GNANY YOGA/PART 10
THE TENTH LESSON
SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION.
One
of the things that repel many persons who have had their attention directed to
the subject of Metempsychosis for the first time, is the idea that they have
evolved as a soul from individual lowly forms, for instance
that they have at one time been an individual plant, and then an individual
animal form, and then an individual higher animal form, and so on until now
they are the particular individual human form contemplating the subject. This
idea, which has been taught by many teachers, is repellent to the average mind,
for obvious reasons, and naturally so, for it has no foundation in truth.
While
this lesson is principally concerned with the subject of the Spiritual
Evolution of the human soul, since it became a human soul, still it may be as
well to mention the previous phase of evolution, briefly, in order to prevent
misconception, and to dispel previously acquired error.
The
atom, although it possesses life and a certain degree of mind, and acts as an
individual temporarily, has no permanent individuality that reincarnates. When
the atom is evolved it becomes a centre of energy in the great atomic
principle, and when it is finally dissolved it resolves itself back into its
original state, and its life as an individual atom ceases, although the
experience it has gained becomes the property of the entire principle. It is as
if a body of water were to be resolved into millions of tiny dew-drops for a
time, and each dew-drop was then to acquire certain outside material in
solution. In that case, each dew-drop when it again returned to the body of
water, would carry with it its foreign material, which would become the
property of the whole. And subsequently formed dew-drops would carry in their
substance a particle of the foreign matter brought back home by the previous
generation of dewdrops, and would thus be a little different from their
predecessors. And this process, continuing for many generations of dew-drops,
would ultimately cause the greatest changes in the composition of the
successive generations.
This,
in short, is the story of the change and improving forms of life. From the
atoms into the elements; from the lower elements into those forming protoplasm;
from the protoplasm to the lower forms of animal life; from these lower forms
on to higher forms—this is the story. But it is all a counterpart of the
dew-drop and the body of water, until the human soul is evolved.
The
plants and the lower forms of animal life are not permanent individual souls,
but each family is a group-soul corresponding to the body of
water from which the dew-drop arose. From these family group-souls gradually
break off minor groups, representing species, and so on into sub-species. At
last when the forms reach the plane of man, the group-soul breaks itself up
into permanent individual souls, and true Metempsychosis begins.
That is, each individual human soul becomes a permanent individual
entity, destined to evolve and perfect itself along the lines of spiritual
evolution.
And
from this point begins our story of Spiritual Evolution.
The
story of Man, the Individual, begins amidst humble surroundings. Primitive man,
but little above the level of the lower animals in point of intelligence, has
nevertheless that distinguishing mark of Individuality—"Self-Consciousness,"
which is the demarkation between Beast and Man. And even the lowest of the
lowest races had at least a "trace" of this Self-Consciousness, which
made of them individuals, and caused the fragment of the race-soul to separate
itself from the general principle animating the race, and to fasten its
"I" conscious upon itself, rather than upon the underlying race-soul,
along instinctive lines. Do you know just what this Self-Consciousness is, and
how it differs from the Physical Consciousness of the lower animals? Perhaps we
had better pause a moment to consider it at this place.
The
lower animals are of course conscious of the bodies, and their wants, feelings,
emotions, desires, etc., and their actions are in response to the animating
impulses coming from this plane of consciousness. But it stops there. They
"know," but they do not "know that they know"; that is,
they have not yet arrived at a state in which they can think of themselves as
"I," and to reason upon their thoughts and mental operations. It is
like the consciousness of a very young child, which feels and knows its
sensations and wants, but is unable to think of itself as "I," and to
turn the mental gaze inward. In another book of these series we have used the
illustration of the horse which has been left standing out in the cold sleet
and rain, and which undoubtedly feels and knows the unpleasant sensations
arising therefrom, and longs to get away from the unpleasant environment. But,
still, he is unable to analyze his mental states and wonder whether his master
will come out to him soon, or think how cruel it is to keep him out of his warm
comfortable stable; or wonder whether he will be taken out in the cold rain
again tomorrow; or feel envious of other horses who are indoors; or wonder why
he is kept out cold nights, etc., etc. In short, the horse is unable to think
as would a reasoning man under just the same circumstances. He is aware of the
discomfort, just as would be the man; and he would run away home, if he were
able, just as would the man. But he is not able to pity himself, nor to think
about his personality, as would a man—he is not able to wonder whether life is
worth the living, etc., as would a man. He "knows" but is not able to
reflect upon the "knowing."
