FUNDAMENTAL LAWS A Report of the 68th Convocation of the Rose Cross Order. Giving a resume of the proceedings of the Convocation, together with most of the lectures that were delivered during the time of the Convocation, by the several delegates present. Also a report of the work of Ancient Initiation in the Grove of Osiris as especially prepared for the occasion. Try Copyrighted 1916. All Rights Reserved. Published by THE PHILOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING CO. Allentown, Pa For the Members of the Rose Cross Order THE JTEW YORK PUBLIC LIBHA&T ?msfl\ A9P0 ft IMS L THE ROLL OF HONOR -0 00 >< CO During the sessions of the Rose Cross Order, the delegates came to the conclusion that the lectures which had been given in open session, should be published in book form, and with that idea in mind, subscribed to a fund for the publication of the book. The following were subscribers to this fund and are therefore found on the Roll of Honor: Charles C. Brown H. M. Baasch A. W. Witt Grace Kincaid Morey Clara T. Grove Clara Witt J. C. Cake Dr. Ira K. Kepperling Daisy T. Grove Gertrude Cosgrove Julia A. Hauck Kathryn T, Cake Emma Schmeiser Kansas City Center Marcia Greene Joseph A. Walter Elizabeth Waltei Gertrude W. Pelot Dr. Henry J. Frank Dr. Thomas B. Henderson DeLos Ackley Ferdinand H. Peterman Charlotte F. Peterman Blanche B. Steams Josephine A. Willis Minnie W. Pleister Lars Hansen Buffalo, N. Y., Center Sixty-Eighth Convocation IN EXPLANATION In explanation of the contents of this book, it is to be stated that these articles do not give the INNER work of the Rose Cross Order but simply the outer, the public teachings. The lUuminati and its Soul Science work may be called the child of the Rose Cross Order. Years ago it was found that where there was one person who desired to follow the work with heart and soul, in other words, who was willing to LIVE the life as taught by the Order, there were an hundred others who de- sired teachings from the Order but who were not willing to dedi- cate their lives to the Sublime Work. These thousands had to be taken care of, and as a result, the lUuminati and its Soul Science work was bom. When, in April, tlie order went forth to the brethren, that a Sacred Convocation was to be held, all delegates were re- quested to prepare articles on Soul Science so that regular lec- ture sessions could be held. The lectures that follow are the re- sult. All these lectures were given in open session and are to be considered as Soul Science work, though in entire harmony with the teachings of the Rose Cross Order. The work of the Rose Cross Order as given to its students can never be published. It is a secret, sacred work between teacher and student. It is a Soul Training, an inner Initia- tion, and sucli work continues until the student has reached Initiation, after which he is called upon to attend a Convocation, and at which time the degree work is conferred upon him, but the inner work always precedes the outer work, as the outer work is only a bond, binding together the Brotherhood. Sixty-Eighth Convocation Thus a word in explanation. Many, having heard of the Great Order and its work, and actually knowing nothing of its inner work, have, ignorantly or with fraudulent intent, estab- lished so-called Rose Cross bodies, and these bodies, knowing nothing of the true work of the Rose Cross, have nothing but a Ritualistic initiatory rite or degree work. We would refer all seekers to authorities on the Rose Cross and on Initiation, and they will then find that the TRUE Rose Cross is actually a School of Spirituality, with a degree cere- monial Initiation as the climax. By the Hierophant of the Order. PHEFACH Early in the sunmier, instructions were received from the Hierarchies to call the Inner Circle of the Rose Cross Order into session, and thus to fitly celebrate the 68th year of the Rose Cross Order in America. Orders were immediately issued to those who have the priv- ilege of attending this Convocation, and on June the 1st the Convocation was called to order, and tlie preliminary lectures were started. At this Convocation all delegates were instructed to prepare and to deliver articles which should have a bearing on the con- ditions of the present day and which should be the means of helping humanity. However, because of the limited amount of time at the dis- posal of those who could attend, only a few were enabled to pre- pare such lectures, with the result that there were not as many lectures delivered as might have been had the delegates had more time at their disposal But even so, there were from two to three lectures each day, and most of these lectures will be found in this present volume, though many of the lectures cannot be given in book form, as they were only delivered as from teacher to those of the Inner Circle. From the beginning of the month imtil the day of the thirteenth there were lectures in the Assembly Hall which had been built in 1910 for the express purpose of holding these yearly Convocations, but on the thirteenth, there were no lec- tures, as all of the day was required for making the preparations necessary in order that the Ancient Mysteries might be given to the delegates in a form of Symbolism, consisting of ibxet degrees. 8 Sixty-Eighth Convocation I can do no better than to give the article prepared by Grace K. Morey, of Buffalo, N. Y., the Secretary of the Rose Cross Sacred College, for the Buffalo, N. Y., papers, and which appeared in the "Buffalo Express'* July 16th, 1916. Ancient Mysteries of Egypt Given in an Initiation or Three Degrees Under the authority of the Rose Cross Order founded in America in 1858 prominent delegates of the Order were gathered in the most remarkable conclave held during the last 5000 years, the publication of whose records now opens to the world, the connection of Egypt in her ages of true religion, power and glory, with the Mystic Seal of the United States, whose Heraldric symbolism declaring the mighty destiny of America, has, until now only been known to a limited number. At "Beverly Hall" in the beautiful Tohickon valley about four miles from the town of Quakertown, men and women of all ranks of life, and from all parts of the world, high Masons, and members of the Eastern Star, physicians, teachers, authors, and members of all denominations inclusive of the Hebrew, all these assembled at the call of the Grand Master of the Rose Cross Order for the sixty-eighth Convocation. Some years ago R. Swinburne Clymer, author of the Phil- osophy of Fire, Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry, The Rosi- crucians; Their Teachings, Mysteries of Osiris, Soul Science and Immortality, and over thirty other works, bought a mountainous tract of land, and on this was built "Beverly Hall," an Assembly Hall, press rooms and libraries, and chemical labora- tory which, surrounded by orchards, vineyards and rose gardens, set in terraced lawns, presents with its Collie kennels and poultry plants, a splendid ccmbination of the beautiful and the practical. To this has been added the Mystic, for in a secluded and , wooded tract of fifty acres of this land; an arti&cial ]ifke was ,»• • • • • , • * # • •• Fundamental Laws made from a mountain stream, a throne room erected and other improvements made which would be needed for the Initiation of Neophytes in the Egyptian Mysteries. The Convocation was called to order on June first in the Assembly Hall, built over five years ago for that purpose, and the delivery of a series of lectures upon practical as well as Mystical subjects began and continued until the close of the Convocation. The delegates and teachers presented the lectures, which were followed by discussions upon the subjects of Eugenics, Scientific Motherhood, Code of Ethics for the Schools and home, Spiritual Christianity, Personal Hygiene, Diet and Health, Sin, Authority and Individuality, Jacob's Ladder, Ini- tiation, Reincarnation, Soul Development, The Second Coming of the Christ, and the Mystic Significance of the seal of the United States, In the time of Solomon as in the time of the Egyptian Priesthood, no ceremony was ever held, unless tlie circle of Solomon, commonly called the Sacred Seal of Solomon, had been previously prepared, but since the fall of Eg}'pt and of the Temple of Solomon, this seal has been practically unknown, except to a limited number of students of ancient religions and mysteries. During the first week in June, in the grove especially pre- pared for the dramatization of the Ancient Mysteries of Osiris, the Seal of Solomon, often called the Magic Circle, was especially built, and on June 11 the dedication of the Magic Circle took place in the presence of the delegates of the Rose Cross Order, some of whom were natives of Germany, England and Russia. Ihis was in accordance with the system as practiced by tlie ancient Priests of Eg)'pt and the Sanhedrin of the Temple of Solomon. On the night of June 13 th the first section of the class, including those of the Order taking part in the Initiation, assembled in the grove pf Osiris, which was illuminated, bj; 10 Sixty-Eighth Convocation electricity from a central power house especially prepared for the purpose, and the Initiation of the Ancient Mysteries of Egypt in three Degrees and six scenes. All students of the Ancient Mysteries and religions know that in the Temple of Solomon there were three Courts, the outer Court for the people being composed of seven hundred selected teachers and leaders. These were members of the First Degree, lUuminati, called also, seekers, travellers or soldiers. The middle Court, or members of the second Degree were seventy in number, and were supposed to be in the Hall of Meditation, and acted as mediators between the people and the inner Sanctuary. Above all was the Inner Court, or circle of the Seven Priests and the Master or High Priest, who were the teachers between God and man, mediators between the seen and Unseen. In the Egyptian Mysteries, the first Court was made up of the Royal youth of Egypt, and such students from foreign coun- tries as desired to enter the Temple and Priesthood, and these, during probation, were often known as the "Soldiers of the Priesthood," as it was their duty while undergoing the prelimin- ary training and tests to guard the Priesthood and its work even to the death. The second dass corresponding to a Second Degree were those who had passed this test and who were in the Hall of Meditation, and purification, in preparation for the first vows, and the dedication of the body, mind, soul and spirit to God and the service of mankind. The third class called The Third Degree were those who had passed with credit the tests of the first degree, the purifica- tion of the second, as well as the various stages of development required of all students in the Halls of Meditation. In the Royal Third Degree, which took place in the Temple the Neophyte received the final instruction. After this came the final test in the beautiful ceremony of the death of the old life, the giving up of the body and its temptations and the Fundamental Laws 11 raising of the slain Orisis or Spiritual body, by his faithful spouse Isis, the Soul, with the final Illumination. On the fifteenth of June, the first section of the representa- tives left "Beverly Hall," for their respective homes and the second section began to arrive for the preparatory lectures, and on the nineteenth of June the ceremonies were repeated so that all might witness the Initiation and take part in it so as to become members. So far as can be learned either through travel or history never before since the fall of Egypt and its Priesthood and the fall of the Temple of Solomon, has there ever been a grove, a lake to represent the Nile, a Magic Circle, or a Temple prepared, nor is it believed that anywhere in the world does there today exist such a Circle. Nearest to this, however, is Stone-henge of the Druids of Britain, to which their descendants travel each year at a certain time to greet the Sun, and renew their vows. This is the first time, therefore, in 5000 years that any Order has attempted to build up this Sacred emblem under the stately oak, so that people of modem civilization might witness the beauties of the life and religion of the ancient people, whose teachings of individual soul development, made the glory of Egypt, the lost dreams of all Israel, the teachings of the Magi of Persia, all that was true in India, the splendid philosophy of Greece, the magnificence of the early Romans, the basis of pre- Christian Ireland's great schools, as well as the familiar Holy Grail legends of Briton, Celt and Gaul. In this light of Brotherhood of man and Fatherhood of God was founded this great Republic foretold by Virgil, upon whose seal is set the Egyptian Pyramid, completed by the White stone of Spiritual purification as the crown of the ages. The American Constellation of thirteen stars set in the form of a double triangle was foretold by Merlin of King Arthur's Court, and the Philosophy of the Holy Grail and of 12 Sixty-Eighth Convocation Egypt's glory and Solomon's Temple, has been the Day star of every great American Statesman from Washington to Abraham Lincoln. After the ceremonies in the grove, there was given in the dining room of "Beverly Hall" at midnight a "Feast of the Gods" at which neither meat nor spices formed part of the menu, but only fruits, nuts and other products of sun kissed foods. The conclusion of the rites was held at sunrise in the grove with a musical communion service, in which Nectar of roses, distilled from the thirty thousand roses blooming each June upon the lawns at "Beverly Hall," was served as emblematic of the wine of the Soul, and for this service the rose bushes were planted several years ago. I wish that all the readers of this book might have been present at the preparation, at the building, and at the Dedication of tliis Ancient Magic Circle. Or, I wish that I might be able to give a detailed description of these sublime ceremonies in this book. However, I cannot do this here, though I hope that in some future work I will be able to do so. Sufficient be it to say, that when the stone, made out of cement by one of the Brothers, was nearly finished, the Dedication took place, and the emblems placed in the stone itself before it was completed, were: The American Beauty Rose in full bloom. This as a representa- tion, or symbol of the Soul that has reached full Illumina- tion. The Mystic ring. This was a solid gold ring, belonging to one of the members present, upon which had been engraved the Cross and Pentagram. All members of the Magi will know what this s}Tnbol stands for. The ring itself, as is known to the ]Magi, is a protecting agent against all evil or malig- nant influences when worn during any ceremonial or de- veloping work. The True x»Iagic Mirror. This is an emblem of tlie Soul, which when fully developed will act as a mirror to the universe wherein may be wisdom and truth. Fundamental Laws 13 Lastly, a complete copy of the private text book, "Ritualistic Occultism," which contains the ceremonies as made use of by the Magi, and four of these ceremonials were made use of by four of the Magi, in the dedication of the Magic Circle. When all of this had taken place, the stone was completed and then later in the day the characters were engraved upon the stone by the Brother who had completed the stone. Of the midnight "Feast to the Gods" and of the morning services which took place in the grove it is not lawful for me to speak at this time, but it is my sincere prayer that all who are enrolled in the Sacred Schools may some day be present with us and v/itness these sublime ceremonies, especially as they are conferred in the Spring of the year. Arrangements were made by the delegates present, through voluntary contributions, to either buy another large grove, or if that is found impracticable, to build a much larger Hall in the "Grove of Osiris" so that advanced ceremonies may be held the coming Spring at the 69th Convocation of the Rose Cross Order. CONCERNING THE LECTURES As before stated, many of the lectures were only for those of the Inner Circle who were present, and these were all delivered by the Master of the Sacred College, of Buffalo, N. Y. Mr. Charles C. Brown the Order considers as one of its most untiring workers, one who has labored in his native city for many years and through untiring efforts it has been possible to organize four large classes in that one city, classes which meet on different days of the week and which meet the requirements of students in different stages of development. Within the near future, it is proposed to open some of these classes, under authority of the Sacred College, to the people of the city so that Eugenics, Scientific Child Culture, and other im- portant subjects of like nature may be taught to the people at lai^ge. All of this work in Buffalo will be under the supervision of Mr. Brown and his able assistant, Mrs. Charles K. Morey. Of the Kansas City College and its able Master, A. W. Witt, and his Assistant, Mrs. A. W. Witt, not much need be said as they had charge of the lectures and their lectures, given in the present work, speak for themselves. One of the lectures delivered and which is of great importance, not alone to Occult students, or students of the Mystic, but to all true Americans, is that concerning the Great Seal of the United States, and its Mystic indications, for, just as soon as these things come to pass, then shall the Eagle soar over all things, and America will be the Mistress of the world, though she will not rule through either arms or politics, but by love and wisdom. The other article by the same author, is the "Code of Ethics," which is given in full. All true educators have come to understand that if the Fubr Fundamental Laws 15 lie School system is to be retained in the United States, then it will be absolutely necessary for a complete Code of Ethics to be taught to all scholars and the lUumlnati is the first great school of thought that has ever attempted to formulate such a Code of Ethics. Naturally, the code as given is but a bare outline of the work, but it is sufficient to give an idea to all mankind as to what the lUuminati is attempting to do for yoimg America, and it will not stop in merely suggesting the teaching of such Ethics, but it will fight for the adoption of such a Code in the schools. Aye, the Illuminati will give mind and body, the last drop of blood, in their fight for a better educational system, a greater care of the children so that these children shall not continue to become the victims of that class of humanity which comes to near utter depravity. The slogan of the Illuminati shall be, "Save the children of our glorious country, give them wisdom so that they may be able to look after their own protection." Cannot all true men and women in our country say "Amen" to this? The Second article, which was given by Mrs. A. W. Witt is that on sin, and has to do with the conception of sin, or wrong doing as we of the Secret Schools understand it. The Third article, prepared by Dr. Ira L. Kepperling,, with the help of Mr. Charles Wolf, of Kansas City, Mo., is on Reincarnation, and is a subject of supreme importance to all people. Once this law is understood, much of sin and wrong will pass away, and right doing take the place of \vrong doing. The Third paper on Evolution, by the same authors, is also of extreme importance, for it is through Evolution, reinforced by conscious Development, that the race must be quickly improv- ed- I venture to say, that if the last few pages of this lecture were heeded by all men, the world would become a Paradise within a few generations. The article on Initiation by Mr. A, W. Witt is of extreme importance just at this time because it clearly states and ex- 16 Sixty-Eighth Convocation plains what true and REAL Initiation is. This is of utmost importance just at this time, when we find that no less than five different Orders, calling themselves Rosicrucian, have sprung up within the last few years, and not one of these five has a shred of the true Rosicrucian teachings. Some of them are deliberate frauds, claiming to be what they are not, while others are clearly under the guidance of members of the Black Brotherhood and their doctrines are ab- solutely destructive in that they uphold practices which are too abominable to even mention. One of these orders, claiming to be Rosicrucian, admits that it has no teachings, that it is all ceremonies, when history tells us clearly that the Rose Cross Order was founded with the idea of leading men to their higher selves. In other words, while the Rose Cross has its ceremonial Initiation, its foundation is upon a training school for souls and its ceremonies are but secondary. The lecture on the Second Coming of the Christ is also of great importance at a time when many false Christs are put forth for people to kneel down before, when in fact, most of these are not only false Christs, but are of the lower grade of humanity in as far as either Evolution or Development is con- cerned. Mr. Witt clearly points out what that Christ is and how He must come to all of us individually if he is to come at all. Authority versus Individuality by Mr. Witt is also of great importance though it must NOT be understood that the Rose Cross school is against authority such as is held by church, state or institutions, for we clearly uphold the idea and doctrine, that so long as society exists it must be governed by those who are chosen to govern it and we do not in any sense desire to de- stroy authority, but rather to uphold it, however, we are also a school of Individualists and believe that the personality of the individual should be changed, transmuted, developed into an absolute Conscious Individuality. Thus the community would be a community of conscious Individuals; but ruled by one su^ Fundamental Laws 17 preme head who ako had become a Conscious Individual. Egypt in its glory, is an example of this state of Society and Govern- ment for at that time none could be ruler over Egypt except an Initiate who had also been crov/ned as King or Ruler. Reincarnation, by Mrs. Witt, considers this extremely in- teresting and important subject from another standpoint than that considered by Dr. Kepperling and Mr. Wolf and this standpoint is as important as that taken or considered, by the Brothers. Prayer is a subject thought to be so well known that no con- sideration is ever given it. But is it an understood subject? I think not, for I believe that the masses are totally ignorant of the meaning of true prayer, or what is the power of true prayer. This subject is therefore a timely one in an age when there is no longer any faith in the efficiency of prayer. The article on "Body, Mind, Spirit and Soul" was one of the last lectures to be delivered. This paper became necessary about a year ago, when we found that but very few of even the advanced students understood the difference between Spirit and Soul, using the terms interchangeably. We hope that in this article the difference is made clear and that by referring to the article "A Soul Science Primer" and "The Great Seal of the United States" this subject will be fully understood. "Invocation of the Hierarchies," by the same author, as the last article mentioned, might well be called "The Higher Form of Prayer," since it is really prayer as understood by the Masters but little understood by the vast multitude of those who consider themeslves students of the Mysteries. It deserves careful consid- eration. In fact, is receiving careful consideration, as we find that many of the Inner Students who are building their own homes are setting aside a room in the house and are modeling it for this very purpose. This article, therefore, deserves the most careful consideration as it is of the utmost importance to every sincere student 18 Sixty- Eighth Convocation The lecture, "The Fraternity Sons of Osiris," deserves more than passing attention. It was prepared in 1906 