James Allen - Above Life's Turmoil

8/3/2019 James Allen - Above Life's Turmoil

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ABOVE LIFE'S TURMOIL

by James Allen

Foreword

True Happiness

The Immortal Man

The Overcoming of Self

The Uses of Temptation

The Man of Integrity

Discrimination

Belief the Basis of !ction

Belief that Saves Thought and !ction

"our Mental !ttitude

Sowing and #eaping

The #eign of $aw

The Supreme %ustice

The Use of #eason

Self&Discipline

#esolution

The 'lorious (on)uest

(ontentment in !ctivity

The Temple of Brotherhood *leasant *astures of *eace

Foreword+e cannot alter e,ternal things nor shape other people to our li-ing nor mould the world

to our wishes .ut we can alter internal things&our desires passions thoughts&we can

shape our li-ing to other people and we can mould the inner world of our own mind inaccordance with wisdom and so reconcile it to the outer world if men and things/ The

turmoil of the world we cannot avoid .ut the distur.ances of mind we can overcome/

The duties and difficulties of life claim our attention .ut we can rise a.ove all an,iety


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concerning them/ Surrounded .y noise we can yet have a )uiet mind0 involved in

responsi.ilities the heart can .e at rest0 in the midst of strife we can -now the a.iding

peace/ The twenty pieces which comprise this .oo- unrelated as some of them are in theletter will .e found to .e harmonious in the spirit in that they point the reader towards

those heights of self&-nowledge and self&con)uest which rising a.ove the tur.ulance of

the world lift their pea-s where the Heavenly Silence reigns/

James Allen

True Happness

To maintain an unchangea.le sweetness of disposition to thin- only thoughts that arepure and gentle and to .e happy under all circumstances& such .lessed conditions and

such .eauty of character and life should .e the aim of all and particularly so of those

who wish to lessen the misery of the world/ If anyone has failed to lift himselfa.oveungentleness impurity and unhappiness he is greatly deluded if he imagines he can

ma-e the world happier .y the propagation of any theory or theology/ He who is daily

living in harshness impurity or unhappiness is day .y day adding to the sum of the

world1s misery0 whereas he who continually lives in goodwill and does not depart fromhappiness is day .y day increasing the sum of the world1s happiness and this

independently of any religious .eliefs which these may or may not hold/

He who has not learned how to .e gentle or giving loving and happy has learned verylittle great though his .oo-&learning and profound his ac)uaintance which the letter of

Scripture may .e for it is in the process of becominggentle pure and happy that the

deep real and enduring lessons of life are learned/ Un.ro-en sweetness of conduct in theface of all outward antagonism is the infalli.le indication of a self&con)uered soul the

witness of wisdom and the proof of the possession of Truth/

! sweet and happy soul is the ripened fruit of e,perience and wisdom and it shedsa.road the invisi.le yet powerful aroma of its influence gladdening the hearts of othersand purifying the world/ !nd all who will and who have not yet commenced may .egin

this day if they will so resolve to live sweetly and happily as .ecomes the dignity of a

true manhood or womanhood/ Do not say that your surroundings are against you/ !man1s surroundings are never against him0 they are there to aid him and all those outward

occurrences over which you lose sweetness and peace of mind are the very conditions


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necessary to your development and it is only .y meeting and overcoming them that you

can learn and grow and ripen/ The fault is in yourself/

*ure happiness is the rightful and healthy condition of the soul and all may possess it ifthey will live purely and unselfish/

"Have goodwill

To all that lives, letting unkindness die,

And greed and wrath, so that your lives be madeLike soft airs passing by."

Is this too difficult for you2 Then unrest and unhappiness will continue to dwell with you/

"our .elief and aspiration and resolve are all that are necessary to ma-e it easy to render

it in the near future a thing accomplished a .lessed state realised/

Despondency irrita.ility an,iety and complaining condemning and grum.ling& all these

are thought&can-ers mind&diseases0 they are the indications of a wrong mental conditionand those who suffer therefrom would do well to remedy their thin-ing and conduct/ It is

true there is much sin and misery in the world so that all our love and compassion areneeded but our misery is not needed there is already too much of that. !o, it is our

cheerfulness and happiness that are needed for there is too little of that. e can give

nothing better to the world than beauty of life and character# without this, all otherthings are vain# this is preeminently e$cellent# it is enduring, real, and not to be

overthrown, and it includes all %oy and blessedness.

&ease to dwell pessimistically upon the wrongs around you# dwell no more in complaints

about, and revolt against, the evil in others, and commence to live free from all wrong

and evil yourself. 'eace of mind, pure religion, and true reform lie this way. (f you wouldhave others true, be true# if you would have the world emancipated from misery and sin,

emancipate yourself# if you would have your home and your surroundings happy, behappy. )ou can transform everything around you if you will transform yourself.

"*on+t bewail and bemoan.....

*on+t waste yourself in re%ection, nor bark against the bad,

but chant the beauties of the good."

!nd this you will naturally and spontaneously do as you realise the good in yourself/

T!e Immor"al Man

Immortality is here and now and is not a speculative something .eyond the grave/ It is a

lucid state of consciousness in which the sensations of the .ody the varying and unrestfulstates of mind and the circumstances and events of life are seen to .e of a fleeting and

therefore of an illusory character/


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Immortality does not .elong to time and will never .e found in time0 it .elongs to

3ternity0 and 4ust as time is here and now so is 3ternity here and now and a man may

find that 3ternity and esta.lish in it if he will overcome the self that derives its life fromthe unsatisfying and perisha.le things of time/

+hilst a man remains immersed in sensation desire and the passing events of his day&.y&day e,istence and regards those sensations desires and passing events as of the

essence of himself he can have no -nowledge of immortality/ The thing which such aman desires and which he mista-es for immortality ispersistence0 that is a continous

succession of sensations and events in time/ $iving in loving and clinging to the things

which stimulate and minister to his immediate gratification and realising no state ofconsciousness a.ove and independent of this he thirsts for its continuance and strives to

.anish the thought that he will at last have to part from those earthly lu,uries and delights

to which he has .ecome enslaved and which he regards as .eing insepara.le fromhimself/

*ersistence is the antithesis of immortality0 and to .e a.sor.ed in it is spiritual death/ Itsvery nature is change impermanence/ It is a continual living and dying/

The death of the .ody can never .estow upon a man immortality/ Spirits are not different

from men and live their little feverish life of .ro-en consciousness and are stillimmersed in change and mortality/ The mortal man he who thirsts for the persistence of

his pleasure&loving personality is still mortal after death and only lives another life with

a .eginning and an end without memory of the past or -nowledge of the future/

The immortal man is he who has detached himself from the things of time .y having

ascended into that state of consciousness which is fi,ed and unvaria.le and is not

affected .y passing events and sensations/ Human life consists of an evermovingprocession of events and in this procession the mortal man is immersed and he is carriedalong with it0 and .eing so carried along he has no -nowledge of what is .ehind and

.efore him/ The immortal man is he who has stepped out of this procession and he stands

.y unmoved and watches it0 and from his fi,ed place he sees .oth the .efore the .ehindand the middle of the moving thing called life/ 5o longer identifying himself with the

sensations and fluctuations of the personality or with the outward changes which ma-e

up the life in time he has .ecome the passionless spectator of his own destiny and of thedestinies of the men and nations/

The mortal man also is one who is caught in a dream and he neither -nows that he was

formerly awa-e nor that he will wa-e again0 he is a dreamer without -nowledge nothing

more/ The immortal man is as one who has awa-ened out of his dream and he -nowsthat his dream was not an enduring reality .ut a passing illusion/ He is a man with

-nowledge the -nowledge of .oth states& that of persistence and that of immortality&

and is in full possession of himself/

The mortal man lives in the time or world state of consciousness which .egins and ends0the immortal man lives in the cosmic or heaven state of consciousness in which there is


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neither .eginning nor end .ut an eternal now/ Such a man remains poised and steadfast

under all changes and the death of his .ody will not in any way interrupt the eternal

consciousness in which he a.ides/ Of such a one it is said 6He shall not taste of death6.ecause he has stepped out of the stream of mortality and esta.lished himself in the

a.ode of Truth/ Bodies personalities nations and worlds pass away .ut Truth remains

and its glory is undimmed .y time/ The immortal man then is he who has con)ueredhimself0 who no longer identifies himself with the self&see-ing forces of the personality

.ut who has trained himself to direct those forces with the hand of a master and so has

.rought them into harmony with the causal energy and source of all things/

The fret and fever of life has ceased dou.t and fear are cast out and death is not for himwho has realised the fadeless splendour of that life of Truth .y ad4usting heart and mind

to the eternal and unchangea.le verities/

T!e O#er$omn% o& sel&

Many people have very confused and erroneous ideas concerning the terms "the

overcoming of self", "the eradication of desire", and "the annihilation of the personality."

