The sublimity of the Soul depends entirely upon the exaltedness attained by the mind. The wise, ennobled mind is capable of bringing into consciousness a God-like Soul: A Conscious entity, an Individuality that will continue active throughout the ages as either a Hierarch or a Savior of the people.

The Soul is our judge, though itself judged by the life we live. If listened to, it may be the guiding Light that leads us safely and surely through life, yet must bear the Cross if its promptings are left unheeded. It is the mystery that must be solved; it is the Shekinah behind the veil.

Whatever degree of perfection we may attain as a result of Godly deeds and acts of justice, we may be certain that these are a part of the Soul and to its credit. This record cannot be erased unless we foolishly lay it desolate, by encompassing it with evil, as were encircled the walls of Jericho by the hosts of the Philistine lords of evil.

The Soul is like a picture painted by an expert artist. It unerringly portrays the impress of every thought, desire and deed, whether good or ill, in bold and undeniable accuracy, and stands before us as a living image. We are either betrayed and convicted by our inner self, or we emerge in triumphant glory if we be found righteous. When the Soul reveals itself and we are permitted and capable of seeing and reading aright, then we will know ourselves as we are, and not as we thought ourselves to be. It will be well for our peace of mind if the verdict is ever so little in our favor.

As though a veil be lifted, we shall be allowed to see beyond the far, dim, misty past, where in ages of blindness and egotism, we built the Immortal part of ourselves. The record is there. It has been most faithfully kept. It is not blurred and not a word has been erased. It is easily read; by it we stand as free men or convicted to eons of servitude before we can free ourselves from the web which we ourselves have woven. "Far better," as was said by the Nazarene, "for a man to lose the whole world than his own Soul." The world, though lost, may be regained, but when the Soul has been betrayed, there is little hope for its recovery.

The mind is the builder of the Soul; well be it that the mind be of "good repute," for a corrupt mind builds an abnormal Soul; a perverted mind creates a monstrosity; while the unnatural mind brings into being an abnormal Soul. All that the mind is, the Soul cannot help but become. See well to the state of your mind if the Soul is to bask in the glory of the Light.

When you think certain thoughts, whatever their nature, you thereby automatically form or mold a picture of these thoughts and this is an image that lives and becomes a part of the Soul. It is alive. It is a living thing. It is reality itself and more truly real than is your body. It is your creation. You are its father as surely as is the Creator, the Father of the world and all in it. If it be an evil mind it is ever ready and potent to condemn you now and until your hour of judgment comes. If potent with good, it is your ever-ready Monitor, although you may be wholly unaware of its presence. It will stand as your redeemer at the end of time. If you have taken your stand on the summit of earthly desires, clothed only in the husks of mortal flesh, without the rays of the white Light of the Soul to restrain you from falling into the darkness of death, you are lost, and the Soul that you might have Individualized returns to the All-Creator a Cosmic loss in as far as you personally are concerned; for you have dissipated your inheritance.

It matters not how small the Divine Spark in our possession; if it be kindled into life by constructive thoughts, desires and acts, it will become a Flame potent to Immortalize the personality into an Individuality - a God. Then, oh Neophyte, turn from the illusions of the senses, the desires of the flesh. Turn from the fleshpots of Egypt to that which is real, enduring, elevating, yet denies you nothing that is desirable and lasting.

He or that which we know as God dwells everywhere and there is no place where He is not. He is all that is living. God is not behind a veil, except to those who live in the flesh only and therefore are unable to see even as through a glass darkly. He is not shrouded in darkness and mystery. He is standing right before you. He does not hide Himself but seeks to become known to you. He seeks to be your good fairy, aye, your hourly companion. He becomes known to you if you awaken your inner Consciousness. God is not a personality, yet He is in all personalities. God is the Law. He is the Law that brings about all manifestations. You will harmonize yourself with this Law, which operates continually and without interruption, if you will act in accordance with its dictates. God is unchanging, therefore the Law is unchangeable. The Law is spiritualized so that all who act in spirit and according to the Law become one with the spirit which is God. You may harmonize all your acts with this Law, become one with the Law and be carried onward and forward by the Law. Thus will you come to bring into manifestation all those things that are for your welfare, be these things mental, material or spiritual. THIS IS THE LAW.