by H .0. A. Under instructions of the Masters and was then but a prophecy. In 1908 it was printed in booklet form and copyrighted under title of "Immor- tality or External Death." That was the second step. The third and highest step, for there are always three steps in everything that shall continue to live, was when the Degrees of the First Temple were conferred upon the delegates in the "Grove of Osiris" which had been especially prepared for this very purpose, and which is the first and only grove of its kind in the world at this time. We are especially pleased of the happy culmination of this work at this time, for the reason that all its work had been kept secret, so secret in fact, that no one thought enough of it to steal the titles as used by the orders, and this had been in the minds of those who had the work in hand, knowing well that if they made the work as prominent as they had made the work of the Rose Cross Orders, members of the Black Brotherhood would as deliberately steal the name and palm off something which had not the slightest right to the title, under that name. But now, after the successful issue of the work, after men from many parts of the world had taken part in the Sacred Ceremonies, we fell at liberty to proclaim the work to the world. Before this volume will be ready for delivery another Con- vocation will be in session, as the work of the Black Orders has made this necessary so that we might protect the true work, and in due time a complete record of this second Convocation, will be ready for those deeply enough interested to desire it. Before closing this Preface, I will comply with the request of several who had not the pleasure of being with us, and give an outline of A DAY AT "BEVERLY HALL" Those in the Hall are at liberty to arise at any hour they Fundamental Laws 19 desire, avoiding however, disturbing those who desire to rest. As nearly every student has been taught the desirability of taking the morning cup of hot water in order to cleanse the sys- tem of impurities, and for the purpose of building healthy func- tions, hot water is served in the large sitting room at exactly seven o'clock. Between this service and breakfast there is one hour, as breakfast is called at eight o'clock. No student in the Hall is supposed to enter either the dining room or the kitchen, any more than those in the kitchen are supposed to enter the private bedroom of a student unless especially invited to do so. Breakfast for the student is a very simple matter, as we hold that breakfast does man but little good, but much harm. Usually breakfast for the student consists of either a weak tea, without the tannin, and dry toast, or weak cocoa and dry toast. Every student present is supposed to obey the rule of the house. They can, if they wish, ask for other food, but their marks of grade progress, record of which is held by the Master, is according to the manner in which they harmonize themselves with the rules of the Order. Nothing being forbidden the student, nothing refused him, but his or her marks being made according to the harmony as expressed by his or her acts. After breakfast an hour of rest when social chats may be held, notes compared, walks taken. At ten o'clock lectures are called and all are supposed to be present, and must be present, unless there is some good excuse for not being present. After the lecture there is another hour of rest, the noon meal being called at twelve o'clock. No meat is ever used at the Hall during Convocation time, and a noon meal may therefore consist of : Whole wheat muffins and butter. Asparagus with cream dressing. Tomatoes, usually sliced with a wine-vinegar dressing, I 20 Sixty-Eighth Convocation Baked potatoes. Simplicity rules here. The master of the Hall orders all meals and these are in absolutely correct proportion to assure strength to the body and mind^ and purity to the blood, as well as the necessary material for the building of a healthy mind and an Illuminated Soul. We hold, with many of the highest medical authorities in the world, that more people die from starvation because of over- feeding, than do from underfeeding. We aim at the Hall to have sufficient, but not too much. We find that many people are weak, ill-nourished, underfed, weakminded, neurathenics, be- cause of eating too much food, this we try to correct, and demand that students obey the rules of the house. If we find that some one present is not in harmony with the Laws then he or she is given the liberty of bidding good-bye to the rest of the guests. In the afternoon there is another session at which one or more lectures are given, following that, there is time for a walk before dinner and when fair it is found that all students desire this walk. Dinner is a simple affair, possibly consisting of: Soup Egg plants — these being the meats of the vegetable king- dom, Salads Some kind of pulse. No drink of whatever kind is allowed at either the noon or the evening meal as we hold that it tends to destroy perfect di- gestion. No deserts. After the evening meal there is an hour of rest, after which the master of the house may take charge and answer questions or explain some of the Divine Laws. Arguments are not allow- ed, because of the fact that the student who asks a question is naturally not supposed to know the answer, and is supposed to accept the solution of the question, such solution being always in Fundamental Laws 21 harmony with the Divine Law as taught by the Secret Schools. lime for retiring is at nine o'clock, as we hold to the old law that man gets his most perfect sleep before midnight, while the best time to arise in the morning is with the sun. All students are supposed to obey the rules of the house ab- solutely. If they are unable to do this for the short space of one, two or four weeks, the teacher certainly cannot have faith in them that they will obey the rules and teachings of tlie sacred instructions for the time they are away. Moreover, the rating of the student will be according to his obedience while at the Hall, and his advancement will be in accordance with his obedience and the spirit shown in his obedi- ence. "Thou hast been faitliful in a few things, I will make thee master over many," has direct bearing in this work. Moreover, the student in the Mystic holds himself some- what above the average person, but is he above the average per- son if he has not learned to obey the Divine Law in spite of what his own little personality might desire or wish him to do or to receive. Oh yes, admittedly, we find some who wish to be catered to, who desire special notice, and who, not receiving it, feel deeply grieved, but these are in the minority, and these are of THE SELF It seems that the very hardest thing to overcome, the greatest enemy the student has is his little self. Thus we find that out of every ten students who come to the Hall there are two or three whose bug-bear is this same self. And how do we know this? Because these students watch every move of those in charge, and if they think that one student is receiving just a little more attention than they, they are hurt to the quick. What these students caimot be forced to comprehend, is, (hat these things are within themselves. They cannot be made 22 Sixty-Eighth Convocation to understand that it is the little self within which wants atten- tion, and the more conscious this self is, the more attention it wants, the smaller is the true man or woman within. With the true student it is different. The true student has learned to forget the self, to him or her extra attention is UNDE- SIRABLE for he or she feels that others might be hurt by it. Such want only the truth, they listen attentively to what the teacher has to say and even if the teacher were to forget to serve them they would take it as a test, as a lesson, and would not feel hurt by it because it is only the little self that is ever hurt and not the true man. It is these students who have forgotten the self and who come to the Hall, NOT for personal attention, but for what they can learn, who make the Masters. It is these who are willing to accept the crust of bread, the glass of water, and the hard bed, who are the Teachers of the people of the future, while those who must be constantly catered to are the slaves to themselves and will continue to be slaves to others as long as they live. The Hall does not desire these and they receive only the attention that littleness deserves, and in this way they can often be awakened. From this it must not be understood that the student body at "Beverly Hall" moves about with long faces. The contrary is true, you cannot find a more contented, or more happy or more harmonious assembly of people an>'where in the world than you find at the Hall during Convocation time, nor are in- nocent amusements forbidden, but are rather encouraged, since we believe in the Masonic Rule : Eight hours for work. Eight hours for study and recreation. Eight hours for rest. On the other hand, students do not, and should not, come here because they think they will be catered to, because they imagine there is feasting, because they have the services of maids or valets, for if they do they will be sadly disappointed. They should come and meet with us liecause of the feast of knowledge, the good things of the Soul, and obtaining these things often means the denials of the pleasant things of the material for these can be had at home more easily than at the Hall. INTRODUCTION TO THE GREAT SEAL It is rather a strange and an unknown thing for one to write an introduction to a single chapter appearing in a book, but the conditions are so unusual as to warrant it. More than a year ago, Grace K. Morey, the author of the article, "The Great Seal of the United States and Its Mystic Significance," prepared a sketch for a short primer of the Ilium- inati teachings, and in this sketch, as will be shown by the drawings, it was brought out that man is not only a threefold being, but that he is actually a four-fold being as well. In short, tliat when he has succeeded in reaching Soul Illumination, he is the completed Pyramid or true Triangle. If the student will give serious study to the article on the Seal of the United States, he will find that on the reverse side of the seal which is as yet uncut, there is to be found the Pyra- mid, but with tlie capstone as yet not placed, and thus he will see that the Philosophy of the llluminati is the absolute and unde- niable Philosophy upon which these United States are founded as is clearly indicated by our four-fold philosophy, by the drawings representing our Philosophy, and by the drawings of the reverse side of the United States seal. And thus it would appear that the Unseen Hierarchies which shaped the foundation of the great Republic which must some day rule the world, are the same Hierarchies which gave us the Soul Science Philosophy as taught by the llluminati. And now let us look into the future, not far, but just be- yond the line. We find that scholars condemn the design of the reverre side of the United States Seal, that it has never been cut but has remained hidden as though it were something to be ashamed of. 24 Sixty-Eighth Convocation However, though this appears the truth, it is not the truth. The reason why it has never been cut is because the time is not yet as the cap-stone has not yet been set. And what is this cap-stone? My reader, prepare for a shocL When Atlantis ruled the word, that which is now America was connected with Egypt by what is now Mexico, and in Mex- ico, in the territory of Yucatan, there is a Pyramid in which the Fire Philosophers worshipped God as Divine Fire and Life in like maimer as did the Initiates of Egypt, for the two were then one. America is not complete, and will not be complete, cannot be complete, until Mexico is again part of America as she was in the long ago, and when Mexico is once again a part of the United States, then will the cap-stone have been set on the Pyramid and the reverse side of the United States seal will be cut. Thus you will see that the Soul Science Primer with its drawings, is but the beginning of the article concerning the Seal of the United States, while the article on "Body, Mind, Spirit and Soul" is the finale thereof. May it not be long until the Holy Pyramid shall be com- pleted and may it be completed without the shedding of blood. Lovingly given, R. SWINBURNE CLYMER. "Beverly Hall," Quakertown, Pa., July 6th, 1916. MYSTIC CHRISTIANITY ORDER OF THE ILLUMINATI SOUL SCIENCE PRIMER "That you might have life, and have it more abundantly." As there is an outer meaning in the teachings of Christi- anity, so is there an Inner or Mystic sense. Only those who live the life are able to find this Mystic sense and to understand the Christie teachings as they should be understood. Therefore, he who reaches Illumination must have passed through three de- grees. These are: First Degree: Purification. Second Degree: Illimiination. Third Degree: Mastership. "Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be open- ed, ask and ye shall receive." Were the Bible written in only one sense, and were it to be taken literally, then this admonition would not have been giv- en by a Master teacher. It therefore follows that our contention is correct, and that there is both an inner and an outer meaning to the Scriptures. — Isaiah 29-11. This Inner meaning is never taught openly. In fact, it was not so taught by Jesus, for did he not say: "Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened, ask and it shall be given." Truly it was his desire that all men should SEEK for the truth, that they should so live as to be able to KNOW, not to merely believe as they now do. Is there any more proof that there was an inner knowledge, a wisdom not given to all? Listen to what the Bible has to say. Why speak ye to them in parables ? That is the question that was asked of Jesus after teaching the multitudes in parable instead of in plain language. Why, if he wanted the people to have the whole truth, did he teach them in parable? Did he not want them to seek for the truth and therefore to KNOW, instead of merely believing what some one taught them, which is belief but not knowledge? To his disciples he said: 26 Sixty-Eighth Convocation "To you it is given to know the kingdom of heaven, to them it is not given." In this he shows clearly that though he worked for human- ity, nevertheless he fully understood that the truth could not be given to all men, but that instead, the truth had to be given to the vast numbers in hidden language, in parable, w^hile the mysteries might be given only to the few, and in this he follow- ed his own teachers who taught that there was both an inner and an outer circle. That the few might belong to the inner while the masses belonged to the outer. And this will effectively answer our enemies who accuse the Illuminati of being unjust and ungodly, because we hold that all truth cannot be given to all men, moreover, it proves that those who hold tliat the mysteries are for all men, have not themeslves yet found any part of this great truth, nor have they found the mysteries or been admitted to them. Where is the kingdom of heaven? "The kingdom of heav- en is within you." Here Jesus taught the same doctrine that the Illuminati holds, namely, that heaven is not in some far off sphere, but that heaven is found within man, but that no man can find this heaven unless he reaches Illumination and finds the Christ within. Ihis, then, is Soul Illumination and is taught by the Illuminati as a goal for which all mankind should strive. "Except ye be as little children ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven." To be as little children is to have faith. The child always has faith in those to whom it goes for help or instruction. The man or woman who awakens to the fact that there is something greater and deeper in life than the things that are apparent, should have the faith to follow the instructions of those to whom he or she goes for help and instruction. Thus, if you appeal to the Illuminati for instruction along the lines of Soul Culture and higher development, have the faith, the manhood, to follow such instructions to the letter and if you do, then will you reach Soul Illumination, which is the kingdom of heaven within you. It is the work of the Illuminati in its Soul Science instruc- tions, to help all true seekers to find the Christ within, and all who faithfully obey will find this Great Within. If any one tells Fundamental Laws 27 you that there are none to teach you, then call them anti-Christ, the mockers of God, for they then condemn the very things which Jesus taught while on earth. *'Art thou a master of Israel and know not these things?" — John 3-10. In this day we j&nd teachers of many kinds, some who call themselves New Thoughters, Divine Scientists, Christian Scien- tists, Meta Physicians and even some who call themselves of the lUuminati and the Rose Cross, but who say that no man has more spiritual knowledge than another. These are the true Anti-Christ, they are tlie Black Magicians, they are those who teach the negative philosophy which sends men and women to destruction. Beware of those who wear the Sacred Triagle with the two points up, because it means that the Spirit of God, the Soul, has been steeped into the earth, the material, and that thus degeneration, instead of regeneration, has taken place, it is per- version of that which is Sacred and Holy. "Whoso readeth, let him understand." It is not hard for men to read the letter and to understand the letter, but it is very hard to read the letter and understand, or find, the Spirit of the letter. Moreover, we of lUumi- nati hold, that none can find the mystery of the parable unless such have lived the life, obeyed the Law, and found Illumina- tion, and until all men have reached this state of Illumination, the Illuminated must teach those who have not yet reached Illumination. But there is a deeper meaning in this for us, namely, if there were not a spiritual meaning, besides the literal meaning, then Jesus would never have told his hearers that "whoso readeth, let him understand" and when we once come to under- stand that there is a spirit in the Sacred teachings, besides the mere letter, then we are well on the way to understanding. "To them that are perfect." This statement gives us the proof of two things : First, that some may be perfect. Second, that not all are perfect. If there were none perfect then Jesus would not have mentioned this at all, if all were perfect, then again there would have been no reason to make such a statement, therefore, common sense tells us that there are some who have reached perfection and it is given these to do great things and to teach great truths. No 28 Sixty-Eighth Convocation one man, it is freely admitted, has a monopoly on truth, but ac- cording to the statements made by Jesus throughout his entire ministry and according to the statements of every other great Master, there are those who have more of the truth than others and it is these who are to teach. He who says that one man may not know more than another, thereby convicts himself of being in ignorance, and the Illumi- nati is not called upon to refute the foolish statements made by such. Moreover, by making the statement that no one can know more than another, then they themselves claim superior judgment and knowledge for themselves, since they claim to know that one man cannot know more than another man. That in itself is a great judgment. "Ye Masters in Israel." To be a master in Israel one had first to be master of his own interior Israel, just as to be a Master in this day, means that we must first gain mastery over our lower selves, and in this we find both the Great Work and the First Work. It is a work that may well stagger any man. The companion command to "a Master in Israel" is: "Man, know Thyself." To know oneself is a gigantic task, and it is only when we begin to know a few things about ourselves that we begin to understand how little we really know of ourselves and of others. Be a master in Israel, for then you will be a master of yourself, and you will then know where the kingdom of heaven is. "Straight is the gate and narrow is the way, and few there be who find it," Matthew. This simply means tlie same as when Jesus told his hear- ers to be of one mind. To be of one mind is to take up some work and follow that work to the exclusion of all else. When we do that we are then living the concentrated life, and to live the concentrated life will gradually bring us to the Great Center, then we have found tlie Soul, man has become the Son of God. Straight and narrow is the way. We cannot follow every ism, every doctrine, every dogma and every practice and reach the Center. That is diffusion. Diffusion always and forever ends in death. But if we follow the narrow Path; then we will follow but one only thing to the exclusion of all else. That is l^UNDAMENTAL LaWS 29 Concentration. Concentration is Life and ends in Immortality. In this day men are no longer masters, they are dabblers. They are not satisfied to concentrate, they must follow every ism, every creed, every cult and the result is that where you find one master, you will find a million dabblers. "Straight and narrow is the way, and it is only through one gate that you can reach Illumination, or find the kingdom of heaven. "For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." The man of the flesh, the man of the world, the dabbler, can see only through a glass darkly. He has not concentrated, he has not blazed the way, therefore the glass is still dark, the material substance still hides the Fires within and everything is dark. But as he gradually begins to live the life, as he bums up the dross of the material and thus cleanses the Soul fires within, the cloud upon the glass will gradually clear away, and when Illumination or Soul Consciousness takes place, then he sees face to face and he knows the Soul and all its beauties and he stands face to face with the fires of God, which burn brightly upon the altar, he becomes a Philosopher of the Sacred Fire. "For a veil lieth over their hearts until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled." This veil is materialism. Materialism and unbelief, even a disbelief in the very, existence of God has become so great that there is in man no longer any faith whatever. He believes in nothing, not even in himself and thus he sails over the ocean of life as does a ship on the seas without a rudder. But the time of the Gentile is passed. Men are awakening. They are becoming conscious of the fact that there are deeper tilings in life than they knew, and it is the Illuminati tliat is helpin;; the thousands to this greater awakening and showing them the way to real knowledge and a more sublime and exalted life. Are you weary of death, tired of sickness and doubt, and do you wish to enter the straight gate to life more abundantly? Then here is the Way, Now is the time, and v;e are here to help you to the Way, the Life, and to the Haven of Peace. Let the Trinity of God, the Triangle with its point towards God and His heaven, point out the way to you. 30 Sixty-Eighth Convocation Historically, too, the veil lay over the minds of "Lost Is- rael," the Christian nations, so they knew not their identity. THE TRINITY God The Father The Holy Ghost The Mother side The Son The Christ Principle Body Physical Manifestation MAN A TRINITY Mind The Builder Spirit The Life or Breath Soul The Christ Within Body The Base or Foundatio THE BIRTH My little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." — Gal. 5-19. If as churchism claims, the Christ is an exterior being, a being who lived centuries ago and now is seated on the throne in heaven, what then of this Christ of which Paul taught that he had to be bom within us ? All things point to the one great fact that Jesus came here as a worker and teacher, that he lived, suffered and died in order to show mankind the way. "I travail in birth until the Christ be formed within you" Surely nothing could be plainer than this. All who desire to understand may easily comprehend and thus the more readily come to find the way. 5oul '\ / " * Jw -« M*>v • a^ / \ / / / \\1// CKnit tKe CoT-ner 5Un« ^S^iTlt Hain n|A.c To the illustrations here given we can come to understand the threefold being, for here we are clearly shown the Trinity, but Fundamental Laws 31 that man must be four-square before the Trinity can manifest in, and through him. The Jewish altar was four- square (Ex. 30:2) symbolizing a perfect manhood and typical of Christ the altar of his people, as our example of the shrine within each. In order that the seeker after truth may the more easily and more clearly understand these symbols, he should carefully study the article on "Body, Mind, Spirit and Soul" appearing in the present volume, for with these symbols and the above mentioned article, he will have a complete and sane philosophy whereon to build his Immortal structure. lilAN IS A HOLY TEMPLE Man, which is to say. Mind, Spirit and Soul, is the dweller in a house not made w^ith hands which, if he will, may become eternal in the heavens. "Ye are the temples of the living God." Thus said the great Master some thousands of years ago, but he simply re- peated the statements made by other Masters centuries before him. Nor did he claim to have given this philosophy for the first time, for he was but a reconstructor of older philosophies as we are reconstructors of the newer Philosophies. "Ye are the temples of the Living God," but see to it that you keep these temples in the condition of purity and holi- ness, for unless you do, God cannot dwell therein and other gods, who are not desirable will take possession of the building which should he dedicated to the one God. The temple of God is the physical body, that which we call the man, for God and the Soul can manifest only through the physical, as the physical is the vehicle of God, just as our material houses are the structures in which we live. We can Glorify God in body and in spirit when we keep the body clean and when we use the life of the body only in a constructive and true sense. Jesus said: "Therefore glorify God in l>ody and in your spirit which are God's." The body we all understand, but few know that the Spirit is the Life Principle, it is from God and is, in truth, God, and returns again to God. We glorify God in our body when we keep the body clean and undefiled, when we do not use the body or any power of the 32 Sixty-Eighth Convocation body for the ignoble purposes and we bless and thank God, we glorify him when we use the body and the powers of the body in doing some good work. It is then we also glorify God in the Spirit, and we fulfill the Law according to Cor. 6:20 when we refuse to use either body or the Ufe principle for anything ig- noble, but use it for sbme good and noble purpose. **The body is not one member but many." — I Cor. 12-27. There are many members or powers of the body. That this is true, is proven by the fact that the different members of the body can be used for different purposes. Thus, the speech can be employed in defiling God and man, while other members of the body may be used in destroying the very Principles of Life which are within us and which would cause death to body and Soul. "The Lord is in his Holy Temple, let all the earth keep silent before him." All the earth is the material man, for the body of man is of the earth and belongs to the earth. But the Soul of man, the Christ when the Soul is finally awakened, is the Lord or God and it is He who is within His Temple. Then let the earth obey the Lord its God and man becomes in truth the Son of the Living God. "Know ye not that your body is the Temple of th e Holyj^ Ghostwhich is i n you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." — I Cor. Does man need any more positive statement than this to prove to hiip that when God speaks of the Temple, he actually means the body of man, and that this Temple holds within it- self the Holy Ghost, which is the Love or Soul Fire from God Himself? It is this mighty truth, mighty when once understood, that the Illuminati is trying to teach mankind, for we know, that once we can get man to really understand that he is in truth "The Temple of the Living God" he will no longer defile that temple but will gradually begin to hold it sacred because of that which dwells within it. "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God de- stroy, for the temple of God is holy which temple ye are." This the Illuminati has been trying to impress upon the mind of mankind ever since its foundation just as the parent Fundamental Laws 33 of the lUuminati, the Rose Cross, has been trying to impress on the mind of man for the past centuries. But it is only now that man is awakening to the truth of the statements made by Jesus two thousand years ago. And still there are those calling themselves leaders and teachers, who say that man cannot be destroyed. That man cannot destroy himself, while Jesus and all other great Master- teachers have taught that if man defiles the temple he thereby destroys himself, "Ye are the temples of the living God, as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them." — Cor. 6-16. IS YOUR TEMPLE HOLY? Ask yourself this question time and again. Live the clean, the Exalted, the Constructive life, and ye shall know God and walk with him as did the men of old. THE MIND Mind is the builder of the Immortal Soul. If mind be not built with Soul, then mind dies with the body. Soul is subject to mind in earth life, because mind is the thinlfer, the builder, the constructor or the destroyer. Mind builds the Soul, Mind builds the body perfect. But the mind which awakens to the truth, and then builds both body and Soul perfect, builds that which is Immortal and Eternal. "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.'* In this command we have the old, old statement, so often made: "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." That which a man thinks in his heart he is apt to be guided by. Thus, if we believe in our heart, that a certain church is the right one, we will join that church in spite of everything, aye, even die at the stake for it as thousands have done. In like manner, if we believe in our heart that a certain system of living is the right one we will live accordingly and it is for this reason that the lUuminati is trying to teach a right 34 Sixty-Eighth Convocation system of living, an Exalted Constructive life, knowing that when it awakens man to the fact that the body is the Temple of God, and that a certain life is the true life, and when man truly believes this, then will he live accordingly, and as he lives, so will he grow, until at last he becomes the son of the living God. Mind is but the builder of our immortality. At the death, tliere is no more use for the jnind, because then the Conscious, Illuminated Soul takes charge of itself and there is use for neither the mind nor the body. Both the body and the Soul are subject to the mind in tlie earth life, both mind and body disintegrate at death, leaving the spirit and soul to meet the consequences of the life lived, and happy is the man whose mind became awakened during his life on earth and thus was enabled to build the Immortal Soul. Will yoi^ master mind, or let it master and mislead you to your destruction? THE SOUL The Soul is not yours but belongs to God. God gave you, as a part from himself, so that you might develop into an Indi- viduality, a God like himself, and thus, in His likeness and im- agery glorify him. If you obey the divine dictates, then you will thus develop, but if you do not obey the Divine Law, then grad- ually you must return to the God-head, only to be sent out again, but as an entirely new entity from which all the personality of your present unworthy self has been burned away through the searing fires of the Godhead. This is the eternal death spoken of in the Bible. The Soul is a Divine White Fire. It is a flame within the body of each individual. In some very large and burning as a flame of white intensity, in others but a tiny Spark which is al- most totally submerged with the material being. It is not an individual entity unless you make it so. If you awaken to the truth that man is something more than skin and bones, a machine to make money through the ruination of others, and if you attempt to live the true life, thus fanning the spark into a flame, you may become a Conscious individual, and thus become Immortal. But if you live the life as has been lived by man these many thousands of years, then you live only in the personality, the Fundamental Laws 35 Divine Spark is not at all awakened and you die as you have lived, ignorant of your Divine power and heritage, and this Di- vine Spark returns to the Godhead, enters the universal melting pot, and comes out a Spark from God to again undergo another pilgrimage, but without any personality at all. All of you is dead and buried because your life was not worthy of leaving an impress on the Divine Spark. You had been given a talent by God, but you buried it and when the time of accounting came, even this one talent was taken from you. Will you awaken to the better life or are you willing to live and to die and to be forgotten even by God Himself? Is your owTi personal Christ ever to be in crucifixion upon the black cross of the material life, the life of the earth? Are ycu willing to believe that Jesus was willing to die in order to save your unworthy soul, while you do not make a single effort to free the Christ within you and elevate Him upon the Throne ? This is a question for you to decide and upon the decision hangs your Inmaortality or your Eternal death. "The Soul that sinneth it shall die." — Ezek. 18. That has been the Divine decree. It was the fiat cast by God the Father when He created Souls, and neither He nor any- one human power, nor any power in creation can set aside that fiat. You cannot plead ignorance. You have the power of choice. God has said that He dwells within the temple, but only if you purify it. If ycu do not make it a fit dwelling place then God cannot dwell therein and if He cannot dwell therein, then it follows as a certainty that the Soul has sinned, and is sinninj]^, and the Soul that sinneth it shall die. Thus speaks God in thundering tones to be heard by all. "What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul." — Matt. 16. Here again we have the same statement, clearly indicating that we may so develop the mind, the power? of the mind, and physical efficiency as to control the whole world, but that even though we thus develop body and mind, we w^ll still lose our own Soul unless we develop that Soul also, and here is answer- ed those self-constituted teachers, who, fearful of losing a fol- lowing if they teach the truth, deny that the soul can be lost. There shall be many teachers in these last days, but most 36 Sixty-Eighth Con\'ocation of them are false prophets who come not to lead man from de- struction, but, who, in order to gain their ends, lead man to de- struction, and many of these even go so far as to clothe them- selves in the clothing of true teachers in order that they may deceive the masses and thus the more easily lead the masses estray and to their destruction. "The Soul that sinneth, it shall die." That is the Divine Fiat, but there is no necessity to meet with this destruction as it is not so very difficult to find the right way and to live the true life. All those who seek and who will but obey the teachings of the Illuminati can find this way and will quickly came to under- stand the Law which will lead them to Life and Immortality. "And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man be- came a living soul." The soul is not given to man at the time that conception takes place, but at the time of birth. The body is formed by the mother, through the seed planted by the father. The mother fashions the body as she wills, and at birth, when the first breath is drawn in by the child, then it is that the Divine Fire is also drawn in. While the body is fashioned the mother in her secret labor- atory can do much towards the perfection of the body, and to- wards the preparation of that body for the influx of a great Soul, but it is at the moment of birth, just before, and during, the time of actual birth that she can, holding a Divine Mantram, a Great Soul Desire, draw into the body of her child, a mighty Soul. Here is the secret of genius, the secret of THE RECON- STRUCTION OF HUMANITY. It is this mighty secret that the Illuminati would teach to all humanity and thus people the earth with mighty souls instead of with ghouls and vampires. "Hear and your soul shall live." — Is. 5-3. Herein again is indicated the great fact that the soul which will not hear, which refuses to obey the Divine dictates, shall not live. In these words we have repeated the Divine Fiat, "The Soul that sinneth it shall die." The sense is a little different, in that it indicates clearly the possibility of eternal life to all souls who will heed the com- mand and live the life, for such souls shall live, and when God Fundamental Laws 37 says they shall live it means that Eternal Life — Lnmortality shall be its reward. Have you a Soul? Can you answer that question? It is easy to believe that you possess a Soul, but do you know that you have one? Ay yes, we well know that many teachers will tell you tliat man cannot know absolutely whether he has a Soul or not, but these speak not from knowledge, but from ignorance. They are the false teachers and prophets which abound in these days and will lead you to the endless death if you listen to them. THE SPIRIT Spirit is the unseen form of man, the breath of his life. \Vhen the child is bom, and when it takes in the first breath, it is the Life Principle, the Spirit of God, that it draws in. I'his Life Principle it continues to draw in all during its life. It breathes in, it breathes out. Always, like the tree and the fiov/er, it draws in the breath of God. At the end of life on the earth plane, when the lungs no longer take in any air, then the rest of the life principle leaves the body, and as this is truly the spirit of the father, the link which holds Body and Soul together, it, the Spirit returns to God, v/hile the Soul, if it has become awakened, goes to the next plane of existense, but if unawakened, it also, like the Spirit, returns to God, there to be revivified and again sent out to try for Con- scious expression and Individualization. In God it is the Holy Ghost, or Mother side, and in the uni- verse it is the flowing floor of the worlds, the sustainer, for with- out it no life could exist. Mind and Spirit, (breath) united, build the Soul, for with- out mind there could be no building, while without Spirit or Life there could be no Mind. God is a Spirit in that He is the very principle of Life, the Life-Giver. It is God which gives Life to all things, because God Himself is Life. "The Spirit of man is the candle of the Lord." — Prov. 20-27. A candle is usually a light giver, thus we have it that the Spirit is the Light giver. For instance, without air we cannot have fire, because there could be no combustion, in like manner, 38 Sixty-Eighth Convocation without the breath, which is the life, man could have no Light as the Soul could not exist without the body, while the body cannot exist without the life-principle. ''He that ruleth his own spirit is greater than he that taketh a city. — Prov. 32. This is an actual truth. Health, strength and power de- pend entirely upon the amount of the life principle we take in and use. In the Higher Knowledge this is called the A£th. If man so trains himself that he continually takes in enough of the active principle of life then he will have health, strength and all power, and this may become so great that he needs but little food, say one full meal a day while he can do for days and nights in succession without sleep and still retain his full strength. He, therefore, who can rule his spirit, that is, take in sufficient of the life giver to sustain himself in health, strength and power, is greater than he who taketh a city, because he who taketh a city might not be able to take enough power to sustain himself in health and strength, and what does the possession of a city amount to, with him who has neither health or strength with which to enjoy his possession? "Take not thy holy spirit from me." — Ps. ii. In all times the truly wise have recognized the desirability and necessity of possessing a healthy body and a strong mind, and thus it was that they constantly prayed to God for more of His sustaining and life-giving power. But we of the Great Schools not only Invoke the Father for such Life-giving power, but we have learned to draw in this Holy Spirit, or AEth power as we need it. "The letter killeth but the spirit maketh alive." In all things it is recognized that it is the Spirit, the life- giver which is most desirable. We now recognize that in the Sacred writinj^s there is an inner meaning, the spirit, which is of greater importance to both ourselves and humanity than the mere letter, however, important that letter may be, and the lUum- inati is attempting to teach mankind the spirit as well as the doc- trine. Has mankind not read the Bible by the letter long enough? Consider the state of mankind, universal conditions as they now exist, and you will find the answer as to whether mankind has profitted much by living according to the letter. A TRULY MYSTIC SEAL THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES AND ITS MYSTIC SIGNIFICANCE i\Iost Americans have a dim idea that the Great Seal of their country shows an eagle, a constellation of stars, an olive branch signii>ing peace, and a set of thirteen arrows which probably means war in case of necessity, but few have ever seen tlie re- verse side of the seal or even suspected its existence. Nor has the reverse side ever been cut, a strangely restrain- ing hand having seemingly been laid upon every attempt to bring it before the public. When the large painting of the reverse side which was ordered made together with the familiar obverse, for the government display at the Chicago World's Fair, was to be hung, those in charge exclaimed : "What a peculiar design : Why were we given this inartistic symbol?'* and once more the white stone was rejected, the painting w^as turned face to the wall and only the obverse side displayed. But the time has now come when the full knowledge of her seal s)iall be made known to her people, for America must hence- forLh siand before the world as its teacher, leader and the pro- mulgator of a new and perfect system of ethics, religious leader- ship, a citizenship that is efficient and free, a just industrial democracy, and a justice and generosity to otlier nations that shall emphasize the brotherhood of man and the Fatherland of God. Late in the afternoon of July 4th, 1776, tlie new Continental Con^rec'S "Resolved, that Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams and Mr. JcrrcrT-r^n be a committee to prepare a device for the Seal of the United States of America." Tliat committee was identical save for the cmisGicn of Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman with til at wliich had dra^vn up the Declaration of Independence. The Derlarat'on had been signed about 2 o^clock in the afternoon, and (Onj^ress desired to at once complete the evidences of the intiej^onrlence of the United States by formally adopting an ofiicial sign of sovereignly and a national coat of arms. 40 Sixty-Eighth Convocation The arms of England, the mother country, expressed the union of Judah's lion, with the unicorn of "Lost Israel" in ac- cordance with the Science of Heraldry, but the young republic had finished with thrones and crowns and must blaze a new path through the forest of liberty, which should express her de- scent from all christian nations and hold open a door for all other races which should seek help and shelter upon her shores. A knowledge of heraldy was considered a part of an edu- cation in the early colonial days, and it was through William Barton son of the rector of St. James Episcopal church of Phila- delphia, learned in heraldry, and through Baron Prestwich, of England, that the designs expressive of American destiny were given and drawn. Yet other dabblers in heraldry failed utterly to understand the mystic meaning of the seals. Professor Charles Elliott Norton, of Harvard, regretted its lack of art, and com- plained it could never be other than a dull masonic emblem, while a Mr. Wilson, considered a great historical scholar, de- clared the reverse side "in very bad taste, unintelligent and commonplace, and if it can be laid away and kept in the dark why not keep it so!" Even the constellation of thirteen stars came in for criticism, as "very bad heraldically." Again and again the pyramid with the white cope stone and the glory, were rejected, until in 1916 members of the Rose Cross Order, Illuminati, and others of the six pointed star of the seal, hung it officially in their class rooms and declared it as expres- sive of their philosophy-religion; the Bible wisdom of the com- mon people rather than of the collegian. In the two sides of our seal are expressed in heraldry countless ages of the evolution of man, from the time of his so- called fall, through his progress in Egypt (eagleland), where for a time a wondrous race incarnated to build astounding mon- uments, receding, but returning again as the Hebraic Confeder- ation to receive the knowledge of ancient Atlantis in the shade of its ancient altar, the Great Pyramid, uniting in a blaze of glory in the building of Solomon's Temple, parting, the north- em tribes to leaven, though lost to history, all Europe, Judah and part of Benjamen and Levi, returning to hold Jerusalem until the Master Jesus should be bom, journey down into Egypt to the ancient altar and receive light yet left in that land of darkness. "In that da^ shalt there be an altar to the Lord a pillar in Fundamental Laws 41 the midst of Egypt, upon the borders thereof, and it, shall be for a sign and a witness unto the Lord," said Isaiah. It is need- less for learned historians to tell us, who hold the records, that the Great Pyramid is but six thousand years old, for we know it to have been built when the morning stars sang together and tlie "Sons of God" shouted for joy, in tliat far Edenic period, when Atlantis the mighty stood in her purity, where in part America now stands. Built at the center of the earth, as a tem- ple of the highest initiation, symbolic of a perfect man, four- square in body, mind, soul and spirit, with its white copestone, s>Tnbol of complete immortality, it represents the measure of the earth, as well as that of the universe, and the evolution of man through those countless ages of reincarnation now drawing to a close. Thither the Atlantians went for instruction in its galleries and rooms at the hands of mighty priests of the Priests of Mel- chisidek* and Osirian Brotherhoods, and throughout the suc- ceeding ages those who would attain self mastery have turned their footsteps toward the ancient centers. "The last Cumaen Song now comes," wrote Virgil, who prophesied that a race should arise which would be offspring of all races and bring to an end the ages of iron (war) and usher in the Golden Age. Hence it was fitting that the mottos upon the reverse side of our seal above and below the pyramid should be taken from Virgil, "Annuit Coeptis," "Prosper us in our daring," and "Novus ordo seclorum," "a new and select order," which many of us have now the honor to have entered, and whose door we hold open to all who will accomplish the spiritual work necessary. "The day of freedom dawned upon the earth." *As this book is being printed, we received information of two Associations using the title "Order of Melchizadek," or like it. One is a Spiritualistic body and the other a pure fraud. Neither body has the right to the title as this belongs to the Magi, who has used it for unknown years. Any body of men claiming, or using, this title does so without any authority and they are not members of any Order of Melchizadek. "Given by order of the Royal Fraternity Association, Incorporated." 