Some 7particularly the intellectual who are prone to theories8 regard it as a metaphysical

theory altogether apart from life and conduct0 while others conclude that it is the crushingout of all life energy and action and the attempt to idealise stagnation and death/ These

errors and confusions arising as they do in the minds of individuals can only .e removed

.y the individuals themselves0 .ut perhaps it may ma-e their removal a little less difficult7for those who are see-ing Truth8 .y presenting the matter in another way/

The doctrine of the overcoming or annihilation of self is simplicity itself0 indeed so

simple practical and close at hand is it that a child of five whose mind has not yet

.ecome clouded with theories theological schemes and speculative philosophies would.e far more li-ely to comprehend it than many older people who have lost their hold upon

simple and .eautiful truths .y the adoption of complicated theories/

The annihilation of self consists in weeding out and destroying all those elements in thesoul which lead to division strife suffering disease and sorrow/ It does not mean the

destruction of any good and .eautiful and peace&producing )uality/ For instance when a

man is tempted to irrita.ility or anger and .y a great effort overcomes the selfish

tendency casts it from him and acts from the spirit of patience and love in that momentof self&con)uest he practises the annihilation of self/ 3very no.le man practises it in part

though he may deny it in his words and he who carries out this practice to its completion

eradicating every selfish tendency until only the divinely .eautiful )ualities remain he issaid to have annihilated the personality 7all the personal elements8 and to have arrived at

Truth/


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The self which is to .e annihilated is composed of the following ten worthless and

sorrow&producing elements9

$ustHatred

!varice

Self&indulgenceSelf&see-ing

:anity

*rideDou.t

Dar- .elief

Delusion

It is the total a.andonment the complete annihilation of these ten elements for theycomprise the .ody of desire/ On the other hand it teaches the cultivation practice and

preservation of the following ten divine )ualities9

ur"ya"en$e

Huml"y

Sel&(sa$r&$e

Sel&(relan$e

Fearlessness

)nowled%e

*sdom

+ompasson

Lo#e

These comprise the Body of Truth and to live entirely in them is to .e a doer and -nowerof the Truth is to .e an em.odiment of Truth/ The com.ination of the ten elements iscalled Sel& or "!e ersonal"y, the com.ination of the ten )ualities produces what is

called Truth0 the Impersonal0 the a.iding real and immortal Man/

It will thus .e seen that it is not the destruction of any no.le true and enduring )uality

that is taught .ut only the destruction of those things that are igno.le false andevanescent/ 5either is this overcoming of self the deprivation of gladness happiness and

4oy .ut rather is it the constant possession of these things .y living in the 4oy&.egetting

)ualities/ It is the a.andonment of the lust for en4oyment .ut not of en4oyment itself0 thedestruction of the thirst for pleasure .ut not of pleasure itself0 the annihilation of the

selfish longing for love and power and possessions themselves/ It is the preservation of

all those things which draw and .ind men together in unity and concord and far fromidealising stagnation and death urges men to the practice of those )ualities which lead to

the highest no.lest most effective and enduring action/ He whose actions proceed from

some or all of the ten elements wastes his energies upon negations and does not preserve

his soul0 .ut he whose actions proceed from some or all of the ten )ualities he truly andwisely acts and so preserves his soul/


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He who lives largely in the ten earthly elements and who is .lind and deaf to the spiritual

verities will find no attraction in the doctrine of self&surrender for it will appear to him

as the complete e,tinction of his .eing0 .ut he who is endeavouring to live in the tenheavenly )ualities will see the glory and .eauty of the doctrine and will -now it as the

foundation of $ife 3ternal/ He will also see that when men apprehend and practise it

industry commerce government and every worldly activity will .e purified0 and actionpurpose and intelligence instead of .eing destroyed will .e intensified and enlarged .ut

freed from strife and pain/

T!e Uses o& Temp"a"on

The soul in its 4ourney towards perfection passes through three distinct stages/ The first

is the animal stage in which the man is content to live in the gratification of his senses

unawa-ened to the -nowledge of sin or of his divine inheritance and altogetherunconscious of the spiritual possi.ilities within himself/

The second is the dual stage in which the mind is continually oscillating .etween its

animal and divine tendencies having .ecome awa-ened to the consciousness of .oth/ It is

during this stage that temptation plays its part in the progress of the soul/ It is a stage of

continual fighting of falling and rising of sinning and repenting for the man still lovingand reluctant to leave the gratifications in which he has so long lived yet also aspires to

the purity and e,cellence of the spiritual state and he is continually mortified .y an

undecided choice/

Urged on .y the divine life within him this stage .ecomes at last one of deep anguish andsuffering and then the soul is ushered into the third stage that of knowledge in which

the man rises a.ove .oth sin and temptation and enters into peace/

Temptation li-e contentment in sin is not a lasting conditionas the ma4ority of peoplesuppose0 it is a passing phase an e,perience through which the soul must pass0 .ut as to

whether a man will pass through that condition in this present life and realise holiness

and heavenly rest here and now will depend entirely upon the strength of his intellectualand spiritual e,ertions and upon the intensity and ardour with which he searches for

Truth/

Temptation with all its attendant torments can .e overcome here and now .ut it can only.e overcome .y -nowledge/ It is a condition of dar-ness or of semi&dar-ness/ The fullyenlightened soul is proof against all temptation/ +hen a man fully understands the

source nature and meaning of temptation in that hour he will con)uer it and will rest

from his long travail0 .ut whilst he remains in ignorance attention to religious

o.servances and much praying and reading of Scripture will fail to .ring him peace/


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If a man goes out to con)uer an enemy -nowing nothing of his enemy1s strength tactics

or place of am.ush he will not only ignominiously fail .ut will speedily fall into the

hands of the enemy/ He who would overcome his enemy the tempter must discover hisstronghold and place of concealment and must also find out the unguarded gates in his

own fortress where his enemy effects so easy an entrance/ This necessitates continual

meditation ceaseless watchfulness and constant and rigid introspection which lays .are.efore the spiritual eyes of the tempted one the vain and selfish motives of his soul/ This

is the holy warfare of the saints0 it is the fight upon which every soul enters when it

awa-ens out of its long sleep of animal indulgence/

Men fail to con)uer and the fight is indefinitely prolonged .ecause they la.our almostuniversally under two delusions9 first that all temptations come from without0 and

second that they are tempted .ecause of their goodness/ +hilst a man is held in .ondage

.y these two delusions he will ma-e no progress0 when he has sha-en them off he willpass on rapidly from victory to victory and will taste of spiritual 4oy and rest/

Two searching truths must ta-e the place of these two delusions and those truths are9first that all temptation comes from within# and second that a man is tempted because of

the evil that is within him. The idea that 'od a devil evil spirits or outward o.4ects arethe source of temptation must .e dispelled/

The source and cause of all temptation is in the inward desire# that .eing purified or

eliminated outward o.4ects and e,traneous powers are utterly powerless to move the soul

to sin or to temptation/ The outward o.4ect is merely the occasion of the temptationnever the cause# this is in the desire of the one tempted/ If the cause e,isted in the o.4ect

all men would .e tempted ali-e temptation could never .e overcome and men would .e

hopelessly doomed to endless torment0 .ut seated as it is in his own desires he has the

remedy in his own hands and can .ecome victorious over all temptation .y purifyingthose desires/ ! man is tempted .ecause there are within him certain desires or states of

mind which he has come to regard as unholy/ Thes desires may lie asleep for a long timeand the man may thin- that he has got rid of them when suddenly on the presentation of

an outward o.4ect the sleeping desire wa-es up and thirsts of immediate gratification0

and this is the state of temptation/

The good in a man is never tempted/ 'oodness destroys temptation/ It is the evil in a manthat is aroused and tempted/ The measure of a man1s temptations is the e,act register of

his own unholiness/ !s a man purifies his heart temptation ceases for when a certain

unlawful desire has .een ta-en out of the heart the o.4ect which formerly appealed to it

can no longer do so .ut .ecomes dead and powerless for there is nothing left in the heartthat can respond to it/The honest man cannot .e tempted to steal let the occasion .e ever

so opportune0 the man of purified appeties cannot .e tempted to gluttony and

drun-enness though the viands and wines .e the most luscious0 he of an enlightenedunderstanding whose mind is calm in the strength of inward virtue can never .e tempted

to anger irrita.ility or revenge and the wiles and charms of the wanton fall upon the

purified heart as empty meaningless shadows/


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Temptation shows a man 4ust where he is sinful and ignorant and is a means of urging

him on to higher altitudes of -nowledge and purity/ +ithout temptation the soul cannot

grow and .ecome strong there could .e no wisdom no real virtue0 and though therewould .e lethargy and death there could .e no peace and no fulness of life/ +hen

temptation is understood and con)uered perfection is assured and such perfection may

.come any man1s who is willing to cast every selfish and impure desire .y which he ispossessed into the sacrificial fire of -nowledge/ $et men therefore search diligently for

Truth realising that whilst they are su.4ect to temptation they have not comprehended

Truth and have much to learn/

"e who are tempted -now then that ye are tempted of yourselves/ 6For every man istempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts6 says the !postle %ames/ "ou are

tempted .ecause you are clinging to the animal within you and are unwilling to let go0

.ecause you are living in the false mortal self which is ever devoid of all true -nowledge-nowing nothing see-ing nothing .ut its own immediate gratification ignorant of every

Truth and of every divine *rinciple/ (linging to that self you continually suffer the pains

of three separate torments0 the torment of desire the torment of repletion and the tormentof remorse/

"o flameth Trishna, lust and thirst of things.