God does not hide behind a veil. It is we who wear the veil. It blinds us so that we constantly look through a glass darkly, and the things we see become distorted. We fail to see Him although He is ever near us. We miss the current that would carry us along, because we are as blind men who cannot see the good things placed before us for our benefit.

Because of our blindness of Soul we say that God is in a far-off beyond, is unknown to us and therefore unknowable. The moment we tear aside this illusion, we begin to free ourselves from the darkness of the carnal senses and that part of the flesh that degrades. We come to know that He is not in a far Beyond but always near us. We see Him as He is, and find ourselves becoming like Him. We recognize that we are the reflection, or an emanation, of Him; for did not He Himself profess that He made man in His own likeness?

The great Hermetic Law cannot be too frequently repeated: "As above, so below; as in the inner, so in the outer." Therefore, just as the shining sun in the heavens is the Soul of the universe in which we live, so is the Creator the Soul of the heavens - the Cosmic world. He is the Creator, therefore the "mind" of all there is, just as the Sun is the Soul, while the Universe is the body of the world.

It has been truly said that "the mind in itself is a subtle form of static energy, from which arises the activities called thought - the dynamic phase of mind. Mind is static energy; thought is dynamic energy - two phases of one activity."

The sun is a magnetic force, drawing from the earth and toward itself the life forces that energize all things. Men and all creatures are but the reflection of the universe. Man is the little world, the Microcosm, while the earth is the larger world, the Macrocosm. Our minds are the generators of energy; units of creative power. The Soul's relation to the body is analogous to the sun in its relation to the known universe.

When we harmonize the body, when mind and Soul become blended as are the earth and sun, and become Cosmic Conscious, then we have attained Oneness. We have harmonized mind forces and Soul qualities. This signifies the harmonious adjustment of the two. The mind having united the two wings of being, the Winged Globe or Conscious Soul results. This is the equilibration - the equilibrium - of the two. We have now become an entity that consciously utilizes both mind and Soul forces. In this manner mastership is attained.

Thus we have in the final analysis:

MIND
Electric Energy
Positive Force
The Creator

GOD
Centrifugal Energy
Director
Creator

SUN
Centripetal Energy

SON
Created
Negative

CHRIST
Awakened Soul
Conscious Individuality
Immortality

THE SOUL
The Christ
The Son of God
The Sun of Ra. "The Sons of the Rays of the Cross." "The Sons of Light."

When we are able to mentally break away from the fascination and illusions of the carnal; when we begin to long for a free heart, purified desires and an exalted Soul, then the seed is planted. This is the conception.

As we begin to manifest kindness, fairness, generosity, justice and the other virtues, we are preparing and looking forward to the coming birth - the coming forth of the Christos within the stable - that is, the place where the animals (passions) dwell.

Just as the three ancient Wise Men or Magi (worshippers of the sun or Son) were led across the deserts and seas, so will our mentality and personal self come to bow in reverence and thanksgiving before the babe - the newly born or awakened Soul, the Savior-to-be not only of ourselves, but of mankind as well. We recognize the lowliness of the habitation of the flesh - the manger in Bethlehem - the lying-in place of the passions in the flesh. At the feet of this newly born child - the newly Conscious Soul, we lay our choicest gifts - all that is of mind, spirit and body, each to perform its individual duty. We refuse to further recognize the illusions governing kings and princes. The body and mind can no longer cause us to do those things that have the power to destroy the Holy Child - the Christos just born within us.

WE ALSO MAY ATTAIN TO all that the Nazarene is said to have become. Within Him was the seed of the Immortals; within Him was born the Son of God; within Him, grown into maturity, was the Savior of the world - His world, and as He "was lifted up, so were other men lifted up by [to] him." He was born of woman as are all men. He, Jesus, the son of Joseph the carpenter, was a creature of flesh, blood and bone, even as are we. He was conceived under the human laws of creation, subject to temptations, sorrows and sufferings, the lot of all men; but He quickly learned a lesson so very few do - that He was more than flesh and blood; that within Him dwelt, though as yet asleep, another being; a God in embryo. He became aware of the Divine Spark within, and that this Spark might be brought into Individualization or Consciousness. Jesus, as are all men, was mortally born, but He proceeded to bring forth within Himself the Divine counterpart of the Father - His own Immortal Soul.

It is written that when the thoughts of man turn to things material, he hungers, thereby recognizing that in God only (the spiritual) exists the eternal, the lasting, the Immortal; while the mortal man must continually receive material necessities and personal attention. The Nazarene was most wise. When thoughts of power over other kingdoms of earth began to awaken within His mind, He also realized that only in God is lasting power to be found. He cast from Himself all earthly ambitions, the desire for domination. The results of this self-denial are clearly stated in: "Then the devil [desires for glory and aggrandizement] leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

After self-denial will come those lasting, spiritual rewards, the due of all who master the self.

When false ideas and unworthy desires are torn from the heart, when the illusions of the senses and carnal self are transmuted, then may full Soul Illumination follow. The Christos or Cosmic self within man awakens and Conscious Individuality is attained. The temptation on the mount comes to all who would achieve. All would be well if mankind followed the Nazarene's example and denied the desires of the carnal self.

During His ministry, the Nazarene did not separate Himself as one sanctified, holy and apart from other men. He made no claims for Himself. It is written that He said: "Thou, Father, in me, and I in Thee, and they in us." "They" were those who had learned to know the Father; who had succeeded in awakening the Soul within, and had attained to Conscious Individuality.

The Nazarene never taught a Law, never gave utterance to an edict, which other men were unable to follow. Had He done so it would have nullified His entire ministry.

The Laws He taught and endeavored to establish throughout His ministry were not His own, nor had they been enacted by the great Lawgiver specifically for His purpose. THEY HAD ALWAYS EXISTED. The Nazarene merely restated them in language all men might comprehend and obey. He merely reaffirmed their existence in order to impress them the more strongly upon the minds of His followers.

Moreover, He did not separate Himself from other men even in the works He performed, but definitely stated: "The works I do are of God and the words which ye hear are not mine, but of the Father who sent me."

And again: "Greater works than these that I do ye may do also."

All that He attempted to do was to instruct the people in the domain and operation of the Divine Law, God's Law, the Laws of which He came to represent and manifest.

The Nazarene was human. He experienced all the things that the rest of humanity must pass through during the sojourn on this earth of ours. He was tempted by the same forces; by the lure and attraction of the senses, the almost irresistible passions of the carnal self, but understanding the why and wherefore, He was conscious of that which we fail to comprehend: That the senses are false gods that lead us to our own destruction.

Overcoming these passions does not signify that we may not also enjoy all that we possess or gain, but that these things must be used wisely and rightly. To subject the senses to the reason of righteousness and purity makes us all the more capable of enjoying all that is desirable and for our welfare. So long as we are slaves to sensation we are not our own master. To become the master we must boldly face and overcome all things that would lead us astray.

We have every right to love; aye, it is our Divine duty to do so, but we must not permit ourselves to become the slave to that which we love, nor allow impure thoughts or degrading desires to enter. We are privileged to enjoy to the full all that is good and constructive, but we must refuse to be submerged in or subjugated by the longings of the carnal senses. There is a right use, just as there is a wrong use of all things that exist. Our duty is to choose what is right and not permit ourselves to be led astray even by the most powerful impulse or the strongest desire.

After all is said, and try to shift the responsibility as we may, it remains a fact that we are our own Saviors. We must become the creators of our own Immortal being. It is our privilege to become as a little child (innocent and full of faith) and learn the mysteries that have dumfounded the wisest of philosophers. We have the privilege to open our eyes and see unveiled the Holy of Holies of the Most High and to pray (worship) before the Altar within the Sanctuary.

We may open our ears and hear the music of the spheres; learn the wisdom handed down by the wise men of all ages and attain an understanding of all the truth. We then are able to help the halting Soul walk in the lightness of the spirit. We may cast out the twin devils of unbelief and selfishness. Finally, it may be our part to raise the dead Soul from its tomb of darkness, lack of faith and burden of iniquity, so that it may inherit the Kingdom of Eternal Life.

Every man must gain knowledge by his own experiences. Those of mind and Soul as well as by the pleasures and pains of the mortal body. Pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, health and sickness; all these are a part, links and stages in the creation of a Soul. All these things must be woven into the pattern that will make or mar our destiny. All that we put into life and get out of living makes us what we are and indicates our future-to-be.

The Soul's status depends upon the things we have extracted from life's experiences. When we bring out the good, much as the refiner of metals obtains the gold in the ore as a result of his process of extraction, we build, as a result of these experiences, the Christic or Cosmic Soul.