In
the above illustration, the principal point is that the horse does not
"know himself" as an entity, while even the most primitive man is
able to so recognize himself as an "I." If the horse were able to
think in words, he would think "feel," "cold," "hurt,"
etc., but he would be unable to think "I feel; I am
cold; I am hurt," etc. The thought "I" would be
missing.
It
is true that the "I" consciousness of the primitive man was slight,
and was but a degree above the Physical Consciousness of the higher apes, but
nevertheless it had sprung into being, never again to be lost. The primitive
man was like a child a few years old—he was able to say "I," and to
think "I." He had become an individual soul.
And
this individual soul inhabited and animated a body but little removed from that
of an ape. But this new consciousness began to mould that rude body and the
ascent was begun. Each generation showed a physical improvement over that of
the preceding one, according to the lines of physical evolution, and as the developing
soul demanded more perfect and developed bodies the bodies were evolved to meet
the demand, for the mental demand has ever been the cause of the physical form.
The
soul of the primitive man reincarnated almost immediately after the death of
the physical body, because the experiences gained were mostly along the lines
of the physical, the mental planes being scarcely brought into play, while the
higher and spiritual faculties were almost entirely obscured from sight. Life
after life the soul of the primitive man lived out in rapid succession. But in
each new embodiment there was a slight advance over that of the previous one.
Experience, or rather the result of experiences, were carried over, and
profited by. New lessons were learned and unlearned, improved upon or
discarded. And the race grew and unfolded.
After
a time the number of advancing souls which had outstripped their fellows in
progress became sufficiently large for sub-races to be formed, and so the
branching off process began. In this way the various races and types were
formed, and the progress of Mankind gained headway. At this point we may as
well consider the history of the Races of Mankind, that we may see how the
great tide-wave of Soul has ever pressed onward, marking higher and still
higher stages of progress, and also how the various minor waves of the great
wave pushed in and then receded, only to be followed by still higher waves. The
story is most interesting.
The
Yogi Teachings inform us that the Grand Cycle of Man's Life on the Earth is
composed of Seven Cycles, of which we are now living in the third-seventh part
of the Fifth Cycle. These Cycles may be spoken of as the Great Earth Periods,
separated from each other by some great natural cataclysm which destroyed the
works of the previous races of men, and which started afresh the progress
called "civilization," which, as all students know, manifests a rise
and fall like unto that of the tides.
Man
in the First Cycle emerged from a gross animal-like state into a condition
somewhat advanced. It was a slow progress, but nevertheless a distinct series
of advances were made by the more progressive souls who passed over on to the
Second Cycle, embodying themselves as the ruling races in the same, their less
progressive brothers incarnating in the lower tribes of the Second Cycle. It
must be remembered that the souls which do not advance during a Cycle
reincarnate in the next Cycle among the lower races. So that even in this Fifth
Cycle we have remnants of the previous cycles, the lives of the members of
which give us an idea of what life in the earlier cycles must have been.
The
Yogi Teachings give us but little information regarding the people of the First
and Second Cycles, because of the low state of these ages. The tale, if told,
would be the story of the Cave-dweller, and Stone-age people; the Fire-peoples,
and all the rest of savage, barbarian crew; there was but little trace of
anything like that which we call "civilization," although in the
latter periods of the Second Cycle the foundations for the coming civilizations
were firmly laid.
After
the cataclysm which destroyed the works of Man of the Second Cycle, and left
the survivors scattered or disorganized, awaiting the touch of the organizing
urge which followed shortly afterward, there dawned the first period of the
Third Cycle. The scene of the life of the Third Cycle was laid in what is known
to Occultists as Lemuria. Lemuria was a mighty continent situated in what is
now known as the Pacific Ocean, and parts of the Indian Ocean. It included
Australia, Australasia, and other portions of the Pacific islands, which are in
fact surviving portions of the great continent of Lemuria, its highest points,
the lower portion having sunk beneath the seas ages and ages ago.
Life
in Lemuria is described as being principally concerned with the physical
senses, and sensual enjoyment, only a few developed souls having broken through
the fetters of materiality and reached the beginnings of the mental and
spiritual planes of life. Some few indeed made great progress and were saved
from the general wreck, in order to become the leaven which would lighten the
mass of mankind during the next Cycle. These developed souls were the teachers
of the new races, and were looked upon by the latter as gods and supernatural
beings, and legends and traditions concerning them are still existent among the
ancient peoples of our present day. Many of the myths of the ancient peoples
arose in this way.
