theBhagavad Gita,hissuccess will beassured.Read them over,theseexalted statements, and imbibe them, live them, make them your daily bread, and you will surely approach the light on swiftwing .! To the student whowishesto enter upon this path, webelieve there is nothing better asa mental preparation than theidealsset forth in theGita.Theyofferan ideal not easyto acquire, but by persistent effortonecan attain it. Then heisqualified,infactheis duly and truly prepared, to begin his upward journey.

Butthe student must know that this attitude of mind, no .matterhowexalteditmaybe,is not itselfthefinalgoal. It is not the ultimate means of ascending the ladder of attainment. That alone will never carry anyone tothe spiritual heights. That is one fatal mistake that many have made-believing that the cleansing of the

1.Fortheessential substance of the teachings of Jesus, the reader mayreferto Chapter Two , Section 16

2.See Chapter Two, Section9

5. VAIRAGYA, THE NEXT STEP ON THE PATH

Itis our conscientious aim not to confuse the student with too many technicaIities or details.Wewishtoso emphasize theessential points ' that theymaybereadily grasped 'and never forgotten . Hence, many things which are interesting and good must be omitted.The bulk of Indian literature is full of such things. Butthe greatmass of itis more orless confusing, exceptto the pundits whohave spent their livesinitsstudy.Eventheydo not allagree. Happily, most of itis not atallessential on the path of theMasters. It is more or lesslikeagreat storehouse of curious antiques. So Ietus sticktotheessentials.

Vairagya isthe next important ,stepin mental preparation for the path, after vivek; 'right discrimination', has been achieved . We ' believethe vivek through which most Western students passbefore arriving atthis path includes asearch, often averylongone, through the literature of nearlyallthe occult movements of mod em timesaswellasthesacred books of theEast.Before arriving at the Master's feet , wegenerallymake our way through wholeli -

VAI RAGYA , T HE NEXT STEP ON THE PATH

brariesofbookson all sortsofthemes.Whenwehavegone through them all,andfinallycometorealize that theydo not offerthe ultimate solution ofourproblems,wecometothelivingMaster. It isonlythenthatthedovefindsrestforherwearywings.

- Evenaftercoming -to the Master, many students keep onreadingeverysort of booktheycangetholdofonsimilarsubjects. Thisispartlyfromhabit,partlyfromdesiretofindamoreperfect clarificationof their ownthoughts.Somebookshelpandsomedo not.Butuptothepresent,almostno book hasbeen prepared in Englishwhichgivesanysatisfactoryexposition of SantMat.Beforetakinguptherealwork of the inner path,the student will do welltoseek a clear understanding oftheessentials- ofthe .path, whatitisandwhatheistogainbyit, what todoandwhat not to do : He should imbibeandassimilatetheideals of thegreatMasters,so farashecan, and hishigherintelligence should besofar satisfiedastoplacehimselfgladly under thedirectionsofthe Master.Idealsareofmuchgreatervalue than detailedplansand working rules.

Havingthe mind saturated withthehighestideals, and fully satisfiedastotheunderlyingprinciplesofthissystem,heisthen readyto proceed togetsomeactualexperienceonthepath.At this point, hisnextstepiswhatMasterscall vairagya. Thismeans themental detachment ofoneselffromtheexternalworld.Thisis real vairagya. Itdoesnot.inanywayteachorimply that one should physicallydetachhimselffromtheworld.Heneednot leavehisfamily orsociety, hispublicorprivateduties.TheMastersneverteachthat sort of vairagya, although ithasbeenfollowedbymanyyogis.

.

It mustbekeptin mind that the path oftheMastersis not that ofyogis.TheMastersdo not encourageasceticismamongtheir disciples. Detachment, as taught bytheMasters,does not imply austerities. Vairagya meansthatoneistodetachhimselfin his affections,inhis innermost feelingsandinterests. Essentially, this means that oneistoceasetoidentifyhimselfwithhispossessions and environment. He must not makethemthesubstanceof his life and thought. In other words,hemust always keephisown

independence of them.Andthisappliestoone'sownfamilyas wellasto all else.

This,however,does not mean that oneisnottolovehisfamily, but hecanlovewith detachment. Onemaylovewhilekeepinghis own independence. Then,ifhelosesthem,whichis always apossibility,hislifeisnotutterlywrecked, and atthesametimeheis able tomakeprogressonthepath,knowing that isofmoreimportance than family,friends,orallworldlypossessions.A man must remainintheworldsolongashehasasingledutytoperform, but heis not tolovetheworld.He must not becomeso bound upwithduties,family,orworldlyintereststhatheforgets hismore important interests.Heshouldneverforget that oneday hehastoleavefamily,friendsandallpossessions.Andheknows notwhatdayhe will becalled upon toleavethem.

He must leavenotonlyhiswealthandlovedones but he must leavehisownbody.Hecantake nothing withhim,excepthis inner possessions.Materialthingsandpeopleallbelongtothe passingshow.Theyallhave but a temporary interest.Theyarenot hisownandhis attachment to them isonly temporary. He must , , regardthemnotashisown but as loaned tohimforthe the moment, thathemay both serve them andusethem.Thisis vairagya inthe realsenseoftheterm.Thedeeper meaning of vairagya isverybeautifully . borne out insomeofthe quotations fromthe Gita,asgivenin Chapter Two,Section9, of thisbook.

Onewordof Caution must be uttered here.The student who gains the attitude of mind outlined aboveandwhodetacheshimselffromtheloveoftheworld must neverassumean attitude of self-righteousness and sethimselfupas something aboveothers. Hemaynotregardhimselfashavingattained,whilehelooks down upon allothersashisinferiors.Thiswouldautomatically defeathisaims and nullifyallprogressmade.He must always keephis ahankar, 'vanity', subdued, andhe must allow the sweetestcharityand humility tohavefullswayoverallhis thoughts and actions.

It isaprincipleof nature that whateverwedesireorlovebegins atoncetotraveltowardus,unlessa stronger forcefromadiffer

MENTAL PREPARATION FORTHE GREAT WORK

VAlRAGYA, THE NEXT S TEP ON THE PATH

384

ent direction draws itaway. Attention and loveare the means of connecting us with objects external toourselves. When weare bound to objects of desire, they tieus down to ·them and to the How canwegetupagain?By vairagya; detachment. By desire,weare bound to objects of desire.Thisis why the complete detachment of the mind from every worldly object is necessary if weareto enter upon the upward path. That detachment avoids bondage to the world and its objects of sensedesire.Thisis why we should not love anything with a desire topossessit. The ment wedo that, we enter the firststages of slavery. This applies eventowifeorfamilyaswellasto worldly goods. But assaid before, this does not exclude love of family. .

A detached .devotion tofamily may not besoeasy.Butitcanbe acquired. Webelieve that a detached loveisa much higher and nobler sort of love than that which demands possession, and then that possession goes on to self-identification with the objects of one's love. When such identification takesplace, the person is completely 'lost'. Heis not himself anymore, and heisevenless abletoserve the objects of his affection whilehe isa slaveto them.

We must not even desire toget rewards for our services.So long asa man craves rewards, heis bound to those rewards, and yin quo (karma) ishis master. This is the sageadvice of the Tao. Byall means, he who seeks liberation must cultivate complete detachment from all objects of sense, and he must harbor no desire for them. He must hold no concern atall about the rewards of his actions. He must attain that state of mind which is likethe sun, shining uponallalike, yet asking nothing inreturn. This is what the Master reallydoes. And this is our ideal. The soul lives forever bygiving, not byreceiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most bygiving most. Conversely, by receiving much you: impoverish yourself. Byselfish accumulation you become bankrupt. Therefore, detach yourself from all that is perishable and from all thoughts of lovefor them. Togive and giveonly.neveronce thinking of rewards,isthebeginning of immortality. .

No man becomes a Kakusha or a Buddha ora Tathagata or a Bodhisattva byfleeing from .pain or byseeking comforts and sense . pleasures or by flattering attachments with worldly people; neither

THEFINAL DESTRUCTION OFDESIRE

canhe attain to such degreesby self-immolation. Serene detachment is the laststepin the separation of theself from worldly bonds before entering the pathway to liberty. But when a disciple has attained this sublime degree of self-detachment from a corrupt and illusory world, he must still continue to regard hisless fortunate fellows with loving sympathy in which there is no taint of vanity or self-righteousness. All Masters have taught:

Manshall not gloryinhisown enlightenment whilehelooks down upon others struggling inpainand ignorance, holding himself upon apinnacle of self-righteousnessorvainglory.One's true selfincludesthewholeoflife,andthewrongs of all others areyourownguilt. Donot blame menwhenthey err, butpurify yourown heart. Do not getangrywhentheworldforgetsthe Wayandceasestoabidebythelaw, but lookforthefaultin yourself. Therootofallevilisin yourself.

6. THE FINAL DESTRUCTION OF DESIRE

The laststepin the attainment of perfect detachment is to get rid of desire itself. This is where many noble men and women have failed,even some great yogis. They could not get rid of desire itself,even after they had separated themselves from all connections with the world. But real detachment is not attained until all desire itself has been overcome. This is perhaps the most difficult of all undertakings. Desirehas been declared byall Indian pundits,yogis, and other Indian scholars generally,tobe the greatest evil that besets adisciple on the path of spiritual attainment. Their universal verdict is that desire must be gotten rid of atallcosts. Theyogiseekstogainpeace of mind, true shanti; or santosh, by getting rid of desire. .

This is surely a shortcut to wealth. If one wants nothing, hehas everything, When the great prince Siddhartha went out toseek the

of deliverance from . sorrow, he came tothe conclusion that desirewasthecause of all sorrow. That is one of his 'fourfold truths': Fr?m the d.ays of Buddha tothe present, the prevailmg teaching in the anent has been that desireisthecause of all sorrows and other ills of man ; Hence, thecure of allillsisthe destruction of desire.But just how to accomplish this stupendous taskhas thebig of the sages.Desirehas been pictured asa.wildbeast roammg the country, seeking whom itmay devour. It IS our worst enemy,the chief instrument of the mind to bind ustothis material .world. Desiredrawsustoobjects of sense. The senses overwhelm . the mind and the mind enslavesthesoul. Followingdesire,the mind goeson creating karma and entangling itself in the net.

ceasesits demands. It doesn't leta man rest,day or night,Itfollows him into his inner chamber and torments him inthe midst of hisprayers.It never relents, nor doesiteverslackor ceaseto apply thelash,even though its poor victim liesweak and spent upon his deathbed . Even then, adesire tolive, that overwhelming trishna, still holds on toitsvictim. When subdued, eventhelast remaining wish to contmue livingmthis world isa chain on thespirit. That also must be overcome, and initsstead,a happy surrender tothe hemaydoashe wishes-should possessthewhole consciousness.

!he soul,. or the mind wrapped initsdesires,forgetsthefact of onity«; the Impermanence of all things earthly.He imagines the passmg show to bethe ultimate reality.Heforgetsallrealvalues and graspsatthe shadow. Always that black and ominous cloud hangsoverus, that archenemy of the human race-avidya, ' ignorance'. Wlien ignorance darkens theintelligence, then desirecreeps up and makesits demands. Raga (or kam), 'desire', isalways followed by her brood of evilpassions, dosh (or krodh) , moh.Tobh and ahankar. Theyallaid each other inenslaving man. .

Now,the paramount question is, how shallthe student getrid of desire?Thewhole world is full of lectures ontheevils of desire, none of them givesanyclear or certain recipefor getting rid of It. Only the Masters havethecure.Ina word, the Masters get

rid of desireby placing beforethe mind something which has greater attraction. Ifthe student objects that thisis not getting rid of desireatall, but is simply substituting onedesirefor another, then weshall cheerfully agree with him. Itis quite true. Butthe word desire, asweuseitinthis discussion, refersto that attraction which the mind holds for things and sensations of a worldly sort, for things which belong tothe animal plane, which hold us upon that plane and monopolize our attention there. Therein liesthe evil of desire. Our business istoriseabovethe world of sense,the world oflower desires.Ifweareto enter the path of theMasters,it is absolutely essential that we detach ourselves from senseobjects and from alldesirefor them. We may goaway from the things themselves, but that is not getting rid of them. Ifwedo not getrid of thedesireitself,weareno better off than atfirst .

Ifwecanfasten our attention to something which is not of the sense world, something which is imperishable, something which instead of binding ushereactually liberates us from this bondage, drawsusinthe opposite direction and takesusupto liberty and immortality, then that thing becomes our chief good.Adesirefor that is not anevil. It is our verysalvation.Theevillies not in desire, per se, but inthe nature of what isdesired.This distinction is often overlooked by Oriental aswellas Western students. How canthe mind conceivethedesirefora good thing tobeanevilin and of itself?The good or theevilliesinthe direction toward whichadesirepullsus.

Letus illustrate. Place upon atable some iron filings, and a small magnet closeto them. The ' filings will move toward the magnet. Butifyouplacealarger magnet on the opposite side of thefilings, they will ignore thesmall magnet and move toward the largerone. It istheold problem in physics-the stronger of two forces must prevail. Now ifwe go backto our problem of desire, weshallsee that thesamelaw operates with equal precision inthe realm of mind. The strongest attraction will alwaysprevail. There canbeno exception tothislaw. It is universal, or it would not bea law of nature. What then isthe student oil the spiritual path todo togetrid of thedesireswhichhedoes not wishtocherish? There canbe but onewaytogetrid of them-manifestly, toset before

MENTAL PREPARATION FORTHE GREAT WORK

the mind something which can outpull the lower .desires : They must be overcome bya stronger force acting in the opposite direction. There can be no other way.

. The task can never be accomplished by negation. Suppose one of those iron filings had intelligence enough tosay,"I will not yieldto the pull of the magnet." Suppose . it should sayto that attraction, "Leave me alone." Do you think the attraction would ' . cease?Never.Becauseitis acting in accord with a universal law. The attraction can be neutralized only bya stronger pull in the opposite direction, An airplane goes up into the heavens. Does the attraction of gravity ceasetoact upon the plane? By no means, but the downward pull of gravity is neutralized bya greater pull of the engine in .the opposite direction. The caseis precisely the same in the mental world. The only wayto kill an unwholesome attraction isto establish a desirable one in the opposite direction.

If this . law in psychology and ethics could only be grasped by the general public and its principles 'appliedto , individual and social problems, it would revolutionize society. And this is the teaching of all great Masters. They do not waste time and effort in lecturing their disciples on the evils of unwholesome desires, but they at once place before the disciple something to take the place of the lower desires, something which lifts the -soul and the mind upward instead of pulling it downward. And that is the crux of the whole matter. This is where the wisdom of the Masters excels. It holds the only effective cure for -all human ills arising out oflower desires. It places before the tempted individual something which will tempt him with a greater forcein the opp.osite direction.

7. THAT WHICH KILLS DESIRE

There is but one thing known' to human .experience will destroy all lower desires. That is theaudiblelifestream. It is the supreme instrument of deliverance from bondage. It is the one means of detaching us from worldly objects that , perish and of lifting usupto liberty and light. This lifest ream is placed"before us by the Master and weare invited to make use of it. This has

ESIRE

been the one remedy inallages of the world for the cure of worldlydesires.Weshall attain perfect detachment only when we enter into that divine .stream consciously.

Atfirstwehaveto content ourselves solely with controlling desires; but controlling and destroying aretwovery different things. We may refuse toyieldto the pull of desire and go on doing what we know isbest. This is temporary mastery. :Even if we cannot destroy itatfirst,we can subdue it, hold itin check and refuse its demands. This we may do, provided bad habit has not destroyed or weakened the willpower too seriously. Then, by centering our attention upon that which is ' wi thinus, following the Master to ' those higher and more attractive worlds, there we, contact that life stream initsfullness and its maximum power. When that is consciously entered, when ' we hear its, heavenly music and feelits overwhelming attraction, then we automatically forgetallelse. The lower attractions cease.Wehaveno desire for anything else. That current absorbs our entire being. Wego with it, 'hoping never to be separated from itfora "single moment.

To help us up to that point wehave the Master himself. Wesee him; we learn to -love him; we come to delight in following him, forwe know that heis leading us toward the fountain 'oflife.As the lovefor the Master grows, the pull of worldly attractions slackens, until by and byitis no longer difficult to deny all lower desires and follow the Master to the inner regions. There the great life stream is contacted, the 'soulis merged into it, and after that there is no more difficulty with desires. They simply disappear, swallowed up in the great stream. Liberation is then an accom plished fact.As soon asa person becomes one with that luminous reality,allhis problems aresolved.Heisafree man.

Letus understand this crucial question. -How to destroy evil desires? It can never be done by negation, and yet negation is the method employed by ninety-nine percent of the human race,by parents, by teachers, by reformers, by the courts . They all forbid things. They tell people what they must not do. They write in their . laws, "Thou shalt not. " Afew understanding ones offer something better to attract the minds of the disobedient. But the goal can be achieved by negation. We must alwaysset before the

MENTAL PREPARATION FORTHE GREAT WORK

mindsomethingwhichhasagreaterpower of attraction.If all mencouldrealizethefollyandemptinessofworldlysensations, theywouldthenbereadyfortheMasterandforthegreatreality-the holyShabd.Whentheattractionforthatgreatrealitybecomes dominant inone'slife,thenalllowerattractions cease. And thisistheendofdesire.Itisthebeginning of immortality.

Theworldrushesmadlyalong,thevastmajoritydrivenunder thelash of oneormoreofthepassions,urgedonbydesire,hungeringandthirstingafterthethings of sense.Thisissurelyaspectacletomakethegodsweep.Thisisthefataldiseaseof karma bandhana--bondage toworks,bondagetopleasures,bondagetoa thousand thingsofsense.Habitual ' yieldingto kam , toobjects of sensedesire,createsheavierbondageandatthesametimeitfur- ' therinflamesthe desires. Theindividualsinksdeeperanddeeper intothe mud andmire of sensualism.Howshallheever escape? Byattachinghimselftoapowerthatismightierthanallsense desires-the divinemelody,thelife-givingstream.The student candothisonly by theaid of theMaster. '

Suchamanisinapositionanalogoustothat of a motorcar stuckinthemud.Itisunabletoextricate itself. Butwhenitis attachedtoapowerfultruckwhichstandsonfirmground,itcan bepulledoutofthemudatonce.Inlike manner thesoulmay attachitselftotheMaster,whoishimselffreefromallbondsand isendowedwithpowerunlimited.TheMasterunitesthesoul withtheaudiblelifestream . Nowtheentireprocessis reversed. Insteadof going oil downdeeperintothemud,hebeginstoclimb towardthehigher ground of lightandliberty.Henowhasthe powertorise,forinthelifestreamispowerabundant.

Thisisthe shabdmarg, theway of emancipation.Thewhole, situationofthe ,mindandsensesiswellillustratedinananalogy takenfromtheUpanishads:

Knowthesoulasthe rider , the body asthe chariot, the buddhi [intellect]asthe charioteer, and manas [mind]asthereins.The senseorgansarethehorses, and thesenseobjectsaretheroads overwhichthe chariot runs . Thesoul, joined to all of theabove, isthe experiencer.

THAT WHICH KIL LS DE SIRE

This condition ofslaverytothesensesiswelldevelopedbyone ofIndia 's bestwriters,Shri Aurobindo Ghose.He says:

Therearetwopossibilities of action of the intelligent will. It maytakeits downward orientation toward a discursive action of the 'perceptions and the will, inthetripleplay of prakriti [material nature], oritmaytakeits upward and inward orientation toward asettledpeace and equality inthecalm and immutable purity of the conscious, silentsoul,no longer subjecttothe distractions of nature. Inthe former alternative , the subjective being isatthemercy of theobjectsofsense;itlivesin the outward contacts of things. That lifeisthelife of desire.The senses, excitedby their ob jects, createarestless,orevena violent , disturbance , a strong orevena headlong outward movement toward the seizure of thoseobjects and their enjoyment, and they carry awaythesense mind, asthewinds carry awaya ship upon thesea.The mind, subjected tothe emotions, passions, longings, impulses , awakened bythis outward move- , ment of thesenses,carriesaway similarly the intelligent will, which therefore losesitscalm discrimination and mastery.Subjection of thesoultothe confused playofthe three gunas of prakriti, in their eternal entangled twining and Wrestling, ignorance,afalse sensuous objectivelife of thesoul, enslavement to grief and wrath, and attachment and passion,aretheresults of the downward trend ' of the buddhi-the troubled life of the ordinary unenlightened, undisciplined man. Those who,like theVedevadins,makesense enjoyment theobject of action, and its fulfillment the highest aim of thesoul,are misleading guides . ' '

Theoppositecourseofaction,assaidabove,is to joinone 's wholebeingtothe self-active, all-embracingpower, under the directionsofalivingMaster.Fromthisbondageofworksand enslavementofpassions, nothing intheuniversecaneverfreea soulexceptthelivingMasterandthelifecurrent.

The Audible Life Stream: The Source of All Being

1. THE _CENTRAL FACT IN SA NT MAT

THE J\.UDIBLE LIFE STREAM isthe cardinal, central factin the science of the Itis the keystone of thearch.Itisthe cornerstone of the structure. Itisthe structure itself. And itis the path of the Masters. One might say that the Master and the life stream constitute the path of the Masters.The great spiritual current is not only the central factin the science of the Masters but itis the supreme fact and factor of the entire universe.Itistheveryessence and life of all things. It is perhaps less known than any other important fact of nature, yetitis the one determining factor of all nature. That is indeed apity.This great truth or factis significantly spoken of inthefirst chapter of theGospel of Saint John:

Inthe beginning wasthe Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word wasGod.Thesamewasinthe beginning with God.Allthingswere made by him and without him was not anything made that was

(John 1:1-3 )

Here itis definitely stated that something which iscalled (Word' . is identical with God,the Creator. ' . . .

Although not atall understood by the Christian church, this . statement isan important announcement of the stupendous fact of the audible life stream. It is often calledthe sound current, but that is not a good forit because itis defini,tive.The Indian name is simply shabd, meanmg word or sound, but that is not definitely dear . There are many words and sounds. Logos was the' Greek term used by the Neoplatonic whose Masters were familiar with portions of the Eastern Wisdom. Logos means (the divine Word'. Itis this divine current, wave or stream going forth from God himself and flowing universe.Itis not only an emanation from God but It IS God himself

W}1en any man speaksinthis world , he simply setsin atmospheric vibrations . But when God speaks,he not only _sets m motion ethericvibrations, but he himself movesin and tlirough those vibrations. In truth itis God himself that vibrates all through infinite space. God is not static, latent: heissu.perlatively ic. When hespeaks, everything in existence VIbrates, and IS the Sound, the Shabd; and itcanbe heard by the inner ear, which has been trained to hear it.Itis the divineenergy in process of manifestation which is the holy Shabd. Itis,infact, the only way in which the supreme one canbeseen and heard-this mighty, luminous and musical wave, creating and enchanting. Now, this great fact of nature , so little known to ancient or modern thought, is the vital substance of the SCIence the Masters.Itis cardinal and central inall their teachings. It IS the one thing which distinguishes Sant Mat fromall other sciences or systems. It is the very foundation of the of yoga. It is the keyto all of their successin unfoldmg spmtu.al powers and controlling their minds. Itis the one SIgnby which a Master may be known and recognized from all others. one IS . or canbea genuine Master unlessheteaches and practices the audible life stream, because itis impossible for anyone to become a spiritual Master of the highest order unlesshe consciously utilizesthelife stream togainhis development.