If we seek to know what we have built into our structure or creation during our sojourn on earth, all we need to do is to analyze the net result of this life. If we have learned our lessons as did the Nazarene or His contemporary Apollonius, we will be able to smile at temptations, because we know their intrinsic worth. We will have attained to the Awakening and the Conscious Soul possesses the Light that guards it from darkness and the many pitfalls that one must evade along the path. This Light is in us, and once the veil of darkness is cast aside, it will lead us onward and forward to ever greater heights of wisdom, humility and ability to help the less fortunate. It is certain and never failing; it is the "Light that is on neither land nor sea."

KNOW ALL MEN THIS: As your present is the result of your past, so will your present thoughts, desires and deeds make your future. Today you are building your tomorrow. Fortunate indeed are you if you are building toward Soul Consciousness.

With the first consciously recognized constructive thought the building of the foundation is under way; therefore, let it be upon the rock of certainty, of faith and of heart-desire that the building proceeds. We must give daily thought to our plans, then live, act and make every possible effort in harmony with the thought. This is concentration. It is direction toward a given end.

(l) Concentration always results in accumulation; accumulation is strength and power.

(2) Concentration and direction are the causes of effect; effect or result always follow cause or effort in perfect harmony.

(3) Concentration opens the gate to knowledge and understanding; knowledge becomes wisdom as a result of experience; experience is enlightenment and enlightenment is man's greatest jewel or inheritance.

We are governed by the wisdom we possess and should direct our every effort to gain all the wisdom we can so that our life may be directed accordingly and that we may fulfil our destiny.

Every act of life, whether we are conscious of it or not, is an outer manifestation of the wisdom which is ours.

It is not essential, though admittedly highly desirable, to be deeply versed in the textbooks of schools and universities in order to gain wisdom. The savage possesses a knowledge of nature equaled by few university graduates. The jungle lord who does not know that an alphabet exists or that there are colleges and hospitals where the method of treating disease is taught, may, and frequently does, possess a knowledge of simple remedies that will cure when all science fails. Man may be educated in the greatest universities of the day, yet possess little wisdom and even less spirituality. This education may even make him an atheist and cause him to be Godless in as far as heart and Soul are concerned.

Multitudes, the great number of whom are highly educated or university trained, have left the paths leading to spiritual Wisdom and understanding as a result of lack of faith, and are groping along the path of materialism, studying the outer forms of things but never understanding the mysteries of the inner forces inherent in nature and therefore unable to find the source of life; totally powerless to solve the least problem connected with either. They are the ones who walk in darkness and see as "through a glass, darkly."

The teachings of the Science of the Soul are directed toward the cultivation of an inner life, and the gaining of the wisdom that is to be found nowhere else but in the Soul itself. Soul Science is in no sense condemnatory of material science and the arts of education except when these attempt to convert men into machines, mechanisms propelled by cant and creed and the edicts of pseudoscience and under the thumb of authority and supermen of materialism.

Unfortunately limited in number are those who have become conscious of the facts that they are possessed of a Divine Inheritance - a Soul. Fewer still, those who know what and where that Soul is. Soul Science has as its mission the instruction and guidance of men so that they may attain this wisdom and gain spiritual consciousness. The reason why so few have entered the path is that man must first earnestly and steadfastly long for the possession of a Conscious Soul before he can even attempt to possess one; just as man must be in need of, and desires, a house before he will attempt to secure or build one.

Man may be greatly in need of some special thing, yet despite his need, have no great desire to obtain it; the result is that he will not make much effort to obtain it. All that we can aspire to or crave, we can attain or obtain if we are sufficiently sincere in our efforts, never resting in our endeavors until we have succeeded.

The first step then is to create desire. Until this initial potent agent has been aroused in us, knowledge of the Soul is impossible to man. After the desire for spiritual knowledge and attainment has been awakened it will activate the intuitional faculty within man, enabling him to plan, accumulate and begin building. Finally, this incentive, plus knowledge, will lead him to certain, though at times slow, growth of Soul.

Those seeking for the spiritual knowledge of the Initiates or Illuminated must come as children, willing to obey and to gladly follow the instructions obtainable from those who have gone the Way before, these having blazed the trail for the guidance of others undertaking to travel the same Path. If the Aspirant is thus willing, he will be able to avoid many of the pitfalls and snares that inevitably fall to the lot of the pioneers on the Path to the highest - the Holy of Holies - of all there is.