The
Yogi traditions hold that just prior to the great cataclysm which destroyed the
races of the Second Cycle, there was a body of the Chosen Ones which migrated
from Lemuria to certain islands of the sea which are now part of the main land
of India. These people formed the nucleus of the Occult Teachings of the Lemurians,
and developed into the Fount of Truth which has been flowing ever since
throughout the successive periods and cycles.
When
Lemuria passed away, there arose from the depths of the ocean the continent
which was to be the scene of the life and civilization of the Fourth Cycle—the
continent of Atlantis. Atlantis was situated in a portion of what is now known
as the Atlantic Ocean, beginning at what is now known as the Caribbean Sea and
extending over to the region of what is now known as Africa. What are now known
as Cuba and the West Indies were among the highest points of the continent, and
now stand like monuments to its departed greatness.
The
civilization of Atlantis was remarkable, and its people attained heights which
seem almost incredible to even those who are familiar with the highest
achievements of man in our own times. The Chosen Ones preserved from the
cataclysm which destroyed Lemuria, and who lived to a remarkably old age, had
stored up within their minds the wisdom and learning of the races that had been
destroyed, and they thus gave the Atlanteans an enormous starting-advantage.
They soon attained great advancement along all the lines of human endeavor.
They perfected mechanical inventions and appliances, reaching far ahead of even
our present attainments. In the field of electricity especially they reached
the stages that our present races will reach in about two or three hundred
years from now. Along the lines of Occult Attainment their progress was far
beyond the dreams of the average man of our own race, and in fact from this
arose one of the causes of their downfall, for they prostituted the power to
base and selfish uses, and Black Magic.
And,
so the decline of Atlantis began. But the end did not come at once, or
suddenly, but gradually. The continent, and its surrounding islands gradually
sank beneath the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, the process occupying over 10,000
years. The Greeks and Romans of our own Cycle had traditions regarding the
sinking of the continent, but their knowledge referred only to the
disappearance of the small remainder—certain islands—the continent itself
having disappeared thousands of years before their time. It is recorded that
the Egyptian priests had traditions that the continent itself had disappeared
nine thousand years before their time. As was the case with the Chosen Ones of
Lemuria, so was it with the Elect of Atlantis, who were taken away from the
doomed land some time prior to its destruction. The few advanced people left
their homes and migrated to portions of what are now South America and Central
America, but which were then islands of the sea. These people have left their
traces of their civilization and works, which our antiquaries are discovering
to-day.
When
the Fifth Cycle dawned (our own cycle, remember) these brave and advanced souls
acted as the race-teachers and became as "gods" to those who came
afterward. The races were very prolific, and multiplied very rapidly under the
most favorable conditions. The souls of the Atlanteans were pressing forward
for embodiment, and human forms were born to supply the demand. And now begins
the history of our own Cycle—the Fifth Cycle.
But
before we begin a consideration of the Fifth Cycle, let us consider for a
moment a few points about the laws operating to cause these great changes.
In
the first place, each Cycle has a different theatre for its work and action.
The continent of Lemuria was not in existence during the Second Cycle, and
arose from the ocean bed only when its appointed time came. And, likewise the
continent of Atlantis reposed beneath the waves while the Lemurian races
manifested during the Third Cycle, rising by means of a convulsion of the
earth's surface to play its part during its own period—the Fourth Cycle—only to
sink again beneath the waves to make way for the birth of the Fifth Cycle with
its races. By means of these cataclysms the races of each Cycle were wiped out
when the time came, the few Elect or Chosen ones, that is those who have
manifested the right to live on, being carried away to some favorable
environment where they became as leaven to the mass—as "gods" to the
new races that quickly appear.
It
must be remembered, however, that these Chosen Ones are not the only ones saved
from the destruction that overtakes the majority of the race. On the contrary a
few survivors are preserved, although driven away from their former homes, and
reduced to "first principles of living" in order to become the
parents of the new races. The new races springing from the fittest of these
survivors quickly form sub-races, being composed of the better adapted souls
seeking reincarnation, while the less fit sink into barbarism, and show
evidences of decay, although a remnant drags on for thousands of years, being
composed of the souls of those who have not advanced sufficiently to take a
part in the life of the new races. These "left-overs" are in evidence
in our own times in the cases of the Australian savages, and some of the
African tribes, as well as among the Digger Indians and others of similar grade
of intelligence.