2. NAMES OF THE SUPREME LOGOS

Thesupreme logos is commonly called soundcurrent inIndia, amongthosewhospeakEnglish.Butthebest translation which wehavebeenabletodiscoveris'audiblelifestream'.Thisappears tocarryits .deepermeaningandismorecomprehensiveandinclusive. It is,infact,astream-s-a life-giving, creative stream-and it canbeheard. Thefactthatitisaudibleisextremely important, andthatideamustbeconveyed,ifpossible,inanyname that is appliedtoit.This current orwavecontainsthesumofallteaching emanatingfromGod.ItishisownWord. It includeseverything thatGodhaseversaidordone. It isGodhimselfinexpression.It isthe method of Godinmakinghimselfknown.Itishislanguage. It ishis Word.

ThisSoundsometimesiscalled Name; inSanskritorHindi, nam» ButinEnglishwearenotaccustomedto put somuchmeaningintheword name. It isonlycorrectifwe understand that NameorNamstandsforall that thesupremebeingis. It isjust another way of saying Word, andWordiswhatGod says. It is equallywhathedoes.Itisthewhole of thedivinebeinginaction. TodistinguishGodinactionfromGodasdivineessence,wecall himShabd ot livingWord.Thenameofanythingoranybodyis the sound symbolwhichstandsfortherealityitself.Thename conveysto thought everythingwhichbelongstotherealityfor whichitstands.WhentheMasterissaidtogiveNam,itmeans that he gives the current, therealityfor ' whichNamstands.He literally gives theaudiblelifestreamitself.(JusthowtheMaster cangiveitisdiscussedin Chapter Twelve, Section 4.)

ThisdivineNam,Sound,or Word standsforallthatGodisor has ' eversaid or done. It includesall of hisqualities.Assaidbefore,itistheonlywayinwhichtheuniversalspiritcanmanifest itselfto human consciousness. SowhenthesupremebeingmanifestshimselfasSatNaminSachKhandhetherebecomesfully personified,embodied,andbringsinto manifestation all of the qualitiesofdeity.AsSatNamhebecomespersonalCreator,Lord, GodandFather.Therebebecomesthefountain out .of whichthe

NAME SOFTHESUPREMELOGOS

audiblelifestreamproceeds.Thisstreammaybeperceivedand heardbyallwhoparticipateinit throughout allworlds. It maybe seenandheardbysuchasattainanawakenedconsciousnessunderthe training ofaMaster.Whenamanhearsit,hehearsGod. When he feels it,he feels thepowerofGod.ThisShabdis,therefore,thedivinebeingexpressinghimselfinsomethingthatis both audibleandvisible.This current must notbe understood tobe likeariver running in. onecourse. It ismorelikearadiowave flowing out ineverydirectionfromthe grand central broadcasting station.Infact,itcomesfromthesupremecreativecenterofthe universeofuniverses.

Thiswavehastwoaspects,acentrifugalflowandacentripetal flow. It moves outward fromthecentraldynamo of allcreation, andit flows backtoward that dynamo.Moving upon that current, allpowerandalllifeappeartoflow outward tothe uttermost bounds of creation,andagain upon italllifeappearstobe returningtowarditssource. It isthelatteraspect of itwithwhichwe havetodealmostly.

Upon that wavewehavetodependforourreturn. toouroriginal home. WhentheMastermakesthe connection or,sotosay, ' tunes usin',itisthen that webegin our homewardjourney,leavingall perishableworlds behind us.

This Word iscalled nad intheVedas.InVedanta, sound is always spokenof as creative.Sound,oranything that sounds, is thecreativeenergy. It isreferredtoasthe nad-brahm, meaning theprimal Word of Brahm.Bythis . nad-brahm allcreationwas brought intoexistence.Thewholeofthevisibleandinvisibleuni verseisthe manifestation ofthisprimal nad. The nad isthegrand symphony out ofwhichallothersymphonies flow. It istheprimal music of theuniverse.Everymusicalchord of thisworldisan echoofthatprimal chord. It isthe vadan oftheSufisandthe shabd oftheHindus.

ButallSufisdo not distinguishbetween .the primal Word and themanifestword,betweentheoriginalmusicanditsecho. They arenotableto point out thedifferencebetweenthe dhunatmak sound andthemany varnatmak sounds.Whilewemaytrulysay

396

THE AUDIBLE LIFE STREAM

thatallmusicintheworldisamanifestationoftheoriginalsymphony oftheprimal vadan, yetthereisadifferencebetweenthem, avery important difference.Theall-creative nad isthatSound out ofwhichall,other soundsarise,while at -the sametimeitsheavenlystrainslingerin allmaterialworldsasechoesoftheoriginal melody. It isonlytheseechoesthatwehearwhenwelistentoa greatorchestra produced byman.Thosewholovemusicshould remember thattheyarelisteningtothedistantechoesoftheinfinitechorusoftheuniverseeverytimetheyhearamusical sound upon thisplane.Butweshould always takecaretodistinguish betweentheecho and theoriginal. Theoriginalcannot,however, beheardbythephysicalorganofhearing.Afinersensemustbe developedforthat.

This nad is shabd inHindi. It isspokenofasthe shabd-dhun, 'themelodious sound'. Againitiscalled akasbbani, 'heavenly utterance' . KabirSahibspeaksofitsobeautifullyas 'the pure . whitemusic'.AllMuslimsaintsgenerallyrefertoitas sultan-ulazkar, 'king of theways', ism-i-azam, and kalma or kalam-i-ilahi. Itisalsocalled suratshabdyoga, anand yoga or anahad shabd, and anahad yoga. Soithasbeencalledbymanynames in manylanguages. It isthe'stillsmall v-oice' (J Kings 19:12) and'thevoice of thesilence'. It isthesamedivine sound wave,no matter bywhat nameitmaybeknown.Letnoonesayitisnota sound becauseit cannot beheardbythephysicalear.Theradioelectromagnetic waves cannot beheardbythephysicalearuntiltheyareconverted into atmospheric vibrationsbythereceiving instrument; yetwhen theyaretraveling through spacetheyarejustastrulysounds.The Shabdisinanycasea sound becauseitcanbeheardbyafinerear attuned toitshighervibrations.

ThisdivineLogosisthereal'Lost Word' of the MasonicOrder. It isthatWordfor the restoration ofwhicheveryMasterMasonis taughttolookforwardintothefuture ages. Those 'future ages' havenowarrived.That'Lost Word' isnowinthe mouth of the trueSatguru,orMaster.HeistherealMaster , compared towhom all other Mastersareonlysubstitutes,justasthe word theygive is onlya substitute forthetrueWord.

WHA TIS THE AUDIBLELIFE STREAM?

TherealMasternowawaitsthe opportunity torestoretheLost Word tothefraternity.Butitremainstobeseenifthey will open their earstoit.If .theycanreceiveit now, "onthe five pointsof fellowship," it will meananew birth . tothefraternity.Theyneed nolonger content themselveswiththesubstitute,becausetheoriginaldynamic Word isnow available. They-have onlytoindicate theirreadinesstoreceiveit.Thatpricelesstreasureisnowready forthem.Buttheirrepresentative must presenthimselfbeforethe GrandMasterofMastersina manner similarto that of every candidatewhoknocksatyourdoors.Healso must be prepared in hisheart,divestedofallragsofself-righteousness;he must come knockingatthedoorasa poor blindcandidateseekingthelight. Do not forgetthat,justasinyourlodges,itisonlytheMasterwho comes out of theEast,whoisabletogivethisWord.Butyour Mastercangiveonlythesubstitute,whilethe Masteris-preparedtogiveyoutheoriginalWord,whichwaslosttothefraternityinpast ages.

Letusrepeatnow that thefutureagesreferredto,andforwhich youhavebeensolongwaiting,arenowhere.Willthe brotherhood listentothechallengeoftheMasterwhobidsthemcome andgettheWord?Inthegreat drama ofthe Third Degreealmost everyprecept of the path oftheMastersisforeshadowed.The ritualmakesyou a substitute Master.Butthegreat work of the realMastermakesthecandidatearealMaster.Thistakesplace whenhehasabsorbedtheLost Word intohisverybeingand becomesonewithit.

.

TheLostWordisnow found again, and itisthelifestream, the audible Word soemphasizedbyallthesaints.

3. WHAT IS THE AUDIBLE LIFE STREAM?

It is not easytoexplainexactlywhattheaudiblelifestreamis. It cannot bedefinedorexplainedinwords.Thisissobecauseitis beyondthecapacity of anylanguage,anditisalsobeyondthe capacityofthiswriter.Wehaveneverknownanyonewhocould

put it into words,becauselanguageis limited. Ifwe could summon allthelanguagesever spoken by man, extracting from them their utmost powers of expression,itwereavainefforteven then to undertake todescribe and explainthis primary fact of nature, It isastorywhichisnever told becauseit cannot betold.Itisa languagewhichhasnever been spoken or written. Itistheeverliving melody which cannot be recorded onbars and spaces.Its notes are beyond thestrings of any earthly instrum-ents. Its inspiring chorus rings through every chamber of thesoul, but there is nowaytoconveytheideato other peoplewhohave not heard it.

Itsgloriouslight cannot be pictured oncanvas.Oneseesits feeblereflectionsinthe morning skyor that of the setting sun,or inthesilvery moon. Butitscolorsare quite beyond the comprehension of any mortal artist;whileinits pure state,above the regions of matter, it simply blends into one infinite perfection whichno man candescribe,excepttosaywithSoami Ii, "Itisall love!"Itisthe dhunatmak Word of thoseregionswherelanguage isuseless.Itisthesmile of theloverwhichfindsits home in the heart but cannot beexpressedinwords. When it is heard, the enchanted listener issilent and filledwithagreatjoy. :

Stated inthe simplest words we 'canemploy,the audible -life stream isthe supreme Creator himself vibrating through space.It isthewave of spiritual lifegoing forth from the Creator toevery living thing intheuniverse.By that current hehas created all things, and byithe sustains them. Inittheyalllive and move and have their being,andby that same current they will ultimately , return to their source of being.

Try now togeta picture of that luminous reality,the grand orchestra of theuniverse. 'Its heavel}ly strains are not onlyfilling all interstellar space but theyare ringing withfar more enchanting music through allthe higher worlds beyond the utmost bounds of thephysical.The higher wego;the more enchanting the music. those higher worldsthe music is less mixed with matter, and soIt is not ,dulled,Afterpassingthe third region on the path of the Masters,this sublime chorus becomes so overwhelmingly attractive that thesoulgrows impatient togoonup.Itis absorbed init.

WHAT ISTHE A UDIBLE LIFESTREAM?

Itlivesinitday and night.Itisitslife,itsjoy,its spiritual food. Thereis not acubic millimeter of spaceinexistencewhichis 'not filledwiththismusic.Sweeter and sweeteritsheavenly 'Strains vibrate through everylivingbeing,greatorsmall, from world to world,andfromuniversetouniverse.Itslife-givingmelodiesmay not. be consciously heard by those whoare not trained tocatch them, but there is not aliving being inall creation which do.es not deriveitslifefrom this current. Alljoy that has , ever thrilled , a livingsoulhascome out of thisdivine harmonic. How greatisthis luminous reality!

"If youstill think much of the word religion, then may.say that this current istheonlyrealreligion.Or better, It IS thegIver , of all genuine religion.It is' theone and only thing inthe world whichactually binds men backtoGod. That isthe meaning of?ur word religion-something whichbindsthesoulbacktoGod.WIthout this stream, nothing could liveforasingle moment oreven exist.Alllifeandallpowercomefromit. From the crawling ant to the thunderbolt, from thetidalwavetothesolarcycle, every manifestation of dynamic energycomesfromthisstream. From the burning orbsoftheMilkyWaytotheflicker of acandle,alltake their light and energyfromthis grand central power.Thepull of ' gravity,theflash of lightning, the building of thelove of the individual soul-all comefromthis current pn-, mordial.

That which physicalsciencecallsenergy,whichin is , called prana, is only a manifestation .ofthis sti.eam, down' tomeet material conditions. Likeelectricity III theair,It IS omnipresent. Itisalso omnipotent. Initliesallenergy, either latent ordynamic.Itonlyawaitsthe proper conditions toexpress itselfas dynamic forcein one form 'or another. Ithas ofexpression, most of whichare not yet known tophysical Of course,ithastobe stepped down, and ateachstep down It takesa different character orqualitytowhichwegive names ifwe can demonstrate them atall.Sciencehas not yetdiscovered most of them. But every force known, from primal energycalled prana down toelectricity ' and magnetism, areall modified forms of the

sameeternal current. Its stepping downis necessary toservethe common cosmicand human needs.Butatlastitisalloneforce. It is the supreme one,manifestedandmanifesting.

The tremendous heat,energy,andlight of our sunand of all suns are allderivedfromthisstream.Everyray , of lightinthe universeisa phenomenon of this 'infinite stream oflight, Upon its powerhangseverystarinitsorbit.Notasinglerosemay bring forthitsbuds without thispower , andnolittlechildsmileswithout manifestingthispower.Ifwespeak of attributes, letusspeak cautiously.Whocan comprehend itorassignqualities?Whocan analyzeit?Butweknowfromits 'manifestations that ithasatleast threevery wonderful attributes: love-wisdom-power

Andthegreatest of theseislove. It isbelievedbysometobe quitetrueifwesay that this self-luminous realityhas but one attribute-love. Andthiswouldcoincideperfectlywiththeteaching of Jesuswhenhesaid,"Godislove." (l John 4:8). What more , canbesaid?Godislove' andloveisGod. They are thesame and they areidenticalwiththislifestream,The theme istoodeepfor words.Languagefailsus. Thought itself is lostinablazeoflight! And that lightistheaudiblelifestream,theone ' self-luminous reality!

agetoage,thegreatMasterscometorevivethisknowledge,after materialism has obscured it.

Assaidbefore,itis not heard withthephysicalear.Butitcan . beheard,andeveryonehasthecapacity. It onlyrequiresthede- ' . velopment of an , inner andfinerorgan of hearing,whichevery person possesses. ,It isdeveloped the instructions of aliving Master : Thisfact of hearingthe Sound is our supreme joy,forit pointsdirectlytoourultimatespiritualfreedom.TheMastersteach their .studentsexactlyhowtodevelopthis inner hearing.After that,thelifestreamcanbe heard asdistinctlyandperfectlyas we canhear anything onthisplanebymeans of thephysicalears.

If itbetrue that nomanhaseverseenGod (l John 4:12),it means ,that he has not ,seenhimwith the physical eyes. Yetonthe inner andhigherplanes of seeingandhearing,Godmaybe both seenandheard.Toaccomplishthismarvelousachievement,itis necessarytoseekfirstalivingMasterand then placeourselves under his instructions. You must then succeed.Godisseenand heard byallinitiates of alivingMasterwhodevotethemselvesto thepracticeasgivenbytheMaster.Thisisone of the demonstratedfacts of thescience of theMasters.Itisnottheory. It isafact of experienceverifiedoverandoveragainmany thousands of times. Thereare many peoplepersonallyknowntothiswriterwhohave demonstrated thisfactintheirownexperiences.Godisseenand heard by all whotryaccordingtothe method of theMasters. They cannot failiftheydothework.

4. THE LIFE STREAM CAN BE HEARD

, .

Wecomebacknowto that particular phase of theaudiblelife . streamwhichconcernsus most-the fact that itcanbeheard. Thisis .an amazing thing ; marveloustocontemplate!Thisideais so utterly new,tothe Western worldin particular. It amounts to. themost important discovery of modern thought, andyetitis not a modern discovery. It isafact of nature wellknowntoMasters during themostremoteages. It isthelossofthis important knowledge that hasleftmost of theworldin spiritual darkness.Froin

Thiscreative current, filling all space,maybelikenedtothe electromagnetic waves oftheradio.The receiving setisthe human body,moreaccurately,theastral body withinthephysical.The receivingset, standing onyourtable,simplyhastobe ' tunedin' in order toreceivethemusic.Each individual manor woman isa receivingset . As soon asheis tuned inbytheMaster,heisready toreceive"the pure 'whitemusic»spoken of byKabir.It then remainsonlytokeepthe instrument in proper order togoon enjoyingthis melodious bani. Of course, but few getthemusicat onceaftertheirinitiation. It takes alittletimetodevelopthe inner hearing . The entire body,and more particularly the mind and

astralbody, must becleanedandpurifiedandthen attuned tothe highervibrations.Afterthat,themusiccomesclearly.Whenone beginstohearit,heisfilledwithagreatjoy;forthereis nothing intheworldtobe compared withit.

Thefull chorus ofaHandel,thesublimeststrainsofaWagner, arealldullwhen compared withthis bani. Ifwe put intoone composition allthevalues of a andaBeethoven,letthe harp andtheviolin, the pipeorganandtheflute combine to interpret themusic of allthemasters of music,eventhen youcould ' not produce one minor chord of thissublime enchantment . Ittakes possessionofthesoulofthehearer ; itre-createshim,andthenhe findshimselfacitizen of anewworld.The attractions of sense disappear.Heisexalted.His heart ispurifiedandhis mind is renewed.Helivesanew.HehasbecomeimmortaLHowcanthe shadow of deathevercrosshispath?Hehasdefinitely entered the streamofeverlasting life!

Whenitistimeforhimtoleavethebody,hegoesasonewho throwsoffanoldgarment. ' Upon thedivinewaveheascendsto thebosom ' ofGod.Nosorrow of earthcan ever-again submerge him.Herisesaboveall turbulent waves ofpassion, asaman mounts theskyinanairplane,whilethefloodsof mudd y waterrollby beneath him.Herises triumph antlya boveeveryevil, Onecan neveragainbe unhapp y afterhehasonce participated inthislifegivingmusic.Longafterthemelodyitselfis .shut out by attention tothingsofthisworld,the jqy ofitgoesonringing through one 's entirebeing.Butthesameringingdelightmaybeheardagain any moment that the student wishes tolistentoit.Hehas ' onl y to withdraw hi s attention fromthe outer worldandcon centrate a little.

Fromthesacred hour whenthe student hearsthismus ic" heis neveragainaloneorlonely. ' Hemaywanderfarfromhomeor friends , but heisneverlonely.Inatruesenseheenjoysthecompanionship of God himself. The supreme oneisalways present withhim,playingforhisdelightthe grandest chorus of theuniverse! Itssweettonesarecallinghim , tenderly callinghimback home.Andhelongstobeontheway.

5. THE SUFI IDEA OF THE DIVINE V ADAN

TheSufisaredivided into two classes-the Ulvis, whoknow of and oftenhearthe primal music,oratleasttheydidintheearly days,andthe Siflis, whohavelostallknowledge of itorpe rhaps neverhadit.The latter classnowspeaks of theheavenly SYmphonyinfigurativelanguage,like Rabindranath Tagoretryingtoexplaintherhapsodies of KabirSahib.Havingno understanding of the inner SYmphony, they fix all attention upon its outward expressionsinthemanifestuniverse.Doingthis, many of them comegreat .lovers of music,andsometimestheyaregreatmusicians.Theylovethe harmonies whichthephysicalearcanhear, but theyhavelostthegreater harmonies of whichtheselower sounds areno more than afeeblereflection . Atanyrate,ifthey know of them,theydo not speak of them publicly.They speak much of the outer music,however.

One noted Sufi, Hazrat Inayat Khan ; says that thephysicaluniverseisallmusic, thatit isalla manifestation of music,and that it was created by music. Howtruethisis, although hedoes not himselfseemto understand the full significance of hisown statement. He intends hiswordstobetakenfiguratively,wheninfactthey should beacceptedinthe most literal meaning of thewords themselves. Theuniversewasliterallycreatedbythe , greatShabd,the primal music of allworlds . Thisdivine SYmphony or chorus is everywherein all men andin allthings.Indeed,the whole universeisone grand vadan. Heagreeswith Vedanta that the universewascreatedbythe nad-brahma, andthisisexactlywhatall theMastersteach.But Inayat Khandoes not realizehow much he bylookingtothemanifestuniverseforhisgreat vadan Instead of lookinginsideforit.Doingthis,hehastobe contented withthereflection,thefaintecho, 'ofthe pure originalmelody. thegreatMastersmake contact withthe pure primal current .andthusenjoythe most perfectsatisfaction,beingabsorbedInIt. That creative primal musicis vibrating through all theuniverse, and itmaybesensedtosomeextentby many of the finertypes of menandwomen.Andthisiswhysorrie of them

THE

AUDIBLE LIFESTREAM

404 becomeverygreatlovers of music.Thegreatertherefinedsensibilities of anyperson,the nearer heorsheistothe primal current. Itpermeateseverything,assaidbefore,from rosebud tostar, and itisthelife of everything.Butthis varnatmak music,so deadened anddulledby contact with matter, is not tobe compared withthe original.Thatoriginalistheonlygenuine vadan, theaudiblelife stream.

An extremely interesting Sufieffortto interpret theSuratShabd of theMastersisthefollowing extract by Hazrat Inayat Khan.' It showshowthiscentralidea of thegreatShabdhastaken hold of allmystic thought, evenifitis not clearly comprehended.

"Abstract Sound iscalled sautesurmadi bytheSufis.Allspaceis filledwithit.... It wasthe sautesurmadi, the sound of theabstract, which Mohammed heard inthecave of Gar-e-Hira. Moses heard thisvery sound on Mount Sinai.... Itwas heard by Christ whenhisHeavenlyFather manifested to him inthewilderness. Shiva heard thesame anahadnad during his samadhi inthecave of theHimalayas. .Theflute of Krishnaissymbolic of thesame sound. Thissound is thesourceofallrevelationtotheMasters.... Whoeverhasfollowed 'thestrains of this sound has forgotten all earthly distinctions .... The sound of the abstract isalwaysgoing onwithin, around and about man.Mandoes not hearitasarule, becausehisconsciousnessisentirely centered inhis material existence.... In comparison toit,thesounds of the earth arelike that of awhistletoa drum. When the abstract sound isaudibleall other sounds become indistinct tothemystic.

"The sound of theAbstractiscalled anahad intheVedas,meaning unlimited sound.TheSufis' name is surmadi, whichsuggests theidea of intoxication. Theword intoxication ishereusedto signify upliftment, exaltation,freedom of thesoulfromitsearthly bondage. Those whoareabletohearthe sautesurmadi andmeditate on itarerelievedfromallworries,anxieties,sorrows,fears anddiseases; and the soulisfreedfromcaptivityinthesensesand inthephysicalbody.Thesoul of thelistenerbecomestheall-

THESUFIIDEAOFTHE DIVINE VADAN

pervading consciousness. Some train themselvestohearthe saute surmadi inthe solitude of theseashore,ontheriverbank,andin thehillsanddales; others accomplishitwhilesittinginthecaves of the mountains, orwhen wandering constantly through forests and deserts,keepingthemselvesinthewilderness apart fromthe haunts of men.Yogis and asceticsblow singhi (a hom) or shankh (ashell)whichawakensin them this inner tune.Dervishesplay nai or algoza (a double flute)forthesame purpose. Thebellsand gongsinthechurchesandtemplesare meant tosuggestthesame sacred 'sound,and thus leadaman toward the inner life.

"This sound develops through tendifferentaspects,because of itsmanifestations through tendifferenttubes of thebody. It sounds like thunder, the roaring of thesea,thejingling of bells,the runningwater,thebuzzing of bees,the twittering of sparrows,the vina,thewhistle,orthe sound of shankha, until itfinallybecomes the hu, themostsacred of allsounds.This sound hu isthebeginningandthe end of allsounds,be' theyfromman,bird,beast orthing.A minute study will provethisfact,whichcanberealized bylisteningtothe sound of thesteamengineor of amill;theecho .of bellsorgongsgivesatypical illustration of the hu sound.

