Chapter 2

INDIVIDUAL AWAKENING

15
There comes a time in the life of an individual when he begins to question set forms and

values of religious beliefs and tries to find a reason for their observance, which is based

upon understanding and inner need rather than mere outward routine. His intuitive longing

for an inner understanding of the essential Essence of Life and a closer tuning into those

vibratory waves of a deeper significance of the Soul Principles in Life is the start of the

search for the hidden values within his very being, and not in mere external rituals. And that

is when the living Master or Mystic comes to the rescue and shows him the way.

All religions exist because they fill a need which is best suited for the guidance of a race, a

nation or a tribe, at that particular time or era. Religions, like the Sabbath, are made for

men-not mankind for religion. When the consciousness evolves or changes, then all old

values are questioned and a search for new ones is in progress. All set forms have a way of

changing in the economy of Nature. The mind of man is no exception to this adaptation of

growth, or expansion from within outward.

Everything in Nature sprouts, develops and fully expresses itself as mature sentient beings

or vegetation.

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From the unconscious to the Conscious, is the way of life. If this is true of the growth of the

body, the emotions and the mind, then why not the Soul Life and Consciousness also? The

latter is the real actor and the Essence of the entire being. It is the very reason and cause

for living. It is slow to mature and comes to the surface in the daily consciousness among

the pressure of the body's material needs and the grosser frictions and attractions in life. But

when once awakened, such individuals are heard of in history and act as a leaven for

awakening many other souls, as one lamp can light another. They become the first fruits of

that season or age. Spiritual growth and fruition is an individual progress. It depends upon

the purification and development of the consciousness of each soul as a unit. That soul's

awareness and attraction is toward the core and Inner Essence of all Being, whence it

originally came. It is the cry of the soul to go back home to the Father's House, no matter

where it is located or how it is conditioned on earth; that very conditioning being the fruit of

its own previous actions and desires. Kings and beggars alike have received that call and

set their faces toward the "East' the Inner Sensory Origin of their very being, the rising Sun

of Reality.

The awakening of souls is a process of the ages, and the purpose of creation. All creation

furnishes the material, condition and friction for further conscious development, through

pleasure and through pain. Some have laboured in this Vineyard of the Lord of Soul Growth

for many ages; others begin, while a few enter at the tenth hour of the day, and they

receive the same

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wages at the end of their day of labour. Soul growth, soul awakening, God-Realization is the

reward. Each age has its message of the Creator to mankind. This Truth is proclaimed by

great Mystics, Saints, Sages, Seers, Sadhus, Yogishwars, Prophets, Lawgivers, and

followers of great Teachers. Through the mercy and grace of the Supreme Father, none are

forgotten or left out. To each race and nation, an interpretation of the Great Truth is given,

which is best suited to the needs and the characteristics of the mental and emotional

background.

Only that can be given which the conscious mind is ready to receive and to which it can

respond. This is necessary for each era and clime, and need not be the whole Truth at any

one time, as progress or evolution is not a sudden ultimate either. Hence, the great variance

in religions and teachers at every epoch of time. Instructions to the many must necessarily

be adaptable to them and accepted as a step forward in a better understanding of the Soul

Life and its higher values and standard, in a gross material world of experience.

All creation is but for man's benefit, as a Kindergarten of Life. The Eternal Father furnishes

all the material and the environment, plus the instruments or vehicles with which to enjoy this

experience of His Grace. The physical body, the emotional nature and the mind of man are

all tools for the expression of the Soul, the Real Self or Being, as the One Essence in every

form and substance. Gradually, this realization dawns on the consciousness of the Soul in

this journey of life in the Vineyard

18
of the Lord, the Kindergarten of Souls. Little by little the gross is worn away and the Essence

begins to be revealed within and shines forth consciously as a Diamond Soul, a real jewel in

its own nature. All that had previously been sought for on the outside-and much more-is

revealed and given within, a thousand fold greater and richer than the earth could give or

hold. This is the literal explanation of the experience of Job who surrendered all, endured all

in this pilgrimage of life, in order to find God-Realization. In the end, his faith was rewarded

and he received thousand-fold rewards of Realities, of which the most precious earthly

things were but mere shadows. Spiritual values and gifts cannot be compared with physical

things, even though they are recorded as such for the sake of those who know nothing of the

Inner Jewels of Life. How else could the Saints tell the multitude of those Inner Values and

describe them to those who know only material things? Spiritual things must be spiritually

discerned:

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even

as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye

were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for

whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and

walk as men?'