In
order to understand the advance of each race it must be remembered that the
more advanced souls, after passing out of the body, have a much longer period
of rest in the higher planes, and consequently do not present themselves for
reincarnation until a period quite late when compared with the hasty
reincarnation of the less advanced souls who are hurried back to rebirth by
reason of the strong earthly attachments and desires. In this way it happens
that the earlier races of each Cycle are more primitive folk than those who
follow them as the years roll by. The soul of an earth-bound person
reincarnates in a few years, and sometimes in a few days, while the soul of an
advanced man may repose and rest on the higher planes for centuries—nay, even
for thousands of years, until the earth has reached a stage in which the
appropriate environment may be afforded it.
Observers,
unconnected with Occultism, have noted certain laws which seem to regulate the
rise and fall of nations—the procession of ruling races. They do not understand
the law of Metempsychosis that alone gives the key to the problem, but
nevertheless they have not failed to record the existence of the laws
themselves. In order to show that these laws are recognized by persons who are
not at all influenced by the Occult Teachings, we take the liberty of quoting
from Draper's "History of the Intellectual Development of Europe."
Dr.
Draper writes as follows: "We are, as we often say, the creatures of
circumstances. In that expression there is a higher philosophy than might at
first appear. From this more accurate point of view we should therefore
consider the course of these events, recognizing the principle that the affairs
of men pass forward in a determinate way, expanding and unfolding themselves.
And hence we see that the things of which we have spoken as if they were
matters of choice, were in reality forced upon their apparent authors by the
necessity of the times. But in truth they should be considered as the presentation
of a certain phase of life which nations in their onward course sooner or later
assume. To the individual, how well we know that a sober moderation of action,
an appropriate gravity of demeanor, belonging to the mature period of life,
change from the wanton willfulness of youth, which may be ushered in, or its
beginnings marked by many accidental incidents; in one perhaps by domestic
bereavements, in another by the loss of fortune, in a third by ill-health. We
are correct enough in imputing to such trials the change of character; but we
never deceive ourselves by supposing that it would have failed to take place
had these incidents not occurred. There runs an irresistible destiny in the
midst of these vicissitudes. There are analogies between the life of a nation,
and that of an individual, who, though he may be in one respect the maker of
his own fortunes, for happiness or for misery, for good or for evil, though he
remains here or goes there as his inclinations prompt, though he does this or
abstains from that as he chooses, is nevertheless held fast by an inexorable
fate—a fate which brought him into the world involuntarily, so far as he was
concerned, which presses him forward through a definite career, the stages of
which are absolutely invariable,—infancy, childhood, youth, maturity, old age,
with all their characteristic actions and passions,—and which removes him from
the scene at the appointed time, in most cases against his will. So also is it
with nations; the voluntary is only the outward semblance, covering but hardly
hiding the predetermined. Over the events of life we may have control, but none
whatever over the law of its progress. There is a geometry that applies to
nations an equation of their curve of advance. That no mortal man can touch."
This
remarkable passage, just quoted, shows how the close observers of history note
the rise and fall of the tides of human race progress, although ignorant of the
real underlying causing energy or force. A study of the Occult Teachings alone
gives one the hidden secret of human actions and throws the bright light of
Truth upon the dark corners of phenomena.
At
the beginning of the Fifth Cycle (which is the present one), there were not
only the beginnings of the new races which always spring up at the beginning of
each new cycle and which are the foundations for the coming races which take
advantage of the fresh conditions and opportunities for growth and
development—but there were also the descendants of the Elect Saved from the
destruction of Atlantis by having been led away and colonized far from the
scene of danger. The new races were the descendant of the scattered survivors
of the Atlantean peoples, that is, the common run of people of the time. But
the Elect few were very superior people, and imparted to their descendants
their knowledge and wisdom. So that we see at the beginning of the Fifth Cycle
hordes of new, primitive people in certain lands, and in other places advanced
nations like the ancestors of the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Chaldeans,
Hindus, etc.
These
advanced races were old souls—advanced souls—the progressed and developed souls
of Ancient Lemuria and Atlantis, who lived their lives and who are now either
on higher planes of life, or else are among us to-day taking a leading part in
the world's affairs, striving mightily to save the present races from the
misfortunes which overtook their predecessors.
