One of the purposes of this book is to encourage you to open yourself to a new type of instruction, something which is not yet familiar to the Western world. Its source is a plan which was formed in the beginning of all time, but its expression has been withdrawn. It is again rising to the surface of the waters, and seeking to manifest in the consciousness of humanity.1
The older generation will greet with uncertainty or ridicule the proposition that nature has a right to exist according to her own evolution. But when we realize that there is behind everything a propelling force causing ideas to manifest in the relative terms of space and time, it is not difficult to approach the subject from this different angle.
When we push a large boulder over the face of a cliff, we can watch its descent until it finds a place of rest. Energy and force were needed to move it from its first bed, but we disturbed its equilibrium. We saw it descend and when, at last, it reached a position of security, it had wholly changed its original position. What had been the bottom may now be the top! Yet it had come to rest, and once more was secure.
But what security has man for his future? When his attitude towards life experiences a change, the security which he formerly thought he possessed may have passed away, and he will look about to discover some other promise of support and security. He is not aware that there is a law which gives security to all who will follow its precepts. Like a grain of sand on the hillside man is exposed to the weather and the sunshine, and a very slight avalanche will cause him to change his position. Perhaps he will be covered by the other grains of sand about him, and then his light is shut out. But the changing tide of circumstances or adversity is ever shifting mortal sand grains, and each individual experiences pleasure and pain and is well or ill nourished, depending upon his own intelligence and the intelligence of those who share the atmosphere of his environment.
It is our present effort to return man to his proper place and position in nature, where consciousness has three divisions and we would have man become conscious of his own self and the self-created universe wherein he finds himself. This self-consciousness does not manifest, for instance, in stones or inanimate objects, for in them consciousness is imprisoned, but man is conscious of himself, which places him above the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. But he is not yet conscious of his self-created universe and its place in nature’s plan. In his ignorance he does not realize that what he calls mind is the “watcher” which sees and records all things. But, seeing and recording things leads ever to the depths of illusion, and it is to discover some means of escape from this “watcher” mind that Yoga teaches us to look beyond objective knowledge to a state of consciousness, in which there is bliss and intelligence and in which the higher self in man resides. When in Yoga practice we pass through the mind world and no longer rely upon our physical senses, they are shut down and we pass into a knower consciousness or state of being known as nirvana, and we are then within the presence of truth and beauty.
All the great avatars have left instructions showing how to pass through the lower mind world into this consciousness where there is happiness and peace, and the basic principle of this instruction is self education. Every true student at sometime feels a strong desire to retreat inwardly, to remove from himself the conditions about him, and to seek union with the Lord God of Truth within.
The reader will realize that this process is diametrically opposed to the educational systems which man has evolved, which teach him to observe the things outside of himself and to contemplate and analyze the objects and changes which his senses can register. By such means man seeks to discover Truth through science and the activities of his human brain deal with material things. In the coming era of understanding man will adopt a new system of development, through which, by means of tenets of emancipation, he will discover the Lord God of Truth within.
The youth of today seek demonstrations of the things which people talk about; they seek to know things, and frequently say what they think, regardless of the sensitivity of those around them. They are reckless in their utterances and will not hesitate to say to the preacher, “You can fool others, but you cannot fool me.” For this new vitality and vibration which is flowing into youthful humanity the old bottles will not serve, and youth demands to know. This demand will be answered increasingly by the knower consciousness within. Youth also demands opportunities to do and seeks for adventure and conquest. The vibration which carries him on disturbs the older generation about him, but as the youthful learn to think for themselves they will cease to be the tool or prey of older minds. Youth, the adventurer, questions everything. He quickly gains experience regarding his physical body and discovers that giving way to his passions and desires does not quench his thirst. He then begins to think about himself, his own place and position in society, and his own powers, and he realizes that under present day conditions he must conquer or go under. Unlike his ancestors he dares to question the meaning of it all, and then comes the urge to know himself and the others that are around him.