(1stCor. 3:1, 2, 3)

Religious renaissance or awakenings come periodically, as cycles of time in the life of

souls on earth. Then a Great Teacher is sent, who calls the souls who are

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ready for one great stride forward. Such are the seasons of the soul. Their cycles are

slower than material things because they are deeper and more lasting, the soul being an

eternal verity.

The Soul is the Mystery of Life and the Darling of God, for which all creation was formed.

All other things grow and perish. Even planets and solar systems grow cold. Only the Soul

endures as the spark of the One Eternal Essence of the Supreme Father Himself.

Within every mortal is concealed the mystery of the Word of Life and Creation. It is the Lost

Word found, and is also symbolized by the Lost Chord. The parable of the Prodigal Son is

symbolic of the experiences of the soul. It returns to its Father's House from its wanderings

on earth and material existence, after having worn its garments or vehicles to shreds, or so

thin, that it can find and see the way Home by the Inner Light of Love and Grace bestowed

on it through the Living Master. Then the Heavenly Father bestows a new set of robes for

the wedding feast of the soul. This wedding feast is not the celebration of a physical union,

but that of the soul with its Divine Source, and that is termed "God-Realization'. (MAT. 22 :

1-15)

All ceremonial robes, and the wedding garment spoken of by Jesus in the parable of the call

to the feast, as well as the multicoloured coat of Joseph, are all symbols of the finer vehicles

of man, besides his physical form or body. These are actual inner experiences of souls on

the homeward journey, back to their own conscious being in the Father's House, the Eternal

Essence of the One Substance.

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Most great Teachers had and still have a secret doctrine for the few, and creeds and

customs for the masses. Jesus said to His apostles:

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

Hic answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of

the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be

given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be

taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they

seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear,

and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this

people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they

have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,

and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal

them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily

I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things

which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear thosethings which ye hear, and have

not heard them. “

(MAT. 13: 10-17)

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 "All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a

parable spake he not unto them.” (MAT. 13:34)

Even the temples had an inner court where only the priests entered, and an outer court

for the multitude.

In most of the Sacred Texts there is a promise of Saviors or Avatars, who are to come from

time to time in the progression of cycles, to reveal a new aspect of the Great Truth to a

particular nation or race at that time. The Hindus had the nine Avatars of Vishnu. The tenth

is yet to come as Maitraya Acharya, also called Kalki. The Christians are looking for the

second coming of Christ. The Jews are also still looking forward to a Messiah. While they

acknowledge Jesus as a Prophet, His message did not blend with their particular type of

consciousness and therefore they could not benefit by it. In the teachings of Jesus the

Mosaic laws and rituals were not emphasized enough to be a fulfilment to them. Jesus

brought to earth a new aspect of the same Truth, and those who were not ready to evolve

with and by it, persecuted Him. And so the cyclic expectation and prayers for further

revelation by the multitudes on earth goes on, while they themselves may persecute or

ridicule the very answer to their prayers during His lifetime among them

However, in every uplift of the general consciousness, there were many who were the first

fruits of that vintage of spiritual effort and Soul Growth, who gave their entire attention to

this Reality in preference to earthly pursuits. Religious orders perpetuated the forms which

were established by their prominent leaders in the effort of Spiritual Growth.

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As there are first fruits in Nature, which ripen before the rest of the fruits on the tree, so it is

in humanity with the souls and their inner fruition on the Tree of Life in this material

existence. There are awakenings of souls and longings and midnight tears of many whose

consciousness does not fit any more to the forms they find themselves in, or to the trend of

thoughts and values they were accustomed to before this awakening. These souls struggle

and seek, either within or without the folds of formal creeds. The spirit is not bound by form

but seeks to reveal itself to the consciousness daily, through experience, by practising and

living according to soul qualities. Truth is the Essence of all existence. It is omnipresent, like

the air on earth. Where can these souls find the answer? Some type of air is more suitable

to some individuals than to others. For these seekers after Truth, the Supreme Father has

provided an answer in this age in order to show the shortest way Home to these first fruits of

His Vineyard. In this Iron Age, the Supreme Father sends Saints out from the highest region

of Spirituality to gather and bring in these souls by Their teachings and guidance. These

Saints do not start new Creeds or religions, nor do They attempt to convert the multitudes

into formal observances, and they do not seek numbers.