These pitfalls and snares are most often caused by those ignorant of the true path, but with an abundance of egotism or pseudo knowledge, and even by creeds for the salvation of men's Souls by justification and faith in the power of others to save them, or by those who offer to escort the weary or superficial seeker over the "Threshold" without preparation and purification and possibly all within a period of a few hours. These parasites, or human ghouls, are themselves ghosts of what men should and could be, damned of God or by the Law. They lead to damnation all Souls they contact who are ignorant or foolish enough to be led by them.

These self-appointed leaders, because of their mastery of showmanship, are frequently able to turn the seeker aside from the right Path and lure him into subtle temptations and carnal practices, due to the fact that innate in men there is an almost universal desire to possess a halo of glory without making any great effort to obtain it. Seeking to obtain "something for little effort" these foolish seekers doom their unworthy and selfish Souls to wholly unnecessary years of darkness.

All those who rush into the realms of the unknown without adequate preparation and careful guidance are liable to fall into the grossest errors, frequently paying for their hardihood by the loss of health and strength, both mental and moral, and often ending as nervous wrecks or depraved in heart and Soul.

Initiation, the result of gaining Soul Consciousness - is never a matter of ceremony. The most sublime initiatory rites ever known are impotent to make man a spiritual being. Initiation is the result of inner growth. It is a growth. Men cannot be Initiated into Cosmic Consciousness. They must BECOME Cosmically Conscious by a method of life and action.

Many seek inner development and wisdom for selfish purposes, for self-glory and power. This cannot properly be called Soul building. It is an attempt to find a way to employ the Soul's potential power for the creation of a temporary structure that is certain to fall, crumble to earth and be no more after the first assault of the forces that each Soul must meet and overcome. The selfish self must be entirely and radically changed. It is part of the stone and timber for the building that must be rehewn (transmuted) if it is to fit into the temple structure.

We are on earth as workmen; as laborers on the temple; as builders. We are sons of the carpenter. All must become builders or fall by the wayside. The Nazarene understood this. "In my Father's house are many mansions. I [the exemplar] go to prepare a place for you." All of us, each one of us, must become builders. We ourselves must build that "mansion" or "room" in the Father's mansion if we would have a place in which to house our spiritual being. This cannot be done by the selfish self, because the selfish self is not acceptable to the Divine Plan. It is not in harmony with the Great Scheme any more than the debased and depraved can find acceptance in the society of the Saints. The selfish man can no more bear the Light, which is the glory of the Illuminated Soul, than can the toadstool withstand the blazing rays of the midday sun.

When we have cleansed our thoughts, exalted our desires and finished the grand structure, when we have been enabled to light the fires upon the Inner Altar, the Holy of Holies, then will the Divine Fire from the heavens descend and mingle with our own fires within. It is thus the Holy Ghost descends and finds an abiding place within the Soul that has become our self.

Natural evolution toward perfection and experience, though mighty forces in themselves, are not potent to develop the seeker spiritually. Development must be consciously undertaken and is possible only through the awakening of the inner consciousness to something that is better, higher and more desirable than anything heretofore known or experienced. Experience is essential, though often an expensive teacher, and those who pass through this school all too frequently are compelled to master hard and bitter lessons.

Not until we realize the cause of our suffering and discontent are we able to comprehend all the things to which experience is trying to awaken us. After we have found the cause we are able to choose the good and make of it a means to the understanding of the Law and the application of it to our problems, both spiritual and material.

Once we fully realize that defiance of any Law brings inevitable reaction upon us, a punishment well deserved, that there is no escape from such a penalty, we will have taken the first step toward ultimate freedom, toward the Light in the distance, toward Consciousness of Soul.

Experience is essential in teaching us that it is far better in the first instance to obey the Law and reap the fruits of such obedience than to attempt violation of it and bring upon us the reaction - the penalty. Neither experience nor natural evolution can bring us Soul Consciousness or Illumination. Evolution governs on the material plane of action. Desire and effort alone are potent to bring results on the spiritual plane.

A man may have passed through many incarnations and uncountable experiences, yet have utterly failed to have come into a realization that he possesses a Soul. When the mind continues spiritually negative, as is the lot with most men, it builds up an inner being that is contrary to the Laws of the Divine Plan - a Tower of Babel (a realm of confusion), as it were - and must suffer and continue in sorrow. The farther he travels from the source of his being, the greater will be his loss and the more difficult his return to that source from which all things may be obtained.