42 Sixty-Eighth Convocation And the infinite cycle of Atlantis was begun anew," wrote a poet, of the American Republic. In Central America there yet stands a companion pyramid, key to the connection of Atlantis, Egypt, and now American Atlantis rising again upon the great cycle. Hence Arcane and Magi an learning which is the source of the Bible, could give no other symbolism to the young re- public, than that of the ancient pyramid, its copcstone and glory, significant of the descent of the New Jerusalem, for the one side, and the eagle, and the ever repeating thirteen of ^lan- sasseh, thirteenth tribe of Israel and the son of Joseph (the Britons) who was separated from his brethren in Egypt, in the parting asunder of northern Israel from southern Judah, and first to cross Europe in search of the "isles afar off," to re-estab- lish the ancient throne of Israel at Tava in Ireland. Turning the hitherto rejected reverse side of our seal to face the people of these United States, we remind them that they are called to a Great Work as offspring of all races, a mighty Mannasseh, whose history began in Genesis and culimantes in America, and by whose stripes the whole world must be healed. Joseph, our father, married a daughter of a priest of the Temple of On, in Egypt, we are told, and today one pillar of that ancient Temple stands in London, v/hile its mate stands in New York. These are reminders of our connection with Egypt, with all Europe, and with our father, Joseph, as an Anglo Saxon cul- mination of all Israel, and that through our union, between those pillars must all the world pass into Ephraim, or Shiloh, the Millenium to which Ishael alone of all nations looked for- ward and by the measure of whose twelve tribes the whole earth was apportioned. "The whole Bible is written in the stars, both the law and the gospel, while estorically the entire story of man is set forth upon the Fca of Manasseh. The obverse side is Israel in the Old Testament, the Reverse is the offspring of all Israel under the New Covenant, as the hope and outcome of Christianity. The two sides reflect each other and cannot be separated being the Bible in its most condensed form, summing up all old world history in twelve tril-ed Israel," says Professor Totten. Lon;^ ar^'j^ IxMore the di:?covery of America, Merlin of King Arthur's court v.Tute of our constellation of thirteen stars: Fundamental Laws 43 **When the cock (France) shall woo the Dove (America) Motlier and child shall cease to love (Rebellion of colonies) When the cock (France) shall guard the eagle's nest (France's aid) The stars (our constellation of 13) shall rise all in the west Then seven and six shall make but one (E Pluribus Unum) The Lion's might shall be undone/' The stars upon our seal are set in the form of a six pointed star or a double triangle. This was anciently called Solomon's Seal and was embroidered upon the curtain of the Temple, which hung before the Holy of Holies. At each point of the star was placed the symbol of an Order which set forth Arcane wis- dom, and no man might pass into the Holy of Holies save he had mastered the learning of these Orders with safety to himself, because of the Presence upon the altar within. Today in America we have the restoration of this knowledge in these six Orders, the Order of Illuminati, Order of Rose Cross, Ancient Order of Alchemists, Fraternity of Osiris, The Magi and AEth Priesthood. The especial symbol of America, aside from the pyramid and eagle, is the white rose, identical in meaning with the white stone. The constellation of thirteen stars was in early drawings set in a wreath of white roses, showing that the early designers knew the future of American individual spiritual development. It is Jiow drawn set in white clouds, but the white rose is ever the s>Tnbol of the American Rose Cross Order, and stands for spiritual attainment. Solomon's Temple was the Temple of a perfect man, and the Bible tells us of a three cornered cope stone which was re- jected, but later became the headstone of the comer. We hear too in Genesis of Joseph, the keeper of the "stone of Israel," and it was with the Magian or Holy Grail teachings that the Britons crossed Europe to Arsareth, Land of Betrothal (Esdras 11-13 Chap. ) in search of a land where they might keep God's worship pure and undefiled. Hence through Joseph, who was separated from his brethren, we inherit the white stone of all Israel, cope stone of the pyramid, and of Solomon's Temple, that rock upon which Jesus reminded Peter, he should build His church, the rock of spiritual unfoldment within each individual, that the 44 Sixty-Eighth Convocation gates of hell (death) should not prevail against it. My little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.— Gal. IV-19. Thus it was in keeping that an Englishman, Master of Heraldry, should give to the young republic, in the midst of its struggles to separate from the mother country, the design for the Great Seal, which should express the whole future of its work as a world teacher and exponent of the Christie teachings of the Holy Grail. VT^ The All Seeing Eye, looks down upon the ancient pyramid, I which too symbolizes America and all she must mean to the world, out of a glory, sign of the descent of the New Jerusalem. This emblem, the eye, is as old as man's appearance upon earth, being found upon ancient Chaldean monuments, Egyptian and Greek, while the Arabians looking upon it named the Highest and Holiest name of God with hushed voices and whispered, "I am that I am." The triangle about the eye, stood from the most arcane times as the emblem of the Trinity, of Osiris, Isis and Horus, Father, Holy Ghost and Son, as they stand today with us, and in which is sealed the law of the eternal three of the universe and of men as its highest product. "I will guide thee I with mine eye. — Psa. 32-8. ^-*^ Although \\Titing is as old as Atlantis, and Adam, the only legend set in the Great Pyramid is esoteric, in numbers, meas- ures, and weights, and in them may be read the ages just com- pleted, and the prophesy of those yet to come. Of these great ages each with its leader as set forth in the application of the legend to the "Stone Kingdom cut out without hands," the greatest of all was the Master Initiate Jesus, who became the Christ, who descended into tlie grave and rising ascended Mas- ter over death, into heaven before the eyes of His disciples. Him esp)ecially and the return of the Christ Age, does the white cope stone represent, and after Him America as exponent of His teaching and life. America now prepares to become the head- stone of all the world's ages when God in the Christ shall de- scend to crown the edifice of human liberty and immortality completed, and once more the morning stars shall sing together and the "Sons of God" shout for joy." Architecture, mystic numbers, heraldry and the heavens themselves are telling the great race in America of their destiny Fundamental Laws 45 and responsibility. As the head, body and limbs of the great image, made of different metals represented each Messianic age, a new truth, and an empire directly relating to some manifesta- tion of that truth, so must America represent the white stone, a nation fashioning itself until it shall have obtained the Mes- siahship over all nations, overshadowing all that has pre- ceded it. This cannot be accomplished until each citizen shall throw aside the veil which lieth over his face, shall no longer see through the glass darkly, but face to face, when Judah shall no longer vex Israel nor Israel envy Judah, but prepare to come together into that land which the Lord has given tnem for an in- heritance forever. The time has come spoken of by Isaiah, the prophet, when though the learned cannot read the book because it is sealed, nor the unlearned because he is unlettered, yet shall the book be unsealed, for the ancient wisdom applies to the individual and his following of the Christ in his quest of the Holy Grail, in the drinking of the cup of unselfishness, of his love for his neighbor and the stranger within the gates of our own Ellis Island, that the stranger may grow to the light of this republic, or carry its torch to other lands. Each fortunate heir of this glorious inheritance must seek the white stone which crowns the pyramid, within himself, in bod)', mind and soul, the Holy Trinity of each Son of God. Then may America realize her destiny as a city set upon a hill, a star that shall never go down, and the world ruler that shall call down the light of the New Jerusalem upon the battle scarred earth, the Christ to rule for a thousand years. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. — Matt. 28-19. OUR CODE OF EFHICS FOUNDATION FOR A CODE OF ETHICS FOR HOME AND SCHOOL TEACHER AND PARENT *'The worst possible waste of time and money," said Em- erson, *'is to spend tlieni off the line of your career." There can be no greater work than God*s work of mould- ing souls for a better life here, and a life of immortality here- after, and there can be no better opportunity for undertaking that work than that found in teaching and parenthood, while to slight this all important work, or to turn aside from it when once trained for it or having entered parenthood, is to write failure across your life's fair page, to lose your own life lesson. Teach- ing and parenthood, may not be confined to merely the school- room or family for the true worker applies the trade learned to all children wherever encountered. REVERENCE FOR THE CHILD A cliild is a soul enrolled in God's school of life. The dull, defective, or criminal and immoral, born under unfortunate conditions, fighting blindly upward toward a far gleam of light, hampered by poverty, scjualor, and unfortunate environment, are as precious in His sight as the daintily cared for darling of welcomed birth and refined surroundings, for Heaven cannot be perfect until all have reached it. Reco^<;nize each cliild as of God, for of such are the kingdom of heaven. See the Divine Spark as the light that is hidden within, and realize that it will not fail to flash out when kindled from the love and purity in the heart of the teacher or parent. Look for the spark and wait patiently for the flash for as you measure out love so shall it be returned to you. Love can be firm Init just, compelling respect and obedience, but eventually all will be love, the necessity for the sterner qualities retiring to tlie reserve force in the background. Fundamental Laws 47 Prizing as jewels the innate qualities of love and teachableness in the faces looking up to us, we shall, as teach- ers, cultivate within ourselves reverence for each small person- ality as expressing the sacredness and value of a gift from God to us and the nation, as well as of the gift of life to the child from God. I'he child is not a chattel, nor merely one of a mass to the true teacher, but is an individual, and heir to a glorious repub- lic, life and immortality. Therefore, teacher and parent will appeal to the child^s higher sense and spiritual self, with confi- dence that he v>^ill respond to the appeal as one on the same plane, and with the same Fcnse of honor and understanding. The beautiful things of life such as poetry, or the necessary things in study, such as mathematics, will never be given the child in punishment, for that is the negative method of teaching, but the giving of these to learn for the love of them and in the sense of doing a loving act for the teacher or parent will unfail- im^ly arouse the love of the child for these studies, inculcating a sense of the beautiful and the exact. Love is the Throne of the Universe, and the ethical guide of all its movements, as it sweeps on to a far off event. Our own inner light is lighted from the altar before that Throne, and it behooves us to keep it shining and pure, illuminating our faces, if we would find instant response from the newly born souls, vvhich look up to us for guidance in daily tasks. Warnings of the strongest nature have hedged in the par- ent and teacher regarding pur care of the:ie little ones. Com- mands that we despise not these in our charge, nor is it the will of the Heavenly Father that one of tliese perish spiritually, yet vrc are commanded not to spare the red when all el-'c fails, lest the child lose its way, but rememlier to temper justice with mercy. The sense of justice is strong in a cliild's inner life and vrill practically never fail to respond to an appeal. Vi'c arc exhorted also by holy writ, that wanton leading astray of one of these little ones, should bring upon adult heads a punish.nient so severe that it were better a millstone were hung abcut his neck and he were cast into the sea. 'Tor their ancrels do always behold the face of the Father." 48 Sixty-Eighth Convocation HIGHER IDEALS IN TEACHERS A continually increasing demand for teachers of higher ideals is noted by observers of the trend of public thought. The life of a man or woman leads outside his or her own schoolroom is becoming of more and more importance to the taxpayer. His religion has little to do with the life of a teacher as a rule, the separation of religion and ethics having been made many centuries ago, but tlie ethical and moral standards of the teaching body is coming rightly into the limelight of public opinion. Teachers who are in the profession for the money there is in it, or because it affords them a refined method of earning a wage, or because they have been forced to earn a livelihood in some way, will soon be relegated to the background, for they invariably lack the love for the child, and the patriotism required for the best needs of the nation. Moreover the life of the teaching force led outside their work is to become of more interest to the taxpayer in future. If a teacher is daily instructing students in a clean and righteous habit, is he living up to the standard of his instruction? Is he lecturing to or punishing boys for the cigarette habit, and in- dulging in a quiet smoke himself when the building is out of sight? Are women teachers preaching simplicity in dress and themselves appearing at school functions in garb suitable for an evening reception ? Are they teaching the evils of slang, gossip, and the misuse of the English language and indulging in these misdeeds themselves when off duty? The educational system is sacred to the United States, and its strong foundation stone, therefore the educational staff is dedicated to a holy work and will more and more be required to live up to tlie ethics of that work. Nor will the parent fail to regard the school building as sacred to the coming generation in their use of it as a neighbor- hood center. His conduct when in the building, the language he uses while near it, his tone in speaking of it before the child makes part of his citizenship. Teacher and parent must work together in upholding this bulwark of the nation, the public school. All schools should be public. No greater menace faces this country than that of a class educated apart from the ideals of the republic. Fundamental Laws 49 NEIGHBORHOOD CENTRES The organization of neighborhood centres, Parent-Teachers' Associations and Mothers' Clubs, should be of inestimable value to the work, as it brings the people together having the same in- terests, gives backing to the educational staff, brings the staff and parent together, and induces co-operation and neighbor- hood education in cities, as well as in the country districts. Under this head might come the "Little Mothers' " classes held after school where girls are trained by a nurse or physician in the care of younger children. This is especially recommended in crowded districts in cities, where poverty makes little mothers a necessity, and the instruction should include correct bathing, dressing and general care of infants, diet and the serving of meals, cleanliness, hygiene, study of food values and combina- tions for young children. Here also should the warning against giving young children coffee or strong tea be sounded, as well as instruction against the eating of heavy meats, and the knowledge of nerve value to the healthy child, and its destruction by the cigarette habit be thoroughly inculcated. Classes after school in which courtesy and good breeding is taught and illustrated should be held by either the teachers or some mother appointed from some of the neighborhood organi- zations. Here the child should be trained to meet the awkward age which often leads to much embarrassment and suffering. To pass the child through this period with its attendant evils and with its plastic, formative era, by drill in gentleness of speech, and mannerism, courtesy to elders and ladies, is to serve both the child and nation in the most practical way, for it gives the public a graceful and attractive boy or girl whose gentle breed- ing wins half the battle in finding employment. Here should be discussed the cigarette habit, gum chewing, slang, evil report, slander, vulgar tongue, and debasing thought in firm but gentle leadership, drawing out opinions from the children as far as possible. When a child once expresses him- self along right lines he is apt to struggle to live up to it before his mates. A thorough handling pf the cigarette habit, and its destruc- tion to the nerves, as well as to self mastery, and the danger of thereby setting the various diseases upon the system, or open- 50 Sixty-Eighth Convocation ing a way for numerous ailments should have a prominent place in these classes in courtesy. Emphasize the teaching of the Holy Temple, and its clear windows the eyes, as the shrine of the Day-Star, from on High, the soul, and the fact that we are always angel guarded and are never alone, under the constant watch of the angel presence, a child who knows of this guide will be twice on guard, where not knowing he will be careless and slip into temptations. Thus the soul is twice guarded in the child's mind, and he assumes a personal responsibility for his own share in the work, for the unseen is very much closer to the child than to the adult who has allowed the mind to overwhelm the spiritual things of every day life. The careful teacher will steadily hold the students to the lessons learned in the classes in courtesy, in the matter of open- ing doors, offering seats, handing books or other objects with grace, lifting the hat, allowing a lady to pass, or the acknowl- edgement of the lifted hat on the part of the girls. Practice in the above as well as in table manners, church and public etiquette, should be held in these classes, and will prove a delight to be looked forward to as well as an instruction. A play written and enacted bringing in these courtesies is rec- ommended. EUGENICAL INSTRUCTION Much discussion pro and con has been indulged in as to the advisability of giving this instruction in public schools. No satisfactory arrangement has so far been reached, and there still remains the child whose home environment is such that no in- struction can be received, who attends no church where spiritual education might be given and who becomes a menace to his mates. These should be under the instruction of a mother or fa- ther chosen from the Parent-Teachers' Association for that pur- pose, one in whom the Association has full confidence. Failing to secure such the instruction should be by the principal or a teacher according to the sex of the student. The surest way and most effective method of eradicating disease is strong and sane instruction along these lines while the child is young and im- pressionable. Fundamental Laws 51 PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Personal responsibility is the keynote to strength and true manhood and womanhood. Coercion, however, along these lines will develop antagonism and a non-interest in right living. Hence the subject must be presented to each pupil as though he were a rational human being, thus appealing to his pride and subjective self and innate sense of being, varying tlie language to suit the age of the student. All the years from the cradle to adolescence are of supreme importance in setting the habits of thought and character. During these years the child must be made to understand that he is here for a purpose, and that life is a glorious opportunity to grow toward God and that all think- ing and acting along right lines will develop a power which is to be used only for good. To be p)ositive for all that is pure and good and not half hearted in attitude, will bring greater trusts given into his hands. He cannot be trusted with great responsi- bilities until he has demonstrated that he has been faithful in small things. Each individual is a free agent to build for him- self a strong, fine cliaracter, but he must realize that no one may build it for him, although they may show him the way. In his own hands he holds a glorious future, to make or to mar, for life here and hereafter, transforming himself from weakness and inefficienc}' into strength and self-mastery. It is the way of the cross, with many stumblings along the path, and many back- slidings, with heavy burdens, which are to be made light, but the goal is ever above us, and though the cross be heavy we shall find that a crown of self-respect, responsibility and the friend- ship of our fellow travellers goes with it. The student must be reminded that man is but little lower than the angels, and he is set a lesson here in which to conquer life problems, for a reward of angelhood in an existence to come. Choosing the cross we gain the crown. CLEANLINESS "Cleanliness is next to godliness," is a familiar saying, and to be clean in body, live in the cleanest way possible, and upon the cleanest diet, and. to think the cleanest thoughts is a part of the building of an immortal soul. It requires concentration of mind, observation, application, B2 Sixty-Eighth Convocation determination and will power to maintain cleanliness within and without in the daily habits of life, but the result is health, and success in place of sickness, poverty and failure, for these are first stepping stones to a successful life. The outside world judges us at a glance by our neatness in dress, precision in small details of bathing, cleanliness of the hands and fingernails and condenms or approves without waiting to look into the inner life. But we must regard the body as a holy temple in which we are living for awhile, never forgetting that life has been given us as a blessing and an opportunity to grow toward God, and that heavenly home whence we came. Hence we will keep this Body, or temple, clear of rubbish and dirt, healthy and pure by frequent bathing outwardly, and by pure thoughts inwardly, for we owe this in account with our souls, the precious trust given us. Beautiful well kept houses are never surrounded by rub- bish, straggling hedges and tumbledown fences. The condition of the window panes, the front door and the neatness of the chil- dren who issue forth from a house, set the seal of neatness or slovenliness upon the mother of the family. So is it set upon the personality of the student in his daily dress and habit of neatness. Neatness is not overdress or display, nor is it rags and carelessly made garments, but simplicity and perfection of the whole. A clean, wholesome and pleasant habitation is absolutely necessary to the environment of that precious gift of God, our soul, hence we will beware of our outward appearance lest it indicate a decrepit inward condition. SIMPLICITY Plain living and high thinking was the rule of the Pilgrims from many lands who formed our educational system, and upon which the safety of this republic rests. Forced to live in an un- pretentious maimer, there sprang from them some of the greatest statesmen of the world, who have helped found this mighty de- mocracy. Lincoln was a rail