Baird T. Spalding’s Life and Teaching Series Offers

Spiritual GuidanceBy Paul Kerley, Salem Oregon

Commercial Property Resources owner Paul Kerley is a real estate professional who manages approximately 1,000 residential units throughout Oregon from his office in Salem, Oregon. On a personal level, Paul Kerley is a seeker of spiritual enlightenment and frequently rereads Baird T. Spalding’s series Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East.

Originally published in 1924, Life and Teaching consists of six volumes, the last of which surfaced after Spalding’s death from material found in various articles he authored. Although the tale itself involves the fictional account of a research team’s travel to India and Tibet and their encounter with a group of immortal beings, the stories detail clear spiritual messages.

Introduction

Known as the Great Masters of the Himalayas, the immortal beings encountered by the team perform an assortment of miraculous deeds and create a bridge between Christianity and Buddhism. According to their philosophy, while Buddha represents the path to enlightenment, the figure of Jesus Christ embodies enlightenment itself.

Spalding distributed the manuscript of the first volume among friends and friends-of-friends and agreed to its publication after a California Press printer in San Francisco took interest. Additionally, he agreed to the publication of his previously undistributed stories, which became volume two.

Spiritual Guidance

A reclusive author who became known for blending fact and fiction, Spalding based his tales on his personal findings and experiences while traveling in India. Over the next several years, he authored the next three volumes in order to help readers acquire a deeper understanding of his findings.

Volume six emerged nearly 45 years following his death after an editor of DeVorss Publications, Spalding’s publishing company, discovered 10 cartons containing an abundance of unpublished material, including manuscripts, magazine articles, and personal letters. DeVorss complied the material into a single book and published it as volume six of the Life and Teachings series in 1997.

Conclusion