Millions of men pass through some of the most terrifying experiences, as in the years 1942-43, yet find little enlightenment as a result. The majority will be almost as far away as before from knowledge of the Soul, its being and the way of life. What is more, the bitterness they experience as the result of the inhumanity of man to man, the seeming injustice of it all, because the cause is hidden, may lead them far afield from all knowledge of things spiritual, yet their experience should have awakened a holy horror within them for all that is evil and degrading, and brought to them a desire for all that is uplifting and exalting.

To attain, to become free from the undesirable, the mind must become positive, creative, active and constructive. The body must be held negative - at ease; there must be a positive-negativeness - mind being positive, physical being negative - to receive. The mind must hold within itself the Law of "I Will."

When man lives contrary to the Divine Law, he gradually develops into a mental negativeness; he becomes effeminate; that is, receptive to illusions, the undesirable. Regrettable as it is to all who vision what is ahead, THIS IS THE AGE OF REVERSES. Personalities in the form of men are becoming effeminate, while they permit, without protest, other personalities in the shape of the female to develop masculinity, foreshadowing the Great Deluge, the time when millions will fall to the status of nonentities and pass into the limbo where all forgotten things find their resting place.

Male and female created He them, all in accordance with His Wisdom and His Divine Plan. Man cannot change this except to his own destruction.

The feminine is the half of creation. When normal, it is the most beautiful part. The masculine is the feminine counterpart. The two comprise the whole and as said by the Lord; "it is a holy thing that we have created." One plus one are two, and the twain may create in their own image, aye, in the image of the Creator, for did He not say: "In my own image did I create them." When an attempt is made to reverse the eternal Law, the male becomes effeminate; the female masculine; each is in substance plural. While the two, as originally intended, created in the image of the Father, the four in two as they now are, spawn forth abominations. This thing John the Seer and Revelator clearly foresaw as is so plainly indicated in Revelation.

Development of masculinity in the female destroys the feminine and ultimately betrays her emotions and creative power. With this change she may lose the possibility of becoming a Conscious Individuality. This identical Law applies to the male as well.

Woman is not the positive principle in nature, nor is she the electrical pole of creation. When she attempts to create a masculine mind she reverses the polarity of her being; she antagonizes both nature and God.

So long as we remain of constructive trend and law-abiding we will not be made to suffer the penalty of an attempt at the evasion of the Law. When we proceed as though we were outside of the pale of the Law, we set that Law into motion. It is we who punish ourselves as certainly as we would destroy ourselves if we entered a self-propelling vehicle, started its engine and permitted it to run over a steep precipice.

Development is possible even though we have not been forced to pass through any great experiences, or if experience has been able to teach us little. The Nazarene did not gain much knowledge as a result of experience, but He did learn much from watching the experiences of others. So may we. When temptations came to Him He did not permit Himself to fall, but acted within the Law. He understood well that it was unnecessary to experience suffering and disappointment, sorrow and loss in order to learn to overcome. He obeyed the Law by His refusal to be a victim. That was the basis of His inculcations: to know the Law and to live within it, thus reaping the fruits of obedience without being forced to meet the reaction.

It is clearly indicated throughout the sacred writings that the Nazarene was no more free from temptations than are we, yet He was without sin; that is to say, though tempted He did not give way to temptation. He clearly saw that there was no possibility of finding real and lasting joy or benefit in giving way to sin. He understood this Law as a result of long years of study and observation, training and development and He applied His knowledge in His daily life and His intercourse with others.

All men may gain this knowledge of the Law and thus be fully prepared to meet temptation, but man is full of arrogance and self-conceit. He flatters himself with the thought that he is sufficiently strong to meet all things successfully, to partake of the forbidden, yet not fall. This is his undoing. No man, however great or strong, is beyond the Law. The weak and strong alike must pay for any attempted infraction of the Law.

The Nazarene nowhere instructed men to sin, therefore suffer, and as a result of this sin and suffering, grow into wisdom and understanding. He did say that "sin must come, but woe unto him through whom it cometh." Experience as a result of sin or disobedience does bring knowledge and wisdom, but this in no wise pays for the loss, the sorrow and suffering that follow.