They merely attract and instruct those souls who come to them in all sincerity and want to

find the Way to God-Realization. The Goal is achieved by His Grace and Love, and the

individual's own attitude of mind plus effort of

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attention to the development of soul consciousness. The direction for inner devotion and

concentration is given by the Master at the time of Initiation. Otherwise, the disciple works and

toils like others, in whatever station of life he may be, to earn his own living and fulfil his karmic

obligations. He does not have to leave his church or creed; rather, by a process of better

understanding and deeper devotion, he fulfils all these requirements until he does not need this

outer help any longer to steady him in his inner progress. Naturally, he curtails his animal nature

and lessens his karmic burden by following the strict instructions not to eat anything that must

be killed or stopped in its progress of development, like eggs, meat, fish and fowl, or anything

containing them. Alcoholic beverages of any kind are also to be definitely avoided because they

dull the mind and senses, and stimulate the nervous system and the earthy pranas which have a

downward material tendency and result in deterioration.

The aspirant aims to ascend the Tree of Life from which he had originally descended, and

to again reach Kether, the Crown of Consciousness. He is literally going back Home by the

One Road of Life itself. And this is the straight and narrow way of Inner Devotion and

Understanding, under the guidance of a living Master who has Himself traversed the Way.

Just as in His time, Jesus said:

"I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but
by me.' (John 14 : 6)

________________________________

"He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the

Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father,

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 and the Father in me? The words that II say unto you, I speak not of myself: but the

Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father,

and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I

say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and

greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14: 9—12)

________________________________

"And he that seeth me seeth Him that sent me." (Јоhn: 12:45)

________________________________

This great Truth was a Reality when Jesus was on earth and could be seen by men. How
many have actually seen Jesus since His departure from this earth, and yet they think that
His work continues for ever on this earth. However, His Love and Truth remain for the
guidance of the people who can raise their consciousness to that height, with the personal
help of a living Mystic. Every man's earthly work ceases when he leaves the earth. All
obligations and promises made by Jesus were fulfilled when He was on earth. His earth life
and obligations ceased when He entered the higher Spiritual Regions.

"In my Father's house are many mansions." (John. 14:2)

He can descend within and show Himself to His devotees, who contacted Him during His

lifetime on this earth, but after ascension, cannot assume the physical body without re-

incarnating. He can work through a successor, duly appointed by Him, or through

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any duly appointed successor of the previous successor, until that line runs out; providing

the successor is sufficiently developed spiritually to go within consciously, by the process

of Inner Transport, and meet the Savior on the inner planes of consciousness. Such is the

teaching of the real Saints and Mystics of all times.

The Truth of the Saints is the consciousness of the Mystic life of the spirit, lived daily. It is a

living of the soul for its conscious reunion with God. It is the process of the spiritual child,

growing up to meet the Father in a distant country, from whence it originally wandered, so

long ago that it has forgotten its origin. This is told in many myths and stories by the

Greeks, like the story of the hero, Thesus, who was recognized by the Father when he

brought back with him the sword of spiritual Truth, left by the Father when He had visited

that region, and with which the son had girded his loins after finding it where it had been

hidden from other eyes under the Rock of the Word.

The initiate, hero, or the son of the Father does the work of the Father by the strength of the

Spirit of Truth, the Sword of Truth, which conquers all things and obstacles. The son's love

and longing, coupled with patient and courageous effort, lead him on the Way to his Father's

House in a distant land, which is really the spiritual world within. Such are the literal

meanings of these marvellous myths of old, when truly understood for the message which

they hold.

It is not for all, but for the children of the Household of Spirituality, who live the life and walk

on the Way to the Kingdom of God within man. None other can cause this great spiritual

sword of Truth or benefit

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by the mere possession of its form. Only he who lives the life can know the doctrine of the

One Truth.

Truth is the Inner Life, while the conscious existence in a form is called the outer life and is

actually unconsciousness, away from the bliss of consciousness and kingship of the realms

within. Jesus stated this clearly when He said:

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my

servants fight.” (John. 18:36)

"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more

than twelve legions of angels?" (MAT. 26:53).