"The supreme beinghasbeencalledbyvariousnamesindifferent languages, but themysticshave known him as Hu (Arabic), the natural name not man-made, theonly name of theNameless, whichall nature constantly proclaims.The sound hu ismostsacred; theniystics of allagescalledit isme-i -azm, the name of theMost High,foritistheoriginandend of every sound aswell cis the background of eachword.Theword 'hu isthespirit of allsounds and of allwords,andis hidden under them all,asthespiritinthe body. It does not belongtoanylanguage, but nolanguagecan helpbelonging . toit.ThisaloneisthetrueName of God,aName that nopeopleandnoreligioncanclaimas their own.This Word is not only uttered by human beings, but is repeated byanimals andbirds.All things andbeingsexclaimthisName of theLord; foreveryactivity of lifeexpressesdistinctlythisvery sound, Thisis the Word mentioned in the Bibleasexistingbeforethelightcame

1. Hazrat InayatKhan , M ysticism ofSound (California: Hunter House, 1979). Chapter 8 .

DNINE VADAN

intotheworld: 'In the beginning wasthe Word, andthe Word waswithGod,andthe Word wasGod.' I

"Themystery of Hu isrevealedtotheSufiwhojourneys through the path of initiation. Truth, theknowledge of God,is termed by aSufi hak. Ifwe divide- theword hak intotwoparts,itbecomes hu-ak. Hu signifying 'God', or 'truth', and ak in Hindustani meaning 'one', both meanings together expressingoneGodandone truth. Hukikat inArabicmeanstheessential truth, finalreality. Hakim meansmasterand hukim meansknower;allofwhichwords expresstheessentialcharacteristics of life.

"Aluk isthesacredword that theVairagis,theadepts ofIndia, exclaimas .thechant.Inthe word aluk areexpressedtwowords, al, meaning 'from', and huk, 'truth'; both words together express God,thesource of all truth.

"The sound hu becomes limited intheword hum, fortheletter m closesthelips.Thiswordin Hindustani expresses limitation, hum means 'I', 'or'we'" both of whichwordssignifyego.Theword humsa isthesacredwordoftheyogiswhichilluminestheegowith thelight of reality ..Theword huma inthePersianlanguage 'stands forafabulousbird.Thereisabelief that ifthe huma bird sitsfora moment onthehead of anybody,itisasign that the person will becomeaking.Itstrue explanation is that when man's thoughts soevolve that theybreakall limitations hebecomesasaking.Itis thelack of language that itcanonlydescribetheMostHighas something likeaking.Itissaid in theold traditions that Zoroasterwas born of -a huma tree.Thisexplainsthewordsinthe Bible: "Exceptamanbe born of waterand of thespirit,he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). In theword huma, hu represents spirit,andtheword mah, inArabic,means 'water'. InEnglishthe word human reminds us of twofactswhicharecharacteristic of humanity-hu means 'God', and man means 'mind', whichcomes fromtheSanskrit manah, mind beingthe ordinary man.In other words,Hu,God,isinallthingsandbeings, but itisonly man by whomheisknown,orwhoiscapable of knowinghim ; Human,

therefore,means .the God-conscious being,God-realized,orthe God-man. Theword humd means 'praise', humid, 'praiseworthy'; . . "Hut, inArabic,means 'the beauties of theheavens.... Ahura Mazdaisthe name of Godas known tothe Zoroastrians. Inthis firstword; ahur suggests hu, upon whichthewhole name isbuilt. Al1 of theseexamplessignifytheorigin of the idea of Godinthe word hu, and thelife of Godineverything that lives.... . Hl,lva is theorigin of the name of Eve,symbolic of of deity , in womankind .... Thewordsfoundinthe Bible-e-Eloi, Elohim, and alleluya-are all corruptions of theoriginal word Allah-hu. "The more aSufilistenstothe saute surmadi, the sound of the abstract,the more hisconsciousnessbecomesfreefroinallthe limitations of life.Thesoul then floatsabovethephysicaland mental planes without anyspecialefforton man's part,which showsitscalm and peacefulstate.A dreamy lookcomesintohis eyesandhis countenance becomesradiant.Heexperiencesthe unearthly joy and rapture of wajad (ecstasy). When ecstasyoverwhelmshim,heis neither conscious of thephysicalexistence, nor of themental.ThisistheHeavenlyWine,towhichallSufipoets refer,andistotallyunlikethe momentary intoxications of this mortal plane.Aheavenlybliss then springs.in the heart of aSufi, his mind is purified fromsin,his body fromall impurities, and a pathwayis opened for him toward theworldsunseen;hebeginsto receive inspirations, intuitions, impressions and revelations,without the least effortonhispart.Heisnolonger dependent upon a book orateacher,fordivinewisdom,thelight of hissoul,the holyspirit,beginstoshine upon him."

Of course,the holy spiritreferredtojustaboveisthedivine vadan, theaudiblelifestream. .

Itis indeed quiterefreshingand inspiring whenone can enjoy the harmonies of thisworld,canfeelinhis innermost consciousnessthedivinemelodies that floatlikethe whispered words of God through allspace.Butthegrandest of them allisthe anahad shabd. Thegentleechoes of that sublimemusicarefloating through alllowerworlds.Theyare but thewhisperings of therealmusic, the supreme vadan. But we lose much ifweare limited tothese

echoes,howeversweettheymaybe.We should not failtograsp the primal current fromwhichall other musicisderived.

Butthis primal Shabdcanbe heard onlybygoinginside, and thatagainrequiresaMastertoleadtheway.Thevibrations of the outer worldmaybesensedonlywhilethegenuine primal current maybeactuallyheardbythefinersenseof audition. This inner , musicisso enrapturing, socaptivating,thatallwhohearitbecomeexceedinglyjoyous,so much so that theyoftenforgetall else; andthentheyaredrawnupwardwithsuch force that the wholephysicalworldbecomesunrealand uninteresting. ' Bythe powerofthismusic,amanisliterallypulled upward towardthe highestheavenswhencethatmusichasdescended.Andsothis becomesthechiefmeansofdeliverancefromthisworldandits sensebondage.

T HE ONLYMEANSOFSPIRITUALLIBERA nON

cannot bedoneinany other way. Bythisstreamaloneoneis enabledto transcend alllowerregionsaridrisetothehighest heavens.This stupendous facthavingbeenprovedbythe saintsandtheyhave demonstrated ittimes without number-they offer thatpath, that fountain oflife, astheonlyactualmeans of spiritual liberation . Saints know thatthereisno other way.By other meansmenmayadvancesomedistancetowardthelight . But soonerorlatertheyreachanimpasse. Without aperfectGuru, and through him attaining conscious union withtheaudiblelife stream,noonemayhopetogofartherthanthefirstregionof light,comrrionlyspokenofastheastralplane,possibly ' alittle beyondthatinafewrareinstances.Thentheyare confronted withsuchinsuperabledifficulties, suchgigantic obstacles,thatthey simply cannot gofarther.The Guru isthentheabsolute sinequa non of further advancement.

6. THE ONLY MEANS OF SPIRITUAL LIBERATION

TheMastersallteach that thereisno other means of spiritual liberation excepttheShabd. Without actual,conscious participa. tionintheaudiblelifestream,noonecaneverescapethenet of karma and reincarnation oreverbecomefreeandhappy. If anyone feels inclinedtodenythis statement, askhim if heishimself freeandhappy,orifheknowsanyoneelsewhois.Askhimifhe knows of any other ,waya man canfreehimself.Askhimifhe ' is masterofhisownbodyor if hehas conquered thelastenemy, death.Ifheis honest he must sayno.Butallofthisand much moreisaccomplished through thedivinewave of spiritual powerwhichwecalltheShabd.Henceallthesaints ' laythestrongest emphasis upon thisgreatreality.

Infact, without thislifestream,nosaintcouldevermanifest upon thisearth, and hencethewholeworldwould continue tosit indarkness through endlessages.Nosoulcaneverescapefrom thisdarkmaterial ' world without conscious participation inanda personalrelationshipwiththiscurrent.Heshouldknowinglymerge . himselfinthatlifestream,and upon ithe will risetoliberty . It

This path isknownastheRoyalHighway of thesaints , elCaminoReal. It istheonly path thatleadstospirituallightandcomplete emancipation. Thisisthegospelofthelifestream.Hewho drinksofthisstreamcannever thirst again,forinhimisawellof waterspringingupintolifeeverlasting (John 4:14). Thiswasthe wateroflifewhich Jesus offeredtothewomanatthewellof Sychar, ofwhich,hesaid,ifshewoulddrink,shewouldnever thirst again.

Truly,whenonebeginsconsciouslyto participate in thislife stream,thereisinhimawellofwatereverspringingup,sufficient tosupplythewholeworld.Thereisa fountain whichcleanses him,andthengoesongivinglifeto every soulwhocomesin touch withit. It purges both mind andsoul,making them whiter thansnow. Itis therealnectarof immortality. It flowsonforever, ahealingstreamforthenations.Hewhodrinksofit will never againgo about theworldseekingfoodforhisspirit.He will not lookelsewhereforthelight.Amaninthe broad sunlightwillnot goaboutseekingacandle. It isthemedicinewhichcuresevery sickness. It istheoneremedywhichthegreatphysician,theMaster,offers forthereliefofallills. It istheuniversalelixir,the solaceofall.Itsoothesawaypainand gives resttothetired .. This isindeedthe true lightwhichlightethevery man whocomesinto

THE AUDIBLE LIFE STREAM

410 theworld.ItisGod,the supreme Father.Itiswisdom,powerand . love.Andthisistheaudiblelifestream,knownandpracticedby all of thegreatMasters .of theEast during untold ages of time. .

7. NEW BIRTH THROUGH THE SHABD

Itmaybeof interest tothe student whowas brought upinthe ChristianfaithtoknowthatJesus himself verydefinitely mentions the sound streamandteaches that thenew birth istobe attained bymeansofit.Thisisexactlywhatisinsisted upon byallgreat Masters.Jesushimselfsaysitcanbeheard,andyetthe Church has entirely lost themeaning.In the first chapter of theGospelof SaintJohn , itiscalledthe Word, through whichallcreationcame intoexistence. If onlytheChristiandiscipleshadoncegrasped this fundamental factandheldon ·toit,itwouldhave meant a verydifferenthistoryfortheChurch.But, unhappily,thereal meaning whichJesushadin mind waswhollylost.Inthe third verse of chapter three,Jesusspeaks of contacting the current and of actuallyhearingit.Thenhedistinctlysaysthenew birth is attained through it . All of thisisexactlyinlinewiththeteachings of theMasters.Butitisapity that thechurcheshavenever understood thisreference of Jesustothe most important experience whichcanpossiblycomewithintherange of human life.Tothe Church thisnew birth isamysterious operation notintheleast comprehended. Insome way itis supposed tobe performed by theHolySpirit.Buttheexactprocessisquite unknown tothem. TheMastersalonecanexplainthis statement of Iesus,forthe Mastersaloneknowexactlywhatthenew birth consistsof.

Bearin mind thatbirth meansbringing out intothelight.Jesus says:

That whichis born of thefleshisflesh; and that whichis born of theSpiritisspirit.

(John 3:6)

HolySpirit,Spirit,and Shabd-all meanexactlythesamething.

NE W BIRTH THROUGH THESHABD

Then intheeighthverse,Jesusclearly,mentions actuallyhearing the sound of thespiritwhichgivesthe new birth.He says:

Thewind bloweth whereit listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tellwhenceit cometh and whither it goeth: iseveryone that is born of theSpirit. (John 3:8)

Inthis manner Jesusmakesitverydefinite that justasthebody ofamanis born fromwoman, body frombody,sothespiritof man is born-brought tolight out of thedarkwombof matter andits foul corruptions, through theactionofthedivinespiritin theformoftheaudiblelifestream.Weknowthatitwas to thislife stream that hereferredbecausehesodefinitelysaysitcanbe heard. When that ·birth takesplacethesoulactuallyhearsthe Sound justasdefinitelyanddistinctlyasonecanheartherustleof thewindin 'the tallpines.Butasnoonecantellexactlywherethe windcomesfrom , sonoonecantellwhere that inner Sound comesfrom, nor where itis going.

It wouldbedifficulttomakea more definiteconfirmativestatement in support of theaudiblestream than thisoneofJesus,and yetthetheologianshaveneverhadthe remotest ideaofitsmeaning.If theyhadevergraspedthisone fundamental truth, thewhole theology of the Church wouldhavebeendifferent.Thereisno new birth without thisholyShabd,andthereisnosuchthingas contacting the current untilonehasfirstfoundareal and aliving Masterto 'tune himin ' withit.Sothereistheentire matter ina fewwords.IntheBible,whereverthe term HolySpirit isused, ·it referstothis sound current and nothing else. It cannot possibly meananythingelse.Ifitisa thing ofspiritandifitistobeheard, asJesussodistinctlysays, then the spiritual sound current isthe onlythingtowhichitcanpossiblyrefer.

Themuch-discussedHolyTrinityofthe Church is nothing more nor less than thegracious trinity ofallthegreat Masters-the supremeFather,theMaster and theShabd.Theseareliterally and exactlytheFather,theSonandtheHolySpirit. It is much tobe regretted that the Church itself 'never knewtherealmeaning of

THE AUDIBLE LIFE STREAM 412

theTrinity, about whichso many of itsdebateshaveraged and bookshavebeen written sincethedays of Athanasius downtothe present time. If rightly understood, thereisnodifficultyat all in theidea of thesethreeinone . The supreme Fatheristheuniversal one.TheMasterisa man whohasmade himself onewiththe supreme Father, and theShabdisthe supreme spirit inprocess of manifestation throughout theuniverse. The Masterisnowthe representative and the spokesman of the supreme Fatheron this earth plane.Heistherealson of God.AllMastersarerealsons of God. In fact, all men are, but theMasterisa perfected son.There is not theslightest philosophical difficultyinthisconcept. It is a sublimereality. .

Had thedisciples of Jesusfinished their training and become onewiththelife stream-s-in other words,iftheyhadthemselves become Masters-«thewhole course of history might havebeen verydifferent.But instead of that, their Masterwas snatched away from them by death before their course of development had more than fairly begun, afterwhichthe pure spiritual sciencewhich Jesus taught wassoonobscuredandlost. With that vanished among Christians thelast remnant of knowledge concerning the audible lifestream.The history of Jesus and histeachingswerecoveredup mamass of dogmas and superstitions.

Inthe second chapter of theActs of theApostlesan . account is given of what happened ontheday of Pentecost.They heard a sound "as of a mighty rushing wind" and then theysawlights,like "tongues of fire"sitting upon theheads of theapostles, and then they"were all filledwiththeHolyGhost"(the sound current), and theybegantospeakinforeigntongues.Now,thisisaphenomenon whichmay happen, and often does happen, with disciples of anygreatMaster.Butitisanexperiencewhichcomesin the very beginning of their development.

Often itisasifoneis standing betweentwo buildings, and then a sound comeslike that of a train rushing by, heard fora moment and then vanished.Thisis something likethe "rushing mighty wind " spoken of in the Bible. Other sounds are heard fromtime to time-s-eight orten of them. Allthese sounds are heard before

SHAMS -I TABRIZ ON THELIFESTREAM

the true Shabdisheard.Again,one of thelightsseenby all students of theMasterappears much likethe "tongue of fire"spoken of intheNew Testament. Laterthe student sees many more lights and hears much more of theheavenlymelody.Asaresult of these experiences,thediscipleisfilledwith increased light and power . Among other things,heis abletounderstandall languages. He understands them all, asifeachonewasspeakinghisownlanguage.Thisistheuniversalexperience of students of the and is encountered inthefirstregiononthe path of thesamts. Everybody understands thelanguage of all others no matter what itmaybe.To become ' filledwiththeHolySpirit'issimplytohear and participate intheaudiblelife stream and to become absorbed init,to become onewithit.In becoming onewithit,the student comes into possession of many of thehigherpowers of that life force.

8. SHAMS-I-TABRIZ ON THE LIFE STREAM

Inthewritings of all thesaints there is frequent mention of thelife stream.Kabirsings of it in rapturous strains.Inthe Granth Sahib, theholy book oftheSikhs,thereis frequent mention of it . Every saintwhohas written anything at. all has spoken of theholyShabd asthechief thing of importance. Inthe SarBachan of SoamiIi thereis constant referencetoit.We cannot reproduce thewritings ofthesaintshere.They would not mean so much tothe Western readerastheydotothe Indian student. Butwewishto mention onein particular whospeakssodelightfully of theaudiblelife wave, corroborating thewords of Jesus and . of all other saints. Thisis Shams-i-Tabriz, aPersian saint of thelaterMiddle Ages. It isdifficult to saywhich of thetwo,KabirSahiborShams-i-Tabriz, speaks more lovingly of thelife stream. Their songsare most inspiring.Tagorehas translated many of thesongsofKabir; but himself havingnoknowledge of thelife stream, hedoes not seem tohavegraspedtherealsignificance of Kabir'steachings. .

Thefollowingwas translated fromthePersianbyJudge Munshi

THE AUDIBLE LIFE STREAM

RamandProfessor Iagat Singh I andwasarrangedinitspresent formbythiswriter,greatcarehavingbeentakentopreserveits originalmeaning. It isfullofbeautyand rapturous appreciation oftheheavenly bani, the Shabd.

Tomecamethe Sound incomparable, whichcomes Neither from within, nor from without. Neither doesit come fromtheleft, nor fromtheright, · Nor -from theback, nor fromthefront.

You will ask then, whence doesitcome? Itcomesfromthe direction youareseekingtogo. You will ask then, whichwayshallI face?Thesidefromwhichthe bridegroom cometh.

That direction whence ripenesscomestofruit;

That direction from which stones become diamonds. Besilent and listentothefive sounds from Heaven . , The Heaven whichis beyond allsenses and directions.

Every moment oflife this wondrous Sound . Reaches down fromthe courts of Heaven.

Fortunate aboveallthe children of men Ishewhohearsits enchanting melodies.

SpeakingintheidenticalpoeticalspiritofthatsameSound incomparable,Jesussays it maybeheardinthedirectionwhence thewindblows (John 3:8). .

Andthisisone of thegreatestsayingsever uttered byJesusor byanyoneelse. . .

Verily, verily,Isay unto thee,Excepta man be born again,he cannot seethe kingdom of God. (John 3.3)

. In order toseethe inner kingdoms of light,aman must be

1. Hebecamethe appointed succe ssor of Maharaj SawanSingh in1948.

SHAMS-I-TABRIZ ONTHELIFESTREAM

born or brought tolightbythatstreamwhenceallpower flows. Thatstreamisinsideofmanhimself,asthe kingdom oflightis withinman.ForthisverydefinitereasonJesussays,asdoall Masters,thatthis kingdom ofheaveniswithinman (Luke 17:21). One has to .goinsidetogetatit. That kingdommaybe entered andexploredonlybythelight and thepowerofthedivine bani, whichisalsowithinman.Yetalltheworldisbusyseekingit ofman.Eventhevery nature of that kingdom isadark mysteryto most people.Theyhaveonlythehaziest notion ofit. Butthat kingdom isnoallegorical,imaginaryor metaphorical kingdom .. Itisreal,concrete. It includesvastandnumberlessworlds ofinconceivable splendor andbeauty.Andallofthiskingdom,or morecorrectlyspeaking,kingdoms,areconsciously entered and enjoyedbytheMasterandhisdisciples.Tomakethe momentous discoveryofthosehigherkingdoms,manmustgoinside, must enteraplaneofhigherconsciousnessandhigherdimension.This means thathe must withdrawhis attention fromthesense world . 'and lifthisconsciousness ' to afinerworld.Allofthishedoeswith theaidof the audiblelifestreamandtheMaster.Henceitsvital . importance in the schemeoftheMasters.

JIneveryageoftheworld,timeandtimeagain,thesaintshave repeatedthosesignificantwords of Jesus:

Marvel not that Isaid unto thee,Ye must be born again.

(John 3:7)

When thesoul is connected withthelife current atthetime of his .initiation bythe Master-when heis 'tuned iri'-it isthesupreme moment of his'new birth'. Butthe completion ofthat birth isusuallyaslowprocess,averygradualcomingintothe . light.TheMasteroftenreferstothephysical birth of theindividualasmorelikeadeathbecause it involvesgoingdownintodarkness.Whenthesoulleavesanyofthehigherregionsandcomes . downtothephysical,itmeansdescentintodarkness.Butthereal birth takesplacewhenoneis connected withthegreat luminous reality,andbyitsregeneratingactionis brought intothelight. Thisisthenew birth spokenofbyJesusandall other Masters . ..

9. SCIENCE OF THE MASTERS-IN SIX WORDS

Webelieve that theentireessence of thissciencemaybe summed up in sixwords.Each word isagiganticpillar of light.Thesesix words,expressingthreegreat truths, are subjoined togiveexpressiontothegreatestsystem of truth everrevealedtotheconsciousness of man.Theyarelikethe three great mountains inTrikuti, which grouped togetherformonegigantic mountain of light.These three truths aresovitalandso 'central that ifwe should forgetall else, remembering them only,we would stillpossesstheessence of SantMat.These three greatfacts stand out inletters of lightatthe very entrance totheRoyalHighwayofthesaints.They constitute thetriplebeacon of lighttoguideeverysoulonhiswaytofree- . dom.Theyofferthebasicconcepts of theteaching of theMasters. Theygivethevitalsubstance of this book insixwords.Theyshould beonthewalls of the home of every student inblazingletters. Theyare:

Sat Guru-Shabd -dhun-jivan mukti

(1) Sat Guru, theMaster, thesaint, (2)- .Shabd -dhun, the audiblelifestream, the melodious sound, the sound primeval, (3)Iivan mukti, spiritualfreedomhereand now, meaningperfect liberation during thislifetime.

Letusnowtakecarefulnote of the . relationship existingbetweenthesethree.The three areabsolutelyinseparable.This is one of the most important points tobekept in, mind. You simply. cannot have anyone of them without the other two.This .is a sacred mystery-all of them ornone.And . there isnopossible exceptiontothisrule.Thereis not onlyadefiniterule that one must have them allor none, but there isaverydefinite. order in whichthey must come ; andthisfixed order cannot bechanged. Theirsequenceisfixedbyan immutable law of nature; itadmits of novariation. It lies not inthepower of anymantomodifythis I

lawandthissequence . TheSatguru must comefirst.TheShabddhuncomes second, andthencomes' jivan mukti . Thisisthe order established by- nature orGod.Nomancanalterit . .

Allmenwishliberation,orwhattheologianscallsalvation.Their sortofsalvationis,however,averydifferentarticlefrom that of theMasters.Thesalvation of theMasters is liberation fromthe wheel of transmigration, fromtheills of thislifeor of anylife,and last of all,freedomtoliveforeverinsomeheaven of unalloyed bliss.Thisissalvationasitisgenerally understood bythe students of thispath. It must neverbe confused withthetheologicalsalva tion of thechurches.

Supposenow that peopleknow nothing atall about theShabddhun, andtheyobjecttotheidea of aMaster.Yettheywouldlike tobespirituallyfree. Well,theysimply cannot get jivanmukti, and thereisnohelpforit.Youmaysitonthefenceandweepall thedays of your life, but nothing canbe done foryou.Youmay call upon allthereligions known forhelp, but you will get nothing.Youmay pray toallthegodsonrecord,andthey will not hear you: Itremainsasternfact of nature that no man hasevergained orcangainfreedomfromtheills of this lifeand , escapetheuncertainties of thenextlife until hehasthegoodforturietomeeta livingMaster.Ifhe ' has not that good fortune, hesimply must return againand againto thislife until hedoesmeetaMaster . Thatisthesum of it and that isfinal. Without thehelp of aMaster noonecanevergain permanent releasefromthiswheel of birth anddeath.Hiseternal and monotonous cycle of birth and death must simplygoon until thetimearriveswhenhisgoodkarmas bring himtoaMaster,withhis mind prepared tofollowhim. Why?Because,assaidbefore,thesethree links inthegoldenchain of salvationareabsolutelyinseparable.