-ager, ye cleave to shadows, dote on dreams#

A false self in the midst ye plant, and makeA orld around which seems#

lind to the height beyond# deaf to the sound

/f sweet airs breathed from far past (ndra+s sky#

*umb to the summons of the true life kept0or him who false puts by,

o grow the strifes and lusts which make earth+s war,o grieve poor cheated hearts and flow salt tears#o wa$ the passions, envies, angers, hates#

o years chase bloodstained years

ith wild red feet."

In that false self lies the germ of every suffering the .light of every hope the su.stanceof every grief/ +hen you are ready to give it up0 when you are willing to have laid .are

.efore you all its selfishness impurity and ignorance and to confess its dar-ness to the

uttermost then will you enter upon the life of self&-nowledge and self&mastery0 you will.ecome conscious of the god within you of that divine nature which see-ing no

gratification a.ides in a region of perpetual 4oy and peace where suffering cannot come

and where temptation can find no foothold/ 3sta.lishing yourself day .y day more andmore firmly in that inward Divinity the time will at last come when you will .e a.le to

say with Him whom millions worship few understand and fewer still follow & 6The

*rince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me/6


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T!e Man o& In"e%r"y

There are times in the life of every man who ta-es his stand on high moral principles

when his faith in and -nowledge of those principles is tested to the uttermost and theway in which he comes out of the fiery trial decides as to whether he has sufficient

strength to live as a man of Truth and 4oin the company of the free or shall still remain aslave and a hireling to the cruel tas-master Self/

Such times of trial generally assume the form of a temptation to do a wrong thing andcontinue in comfort and prosperity or to stand .y what is right and accept poverty and

failure0 and so powerful is the trial that to the tempted one it plainly appears on the face

of things as though if he chooses the wrong his material success will .e assured for theremainder of his life .ut if he does what is right he will .e ruined for ever/

Fre)uently the man at once )uails and gives way .efore this appalling prospect which the

*ath of #ighteousness seems to hold out for him .ut should he prove sufficiently strong

to withstand this onslaught of temptation then the inward seducer the spirit of selfassumes the gra. of an !ngel of $ight and whispers 6Thin- of your wife and children0

thin- of those who are dependent upon you0 will you .ring them down to disgrace and

starvation26

Strong indeed and pure must .e the man who can come triumphant out of such a trial .uthe who does so enters at once a higher realm of life where his spiritual eyes are opened

to see .eautiful things0 and then poverty and ruin which seemed inevita.le do not come

.ut a more a.iding success comes and a peaceful heart and a )uiet conscience/ But hewho fails does not o.tain the promised prosperity and his heart is restless and his

conscience trou.led/

The right&doer cannot ultimately fail the wrong&doer cannot ultimately succeed for

"uch is the Law which moves to 1ighteousnesshich none at last can turn aside or stay,"

and it is .ecause 4ustice is at the heart of things& .ecause the 'reat $aw is good& that the

man of integrity is superior to fear and failure and poverty and shame and disgrace/!s

the poet further says of this $aw9

"The heart of its Love, the end of it

(s peace and cosummation sweetobey."

The man who fearing the loss of present pleasures or material comforts denies the Truthwithin him can .e in4ured and ro..ed and degraded and trampled upon .ecause he has

first in4ured ro..ed and degraded and trampled upon his own no.ler self0 .ut the man of

steadfast virtue of un.lemished integrity cannot .e su.4ect to such conditions .ecausehe has denied the craven self within him and has ta-en refuge in Truth/ It is not the

scourge and the chains which ma-e a man a slave .ut the fact that he s a slave/


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Slander !ccusation and malice cannot affect the righteous man nor call from him any

.itter response nor does he need to go a.out to defend himself and prove his innocence/

His innocence and integrity alone are a sufficient answer to all that hatred may attemptagainst him/ 5or can he ever .e su.dued .y the forces of dar-ness having su.dued all

those forces within himself0 .ut he turns all evil things to good account & out of dar-ness

he .rings light out of hatred love out of dishonour honour0 and slanders envies andmisrepresentations only serve to ma-e more .right the 4ewel of Truth within him and to

glorify his high and holy destiny/

$et the man of integrity re4oice and .e glad when he is severely tried0 let him .e than-ful

that he has .een given an opportunity of proving his loyalty to the no.le principles whichhe has espoused0 and let him thin-9 65ow is the hour of holy opportunity; 5ow is the day

of triumph for Truth; Though I lose the whole world I will note desert the right;6 So

thin-ing he will return good for evil and will thin- compassionately of the wrong&doer/

The slanderer the .ac-.iter and the wrong&doer may seem to succeed for a time .ut the

$aw of %ustice prevails0 the man of integrity may seem to fail for a time .ut he isinvinci.le and in none of the worlds visi.le or invisi.le can there .e forged a weapon

that shall prevail against him/

-s$rmna"on

There is one )uality which is pre&eminently necessary to spiritual development the

)uality of discrimination/

! man1s spiritual progress will .e painfully slow and uncertain until there opens with himthe eye of discrimination for without this testing proving searching )uality he will .ut

grope in the dar- will .e una.le to distinguish the real from the unreal the shadow from

the su.stance and will so confuse the false with the true as to mista-e the inwardpromptings of his animal nature for those of the spirit of Truth/

! .lind man left in a strange place may go grope his way in dar-ness .ut not without

much confusion and many painful falls and .ruisings/ +ithout discrimination a man is

mentally .lind and his life is a painful groping in dar-ness a confusion in which viceand virtue are indistinguisha.le one from the other where facts are confounded with

truths0 opinions with principles and where ideas events men and things appear to .e outof all relation to each other/

! man1s mind and life should .e free from confusion/ He should .e prepared to meetevery mental material and spritual difficulty and should not .e ine,trica.ly caught 7as

many are8 in the meshes of dou.t indecision and uncertainity when trou.les and so&

called misfortunes come along/ He should .e fortified against every emergency that cancome against him0 .ut such mental preparedness and strength cannot .e attained in any


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degree without discrimination and discrimination can only .e developed .y .ringing into

play and constantly e,ercising the analytical faculty/

Mind li-e muscle is developed .y use and the assiduous e,ercise of the mind in anygiven direction will develop in that direction mental capacity and power/ The merely

critical faculty is developed and strengthened .y continuously comparing and analysingthe ideas and opinions of others/ But discrimination is something more and greater than

criticism0 it is a spiritual )uality from which the cruelty and egotism which so fre)uentlyaccompany criticism are eliminated and .y virtue of which a man sees things as they are

and not as he would li-e them to .e/

Discrimination .eing a spiritual )uality can only .e developed .y spiritual methodsnamely .y )uestioning e,amining and analysing one1s own ideas opinions and

conduct/ The critical fault finding faculty must .e withdrawn from its merciless

application to the opinions and conduct of others and must .e applied with

undiminished severity to oneself/ ! man must .e prepared to )uestion his every opinion

his every thought and his every line of conduct and rigorously and logically test them0only in this way can the discrimination which destroys confusion will .e developed/

Before a man can enter upon such mental e,ercise he must ma-e himself of a teachable

spirit/ This does not mean that he must allow himself to .e led .y others0 it means that hemust .e prepared to yield up any cherished thoughts to which he clings if it will not .ear

the penetrating light of reason if it shrivels up .efore the pure flames of searching

aspirations/ The man who says 6I am right;6 and who refuses to )uestion his position inorder to discover whether he is right will continue to follow the line of his passions and

pre4udices and will not ac)uire discrimination/ The man who hum.ly as-s 6!m I right26

and then proceeds to test and prove his position .y earnest thought and the love of Truth

will always .e a.le to discover the true and to distinguish it from the false and he willac)uire the priceless possession of discrimination/

The man who is afraid to thin- searchingly upon his opinions and to reason critically

upon his position will have to develop moral courage .efore he can ac)uirediscrimination/

! man must .e true to himself fearless with himself .efore he can perceive the *ure

*rinciples of Truth .efore he can receive the all&revealing $ight of Truth/

The more Truth is in)uired of the .righter it shines0 it cannot suffer under e,amination

and analysis/

The more error is )uestioned the dar-er it grows0 it cannot survive the entrance of pure

and searching thought/

To 6prove all things6 is to find the good and throw the evil/


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He who reasons and meditates learns to discriminate0 he who discriminates discovers the

eternally True/

(onfusion suffering and spiritual dar-ness follow the thoughtless/

Harmony .lessedness and the $ight of Truth attend upon the thoughtful/

*assion and pre4udice are .lind and cannot discriminate9 they are still crucifying the&hrist and releasingarabbas.