The Nazarene, like all great teachers before Him, clearly taught that any infringement of the Law would bring swift and inevitable punishment. Nowhere in all His ministry did He teach men to defy the Law and thereby gain wisdom, nor did He teach that suffering as a result of an attempted evasion of the Law brought about purification and exaltation. On the contrary, He patiently explained that purification saves man from suffering.

It is written that He said: "If you drink of the waters I give you, you shall never thirst." In this He indicated that if we accept His spiritual teachings we gain an understanding of the Law and that if we live within that Law, then there should be no cause for want, suffering and thirst being synonymous with want; that by thinking, desiring and acting in purity of mind, we will build a Soul that will be above the mortal or limited.

Some say that though the Nazarene lived a pure life and complied with all the ethics of the Law, yet He suffered exceedingly. It is true He suffered, but not as a result of the violation of any Law. He passed through the anguish of the damned because He was sympathetic and took upon Himself the torment of others, thereby showing mankind the path to service and through service to freedom. There are many degrees of suffering, as many as there are causes for suffering. He frequently suffered for others or because of others, but this was not a loss to Him; it was a gain; it was the "laying up of treasures in heaven," or "casting his bread upon the waters," which "after many days would return to him an hundred fold." All leaders of men must do likewise if they would fulfill the Law and all true leaders are willing to do so.

The Nazarene was willing and able to save others, but only to the degree that they were willing to obey the Law that He taught. He died for mankind, in that He showed them the way. His material death has nothing to do with man's salvation, nor with the possibility of man's Immortality, other than that it points the true way. He proved Himself stronger than death in that He might have saved Himself but did not. The Nazarene proved His Immortality; but the degree of Soul Consciousness He manifested would have been impossible had He tried in any way to evade the Laws governing the building of an Immortal, Individualized Soul. He constantly inculcated the idea that all men might become the Sons of God, just as had He, if they were willing to obey God's Law, seek the Light and bring the Soul into Conscious manifestation.

The suffering undergone by the Nazarene was quite different from what many believed, and still believe. Why so? Because His physical being became purified as a result of the life He lived, and as a result the Soul was exalted to a high degree. His agony was chiefly mental, of heart and Soul. He was sorrowful because of the blindness displayed by many who might have lived in the Light but continued to revel in darkness. It is true that He was persecuted, but He took this as a matter of course, knowing that it was because He refused to conform to the ideas of others, and that they were unable to understand why His conduct should be different from their own. He was well aware that such had always been and would be the lot of those who undertook to elevate the standards of the race and help them to rise to a higher level.

In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed for strength, not that He might be spared the bitter experiences He knew were to be His, but that the cup of physical weakness might pass from Him. Many foolishly believe that He prayed to be saved from the trials and death itself. Such a belief has no foundation in truth. Even an Avatar of today would not so stultify his Immortal Soul. If we follow the written story of His life and trials we will be able to comprehend that in that hour He was sorely troubled and sorrowful because one of His closest friends and followers should even think of betraying Him, and this wound to His heart and Soul brought Him to a state of near physical collapse; so much so that it is written His agony was so great that He sweated great drops of blood. This was not due to any fear or thought of the self. His whole heart was with His followers; with blind humanity. He was not of the material cowards are made of. His ministry nowhere indicates anything of the kind. This we can understand by analogy. Even in our day men live for weeks on the field of battle, subsisting on coarse food, often very little of that; sleeping in open fields, in storms and through battles. They never falter, neither do they show any signs of weakness or fear; but once the end is in sight the physical structure so long under strain and in agony, gives way.

The Nazarene knew only too well that the approaching ordeal of scourging and false accusations of things He had never even thought of, together with the "third degree" of that day, and the knowledge that of those most dear to His heart, some would deny Him, would tax His strength to the utmost. He prayed that "the Father's will be done" and that the physical weakness which possessed Him might pass so that He would have the strength to bear all the maliciousness of self-righteous and vainglorious men with fortitude and with the dignity that became one of His high degree of development. His heart's appeal to high heaven brought Him strength as such appeals always will.

History records that even criminals have often faced death and torture unflinchingly. It is therefore utterly foolish for anyone to believe that the Nazarene, who always had His trust in God and had given all of His life to the ministry of the poor and downtrodden, would, even for a moment, shrink from the final ordeal, or ask the Divine Law to permit Him to forego that final test which ALL of us must meet some time.
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