No one canpossiblygain spiritual freedom except by and ,through the Shabd-dhun, andnoonecanpossibly get that Shabddhun without firstplacinghislifeinthe hands of aSatguru. On the other -hand, ifyoudogetaSatguru,you cannot failtoget jivan mukti, redemption fromallills of thisorany other life. Andthisis ' becausethe Satguru neverfailsto connect hisdisciplewiththe

·Shabd-dhun.Andso,having both Satguruand Shabd-dhun, one cannot fail. to getspiritualfreedom,whichis here called jivan mukti. Letusrepeatthefacthere, that thesethreecanneverbe separated-never under anycircumstances . Andwe must not forgetthattheSatgurucomes first, Itisa natural andlogicalconclusion,therefore, that thefirst-duty and most important concern of any mortal inthisworldistofinda true Satguru.If you failin that oneregard, your lifeisacompletefailure,no matter whatelseyou maygain.

Here. then istheformula:Firstfindareal Satguru whocan tune youintothelife current, the melodious Dhun. Thentakehold of ' that current, mergeyourselfinto it. Listentoits enchanting melodies,feelitsgraciousuplift,experienceitscleansingpowers,float upon -it upward and onwardtothecity of freedom.Afteryouhave oncepassedthe outermost frontiersofthematerial and impure worlds,when you haveactually entered theregions of pure spirit and havegrowngodlikeandfitforthehighestregions , you will neveragain return totheselowlandsof birth and death.Youhave attained jivan ' everlasting.Therefore , letthesethree great truths beengraved upon yourwakingconsciousnessand upon your subconsciousness-think always onthese three--Satguru, Shabd-dhun and jivan mukti.

To put the matter inalittledifferentway, arethreethings of supremeimportance toanyone contemplating thispath.They arethe Satguru, the satsang .and the audiblestream. Of course, .the Satgurucomesfirst; but whenthedisciplecomestotheSatguru, he must attend satsang.That .meanshe must conversewiththe Satguru,listen.to ' hisdiscourses,andsoget full instruction. He mayor hemay not attend publicmeetings.The point is that he must seeenough of theMastertobecomewell informed astothe great truths of this path.' Thispreparesthe student for entering upon thepath.Afterthat,he 'is ready for initiation, whichbrings himintovital contact withthelifestream. It istakenfor granted

1. All this impliestheposs ibility ofeveryseekerreachingthe Master inperson.Such personal meeting is not alwaysnecessary . The present Master hasrepre sentatives throughout theworldwho can instruct disciplesand , withhis approval , give initiation on his behalf.

NEW BIRTH THR OUGHT HE SHABD

that ifheoncecomestotheSatguru,he will sitin .satsangand listentothe instructions oftheGuru.Hencewesay,threethingsa man must do--he must finda Guru , he must attend satsang, that .is, inform himselfasto ·thepath,and he must consciously enter thelifestream.To put itin another way, threethingsaman must have--he must haveaSatguru,he must havethelifestream,and he must havespiritualliberation.

'The Great Work of the Masters: What They Actually Do

1. THE SCIENTIFIC YOGA OF THE 'SAINTS

THIS CHAPTER bringsustotheveryheartofourtheme. What are ' theMastersdoingfortheirdisciplesonthispath?Wehavenowto point outfirstthe particular method bymeansofwhichthe Mas- : tersreachtheirgoal,andwhen that 'isdoneourworkwillbe finished.Thesaintshaveadefiniteworkto perform, andweshall callthattheir great work. Thereis, nogreaterworkknown.Letus nowtrytoseejustwhat that workis.Thesaintshavenosecretsto keepfromtheworldwhich thepeople oftheworldcouldpossibly usetotheirownadvantage.Anythingwhichwoulddotheworld good,theMasterswillneverkeepfromtheworld.Thedifficulty nowis, and has always been" that manyoftheteachingsofthe Masters cannot be appreciated byalland cannot be used bythem. Ifsomethingsare not toldhere,letitbeknownfromthe start thatthose things whichare withheld wouldbeofnousetoanyone whois not aninitiate of aMaster.

OtherwisetheMastersarequiteready and willingtolaytheir

beforethe ,whole ' world and inviteany hungry soulto help Butlet.nooneblametheMastersiftheywithhold certain thingsforwhichtheworldat largeis not readyandwhich peoplecouldnever understand if given tothem.Onereason this' is written now,attheexpress command of agreatMaster,is to gIve to allwhomaypossiblybeabletorecognizetheirvalue , some understanding of thepriceless truths of theMasters of all ages.Theancientscreenof profound secrecyisnowremoved. There .isnolongerany ne.ed for such secrecy. Itwas not many centunes agowhenno saint couldspeak openly, exceptatthe perilofhisownlife.Moreover,theMastersdo not teach pranayarna, orany other systemfraughtwithdangers,tothe ignorant. The method of thesaintsissosafeinitself that no harm canresult bygiving it out tothe whole world, provided people would not abuseitandmisuseit . Butthiscanneverbe ' ascertainedinadvance, theteachingis out indiscriminately. If were wntten downhere', Itwouldonlycause confusion and mis- , understanding. There arecertaindetailed instructions availableto initiatesonly,andeventheycanmakenogooduseof them except bythehelpoftheMaster. " '

Beforeofferingtheyoga of theMasters,itmightbewellto call attention verybrieflytothe other systems yogawhichhave beenpracticedby students intheEast.Theyareall interesting hut do not need them-the systemoftheMastersiscomplete.But It IS goodtoknow about them.Belowisa brief description: , (1) Hatha Yoga. Thisaimsatthe control ofthe mind andthe acquisitionof siddhis, or what arecalledpsychicpowers,chiefly through asana, orphysicalposturesandexercisessuchascontrol ofthebreath.The asanas undoubtedly give averybeneficialeffect upon thehealth and arebelievedtobringthevitalas asthe mentalprocesseswithinthe control ofthe student. Hatha Yoga hasalsobeendefinedasthe union ofthesunandthemoon.

(2)Raja Yoga. Thisdoes not followtherigorousdi scipline of Yoga, but seeksto concentrate andstillthe mind ' byeasy and natural methods of mental discipline' andcontrol.TheemphasisinRajaYogais upon the mind rather than thebody.

(3) Ashtang Yoga. Thisisacomprehensivescheme of yoga training.Asits 'nameimplies,itconsistsofeightelements,thefirstfive of which-yama, niyama,asana, pranayama, pratyahara--refer to thebody.The, last three-dharana, dhyana and samadhi-refer to themind.TheaimofthisschoolistomergethesoulintoGodor theuniversalsoul. Pranayama, chieflyconsistingof breath control,andby that meansthe control oftheprana,playsavery important part inthescheme.

(4)Laya Yoga. Laya means 'absorption', andLayaYogaconsists ofthe absorption of the mind intheastrallight.Thisisgenerally achieved through thepracticeof mudra, five specialposturesof Hatha Yoga.

(5)Karma Yoga. Thisisessentiallytheyogaofaction.Itenjoins . upon itsfollowersthenecessityofdoingone'sduty,whatever that maybe, but without fearofblameorexpectationofrewards.The essence of KarmaYogaistheideal of dutywelldoneandthespirit of detachment. It rejectstheideaof renunciation andinsists upon playingone 's part tothefullestextent without lookingtothefruit ofactions.

(6) Bhakti Yoga. Thisistheyoga of devotion , anditappeals mostofalltopeopleofan emotional temperament. Itdiscards all . ritesandceremoniesandseeks union withtheMasterortheLord through theforce of loveonly.

(7) Mantra Yoga. Thissystemaimsattheacquisition of psychic powers and spiritualorastralregionsby constant repetition of certainformulaswhichare supposed tosetup particular vibrations,especially when .repeatedwiththe mind fixed upon certain centers . Theformulas,assuch,arebelievedtohavean efficacy of theirown.

(8)Sahaj Yoga. ThisistheSuratShabdYoga,thecentraltheme ofthis book-the systemofthegreatMasters.Assaidrepeatedly inthesepages,thisistheessenceof them all. It containsthebest inthemall, but itwasnottakenfromanyoftheothers.Theyoga oftheMastersistheoldestofallsystems.Fromagetoagethe differentyogic methods havebeenderivedfromtheyogaofthe saintsandchanged, In manycases,tosuitmen'sownideas.But .theyogaoftheMasters cannot bechanged,exceptatgreatloss.

Varioussectshavefromtimetotime adopted methods ' of their ownbecausetheyhadlosttheoriginalsystemoftheMasters.This factaccountsforthevariety of systemsinvogueinIndia during thelastfew thousand years.Butthesystemofyogaas taught today bythesaintsistheonewhichhasbeen taught andpracticed, without modification oralteration, during thetens of thousands ofyearssince man firstbeganhiscareeronthisplanet. It isnowin order topresentthatsystem of yogainas much detailasweare permitted togiveit.

Thescientificyogaofthesaintsisreallyone of themostvital portions of their science. It is that towhichallelseleads;andafter allelsehasbeenassimilatedandall otherpreparations aremade,it isthisscientificyogawhichistoleadthe student tothefullrealizationof all that heisexpectedtogainbythisscience. Asisso oftensaidinthesepages,thesystem of theMastersisnotareligion' nor does ' itinterferewithany man's religion nor seekto undermine it.Whateverhemayhavethatisgoodhekeeps,and thisaddstohistreasures.This much maybeaccepted without question. It does not seekto uproot or supplant anyreligion.The inner experiencestobegainedonthis path farexcel 41 valueany experiencetobehadfromthepracticeofanyreligion.Butatthe sametime,itdoes not interferewithany man's religion. It does not touch religion .

ThesystemoftheMastersiscalledSahaj Yoga. Itistheyoga that opensthedoorsofthe supreme regions.Itiscalledalsothe SuratShabdYoga. This istheyogawhichiscarriedonbymeans ofthelifestream.Inthisscience it referstoadefinitesystem of exercisesworked out bytheMasters,bymeansofwhichthestudentistoattainconscious union withGod. It isalsocalled Sound practice,becauseitconsists mainly offollowingthe inner Sound. . Thisistheone point whichdistinguishestheyogaoftheMasters fromall other systems.Thisisthe supreme testwhich must always bekeptin mind whilestudyingall other systems.IfthisSound practiceisnotavital part ofthem, then theyarenotthesystemof thegreatMastersandtheyarelimited.Letthisbemadevery emphatic,formanypeopleinsist that onesystemis about asgood as another since all are intended toleadtothesamegoal.Butasa

DEMONSTRATING T RUTH FOR ONESELF THE GREAT WORKOFTHE MASTERS

matter of experience,theydo not allleadtothesamegoal.Far fromit.No other systemleadstothegoal of the Masters, the highestregionsinexistence.Besides,you will generallyfind that the person whosays that onereligionoronesystem of yogaisjust asgoodas another is himself practicing none of them.

Lettheinvestigator understand that theMaster,ortheso-called Master,whodoes not teach and practicethescience of theaudible lifestreamis not aMaster of thehighest order. Nor doeshis systemleadtothehighestachievements . EveryrealMasterin all history has taught and practiced theyoga of thislifestream.It could not beotherwise,forthisis the systemestablishedbythe Creator himself.Hewhoknows nothing about itis ignorant of the mostessentialand elementary fads of allyoga.Thissystem of the saintsadmits of no alterations, substitutions or subtractions.

Students of Indian yogaingeneralagree that most orall of the oldsystems are verydifficult, requiring much time,rigidasceticismandgreatself-abnegation.Andthisistrue of them all.Indeed,the path of the ordinary yogiisaruggedone.Butthe method of theMastersis not theway ·of theyogis. It neverhasbeen. Beforethereeverwasayogi'spractice,thescience of theMasters wasknownand practiced among men.Buttheexact method of theMastershas,fromtimetotime,become obscured oreven"lost intimeswhenrealMasterswerefewor unknown tothegeneral public.Then,tryingto substitute forthe path of thesaints,yogis developed methods of their own.Thetwosystems then havebeen running alongparallelcourses throughout history.

Not onlyare the methods of theyogisdifferentfromthose of thesaints, but their finalobjectiveisdifferent.Most of theyogis, eventhebest of them, know of nothing beyond theastralplane, commonly termed TuriyaPad, with thepossibleexception of a veryfewwhomaygotoBrahmLok.Theretheyareautomatically' stopped unlesstheyhaveaMasterwho himself goesfarther.Stoppingthere, most of them believe that theyhave attained thesupreme heights.TheretheyaccepttheBrahm of that regionasthe supreme God.ButthegreatMastersgosofaraboveand beyond BrahmLok that whentheyreach that region,theyhaveonlyfairly

beguntheir upward journey.Whilemost of theyogisand imperfectMastersregardBrahmasthe supreme deity,thesaintsknow that Brahmisonlya subordinate inthe gtand hierarchy of the universe.Whilethe om of theVedasandtheGitaisregardedas themostsacredwordinall Hindu philosophy becausethe Hindus believeittobethe sound symbol of the supreme being,thesaints know thatitbelongstoone of thelowerlords.Heis himself a createdbeing,subjecttothesamelaws of allcreatedbeingsand mustcarryon under thewishesofthe supreme Sat Purush. Heis bynomeansthe ultimate Lord.

Theyogaofthesaintsaccomplishesthatwhichtheyogaofthe Vedantistscanneverdo. It isthereforevastlymoreefficient.Moreover,ithasbeen adapted totheneeds of the modern man.Thisis itsgreatglory. It is modern in method andyetitmeetsallthe requirements ofallages. Ineveryage of theworld,thesaintshave usedasystemexactly 'suited totheneeds of thepeopleandthe times.Peoplechangetosomeextentfromagetoage,andsothe saints give them,ineachage,exactly that system of yogawhichis bestsuitedto their requirements. Buttheyogisholdonto their archaicsystems,whicharenow out ofdateandwholly unsuited totheaverageman of this age. Thenervous constitution of the modern manis somewhat differentfrom that of themen of ten thousand yearsago.Theyoga of theMastersmaynowbepracticed not onlybytheascetic but byallmeninallwalksand conditions of life,whilecarryingontheir routine dutiesathome. Thismakesitauniversalscience.Nopossible harm canresult fromitspractice, provided onedoes not degenerateintoevilprac ticeswhileheis pretending tofollowthe path of the "Masters.. Againstsuchapossibilityevery student iswarned.You cannot mixthe path oftheMastersand the shadedway of evil.

2. DEMONSTRATING TRUTH FOR ONESELF

Theyoga of thesaintsutilizesandembodiesasystem of scientific demonstration, offeringthemostpositiveproofsofall that is

THE GREAT WORKOFTHE MASTERS

claimedbyanyreligion; and thenitgoesfarbeyond them all. Now,ontheface of the matter, whyloiteralongwith uncertain systems,even admitting allthegoodtheyclaim,ifyoucanhavea systemthatpositivelyoffers all thegoodthatisclaimedinall other systems put together?Thisisbecauseitisauniversalscience and in itareuniversalpossibilities. It includes them alland then goesfarbeyond them all.Thisisnotsimplyanidleclaim. Itisa challengeto all mentoprovetheclaimforthemselves..

Thissystemdoesnotleavethedisciplewithblindbeliefs, nor doesitlimithimtofaithalone.Weknowofnoreligionwhich evenclaimstoofferanythingmore than asystem of teaching which must beacceptedonfaith.Butbythe method oftheMasters,onegainsthemostpositiveknowledge and sobecomesabsolutelycertainofhis ground. Notonlyisthisdegreeof certainty absentfromallreligions, but itis not believedby them tobe possibleinthefield of religion.Inthis manner, religiondeprives itselfoftheoneandonlythingwhichcouldmakeit worthwhileactualknowledge.Yetknowledgeistheonlygenuineappealto modern intelligence.Theworldisnolongerinterestedinfinespun theories.

It must be admitted by thoughtful students that allelements of themanyworldreligionsareof doubtful value(excepttheirethics)fortheverygoodandsufficientreasonthattheyaredependent upon ancientbooksandmetaphysicalspeculations.Thistakes the matter out of thecategory of knowledge, arid sorobsitofits chiefvalue. Beliefs andspeculationsofferaveryweak support for thehopeof immortal life.Butifanysystemisabletomakescientific demonstration thebasis of itsconclusions,thatsystem will be deliveredfromallhandicaps.Andthatisexactlywhatthescience of theMastersdoes.Itisinthisrespect that thewisdom of the Eastdiffersfromall other religio-philosophicalteachings.

. IJ isthisscientific method whichtheMastersnowoffertothe world,andthis constitutes their unique giftto mankind. When peoplearereadytoacceptthescientific method oftheMasters, religionaswellas philosophy will bedeliveredfromits habit and its handicap offruitlessspeculations and blind beliefs.

WHAT DOESTHISSCIENCE OFFER?

Ifany man feels inclinedtochallengetheMasterstoprove that theyareableto demonstrate suchhigh and mystic truths, thenlet that mancomeintothe laboratory oftheMasterandmakethe demonstration forhimself.Thatisexactlywhat theMaster invites and prefers.TheMaster will gladlygive him both the method and thematerialswithwhichtomakethe demonstration. Andinpassing,Imaysayfreely that nomanhaseveryetfailedtomakethis demonstration forhimselfwhohas undertaken the demonstrationaccordingtothe method givenhimbytheMaster.

3. WHAT DOES THIS SCIENCE OFFER?

Ifwereferbacktoacarefulstudyofall world religions and philosophies,weshallseeataglance that theyalltalk much about realizingGod and gainingsalvation.But if youask them justhow theyaretoaccomplishallthat,they will reply,insubstance,"Believe .thebook and followthepriests."Tostatethe matter alittle moreaccurately, wemaysay that all human hopes and efforts center about threethings:

(1) self-realizationorself-knowledge

(2) God-realization orknowledgeofGod

(3) entering the kingdom ofheaveneitherinthislifeor inthenext.

It isonlytheMasterswhoshowhowthisistobedone in this life,hereandnow, whileallreligions point tothehopeofitafter death.Ofcourse,theendand purpose ofallofthisisindividual well-being.Wecallithappiness.Now,thesethreearethevery thingswhichthescienceoftheMastersofferstothedevotee, but the method bywhichtheMastersproposetoaccomplish . that greatworkisentirelydifferentfrom that ofanyandallreligions.

Wemaythenask,howdotheMasters propose toplacetoone's creditsuchinestimabletreasures,such kingdoms of wealth?The answeris,bytheirscientific method ofyoga,theirsystemofexercisesbymeansofwhichtheyopenthetreasurehousesofthe universe. When thesetreasuresare presented tothedisciple,he

THE GREAT WORKOFTHE MASTERS

experiencesspiritualrealization . Andthisincludes both self-realizationandGod-realization. It includesallofthevaluesofany religionand much more.Hegainsentrance to , thekingdomof heaven,hereandnow.Whilehemay continue foratimetosojourn here,heisatlibertytoenter and explorethegreaterkingdomand return to t his planewheneverhe wishes,anyday,even manytimesa day,

Thisspiritualrealizationfreesthedisciple from theage-long comingandgoingandfromthepainsoftheeternalwheel.It makeshimamasternotonlyofhimself but a master overallthe .' forcesofnature.Hehasmasteryoverthosepassionsandallantagonistic force'S andinfluenceswhichtendtopullhimdown. He isreallyfree.Fromthestatus of a poor blindbeggar,hebecomes kingoveralimitlessempire.Froma common sinner,hebecomes asaint. It relieves himofallsorrows,worries, doubts andfears.It endowshimwithamazing powers andall-comprehensiveknowledge.Heis emancipated andfilledwith unutterable joy.What morecanone ask? AndyetthesystemoftheMastersaccomplishesmuchmore than allofthis.To understand it, one must experienceit.Nolanguagecandescribeit.

Ifsomeskeptic feels inclinedtosay that thescience of the -Masters cannot offersomuchbecausehisownstudiesandexperiencesdo not substantiate such claims, then I .mustrefer him tothe principlesofhisownscience. It does not becomearealscientistto say that anythingisimpossible.He . will acknowledgethis principle.Inthisageofscientific demonstration, the'impossible ' has beenaccomplishedso Qlany .times that even thescientiststhemselves havegrownmorehumble. If theclaimsofthisscienceare doubted bythephysicists,itisbecausetheyare not familiarwith thisscienceoritsmethodsorpossibilities.Theyhavenoideawhat itcando. It istrue that sciencetriestoadheretoascertainedor ascertainablefactsofnature.Andinthis,itisquiteright.Buteven thebestofscientists cannot always sayinadvanceexactly what .is ascertainableandwhatisnot.Iftheyinsist,astheygenerallydo, that whateveris mustbeinaccordwith natural law,the Masters will agreeright gladly. Nothing caneverbedonewhichis

WHATDOESTHISSCIENCE OFFER?

contrary totheestablishedorderofnature.Butthere ' maybea . vastfieldof natural lawwhichis,asyet,quite unknown tothe scientists.

Isithereinmy room andlookawaytothetoweringsummits of theHimalayas.Theirsnow-coveredpeaks look majesticin .the morning sun.Iamtoldthatscienceisabletocalculatetheexact heightsofthosepeaks without actuallyclimbingthemandmeasuringthem.Suppose that Iassumeanairofwiseincredulityand say,asourancestorswouldhavesaidinthedistantlongago,that noman can ,perform such feats. Howcananybodytelltheheight ofatree without measuringit?Andfurther,supposeIsaytoone ofthelaborersworkingin my garden that menhaveactuallygone above the highest-peakofthose mountains inanairplane.He will probablylookatmeasifhe doubted mysanity.Soitmaybe regardingmanyoftheachievementsoftheMasters.

It maybestatedemphatically that whatevertheMastersdo, theydo it notbytheviolationofany natural law but byworking inha rmony withthelaw.It must beremembered,however,that theMastersare super-scientists. Theyhave knowledge oflawswhich thephysicistshaveneverdiscovered.Theirfield of operation is notlimitedtothe narrow rangeofthephysicalplane.Itis,therefore,moreinaccordwiththescientificspiritofthisageifthe reader will agreeto . hold . the matter ofspiritual demonstration under observationand,inthe meantime , trytogoaheadand conduct the experiment.Thatis all that theMastersask.Theyask noblind beliefs. They asknomore than isrequiredofanyman who proposestobuild 'abridgeormakeachemical analysis. In everyscientificexperiment,onemustacceptsomethingasaworkinghypothesis. He is then readytoproceedwithhispractical demonstration. Intheprocess of the .demonstration,he gains definiteknowledge.

Nomanevergainedspiritualfreedom,powerandhappinessby a processof .logic,by a priori ratiocination, bymetaphysics,by readingbooksor by listeningtolectures.Yetthesearethemethodsemployedbythemajorityofmankind.TheMasterssolve all theirproblemsbyascientific method asexactandexactingas

THE GREAT

WORKOFTHE MASTERS

430 mathematics.Theygettheir information not byanalysis and synthesis but bysightand hearing. Evenaftertheyhave proved a proposition, theyestablishno authority except that of truth itself. Authority hampers truth, it throttles freeinvestigation. Authority isanenemytoprogress.TheMastershavenoinfallible dictator to pronounce dogmas ex cathedra. Thissciencemakes personal experience thefinal and only court of appeal.Itsprocessesaresimple anddirect.Theycanbe understood bythemost ordinary intelligence,andfor that reasontheintelligentsianeednotbecomeoffendedatthem.Hencethisisauniversalscienceavailabletoall classes ofevery nation and peopleintheworld.