The
descendants of the people were the Assyrians and Babylonians. In due time the
primitive new races developed and the great Roman, Grecian, and Carthaginian
peoples appeared. Then came the rise of other peoples and nations down to the
present time. Each race or nation has its rise, its height of attainment, and
its decline. When a nation begins to decline it is because its more advanced
souls have passed on, and only the less progressive souls are left. The history
of all nations show the truth of the Occult the term. Men are forsaking old
ideals, creeds and dogmas, and are running hither and thither seeking something
they feel to be necessary, but of the nature of which they know nothing. They
are feeling the hunger for Peace—the thirst for Knowledge—and they are seeking
satisfaction in all directions.
This
is not only the inevitable working of the Law of Evolution, but is also a manifestation
of the power and love of the great souls that have passed on to higher planes
of existence, and who have become as angels and arch-angels. These beings are
filled with the love of the race, and are setting into motion influences that
are being manifest in many directions, the tendency of which are to bring the
race to a realization of its higher power, faculties, and destiny.
As
we have said in other places, one of the greatest difficulties in the way of
the seeker after Truth in his consideration of the question of Spiritual
Evolution is the feeling that rebirth is being forced upon him, without any say
on his part, and against his desires. But this is far from being correct. It is
true that the whole process is according to the Great Law, but that Law
operates through the force of Desire and Attraction. The soul is attracted
toward rebirth by reason of its desire or rather the essence of its desires. It
is reborn only because it has within itself the desire for further experience,
and opportunity for unfoldment. And it is reborn into certain environments
solely because it has within itself unsatisfied desires for those environments,
etc. The process is just as regular and scientific as is the attraction of one
atom of matter for another.
Each
soul has within itself certain elements of desire and attraction, and it
attracts to itself certain conditions and experiences, and is in turn attracted
by these things. This is the law of life, in the body and out of it. And there
is no injustice in the law it is the essence of justice itself, for it gives to
each just what is required to fill the indwelling desires, or else the
conditions and experiences designed to burn out the desires which are holding
one back, and the destruction of which will make possible future advancement.
For
instance, if one is bound by the inordinate desire for material wealth, the Law
of Karma will attract him to a rebirth in conditions in which he will be
surrounded by wealth and luxury until he becomes sickened with them and will find
his heart filled with the desire to flee from them and toward higher and more
satisfying things. Of course the Law of Karma acts in other ways, as we shall
see in our next lesson—it deals with one's debts and obligations, also. The Law
of Karma is closely connected with Metempsychosis, and one must be considered
in connection with the other, always.
Not
only is it true that man's rebirths are in strict accordance with the law of
Attraction and Desire, but it is also true that after he attains a certain stage
of spiritual unfoldment he enters into the conscious stage of rebirth, and
thereafter he is reborn consciously and with full foreknowledge. Many are now
entering into this stage of development, and have a partial consciousness of
their past lives, which also implies that they have had at least a partial
consciousness of approaching rebirth, for the two phases of consciousness run
together.
Those
individuals of a race who have outstripped their fellows in spiritual
unfoldment, are still bound by the Karma of the particular race to which they
belong, up to a certain point. And as the entire race, or at least a large
proportion of it, must move forward as a whole, such individuals must needs
wait also. But they are not compelled to suffer a tiresome round of continued
rebirths amid environments and conditions which they have outgrown. On the
contrary, the advanced individual soul is allowed to wait until the race
reaches its own stage of advancement, when it again joins in the upward
movement, in full consciousness, however. In the interim he may pass his well
earned rest either on some of the higher planes of rest, or else in conscious
temporary sojourn in other material spheres helping in the great work as a
Teacher and worker for Good and Spiritual Evolution among those who need such
help. In fact there are in the world to-day, individual souls which have
reached similar stages on other planets, and who are spending their rest period
here amidst the comparatively lower Earth conditions, striving to lift up the
Earth souls to greater heights.
So
long as people allow themselves to become attached to material objects, so long
will they be reborn in conditions in which these objects bind them fast. It is
only when the soul frees itself from these entangling obstructions that it is
born in conditions of freedom. Some outgrow these material attachments by right
thinking and reasoning, while others seem to be compelled to live them out, and
thus outlive them, before they are free. At last when the soul realizes that
these things are merely incidents of the lower personality, and have naught to
do with the real individuality, then, and then only, do they fall from it like
a wornout cloak, and are left behind while it bounds forward on The Path fresh
from the lighter weight being carried.