Bele&. T!e Bass o& A$"on

Belief is an important word in the teachings of the wise and it figures prominently in all

religions/ !ccording to %esus a certain -ind of .elief is necessary to salvation orregeneration and Buddha definitely taught that right belief is the first and most essential

step in the +ay of Truth as without right .elief there cannot .e right conduct and hewho has not learned how to rightly govern and conduct himself has not yet

comprehended the simplest rudiments of Truth/

Belief as laid down .y the 'reat Teachers is not .elief in any particualr school

philosophy or religion .ut consists of an altitude of mind determining the whole courseof one+s life. Belief and conduct are therefore insepara.le for the one determines the

other/

Belief is the .asis of all action and this .eing so the .elief which dominates the heartsor mind is shown in the life/ 3very man acts thin-s lives in e,act accordance with the.elief which is rooted in his innermost .eing and such is the mathematical nature of the

laws which govern mind that it is a.solutely impossi.le for anyone to .elieve in two

opposing conditions at the same time/ For instance it is impossi.le to .elieve in 4usticeand in4ustice hatred and love peace and strife self and truth/ 3very man .elieves in one

or the other of these opposites never in both, and the daily conduct of every man

indicates the nature of his .elief/ The man who .elieves in 4ustice who regards it as aneternal and indestructi.le *rinciple never .oils over with righteous indignation does not

grow cynical and pessimistic over the ine)ualities of life and remains calm and

untrou.led through all trials and difficulties/ It is impossi.le for him to act otherwise for

he .elieves that 4ustice reigns and that therefore all that is called in4ustice is fleeting andillusory/

The man who is continually getting enraged over the in4ustice of his fellow men who

tal-s a.out himself .eing .adly treated or who mourns over the lac- of 4ustice in theworld around him shows .y his conduct his attitude of mind that he .elieves in

in4ustice/ However he may protest to the contrary in his inmost heart he .elieves that


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confusion and chaos are dominant in the universe the result .eing that he dwells in

misery and unrest and his conduct is faulty/

!gain he who .elieves in love in its sta.ility and powerpractises it under allcircumstances, never deviates from it and .estows it ali-e upon enemies as upon friends/

He who slanders and condemns who spea-s disparagingly of others or regards themwith contempt .elieves not in love .ut hatred0 all his actions prove it even though with

tongue or pen he may eulogise love/

The .eliever in peace is -nown .y his peaceful conduct/ It is impossi.le for him to

engage in strife/ If attac-ed he does not retaliate for he has seen the ma4esty of the angel

of peace and he can no longer pay homage to the demon of strife/ The stirrer&up of strifethe lover of argument he who rushes into self&defence upon any or every provocation

.elieves in strife and will have naught to do with peace/

Further he who .elieves in Truth renounces himself& that is he refuses to centre his life

in those passions desires and characteristics which crave only their own gratificationand .y thus renouncing he .ecomes steadfastly fi,ed in Truth and lives a wise .eautiful

and .lameless life/ The .eliever in self is -nown .y his daily indulgences gratifications

and vanities and .y the disappointments sorrows and mortifications which he

continually suffers/

The .eliever in Truth does not suffer for he has given up that self which is the cause of

such suffering/

It will .e seen .y the foregoing that every man .elieves either in permanent and eternal

*rinciples directing human life towards law and harmony or in the negation of those

*rinciples with the resultant chaos in human affairs and in his own life/

Belief in the divine *rinciples of %ustice (ompassion $ove constitutes the right belief

laid down .y Buddha as .eing the .asis of right conduct,and also the belief unto

salvation as emphasised in the (hristian Scriptures for he who so .elieves cannot dootherwise than .uild his whole life upon these *rinciples and so purifies his heart and

perfects his life/

Belief in the negation of this divine principle constitutes what is called in all religious

unbelief and this un.elief is manifested as a sinful trou.led and imperfect life/

+here there is #ight Belief there is a .lameless and perfect life0 where there is false.elief there is sin there is sorrow the mind and life are improperly governed and there is

affliction and unrest/ 6By their fruits ye shall -now them/6

There is much tal- a.out 6.elief in %esus6 .ut what does .elief in 4esus mean2 It means.elief in his words in the *rinciples he enunciated& and lived in his commandments and

in his e,emplary life of perfection/ He who declares .elief in %esus and yet is all the time

living in his lusts and indulgences or in the spirit of hatred and condemnation is self


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deceived/ He .elieves not in %esus/ He .elieves in his own animal self/ !s a faithful

servant delights in carrying out the commands of his master so he who .elieves in %esus

carries out his commandments and so is saved from sin/ The supreme test of .elief in%esus is this9*o ( keep his commandments2 !nd this test is applied .y St/%ohn himself in

the following words9 6He that saith/ I -now him 7%esus8 and keepeth not His

&ommandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him/ But whoso -eepeth his word in himverily is the word of 'od perfected/6

It will .e found after a rigid and impartial analysis that belieflies at the root of all human

conduct/ 3very thought every act every ha.it is the direct outcome of a certain fi,ed

.elief and one1s conduct alters only as one1s .elief are modified/ +hat we cling to in thatwe .elieve0 what we practise in that we .elieve/ +hen our .elief in a thing ceases we

can no longer cling to or practise it0 it falls away from us as a garment out&worn/ Men

cling to their lusts and lies and vanities .ecause they .elieve in them .elieve there isgain and happiness in them/ +hen they transfer their .elief to the divine )ualities of

purity and humility those sins trou.le them no more/

Men are saved from error .y .elief in the supremacy of Truth/ They are saved from sin

.y .elief in Holiness or *erfection/ They are saved from evil .y .elief in 'ood for every.elief is manifested in the life/ It is not necessary to in)uire as to a man1s theological

.elief for that is of little or no account for what can it avail a man to .elieve that %esus

died for him or that %esus is 'od or that he is 64ustified .y faith6 if he continues to livein his lower sinful nature2 !ll that is necessary to asis this9 6How does a man live26

6How does he conduct himself under trying circumstances26 The answer to these

)uestions will show whether a man .elieves in the power of evil or in the power of 'ood/

He who .elieves in the power of 'ood lives a good spiritual or godly life for 'oodness

is 'od yea verily is 'od Himself and he will soon leave .ehind him all sins andsorrows who .elieves with steadfast and unwavering faith in the Supreme 'ood/

T!e Bele& T!a" Sa#es

It has .een said that a man1s whole life and character is the outcome of his belief and also

that his beliefhas nothing whatever to do with his life/ oth statements are true. The

confusion and contradiction of these two statements are only apparent and are )uic-ly

dispelled when it is remem.ered that there are two entirely distinct kinds of beliefs,namely Head(bele& and Hear"(bele& /

Head or intellectual .elief is not fundamental and causative .ut it is superficial and

conse)uent and that it has no power in the moulding of a man1s character the most

superficial o.server may easily see/ Ta-e for instance half a do


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another is igno.le0 one will .e mild and gentle another coarse and irasci.le0 one will .e

honest another dishonest0 one will indulge certain ha.its which another will rigidly

a.4ure and so on plainly indicating that theological .elief is not an influential factor in aman1s life/

! man1s theological .elief is merely his intellectual opinion or view of the universe/ 'odThe Bi.le etc/ and .ehind and underneath this head&.elief there lies deeply rooted in his

innermost .eing the hidden silentsecret belief of his heart, and it is this .elief whichmoulds and ma-es his whole life/ It is this which ma-es those si, men who whilst

holding the same theology are yet so vastly at variance in their deeds& they differ in the

vital belief of the heart.

*!a". "!en. s "!s !ear"(bele&/

(t is that which a man loves and clings to and fosters in his soul# for he thus loves and

clings to and fosters in his heart .ecause he believes in them and .elieving in them and

loving them he practises them0 thus is his life the effect of his belief .ut it has norelation to the particular creed which comprises his intellectual .elief/ One man clings to

impure and immoral things .ecause he .elieves in them0 another does not cling to them

.ecause he has ceased to .elieve in them/ ! man cannot cling to anything unless he

.elieves in it0 .elief always precedes action therefore a man1s deeds and life are the fruitsof his .elief/

The *riest and the $evite who passed .y the in4ured and helpless man held no dou.t

very strongly to the theological doctrines of their fathers& that was their intellectual.elief& .ut in their hearts they did not .elieve in mercy and so lived and acted

accordingly/ The good Samaritan may or may not have had any theological .eliefs nor

was it necessary that he should have0 .ut in his heart he .elieved in mercy and actedaccordingly/

Strictly spea-ing there are only two .eliefs which vitally affect the life and they are

bele& n %ood and bele& n e#l0

He who .elieves in all those things that are good will love them and live in them0 he

who .elieves in those things that are impure and selfish will love them and cling tothem/ The tree is -nown .y its fruits/