Nearlyeverypeople and everyreligionknowntohistoryhas hadsoine sort ofyoga,i.e.,someformof meditation or spiritual exercise.Theserangeallthewayfromthemostelaborateritualto themostsimpleprayer.Forexample, note theexperiences of the Christianmystics quoted in Chapter Eight,Section 2. Itiswell knownthatnearlyallofthe Church fathers,earlyandlate,had theirownsystems of meditation, and theygotresultswhichwere highlyvaluedbythem. Gibbon reports acertain abbot of Mount Athos of theeleventh century commenting onasystemofmeditation,as follows:

When thou art alone in thy cell, shut thy door and seat thyself ina comer; raise thy mind above all things vain and transitory; recline thy chin on thy breast; tum thy eyes and thy thoughts toward the middle of thy belly, the region of the navel, and search the place of the heart, the seat of the soul.Atfirst, all will be dark and comfortless; but if you persevere day and night , you will feel an ineffable joy and no sooner has the soul discovered the place of the heart, than itis encircled ina mystical ethereal light.

This,ofcourse,shows that theyhadknowledge of howtogo abovethelower chakras. MauricePhilipps,aChristian, says:

Wehave followed the stream of Aryan religious and speculative thought, in all of its ramifications, through the mantra, Brah-

WHAT DOESTHISSCIENCE OFFER ?

man, and Upanishad stages, noting its descent. We have considered the Hindu Aryan conception of God, their speculations on the creation of the world, and their notion of the origin , nature and destiny of man, ineach of those stages.Wehave pushed our enquiries asfar back in time as the records would permit. And wehave found that the religious and speculative thought of the people wasfar purer, simpler and more rational, at the farthest point we reached, than at the nearest or latest in the Vedic age. The conclusion, therefore, is inevitable, viz., that · the development of religious thought in India has been uniformly downward and not upward--deterioration and not evolution. ...Wehaveseen further that the knowledge of the divine attributes possessed by the Vedic Aryans was neither the product of intuition nor experience, but a survival, or a reminis. cence. Weare justified, therefore, in concluding that the higher and purer conceptions of the Vedic Aryans were the results of a primitive divine revelation.

This points exactlyandverydefinitelytotheearliertimesin thosefar-offageswhenthe'divinerevelation'spoken of herewas given out bytheMasters.Ithas always beentherule of historyto seethatdivinerevelation obscured inlaterperiods . Thesaints haveineveryagecalled attention tothepath,thewaytothe kingdom ofGod.Butno sooner dotheypassfromthestage of action upon thisplanethanthepeopledriftawayfrom the path. Theirworkdeterioratesinthehandsoftheir followers. This ' isa pathetic aspectofallhistory.

Asceticism isone of theregrettablefeaturesof modern degenerationandisaradical departure fromthe pure teachings of the path oftheMasters.Ithasbeenpracticedbymen of nearly all countriesandreligionsinthemistaken notion thatit will aid them inacquiringspiritualperfection. Buddha practiceditinextremeforms until healmostlosthislife,andwhenhegaveitup, hisoldfriends condemned him.MedievalChristianspracticedit. Vast numbers of Indian yogishavepracticedit, and manyare doingsotoday.ButtheMastershavenever taught asceticism,and theydonotteachorpracticeittoday.

The path of theMastersisforall mankind and,assuch,it must beavailabletoall men inallwalks of life. Of course,weare not to condemn anybody for practicing asceticism,eveninits extreme forms,iftheychoose that way. .Itis their business and they mean well.Theyareseeking desperately for their release from material bonds. But they seek that releaseinthe wrong ·way. Theydo not know the rational path of theMasters.We admire their ' courage. Weoftenfeel humbled in their presence. When a man iswillingto leave home, friends and wealth, and attimesevena kingdom, and go into thejungle, there to endure all manner of hardships and suffercold, hunger, and be isolated fromall that the'world loves, whenhedoesall of thisin pursuit of a spiritual ideal,it means that heis far above the ordinary man. It indicatesa genuine nobility that ishighly commendable. Itisgodlike;itis the very cream of nobility andtheessence of greatness.

When thegreat Buddha wasa poor hungry beggar in: pursuit of his spiritual objectives,his true .nobility stood out far more than it didwhenhewasinthe midst of his father's royal splendors. When Jesus,who might have commanded any army-so greatwashis mental energy' walkedthe dusty streets, tired and hungry in or :' der that he might carry the bread of life to the multitudes, his greatnesseclipsedallthe splendors of Rome. When a man gains such self-mastery that he Can sitfor hours, orevendays,atatime upon ablock of ice, we must admire hiscourage,evenifwedo not approve of his method. It indicates a greatness of spirit and a strong power of-will . This sort of thing requires a heroism far greater than that whichimpelsa man tosaciificehislife on the . battlefield.We must admire that man's' devotion tohisownideals. Andwe must love him for showing whata man cando through mental discipline.The true yogis have done much to bring light and hope toa dark world.I would c:ount myself fortunate tobe permitted to ' sit 'at their feetifI ' had not areal Master whose spiritual greatnesseclipses that of all

4. THE SURAT SHABD YOGA ;

Thisisthe genuine yoga of theMasters.Itisthisfor which we havebeengettingreadyinall of the preceding pages.The reader will now referbackto Chapter Ten,inwhichthe mental preparation forthisgreat work wasdiscussed.Readitalloveragain and then meditate upon itlong and deeply. When you have adopted all of that into your innermost thinking and then made ita part of your lifeprocesses,youwillbereadyfortheactual work of this path. The practice of this 'Surat Shabd Yogais the ' great work of thesaints. It is that for whichall men havebeen born into the human body. It isthe supreme duty and privilege. Itistheone work without whichno man caneverescapetheills of thislife and return tohis original home. It constitutes the great work of thesaints.Letus now giveitthe most careful consideration.

Theveryfirststepon approaching this path is to getinitiation ' fromaliving Master, agenuineSatguru. This point wehaveso often emphasized, but it cannot beoverstressed. It isabsolutely necessary. Without initiation, onemayaswell stopbefore hebegins.Hewillget nowhere onthe path. Hemaygainalittleintellectual understanding of the principles, but that willdo him but little good. .Then supposing that hehasreceived initiation, hehas not tolearnalot of rules and regulations; hehas not to study any rituals nor toreadanybooks . not eventhisone.He may read onlytogethis mind dear on certain principles. That isall.Hehas now first and foremost toget down to work ontheexercises.

He must selectasuitable room , as completely aspossibleexeluded fromallnoise and allsortsof interruptions. Atfixed hours heisto sit in meditation, as prearranged, with body erect and comfortable. The posture usedintheEastisgiven tohim atthe time of his initiation, but he probably cannot endure that position ifheisa Westerner. Hewillsitina comfortable position, ashe mayselect.The main point is that heistokeephis mind onthe center inthe head; Ifheisin pain froma cramped position, he cannot concentrate . His attention is then fixed upon a point inside of hishead,called tisratil, meaning ' the third eye'.Thisis

THE GREAT WORKOFTHE MASTERS THE SURAT SHABDYOGA

betweentheeyes and onalevelwiththeeyebrows.Hemaysimply think of thiscenter, imagining himself tobethere.The attention istobeheldatthis point continuously and without wavering.No thought of theoutsideworldistobe entertained, nor of anypast experience,eventorperson.Perfect concentration atthiscenteris theobjective. It istheall-essential.The mind must beheldstillat this point. Makethe mind perfectlymotionless.Do not think at all,except of theMaster,atthis inner center.All other mental activityistocease.The mind must beheldperfectlyquiet, but it mustholdtothecenter.Ifany thought atallistobeallowed,it must beonly of theMasterandwhatisinside of thecenter.All of the mind andsoularetobe gathered atthis point. Remember that the mind andspiritarescatteredall over one's body.Butthey must nowbe gathered and concentrated atthisone point inthe head.Tomakethis concentration perfectisthefirstgreattaskto engagethe attention andeffort of thedevotee. Compared with that, nothing elseintheworldistobe considered of any importanceatall.

Justhowallthisistobe done totheverybestadvantageistold tothediscipleatthetime of his initiation. Details of theprocess cannot begivenhere;theyaregivenat the time of initiation. This is not becausetheMastersare not willingtogive out theseprecioussecrets,Theywouldbegladto ' give them toevery man and woman on earth ifonlytheycouldusethem.Buttheycould not makeuse of them . Thosesecrets would be of novaluetothe uninitiated. Absolutelynone.Theywouldonlyconfusehimand possiblyleadtoseriousmistakes.Onlyafteronehas found aliving Masterandreceived initiation arethesesecrets of anyvalueto him.After that, theyarepriceless. Inthis book our aimistogive the student adefinite outline ofthegeneralprinciples of theMasters'science.Itis not intended todoawaywiththeneedfora Master. That wouldbethe utmost folly.

Before beginning hisexercises,thediscipleis presumed tohave gainedperfect vivek; that is, heis supposed tohave considered the matter thoroughly fromtheintellectualaspect of thesubject.His mind is presumed tobe convinced andinfullaccord.He should

besatisfied that heisontherightpath, that heisadoptirigthe right method, thebestthereis.He must besatisfied that thisisthe . path forhim.Also,he should fullyaccepthisMasterwithcompleteconfidence and trust, withreadinesstofollow him atall costs.

He must never' forone moment presume, tosetuphisown ideasas superior tothe instructions givenbytheMaster,evenin thesmallestdetails. If hecould know better than theMasterin anydetail, then hewouldhavenoneed for aMaster, norshould he think that general instructions givento others bytheMasters do not applytohimself.The .science of theMasters is universal.It appliestoallwithequalforce.He must neverimagine that any particular instruction givenbytheMasteris not so important asit isheldtobe. That weretomakeagraveerror.TheMastergives no instructions that are not important.

. Then one should followtheMasterimplicitly.Ifa student objects that thisisgivinguphisown individuality too much, this point maybeillustrated.A man istomakealong journey byship. Nowhisfirstbusiness concerning that tripis vivek-determining thebestwayto' go. That is, he must selecthisshipandhisroute. When hehas done that, his discrimination ceases.His indepen- . denceofchoiceisnow narrowed down.Hehasdelegatedhisindependence.The captain of hisshipisnowin command. When hesteps aboard that ship,heis rio longerabletoexercisethe freedomofchoiceheonceexercised.He must henceforth obey thecaptainandfollowtheregulationslaiddownforthegovernment of that ship.Hedoes that voluntarily andsolelybecausehe hasonceandfor all decided that theship will takehimtohis . .destination. The situation is much thesameinthe journey weare tomakewiththeMaster.Heisthegreatcaptain,andto go with himwe must obeyhim.

This much being determined, heembarks upon his journey. H.e isalso presumed tohavegained vairag, complete mental detachment fromthe love of theworld 'andallsenseobjects . A man simply cannot takethisworldwithhimonhis journey tohigher worlds.Inhis innermost thoughts, he must be detached fromthe bonds that fetterhim.Heis then readytoproceed.

When hehas done all of theabove, and properly hasseated himself for the allotted time tobegiven to theexercises,he begins on simran(smarana). This means the repetition of certain words given byrhe .Master, which wemay call for of a better term. The .object of simran does not mvolveanyIdea of charms or words of magicalpowers.Itis simply a method of helping the mind to ' come to complete rest and re.mainatrest .in thegiven center. Simran isusedby the world one form or another. It simply means concentratmg the attention upon one thing, then goingover and overit until itis a of the . veryfiber and substance of one's being.Itisonly in thisway that : successcanbe attained. . .

Since the is now to enter the inner worlds,hefixesall . attention upon that which isinside and which belongs t.o. those . inner worlds. When the mind wanders away,the repetItIon of those keynotes will bring it back to the center. The outer world is tobe completely forgotten. Any means which maybe adopted to that end maybehelpful.Butthe Masters giveusthe best means. No man can improve on the Masters' method. It isa method that has . proved and tested for untold of. No man can enter those higher worlds so long as hIS mind lingers •upon things of the outer world. Hence .th e .Mastersspeak of closingthe nine doors of the outer world.The nine doors referred to are: thetwoeyes, thetwoears, thetwo nostrils, the mouth, thesex organ, the rectum.

Thesearethe chief means of holding communication with the outer world. Allthese must be closed-that .is; all attention must be removed from them.

When all the outside world has been shut out , evenin our innermost thoughts, with attention fixed upon the inner center,

then we begin to concentrate at that center. All the -powers of both mind and soul gather at that inner center, and asaresultthe bodily extremities become feelingless. We lose allfeeling or sense of the life and existence of thebody.Weforgetit.The .entire being now moves toward the center and the inner worlds tobe invaded.

When everyray of attention isinside, concentrated atthe proper center, with no wavering thought lingering outside, then the student isina position togetresults.He must getresults.He cannot failtoget them . He will atfirst experience flashes of light or hear sounds-perhaps both. But no matter what hesees or hears,he should not allow his mind to wander from the center. In other words', he must nevergo out afterany orsight.Let them cometo him atthecenter.If you leavethe center, you Will losethelights and sounds also.By and by.with the gathering of all thelife currents of the body atthe center, the powers of the mind and soul will greatly increase. .

When this concentration has reached its maximum within the ability of the individual, thesoulhassufficientforceto penetrate thetenthdoor. .That isan opening inthe subtle body near the middle of the forehead. Atfirst, one onlylooks out through this door. Butby and byhegoes out through it and leavesthe body completely. He then steps .out into a new world which henever saw before.Thisnew world will probably besome subplane the asttal zone.Itis a new dimension tous . Letuscallitthe fourth dimension, ifyouwish;yetthe term has but little meaning.

There isinthe greater universe an almost endlessseries of sets o f three dimensions, oneabovethe other, reaching upto the highestworlds.Eachsetis separated from the one just above or just below itbythedifferencesinthe substances, the fineness or coarseness of particle and the different rates Of vibration. Thesedifferencesmakeonesetinvisibleto people livingin another set,becausetheeyes of people inhabiting oneregion will havea limited range of vision, making it impossible for them toseea region much above or much below their ownregion,to which theyhave been adapted . Thisis the reason we cannot seetheastral worlds byor through our physicaleyes. But with theastraleyes,wecan

seeon that plane just aswellaswecanseeonthephysicalplane withthephysicaleyes.Sowiththestill higher worlds . .With each higher world,orset of dimensions, thelight and the beauty increase materially; alsothe happiness of the inhabitants.

Atthe sublime moment when thedisciple steps out into the higher world,hebeginstorealize that hehas acquired avast increase of powers,aswellasjoy. .It appears tohim, and it isafact too, that hecando almost anything hemaywishtodo. Not only hasheincrease of powers, but hisknowledge and understanding have expanded proportionately. Atthistime, the .whole material universe appears asan open book to him, and all dark mysteries havevanished.In other words,hefinds himself inpossession of allknowledge of theselowerworlds.He now knows them, and he has power over them. From hereonup,each world gainedgives one complete knowledge and power overthe world below him .

Thedisciple . is now freeto proceed onhiswaytostill higher zones.Hemay not allow himself tobe unduly detained in order to enjoythenew world hehas just entered. He must proceed. Betweenthephysical and the pure astralplanes there are many subplanes. Vedantic pundits speak of the sun-worlds first . Then come the moon-worlds and,after that, numerous subzones andfinally . what Vivekananda calls. the lightning-worlds. This corresponds to theplane of the Sahasradal Kanwal,asitis known totheMasters. Itis commonly referred toastheastralregion.Itis full of light · and isvery beautiful when compared withthisworld. It is that region which is commonly considered by many yogisasthesupreme heaven. That isashighastheyareable to ascend,asarule. The lord of that region they regard asthe supreme being.The saintsspeak of him asKal Niranjan, while most Hindus think of him asBrahm, the supreme God.Heis,infact, regarded asthe supreme beingbynearlyallreligions.Thisisbecause they know of nothing higher. It isonlythegreatMasterswho know of thehigher regions and the higher deities,goingonuptothe universal one, out of whom all others come.

Ata point betweenthe sun-worlds andthe moon-worlds and . . the pure astfalzone,thedisciple of the Master enters azonecalled

Ashtadal Kanwal. At that place something happens which changes . thewhole course of hislife and alsohis method of procedure from that point on. It is the meeting withhis.own Master inhis radiant form. Thisisthe Master's nurisarup or 'light form'. Itis theMaster,his own Master, appearing just ashedoesinphysical life,except that his body is now much more beautiful and full of light, brilliantly illumined. The radiant Master then and there receiveshisdisciplewith much love,tothegreatjoy of thedisciple. From that moment on,thetwoarenever separated throughout the journey tostill higher regions. Of course,this form isalways . withthedisciple from the moment of his initiation, but thedisciple cannot seehim.Butfromhereon,thedisciplecanseethe Master on the inner planesaswellasthe outer.

Atthis time another newfeature enters the journey of thestudent.Anewstage marks hiscareer.So· farhissuccesshas only partial, but verygreat. •He has accomplished much, but he has only fairly begun his upward journey. Upto that time,hehas been doing simran, repeating the keynotes.And that hasgiven him fair concentration. Butfrom now on,he will discontinue the simran. He will not needit . He now hasthe presence of theMaster whom he may behold constantly. Thisiscalled dhyan. This sightinspires much love and adoration . Itisthe most perfect dhyan and itis more effective than simran for concentration. In fact, 'atalltimes, even beforethedisciple goes-'inside, hisbest possibleexerciseisto look steadilyatthe Master's form,and particularly hiseyes.If one will take advantage of every moment to looksteadily, with noshifting of vision, right at the Master 's eyes, he will find himself concentrating and goinginside quicker than any other way.Thisis one verygreat advantage adisciplehasin being personally near theMaster.Sowe now have simran and perfectdhyan.Thesearetwo of theessentials in theexercises.

. Atthis point something else of great importance happens, You contact. the audible life stream perfectly and consciously, and Its music will beginto work changesinyou.Yougetalittle of it beforethis .point, but hereyougetit more perfectly.Hereitbegins tofairly enchant you and to pull youupwith increasing attraction

andpower.You will findyourselflisteningtoitwith rapt attention anddeepdelight,completelyabsorbedinit.You will never wishtoleaveitortomissasinglenoteofitsmarvelousstrains.

Ofcourse,yourupwardprogress will be much acceleratedfrom hereon.Itissaidthat the student whoreaches this point may consider that one-half ofhisworkisfinishedforthewholeofhis journey.Whileformerlyyouhadtoexertyour will toholdyour . attention upon thefocus,nowyou will finditequallydifficultto withdraw your attention fromit . TheMasterandthedivinemelodyaresoextremelyattractive.You will mostardentlywishtogo onforeverlookingattheone and listeningtotheother.

You will nowgowiththeMasterintothecapital,thegreat SahasradalKanwal.Itisthecenteroftheastralworlds.Itisthe famouscity of the 'thousand-petalled lotus'.Itisamarveloflight andbeauty,whichI think noonehasever attempted todescribe in much detailsimplybecause it isbeyond human language.One thousand and one gorgeouslights (onelargecentrallight and one thousand smallonesclustered about), eachlightofadifferent tint,andallclusteredtogethersomewhatintheformofa gigantic lotusflower. Itissometimescalled'the mountain oflight' . Itisin facttherealpowerhouseofthephysicaluniverse : From that gigantic dynamo goesforththepowerthatcreatesandsustainsthe entirecreationbelowit,galaxiesafter galaxies, without end.Fur- . therthan thiswemay not here attempt anysortofdescription.He whoarrivesthere will see it. Thenlethimtrytodescribeit.

Entering that region,thedisciple will besooverjoyed that he will wishtoremainthereforever.Livingin that regionare tobe seen many millions of thebestmenandwomen known tohistory, . evenfoundersofworldreligions,sitting and enjoying their meditation orwalking about amidstthebeautiesandsplendorsofthat region.Muchaswewoulddelighttogoonwith our descriptions ofthis and stillhigherregions,we must stophere.Wecouldnot describe them if wewould ; andwould not ifwecould.Thatconcernsonlythose students whohavemadeprogressuptothat point.Itsknowledgedoes not belongtoonewhoisstillconfined . tothe earth plane, nor woulditdohimtheleastgoodifgivento him . .

5 . THE TECHNOLOGY OF THIS YOGA

Ithasalreadybeensaid that a good morallifeistheveryfirst prerequisite tobecomingadiscipleoftheSatguru.Thismaybe calledthe dharma ofthis path, calledbyMuslimsaintsthe shariat, thelawoflife, that whichistobe ·doneor ought tobedone.All thisistakenforgranted,evenbeforeonestartsonthe path ofthe Masters. Of course,every student must bewell grouridedinthe fundamental lawsofrighteousness.He must alsopracticethereal dharma inallhislife. Without it,he cannot evenmakeastart. .Sittinginthe proper position,with mind detachedfromtheworld, isthe asana of thispath.Thereisno pranayama inthisyoga,as i t hasnoplaceinthesystemoftheMasters.Fixingthe mind atthe prescribedcenter,bringing it toone point, isthe dharana ofthe yogis of Patanjali. Of course,thishas to be doneifoneistogo inside.BeholdingtheMasterwithalovinggaze,either in thephysicalformorthe radiant form,isthedhyanofthispath.Thishasto bedoneinanycase.Butinthisyoga,simrancomesfirst,before dhyan.Thenaftersimran and dhyancomes bhajan, aformof exercisenotknowntoany other system.Itconsists of listeningto theSotind, ' theaudiblelifestream.Thereason that no other systemhasthisis becausetheyknow nothing oftheaudiblestream, the Shabd-dhun. Thustheymissthemostvital thing inthewhole process.

Allthesethings enumerated aboveleadoneuptosamadhi,to actuallygoinginside andstepping out upon theastralregions,as suggestedabove.

Thehighestformof samadhi is nirvikalpa. This ·isgainedby disciplesoftheMasterwhen they enter the third region.Itis there thattheybehold as pure spirit,afterleaving behind all materialcoverings. Butthisstageisnever attained bythe ordinary yogi. Hisso-called nirvikalpa isonamuchlowerplane,isanegativestateandis not real nirvikalpa atall.Itisonlyareflectionof thereal.Alltherest of thetermsusedbyyogisaredescriptiveofso manymentalstatesexperiencedon.theastralplaneoronsome planebelowthat.But the most .important thing about allyogic

PASSING THEGATES OFD EATH

systemsisthe complete absencein them of allknowledge of the Shabd and reliance upon itfor entering the higher regions. Without it,no one canadvanceveryfaronthe inner path.

This, then, isthesystem of yogaas taught and practiced by ail saintssincethe beginning of time.Wehavegivenonlyafew hints of it,so that thegeneral reader may not bewhollyinthe dark concernirig it. Further details cannot begiventothegeneral public, but will begivenbythe Master to an whom heinitiates. Of course ; in undertaking thissystem of practice, the mental preparations discussedin Chapter Tenare supposed tohavebeengained as completely aspossible.This preparation should, infact,beacquired beforeonecomestothe Master orseeks initiation. Ifitis not gainedbefore .initiation, it certainly must be done afterward. . Butnow, out of greatmercy and kindness,thesaintsusuallygive initiation first,So that itmayhelp the weakeronestomake better progressin self-preparation. Itis a fact much tobe regretted that some students misusethisverygreatprivilege; that is,some of them get initiation and then lapse into idle indifference-either that or they looktothe Guru to do itallfor them. Inthisway many spend the whole of their lives making practically no headwayonthe path. And yet,evenifsome of them dofallbytheway entirely, they will do better inthenextlife if theyhaveto return heredueto their own lack of effort.