splitter, and Grant the driver of canal horses, Franklin came a penniless lad, and Washington enjoyed the simple country life of his Mount Vernon farm. Let us jealously guard each rising generation that it may P'UNDAMENTAL LaAVS 53 not drift away from simple habits, which pave the only way to true happiness, health and a well spent life. Late hours, heavy foods, show in dress and entertainment, lead but to mental, moral and physical breakdown. To surround ourselves with useless bricabrac, expensive today, and valueless tomorrow, to load oneself v/ith flashy jewelry whether it be costly or cheap, to crowd our homes with expensive furniture of doubt- ful taste, and to entertain lavishly and showily eiftier within or beyond our means is by no means the ideal set for the citizens of tliis glorious country which is the climax of the ages. Laughter and play and innocent amusements are a part of true development. More joy may be found in amusements which draw out the wit, tact, alertness, courtesy and originality of the child tiian in the very questionable forms of entertainment, to such as the growing child is now frequently subjected. Heaven is all about us if we will but throw off the earthly trammels and look for it. It is in the simple white dress of the girl graduate, made by her own hands, in the neat suit her brother earned in which to stand beside her, in the pride of the father and mother, who realize the early lesson learned of self-dependence and in the hearts of the teacliers who see the school doors close in June beliind a class well fitted for the work of the world. The sensible and patriotic mother will aid the educational staff of the schools in holding the children to these high ideals of one standard for all, poor and rich alike. That will mean no select parties will be given to which some class mates are not in- vited, and which promote jealousy and ill feeling. It will mean tliat the wealthy parents will not display in any way upon graduation night, with a profusion of flowers or gifts, whicli may cause heartburnings among the less fortunate. In some schools a middy blouse and plain white skirt make up the dress of the class for the girls, and the calling of autos fcr the students or the use of them in bringing the stu- dents is discouraged. Walking is healthy, and heartburnings are unhealthy, but no more so for the good of the nation than the effect upon the child of daily habits of indolence and inac- tion in regard to outdoor life. Presents and collections for principles and teachers is to be discouraged at commencement time, because the tax upon the less fortunate at that time is in many cases at the highest point| B4 Sixty-Eighth Convocation and here again the pride of the family and heart aches of the children offset any good the gift might accomplish. Let simplicity be the keynote of every educational institu- tion, and more especially of those select and private schools to which are sent the children of the rich. Upon these funda- mental principles of brotherhood and equality rests the safety of the nation, as well as the work she must complete for the rest of the world. THE DIGNITY OF LABOR Each star in the universe has its appointed place and work* Each tree and flower, each animal and bird, each ant and bee labors in its way and in keeping with its sphere. Then there can be no drones in the human family in God's School of the soul; brain and hands must be occupied, for the brain worker needs manual labor to balance the strain upon his nervous sys- tem. Let none expect to live in idleness upon the work of others, nor think he has the right to eat unless he has earned it in a legitimate way. "Labor is a fire of purification through which all must pass," said Carlyle, "and in which mental and physical poisons are consumed." Satan is ever busy finding mischief for idle hands, and the sooner all are trained to some profession or trade, and the knowledge of the value of the trade the sooner will Satan lose his oldtime occupation. Let each man and wcHnan go into training for some definite purpose or work that shall be of benefit to the race and earn a livelihood for themselves. The day laborer if he give honest work for honest wage is as important to the country as the mil- lionaire who works at his desk early and late that great indus- tries may furnish honest labor for the workman or safe invest- ment for the capitalist. The laborer is worthy of his hire and he has a God given right to live comfortably. Brain and brawn combined may move mountains but the two must labor together for the good of both and the well being of the nations. Some- thing for nothing cannot be the basis of well-being in this or any other country, but the workman must earn his wage, and know his trade. Patience and persistence in small tasks bring a reward of {73ater trusts Woerk r^ulates the world, creatii^^ order out of Fundamental Laws 55 chaos. Do not expect happiness except through tasks well done. Work never hurts us, but tlie worry of an unsettled and fretful mind, combined with hard labor is the serpent in Eden. We must be proud and glad each night that we sink into a delicious sleep brought about by a day of faithful and honest labor, that has entitled us to an honest wage. "Do with thy might what thv hand findeth to do." At "Beverly Hall," even during the sessions of the Sacred College, the dignity of labor is recognized. You will find the master of the Hall, even though all the responsibility of maintaining harmony amongst the units, giving his attention to the various departments of the place just as if no strangers were present. You will find him, early in the morning, on the chicken farm, overseeing and actually working, so that every fowl and every chick may be well cared for. You will find him, even before breakfast, looking after the welfare of the beautiful collies in the kennels. But more than this, you will find him giving personal at- tention to every personal letter that comes in so that every stu- dent in the field will have personal attention, during the time of the sessions, just as at all other times. Further than this, he believes that no man or woman should be a drone, a parasite on society in general, and, very often, there are no servants at the Hall but he selects such of the delegates as he knows have reached a stage of true develop- ment where they can understand that, in order to serve they must first serve, and these he selects to look after the Hall, the dining room, even the kitchen, and, while these give good service, for they do their work in love, nevertheless, there are often, as one can well imagine, some amusing incidents connected with this Love service. Labor done in Love brings a bigger and quicker reward than the human parasite could obtain by following the highest Invocations for an eternity. When men and women, boys and girls, are taught that there may be real pleasure even in hard physical labor, then will one of the problems which have thrown former great civilizations in choas, be solved. B6 Sixty-Eighth Convocation i*» IMAGINATION Imagination is mind at play, builder and destroyer of all form in the realm of mind. We go to sleep reveling in it, and waken to at once take it up. That it may be working an injury we never consider, hence, unless reason and a determined will control it it drifts at will among the shoals and rocks of fear, pride, grief, disease, accident, the worst forms of evil and de- generate thought, bringing death to the soul and body. The student must be impressed with the danger of allow- ing the imagination to drift idly, on negative or evil lines, and aroused to the necessity of being master of this most important adjunct of youth. From the earliest days of childhood to the age of twenty- one, this faculty must be guarded with a strong hand, for these are the important formative years. The student must be taught that there is no time in the short years allotted us to let the mind drift at will, but trained to hold it under control every moment in beautiful, pure and holy images, or those of strength and uplift. Let him understand himself as a complete immortal spirit, in dominion of mind and a glorious birthright, bound to con- trol at will his thoughts and image-making. "The thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts," their dreams are far reaching and have a lasting influence upon the whole after life, because the delicate tissues are plastic. Beware then of the sort of imagery for which the mind is used, for by it a man or woman may be made or ruined. Death or invalid- ism, poverty and failure may be wrought by this faculty, or glorious achievements, mighty orations, splendid possibilities or dreams come true. Be masters of imagination and not mastered by it, thus becoming a blessing to all mankind, inspired and using power- fully, for good, this gift of God. Every achievement of man was first brought forth in his imagination before he wrought it in reality. God has given in every soul His own image, therefore imagination must be considered a holy thing, and of mighty soul building power. FAITH It has been said that with faith we may reioove mountains Fundamental Laws 57 To become what we desire to become we must have faith in our- selves and in our priceless heritage of free will to become a son of God and all it implies. Every great scientific discovery, or invention, every build- ing, painting or piece of sculpture was produced by f aitii in the ability to accomplish. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It is by faith we create the visible out of the invisible, and by it we overcome selfishness and subdue all bad passions. By faith are we brought in touch with purity and love, lifting us upon firm ground above the temptations of our appetites and passions. Faith in our at-one-ment with God, in our sonship of the Father, builds the soul into the image of the Divine Father, kindling the fire of His love in our hearts toward our fellow students and associates in every day life. Faith in ourselves, gives us faith, too, in the homeless, heed- less, friendless and outcast, for by faith in ourselves we realize that these too are sons of the same Divine Father as we ourselves. It leads us, too, to search for the Divine Spark in the unfortunate, to see tliat the light yet burns and to attempt to fan it to a greater brightness through kindness, sympathy and faith in the forlorn, thus instilling faith in themselves, and an ambition to rise again for another trial of life's opportunities and responsi- bilities. APPLICATION Be faithful every moment with all the power that is in you to the duty that lies next at hand. "Do with thy might that which thy hand findeth to do," is an ancient precept. It is an impossibility to live earnestly, work faithfully and live continually with one object in view without gathering power for yourself. Every victory gained is that much stored up en- ergy and personal force conserved for use in the future. Resist every temptation to omit your faithfulness to the duty at hand, work, study or play, and undreamed of strength will be yours. MEMORY Be masters of memory, using it when you desire and as you think is for your good, and never allowing yourself to sink down ' 58 Sixty-Eighth Convocation under unpleasant thoughts. The art of forgetting is one to culti- vate, when it aids in removing depression. Change unpleasant thoughts and memories for pleasant ones of other times, thus changing your mental condition from despondency to happiness. Bird songs, happy days in the open, pleasant happenings, sub- stituted for nagging cares soon bring you into a cheerful frame of mind. Concentrate all your will power upon memory exer- cises, for building habits of mastery in study, work and leisure hours. Retain memory's treasures, and reject all that harms, depresses and injures the mind, for eventually they will build the soul and character. All have memories, unpleasant, pleasant and of indifferent value. Most dangerous, however, are those of impure stories, words and deeds. The sensitive mind of youth struggles often in vain to be relieved of them, and devils thus retained are steps downward. Face such with determination, and put them be- hind you, by substitution of pure and holy remembrances, and gradually the brain cells will respond and cease to repeat them. Beware of receiving new ones into the brain, of this character, Be master of memory and not allow it to master you I HONOR "To thine own self be true. Thou canst not then be false to any man." Honor and self-respect are inseparable and a part of the soul itself, a part of the personality. Our word once giv- en, must be kept, a promise to perform, an act must be made good, and a controlling sense of what is right, just and true, be an integral part of ones dignity. The finest sense of honor is constituted in care in perform- ing acts for the neglect of which we would not be punished, or tlie neglect of which would arouse little or no criticism. Such care is a most important asset in character building. A character so built attracts high consideration and respect from all behold- ers, because of its chivalry, and knighthood, high-mindedness and nobility. Stealing, lying, deceit, have no place in the makeup of the honorable man and woman, boy and girl. Each little lie, each small infringement of the code of truth, leaves a gate open by which greater error may enter, and sets a hard look upon the Fundamental Laws 59 face, and a shifting expression in the eyes, the soul's windows, that he who runs may read. Take care that one can steadfastly gaze back into the ques- tioning eyes of parent, teacher and friend, and never be com- pelled to drop the eyelids because of some inward unworthy thought or memory. Let us keep ever in remembrance that our mission here on earth is to build for immortality, and that the Soul intrusted to our care for building is the most precious possession we have, and honor is the soul itself, its defense and shield. To violate ones word of honor, or pledge of integrity is a deep disgrace whicli will bring us a bitter reaping in years to come, by open- ing the way to greater violation of all that is sacred and holy in our personal temple. COURTESY Hand in hand with honor goes courtesy. Good breeding is expressed by the courteous recognition of the rights of others. Whether our courtesy is appreciated by a smile or thanks from those to whom we offer it or is passed carelessly by without rec- ognition, does not concern us. Our duty is to ourselves, for our own character and its building concerns us far more than lack of appreciation from those with whom we come in contact. Nor will we criticise those who thus fail in courtesy to us, remembering God judges them and us. It is ourselves alone we must look out for. It is the little things of every day life that count most in character building, and good breeding. The hat removed in the elevator, or in the presence of ladies, and older persons is obli- gatory upon the builder of a fine presence and personality. To remain seated in the presence of ladies or older persons, to fail to offer seats in street cars, the churches, or other public places, to selfishly fill the air about us with tobacco smoke, offensive to the average woman, to eat peanuts and throw the shells around in public, to chew gum in the face of the inoffen- sive and innocent fellow passenger on a street car, or other public vehicle, to talk loudly, use slang, boast, whistle and sing, expectorate or eat lunches in an offensive manner injures the perpetrator of the unmannerly offense far more than it does the 60 SixTY-EiGHTi-i Convocation silent endurer of it, for it leaves an indelible mark upon our courteous habit of life hard to eradicate. Here must we be absolutely selfish and look out for the fu- ture of our whole life, lest we later present an awkward, un- gainly appearance and person much to be dreaded by all well bred society. The girl who fails to thank the gentleman for the seat ten- dered, door opened or acknowledges the little courtesies of hat lifting or favors offered fails in her duty to herself far more than the boy, guilty of discourteousness for woman is the finer of the human race, and with her the race falls or rises. She has twice the responsibility, and dignity of position in the case. HABIT Be master of your habits and not mastered by them. Watch jealously each creeping thought or act that it be healthy and of good report lest an evil habit crystalize itself upon you. Char- acter is completed habit, and you will fail or succed in the same ratio as you master tliought habits first, and then put into physi- cal habit. Aimless, careless thinking is degenerating to both body and mind, while a lax irresponsible mind will imagine it- self to be the victim of circumstances which it created and for which it must suffer the consequences. Carelessly leave some gate in your mind ajar, and your most valued forces will pass out, which you may need at a crucial moment. Habits of allowing opportunities to slip away will finally prevent any more coming your way. Force your mind by daily thought to build right habits. Mind is all powerful, but it is but a maclaine by which we grow habits. It is but the boy's mind which leads him to take up the detestible weed, to- bacco, which wreaks a first terrible vengeance upon him, and then by his persistence, conquers his physical resistance, and settles itself upon him as a habit which wrecks his nervous sys- tem, and his self mastery. The nerves are the electric wiring of the body, subject to every play of thought. Tobacco drugs them into insensibility, and later opens the way to every disease. More deadly as a habit than alcohol, because more insidious, it fastens upon the child through her mind. Right habits of thought inculcated in the Fundamental Laws 61 perilous days of adolesence and before, form a wall of resistence when under temptation all through life. Never say you cannot control a thought, forget an injury, avoid interruption in neces- sary duties, that a good thing is an impossibility or that you cannot accomplish a task set before you or break off a bad habit you find you are forming. Mind is a machine, given us to build a perfect life and an immortal soul. Let us see to it we are masters of that machine, and not allow it to master us. Let us be transformed by renewal of our minds. THE MIND Man is possessed of a soul, spirit, body and a mind which ordinarily rules over him in his personal kingdom. Mind must not be allowed to thus usurp man's throne, for while we are to regard mind as important, and its training as necessary, we are by no means to bow down blindly before mentality as a god. Overmental development is a dangerous thing leading to crime, unbalanced judgment, self conceit, insanity and an undeveloped soul in the life to come. Ancient philosophers likened mind to water, because it was never at rest, therefore mind must be subjected to our will, and guided and held firm for good, lest it run away with us through our imagination and the senses which are ever at play upon it. Concentration along stated lines of study is the best method of controlling mind, and making it subject to the will of the owner. THE WILL Each student should realize that he is possessed by a Divine will and also has a will of his o\\ti. His own will must be in harmony with tlic Divine will, guiding him through trust in the ever ruling Divine will, but his own will must dominate his impulses, desires and imagination in order to keep him in tune with the Divine will. A weak will does not exist, but a will may be obstructed and damned up by fear, desire, grief and selfishness. Convincing the cliild of this obstruction allows his will to flow into the will- stream of the Universal will, and is the sure way to accomplish- ing all good, while keeping the will strong. 62 Sixty-Eighth Convocation Aggressive, forceful brute will, never wins in the end, but the deep, calm, steady flowing will, wins eventually. Apart from God our wills are powerless for good, but will and interest united to God redeems the world and works miracles of Divine power. Let teacher, parent and student determine to be at one with the Divine will, and there will be no such word as "fail." Consider each obstacle merely a test, putting all your mind power behind your will, saying ever I will, and not "I hope ta" CONSCIENCE AND THE SOUL There is a still small voice within each of us, which speaks to us when we do wrong. It is the voice of intuition or the voice of the soul, and it is more than that for it is the voice of God speaking within us to warn us of our Divine origin, our subjec- tion to the treacheries of a carnal mind and our pilgrimage through earth life in quest of the completion of immortality. We cannot hide from the voice of conscience, for the soul is the living, immortal part of us, but we can stifle it, deny it, and refuse to listen until it grows weaker and weaker, and its light dies out of our eyes. If we persist to the bitter end the Divine Spark, whicli was given us from God, will die out and return to Him from whence it came, leaving us little above the animal kingdom. Soul or conscience has been called subjective mind, indur- ance to the strong, objective mind of the brain. To each of us it is the Christ crucified within ourselves upon the cross of the daily temptations of life. It is the most priceless gift of God, and daily we abuse, and subject it to indignity. But if we steadily learn to listen to the little voice it will grow stronger until it controls our lives, and we become more and more like God. We must think of it as a pure white flame burning upon our inner altar. We may feed it with pure and holy thoughts, and it rewards us with untold happiness. All the powers of the body center at this white shrine within us, which sends out the warning when we do wrong. Will, imagination, anger, fear, hate, love, evil thoughts, unhappy memories, spir- itual laziness, play upon the mind which builds or tears down this holy flame, the soul. The soul and conscience are all love, for God is love, hence the little voice i3 one of love, God's own Fundamental Laws 63 daily protection over us, speaking directly down to us from His mighty throne. Conscience is the voice of the angel of the shrine of the soul within us. We will guard that angel that it may never leave us imtil we follow it to the gates of heaven itself. JUDGE NOT Judge not, for through the workings of the Great Law God takes this task upon Himself. We cannot know what individual weakness may cause our brother to stumble and fall, nor is it for us to decide when unfortunate inheritances or physical weak- nesses bring suffering upon ourselves through another, what especial form of punishment shall be meted out to the offender, that is God's work, and we wisely assume the attitude of a spectator, knowing the Great Law of compensation never fails to act. Each must reap his sowing, and although we may help or advise, or protest in a kindly way, we must remain silent as to pronouncing judgment, and refrain from the carrjung out of revenge. If one seemingly more fortunate in worldly position or wealth, reviles and scorns us, attempting to push us from the path of progress or attainment, forget not the spectator's atti- tude of calmly looking on, but return good for evil, remembering that we ourselves may have committed the same fault toward another, and this is but our reaping, while as for this offender, the Law never fails. Each victory won, over self in such a trying time, builds strength for us and makes the next trial easier. Revile not, either those who offend you or those who prove false to all that is holy, for tomorrow may see you lying in the same ditch of wrong doing as the fellow traveller who so offends. In His own good time God judges, and in His own way he meets out justice with the same measure we have measured it to our fellows. AS YE SOW God is a God of love and not of hate, although He has been called a God of hate, because by the breaking of His laws by man, the inevitable punishment