! man1s .eliefs a.out 'od %esus and the Bi.le are one thing0 his life as .ound up in his

actions is another0 therefore a man1s theological .elief is of no conse)uence0 .ut thethoughts which he har.ours his attitude of mind towards others and his actions theseand these only determine and demonstrate whether the .elief of a man1s heart is fi,ed in

the false or true/


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T!ou%!" And A$"on

!s the fruit to the tree and the water to the spring so is action to thought/ It does not

come into manifestation suddenly and without a cause/ It is the result of a long and silentgrowth0 the end of a hidden process which has long .een gathering force/ The fruit of the

tree and the water gushing from the roc- are .oth the effect of a com.ination of naturalprocesses in air and earth which have long wor-ed together in secret to produce thephenomenon0 and the .eautiful acts of enlightenment and the dar- deeds of sin are .oth

the ripened effects of trains of thought which have long .een har.oured in the mind/

The sudden falling when greatly tempted into some grievous sin .y one who was

.elieved and who pro.a.ly .elieved himself to stand firm is seen neither to .e asuddennor a causeless thing when the hidden process of thought which led up to it are revealed/

Thefallingwas merely the end the outwor-ing the finished result of what commenced

in the mind pro.a.ly years .efore/ The man had allowed a wrong thought to enter hismind0 and a second and a third time he had welcomed it and allowed it to nestle in his

heart/ 'radually he .ecame accustomed to it and cherished and fondled and tended it0and so it grew until at last it attained such strength and force that it attracted to itself the

opportunity which ena.led it to .urst forth and ripen into act/ !s falls the stately .uildingwhose foundations have .een gradually undermined .y the action of water so at last falls

the strong man who allows corrupt thoughts to creep into his mind and secretly

undermine his character/

+hen it is seen that all sin and temptation are the natural outcome of the thoughts of the

individual the way to overcome sin and temptation .ecomes plain and its achievement a

near possi.ility and sooner or later a certain reality0 for if a man will admit cherish and

.rood upon thoughts that are pure and good those thoughts 4ust as surely as the impure

will grow and gather force and will at last attract to themselves the opportunities whichwill ena.le them to ripen into act/

6There is nothing hidden that shall not .e revealed6 and every thought that is har.oured

in the mind must .y virtue of the impelling force which is inherent in the universe at last.lossom into act good or .ad according to its nature/ The divine Teacher and the

sensualist are .oth the product of their own thoughts and have .ecome what they are as

the result of the seeds of thought which they have implanted are allowed to fall into thegarden of the heart and have afterwards watered tended and cultivated/

$et no man thin- he can overcome sin and temptation .y wrestling with opportunity0 he

can only overcome them .y purifying his thoughts0 and if he will day .y day in thesilence of his soul and in the performance of his duties strenuously overcome allerroneous inclination and put in its place thoughts that are true and that will endure the

light opportunity to do evil will give place to opportunity for accomplishing good for a

man can only attarct that to him which is in harmony with his nature and no temptationcan gravitate to a man unless there is that in his heart which is capa.le of responding to it/


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'uard well your thoughts reader for what you really are in your secret thoughts today

.e it good or evil you will sooner or later becomein actual deed/ He who unwearingly

guards the portals of his mind against the intrusion of sinful thoughts and occupieshimself with loving thoughts with pure strong and .eautiful thoughts will when the

season of their ripening comes .ringforth the fruits of gentle and holy deeds and no

temptation that can come against him shall find him unarmed or unprepared/

1our Men"al A"""ude

!s a .eing of thought your dominant mental attitude will determine your condition in

life/ It will also .e the gauge of your -nowledge and the measures of your attainment/The so&called limitations of your nature are the .oundary lines of your thoughts0 they are

self&erected fences and can .e drawn to a narrower circle e,tended to a wider or .e

allowed to remain/

"ou are the thin-er of your thoughts and as such you are the ma-er of yourself andcondition/ Thought is causal and creative and appears in your character and life in the

form of results/ There are no accidents in your life/ Both its harmonies and antagonisms

are the responsive echoes of your thoughts/ ! man thin-s and his life appears/

If your dominant mental attitude is peacea.le and lova.le .liss and .lessedness willfollow you0 if it .e resistant and hateful trou.le and distress will cloud your pathway/

Out of ill&will will come grief and disaster0 out of good&will healing and reparation/

"ou imagine your circumstances as .eing separate from yourself .ut they are intimatelyrelated to your thought world/ 5othing appears without an ade)uate cause/ 3verythingthat happens is 4ust/ 5othing is fated everything is formed/

!s you thin- you travel0 as you love you attract/ "ou are today where your thoughts

have .rought you0 you will .e tomorrow where your thoughts ta-e you/ "ou cannot

escape the result of your thoughts .ut you can endure and learn can accept and .e glad/

"ou will always come to the place where your love7your most a.iding and intense

thought8 can receive its measure of gratification/ If your love .e .ase you will come to a

.ase place0 if it .e .eautiful you will come to a .eautiful place/

"ou can alter your thoughts and so alter your condition/ Strive to perceive the vastnessand grandeur of your responsi.ility/ "ou are powerful not powerless/ "ou are as

powerful to o.ey as you are to diso.ey0 as strong to .e pure as to .e impure0 as ready for

wisdom as for ignorance/ "ou can learn what you will can remain as ignorant as youchoose/ If you love -nowledge you will o.tain it0 if you love wisdom you will secure it0 if

you love purity you will realise it/ !ll things await your acceptance and you choose .y

the thoughts which you entertain/


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! man remains ignorant .ecause he loves ignorance and chooses ignorant thoughts0 a

man .ecomes wise .ecause he loves wisdom and chooses wise thoughts/ 5o man is

hindered .y another0 he is only hindered .y himself/ 5o man suffers .ecause of another0he suffers only .ecause of himself/ By the no.le 'ateway of *ure Thought you can enter

the highest Heaven0 .y the igno.le doorway of impure thought you can descend into the

lowest hell/

"our mental attitude towards others will faithfully react upon yourself and will manifestitself in every relation of your life/ 3very impure and selfish thought that you send out

comes .ac- to you in your circumstances in some form of suffering0 every pure and

unselfish thought returns to you in some form of .lessedness/ "our circumstances areeffectsof which the cause is inward and invisi.le/ !s the father&mother of your thoughts

you are the ma-er of your state and condition/ +hen you -now yourself you will

perceive that every event in your life is weighed in the faultless .alance of e)uity/ +henyou understand the law within your mind you will cease to regard yourself as the

impotent and .lind tool of circumstances and will .ecome the strong and seeing master/

Sown% And Reapn%

'o into the fields and country lanes in the spring&time and you will see farmers andgardeners .usy sowing seeds in the newly prepared soil/ If you were to as- any one of

those gardeners or farmers what -ind of produce he e,pected from the seed he was

sowing he would dou.tless regard you as foolish and would tell you that he does not6e,pect6 at all that it is a matter of common -nowledge that his produce will .e of the

-ind which he is sowing and that he is sowing wheat or .arley or turnips as the casemay .e in order to reproduce that particular -ind/

3very fact and process in 5ature contains a moral lesson for the wise man/ There is nolaw in the world of 5ature around us which is not to .e found operating with the same

mathematical certainty in the mind of man and in human life/ !ll the para.les of %esus

are illustrative of this truth and are drawn from the simple facts of 5ature/ There is aprocess of seed&sowing in the mind and life a spiritual sowing which leads to a harvest

according to the -ind of seed sown/ Thoughts words and acts are seeds sown and .y

the inviola.le law of things they produce after their -ind/

The man who thin-s hateful thoughts .rings hatred upon himself/ The man who thin-sloving thoughts is loved/ The man whose thoughts words and acts are sincere is

surrounded .y sincere friends0 the insincere man is surrounded .y insincere friends/ The

man who sows wrong thoughts and deeds and prays that 'od will .less him is in theposition of a farmer who having sown tares as-s 'od to .ring forth for him a harvest of

wheat/


20/42

"That which ye sow, ye reap# see yonder fields

The sesamum was sesamum, the corn

as corn# the silence and the darkness knew#o is a man+s fate born."

"He cometh reaper of the things he sowed."