Itmaybe mentioned, bytheway, that thegreatMasterssay but little about the technical terms used to designatetheseveral s.teps on their path. Theygenerallytell their students inthe plainest, simplest words just what they are todo. Interest in technical terms is limited mostly toscholars.Butasthis book has been undertaken togivetheteachings of theMastersinascientific statement, ithasbeen thought besttogivethe more important technical terms usedbyscholars, and then explain their meanings, so that . thescholarly student mayhavenodifficultyinplacingthesystem inits relation toall other systems.Thisscience of theMastersis far and awaythe most efficacioussystem.Thisschemetakes the student, stagebystage,fromtheearliest beginnings onthe occult path uptothehighest,the supreme goal; and by virtue of that

progress,hepassesfromthe status of an ordinary man ' tothe 'sublime degree of a master-man ' ..

Many subdivisions could be made inthisscheme, but it is not deemed wiseto confuse the study withtoo many unimportant details.Letitbe repeated herealso that thissystem of yogais not tobe undertaken without first getting initiation from arealMaster.Ifyoutrytomakeuse of it without a Guru, you will besureto fail, and besides,youmay run into unforeseen difficulties. Either with or without thisbook,no one canevermakehisescapefrom . the net of karma until heplaceshis destiny inthe hands of aliving Satguru.

6. PASSING THE GATES OF DEATH

It will be 'apparentto the careful student that thissystem of spiritualexercises, taught and practiced byall the Masters,carries the student actually through thegates of death. After that he enters regions 'above the play of death, aswe know it.Heisalsoableto return tothis plane at will, retaining perfect memory of allhehas seen and heard. Thisisone of the minor achievements of 'the student. The samadhi of thissciencetakesthe ' student through and beyond death. Of course,thissolvesonceforallthe most serious problem which hasever confronted the human race--the problem of death and what lies beyond. it.This fact of experience has not remained wholly unknown tothe world 's greatest thinkers. Plutarch, forexample,said:

At 'the moment of death thesoul experiences thesame impressions, passes through thesame process as those whoare initiated into the Great Mysteries.

Thisistheexact teaching of the Masters , and itisthe common experience of all initiates whomakesomeadvance on the path. But instead of the ancient initiation by means of which the neophytewasmerely shown a momentary glimpse of something above

andbeyondthephysicalworld)theMastersinitiate students into the path andgive them the method bymeans of whichtheycan goandcomeat will betweenthis and higherworlds.Thisiswhat iscalleddying daily) or dying while we live. Itisa part ofthedaily routine ofadvancedstudents.The student leaveshisbody much inthesamewayadying man leavesit)exceptthatthe student doesit voluntarily andtheprocessis always under hisowncontrol) and .he cancomebackintothebodyany moment hewishes to return. Otherwise)hispassing out ofthisbodyispracticallythe sameasthat of thedyingman.He thus learns what deathmeans) andalsowhatliesbeyond death-even becoming acquainted with thefuture home towhichheistogowhenhefinallyleaveshis body.Hemayalsoconversewithfriendswhohavelongagoleft theirbodies.

.

Thismasterfulachievement cannot failtointerestthestudent) sinceitsolvesthegravest problems of lifeanddestiny.Thisisone phaseofthegreatworkoftheMasters.Theyhave broken theseal ofdeath)andsoto them and their students thereisno more death.Andall of thisispositiveknowledge)not speculation or guess. Neitherisit interpretation ofany book. Alltheworld)the Westernworldinparticular)has .been accustomed .to thinking that no man knowsorcanknowwhatliesbeyondtheportals of 'death . Theyassert)with apparent finality) that deathlandsus upon somemysticshorefrom "whose bourne notravelerever returns." Of course)a.fewassume that death endstheindividualcareer of man.Buttheseneed not concern ushere.They will learntheir mistakeinduetime. It istime that menceaseto think ofdeathin sucha gloomymood. In fact) thereisnodeathatall.Thereis simplyashiftingofthe scenes) anawakeninginanewworld.

Deathisaglaringdeception . TheMastersand thousands of their students know preciselywhatdeathis and whatliesbeyond it.Theyknowitisonlyanappearance.Theyhavethemselves 'crossedtheGreatDivide' many times) and theycantellus all about it.Buttheyfinditdifficulttogetpeopletobelievethem, Thewholeworldhasforages shuddered atthis ominous hut inevitablefatewhichhangsoverusall.Theydreaditbecausetheydo

PASSING THE GATES OFDEATH

not understand it. It' islikeachildcryingatthedarkness.Itis afraidbecauseit cannot seewhatis there. Peoplefeardeathbecausetheydo not knowwhatitinvolves. '

"In spite ofthegeneralignoranceonthesubject)theMasters knowwhatdeathmeans)andtheyarereadyto impart theirknowl edgeto all who will listentothem.Notonlyaretheyreadyto impart theirknowledge concerning thematter) but theyareready toshowtheinvestigatorjusthowhemayacquire the sameknowledge.

TheMastersandmany of their students passdaily through 'the gates of death)andhencetheyknowallofthe problems connected withthematter. They have exploredworldsriponworldsbeyond thegatesofdeath.All of .thistheydoin full consciousnessasa directresult of their 'practiceofSuratShabdYoga.TheMaster leaveshisbodyat will inalniostexactlythesame manner asthe dyingmanleavesit.Thishasbeensaid many times.Itisrepeated hereforthesakeofemphasis.Theideaisnoteasyto put over.But assaidbefore)theMasterhas complete control overtheprocess and may return at will) whilethe ordinary man indeathisa helplessvictim of theprocess. TheMasterneverlosesconsciousness) andwhenhe returns tohisbody) hehas complete memory , ofeveryexperiencehehad during hisabsencefromthebody . Of course)thisisa bold achievement)the most marvelousofall achievementsofman.Butthe beauty of itis that thisaccomplishment lieswithinthepowerofanyman. . Herequiresonlythe knowledgeofhowtogo about itand then alittle application to ' thetask.

Afteroneisabletoleavehisbodyvoluntarily)thereisnotonly nodeathforhiminthe ordinary sense of somedreadfulcatas- : trophe, but thereisnotevena moment ofunconsciousnessora, shadowofdarkness.One steps out ofthisbodyat will and in full possessionof ail ofhis faculties. , Heknowsexactlywhatheis doingandremains always in full control oftheprocess. Is this not an accomplishment worthy ofany man's effort?Ofcourse)the Masterandallhisdisciplesleavetheirbodieswhenthetimecomes for them togo. Butwhen that timecomes)theygoastheydid

PASSING THE GATESOFDEATH

before, only at that time they severall connection with the body and discard itfinally. Then they goas liberated soulsrising on wings of power and delight. They simply step out of their bodies and go,as one would step out of aclose,stuffy room into a beautiful garden.

When the Master leaves the physical plane, hegoes where he wishes,forheis Master of all higher regions. If he pauses on the astral plane, he there useshis astral body. If hegoes on upto the causal plane, he functions there inhiscausalbody. And ifhegoes upto the third plane he discards all bodies, and from there .on up heactsasfree spirit, unlimited and unhindered. As pure spirit, he knows all things by direct perception, without any sort of instrument of contact such ashewas obliged to use on all the lower planes.Thedying man, of course, breaks all connection with his . body when heleavesit; but the Masters, when they leave the body asa part of their dailywork,leavea sort of connection with itso that they may return toitat will. This connection is poetically calledin the Bible "the silver cord." We .read:

Oreverthesilvercordbeloosed,or thegoldenbowlbe broken,...

(Ecc. 12:6)

That isnever broken by the Master orhisdisciple until they are ready toleave the body forall time . Then they of their own will break the silver cord and pass on upto perfect freedom. And this isall there isto that muchdreaded thing that men call death.

Now,after death, what happens? Where do ' we go and what happens tous?To answer this question, wehave divided mankind into .four distinct classes or groups ; and the reason is that each of these four groups meets with a different sort of experience after death.

(1) The ' first class includes allwhohavenoMaster,orSatguru. This, of course, takesin the great bulk of mankind. All of theseare obliged to meet the emergencies of death unsupported, unescorted, absolutely alone and helpless under the law of their own karma. They are now toreceive payment infullfor what they have

earned in their life just finished . Of them the messengers of death ask not When theyshallcome, neither do they listen to their cries of distress. They arerelentless , merciless. They operate under the orders of their master , thenegative power, whose duty itisto administer absolute justice withnofavoritism.Asweallknow, thisclass includes the vast majority of mankind . No matter to . what religion they may belong, no difference between king or peasant, no matter how good or how bad, allalike must face ' the . dark angel' and followwhereheleads. They must go when the hour strikes , whether they arereadytogoor not. Their individual wishesare not consulted. There isno remedy, noescape.No man canstaythe hand of death when the inevitable moment arrives. All must face death alone and meet itsissues.

Let no one imagine that hisLord of some past age will come to his relief at the moment of death. It is not so.His religion and "the. founder of that religion Will do him but little good when hefaces the Dharam Rai of that ' courtto which he must go . That summons he must answer and there he must appear in person to answer the stern demands of the law-the law of karmic justice, Each and every soul of thisclassis escorted to the court of the king-judge , there to " givean account of the deeds done inthe body,"as the book says.

This accounting is not postpon ed until some future time when all mankind iscalledup and judged. Each one is judged immediatelyafter death. There isno such thing asa general judgment day.Every man's judgment daycomes immediately afterhis death. That court isalwaysinsession, and before that judge there will be n o attorney forthedefense.Eachone is judged according tohis own record , and the sentence is pronounced in strict accord with justice . Butitisa justice in which there isno mercy or clemency of the court. From that sentence there isno appeal and norelease on probation. If a person has been very bad, livingaselfishlife, indulging hisevil passions, his sentence will send him to some region of and disciplinary punishment.

. This sentence is not final , like that of the orthodo x hells. It is intended to purge that soul of hisevil mind . He himself will know

and fully approve of his own sentence ; forhe will know that it is exactly what hehas earned. When the period of his discipline expires, which may beyears,a century or athousand years,hehas another chance to make good.He returns to earthly lifefor another birth and another chance to create for himself better karma. The deep impressions of his bitter experiences will be retained, and he will bring them with him into the new life, although he may not actually remember the details of it. Automatically he will then shun those paths of evil which formerly brought him togrief. In the next life, heis then sure tohavea better record.

If one hasliveda better life,he will be sent toa better environment, ' to some sort of paradise where he may enjoy the good which hehas earned, there torest and recuperate, sotospeak, until the time arrivesfor him to return to earthly life once more. Butineach and every' case one receivesexactly what hehas earned, and ineachcasehe must sooner or later return tobe born once , more on this or, some other earth. If one has lived avery exalted and noble life,he earns thereby the privilege of a long sojourn in some region of pure delight, there toawaithis eventual return to earth. He may thus enjoy a thousand ora million yearsin some , heaven; but as certainly as time rolls ,on,he must finally return to earthly lifeafterhis earnings have been spent. Thus each and.every one must tread the wheel of birth and death, age after age, until his good karma eventually brings him toaliving Master.

(2) The second classare theywhohavereceived initiation froma livingMaster , but whohave done but littleor nothing in the way of spiritual exercises.Afew may have actually indulged their passionsin unworthy conduct. As aresult,theyhave made noprogress onthe path. Yet they have Master. What happens to them after death? In what respect do their experiences differ from the common lot of mankind? There isavery important difference. The Mastermeets them at death ora little before. That is,he makes . himself visibleto them and he notifies them that their time isup. They must go. They respond with joy.At ' leastwehavenever known or heard of one whowas not gladtogo with the Master at the time of his or her depart;ure, and that without hesitation. They

fear nothing, havenoregretsat having toleave their families or the world.

No matter if they live ten thousand miles from the Master in the body,heis there ina form visibleto them, toreceive them and gowith them. He comes to them inhis radiant form, his astral form.As soon as they leave the physicalbody, the Master himself takes them to that region orlocality which they have earned. There ' heplaces them ina sort of training school where they make good progress under his directions. If they have done very wrong, the Master himself administers whatever punishment or discipline he may deem necessary, They then continue in their training school until the time COmes when they arefittogo higher. Butinnocase doesanydisciple of a true Master evergo before the king-judge, nor does the black angel of death ever approach him at the time of death. He cannot approach adisciple of areal Satgu fu. The Master himself is there totakecare of hisown. The Master isalways lord of the situation. There isno power above him. The Satguru is the embodiment of the supreme one, and as such hehas power to do whatever helikes, and no one can obstruct his path. , '

(3)The third classare theywhohavemadegood progress onthe ' path of theMasters, but have not yet attained sainthood themselves.All of thisclass know the day and the hour when they are ' togo long before itcomes. The entire process of death is unde rtheir control, and there isnevera shadow of difficultyordistress . during the process of passing. Neither do they lose consciousness forasingle moment. Theypass out of the body aseasilyas one would layoff anold garment. In their daily practice, they have already gone through that process many times, so the whole per- . formance is quite familia r to ' them. Many times already they have visited the region to which they are now topass. It is just like going back home . The only difference between their fornier visits to that region and thisfinalexit from the physical world is that now they break the silver cord and release themselves from the body forever. Separation being now complete, they arefreetogo where theywish without bonds of anysort. They go directly to that region, under the escort of the ir Master, where they are, to

abideforthetime until they arereadytogohigher . Of course,the Masteriswith them during all of thischange.Theymake it in great joy and of their ownfreewill.Thereisno compulsion. Of course,theyhaveabsolutely nothing todowiththe dark angelor withtheking-judge.Likethe second class,theyaretakencare of bytheMaster.Itisanoccasion of joyful homecoming.

These ,twoclassesnever return to earthly lifeagain,unlessitis sowilled and ordered bytheMaster.Generally,theyaretaken on up,gradebygrade,until ,theyreachthehighest. It isextremely fortunate for: any student ifhehasbeenabletoreachSachKhand beforeheleavesthephysicalbody.The wayto thisis open toall, andtheycandoitiftheydothe required work.Butinactual practice, not averylarge percentage ever accomplish so much. Butineverycase,disciples of theMasteraresavedfromthemonotonous rounds of reincarnation. Their dreary cycle of birth and death isfinished.

(4)The fourth and lastclass are theMastersthemselves. When thetimecomes that a Master wishestoleavehis body foralltime, hesimplylays it down of hisownwill and steps out of it,ashehas sooften done before,onlynowhebreaksthe cord and discards .the body asan instrument forwhichhehasno further use.His disciples prepare it and takeittothefuneral ,pyre.The entire process of hispassing,aswellasall' circumstances connected with , it,are under hisown control, and thereisnevera momentary shadow of unconsciousness. He remains Mastereven through the , process of ,hisowndeath. .TheMastersarelords of life and of death,a truth sooften emphasized in these pages. They maydo exactlyastheypleaseatalltimes, and noonecaninterfere.After leaving their bodies,theyriseatonceaboveallphysicalor materialworlds,abovealllower heaven-worlds, and takeup their residencewherevertheymayseefit, according to their duties and responsibilities , entering upon their higherdutiesasthesemay have been assignedto them bythe supreme one.

It maybesaidinpassing that theMastersdo not 'generally ,remain in their physicalbodies much, ifany,longer than theusual , time allotted to ordinary mortals. Theygenerallylet nature take

itscourseinall matters physical, although theyhave plenary pow ": ersto interfere withtheusual routine iftheyseefittodoso. It is not generally their plantointerfere.Theycould remain in their bodiesfor centuries oreven thousands of years iftheywishedto , doso and deemed itwise.Butasaruletheydonot. Manyyogishavebeen known tokeep their bodiesfor centuries, and anyhigherlevelyogicandoit . Butyogisare not Masters of thehighest order. TheMastersobservethelaws of thisworld and carryon their work in harmony withthoselawsascloselyaspos- ' sible. Their work isstrictly of a spiritual nature, and theydo not wishto interfere withthe 'rulesgoverningaforeign country in whichtheyhave but a temporary interest.Theycometothisworld foradefinite purpose and theystickto that purpose and work as closelyaspossible.Afterall,whatadvantage would itbeifthey should livein .the body forafew centuries oreven thousands of years?Theygoontoahigher work, leaving their successorsto carryonhere.The supreme Sat Purush does not tohaveone of hisbelovedsons remain hereinthis dark region,the nature of whichis more likea prison . When theyhavefinishedthe work assignedto them, they are welcomed home toenjoy their reward. It would beaverygreatsacrificeto remain hereindefinitely.While theywould be willingtomake that sacrifice,yetthe supreme Father does not 'wish them todoso. ' ,

7 . THE FINAL GOAL ,

Ineveryage, there isonevital point of distinction whichsets that ageofffromall other ages. That isitsdegree of spirituality. Spirituality is infacttheverysoul and substance of-civilization.Every civilizationineveryage of theworld, whether high or low,corresponds inexactratiotoitsdegree of spirituality. Nothing elsecan evermakeacivilization.Mental superiority produces norealcivilization. Culture, literature, art,do not makecivilization.Refined tastesdo not makecivilization. 'Thereisavastdifferencebetween aesthetics and ethics.Evenethics,initshighest development, does

not constitute civilization. Love alone makes civilization, and love is of the 'essence of pure spirit.

Asthe world becomes depleted of its spirituality, all manner of evilsbeset it, affecting both the individual and therace,eventhe worlditself. Degeneration is brought about through the destructive action of thefivepassions,whichnevercease their inroads upon.the individual and .thewhole world ingeneral. ' , Thereisalwaysthe ebbing of thetides.We must not overlook that. Periodicity isalaw of nature, just as much asthesurvival ' of thefittest . During theages of decline, there islesseffortto curb thepassions, until atlastthey become dominant. Littlebylittle, men losethelight of understandingjthey no more hear the inner inspiring Shabd, and they loseallknowledge of the higher worlds. Materialism coversthe world. ina dark mantle, for superstition always.follows upon gross materialism. Firstthe mind becomes fiercely self-assertive, then dogmatically materialistic; and lastly, when learning dies out, itisfollowedby all forms of superstition. Man sinks into stupid savagery.As conditions oflife become more and more hostileto man's comfort and welfare, man's numbers decrease. Finally, amere remnant of theraceisleft; battling hard foritsexistenceinahostile environment. Atthis point the entire race is' threatened with extinction : Then a peculiar thing happens. Atthevery moment when men are driven tothewall, compelled to fightfor· their veryexistence, that very strugglebeginstolead toward salvation. . ' .

.As too much ease and comfort leadtodegeneracy,so hard battle develops more sturdy qualities.The fight was ' forced upon mankind byitsown degeneracy and inefficiency. Butthefight, now having grownverykeen,beginstoawakenin man his higher . fatulties,new powers of thinking and acting,faculties which his degeneracy had dulled and deadened. Andthisisthe turning point forthe human race. Timed tosuitthestruggles of man whenhe fightsforself-existence, there isanincreaseinthe spirituality of thewhole human race.This spirituality becomes the motive power of hisnewlyawakenedefforts. It is the beginning of anewera. Foragestheracehas been moving downgrade, but now man

beginshisslowascent.Hebeginstoclimbback towards true civi lization. In other words,theage-long degenerative processisre -. versed , and the human raceslowlyretracesitssteps back tothe heightswhence 'it descended: It isafact of great interest that the depletion of spirituality inthewhole world runs paralleltothe progressive degeneracy of mankind. Likewise,the regeneration of mankind runs parallel tothefresh charging of the world itself with new spiritual force.The beginning of the upward march of mankind is then duetotwogreat factors-his enforcedstruggle forexistence and the -simultaneous replenishing of the world itself . withnew spiritual life. That thesetwoevents of such world signifi.: cance should occur atthesame time isinthe order of nature, and ' belongsinthe rhythmic cycles of the universe; Ican almost hear some Western criticssay: "Why don't Masters take measures to prevent the downward driftof mankind?" The answeris that theMastersdo not interfere withthe natural order. It hasbeenonthe program from the beginning of time.These ages must come,astheyare ordained bythe Creator. Itisno part of the duty of theMastersto interfere in world processes. Their duty istohelp individuals toescapethismelee of troubles. And one thing we should alwayskeepin mind-the Supreme is in: command inthis world and he will manage affairs to thebest advantage.We need not doubt it.Justas certainly asthe planets movein their orbits, sosurely will this world goonasthe Creator ' wishesitto .. No man or group of men canwrecktheworld.No nation or ' group of nations canwrecktheworld. No nation or group of nations canmakethe Creator's plan miscarry. It isfolly to become, an alarmist. And in all thisConfusion and strife,the Mastersare doing all theycanfortheworld,while their chief attention is centered upon therelief of individuals who areready tomake their wayupand out of this world of conflict.

Theworldhasneverbeen without alivingMaster. Beneath ' all other impelling forcesinthe creation, spirituality isthe primary cause. That, and that alone,isthe driving force that alwaysleaps . upto join itssource.In every livingbeing, from tiny plant upto man ? the spiritual flame of lifeis struggling upward arid onward

toward its source of being) and thisprocess and thisstruggle must goon until thelastspeck of dust returns tothe central fires of infinite being.

Themessage of theMastersfillsthe world withhope) and at the same time itoffersa rational foundation forsuchhope.It not onlytells people what they should do) but itoffers them a definite method of doing it . Inthe march of the ages) cycleafter cycle) in every planet where human beingsreside)thegreatMastersarethe light bearers of that world. Until the end of the . ages) they will remain thefriends and saviors of those whostruggle toward . the . light.

ledfromthe unreal tothereal)

Be led from darkness tolight, Beledfrom death to immortality.

THE END

UPANISHAD

Glossary

AdiGranth

Original ( adi) Scripture (granth); sacred scripture of theSikhs; Granth Sahib; contains the teachings of Guru Nanak, his successors and other saints. C ompiledchieflyby Guru Arjan , the fifth Guru intheline of Guru Nanak, about theyear 1604·

Original ( adi) action causing reaction (karma) , karma of the beginning, not earned b y the individual, but established by the Creator in the beginning. Seealso: karma. .

Inaccessible ( agam) Region (10k); the name of the seventh spiritual region. Agam Purush is the supreme being presiding over AgamLok

Ego or I-ness ; one of thefive deadly passions (lust, anger , greed , attachment , ego ); pride and vanity; also one of the four d ivisions of mind , its function isto separate self and selfinterests from all else.Seealso : antashkaran.

Nonviolence , not hurting anylivingbeing,by either word or act .

Ancient Persian name forthe lord oflife (ahura) and lord of wisdom (mazda), especiallyin Zoroastrianism.

Timeless (akaT) Being (purush); the one whois beyond the sphere of b irth and death ; the supreme positive power , as opposed toKal,the negative power.

Skyorheaven, ' ether ' , the highe st of the five elements, which r emains dormant in all living forms exceptthe human. See also : tattwa.

AkalPurush

AhuraMazda

ahimsa

ahankar

AgamLok

adikanna

GLOSSARY

THEPATHOFTHEMASTERS

Sound or voice (bani) from thesky (akash); heavenly music; W?rd orLogos; audible life stream. Seealso: Shabd.

Indelible; imperishable; Akshar Purush isthe appellation for God , the creative power

Invisible (alakh) Region ([ok); the sixth spiritual region, Alakh Purush isthe supreme being presiding over Alakh Lok, Imper ishable ; beyond dissolution. Seealso: Shabd. The Islamic name forGod.

Limitless (anahad) Sound (shaM): the Word -or divine ereor AnahadShabd ative power. Alsocalledthe unstruck sound , Logos . Seealso: Shabd. '

AnhadShabd

Nameless (anami) Region ([ok); the eighth spiritual region, presided over by Anami Purush , Radha Soami, the supreme being.

Egg;the astral region, the gran-d division of the creation lying immediately above the physical realm, Pind.

Mental organ or mind; combination of the four faculties of the mind. Seealso: manas, buddhi, chit and ahankar.