Pilate found no fault in Jesus and washed his hands of the matter, in order to show his

innocence. (MAT. 27:22-27).

Forms and customs which were originally meant for the security of life, become hard and

lifeless as they grow old and crystallize, and are replaced in Nature by young and new forms

as time goes on. The spirit or soul always remains solvent as the active pole of life itself.

Laws become forms which bind the Life eventually, because the within moves swiftly while

the without crystallizes and cannot keep up the pace of the need of the spirit. New bottles

are required for the new wine of life, or both are lost. (MAT. 9 : 17)

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

(Rom. 8 : 6)

St. Paul admonished the Christians to be one in Spirit, as it was in Christ Jesus. (ROM. 8:

9-12)

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When the children grow up, it is both a joy and a sorrow to the mother of life, because the love

of the babe must be replaced by the love of the adult, which is different. All growth is painful to

physical forms, bodies and customs of established ways. One moves constantly like the

hands of the clock, while the other stands still like the face of the clock to measure time itself

and gathers the dust of the ages, which buries the life of any civilization.

Where the consciousness is, there is the life. A dead thing has neither. Life and

consciousness are One in Essence. Therefore, the Saints advise their students to raise the

consciousness to the center of the forehead and hold it there, consciously. The head is

Kether, the Crown of Creation, and the center of the highest consciousness possible. The

lesser centers and chakras - situated below the eyes-belong to the unconscious realm, and

the true Mystics do not go in at these lower Centers.

That part of the body which is situated below the eyes is in the field of Nature and is

automatic in function, to supply the needs of the body by attraction or repulsion to the great

outer realm of Nature's energy fields. The psychic realm is in this subconscious field. The

Spiritual Realms are situated above the eyes, the actual center of consciousness in the

body. That is the abode of the soul in the body, and is referred to as the heart center by the

Saints.

The physical heart center is ruled by the emotions, while the spiritual heart center is

governed by soul qualities, and that is where the Mystic Union takes place. When in

deep thought, man's consciousness

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is normally in the head, so the Saints teach us how to utilize that faculty to enable us to go in

and up from there, instead of wasting a lot of time and energy and perhaps becoming

confused besides, in concentrating on the lower chakras.

In the first place, man is not so constructed as to be able to properly go in and govern these

lower chakras, as he was in the ages past; and secondly, the life span is not long enough in

this age to accomplish such a long and arduous task. And, even after all that has been done,

it is still necessary to go in and up from the topmost conscious chakra in the body. Then why

delay and take all the detours, when the straight and narrow has to be taken eventually if we

wish to reach the Goal, and can be taken RIGHT NOW! Now is the time of the Lord. The

degrees of life are measured in sentient sensitiveness and conscious awareness at each

center or region. The good Lord has many shepherds for His sheep, and not even a sparrow

falleth off the roof without His knowledge:

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground

without your Father: But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not

therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” (MAT, 10:29-31)

There have been a number of Mystics and Saints in the East. Since the advent of Saint

Kabir in the fifteenth century, there have been quite a few Saints who brought the Great

Truth to mankind, in a very simple manner. The Radha Swami teaching,

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known also as SANT MAT, is a direct revelation of the Path of the Soul and its Inward

Ascension, without attention to the lower five CHAKRAS or centers in the body, as was

previously practised in all the earlier teachings in every land.

The Mysticism of all ancient Sacred Lore began at the bottom of the Tree of Life; namely, at

the rectal center-called the Muladhara Chakra-to evolve the consciousness through it and

upward. In the Vedas, these six centers in the body, with the seventh at the center above the

eyes-the thousand-petalled Lotus was the height of attainment revealed. In the Old

Testament of the Christian Bible, which is based upon the Talmud and the Zohar, there are

many hints and references to a secret process of concentration practised by the Patriarchs

of old, and their success was announced in terms of positive results in the spiritual life,

symbolized as male off-spring; or negative results, symbolized by female off-spring, in their

message to other mystics. These terms are similes and do not refer to the begetting of

physical off-spring.

