The First Steps

The time has now come for pointing out the way by which each individual may

 investigate for himself all the facts with which we have dealt thus far in our study.

 As stated in the beginning, there are no special "gifts" bestowed upon any.

 All may know for themselves the truth concerning the pilgrimage of the soul,

the past evolution and future destiny of the world, without being compelled to

 depend upon the veracity of another. There is a method whereby this valuable

 faculty may be acquired, and the earnest student qualify himself to investigate

 those super-physical realms; a method by which, if persistently followed,

the powers of a God may be developed.

   A simple illustration may indicate the first steps. The very best mechanic is

well-nigh helpless without the tools of his craft. Indeed it is the hall-mark of a

 good artisan that he is very fastidious as to the quality and condition of the

 tools he uses, because he knows that the work depends as much upon

 their excellence as upon his skill.

   The Ego has several instruments--a dense body, a vital body, a desire body,

and a mind. These are its tools and upon their quality and condition depends how

much or how little it can accomplish in its work of gathering experience in each

 life. If the instruments are poor and dull there will be but little spiritual growth

 and the life will be a barren one, so far as the spirit is concerned.

   We generally estimate a "successful" life by the bank account, the social

 position attained, or the happiness resulting from a carefree existence

 and a sheltered environment.

   When life is regarded is that way all the principal things that make for

 permanency are forgotten; the individual is blinded by the evanescent and

 illusionary. A bank account seems such a very real success, the fact is forgotten

that from the moment the Ego leaves the body, it has no equity in gold nor any

other earthly treasure. It may even have to answer for the methods employed in

amassing that hoard and suffer great pain in seeing others spend it. It is forgotten

 that the important social position also disappears when the silver cord is loosed.

Those who once fawned may then sneer, and even those who were faithful in

life might shudder at the thought of an hour spent with no company but that of

 the dead. All that is of this life alone is vanity. Only that is of true value which

 can be taken with us across the threshold as the treasure of the spirit.

   The hot-house plant may look very beautiful as it blooms in its sheltered

glass house, but should the furnace fire go out, it would wither and die, while

 the plant that has grown in rain and sunshine, through storm and calm, will

 survive the winter and bloom afresh each year. From the viewpoint of the soul,

happiness and a sheltered environment are generally unfortunate circumstances.

 The petted and fondled lap dog is subject to diseases of which the homeless

cur, which has to fight for a scrap from a garbage can, knows nothing. The cur's

 life is hard, but it gets experience that makes it alert, alive and resourceful.

Its life is rich in events, and it reaps a harvest of experience, while the pampered

 lap dog drones its time away in fearful monotony.

   The case of a human being is somewhat similar. It may be hard to fight poverty

and hunger, but from the standpoint of the soul it is infinitely preferable to a life

 of idle luxury. Where wealth is nothing more than a handmaid of well thought out

 philanthropy, which helps man in such a way as to really uplift him, it may be

 a very great blessing and a means of growth for its possessor, but when used

 for selfish purposes and oppression, it cannot be regarded as other

 than an unmitigated curse.

   The soul is here to acquire experience through its instruments. These are the

 tools furnished to each at birth, and they are good, bad or indifferent according

 to what we have learned through past experience in the building of them.

 Such as they are we must work with them, if at all.

   If we have become aroused from the usual lethargy and are anxious to

progress, the question naturally arises, What must I do?

   Without well-kept tools the mechanic can do no effective work; similarly, the

 instruments of the Ego must be cleansed and sharpened; then we may

 commence work to some purpose. As one works with those wonderful tools

 they themselves improve with proper use and become more and more

efficient to aid in the work. The object of this work is Union with the Higher Self.

   There are three steps by which this work conquers the lower nature, but they

are not completely taken one after the other. In a certain sense they go together,

 so that at the present stage the first receives the most attention, the second less,

and the third least of all. In time, when the first step has been wholly taken,

naturally more attention can be paid to the other two.

   There are three helps given in attaining these three stages. They can be seen

 in the outside world, where the great Leaders of humanity have placed them.

   The first help is Race religions, which by aiding humanity to overcome the

 desire body, prepare it for union with the Holy Spirit.

   The full operation of this help was seen on the Day of Pentecost. As the Holy

Spirit is the Race God, all languages are expressions of it. That is why the

apostles, when fully united and filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke with different

 tongues and were able to convince their hearers. Their desire bodies had been

 sufficiently purified to bring about the wished-for union and this is an earnest of

what the disciple will one day attain to-- the power to speak all tongues. It may

 also be cited as a modern, historical example, that the Comte de St. Germain

 (who was one of the later incarnations of Christian Rosenkreuz the founder of

our sacred Order), spoke all languages, so that all to whom he spoke thought

 he belonged to the same nation as they. He also had

 achieved union with the Holy Spirit.

   In the Hyperborean Epoch, before man possessed a desire body, there was

but one universal mode of communication and when the desire body has

become sufficiently purified, all men will again be able to understand

one another, for then the separative Race differentiation will have passed away.