descended upon the human race. I 64 Sixty-Eighth Convocation God cannot be bought, and neither can He be hired to forgive. He punishes no one, but He does not prevent the working out of the laws which we set in motion the moment we commit an evil act toward another or toward ourselves. The Great Law of "As ye sow so shall ye reap," acts in several ways. For example: ordinarily we must pay the penalty for a wrong done another, but there are wrongs we may commit which we find it impossible to right. To offset these we may instead perform some act of kindness for another, thus lessening the penalty of our reaping for the evil we were unable to make right. If we give a note for borrowed money, the day ynll surely come when that money will be required of us, but in life's lessons we may pay out the note by faithful work, in this way offsetting the debt of wrong doing when it becomes due. Thus we gradu- ally learn to guard our tongues from evil and mischievous speak- ing, our minds from evil thoughts, our eyes from evil sights, and our souls from harm. This is the foundation of the technique for self mastery, patiently to be acquired in daily life. God's lessons are given each hour to learn. Master them patiently and bravely, and as we cheerfully work out each wrong done an- other or forgive those done us we grow daily stronger. As we progress each good act performed for the wrong we have com- mitted is passed to our credit by the Recording Angel who watches over us all. It is worse than useless to waste time in censure and bitterness toward others, but rather let us reflect and determine if we had not earned the reprisal received for some act committed thoughtlessly against a fellow being. The law never teaches "An Eye for an Eye," but rather "overcome evil with good." GOD'S LITTLE ONES The animals, birds, flowers and vegetations are God's little ones who devoid of power of speech and subject to man, and of another plane of existence climb the ladder of evolution below us. To man they look up as to an elder brother, and on man they depend for their well being and very existence. Man has been so untrue to his trust that the birds of the air fly in terror before him and the innocent brute creation regards him as an enemy. This is because he has needlessly maimed, hurt and Fundamental Laws 65 destroyed them. Thou shalt not kill, applies to the animal crea- tion as well as to the human race, for man has little need of animal food, nor does he gain by useless experiments upon the helpless bodies of his fellow creatures. For every deed commit- ted against the denizens of the lower kingdom, wantonly, cruelly, and idly we pay the price in a mark set upon our faces, minds and soul. HELPING OTHERS Because the Great Law of "As ye sow" is absolute, and just, and because all men reap only that which is due them, should not prevent us from helping others when in need or when requested to help them. Our full sympathy must go out to that fellow traveller upon the path with ourselves, whose ignorant sowing or unfortunate mistakes have brought a bitter reaping. All help given to others is that much credit passed to our account with God, thus paying some of our own debts which otherwise we might not be able to pay save by supreme suffering and loss. Often it may be that the best help we can extend to our neighbor, is to help him to help himself. To think for him, find him work, or to see that his self respect and personal responsi- bility is not injured by our assistance. A kind word and a sym- pathetic glance often go much farther than actual physical as- sistance. At no other time will the inner Spirit so plead with you if you but listen to it, than when you are confronted, with opportunities to assist those in your intimate surroundings, who are struggling with the dibilities, of mistakes, sickness, poverty, humiliation, sins or lack of will power to help themselves. To listen to the inner voice of conscience, to act upon the good advice it gives, is to become one with God, and to know God's law. Every instance in which we conscientiously do this, enables us next time to meet the case with surer judgment, with less self questioning and embarrassment. "Who gives himself with his alnxs feeds three Himself, his suffering neighbor and Me." — Brotherhood in Charity. ADOLESCENCE A new light in the eyes, a fresher bloom to the cheek, un- 66 Sixty-Eighth Convocation known delights and dangers, awkwardness and self conscious- ness in the boy, with moods and tempers in the girl. Dreams and imagination, lack of vim in study and work, mark the en- trance into the danger zone of sex consciousness. But at no time will instruction concerning the soul and all it stands for be so well received and be so necessary as at this age. God cannot send souls into the world without the help of both men and women. Men must become industrious, clean lived and pure to become good fathers. Women must be patient, self controlled and chaste to become good mothers, and the greatest, most sublime work men and w'omen can engage in and the work which brings them nearest to God and makes them His co-worker, is that which brings them together in holy love, and Vvhich rears around them a sacred home, shelter for the little children which they bring up in His name. The love between man and woman is holy, and on no ac- count will we listen to play, story or speech which drags that holy love in the dust, neither will we look upon any picture or book, which belittles or betrays holy and pure love, for to do so would be a danger to ourselves and a disrespect to those parents to whom we owe obedience, and w^ho have in love built our earthly temples and kept them so faithfully in sickness and health, a lack of respect for ourselves. The soul is the shrine of love, within the temple of the body, it is of God, and the Christ within ourselves, and can only reach perfection through keeping the body in the highest state of purity and cleanliness through obedience to God's law. Each morning looking in our mirror we may tell, by the soul-light in our eyes, whether we are keeping the shrine pure, and each evening we may review the day, and note whether the mind has kept guard over its temptations. Woman's whole life is bound up in love, she is its custodian and keeper of its slirine for the whole human race. She is man's equal in every respect save strenjL,th of body, but she is his superior in the spiritual qualities that guard the home, the race, and the soul. She is supreme in her own sphere. GIRLS AND BOYS In the girl's hands rests the most important part of the na- Fundamental Laws 67 tion*s future. At the earliest age possible this responsibility should be impressed upon her. Her dignity, the gentle whiteness of the soul she has been given to guard and keep, must be taught her. In the pairing off and foolish mating ideas which begin to appear by the eighth year, experience shows the girl is much more to blame than the boy. She early forgets the simple com- radeship of school life, and becomes the temptress. The teacher and parent will take the matter strongly in hand at the first appearance, reprove any silly conversation going on among the elders, or joking on this most serious subject. Plavs and entertainments that lead in this direction must be avoided by the child, and her mind kept fully occupied by study, play of healthy nature and work . The average very young girl has too little to do. She must begin some form of helpful manual labor at the earliest possible age, and all tendency to avoid steady occupation and responsi- bility for some part of the household machinery be combated steadily by the parent. Neatness, daintiness, thoroughness and purity, self respect and self reliance are fundamentals of girl character. That she is the finer side of the human race must not be forgotten, and that she owes herself, dignity and respect in order to expect it at the hands of her boy playmates. Hence she will doubly guard her lips and thoughts that no taint may come upon her girPs purity and self respect. To lower herself in the eyes of boy companions is to inflict upon them an injury, and upon her sex a disgrace. Woman's importance begins with the earliest years, for no nation ever rose higher than its women. She is the race barometer, and with her purity, and cultivation along right lines nations stand or fall. BOYS AND GIRLS Teacher and parent will combat insensible efforts made to pair off the children by foolish friends and classmates, keeping ever the comradeship, and brother and sister idea and influence in the foreground. Sweethearts naturally are attracted to each other by the time the students have reached the age adolescence or shortly before. Any undue attention called to mating, or undue forcing of this 1 68 Sixty-Eighth Convocation subject upon the attention of the cliildren must be met with strength and determined opposition, for the healthy child mind must be kept clear of this subject until well formed, and the habit of clean thoughts and right action be well set. Guarding the mind from evil stories, and words, the mem- ory from the impression of evils recorded, must be impressed upon the child in these years before adolesence, that a firm foundation may be laid for this trying time of unknown and little understood temptation. The holiness of the body, as a temple of the soul, the free will of the owner to make or mar its purity must be strongly set forth by the parent or teacher. Personal responsibility for the white soul entrusted to the child^s keeping, will be readily un- derstood by tlie child, and it will see at once the need to pre- serve this shrine from vulgar words and acts, or evil influences by which it may be surrounded. The boy will see that the delicate girl comrade is to be rev- erenced by the stronger playmate. She is to be protected, helped over rough places, shielded from evil words and acts, by him as a guardian of all that is good and pure. Mentally she will meet him on his ovm ground, but physically he must realize his strength and never use it against her, but only for her protection. All natural and healthy childish amusements which bring out the originality and self development should be encouraged especially before the age of adolescence, in preparation for the new consciousness of sex difference which arise about that time. Speaking and spelling contests, games which give pleasure and teach strength of character, and healthy rivalry should be plan- ned. Keep the mind occupied, when not engaged in study, thus Satan will find less occupation. SWEETHEARTS The time of happiness and dreams, jealousies and self dis- trust, must be met firmly, and the whole attention of the student held as far as possible to his own personal responsibility and development for a life work quite regardless of the ripples of friendships, and their attendant pleasures and pains. Discussion with them in private classes or individually, of the bases of all cosmic force, and its God-like purity, its dan- gers, and their own free will in the matter to make or mar their i*i«M^»iM*lMM*fMIIMia*M«M«Mhl Fundamental Laws 69 own lives. Plain talks upon the wonderful privilege of a home of their own, barred and banded from the outer world in holy love, must be given, emphasis being put upon the fact that where love is not, there can be no lasting foundation, and that to marry without love is to drag the holiest gift in the mire, hence each girl should be taught to train for an independent self supporting life, that she may never be tempted to marry for support alone, for convenience, or for wealth. The dignity of woman, and her importance to the world, her duties as a mother or assistant to some other mother, is vital. That she insist upon her dignity and self respect when with boy companions, in a sensible manner is the surest way to win esteem from the opposite sex, as well as to teach them the spiritual su- periority of woman. Boys will never attempt familiarity with such a girl, or to smoke cigarettes in her presence, be rude, or careless in lan- guage, invite her to a questionable place or play, if the girl stands steadfastly for her own dignity as a habit. This does not mean a stiff, and stately demeanor, calculated to freeze all life and gaiety, but rather a protecting inner shell built about the person which shall shield through all fun and recreation, any approach to the debasement of the love force and holiest shrine within each student. Through these lessons we prepare them for the time of motherhood and fatherhood, its responsibilities and pleasures, and by which they become co-workers with God, in the rearing of immortal souls for His kingdom in heaven. "For have I not a right to be as wholesome and as pure as she. Who thro the years so glad and free, moves gently onward to meet me." — ^True Knight of the 20th Century. THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN We have been pilgrims of the night, but we may make our way a path of light. Brothers and sisters, children of the one Father, we climb together the ladder upward to Him who gave us the glorious opportunity of life. Tliere is no other way to reach God and Heaven save by individual effort, and the building of an immortal soul by daily self conquest. In God's sight one child is the same as another, 70 SixTY-KiGHTH Convocation and He loves all alike. If we are on difTerent rounds of the ladder it is because of our ovvn weakness. There are as manv mansions in Heaven as there are conditions of men on earth. We are our brother's keeper in every sense of the word, for his well being is bound up with ours, his sorrows prevent our complete happiness. If he is sick, poor, out of work, or suffering from his bad habits it is our duty to assist him with a remedy as far as in us lies, or as far as his self respect allow. Each of us is a citizen in a glorious country, destined to lead the world to freedom, truth and light, but that leadership can- not be attained if a part of the country's populace is poverty stricken and ignorant, or lacking in the self respect which makes for true manhood. All nations are represented in our public schools. Their representatives are here by God's decree to learn the most wonderful lessons given any nation. Revile not the stranger for God has sent him to us, and he is not only our brother, but the stranger within our gates. Therefore he is doubly sacred and in need of our aid and patience. America stands for the coming in of the Christ age, and by the stars and stripes of our flag shall all the nations be healed, through the teaching of the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God. We must learn brotherhood in the strongest sense of the word, sharing with the stranger his every triumph over the difficulties with which he is hampered. "Love one another as I have loved you." CITIZENSHIP "Humanity with all its fears With all the hopes of future years Hangs breathless on thy fate." America is the dream of the ages, foretold by all great prophets, sages, poets and philosophers as the Shiloh of rest to war worn nations, the Manasseh of Israel who should prepare the way for Ephraim, the Perfect One, the Golden Age. Our pilgrim fatliers fled from a despotic government to brave the savage and the untried wilderness in quest of a land of liberty, and here they established a Pl\Tnoulh Rock of re- liijious freedom and moral culture. They have been followed by millions of the down trodden and oppressed from every nation under tl:e sun seeking also liberty, light, education and a better life. Ellis Island is the coming Plymouth Rock of America. i^MMi^idMMMkUkadftrtfiMaiMiH^taAiAt^AiyMMi^MAiiMI Fundamental Laws 71 The whole world now turns to America as the leader in commerce, mental achievement, democracy and the one nation alone fitted to give the much needed religious leadership. But before she can guide the waiting nations to a just industrial democracy, to respect for science and expert knowledge, to an art that is beautiful without danger of decadence, to free citi- zenship that is also efficient, to a system of internal dealing that is just and generous and to a firm understanding of ethics and religion that shall be lasting we must first demonstrate our self accomplishment and mastery of these much desired qualities, and that can only be accomplished through a perfect educational system that shall include individual spiritual development be- ginning with the home, tlie parents, the teacher, and above all, the child. Vv'licre other nations have attempted to force their culture upon the world by war and conquest, America must first dem- onstrate that she herself has acquired one worthy of imitation and before she can convince the world that the unhappy religious question of all ages is capable of a happy solution she must stand a living example. Each of us bears upon his shoulders this responsibility, and each child is a foundation stone in the temple v;e rear, and of unexampled importance. If America fails, the world declines into darkness, for she is the light of the world. If we fail in cur duty to ourselves in the building of strong personality and Christie character, we fail in our duty to our countr}' and s^.e suffers accordingly, and we fail again if we neglect the foreign brotjier and lister and his offispring within our confines. I'>ach must accept the situation as a holy trust from the God of the nations and each be ready to establish a strength and clearness of sight witliin liimsclf that shall ena!:>le him to lift the burden and carry forward to completion the principles of justice and equality for all, which the fathers planted at tlie founding of tliis republic, and which was emphasized by the mystic seal in its pyramid and copestone, its eagle symbol of freedom, and its constellation of thirteen stars, the statue of lib- erty in New York harbor, and tliat other figure, standing upon the capilol at Washington, v/hich, with drawn sword, faces the east, whence anciently came all that wisdom which shall hence- forth be the peculiar property of America. / 72 Sixty-Eighth Convocation America is divinely appointed of God to teach the world the meaning of tlie white stone, or the spiritual kingdom within each man and woman, which shall be the healing of the nations, and which makes for true brotherhood under the law of the Divine Fatherhood the equality of man and woman and tlie rec- ognition of woman as the highest spiritual human representative. God gave us the privilege of being bom in this glorious land or of having adopted her as our mother-land. To be unfaithful to her and the principles upon which she is founded is to be un- faithful to all that is high and holy within ourselves and to God. Let us reverence then, as sacred, her stripes whidi shall heal the nations, her stars that shall lead them upward to God, her pa- triots that have suffered for her principles, and tread in their footsteps by conducting ourselves with the dignity befitting a citizen and voter of the mightiest nation the ages have yet seen. Fathers and mothers that now are, and mothers and fa- thers yet to be, each bears in his forehead the mark of personal responsibility for this country of light and hope, that shall bring the world to a knowledge of God and His laws, and the immor- tality of the soul, the Christ within, and peace. "We are heirs of all the ages Foremost in the ranks of time." Go ye therefore and teach all nations. — Matthew 28-19. SIN The student who is earnestly seeking first principles and fundamentals is confronted with great confusion of thought in the religious and philosophical world of today. In addition to the principle religious institutions, there are hundreds of sects, cults and religious societies, every one claiming to teach truth, and yet every one using terms differently; so that the student is bewildered by the multiplicity of conflicting opinions and inter- pretations. All this confusion may be traced to lack of proper understanding of Divine law and to the fact that most of the misconceptions are based on theory and not on real knowledge. The question of sin is an all absorbing and important mat- ter for the reason that every individual every minute of the day and every day of his life is confronted with it. From the cradle to the grave we are called upon to make correct decisions as to our conduct; and as conduct is inseparably bound up with the true understanding of sin, we will be better prepared to cope with the problems of life, if we first grasp the fundamental meaning of sin. What is sin? We will understand this question better if we arrive at a better grasp of our relationship to God and his laws. As Man is an integral part of the universe in which he lives, and since the universe is the image held in the mind of God, Man lives, moves and has his being in the mind of God. God is love, the all, life and law. We know God through the love that is in us and by the visible manifestations of har- mony, law and order which governs the universe. We cannot conceive of the universe without associating with the thought — law, harmony and order. If law and harmony did not exist, chaos would prevail. From the study of nature, the considera- tion of planetary systems, and our observations of life from the simplest to the most complex forms, we arrive at the conclusion that law and harmony is the fundamental basis of creation. In reality there is but one law. God is one and the all, and there is one law that prevails in the universe. It is the law of 74 SiXTY-EiGiiTii Convocation love. All other laws are but restatements of this one law of Love. Every phase of life manifests this law. We speak of the attraction of atoms for each other. This is the expression of this law on tlie lowest plane of life. There is one God, and there is one law. And God and tlie law are the same. God is the law, or God is love. We speak of the ten commandments of God. But in reality these laws resolve themselves back to one law, the law of Love. For, if we love, we cannot hate, we cannot steal, we cannot lie, we cannot defraud and w^e cannot commit adultery. To love, or to live in accordance with the great law of love is to fulfill all other laws. God is love, and love is life. Therefore to love is to live and grow. All rules of conduct are merely the different aspects of this one law of love. Therefore our problems become simplified if we measure every thought and every act by tlie one great law of love. Love is the standard of the universe. All thoughts and acts of man tliat conform with the law of love are desirable and in harmony with the Divine Intelligence, and all thoughts and acts that are contrary to the law of love are undesirable and in- harmonious. Therefore all thoughts and acts that are contrary to the law of love constitute sin. Our one great law is love. If we think and act in accordance with love, sin will have no place in our being. But whatever we think and do that does not measure up to tlie law of love results in sin. When one loves, he will not kill, he will not harm others, he will not hate, he will not l)e angry with his brother, he will not l)e envious or covetous. How helpful then is the understand- ing of this great law in the solution of right thinking and right doing. We cannot go wrong and commit error or sin if we love. Sin may l^e considered from another aspect. All thoughts and deeds arc c'lhcr constructive or destructive, positive or nega- tive, u]3-]>u:l(ling or down-tearing. Love is positive, construc- tive and up-ljuil(h'ng. Therefore, any act or thought which does not conform to love is of a destructive and negative character and constitutes sin. The question of sin is based on the understanding of Di- vine law and not on man-made law. It is possible to break man-made law (if not based on Divine law of love) and still not be coniniitilng sin. Thus if priestly custom forbade the ^*i Fundamental Laws 75 healing of the sick on the Sabbath, if one violated this law, one would not be committing sin, for the reason that the act was not contrary to the Divine law of love. On the contrary, if one would obey this man-made law and omit to render service to a brother in distress, he would be committing sin by breaking a Divine law. And this latter case proves tliat one may live in harmony with man-made law and yet be committing sin against Divine law. Therefore, this gives us to understand that Divine law precedes man-made law and is the higher law that should govern the conduct of man. In the consideration of this subject we must recognize the fact that it is of prime importance to distinguish between sin as it is popularly conceived and which is based on customs and tlieolo^^^ical dogmas, which may or may not be founded on Divine law, and sin which is the result of breaking the Divine and universal law of love. In the former case, we have to consider that most of the rules f^joveming the conduct of Man have been given us by priestcraft, who have not always interpreted the Bible correctly, and who for the most part have instituted cus- toms to be observed by the people, so as to give the priesthood more authority over the masses. For, in the dependence of the masses upon the priesthood for their religious guidance, and not upon the law of I.ove, lies most of their misconceptions as to the true meaning of sin. History shows us the record of creeds, dogmas and rules for the guidance of conduct, which were given the people by priesthoods at various times, and which were ad- hered to strictly in their day only to be discarded to the scrap heap letter. For instance, at one time it was considered a sin according to theological dogma to pluck and eat corn on the Sa]/i)ath. But the ^Master Jesus proved the fallacy of such a thou.