The Esoteric Kabbala, with its Tree of Life as the symbolic form of the finer essences of the

human body, the Temple of God, was based upon the teachings of the Talmud and the

Zohar. It has a system of centers or whirling energy virtues called Sephiroth, similar to the

CHAKRAS, built or designed as a replica of the temple seen by Moses on Mount Sinai. The

hidden mystery of the Life Energy in the human body is clearly shown to be the objective of

the entire system. Definite centers are given as stations for concentration, for devotion, for

the showbreads, for incense and for sacrifice of

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thoughts and animal emotions at the abdominal center of digestion and absorption.

Ceremonial magic was the method of concentration in this system.

In the Vedas, it was the control of the PRANA to still the emotions and the mind. Other

methods of control by the will were also used.

In all these systems, the methods differed somewhat, but the goal and the objective were

the same; namely, to purify and still the mind by concentration, so that the Light of the Soul

can shine forth. Thus the consciousness may meet God in the stillness of the Garden of

Life, the Paradise within.

The seat of the center of consciousness in the human body is the central axis of the brain.

Here the Sound Current, called the Holy Shabd or the Word is consciously contacted. This

is the first station and step on the ladder of human ascent above the eyes. Elijah's

experience on Mount Horeb (1st KINGs 19: 8-15) tells of such an event. Jesus also referred

to it:

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thouhearest the sound thereof, but canst not

tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: sois every one that is born of the Spirit."

(John. 3 : 8)

In fact, all of the verses from 3 to 14 in John, Chapter 3, pertain to this subject, as well as

many other passages in the Bible which can easily be recognized and understood when

one has found the key.

Elijah also used the squatting posture of Yoga when he produced the rain for King Ahab

at the time of the great drought (1st KINGs 18: 42). Again, this shows that these secret

methods for soul development

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and for power (which a true Mystic never squanders for material gain) were known to the

ancient Prophets, Sages, Yogis, Rishis and Law Givers. In fact, this type of knowledge was

the science of that age and much sought after by scholars. Even Alexander the Great was

instructed by Diogenes. Most rulers revered the sages and those learned in the secrets of

the finer forces in Nature and in man.

Our present-day material science does not satisfy the soul, no matter how much comfort

and ease it may provide for the body. The emphasis is too much on the material side, and

the soul feels the pressure, like the bondage in Egypt of Biblical times. Of course, these very

bonds are the individual's own mind and senses, in their attachment to outer things. A living,

vital understanding is necessary at this time, to strike at the core and the essence rather

than the form and the belief alone. Can it be proven? Can it be done? Or has God forsaken

His creation in this age of materialism?

The answer is that the Saints have done it and do it daily. They actually live this Mystic

Inner Life, and can show the true seeker the simple Path of God Realization, which is to be

trodden, not as an ascetic, but while living a normal life, performing our worldly duties and

earning our own livelihood. But how many will give it time, thought and effort, when

material things pay off in cash? Man, in his purely material pursuits, is turning his mind

away from God. God never leaves His creation. Without His eternal support, it would pass

away into non-existence.

The consciousness of the Supreme Being is not limited, but man's awareness has been

limited by his

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own acts of indulgence and desires, until the veil between himself and God has reached the

proportion of a veritable mountain. The Saints show us how to wear away this mountainous

obstruction, without at the same time increasing its height or its depth at some other point

while doing so. Thus They help us to again reach the blissful state of conscious union with

God - God-Realization. This human life has been given to us for that very purpose, and it is

up to us to make the best use of it. That is the talent which we all have to account for when

we leave this earth.

And mere physical death is not the answer; in fact, suicide or despair is one of the sins

against the Holy Ghost and is definitely an unforgivable sin. We are here to learn to control

the energies through a body of resistance, in conscious actions and reactions. What is

really meant is the overcoming of the deadly vices of lust, anger, greed, attachment and

egotism. These are tools of the lower mind and desire body. They can be sublimated only

by the practice of CHASTITY, FORGIVENESS, CHARITY, DETACHMENT AND HUMILITY,

under the guidance of a living, True Mystic or Master.

The Holy Word is the One Power which can overcome human weakness, by linking the

consciousness to the Inner Life Stream of the Holy Spirit of Shabd. By lifting up the attention

to this "living Redeemer' of the Holy Sound Current, all lower obstacles are automatically

left behind and forgotten; much the same as children grow up and automatically give up

their babyhood toys.