Posture; in spiritual practice, a meditative pose, with body erect, mind inpoise.

Eight-petalled (ashtdaf) lotus (kanwal) ; the name of thecenter beyond theeye center where thedi sciple first meets the Radiant Form of the Master.

That part of the subtle universe which lies above thephysical worlds;thefirst spiritual region, known asSahasradalKanwal.

Demons. 'AsuraLok,the region of demons. Inthe oldest portions of theRigVeda, Asura is used forthe supreme spirit; later, .sura came to mean ' gods', and asura, ' demons', 'enemies of God '.

Soul or spirit. Seealso: paramatma, jivatma.

Spirit world, referring generally tothe astral plane orfirst region; more technically, refersto Daswan Dwar , the third spiritual region, where the soul gainsself- realization

awagawan

Coming and going;refersto age-long cycles of births and deaths; transmigration, reincarnation Seealso: chaurasi Bani

Voice , word or' teachings; the Voice or Word of God, the audible life stream. Seealso: Shabd. bhajan Worship or spiritual practice; listening tothe melody of the Shabd within . Also used asan expression of outer devotional songs .

bhakt or bhakta Devotee. bhakti Devotion bhakti mug The path ( marg) of devotion (bhakti ) . Seealso: prem margo Bhanwar Gupha Revolving (bhanwar) Cave (g/jpha); the name of the fourth spiritual region

bibek See: vivek,

blna orbeen

bodhisattva

See: vina

One whoison the wayto attainment of perfect knowledge and has only a certain number of births to undergo before attaining the state of a supreme Buddha.

Brahm

Brahma

The ruler of Trikuti, the second spiritual region; known also asthe ruler of Brahm Lok, the name giventothe Three Worlds; regarded by many as the supreme being.

, God of creation in the Hindu trinity of creator, preserve r, destroyer (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva ).

brahmachlirya· Brahmand

brahmin Buddha buddhi .

causal region

The practice of celibacy, remaining continent.

Egg of Brahm; the grand division of the creation extending from Anda upto Bhanwar Gupha; the entire universe over which Brahm has jurisdiction.

A member of the highest of the four Hindu castes;a priest.

. The great sage, Prince Siddhartha of the Sakyaclan . The religion of Buddhism is based on his teachings.

Intellect; one of the four phases of mind ' Seealso: antashkaran.

See: Trikuti.

aboa

astral region aura atIDapad

asana

antashkaran or antahkaran

Anda

AnamiLok

akshar alaya Allah

Ashtdal Kanwal or Ashatdal Kamal

AkashBani

chakra chaurasi orchaurasi kachakra chela chit,chitt or chitta dama dand darshan DasWanDwar desh devaor devta dham DharamRai dharma

megba

THEPATHOF THE MASTERS

Wheel;center;ganglion;any of thesixenergycentersinthe human body,with parts resembling thepetals of alotus.See also:kanwal.

Eighty-four; thewheel of eighty-four, orthewheel of transmigration. The name indicates the concept in Indian mythologyand Hindu scriptures ofeightmillionfour hundred thousand speciesinthe creation. Mysticshave adopted this phrase totell of the multiplicity of births that soulspass through in the creation, according tothelawof karma . Seealso: karma, awagawan .

Disciple.

Consciousness; oneofthefourdivisions of mind; thefaculty of remembering and discerning beauty,formandcolor . See also: antashkaran.

Restraining or subduing thepassions, curbing the mind

Self-discipline; punishment; law oflife.

Vision,sight or seeing; implies looking intently attheMaster withadeepfeeling of respect, devotion and one-pointed attention.

Tenth (daswan) Gateor Door ( dwar); the name of the third spiritual region .

Compassionate one;a term forthe supreme being,thepositiveand merciful power,as opposed toKal,the lord of judgment,who metes out relentlessjustice.

Country orregion; inner region.Seealso:SatDesh.

Shining ones; personifications of theforces of nature; gods, angels.

Regionorabode , placeorhome . Seealso: RadhaSoamiDham.

KingJudge,the lord of justice , who administers rewardor punishment tothesoulafter death, according toitsown actions during life.

Righteousness orduty; moral religious duty inlife.

A particular state of concentration ( samadhi) whichfreesthe mind fromallactivity, inward or outward; a person insucha stateissaidto radiate alightlike.a mantle of glory.

Sound ormelody;the Word, theheavenlymusic. See also: Shabd.

The inexpressible primal sound , which cannot be written or spoken or heard withthephysicalears ; the inner musi c which canbe experienced onl y bythesoul.

Inner.contemplation. A meditation technique taught bysaints inwhichthedevotee contemplates ontheform of the Master within . . .

The Copper Age, the third yugainthecycle of theages. See also:yuga.

Atitle of respectgivenbytheSikhs totheAdi Granth. Seealso:Adi Granth.

Attribute orquality; there arethree attributes orqualities of primordial matter ( prakriti) out of whichthe creation proceeds (harmony, action and inertia), thesource of whichisin Trikuti. Seealso: satogun , rajogun , tamogun.

Master ; teacher; spiritual enlightener. Onewho se faceis turn ed towards the Guru; onewhohas completely surrendered tothe Guru as opposed toonewhois slave tothe mind ( manmukh); ahighly advanced soul;a term sometimes usedforasaintorperfect Master .

A learned person;onewhopracticesorwalksonthe path of knowledgeandwisdom ( gyan).

Thepathorway (marg ) oflearning. Seealso: bhakti margo

That formof yoga which attempts toachieve God-realization through the acquisition of knowledge . Seealso:gyan margo

Swan;symbolicof purity, thenamegiventothehighlyeyolved soulsintheregions beyond Brahm;theless-evolved soulsare oftenlikenedtocrows.

On e of the Hindu systems of yoga,whichdealswiththe ph ysical body only.

See: sushumna.

An honorific term which indicates respectand endearment

jivanmukti jivatma JnanaYoga jot or jyoti

Salvation whil e alive, spir itual lib eration during this lifetime .

Soul embodi ed in the ph ysical form.

See:GyanYoga.

Light,flame ; r efers to the light of the first spiritualr egion , Sahasr a:dal Kanwal.

kakusha

Kal

A highly developed soul, on e who ha s attain ed true knowled ge.

Time or death; the negative power , the universal mind , the ruler of the three p eri shabl e world s(physical, astral, ca usal); a lsocalled Dharam Rai, the l ord of j udgment, and Yam a, the lord of death . Kal's headqua rters arein the second spiritual region , Trikuti , of whi ch heis the r uler. Another name for Brahm.

kani

Lu st, passion, desire; one 'Ofthefive passions (Just, anger, greed, attachment , ego ) . Seealso: krodh , lobh , moh , ahankar.

kanwal or kamal Lotus ; an image u sed to describe the energy center s, both in the physical body and inthe inner regions . Seeal so : chakra; Saha sradal Kanwal.

karamkanda karan shark

Rituals,r ites, ceremonie s and outward pract ices in the variou s-religion s.

Causal body; also called seed body ( bij sharir), because the seeds of all karmas reside init;all such actions or karmas manifest in the lower astral and physical body The causal body corre spond s tothe causal region. Seealso: Trikuti.

karma kriyaman krodh

Action ; the law of action and reaction; the debits and credits r e sulting from our de eds, which bring u s back to the world in future lives t o r eap their fruit s . There ar e three type s of. karma : pralabdhkarma , th e fateor destin y weexperience in th e pre sent lifewh ich hasbe en sh aped by certain of our past a ct ion s; kriy aman karma , the debits and cre dits created by our action sinthislife, tobe reaped in future lives; sinchit karma, thebal arice of unpaid karmas from all our past lives, th estore of karma s.

Karma cr eatedinthe pr esent life.Seealso : karma.

Anger ; one o f the five de adly p assion s (lu st, anger, greed, a ttachment a ndego). See al so: kam , lobh , moh ,aha nkar.

Coiled energy situated at the base of the spine, above the lowe st center ( mul chakra). When aroused , itr ises up through the central canal of the spine, unwinding serpentlike;a practicetobe shunned bysatsangis,asitcaneasily di ssipate spiritual energy and causeillness,in sani o r death.

Aform of yoga in which the disciple m erges hi s individuality inth at of the Guru or Shabd .

Greed , one of the five deadl y passions (lu st, anger, greed , attachment and ego ). Seeal so: kam , krodh, moh , ahankar.

The wise men of the East; priests of ancient Persia.

Gre at

Th e great Kal, ruler of the upper part of Brahmand

. Great mu sic; the inner musi c, or audible life stream.

The great void ; the name givento the upper part of the third spiritual region , Da swan Dwar; itisa region of impenetrable darkness that canbecro ssed only with the Ma ster.

Mind, the faculty of receiving and tasting; the mind -stuff itself Seealso : antashkaran.

Literally,facing the mind; one who obeys the dictates of the mind; a materialist or worldly per son as opposed toa spiritual person Seealso: gurumukh.

An ancient lawgiver who divided Indian society into the four ca stes.

A mu sical in strument, resembling a long drum.

Path orwa y.

Illusion; all which is not true and eternal . Name givento the goddess Shakti. Seealso:Kal , Shakti.

Attachment; worldly attachments Of entanglements; one of the five deadly passions (lust, anger , greed, attachment, ego).

See also : kam , krodh , lobh, ahankar.

Salvation or liberation from thecycle of tr an smigration ( chaurasi).

m oksha

maya moh

mug

Manu

manmukh

manas

MahaSunn

MahaKal mahanada

LayaYoga magi maha mardang ormridang

GLOSSA RY lobh

kundalini

T HE PAT H OF TH E M ASTERS

462

mumuksha Mundaka mODi murshid Nad-bindu Nam nijmanas ornijman nirguna nirvikalpa . nurisarup · om Ormuzel

Parbrahm Paramatma paramsant Pind pingala prakriti

T HEPATHO FTH EMASTE RS

One whodesirestoattairi liberation (moksha); thestate of being a mumuksha.

Th e name o fone of the Upani shads.

One who hear s orexp erienceswithin;a sage,hol y m an.

Sufi term forMaste r

Seed sound ; the Sound out ofwhichall things grow.

Name ; th e Shabd, Logos, or Word ; thed ivinecreativepo wer.

Th e inner mind , corre spond ing tocau sal bod y ( karan sharir).

Without attribute s; appellation forGod.Seealso:guna.

Unwav ering, concentrated ; a state of deep meditation ( samadhi ) in whichthedi sciple cannot d istingui sh himself from the object o f m editation.

Light body, theRadi ant Form o ftheMa ster, the astralform.

The sound symbolo f Brahm; audible life str eam or sound of th e second spiritualregion . Seealso: Shabcl. · .

Th e oldPer sian and P arsee t erm forGod ; anangel ; also the plan et Jupiter.

Beyond Brahm ; th e reg ions b eyond Brahm Lok.

The suprem e soulorGod . Seealso: RadhaSoami.

A supreme saint;a saint whohas attained the highest spiritual region

T heph ysical universe; theph ysical bodyo f man ; the name of thelowe st gr and d ivision o f th e creation .Seealso: Anda, Brahmand, Sach Khand .

See: sushumna.

T heessential nature of mind and m atter , which projects itself ' in v ariousform s of emotions and action s,and whichalso influen ces the variou s parts ofth e body; prakritis are twentyfive in number and con sist of five principal m anifestations of thefive elements inthebody.

GLOSSARY pralabdh o r prarabdh pranaorpran pranayam o r PranaYoga premmarg purush RadhaSoami rajogun orrajas RajYoga

Thefate karm a; our destiny inthislife, 'creat edby actions in pa st lives, uponwhichthepresentlifeisba sed Seealso: karma.

V italfor ce, essence or vitalair .

Part o f th e Patanjali yoga system,which attempts to control the vitalair ( pra n), ma inly through breath control. Thispractice is not r ecommend ed without an adept or Guru asaguide . See also: Guru.

The path (ma rg) oflo ve ( prem); the path o f thesaints Also called : bhakt i margo

A b eing;creativeen ergy; man .

Lord ( soami) of theSoul ( radha); appellation of the a bsolute s upremebeing.

The creative oracti ve attribut e( guna).Seealso : tamogun , satogun.

A practice that deal sw ithth e control ofth e currents:ofthe mind b y incre asing th e pow er o f th e mind through contern . plat ion and certain postures. This practice is not recom mended without an adept or Guru asguide.

Ram or Rama rishi roop SachKhand sadhu

A namefor God;th e powerth at pervades everything: a Hindu god

On e who sees, e nlightenedone;sage of ancient India, ha ving so melevelof spiritual attainment , though usually not a saint. Seealso: sant,yogi .

Form.

Tru e or imperi shable region , the name ofthefifth spiritual r egion(SatLok ) orthe highest grand division of the creation. Regiono f the true Lord ( Sat Purush, Sat Nam ).

One whohas controlled the mind-technically, adevotee whoha s crossedtheregionof mind and matter and reached the third spiritual re gion ( DaswanDwar ); sometimes applied to o newhohas gained the secondregion (Trikuti):generall y, a hol y man following a path of spiritualdi scipline.

Sahasradal T he thou sand- petalled lotus,then ame of th e first spiritual Kanwal orregion, th e astral region.

Sahansdal Kamal

464

samadhan samadhi samhita sannyasi sannyasin sanskara orsanskar sant SantMat , orSantonki Shiksha SarShabd sat

Sat Desh Satguru

SatLok

SatNam SatPurush

THEPATHOFTHEMASTERS

Deep meditation , superconsciousness; a state of rapture.

Astate of concentration in which -all consciousness of the outer worldis transcended.

A code oflaws, e .g., the Manu Samhita

One whohas renounced the world, whoisfreefrom attachments .

Feminine form of sannyasi.

Impressions or tendencies from previous births , earlyupbringing, traditions and social influences, which shape the basic outlook and behavior patterns of a human being.

Saint; one whohas attained thefifth spiritual region (Sach Khand); a God-realized soul.Seealso: Param Sant , SantMat.

The teachings (mat) of the saints (sant) Seealso: Surat Shabd Yoga.

Theessence (sar) of the Word or Sound (shabd); the pure Shabd,freefrom matter, above Trikuti. Seealso : Anhad Shabd.

True, real,everlasting.Seealso: Satguru , SatDesh,SatLok, Sat Purush. '

True (sat) Home or Region ( desh); another name forSach Khand. See also:SatLok.

True ( sat) spiritual teacher ( Guru); perfect Master; true lightgiver ; a Master whohasaccesstothefifth spiritual region (Sach Khand). A Satguru teaches utmost humility, truth and compassion , earns hisownliving, and never charges forhis teachings .

True (sat) Region (lok); another name forSach Khand. See also: Sat Desh.

True (sat) Name (nam); the unspoken, unwritten Name or Word of God,the supreme Creator, lord of thefifth spiritual region, original source of souls;the true spiritual Father. See also:Sat Purush.

True or eternal (sat) being (purush); supreme being;God: lord of thefifth spiritual region.Seealso : Sat Nam.

GLOSSARY

satsang satsangi SatYuga

True (sat) company (sang); association withthe true; the compan y of or association witha perfect Master is external ' satsang ; association of the soulwiththe Radiant Form of the Master, the Shabd or Nam within, is internal satsang.The highest form of satsangistomergeinthe Shabd A congregation assembled to hear a spiritualdi scourse isalso referred to assatsang;evento think about the Master and his teachings is a form of satsang.

One whoassociateswiththetrue; initiate of ap erfect Master; esoter ically, onewhohas reached thefirststage.

satogun or sattwa The quality or attribute of rhythm, harmony and truth, See also: guna.

True ( sat) age (y uga), the Golden Age, thefirst of thefour greatcycles of time.Seealso:yuga .

, Service ; voluntary servicetothe Master orhisdisciples. Of the four types of seva (monetary, physical, mental, spiritual), the highest form isthe spiritual, the meditation practice.

Word or Sound; spiritual sound; audible life stream; sound current. Thecr eative power , the source of all creation , which manifests as sound and light inthe spiritual regions. It isthe Word or Logos of theBible;Kalma, Isme-i-Azam, Bang-iAsmani, orKalma-Ilahi of theKoran;theNad of theVedas; Nam, Ram Nam, Gurbani , Bani, and Dhun of theAdi Granth; theTao of the Chinese; Vadan and the Saut-i-Surmad of the Sufis.The Zoroastrian s callit Shraosha, and itis known by many other names. Thesecret of hearing the Shabd within oneself canbe imparted only bya true Master (Satguru). See also : Shabd-dhun, Surat Shabd Yoga, Anhad Shabd , .

Hymns ; paragraphs or stanzas of sacredtexts put tomusic; often sung b y a singer (pathi ) accompanying a discourse at , satsang Theseare external sounds, as opposed to inner Sound (Shabd). Seealso : Shabd, satsang. ,

Music (Dhun) of the Word ( shabd); the Shabd; the audible life stream.

The path (marg ) of the Word (shabd) ; the path of Shabd Yoga, the path of thesaints.Seealso: Surat Shabd Yoga.

Power , abilityor strength; thehigh est form of maya, orillusion.

seva Shabd shabds Shabd-dhun Shabdmarg shakti

THEPATHOF THE MASTERS

shanti

shariat Shiva shraddha

Shraosha orSraosha

Peace;peace of mind.

Islamiccode of life,religiouslaw,justice;Koraniclawand ritual.

God of destruction inthe Hindu trinity ofcreator,preserver, destroyer (Brahma,Vishnu,Shiva); ruler of the heart chakra; thedissolvingforce,governedbythe attribute of inertia, darkness (tamas).

Faith,belief,reverence.

DerivedfromtheSanskrit stu, 'to hear', itappearsthatZarathrustra usedthetermtorefertothe inner Sound,the Shabd. It isreferredtoasthemostmajesticaspectorpower of AhuraMazdabecauseitbrings eternal life.

simran, smarana, Repetition orloving remembrance"; repetition ofthefiveholy or sumiran names according tothe instructions ofaperfectMaster.The simran thataperfectMastergivesischargedwithhispower; disciples concentrate the attention atthe third eye (tisra til) andcarryon repetition withloveand one-pointed attention. Thispracticeenables them to withdraw thesoul currents fromthebodytothe third eye,fromwherethereal spiritual journey begins. "

sinehit or sanehit Thestore of unpaid pastkarmas. It isfromthisstore that the fatekarmas (pralabdh) aredrawn.Seealso:karma. "

Soami or Swami Lord;the supreme being;theMaster; commonly appliedto all spiritual teachers.Seealso:RadhaSoami.

Surat Shabd Yoga Thepractice of joining thesoul (surat) withthe Word (shabd) andmerging (yoga) withit;oncethesoulmergesintothe Shabd,itiscarriedbytheShabdtoitssource,theLord.

sushumna orsushmana

GLOSSARY tamogun ortamas Tathagata

The attribute of dissolution, inertia,darkness.Seealso: guna, satogun , rajogun.

Onewhohasattained;anamefortheBuddha.

Elements,essence;thefiveelementsarepresent,tovarious degrees,inall.livingbeings:earth (prithvi), water (jal), fire (agni), air (vayu) and ether (akash).

tisra til

Third (tisra) eye (til); a point inthesubtlebody,betweenand behind thetwoeyebrows;theseatofthe mind andthesoulin the human body,andthe point atwhichthedisciplesofthe saintsbegintheir concentration, andfromwheretheygoup. Alsocalled 'the black point' (nuqta-i-saveida) bySufisand ' thesingleeye'intheBible.

titiksha

tattwa TretaYuga

Trikuti

Trllold

Endurance, patience;powerof enduring hardships withcalmnessandpeace.

TheSilverAge,thesecond grand cycleoftime , immediately followingtheGoldenAge(SatYuga).Seealso:yuga .

Three prominences; that part of thesubtleuniversewhichlies abovetheastralworld;the name of the second spiritual region;thecausalregion.Alsocalled:BrahmLok.

Threeworlds:thephysicalworld (Pind), astralworld(Anda) andthecausalworld (Brahmand), allruledbyBrahm.

Upanishads uparati vairagya orvairag

Acollection of ancient Hindu scriptures. Renunciation; detachment fromallworldlydesires.

Detachment, particularly mental detachment fromtheworld andworldlydesires;astateof mind-not tobe confused with asceticismorphysical renunciation of theworld .

vairagi varnatmak

Onewhohas attained detachment .

Describable; that whichcanbe spoken or written. Seealso: dhunatmak.

Acollection of ancient hymnssacredtothe Hindus; Hindu scriptures.

Vedanta

Vedas Vina, Veena or Beena,Bina

One of thesixsystems of Hindu philosophy.

A stringed musical instrument , perhaps theoldest of the classicalmusical instruments inIndia , saidtobethe forerun-

Shankaracharya Agreat commentator of the Vedanta SutrasandtheUpanishads.

. Vishnu

vivek wheel of eighty-four Yama yamdoot yoga yogeshwar yogi yuga

ner of sitar While vina isthe correct name forthi s stringed instrument referred toin Sant Mat literature, some authors haveus ed the term bin or been, wh ich should not be confused with the Scottish bagpipe . Th e exactsound of th e r egion of Sach Khand cannot be conveyed in terms of any material mu sical instrument , and nothing inthis world c ome s anywhere near that divine melody. Infact,liketheLight of that region, its Sound al so defies terrestrial comp arison.

God of preservation inthe Hindu trinity of cr eator, preserver, de stroyer( Brahma,Vi shnu, Shi va)

Di scrimination; searching inquiry, car eful study, as thefirst step on the path of the Masters.

See: chauras i.

The lo rd of death , who t akes charge of the uninitiated soul at the time of death. Seealso: yamdoot . .

Messengers or angels ( doot) of death (y ama).

Union; spiritually, asystem of practices (sadhanas) by means of which the soul become s one with God.

King of yogis , or supreme yogi;one who has reached the second spiritual region, Brahm Lok , the causal plane . ,

One who practises yoga and ha s reached thefirst spiritual region , theastral reg ion

Age; a great cycle of time . Hindu mythology divides time into four recurring cycles:the Golden Age( SatYuga ); theSilver Age (TretaYuga ); the Copper Age (Dwapar Yuga ); and the Iron Age(KalYuga), through which weare now pa ssing One thou sand yugas make a Great Age ( MahaYuga ), which is equivalent to on e day of Brahm Saints h ave adopted this concept to convey the ever-changing nature oflife on earth

iIndex

A

Action and reaction, SeeKarma, law ' of

Adi Granth Sahib, 135-6,138 Adi karma, 273 Agam Lok, 227,253 Agam Purush, 242-43, 253,255 Ages, the four, SeeYugas Agnosticism, 234-36 Ahankar, SeeEgo Ahimsa, 93 . See also Virtues Aka! Purush, 242-43 Akash,88-89 ,252,331 Akash Bani, 478 . See ahoAudible life stream

Alakh Lok,227,253 Alakh Purush, 242-43, 258-59 Alcohol, 289,291,333

Anahad Shabd, 407. SeealsoSurat Shabd Yoga Anami, See God , names for Anami Lok,227 Anda,222-23,229-30,254,258 ,368

Angel,261. SeealsoMessengers of death

Anger (krodh),72-73 ,277 ,292-95 as mental illness , 293-95 effect o n concentration, 292 minor aspects of,294 Animals , 272,307, 314,316-18

Antashkarans, See Mind, attributes, faculties of Anthroposophy, 139 Aristotle , 110 See also Greek philosophers Asceticism, 431-32. SeealsoAusterities

Ashtadal Kanwal , 174,369,439 Astral body, 368 , 366 . See also Finer body plane,223,269,359-60,409 ,424 region, 218,372, 438-40 vision, 437

Atman , 53. Seealso Soul Attachment (moh), 72-3,277,297-

299 ,382-84

Attention , 166-67,283 ,368-70,383 , 387 ,433-34,436-37,440

withdrawal of,415. See also Concentration

Attitude towards life , 383 ideal of Gita, 70-74 example of Christ, 379-80 Attraction , lawof, 382-88. See also Detachment

Audible life stream, life current, 47, 52-4,59 -60,66-7,75,77 ,84,1445,137,159-60,163,226-27,302, 314,388 -402. See also Sound, Surat Shabd Yoga

as creative force,225, 398-99, 403 as cure for worldly desires , ' 388-91 attraction of,398, 401-02, 407-09 connecting souls to,206, 390,415. See also Initiation listening to, 392-419,430,439-40 intheVedas,82-85 other names of, 394-96 same asthe Word, Logos , 52-3,66 7,392-94,410-12

Aurobindo Ghose, 82 , 391

Austerities .ee, 199-200. See also Asceticism

Aversions, 311. See also Sanskaras

B

Baba Iaimal Singh, 211

Bani , 396,403. See also Audible life stream

THE PATH OF THE M ASTERS

Belief versus knowledge, 203, 322-23, 426,429

Bell sound, 84,405. See also Sound Bergson, Henri, 28-9, 36,237 Besant, Annie , 141

Bhagavad Gita, 70-81, 441. See.alsoMeditation

Bhakti marg, path , yoga,88,422

Bhanwar Gupha, See Fourth region .