<^]it. There is a sect that considers it a sin to shave the beard, Imt we cannot sec how the act of shaving is contrary to the Divine law of love. The repjulations of pleasures, recrea- tions, observances as to dress and conduct on the Sal)bath as well as on all otiicr days that liave been instituted l)y priesthoods, in all times, to govern the lives of the people, have not always been br^.sed on Divine law. So that the act of going contrary to forms, customs, ceremonies, creeds and dogmas, for the most part, does not constitute sin. Divine law is universal. It not only governs man, but 76 Sixty-Eighth Convocation worlds and universes. It is eternal, it was, it is and it will ever be. While man-made law is temporal and changeable. The greatest crimes in the world's history have been com- mitted in the name of God and religion. For instance, the Spanish inquisition, the Crusades and the various Massacres in almost every land, were instigated and approved by the authori- tative churches of their day. It was considered holy and Godly to kill in order to save souls. While, we, today, reflect with horror upon reading the pages of history smeared with blood. It was not considered a sin to kill in the name of religion, while we today consider killing a violation of the law of love. Mankind has been taught falsely to regard traditions, cus- toms and formal observances as constituting religion; so that the people think that if they live up to these traditions, customs and formal observances they are truly religious and Godly; while if they break these customs and traditions they consider them- selves as sinning. They pay little or no attention to the desires of the heart and their thoughts, overlooking the fact that the quality of their desires and thoughts determines whether they sin or not. At the time of Jesus, the Pharisees considered it a sin for an individual to eat with unwashed hands. To them Jesus said, "For out of the heart proceed all evil thoughts, mur- ders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashen hands deflleth not a man." How important it is for man to guard the desires of his heart and his thoughts far more so than living up to religious cus- toms! For the quality of the desires and thoughts determines whether a man sins or not. Thoughts are either constructive, positive and up-building or destructive, negative and down- tearing. If our thoughts conform to the law of love, they are constructive and positive; for God is love and love is growth. But the harboring of destructive thoughts is what constitutes sin. The mind of man is his builder and creator, and it is with the mind that man must begin; and his first step to live a Godly life is to cleanse his heart of evil or sinning desires and his mind of destructive or sinning thoughts. Here undoubtedly we are confronted with man's most troubles. For in thinking thoughts that cause injury to himself and others does he sin. Fundamental Laws 77 For, here, too, the standard of measure of our thoughts and de- sires must be Love. If our thoughts and desires are loving, we are free from sin; but if they are not loving, then we are truly sinning. Thus, envy, greed, malice, jealousy, worry, hate and similar destructive thoughts are sinful, and cause injury not only to ourselves but to others. Thought precedes the act. A wrong thought is as evil as a wrong deed. To think contrary to Divine law is just as much sin as to commit a wrong. Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her al- ready in his heart." The worldly world stops at deeds, but never give much consideration to the tremendous power for good or evil and their desires and thoughts have. Man of all creation was given a mind with which to build and to create. He uses mental power or force to accomplish definite results. Mental power or energy in itself is neutral, but the direction or use to which this power or force is given deter- mines good or evil. And as Man is a free moral agent, it is his option to choose his mental powers for good or evil. But man chooses to use his mental powers for the accomplishment of sel- fish and destructive desires which results in sin. Thought radiates in vibrations, and these thought vibra- tions are either constructive or destructive in character. And as these vibrations first pass through the individual, they affect him first, and will be for his health and up-building or for his ill and down-tearing. For disease and sin are one. Here we see how important it is to hold the mind in the proper attitude of thinking constructive and loving thoughts. We all know how destructive thoughts bring about physical disturbances in the body. Disease is the result of sinning through the mind. Just as unloving thoughts constitute sin, so improper care of the body leading to disease means sin. Man is endowed with a body to sustain him. It was of no use to his mind and soul, there would have been no necessity for its existence. The body is the foundation of Man's being, and the prop on which he leans. The mind and the soul depend for its strength and growth on the condition of the body. How important, therefore, is it to give the body proper care? A knowledge of hygienic and die- tary laws should be well understood and practiced. To treat the body carelessly, to feed it with improper food and drink, and to 78 bixTY-EiGHTH Convocation overtax its strength, constitutes sin. For, in as much as the body is the handiwork of God, who out of His love for Man, gave him an earthly temple, it becomes imperative for !Man not to neglect his body. Thus we see that, by breaking the law of love in not caring for the body properly, docs Alan sin. The greatest sin that Man commits is sin against his soul, for the soul is his real and Divine self. The Bible tells us that "The soul that sinncth it sliall die." When Man uses the fires of his soul for lust and when he wastes his soul and energ)' for sensual gratification, in time he dissipates his soul fires, and he ceases to be an individualized being. This means "the wages of sin is death." The meaning of life is individualization and the accumulation of soul fire. He builds his soul through over- coming and transmuting base passion into pure gold of love. For love, God, soul and fire are one. It is therefore Man's duty to transmute his sensuous desires into higher love; for such de- sires if directed towards lust and base passion, tend to dissipate some of the fires of the soul, and in time totally destroys the soul. !Man must do as Moses did. "As Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." We have defined the meaning of sin and what constitutes sin. Every individual of the race of Man is the result of past and present deeds and misdeeds against his body, mind and scul. Sin is the effect of a cause or causes, the result of violating tlie Divine law of love, and every individual is reaping w'hat he has sov/n in sin. To the man who has sinned, it is of most vital importance to know how he can atone. Can he atone by faith and blind beliefs alone, as some authoritative churches teach or must he atone through a living life in conformity with the Di- vine law of Love? We quote from Dr. Clymer's book on true spiritualism, "As to justification by faith, just think of all your friends adhcr- in^r to the above belief. It makes men vegetables or machines, while its twin dc^ma makes devils under the garb of saints. I boldly make the claim that nearly all tlie crimes known to man- kind, are really caused by this foul and unjust doctrine, it gives man the opportunity to commit any crime, no matter how terrible, with the privilege that he recant, as it were, and simply pray for forgiveness, His victim may have suffered all the pangs of hell, and continue to suHcr, but he, simply saying a few prayers, Fundamental Laws 79 will be forgiven and need not suffer for his crime. This doctrine is so utterly unjust, that it seems utterly impossible it should be believed by any rational mind, and, yet, through superstition, there are thousands that believe this to be a true faith, not know- ing that the Christ, whom they believe tliey arc following, never taught such a doctrine, but that He did teach the law of Karma, as taught by all true Mystics and Occultists, namely, 'As tliou soweth, so shalt thou reap.* If a man conmiils a wrong, he must suffer for it, and there is no law in heaven or eaith, through which he can escape his just punishment." Since Man, in the pos.session of his free-will and free- choice, wills and chooses to go contrary to the law of Love, and commits error and sin, so through the same God-given powers, by and through the law of love, lie can regenerate himself and free himself from past errors. The law of justice is impersonal, ever operative and ever just. No man can commit sin without suffer- ing the penalty therefor. Faith is good, but faith alone can never free man from past misdeeds. If a man through untold crimes has brought suffering to others, it would be unfair to free the wrong-doer from his crimes through blind belief alone. The law of love is just and merciful in that it allows wrong- doers through salvation and regeneration to square themselves v/ith the law of justice. If man has sinned he can atone for his misdeeds. To atone is to become at one with God. No man c an become ^one with God u ntil he haspaid the uttermost fr.rthing andlia^purifi^d Kunself. IntTie beginning "tfie sciiT 6? rirnn v;as one with God, biit m cTescending into flesh, through his own thoughts and de- sires, he has wandered away from God; and to attain at-one- mcnt, he must become reconciled to God, he must become puri- fied and perfect. *'Ke must be re'^orn, must make himself an imn/re and like- nc-ts of c:oodness and truth." To become born a::ain is to enter into new understanding, to free the body of imjmritics and dis- ease, to cleanse the heart of all evil desires and to train the mind into tliinkinf^ lovinn; and constructive tliourihts. Salvation and purification is a long process. It means the paying of the utter- most farthing for past misdeeds; it means returning good for evil. Regeneration is within the grasp of every man. It means 80 Sixty-Eighth Convocation the living of a life of love and of unselfish service to mankind, and not merely believing in some religious creed. No mere be- lief in any creed ever saved anyone from paying the penalty of their past misdeeds. Life is action and salvation implies living and not mere believing. Regeneration is the transformation of sinf ul, senuous, soul- undeveloped man into a pure and soul conscious being. It is to be accomplished through living a Christly life and through training in soul building as taught by Soul Science. In Romans we read, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." To live a life contrary to the law of love, or a sinful life, brings disease, sorrow, suffering and in the end death. All sin finally ends in death of the body, mind and soul. Death is the extinction of our individuality which deprives us of remaining a seperate entity and of becoming the Christ soul. But the gift of God is eternal life and immortality of soul and can be had only through developing a Christ soul, as Jesus the Master did. Just as Jesus overcame all evil through love and developed within himself the Christ soul or the master soul, so, too, by living a life in conformity with his teachings and through train- ing in soul building as taught by Soul Science, can we become illuminated or Christ souls. Faith in Jesus, the man, cannot save us. But that faith in his teachings, which enables us to recognize that Jesus came to teach the world soul building, will save us. Thus we see that there is one law in the tmiverse and for man, and that it is Love; that going contrary to the law of love constitutes sin; that man sinks into materiality and suffering be- cause he loves evil and not good; and that he can rise into purity and immortality of soul only through love of truth and good- ness. Love is the golden route to "the way, the truth and the life." There is no other route. REINCARNATION Ever since man was, there have been thousands of problems which have confronted him, and have absorbed his attention. He has at all periods wrestled mentally with the solution of some of the mysteries which he has encountered in his every -da-y life. What is sleep; what is a dream; what is breath; what is life? — these and countless others have caused him to rack his brain in his efforts to comprehend them. But these propositions have mostly been for those who have been the thinkers of the ages; those who have stopped in the busy work-a-day world, and have pondered upon the why of existence. The common mass of men have either had no time to study about these things, or else have taken them as a matter of fact — as so many things about us are taken — and have been content to eke out their existence and take things as they come to them, not knowing why, or caring how or whence they came. There are, however, two phases of human existence which thrust themselves pre-eminently upon each individual that is born into the world, no matter in what clime, no matter whether that man be what the rest of his fellows calls high or low, rich or poor, ignorant or philosopher; whether he be white, black, red, or yellow — at some time he must come face to face with this two- fold problem — Birth and Death. At some period in the life of every soul on earth, these two opposite poles of the proposition of life have forced themselves upon it for consideration. Either must the individual have met them in his own mind, or have been brought face to face with the reality, in a practical way. There is, and has been no escape from the proposition, until it is solved, and the solving of the mystery of tliese two extremities of human endeavor has been the bent and aim of men for all times. Birth is one of the greatest mysteries of existence. It is something no one has been able to explain to the masses. The ordinary man has been wont to look upon birth as a matter of fact; he does not try to explain it, except superstitiously, per- fc2 biXTY-EiGHTH Convocation haps, and he takes it as one of the things which must be, and which is, and further than that, he is willing to accept it as a matter of course, and gives it no concern. Death, however, is one of those mysteries with which he is brought sharply face to face. He can not see in this mystery tlie growing child, the unfolding body, like a rose spreading its petals; he can not see the breath raise the bosom and develop tiie form; he can not hear the sv/ect child's voice learn to lisp his name, and call him "Papa;" but rather, he sees an absence, a depletion of all things; a form lacking in everything which he has known in that loved one, and barren of all the faculties which he himself has. There remains nothing, apparently, but a piece of clay, without any other properties which formerly ani- mated that body. And this sight has struck terror into his heart, for he know not whether this last manifestation upon which he gazed, spelled the end of all for that one, or whether there was something unknown beyond. The uncertainty of the proposi- tion brought it sharply and unmistakably before him, and he has been for all time trying to find the solution, the antidote against death, because he has not wanted to die; he has consid- ered it unnecessary to do so; he does not want to leave all these things which he has met, grown to love, and possessed. He can not understand why, if he was placed here at all, if there was the least purpose in his coming, he should have to be torn away, against his will, to go whither he knows not, into a problematical future state. There seems to be some foundation for the ques- tions which man has asked about existence: If I came here, why should I go away ? If I was not meant to live here, why should I have come? And the one who has thought even deeper, pro- pounds the further question: If I can live seventy years (the limitation of three score and ten which man has set for his so- journ on this earth) ; if I can live even thirty years, or five years, yea, even for a day, why is it not possible for the very functions v/hich sustain my life for that period, to carry it on forever? Is there any cessation of Life? Isn't life under a definite lav/, capable of being appropriated in the building and uplifting of the individual? Is not Life universal, eternal? Why, then should there be so many changes of manifestation? Why should not life manifest its etemality, and build one perfect form after its image and likeness, immortal, indestructible. Fundamental Laws 83 Science has discovered that the human body absolutely renews itself every seven months; that not one atom or cell of the human body of seven months ago remains in the present one. And man naturally wonders why, if this renewing process goes on, he can not go on forever; why should he be called upon to lay down that body, and change his estate or habitation? And in his extremity, man has through the centuries, made religion take care of this phase of existence after death, for he has believed that there must be a hereafter somewhere, somehow. Religion has given him hope that after he has been forced by some unknown power to lay down the body, he would still exist, and not be resolved into nothingness, into total oblivion. He has reasoned that this life could not be the end of the soul, and that the soul or the individuality of man, has always, and will al- ways live. But notwithstanding the hope of religion, man has been in constant rebellion against taking up his abode in the perfect bliss which his religion has promised ; he has devoted his every effort against the encroachment of death. Unlike the phase of exist- ence called birth, man has not been willing to accept death as a matter of fact, as inevitable, and there let the problem rest. Evermore the thoughts portrayed in Hamlet's soliloquy : "To die, to sleep ; to sleep, perchance to dream. Ah, there's the rub ! For in that sleep of death, What dreams might come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause," have rung in the ears of mortals, and in their oppressiveness, in the desperation of avoiding the final enemy, men have sought fountains of eternal youth, chemicals, the aids of known Science, and various other ways of prolonging, even for a short time, the existence v.hich they held so dear. Fundamentally, the solution of eternal life has been the end and aim of all man's efforts. Man accumulates a fortune, in the hope of enjoying it; he gains knowledge for the purpose of enjoying it, either in teaching his fellows, or for the plaudits of men. And so, out of this effort for longivity, out of the desire to solve the riddle of the universe, .all peoples have evolved their sages and wise men, who have delved into spiritual things, and have endeavored to give the light of their understanding and illumination and wisdom to the masses. But the retarding influence of superstition and stub- 84 bixrY-EiGHiH Convocation bornncss, the adherence to preconceived beliefs, and the engross- ment in their every day activities, have precluded the common mass from accepting the higher ideals, and the knowledge of the working of laws which would make the very thing which they sought a living reality. But there have been souls which have Ijcen able to look beyond the appearance of things, and discover the laws upon which creation is based. They have found that the same laAVS apply in the mental and spiritual realms as apply to tlie material. All law is based upon cause and effect. The one great Law of the Universe is the law of Karma, the decree that like produces like; cause produces definite unerring results, and here, in this wonderful edict of the universe, like at once the hope of the spiritually awakened to use this law for con- r.truction, and the blasting of the hopes of him who does not know or follow that Lav/ . But in this evcry-day world, in the physical plane of man- ifestation, man has discovered the law of the conservation of en- ergy, tliat is, that every particle of matter which has ever existed, still exists, only perhaps in a changed form. Nothing is lost; nothing can be lost, and there is only one intent and purpose of creation — to build, better, more beautiful, more useful forms of existence. The impulse of all Nature is upward and onward. Nature does not favor devolution or "backward progress." One need not look afar to see the evidences of this truth. The old tree which does not bring forth fruit, rots, and is resolved back to the original elements. Whenever anything ceases to grow, to expand, to evolve, to go onward and upward. Nature says, "I have no more use for you; you must give place to that which will manifest my exuberance, my spontaneity, my youth, my beauty, the thrill of my Life, the Love of my heart, the ideal of my perfection, and make for the new creation through which I may express the highest in me, that which will manifest the newest and highest impulses; that which wishes to grow and be- come the eml)odiment of the highest concept of its kind." And nature takes the substance of the old tree, which it has refined throuc:h its Alchemy, and gives it to the new plant, and the wonder of youth is again manifested in the growing creation thus brour;]it forth. Can the conclusion be escaped that if these things work thus in the creation of the plant, the animal, the rock, why not in the MMiiriMdtaBMilc, or Spirit which is the basis of material manifestation, that Spirit can net be v/eii^hed by any known scales, however delicate- ly constructed, nor dees it occupy exclusive space; nor is it inert like matter. In other words, it is in no sense like matter, be- cause, as a matter of logic, if it were, it would be matter. INIatter furnishes material to form physical bodies, but can not, by reason of its inertia, furnish either life or intelligence. Spirit, then, of necessity furnishes principle to produce sensation, in:3tinct, reason, intelligence, and, according to the Religionist, Immortality. And at this point, the Religious adherent almost maliciously injects the query: "What is matter, anyway?'