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The tendencies of the lower self or animal nature in man can only be slain or overcome by

diverting our attention from them to the higher, spiritual tendencies and developing them

according to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures, under the guidance of a living Mystic,

Saint or Master. It is not a matter of suppression, but of exchanging the lesser for the

greater. If a child is playing with a dangerous weapon which it does not understand, a wise

parent does not frighten the child by quickly snatching the weapon away, but rather diverts

the child's attention from the weapon to a more attractive but harmless object. So with the

Great Mystics and Saints; They never compel, but through love and mercy point out the

higher potentialities in such a way that we automatically abandon the lower and make an

effort to reach the Highest. First, man must convince himself that he wants to let go of the

lesser values, like a seed which dies unto itself to bring forth new fruit. So is the soul reborn

in the Nectar of Inner Life, out of the shell of matter.

Every parent knows that it takes many years and tears to develop a human body to the

age of maturity; but only God can make a soul, which is the inhabitant and the very life of

that body, as it is a particle of the Supreme Being Himself. The human body is a great gift

and opportunity for the soul to work out its deep seated desires and cravings, through the

protection of form as a media and as a measure for sensory indications of action and

reaction.

Only in a realm where all planes and forces are fully represented can man work out his own

ideas, emotions, desires and impulses, and reap the fruits of his previous

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acts. The earth is specially fitted for this purpose, like a Kindergarten or preparatory school. Only

by sublimating the lower energies and using them wisely, as a skilled master craftsman uses

tools, can man ever hope to become a Master Builder like the Grand Architect of the Universe.

A child must learn in order to grow up to the stature of his father. Jesus said:

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.' (MAT. 5
: 48)

____________________________

"The Lord is of Great Eminence, exalted is His Name. He who would know His height,

must in stature be the same.” (JAPJI-Verse 24)

Human emotions are young and immature and love to wallow in the indulgences of infancy.

Even when they try to overcome one single item of weakness or pleasure, instead of realizing

that they are being relieved of an impediment, they feel that they are making a great sacrifice,

and expect immediate reward and praise. Wise parents know this trait of childhood. Mere years

of body age do not spell growth or maturity of the mind or the emotions. Many a big man is but a

child to the wife who loves him, and many a grownup lady is but a child to the man who loves

her. Through love and opposites in qualities they learn forbearance, wisdom, patience and

service in Love. It is not always strength that is the best teacher. Weakness in one usually brings

out the strength of character in the other, if they

make a success of their marriage. "A hard and a soft stone grind best” is an

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old proverb. That is why the earth itself is in such a muddle all the time, like loose and

broken toys in a nursery. Mere perfection in external things has a way of deteriorating that is

surprising. It takes constant care, time and thought to keep fit and in balance with the

surroundings. Love and Patience are the real teachers in life. Earth is a nursery for

mankind. It was never intended as a heaven nor even as a permanent dwelling. The Saints

refer to this earth as a wilderness. The record of the Children of Israel passing through such

a wilderness is the key to the Books of Moses.

It is by this same process of obstacles and resistance, difficulties and problems in life on

earth that souls grow gradually mature by seeking depth and purpose in life; and not mere

physical indulgences as a pastime, and the material success which makes this waste of time

possible.

Jesus said:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall

be added unto you.' (MAT. 6: 33) "And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his

disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And

the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto

them Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of

God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to

enter into the kingdom of God.

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And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be

saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God:

for with God all things are possible. Then Peter began to say unto him, lo, we have left

all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There

is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother or wife, or

children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundred fold

now in this time, in houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and

lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come, eternal life. But many that are first

shall be last; and the last first.” (MARK 10:23–31)

Souls, like children, must learn from life and grow up, or remain in the background among

other struggling souls until they can apply the talents given them by the Father. How can

we expect to enter the kingdom of God while we are attached to and long for worldly

possessions and relationships. It is such attachments which prevent us from attaining God-

realization. Severe physical handicaps in life have many a time been turned into a stimulus

for greater effort in achievement and for a deeper understanding and appreciation of all the

gifts which have been given to man

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to work out his Salvation. One who is endowed with the qualities of Love and Creativeness,

searches for and finds a Teacher of Spiritual Wisdom, much the same as one would search

for a teacher in the realms of art and science if one desired to become proficient in a given

field.

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