He who would .e .lest let him scatter .lessings/ He who would .e happy let himconsider the happiness of others/

Then there is another side to this seed sowing/ The farmer must scatter all his seed upon

the land and then leave it to the elements/ +ere he to covetously hoard his seed hewould lose .oth it and his produce for his seed would perish/ It perishes when he sows it

.ut in perishing it .rings forth a great a.undance/ So in life we get .y giving0 we grow

rich .y scattering/ The man who says he is in possession of -nowledge which he cannot

give out .ecause the world is incapa.le of receiving it either does not possess such

-nowledge or if he does will soon .e deprived of it & if he is not already so deprived/ Tohoard is to lose0 to e,clusively retain is to .e dispossessed/

3ven the man who would increase his material wealth must .e willing to part with

7invest8 what little capital he has and then wait for the increase/ So long as he retains hishold on his precious money he will not only remain poor .ut will .e growing poorer

everyday/ He will after all lose the thing he loves and will lose it without increase/ But

if he wisely lets it go0 if li-e the farmer he scatters his seeds of gold then he canfaithfully wait for and reasona.ly e,pect the increase/

Men are as-ing 'od to give them peace and purity and righteousness and .lessedness

.ut are not o.taining these things0 and why not2 Because they are not practising them notsowing them/ I once heard a preacher pray very earnestly for forgiveness and shortlyafterwards in the course of his sermon he called upon his congregation to 6show no

mercy to the enemies of the church/6 Such self&delusion is pitiful and men have yet to

learn that the way to o.tain peace and .lessedness is to scatter peaceful and .lessedthoughts words and deeds/

Men .elieve that they can sow the seeds of strife impurity and un.rotherliness and then

gather in a rich harvest of peace purity and concord .y merely as-ing for it/ +hat more

pathetic sight than to see an irrita.le and )uarrelsome man praying for peace/ Men reapthat which they sow and any man can reap all .lessedness now and at once if he will put

aside selfishness and sow .roadcast the seeds of -indness gentleness and love/

If a man is trou.led perple,ed sorrowful or unhappy let him as-9

6+hat mental seeds have I .een sowing26

6+hat seeds am I sowing26


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6+hat have I done for others26

6+hat is my attitude towards others26

6+hat seeds of trou.le and sorrow and unhappiness have I sown that I should thus reap

these .itter weeds26

$et him see- within and find and having found let him a.andon all the seeds of self and

sow henceforth only the seeds of Truth/

$et him learn of the farmer the simple truths of wisdom/

T!e Re%n O& Law

The little party gods have had their day/ The ar.itrary gods creatures of human caprice

and ignorance are falling into disrepute/ Men have )uarrelled over and defended them

until they have grown weary of the strife and now everywhere they are relin)uishing

and .rea-ing up these helpless idols of their long worship/

The god of revenge hatred and 4ealousy who gloats over the downfall of his enemies0

the partial god who gratifies all our narrow and selfish desires0 the god who saves only

the creatures of his particular special creed0 the god of e,clusiveness and favouritism0such were the gods 7miscalled .y us 'od8 of our soul1s infancy gods .ase and foolish as

ourselves the fa.rications of our selfish self/ !nd we relin)uished our petty gods with

.itter tears and misgivings and .ro-e our idols with .leeding hands/ But in so doing wedid not lose sight of 'od0 nay we drew nearer to the great silent Heart of $ove/Destroying the idols of self we .egan to comprehend somewhat of the *ower which

cannot .e destroyed and entered into a wider -nowledge of the 'od of $ove of *eace of

%oy0 the 'od in whom revenge and partiality cannot e,ist0 the 'od of $ight from whosepresence the dar-ness of fear and dou.t and selfishness cannot choose .ut flee/

+e have reached one of those epochs in the world1s progress which witnesses the passing

of the false gods0 the gods of human selfishness and human illusion/ The new&old

revelation of one universal impersonal Truth has again dawned upon the world and itssearching light has carried consternation to the perisha.le gods who ta-e shelter under the

shadow of self/

Men have lost faith in a god who can .e ca4oled who rules ar.itrarily and capriciously

su.verting the whole order of things to gratify the wishes of his worshippers and areturning with a new light in their eyes and a new 4oy in their hearts to the 2od o& Law0

!nd to Him they turn not for personal happiness and gratification .ut for -nowledge for

understanding for wisdom for li.eration from the .ondage of self/ !nd thus turning


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they do not see- in vain nor are they sent away empty and discomfited/ They find within

themselves the reign of Law,that every thought every impulse every act and word

.rings a.out a result in e,act accordance with its own nature0 that thoughts of love .ringa.out .eautiful and .lissful conditions that hateful thoughts .ring a.out distorted and

painful conditions that thoughts and acts good and evil are weighed in the faultless

.alance of the Supreme $aw and receive their e)ual measure of .lessedness on the onehand and misery on the other/ !nd thus finding they enter a new *ath the *ath of

/bedience to the Law.3ntering that *ath they no longer accuse no longer dou.t no

longer fret and despond for they -now that 'od is right the universal laws are right thecosmos is right and that they themselves are wrong if wrong there is and that their

salvation depends upon themselves upon their own efforts upon their personal

acceptance of that which is good and deli.erate re4ection of that which is evil/ 5o longer

merely hearers they .ecome doers of the +ord and they ac)uire -nowledge theyreceive understanding they grow in wisdom and they enter into the glorious life of

li.eration from the .ondage of self/

6The $aw of the $ord is perfect enlightening the eyes/6 Imperfection lies in man1signorance in man1s .lind folly/ *erfection which is -nowledge of the *erfect $aw is

ready for all who earnestly see- it0 it .elongs to the order of things0 it is yours and mine

now if we will only put self&see-ing on one side and adopt the life of self&o.literation/

The -nowledge of Truth with its unspea-a.le 4oy its calmness and )uiet strength is notfor those who persist in clinging to their 6rights6 defending their 6interests6 and fighting

for their 6opinions60 whose wor-s are im.ued with the personal 6I6 and who .uild upon

the shifting sands of selfishness and egotism/ It is for those who renounce these causes of

strife these sources of pain and sorrow0 and they are indeed (hildren of Truth disciplesof the Master worshippers of the most High/

The (hildren of Truth are in the world today0 they are thin-ing acting writing spea-ing0

yea even prophets are amongst us and their influence is pervading the whole earth/ !nundercurrent of holy 4oy is gathering force in the world so that men and women are

moved with new aspirations and hopes and even those who neither see nor hear feel

within themselves strange yearnings after a .etter and fuller life/

The $aw reigns and it reigns in men1s hearts and lives0 and they have come to understandthe reign of $aw who have sought out the Ta.ernacle of the true 'od .y the fair pathway

of unselfishness/

'od does not alter for man for this would mean that the perfect must .ecome imperfect0

man must alter for 'od and this implies that the imperfect must .ecome perfect/ The$aw cannot .e .ro-en for man otherwise confusion would ensue0 man must o.ey the

$aw0 this is in accordance with harmony order 4ustice/

There is no more painful .ondage than to .e at the mercy of one1s inclinations0 no greater

li.erty than utmost o.edience to the $aw of Being/ !nd the $aw is that the heart shall .epurified the mind regenerated and the whole .eing .rought in su.4ection to $ove till self


23/42

is dead and $ove is all in all for the reign of $aw is the reign of $ove/ !nd $ove waits

for all re4ecting none/ $ove may .e claimed and entered into now for it is the heritage

of all/

!h .eautiful Truth; To -now that now man may accept his divine heritage and enter the

=ingdom of Heaven;

Oh pitiful error; To -now that man re4ects it .ecause of love of self;

O.edience to the $aw means the destruction of sin and self and the realisation of

unclouded 4oy and undying peace/

(linging to one1s selfish inclinations means the drawing a.out one1s soul clouds of pain

and sorrow which dar-en the light of Truth0 the shutting out of oneself from all real

.lessedness0 for 6whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap/6

:erily the $aw reigneth and reigneth for ever and %ustice and $ove are its eternalministers/

T!e Supreme Jus"$e

The material universe is maintained and preserved .y the e)uili.rium of its forces/

The moral universe is sustained and protected .y the perfect .alance of its e)uivalents/

!s in the physical world 5ature a.hors a vaccum so in the spiritual world disharmony isannulled/

Underlying the distur.ances and destructions of 5ature and .ehind the muta.ility of its

forms there a.ides the eternal and perfect mathematical symmetry0 and at the heart oflife .ehind all its pain uncertainty and unrest there a.ide the eternal harmony the

un.ro-en peace and inviola.le %ustice/

Is there then no in4ustice in the universe2 There is in4ustice and there is not/ It depends

upon the -ind of life and the state of consciousness from which a man loo-s out upon the

world and 4udges/ The man who lives in his passions sees in4ustice everywhere0 the manwho has overcome his passions sees the operations of %ustice in every department of

human life/ In4ustice is the confused feverish dream of passion real enough to those who

are dreaming it0 %ustice is the permanent reality in life gloriously visi.le to those whohave wa-ened out of the painful nightmare of self/


24/42

The Divine Order cannot .e perceived until passion and self are transcended0 the

Faultless %ustice cannot .e apprehended until all sense of in4ury and wrong is consumed

in the pure flames of all&em.racing $ove/

The man who thin-s 6I have .een slighted I have .een in4ured I have .een insulted I

have .een treated un4ustly6 cannot -now what %ustice is0 .linded .y self he cannotperceive the pure *rinciples of Truth and .rooding upon his wrongs he lives in continual

misery/

In the region of passion there is a ceaseless conflict of forces causing suffering to all who

are involved in them/ There is action and reaction deed and conse)uence cause and

effect0 and within and a.ove all is the Divine %ustice regulating the play of forces with theutmost mathematical accuracy .alancing cause and effect with the finest precision/ But

this %ustice is not perceived & cannot .e perceived & .y those who are engaged in the

conflict0 .efore this can .e done the fierce warfare of passion must .e left .ehind/