The
Yogi Philosophy teaches that Man will live forever, ascending from higher to
higher planes, and then on and on and on. Death is but the physical symbol of a
period of Soul Rest, similar to sleep of the tired body, and is just as much to
be welcomed and greeted with thanks. Life is continuous, and its object is
development, unfoldment and growth. We are in Eternity now as much as we ever
shall be. Our souls may exist out of the body as well as in it, although bodily
incarnation is necessary at this stage of our development. As we progress on to
higher planes of life, we shall incarnate in bodies far more ethereal than
those now used by us, just as in the past we used bodies almost incredibly
grosser and coarser than those we call our own to-day. Life is far more than a
thing of three-score and ten years—it is really a succession of such lives, on
an ascending scale, that which we call our personal self to-day being merely
the essence of the experiences of countless lives in the past.
The
Soul is working steadily upward, from higher to higher, from gross to finer
forms and manifestations. And it will steadily work for ages to come, always
progressing, always advancing, always unfolding. The Universe contains many
worlds for the Soul to inhabit, and then after it has passed on to other
Universes, there will still be Infinitude before it. The destiny of the Soul of
Man is of wondrous promise and possibilities—the mind to-day cannot begin to
even dream of what is before the Soul. Those who have already advanced many
steps beyond you—those Elder Brethren—are constantly extending to you aid in
many directions. They are extending to you the Unseen Hand, which lifts you
over many a hard place and dangerous crossing—but you recognize it not except
in a vague way. There are now in existence, on planes infinitely higher than
your own, intelligences of transcendent glory and magnificence—but they were
once Men even as you are to-day. They have so far progressed upon the Path that
they have become as angels and archangels when compared with you. And, blessed
thought, even as these exalted ones were once even as you, so shall you, in due
course of Spiritual Evolution, become even as these mighty ones.
The
Yogi Philosophy teaches that You who are reading these lines have lived many
lives previous to the present one. You have lived in the lower forms, and have
worked your way arduously along the Path until now you are reaching the stage
of Spiritual Consciousness in which the past and future will begin to appear
plain to you for the first time. You have lived as the cave-man—the
cliff-dweller—the savage—the barbarian. You have been the warrior—the
priest—the Medieval scholar and occultist—the prince—the pauper. You have lived
in Lemuria—in Atlantis—in India—in Persia—in Egypt—in ancient Rome and
Greece—and are now playing your part in the Western civilization, associating
with many with whom you have had relations in your past lives.
In
closing this lesson, let us quote from a previous writing from the same pen
that writes this lesson:
"Toward
what goal is all this Spiritual Evolution tending? What does it all mean? From
the low planes of life to the highest—all are on The Path. To what state or
place does The Path lead? Let us attempt to answer by asking you to imagine a
series of millions of circles, one within the other. Each circle means a stage
of Life. The outer circles are filled with life in its lowest and most material
stages—each circle nearer the Centre holds higher and higher forms—until Men
(or what were once Men) become as gods. Still on, and on, and on. does the form
of life grow higher, until the human mind cannot grasp the idea. But what is
the Centre? The MIND of the entire Spiritual Body—the ABSOLUTE! And we are
traveling toward that Centre!"
And
again from the same source:
"But
beyond your plane, and beyond mine, are plane after plane, connected with our
earth, the splendors of which man cannot conceive. And there are likewise many
planes around the other planets of our chain—and there are millions of other
worlds—and there are chains of universes just as there are chains of
planets—and then greater groups of these chains—and so on greater and grander
beyond the power of man to imagine—on and on and on and on—higher and higher—to
inconceivable heights. An infinity of infinities of worlds are before us. Our
world and our planetary system and our system of suns, and our system of solar
systems, are but as grains of sand on the beach of the mighty ocean. But then
you cry, 'But what am I—poor mortal thing—lost among all this inconceivable
greatness?' The answer comes that You are that most precious thing—a living
soul. And if you were destroyed the whole system of universes would crumble,
for you are as necessary as the greatest part of it—it cannot do without
you—you cannot be lost or destroyed—you are a part of it all, and are eternal.
'But,' you ask, 'beyond all of this of which you have told me, what is
there—what is the Centre of it All?' Your Teacher's face takes on a rapt
expression—a light not of earth beams forth from his countenance. 'THE
ABSOLUTE!' he replies.
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