This struggle to know the Truth brings to him, for the first time, a slight knowledge of self, and as he meditates he realizes that a change is coming over him. Visions and vistas appear before his mind, and he begins to perceive things which others have not observed. If he earnestly seeks to know Truth, the intelligence in Nature will bring conditions to his attention, and inspiration to his mind, which will cause him to seek more deeply and earnestly for the consciousness of truth. If he persists long enough, he will discover that there are “engineer” atoms within him which connect his mind with information periods of instruction.
The secret of all Yoga practice is to learn from the “instructor” atoms within. These atoms can relate us to our own hidden books of knowledge which, through myriads of lives, record our experiences. We must remember that our mind is the “watcher,” and that it has many volumes stored up for us to reopen in some future period of development. These volumes will be made known through the aid of the “engineer” atom within us, which will attune our human brain to the frequency in which these records are preserved on the higher plane.
Education begins with knowledge, and ends in God Realization. The great beings in nature, those guardians from whom the student of Yoga receives his instruction, constantly admonish, “Tell us what you know, not what you think.” For they live in the knower consciousness, i.e. the plane on which they know things without thought.
When we sum up our education by what we know, we discover that we have attained little knowledge in our present life. This is because our thoughts, minds and activities are projected outwardly into this world of illusion which man has created around him! It is by the process of going inwardly, and by aspiration and devotion to Truth that we establish a conscious approach to truth. The “Wise Ones” teach that we must attain to the knowledge of the law of discretion before the gates of true knowledge will be opened to our understanding. The education of the future which the cosmic hierarchal ones disclose to the student is diametrically opposite to that which the children of today are taught in ordinary education. The child of the future will be the educator of the teacher, for the teacher will ask him, “What do you know about this?”
In the curricula of today new revolutionary theories are not welcomed. The discovery of a new law in chemistry disarranges the other so-called laws of the past. The discovery of a new law regarding religion is apt to change the expression of the so-called other laws of benevolence and spiritual goodness. Thus the great avatars follow one another but seek to adapt their teaching to their own time, place, and position. Today, nevertheless, a new discovery is to be made by man. He will learn that he is a changeling nourished by Mother Nature, and that all understanding of Truth comes to him from an inborn consciousness, inspired by the deathless solar fire. Thus as man retreats inwardly he enters into a closer relationship with the Lord God of Truth within, his own “Kingdom of Heaven.”
Because of ignorance of her purposes, and failure to interpret her manifestations, nature and her powers have not been fully realized by man, but if the student wishes to unite himself with her consciousness he must learn to serve her purpose. When man serves nature, nature will serve man, and unite him to the godhead within. This is the beginning and end of Yoga practice.
The mightiest of nature’s Titans (the fourth class of sentient beings) are those who oppose the work of the devas. Among these are the thunder and the lightning, the wind and rain, which in their fury, oppose the devic inspiration and unite to destroy all that the devas build up.
The wind and the rain are divided against the lightning and the thunder, and both are often dominated by their atoms. These atoms, while imprisoned in the bowels of the earth, are energized by the earth power and are thus led to seek above the earth for freedom from their chains. Thus they escape out of the earth into the higher atmosphere where their energy is collected into composite powerful currents of activity, which being insufficiently refined are forced to return into the prison house of earth.
As it is with these elemental forces, so it is with man. He who is evil and delights in wrongdoing begets children like unto himself, and the end of them will be the same as his own. This is the meaning of the words, “Who knoweth the spirit of man which goeth upwards, and the spirit of a beast that goeth downwards!” The divine Creator alone knows whether they will ascend or descend.
Adam, having become impure in himself before conjugal union with Eve, begat impure offspring, but Abel, who was begotten in a state of purity after repentance, was consequently pure. Thus we learn why the two brothers Cain and Abel were so dissimilar in nature and character. Thus it was that Abel ascended early from the physical plane, while Cain begat his unnamed progeny in the land of Nod.
To a certain extent man has a foretaste of death during sleep, and it is then that the evil spirit is present to defile and corrupt. On rising we should wash our hands, lest we defile that which we touch. “And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land”2 and He will swallow up death forever.