The world of passion is the a.ode of schisms )uarrellings wars law&suits accusationscondemnations impurities wea-nesses follies hatreds revenges and resentments/ How

can a man perceive %ustice or understand Truth who is even partly involved in the fierce

play of its .linding elements2 !s well e,pect a man caught in the flames of a .urning

.uilding to sit down and reason out the cause of the fire/

In this realm of passion men see in4ustice in the actions of others .ecause seeing only

immediate appearances they regard every act as standing .y itself undetached from

cause and conse)uence/ Having no -nowledge of cause and effect in the moral spheremen do not see the e,acting and .alancing process which is momentarily proceeding nor

do they ever regard their own actions as un4ust .ut only the actions of others/ ! .oy

.eats a defenceless animal then a man .eats the defenceless .oy for his cruelty then astronger man attca-s the man for his cruelty to the .oy/ 3ach .elieves the other to .eun4ust and cruel and himself to .e 4ust and humane0 and dou.tless most of all would the

.oy 4ustify his conduct toward the animal as altogether necessary/ Thus does ignorance

-eep alive hatred and strife0 thus do men .lindly inflict suffering upon themselves livingin passion and resentment and not finding the true way in life/ Hatred is met with hatred

passion with passion strife with strife/ The man who -ills is himself -illed0 the thief who

lives .y depriving others is himself deprived0 the .east that preys on others is hunted and-illed0 the accuser is accused the condemner is condemned the denouncer is persecuted/

"y this the slayer+s knife doth stab himself,

The un%ust %udge has lost his own defender,

The false tongue dooms its lie, the creeping thiefAnd spoiler rob to render.

uch is the Law."

*assion also has its active and passive sides/ Fool and fraud oppressor and slave

aggressor and retaliator the charlatan and the superstitious complement each other andcome together .y the operation of the $aw of %ustice/ Men unconsciously cooperate in


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the mutual production of affliction0 6the .lind lead the .lind and .oth fall together into

the ditch/6 *ain grief sorrow and misery are the fruits of which passion is the flower/

+here the passion&.ound soul sees only in4ustice the good man he who has con)ueredpassion sees cause and effect sees the Supreme %ustice/ It is impossi.le for such a man

to regard himself as treated un4ustly .ecause he has ceased to see in4ustice/ He -nowsthat no one can in4ure or cheat him having ceased to in4ure or cheat himself/ However

passionately or ignorantly men may act towards him it cannot possi.ly cause him anypain for he -nows that whatever comes to him 7it may .e a.use and persecution8 can

only come as the effect of what he himself has formerly sent out/ He therefore regards all

things as good re4oices in all things loves his enemies and .lesses them that curse himregarding them as the .lind .ut .eneficent instruments .y which he is ena.led to pay his

moral de.ts to the 'reat $aw/

The good man having put away all resentment retaliation self&see-ing and egotism has

arrived at a state of e)uili.riumand has there.y .ecome identified with the 3ternal and

Universal 3)uili.rium/ Having lifted himself a.ove the .lind forces of passion heunderstands those forces contemplates them with a calm penetrating insight li-e the

solitary dweller upon a mountain who loo-s down upon the conflict of the storms .eneathhis feet/ For him in4ustice has ceased and he sees ignorance and suffering on the one

hand and enlightenment and .liss on the other/ He sees that not only do the fool and the

slave need his sympathy .ut that the fraud and the oppressor are e)ually in need of itand so his compassion is e,tended towards all/

The Supreme %ustice and the Supreme $ove are one/ (ause and effect cannot .e avoided0

conse)uences cannot .e escaped/

+hile a man is given to hatred resentment anger and condemnation he is su.4ect toin4ustice as the dreamer to his dream and cannot do otherwise than see in4ustice0 .ut hewho has overcome those fiery and .inding elements -nows that unerring %ustice presides

over all that in reality there is no such thing as in4ustice in the whole of the universe/

T!e Use O& Reason

+e have heard it said that reason is a .lind guide and that it draws men away from Truth

rather than leads them to it/ If this were true it were .etter to remain or to .ecomeunreasona.le and to persuade others so to do/ +e have found however that the diligentcultivation of the divine faculty of reason .rings a.out calmness and mental poise and

ena.les one to meet cheerfully the pro.lems and difficulties of life/

It is true there is a higher light than reason0 even that of the Spirit of Truth itself .ut

without the aid of reason Truth cannot .e apprehended/ They who refuse to trim the


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lamp of reason will never whilst they so refuse perceive the light of Truth for the light

of reason is a reflection of that $ight/

#eason is a purely a.stract )uality and comes midway .etween the animal and divineconsciousness in man and leads if rightly employed from the dar-ness of one to the

$ight of the other/ It is true that reason may .e enlisted in the service of the lower self&see-ing nature .ut this is only a result of its partial and imperfect e,ercise/ ! fuller

development of reason leads away from the selfish nature and ultimately allies the soulwith the highest the divine/

That spiritual perceival who searching for the Holy 'rail of the *erfect $ife is again and

again

"left alone,And wearying in a land of sand and thorns,"

is not so stranded .ecause he has followed reason .ut .ecause he is still clinging to andis reluctant to leave some remnants of his lower nature/ He who will use the light of

reason as a torch to search for Truth will not .e left at last in comfortless dar-ness/

6(ome now and let us reason together saith the $ord0 though your sins .e as scarlet

they shall .e as white as snow/6

Many men and women pass through untold sufferings and at last die in their sins

because they refuse to reason#.ecause they cling to those dar- delusions which even afaint glimmer of the light of reason would dispel0 and all must use their reason freely

fully and faithfully who would e,change the scarlet ro.e of sin and suffering for the

white garment of .lamelessness and peace/

It is .ecause we have proved and -now these truths that we e,hort men to

"tread the middle road, whose courseright reason traces, and soft 3uiet

smooths,"

for reason leads away from passion and selfishness into the )uiet ways of sweet

persuasion and gentle forgiveness and he will never .e led astray nor will he follow.lind guides who faithfully adheres to the !postolic in4unction 6*rove all things and

hold fast that which is good/6 They therefore who despise the light of reason despise the$ight of Truth/

$arge num.ers of people are possessed of the strange delusion that reason is somehow

intimately connected with the denial of the e,istence of 'od/ This is pro.a.ly due to the

fact that those who try to prove that there is no 'od usually profess to ta-e their stand

upon reason while those who try to prove the reverse generally profess to ta-e their standon faith/ Such argumentative com.atants however are fre)uently governed more .y


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pre4udice than either reason or faith their o.4ect .eing not to find Truth .ut to defend

and confirm a preconceived opinion/

#eason is concerned not with ephemeral opinions .ut with the esta.lished truth ofthings and he who is possessed of the faculty of reason in its purity and e,cellence can

never .e enslaved .y pre4udice and will put from him all preconceived opinions asworthless/ He will neither attempt to prove nor disprove .ut after .alancing e,tremes and

.ringing together all apparent contradictions he will carefully and dispassionately weighand consider them and so arrive at Truth/

#eason is in reality associated with all that is pure and gentle moderate and 4ust/ It is

said of a violent man that he is 6unreasona.le6 of a -ind and considerate man that he is6reasona.le6 and of an insane man that he has 6lost his reason/6 Thus it is seen that the

word is used even to a great e,tent unconsciously though none the less truly in a very

comprehensive sense and though reason is not actually love and thoughtfulness and

gentleness and sanity it leads to and is intimately connected with these divine )ualities

and cannot e,cept for purposes of analysis .e dissociated from them/

#eason represents all that is high and no.le in man/ It distinguishes him from the .rute

which .lindly follows its animal inclinations and 4ust in the degree that man diso.eys the

voice of reason and follows his inclinations does he .ecome .rutish/ !s Milton says9"1eason in man obscured, or not obeyed,

(mmediately inordinate desires

And upstart passions catch the government0rom reason, and to servitude reduce

4an till then free."

The following definition of 6reason6 from 5uttall1s Dictionary will give some idea of thecomprehensiveness of the word9

The cause, ground, principle, or motive of anything said or done# efficient cause# final

cause# the faculty of intelligence in man# especially the faculty by which we arrive at

necessary truth.