Bible, mention of the Word , Shabd in, 119-20,122,392-3,410-13,41415

Bigotry, 301 Bina, See Sound

Birth and death, SeeWheel of eightyfour Birth, new, 312-13,414-15 . Seealso Initiation

Birth, virgin, 190-91 Blame,52,293 ,385

Bodhisattva, 51,384. See also Buddha Body, human, 250,268 caie for,181,200,332-33

fate of, 316-17 service with , 328-29 See also Astral body; Causal body; Finer body

Bondage , release from, 2 55, 386-87, 389-91. See also Liberation; Escape from passions

Brahm, 53,201 , 227-28, 438 See also Kal Niranjan

Brahm Lok , 82,84 , 98 ,145 ,201,258, 424.See also Trikuti Brahma, 261 Brahman, 83

INDEX

Brahmand, 223,227-29 Brahmacharya, 77.Seealso Continence

Breath control, See Pranayam Brotherhood, universal, 87,158 Buddha, Siddhartha, 38, 63-65, 293 , 385-86.See also Bodhisattva Buddhi, 92, 275-6 See also Mind, attributes , faculties of Buddhism, 63-69 c

Causal body, 268-69, 311 Causal plane, 272 Cause -and effect, See Karma, law of Celibacy,77 . SeealsoContinence Chakras, six, 367-69 Chastity, 303 , 374-75 Chaurasi, SeeWheel of eighty-four Chela, (Disciple) 197 Children, 312-13, 320 Chitt, SeeMind, attributes of Christ, as example of disciple , 379 as son of God , 190 teachings of, 109-10, 116-24,41012

Christian mystics, 349-55, 430-31 Christianity, beginnings of,107-09, 113-16

Christian Science, 145-50 Civilization, 333-38, 348-49,452-53 Concentration at the eye center, 90, 166-67,292 ,368-70,379 ,433-34, 436-37. See also Attention ; Simran

awakens consciousness, 366 lackof,292

Confucius, Confucianism, 29,54 Consciousness, 239,348,366 Contemplation, See Dhyan Contentment (santosh), 303, 385-87.

See also Peace

Continence, 77 ,90, 303 Copper Age, SeeYugas Cord, silver,446, 449-50 Creation, order of the universe, 219-

Vedic idea of, 88-89 See also Higher region's; Universe Creative energy, 394-5 . See also Audible life stream Creator, 240-44, 258-59. See also Sat Purush

Criticism, 182,212-13,293-94,385

Current, SeeAudible life stream

Cycle of birth and death, See Reincarnation

Cycles of time, SeeYugas D

Darkness, 60,123, 198,230, 231,235 , 341,408-09,415 . See also Evil Darshan, 144, 342

Daswan Dwar, See Third region Dayal,330

Death, an illusion , 186,443 -45 as experienced by Masters , 422-23 at time of death , 229 , 446-49 judgment at, 323-27, 446-50

See also Dying while living

Deception on inner planes,168-74 Desire,50-1,72-3,288-89 cause of sorrow, 67,385 destruction of,385-90 seedsof,268

. Detachment, 50-1. See also Attachment; Attraction Devas,261

Devotion, 323, 331,447. See also Love Dharam Rai,242,323,331,447. See alsoKal

Dharma, 53,58, 338,441 path of,74

Dhun, SeeAudible life stream Dhunatmak, 394,398 Dhyan;91, 439,441 Diet,331-33

Direct perception, 92,269-70 Disciple, '120-21, 152, 189,210,315, 327-31,427-28 asagent,328-29

Discipleship, ideal of inGita,80,38081 of Iesus, 118-19,379-80

Discrimination (vivek),83,92,303, 377-78,435

Dissolutions, 79,229-30

Divine Word, energy,393. See also Audiblelife stream Drug habit, 291

Dyingwhileliving,121-33, 138,357, 401-2,436-40,443-44. See also Death; Goinginside

THEPATH OF THE MASTERS

E

Earnings, honest, 200,374 Eddy, Mary Baker,146-47 Effort,380,441-42 Ego, 117,210-11,276-77,288-89, 299-301,383,406 minor phasesof,301-02

Eightfold path, See Buddhism Elements, five,331-32 Enlightenment, 66,293

Escapefrom passions, karmas, 50,79, 255-56,259,302-03,311-12,34839, 390,408-09, 433. See Wheel of eighty-four; Bondage Essene Brotherhood, 108 Ethics,50, 163,451 Evil, 56,60-62, 182,225,246-47,260) 292,338-41,385-87

Evolution, spiritual, 142,453 F

INDEX

Five passions, enemies, 276-77,286302,386-87.SeealsoEscape; Mind, remedies for,302-03 Food, SeeVegetarianism Forgiveness,303 Fortune, good,417. See also Karma, good Freedom, 152,330. SeealsoLiberation G

139,267 Guide, spiritual, necessityof,134, 208.See also Guru; Living Master Gunas,74 Guru, necessityof,136-37,189-90, 271,409 ,417-18,443. See also LivingMaster;Master; Satguru administers karma of hisdisciple, 330-31

Gurumukh, 302

.

Faith,83, 120-24,198,208-09,344, 426

Fate, SeeDestiny Fate karma, See Karma Fault-finding, 301

Feelings, unreliable guide,125-26, 192,194-95

Fifthregion, See Sach Khand

Finer body, 187,363,365. Seealso Astralbody;Body;Causal body Firstregion, See Sahasradal Kanwal

Gita, SeeBhagavad Gita Gluttony, 291 God,233-49 definition of,233-34,400 existenceof, theistic hypothesis, 233-48 non-existence of,scientific theory, 238-40 names for,242-45, 258-60,405-07 God-realization , 46-49,426-28 Gods,240-41,244-45 definition of possessingcreative powers,237 Goinginside,121, 166,348,369-70 , 415.See also Dyingwhileliving; Meditation Golden Age,230,263,335. See also Yugas

Grand divisions, hierarchy, See Creation, order of the universe Great White Brotherhood, 140-41, 155 Greed (lobh), 277,295-96 Greek philosophers, 24,43,57,110,

Gutu Nanak, 135-36 Gyan marg, 74,87. See also Y:oga H Habit, 278-82

Happiness, worldly,39-41 spiritual, 224,226,232,427,438

Healing, by mind, 146-50 Heaven, 223-24 Hell,324-25,447-48

Higher regions,planes,122,186-87, 197,201,216-21,356-57,437-40. See also Creation; Inner kingdoms;Regions

Hinduism, 70-94 trinity of,260-61. SeealsoVedas

Holy Ghost, SeeAudiblelife stream Holy Spirit,404-07,413. Seeulso Audiblelife stream

Holy Trinity (of Christians), 411-12 Honesty, SeeMorality

Human form, purpose of human life, 433.Seealso Body Humility, 117-18,329-30,343-44,383

Hypnotism , 358

Hypocrisy, 296 I

I,J-ness, 275-76, 299-302

Idleness , 291

Illumination, 352

Illusion , 24

Immortality, 78-79

Impatience, 292

Impermanence of materiality, 386

Initiation, importance of,137-38 , 179,211-12

selection of disciples for, 210-12, 374-76,415,417-18,433-35 ,442

Inner experiences, knowledge, 121, 126,160-62,166-68,239-40,34661,370,400-02,427-29,437-39

Inner journey, path, 70-1,206,21718,269,368-70,438-40

Inner kingdoms, worlds, 186-87,36970,415.See also Higher regions

Inner music, 86,137,407-08

Insect, 313,331

Intellect, 22,25,92, 186,275-76 Intuition, 92,196-97

Iron Age, SeeKalYuga

Irritability, 292 Islam, 128-34

J

Jesus Christ, See Christ

Iivan Mukti, SeeLiberation

Joy , spiritual, 160, 354-55

THEPATHOFTHE MASTERS

Judaism , 94-106

Judgment, See Death, judgment at Justice , SeeKarma, law of; Karmic debt and payment K

Kabbalah, 98-105

Kabrr, 132, 135,396,401,413

Kal, negative power, 56, 60,76-77, 174,212-13 ,242-43 ,257-61 ,286, 330-31,369,447. See also Brahm; Dharam Rai ; Universal 'mind

Kal Niranjan, 254, 257-61, 438

Kal Purusha , 242 KalYuga,22,211. SeealsoYuga Kam, SeeLust Karan mind , nijmanas, SeeMind, higher Karan sharir, See Causal body Karma, accumulation of, 272-73 and diet,331-33 and reincarnation , 310-15 fate karma, 320-24 good , 321-22 ,341 -42 law of 50,256 , 304-10, 312-14 three types of, 314-15

Karmaless actions, 326-30 of Sat guru, 327-28

Karmic debt and payment, 307-08, 315 ,318-19,323-27,446-50

Khan , Hazrat Inayat, 403 Killing,the burden of karma, 331-32 Kindness, 293 Kingdom of heaven (inBible),45 , 133,135, 109-10, 116-18,123-24

INDEX

Knowledge, 203-205. See also Inner experiences versus belief, 126-27, 194-96 Koran, 132 Krishna, teachings of,76-77 Kriyaman karma, See Karma , three types of Krodh , SeeAnger Kundalini,91 ,370-72

Longing, 83,213 , 231,259, 353 Lord, SeeGod Lost Word, 396-97 Lotus, analogy of,50 microscopic centers, 367-72 thousand-petalled, See Sahasradal Kanwal Love,86,118-19, 163-66, 189,227, 249, 261, 329-30.

See also Devotion

L

LaoTse, 49-50 Laziness,291,379

Leaving the body, See Dying while living; Going .inside Liberation, spiritual, 81,83, H5, 159, 208 ,211,249,297,312 ,408-09, 416-19.SeealsoBondage Life current, stream, SeeAudible life stream Light,409,437 Light body, 268. SeealsoAstral body Lightning worlds, 438 Living Master , 53,58 , 126, 136-38, 158,187,191,201-203 ,235,241, 321-22 . SeealsoMaster necessity of, 80-81, 84-85, 122-25, 136-38, 365-66,372-73,391 ,401,416-19 as guide, 168,208-09 Lobh, See Greed Logic, misleading, 234 Logos, 393-94. See also Audible life stream Loneliness, 402

as Audible life stream 163,165 -66, 377,397-400,409-10;452 detached, 383 essence of religion, 161-66 of Master, 120,152, 180-84, 199, 207,315,343-44,439 path of,62, 338,377-80 perfect, 164 Lust, 289-91. See also Senses M

Magi, 109. Seealso Zoroastrianism

Maharishi, SeeRishi Mahatma, 141,143, 177 four classesof,178 Mahavakya,80 Mahabharata, 69 , 335

Malice, 292. See also Anger Man, real , 24-25,150 ,268-71. Seealso Soul Manmukh,302

Manu, lawsof, 406-9

Marriage, 452 Masonic order, 133,478-9 Master(s). See also Living Master;

path of theMasters; Radiant Form; Saints;Seekingthe Master as example, 181-82,207 asguide,170,206,236 classesof,178 , departed, 137, duties of, 77,158,.179 ,206-08,255 followlaws of nature , 429,451 genuine, how torecognize,179-84, 195-203,393-94 human embodiment of God, 18891 meeting, 63,197-198,321-22 necessityof,70-71 perfect man, 179-80,196 qualities of,180-83 rules by love,152,199 ' son of God, 190-91 ,411-12 ' speak from inner experience, 44, 186,214,255,360-61 succession of, 135, 193 teachings of,47-48, 66-68,134-35, 136-38,200,408-13 Mastership, 262-63 indications of,198-201 successorship, 135 Materialism, 452 Maya,206,255,276 Meat, 331 Mechanistic theory, 28-31 Meditation, 200,350-51,423-24,430, 433 -40, 443-46 See also , Bhajan; Going inside; Simran; Sound Mediumship,150-55,357-60

THE PATH OFTHE MASTERS

Melody,divine, Audible life stream

Messengers of death, 323,447 , 449 Method of the Masters, 233,235,239. See also Path of the Masters Microcosm of man, 362-69 Mind, 89-90 ,264-303,325-26, 36465.See also Buddhi; Fivepas- , sions; Thoughts; Visions within an instrument, 273-75 attributes, facultiesof,272-84,288302,368-69,378-79 cleansing, purification, 117,163, , 409 control, 144,277-78,282-83 , creations of, misleading, 167-174 ' higher and lower , 270-71,282-85 illnessof,293-95 power of,277-78 Miracles , 89,108-09,200 Mohammed, 128-29 Monism, 249-252 Monotheism, 59,249-252 Moon worlds , 372, 438 Mo rality, 381,374-75

Mormonism , 173 " '

Muni, 178. See also Rilihi

Mystic experiences of medieval , Christian saints,349-55,429 -32 Mystics, SeeMasters N

, Nad , Nad-Bindu, 47,49,82 , 84, 39596.See also Audible lift! stream

INDEX

Nam or Name, the Sound Current, 393-95. See also Audible life stream givingof, SeeInitiation Nanak, Guru, 89,135-36 Negative power, See Kal Negativity,231-32 Nietzche , 181,183 Nine doors, 436 Nirvana, 51, 99

' Non-killing, SeePatanjali, yoga of , Nuri Sarup, SeeRadiant Form , 0

Pastnves,karitla, 63,320-23

, Patanjali, yogaof,78,90-94,218,,368, 371,441 , , Path of the Masters , love,48,62 , 70, 234,337-38,372,379,392-93, 424-25.See also Master, teachings of; Method of the Masters distinguishing feature of,392-93 failureon,212

leadsto immortality, 79 preparation for,51-52 , 384-85. See also Inner journey; Preparation Paul,theEpistlesof,113

Peace , 73, 80,385-86

Perfect man, 179-80 , 196,207

Om, 52-53, 245

One, oneness, 22,85-88, 162-63,243, 250-51

Origin, original home, 24,206 Ouspensky,175 Qversoul,191 p

Perversions of mind, 277. See also Five passions

Philanthropy, 142

Physicalbody, SeeBody, human Physical ' universe221-22,230-32 , 254 Pind, 221-22,230-32. See also Physical , universe

Pain, of world, 38, 42,142,259 freedom from,theGita , 71-74 . See ' also Suffering Pantheism, 249 • Par Brahm, 228 Paradise, 225,311,323,448 Param Sant,178-79 Parameshwar, 242 Parents, 312-13 , 320 Parsees , 55. See also Zoroastrianism Passions , SeeFive passions

Plato, 110, 139,337 Pleasuresworldly,288-89, Plutarch, 443 Polytheism, 249 Possessions,382-84 Prakriti,75

Pralabdh karma, SeeKarma.three types of Prana, 88-89 ,152, 399-400 Pranayama, 90-n , 218,371, 422 Preparation, mental, 374-91 to enter the path , 197-98,203,41819

lackof,211-12

Primal Word, music, Shabd, 395-96, 403 karma 273 Procrastination, 2%-98 Profanity, 292

Psychic powers , 357-59

Punishments, See Karmic debt and payment

Pure spirit, 223, 267,441, 452

Pure white music, 396,401 Purgatories, 223 Purity, 116-17 through Shabd, 119-20 Purush, 242. See also Soul Pythagoreans,110 Q

THEPATHOF THE MASTERS

creation of, 253-55. See also Higher regions

Reincarnation, 310-15, 320-23,32527,445-50. See also Wheel of eighty-four of an initiate, 211 Religion, genuine, 160-62,399 defects , failure of, 46-48,158-60 loveis foundation of,162-64 Religious movements , 174-76 Repetition,SeeSimran

Requirements for the path, See Path of the Masters , preparation for; . Preparation

Resentment, 292 Reserve karmas (sinchit), 314 -15 Rishi, 178,213 ,218,228 . See also Yogi Rosicrucians, 140, 155-57 s

INDEX

Qualifications of saints, 136-38 Quarrelsomeness, SeeAnger R

Radha Soami, 242

Radha Soami Dham, 227 Radiant Form of the Master, 121, 170, 174,197 ,439,441-449 Ramakrishna, 82. See also Vedanta Reality , 22, 47,303

Rebirth, SeeWheel of eighty-four Region of immortality, 226-27 . See also Sat Desh Regions, lords of, 86-87

Sach Khand, 179,217,226-27,258, 372,394

Sadhu,66,178

SahajYoga,422-25 . SeealsoSurat Shabd Yoga

Sahasradal Kanwal,82 , 222-23, 22829,359,369,372 ,438

Saints, 177-79, 188,226,372,408-09, 415-16.SeealsoSatguru; Master's mission different from mahatmas. 142-43,145

Salvation, SeeLiberation Samadhi, 72, 91, 347, 353-54,431, 443

Samhitas,85 Sanskaras , 270, 311,321,448-49 Sanskrit alphabet, 367 Sant, 177,178 Param, Santon ki Shiksha, See Path of the Masters; Surat Shabd Yoga Sat,242 SatDesh,86,224, 226-227 ,258 Sat Guru, 177,179,211,218 ,315 ,396, 449. SeealsoSaints SatLok, 226-27. SeealsoMaster; Sach Khand Sat Nam , 177,243,253,394. See also SatPurush Sat Purush, 48,181,211 ,224,242-43, 253,258-59 , 425. See also Creator; Sat Nam; supreme Lord SatYuga, See Golden Age Satsang,202 ,418-19 Science , limitations of,185-86 Science of the soul , See Surat Shabd Yoga ' Second region, See Trikuti Seeking the Master, 41 , 46-47,196198,201-03,381,418':19. See also Master, genuine , how to recog nize Self, l-ness, 299-302 Seli-realization, 24-26,48,88 , 142, 4 27-28

Self-righteousness, 299 -300 Selfishness,299-301 , 377,384 Senses, sensuality, 75,144-45,275-76, 289-91 ,386,388 -91. See also Lust Service(seva),328-29,374-75,384

Sex passion, SeeLust;Senses Shabd, SeeAudible life stream Shakti,260 Shams-i-Tabriz, 132,413-15 Shiva,260-61 Siddhis, See Psychic power Sight, inner, 429 Silver cord, 446 , 449 Sikhism, 135-138 Simran,smarana,426,439-41.See alsoAttention ; Meditation Sin,338-41. See also Evil

Sinchit karma, SeeKarma, three types of Slander, SeeAnger, minor aspects of Soami n, 210 , 227,413 Sohang, 87,378 Sons of God, 411-12 Soul, 93,163,211,251,261,270-71, 282,285, 344-45, 390. See also Arman, Man, as top of creation; Purush activates mind, 273-74 attraction of soul to God; 352-54 creation of, 258 helplessness of, 285-87 spark of the divine, 213,378

Sound, Sound Current, 85,400-02 , 404-05,410 -11,412-15,422-23. See also Audible life stream; Meditation

Source, SeeAudible life stream Space,93 Spinoza,87 Spirit, qualities of,261. See also Soui Spiritual blindness, 123,203 ,427-28

THEPATHOFTHE MASTERS

Spiritual regions, See Higher regions

Spiritualism 150-51,357-60

Steiner, Rudolph, 139

Stillingthe mind , 433-35 see also Attention; Concentration; Simran

Strugglefor spiritual freedom , 259 Submission, SeeSurrender to a Master

Subtle body, 268-69. See also Astral body

Suffering,62,67 , 277,309-11. See also P · .am

Sufis, 55,395,403-08 as Masters , faquirs , 178 Suicide,41,295 Sun worlds , 98, 372 Superstition, 452

Supreme LOrd, Being, One . See also God;Sat Purush as Creator, 226,240-41,249-51 chief attributes of, 239,245-46 inthe Master 's form , 189,248

Surat Shabd Yoga, 79,132-33 ,144-45 , 370-71,422-25,433-43. See also Audible life stream

Surrender toa Master, 208-10 , 32731,386-87

Theosophy, 138-45

Third eye,368-70,433-34

Third region, 48,223 , 269 , 413-14

Thoughts, thought-forms, 167-69, 278-81.See also Mind

Thousand -petalled lotus, See Sahasradal Kanwal

Three worlds, 228,242,258 Time, 93-94. See alsoYugas Tisra til, SeeThird eye Tobacco habit, 291 . Torah,97 Transmigration, 316-19 See also Wheel of eighty-four Trikuti (second region), 98,201,22728,258,272,330,369.See · also Brahm 10k Trinity, Christian, 411-12 Hindu, 260 Trust inthe Master, 208-09 . See also Faith Truth,80, 122, 189,197-98,392-93, 416-19 Truthfulness, 374-75 u

INDEX

Upanishads, 82-85,87 v Vairagya, See Detachment ..Vanity, See Ego Varnatmaksound,395,404 Vedanta, 82,395. See also Hinduism Vedas,81-94,376-77. See also Hinduism Vegetarianism, 331-33 Vina, SeeSound Virtues , 93,246 thefive,303 Vishnu, 245,260-61 Visions within, 168,171-74;349-55. See also Inner experiences; Mind; Thoughts Vitalism, 29-30 Viveka, See Discrimination Vivekananda, 45-46

313-14.See also Escape from passions; Reincarnation; Transmigration ended by meeting perfect Master, 79,255-56,321,417 escape from, 67, 330-31,416-17

VVhite Brotherhood, 155 wni, individual, 209 wm of God,330-31,338-39 VVord, SeeAudible life stream y Yama, SeeMessengers of death Yoga,177 of the Audible life stream, See Surat Shabd Yoga of Patanjali, See Patanjali systems,421-22. See also Gyan marg Yogi! attainmentsof, 77-79,89-90 ,

Talmud ,97 -8

T

Tao, 384. See also Audible life stream

Taoism , 49-54

Tattwas, SeeElements, five Tenth door, 437

Universal mind, 228 , 269,272. See alsoKal plane of,212,224

Universal oneness, 242,376-78

Universe, created and sustained, 399400 four grand divisions, 221-25 hierarchy of, 253-61 See also Creation

Voice of the silence,144 Voices, hearing, 168,171-73 Vows ; thefour, laeto-vegetarian diet,331 -33 meditation, 441-43 morality,374-75 no alcohol, no habit-forming drugs,290-91,333 w

.See also Rishi definition of,177 practices of, 423-25 Yugas, See Golden Age z

VVealth,295-97,328-29,374,383-84

Wheel of eighty-four, 50,78-79 , 289,

Zarathustra, Zend Avesta,55 Zohar, 105 Zoroastrianism, 55-60 See also Magi