   The second help which humanity now has is the Religion of the Son--the

 Christian religion, the object of which is union with Christ by

 purification and control of the vital body.

   Paul refers to this future state when he says: "Until Christ be formed in you,

" and exhorts his followers, as men who are running a race, to rid

 themselves of every weight.

   The fundamental principle in building the vital body is repetition. Repeated

experiences work on it to create memory. The Leaders of humanity, who desired

to give us unconscious help by certain exercises, instituted prayer as a means

 of bringing pure and lofty thought to work on the vital body, and enjoined us

to "pray without ceasing." Scoffers have often asked sneeringly why it should

 be thought necessary to always pray, because if God is omniscient He knows

our needs and if He is not, our prayers will probably never reach Him; and if

 not omniscient, He cannot be omnipotent, and therefore could not answer

prayer in any case. Many an earnest Christian may also have thought it

wrong to be continually importuning the Throne of Grace.

   Such ideas are founded upon a misunderstanding of facts. Truly God is

omniscient and requires no reminder of our needs, but if we pray aright,

 we lift ourselves up to Him, thus working upon and purifying our vital

 bodies. If we pray aright--but that is the great trouble. We are generally

 much more concerned about temporal things than we are about spiritual

upliftment. Churches will hold special meetings to pray for rain! And the

chaplains of opposing armies or navies will even pray before a battle

 that success may follow their arms!

   That is prayer to the Race God, Who fights the battles of His people, gives

them increase of flocks and herds, fills their granaries and caters to the

material wants. Such prayers are not even purifying. They are from the

desire body, which sums up the situation thus: Now Lord, I am keeping

 your commandments to the best of my ability

 and I want You to do Your part in return.

   Christ gave to humanity a prayer that is, like himself, unique and

all-embracing. In it there are seven distinct and separate prayers; one

 for each of the seven principles of man--the threefold body, the threefold

 spirit and the link of mind. Each prayer is peculiarly adapted to promote the

 progression of that part of composite man to which it refers.

   The purpose of the prayer relating to the threefold body is the spiritualization

of those vehicles and the extraction therefrom of the threefold soul.

   The prayers relating to the threefold spirit prepare it to receive the

 extracted essence, the threefold soul.

   The prayer for the link of mind is to keep it in its proper relation as a tie

 between the higher and the lower nature.

   The third help to be given to humanity will be the Religion of the Father.

We can have very little conception of what that will be, save that the ideal

 will be even higher than Brotherhood and that by it the dense body will be spiritualized.

   The Religions of the Holy Spirit, the Race religions, were for the uplifting

of the human race through a feeling of kinship

limited to a group--family, tribe or nation.

   The purpose of the Religion of The Son, Christ, is to further uplift mankind

 by forming it into a Universal Brotherhood of separate individuals.

   The ideal of the Religion of The Father will be the elimination of all

separateness, merging all into One, so that there will be no "I" nor

"Thou," but all will be One in reality. This will not come to pass while we

 are still inhabitants of the physical Earth, but in a future state where we

 shall realize our unity with all, each having access to all the knowledge

 garnered by each separate individual. Just as the single facet of a

diamond has access to all the light that comes through each of the other

facets, is one with them, yet bounded by lines which give it a certain

 individuality without separateness, so will the individual spirit retain

 the memory of its particular experiences, while giving to all others

 the fruits of its individual existence.

   These are the steps and stages through which humanity is unconsciously being led.

   In past ages the Race spirit reigned alone. Man was content with a

 patriarchal and paternal government in which he had no part. Now

all over the world we see signs of the breaking down of the old system.

 The caste system, which was the stronghold of England in India, is

 crumbling. Instead of being separated into small groups, the people are

uniting in the demand that the oppressor shall depart and leave them to live in

freedom under a government of, by and for the people. Russia is torn

by strife for freedom from a dictatorial, autocratic government.

 Turkey has awakened and taken a long stride toward liberty. Here

 in our own land, where we are supposed to be in the actual enjoyment of such

 liberty as others are, as yet, only able to covet or fight for, we are not yet

 satisfied. We are learning that there are other oppressions than those of

an autocratic monarchy. We see that we have still industrial freedom to

 gain. We are chafing under the yoke of the trusts and an insane system

 of competition. We are trending toward co-operation, which is now practiced

by the trusts within their own confines for private profit. We are desirous of

a state of society where "they shall sit every man under his vine and

under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid."

   Thus, all over the world, the old systems of paternal government are

changing. Nations, as such, have had their day and are unwittingly working

 toward Universal Brotherhood in accordance with the design of our invisible

 Leaders, who are none the less potent in shaping events because they

 are not officially seated in the councils of nations.

   These are the slow means by which the different bodies of humanity at

 large are being purified, but the aspirant to the higher knowledge works

 consciously to attain to these ends, by well-defined methods,

according to his constitution.