It will thus .e seen that 6reason6 is a term the .readth of which is almost sufficient toem.race even Truth itself and !rch.ishop Trench tells us in his cele.rated wor- On the

Study of +ordsthat the terms #eason and +ord6are indeed so essentially one and the

same that the 'ree- language has one word for them .oth6 so that the +ord of 'od isthe #eason of 'od0 and one of the renderings of $ao&t


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Sel&(-s$plne

! man does not live until he .egins to discipline himself0 he merely e,ists/ $i-e ananimal he gratifies his desires and pursues his inclinations 4ust where they may lead him/

He is happy as a .east is happy .ecause he is not conscious of what he is depriving

himself0 he suffers as the .east suffers .ecause he does not -now the way out of

suffering/ He does not intelligently reflect upon life and lives in a series of sensationslongings and confused memories which are unrelated to any central idea or principle/ !

man whose inner life is so ungoverned and chaotic must necessarily manifest this

confusion in the visi.le conditions of his outer life in the world0 and though for a timerunning with the stream of his desires he may draw to himself a more or less large share

of the outer necessities and comforts of life he never achieves any real success nor

accomplishes any real good and sooner or later wordly failure and disaster are inevita.le

as the direct result of the inward failure to properly ad4ust and regulate those mentalforces which ma-e the outer life/

Before a man accomplish anything of an enduring nature in the world he must first of all

ac)uire some measure of success in the management of his own mind/ This is asmathematical a truism as that two and two are four for 6out of the heart are the issues of

life/6 If a man cannot govern the forces within himself he cannot hold a firm hand upon

the outer activities which form his visi.le life/ On the other hand as a man succeeds ingoverning himself he rises to higher and higher levels of power and usefulness and

success in the world/

The only difference .etween the life of the .east and that of the undisciplined man is thatthe man has a wider variety of desires and e,periences a greater intensity of suffering/ Itmay .e said of such a man that he is dead .eing truly dead to self&control chastity

fortitude and all the no.ler )ualities which constitute life/ In the consciousness of such a

man the crucified (hrist lies entom.ed awaiting that resurrection which shall revivify themortal sufferer and wa-e him up to a -nowledge of tha realities of his e,istence/

+ith the practice of self&discipline a man .egins to live for he then commences to rise

a.ove the inward confusion and to ad4ust his conduct to a steadfast centre within himself/

He ceases to follow where inclination leads him reins in the steed of his desires andlives in accordance with the dictates of reason and wisdom/ Hitherto his life has .een

without purpose or meaning .ut now he .egins to consciously mould his own destiny0 heis 6clothed and in his right mind/6

In the process of self&discipline there are three stages namely0

30 +on"rol

40 ur&$a"on

50 Reln6us!men"


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! man .egins to discipline himself .y controlling those passions which have hitherto

controlled him0 he resists temptation and guards himself against all those tendencies to

selfish gratifications which are so easy and natural and which have formerly dominatedhim/ He .rings his appetite into su.4ection and .egins to eat as a reasona.le and

responsi.le .eing practising moderation and thoughtfulness in the selection of his food

with the o.4ect of ma-ing his .ody a pure instrument through which he may live and actas .ecomes a man and no longer degarding that .ody .y pandering to gustatory pleasure/

He puts a chec- upon his tongue his temper and in fact his every animal desire and

tendency and this he does .y referring all his acts to a fi,ed centre within himself/ It is aprocess of living from within outward instead of as formerly from without inward/ He

conceives of an ideal and enshrining that ideal in the sacred recesses of his heart he

regulates his conduct in accordance with its e,action and demands/

There is a philosophical hypothesis that at the heart of every atom and every aggregationof atoms in the universe there is a motionless centerwhich is the sustaining source of all

the universal activities/ Be this as it may there is certainly in the heart of every man and

woman a selfless centre without which the outer man could not .e and the ignoring ofwhich leads to suffering and confusion/ This selfless center which ta-es the form in the

mind of an ideal of unselfishness and spotless purity the attainment of which is

desira.le is man1s eternal refuge from the storms of passion and all the conflicting

elements of his lower nature/ It is the #oc- of !ges the (hrist within the divine andimmortal in all men/

!s a man practises self&control he appro,imates more and more to this inward reality

and is less and less swayed .y passion and grief pleasure and pain and lives a steadfast

and virtuous life manifesting manly strength and fortitude/ The restraining of thepassions however is merely the initial stage in self&discipline and is immediately

followed .y the process of *urification/ By this a man so purifies himself as to ta-epassion out of the heart and mind altogether0 not merely restraining it when it rises withinhim .ut preventing it from rising altogether/ By merely restraining his passions a man

can never arrive at peace can never actualise his ideal0 he must purify those passions/

It is in the purification of his lower nature that a man .ecomes strong and god&li-e

standing firmly upon the ideal centre within and rendering all temptations powerless andineffectual/ This purification is effected .y thoughtful care earnest meditation and holy

aspiration0 and as success is achieved confusion of mind and life pass away and

calmness of mind and spirituali


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+ith the growth in purity0 all the elements which constitute a strong and virtuous

manhood are developed in an increasing degree of power and as a man .rings his lower

nature into su.4ection and ma-es his passions do his .idding 4ust so much will he mouldthe outer circumstances of his life and influence others for good/

The third stage of self&discipline that of #elin)uishment is a process of letting the lowerdesires and all impure and unworthy thoughts drop out of the mind and also refusing to

give them any admittance leaving them to perish/ !s a man grows purer he perceivesthat all evil is powerless unless it receives his encouragement and so he ignores it and

lets it pass out of his life/ It is .y pursuing this aspect of self&discipline that a man enters

into and realises the divine life and manifests those )ualities which are distinctly divinesuch as wisdom patience non&resistance compassion and love/ It is here also where a

man .ecomes consciously immortal rising a.ove all the fluctuations and uncertainties of

life and living in and intelligent and unchangea.le peace/

By self&discipline a man attains to every degree of virtue and holiness and finally

.ecomes a purified son of 'od realising his oneness with the central heart of all things/

+ithout self&discipline a man drifts lower and lower appro,imating more and more

nearly to the .east until at last he grovels a lost creature in the mire of his own

.efoulment/ By self&discipline a man rises higher and higher appro,imating more andmore nearly to the divine until at last he stands erect in his divine dignity a saved soul

glorified .y the radiance of his purity/ $et a man discipline himself and he will live0 let a

man cease to discipline himself and he will perish/ !s a tree grows in .eauty health andfruitfulness .y .eing carefully pruned and tended so a man grows in grace and .eauty of

life .y cutting away all the .ranches of evil from his mind and as he tends and develops

the good .y constant and unfailing effort/

!s a man .y practice ac)uires proficiency in his craft so the earnest man ac)uiresproficiency in goodness and wisdom/ Men shrin- from self&discipline .ecause in its early

stages it is painful and repellent and the yielding to desire is at first sweet and inviting0

.ut the end of desire is dar-ness and unrest whereas the fruits of discipline areimmortality and peace/

Resolu"on

#esolution is the directing and impelling force in individual progress/ +ithout it no

su.stantial wor- can .e accomplished/ 5ot until a man .rings resolution to .ear upon his

life does he consciously and rapidly develop for a life without resolution is a life without

aims and a life without aims is a drifting and unsta.le thing/


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#esolution may of course .e lin-ed to downward tendencies .ut it is more usually the

companion of no.le aims and lofty ideals and Iam dealing with it in this its highest use

and application/

+hen a man ma-es a resolution it means that he is dissatisfied with his condition and is

commencing to ta-e himself in hand with a view to producing a .etter piece ofwor-manship out of the mental materials of which his character and life are composed

and in so far as he is true to his resolution he will succeed in accomplishing his purpose/

The vows of the saintly once are holy resolutions directed toward some victory over self

and the .eautiful achievements of holy men and the glorious con)uests of the Divine

Teachers were rendered possi.le and actual .y the pursuit of unswerving resolution/

To arrive at the fi,ed determination to wal- a higher path than heretofore although itreveals the great difficulties which have to .e surmounted it yet ma-es possi.le the

treading of that path and illuminates its dar- places with the golden halo of success/

The true resolution is the crisis of long thought protracted struggle or fervent .ut

unsatisfied aspiration/ It is no light thing no whimsical impulse or vague desire .ut asolemn and irrevoca.le determination not to rest nor cease from effort until the high

purpose which is held in view is fully accomplished/

Half&hearted and premature resolution is no resolution at all and is shattered at the first

difficulty/

! man should .e slow to form a resolution/ He should searchingly e,amine his position

and ta-e into consideration every circumstance and difficulty connected with his

decision and should .e fully prepared to meet them/ He should .e sure that hecompletely understands the nature of his resolution that his mind is finally made up andthat he is without fear and dou.t in the matter/ +ith the mind thus prepared the

resolution that is formed will not .e departed from and .y the aid of it a man will in due

time accomplish his strong purpose/

Hasty resolutions are futile/

The mind must .e fortified to endure/

Immediately the resolution to wal- a higher path is made temptation and trial .egin/ Men

have found that no sooner have they decided to lead a truer and no.ler life than they have.een overwhelmed with such a torrent of new temptations and difficulties as ma-e theirposition almost unendura.le and many men .ecause of this relin)uish their resolution/

But these temptations and trials are a necessary part of the wor- of regeneration upon

which the man has decided and must .e hailed as friends and met with courage if the

resolution is to do its wor-/ For what is the real nature of a resolution2 Is it not the suddenchec-ing of a particular stream of conduct and the endeavour to open up an entirely new


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channel2 Thin- of an engineer who decides to turn the course of a powerfully running

str

Documents

James Allen - Above Life's Turmoil