* But whatever it is, the fact remains, that if Spirit is removed from ever so perfect a material body, all life is gone, and we have the primal elements. Spirit, like matter, is of many grades of fineness and mani- festation, according to the amount of spirit and development of the form in vrhich it functions. Spirit being in ever}ihing, in proportion to the fineness of matter and perfection of form, we see it manifesting according to the certain laws, in the magnetic iron; the cliarming serpent; the fascinating woman; the mag- netic man. It ilashes in the air; sparkles in the mineral; blooms in tlie vj:ota^)le; feels in the worm; thinks in the animal; rea- Fons in the human; shines resplendant in the soul, full of love and v.isdom, radiant with immortality and eternal life, the hiiihest Intellii^ence in the universe. \Yc IvdVQ tried to contrast in a brief manner, the bases UDcn v,l:ich the tv/o great schools of thought are founded. We have sut-.q:e!'ted the properties cf matter and Spirit; v:e have tried to show their relationship in a manner that would harmonize with the great laws which we only dimly comprehend, realizing, how- Fundamental Laws 99 ever, that all laws work identically on the different places of their manifestation — always does cause produce effect, no matter what the field of operation of that law may be. But let us go a little further. We find matter diffused through space, and principally con- centrated in certain locations, as in planets, for example, and the world we inhabit. If matter is thus concentrated, is it not rea- sonable to suppose that Spirit also has its center of activity, its Source? Reason tells us that if we could find any planet or sphere which is different from matter, or is not matter, it would be the other principle, which we call Spirit. The question arises : How do we know planets are matter? The answer is suggested by our material senses. We know they are matter, because they have the qualities of matter; they are heav}% solid, opaque, do not radiate heat or light, and can not either move themselves or other planets. Let us consider then, if there is any known orb or sphere which has none of these qualities, but has qualities directly op- posed to those of matter, and exactly like the qualities of what we call Spirit ? We look up into the heavens on a bright hot day, and we are confronted with the possible solution of our question : Embodied matter is planet. Could not embodied Spirit be the sun? We have here the two phases of the proposition, showing the relationship between them. Matter concentrated into spheres makes worlds; Spirit concentrated in spheres, makes suns. Plan- ets, having the properties of matter, can do nothing of them- selves. Their motion and light is given them from the Sun. Tlie sun, true to Spirit moves and lights, and gives life to all w^orlds. Let us closely follow the explanation of the Religionist, in his effort to prove to us that the sun (wuth the assistance of mat- ter) does all that is known that Spirit can do. It is known that the sun acts electrically, and attracts and repels, moves, and controls all planets. Electricity is a manifestation of Spirit. The suns light up all worlds, and all space where they shine. Light is not matter; light passes through matter, like other grades of spirit do. Spirit light shines on particles of matter, and il- luminates them, making them reflect light to us. But light is clearly and grandly a spirit manifestation. The Sun throw's out its heating power, and acting on, and tlirough matter, warms all matter, and passes through matter, as 975750^ 100 Sixty-Eighth Convocation matter can not do, therefore clearly proving that heat is not mat- ter, and must, therefore, be Spirit, and comes from the sun, the only source of Spirit. The sun throws out its spirit electric power, and magnetizes atoms, minerals, vegetables, insects, animals, and humans, and all these throw out their received magnetism in proportion to the amount received, and their will and ability to so radiate. Spirit from the Sun, acting through its suitable manifesta- tions of heat, light, electricity and magnetism, acts upon invis- ible, primary matter, attracting, heating, illuminating and con- densing it by its own laws of Spirit power, thus concentrating primary matter into atoms; atoms into nebula; nebula into com- ets; comets into spheres; spheres into planets; planets into worlds. Spirit acts upon gaseous matter, and converts it into water, the most negative of all matter, thus making itself, as we are told, a proper mate, for, it is reasoned, it is not good that even the Sun should be alone. Gradually, as this cooling orb gave the hardening crust, almost imperceptibly came life. At this point, leaving the ab- stract, life becomes more intelligent. The Spirit, Sun, shone upon the moistened matter earth, converting the surface of the hard sterile rock into living soil; and out of this same living soil, by the power of spirit fructifying the vitalized matter, sprang into growth tlie lower forms of vegetable life, scarcely in degree above the mineral. And the same fructifying generating process of spirit went on vitalizing and refining matter, and thus gradu- ally produced higher, and yet a higher and more perfect form of vegetable life, until the perfect tree, with its glistening leaves, scented flowers, and luscious fruit proclaimed the perfection of the vegetable kingdom. There was life, perfect vegetable life, in all its magnificence and grandeur; there was life and growth and perfection. Still there was yet no intelligence in all the boundless realm of nature, because there was as yet no organiza- tion competent to produce or employ intelligence. The organism which could transmit or embody that Intelligence had not yet evolved. But nature went on with its creative process of Spirit Povrcr and unchanging law. From the highest vegetable to the lowest animal life, there is no more stretch of power or change of progressive law than there was from rock to soil, or from soil to vegetable — ^all are i*iri*H*MiB*M«AMiMi*«*i Fundamental Laws 101 but parts of the same creative process and manifestation of Spirit Power. Then, from the lowest to the highest type of animal life, the process is analogous to the production of the higher vegetables from the lower. All Nature is a process of evolution. As all vegetable life develops from the lower, to the higher, so does all animal life evolve, through the working of the same natural law, by the same unchanging, illimitable and exhaust- less power of Spirit. All came in harmony with Law, and in proper order. There was no "missing link" in this chain of creation, nor can there be a disturbing of the natural sequence of unfoldment, for if there were, it would be contrary to the law of cvoluticn, growth, and one can see witliout much study that if the law of creation were not absolute and unchangeable, the whole order of the universe would be disturbed, and nothing would be certain. For instance, in such a state of uncertainty, the planting of a peach seed might produce a lion; or the fru- ition of the acorn be a crop of snakes or Hottentots. We can thus plainly see the growth, development, and va- riety cf vegetable life, as it is produced by cultivation, circum- stances, climate and soil, and that the great varieties of species, with their dcp;rces of perfection, ccme from the one or at most the fev/ original stocks, low down in the vegetable scale, as in com- paratively modem time, we find that all varieties of apples, apricots, pears, quinces, and other fruits, came from the one original rose-bush, and that all cherries, plums, peaches and similar varieties came from one little insignificant poisonous plum-peach of Persia. Thus, tlie growth, development, variety, and perfection of all vegetable life, foreshadows, prepares, and proclaims the growth, development, evolvement, and ultimate perfection of animal life — IMan. Animal life began without intelligence, and through the lav/ of positive spirit acting through negative matter, evolved into or up to Intelligence. Ccmmcncing with the lowest form of life, and developing through the progressive grades of animal growth, up to sensation, instinct, reason and intelligence, the hope of humanity, of those who pin their faith upon the possibilities of conscious evolution, is that the ultimate, the climax of all hu- man endeavor, of all evolution, may be attained — Immortality. Tracing animal life in its development from the quadru- peds, to quadrumana and duomana, up to humana, there is a M^ 102 Sixty-Eighth Convocation gradual ascent, and plainly marked line of lineage; an unbroken chain, not as Darwin, Huxley and Spencer have suggested, a *'missing link." There can no unbridged chasm be found. Na- ture is complete in all her works. From the lowest animal, to dog, ape, baboon, monkey, orang, gorilla, chimpanzee, up to the Terra del Fuegians, who are entirely witliout civilization, or improvement, who apparently have not even the intelligence to procure themselves the necessities of life, and are naturally most beastial in their habits. They are so low in the scale of human development, that scientific explorers have not as yet been able to classify them, whether with man or beast. The next links in the chain of development of man are the digger Indians, the Bushmen, and the Andaman Islanders; then suc- cessively, the Guinea Negroes, the higher grades of Africans, the Indian, the Malay, the Mongol, the different grades of Circas- sians, and then from the lowest Britton. who was a wild, war- like person when Julius Caesar, one-half century before Christ, landed a settlement of Roman soldiers in Great Britain, to the highest American — one vast chain of evolutionary progress. Thus have we set forth briefly the contentions of the Ma- terialistic and the Religious schools of thought. As we before said, all development is a matter of individual concern and en- deavor. But we would fall short of our purpose if, after taking the subject to this point, we did not draw some conclusions which would be of benefit in the development of those who are desirous of carrying forward to yet greater and higher attainment, this possibility of the ultimate evolution of which man has always dreamed, and to that end, we desire to sum up, in a few brief re- marks some suggestions as to how tliis may be accomplished. We have to-day the greatest civilization which the world has seen for ages. There is at the present stage of human develop- ment the acutest awakening of the intellect, and the greatest re- search into occult things which the world has ever known. But can we say that humanity has evolved to the highest attainable goal ? Reason tells us that the present high standard of human- ity is the evolvement of the lowest form of life, through the suc- cessive stages of perhaps plant, animal, and human development, and that this development, in the first stages at least, went for- ward without the faculty of individual intelligence; in other words, that there was no individual initiative of intelligence or IM*aM^*MyMfe Fundamental Laws 103 reason. What, then, are the possibilities of a Soul endowed with that precious jewel of reason, the Mind, of attaining heights beyond man's wildest dreams and fondest hopes? Is the step any greater from the present day man or woman to tlie Christ, than it was from the lowest forms of animal life or the most primitive mortal to the man of to-day? No thinking man or woman can gainsay this proposition. Added to this, we have the assurance, the promise of those who have gone before us, that it shall be; and it does not really matter how long the journey may be, the ultimate attainment is as inevitable as is the existence of God himself. Everywhere we sec the evidences, the earmarks, the indica- tions of development. Things of fifteen years ago are called "old-fashioned,'* because they no longer meet the needs of pres- ent day civilization, and are no longer up to the standard set hy the human race in even that short space of time. Thought is far more advanced along all lines than it was even five years ago, and the stride of civilization has been rapidly forward. Looking back over the development of the plant and tlie vec;etal:le kingdoms, we find that the progress in times past was slow. Thousands of years were reciuired to even add a petal to the rose. In the animal kingdom, it took thousands of years to lcn';t!icn the neck of the desert antelope so that it could eat the folia^:^e from the tall trees, and develop into what wc call the Girai.o. But in all tliese evolutions we see that the main prin- ciple cf true development was absent, that of Intellir;cnce. As soon as that faculty was added, grcv/th became rapid. Now, in our civilization of to-day, with the higlicst degree of intelligence ever manifested by the hur.ian race, cliangcs take place so rapid- ly that things become "out of style" or "old-fashioned" over night. This advancement, this standard of thought pertains to all fields cf industry and all branches of human knowledge. Tlircuy.h the apj^lication of the brain of man, we see the ordi- nary 'MirA plum transformed into the luscious nectarine. By a seric':'^ rf in'.ernKnulin^^s of breeds, horses, drgs, and our domchlic and v.; Id animals are almost rendered unrecognizable as sprin;.^- ine U-a:z their original species. And the mind m.ust i)ause in its contemplation of things, and wonder, if such results are obtain- able, perceptibly, consciously, by tlie application of the intelli- 104 Sixty-Eighth Convocation gence of the human brain to the lower forms of life — ^the plant, vegetable and animal kingdoms — what possibilities may lie dormant within the human soul, which, through the application, the concentration, the lifting power of the human mind, might be manifested, and raise the whole being into immortality. If tlie grain of wheat and the flower seed can go into the soil and then grow and reproduce after their kind, without the initiative of a guiding intelligence of their own, but only through outward conditions, and the Divine impulse within their hearts, can any reasoning human being gainsay the possibilities of at least a proportionate development for man? The flower seed can only produce after its kind; it can not make or change its growth, except through outside conditions and influences. It has no individual initiative. The soil may stunt its develop- ment, or make it grow luxuriantly, but, without these outside in- fluences, it will always be the same kind of a flower. But the moment there is intelligence added, in the form of a Burbank, a variety is obtained which does not, as it were, recognize itself. It changes from a seeded variety to a seedless fruit; it evolves from the most common to the rarest variety of which we can conceive. And through w-hat ? Through the outside influence of a guiding intelligence, a brain; a brain which can take the forces of nature, and through the laws which nature decrees, mould the substances of the universe into that which it wishes to bring forth. What a lesson man may derive from this ! The key-note of all creation is development, evolution. The impulse of all the forces of the universe is onward, ever onward and upward to higher, finer, newer manifestations, and forms of life which will express and show forth the highest expressioi.s and possibili- ties of the Creative Force back of them. And to man are given the wonderful advantages of Intelligence, combined with Soul, express and show forth the highest expressions and possibilities to express the ideal which God holds in his mind of him. Man Fundamental Laws 105 has the greatest opportunity of all creation for his development. He has that wonderful shaper, that maker, that guider, that governor, the Mind. The Mind is the master builder that takes the substance of the universe, and if it will listen to the guid- ance of the soul, it may build an eternal habitation. It has the opportunity, and the authority to take the Divine Essences, and like the sculptor, mould out of the substance of the universe the ideal which it holds in mind ; to make an imperishable body, to construct a Divine Mind, and build an Illuminated Soul. And from whence is it given this authority; from whence comes this power? Always from within. All development or unfoldment, all evolution is from within out. Nothing develops from the outer inwardly. Nature is an unfoldment, not a sur- face growth. Everything must come from the idea, the root, the heart. Heart development is soul development. Mind develop- ment must eventually gradually give place to the heart guid- ance, and without any guidance, nothing can be accomplished. And with these wonderful faculties of mind and soul, man has the most glorious opportunity that can be afforded anything in the universe. His mind permits him to comprehend the con- structive laws; his mind shapes the course of events, prompts him, gives him the opportunity to conmiune with his fellows. Through his mind he creates continually. Body and Soul, and he is guided in all of his activities, through conformity to laws which the mind permits him to understand. Mind is the start- ing point, the guide through the entire creative process. Through the use of his intelligence, the law of Cause and Effect says to man that as he sows, so shall he reap. He knows that he cannot build without a plan, and he takes Into his heart the highest ideal which he can conceive, and sowing love, beauty, purity, thoughts of the highest of which he can dream, he builds ever onward and upward toward the attainment of that ideal in his heart. As he grows, gradually the mind becomes refined, and the soul is built into the image and likeness of God. The 106 Sixty- Eighth Convocation mind then gives place to the Soul, and as the Soul is manifest, the body becomes quickened and spiritualized, imperishable, and the ultimate of creation is reached, the final Evolvement, the Perfect Man. Intuition then has taken the seat of reason, and communion, conscious communion with God is established, and the Soul wings its way upward and still upward into ether- ial realms, until it can say, with the Master, "I and the Father are one." This is the purpose of evolution. All nature proclaims that it is a possibility and must be accomplished, and the wise man and woman will take the hint v/hich has been given by the evo- lution of the centuries, and set the feet unfaltering, steadfastly upon the path which leads to the "Mark of the high calling of God," even the Christcs, tlie Son of the living God. INITIATION Initiation is not, as it is popularly conceived to be, a system of believing, or system of ritualism. Ceremonial initiation is really no initiation in the generic sense of the word. Ceremon- ialism has its proper place. The inculcation of moral lessons and ethical principles helps men to a broader outlook of life, and to fonnulate tlieir ideals. But, in and of itself, it has no power to make the candidate different than what he was before the ceremfniy. Ceremonial initiation is merely the outer symljol or tlie picture of the inner growth every individual must experience. It holds up to the candidate an ideal of life to strive for, if he would become better, healthier, happier and attain mastership. It is a symbol to the candidate of an inner growth to be experi- enced by putting the true teachings into practice. Otherwise, ceremonial initiation is meaningless. Just as we employ in the kindergarten pictures with which to instruct the childish mind, so is ritualistic initiation necessary to picture in concrete form to the candidate abstract truth which he is otherwise incapable of grasping. No matter how beautiful the system of morals may be which is taught through ceremonial initiation, if the candidate does not put into practice the lessons he is taught, if he is not helped to understand them, if he is not shown how to apply them in his daily living by a system of living and training, and if thereby he does not experience an inner growth, he dees not re- ceive the inner meaning of the degrees. By no stretch of the im- agination can you conceive of an individual becoming a master- man through a ceremonial initiation. Yet thousands of intelli- gent men pay a fee to some Fraternal organization with the idea of being raised to the plane of Mastership in a few minutes and through a ceremony. And the Fraternal organization that prom- ises to give the candidate *Xight" and make of him a master- man, and fails to do so, is obtaining money under false pretences. No one can bestow upon you any power, grow1:h or increase your status in life by a mere ceremony. Can you conceive of an 108 Sixty-Eighth Convocation artist, a musician or a successful business man being made such through a ceremony? Real initiation is inner growth and development. It is the process of eternal becoming. It is the acquisition of intelligence and wisdom. From the cradle to the grave man experiences growth and change, physically, mentally and spiritually. Physi- cally, our bodies are continually undergoing cliange; mentally, we do not think today as we thought yesterday; and spiritually, we are ever receiving "more light." When man is consciously guided by his intuition and wise- ly directed by a system of teachings and training which acceler- ates his growth and unfoldment of his spiritual Taculties wc have the true initiation which the True Rose Cross Fraternity of- fers its students. True initiation teaches the laws of health, development of mind and the building of an illuminated Christ soul. In true initiation the student earns growth and advance- ment only through effort and through living of a life in con- formity with scientific principles tried and tested; and true mastership is earned through development of soul. The candi- date becomes the master in fact and in not in name onlv. In true initiation, higher self-hood is gained through self-develop- ment; while in ceremonial initiation titles and degrees are con- ferred and bestowed upon candidates for so much pecuniary con- sideration and v;ithout any effort of self-mastery on the part of the candidate. How foolish and childish for men to think they can obtain advancement in the unfoldment of their being without development and overcoming. No artist ever reached his goal without havinsj worked for it. No man in anv line of endeavor ever attained the topmost rung of the ladder of success except through work and self-mastery. Within every man are implanted latent faculties and poten- tialities for liim to make use of and unfold. Just as the poten- tial rose is in the plant, so is the master or Christ soul in embryo in every man. Just as the seed has the potential plant, so has man the potential master-man. But, whereas, tlie seed has no free-will to develop itself into the plant, but must wait to be put into the ground for germination, man, the highest in the king- dom of life, is endowed by his Creator with free-will and free- choice, which enables him to unfold his potential Christ and Fundamental Laws 109 raise himself to a higher being, whenever man wills and chooses to do so. At birth we are given our working tools — a body, a mind and a seed, a Divine Spark from the Father, a potential Christ or soul. And we are given a span of years on this plane of life within which to employ our working tools for a purpose, and that purpose is to develop the germ soul into the master or Christ soul and attain sonship with the Father. And when the candi- date is helped by a systematic training to accomplish this pur- pose, we have true initiation. This is the meaning of life. We are not bom to suffer and stagnate and die, but to live and grow and develop from plane to plane, ever higher and higher. The working tools, body, mind and soul — are not given us so that we can make of them stinking temples and employ our minds to generate power for selfish purposes. True initiation has no other object in view than the soulual development of the individual. Initiation is birth into new and higher understanding. It is the development of one^s intuition, enabling the individual to grasp a larger measure of truth. Alas, how densely ignorant is mankind of intuition, that divine channel in man which is the connecting link between himself and his Creator! We gain knowledge through the mind, but wisdom and Divine direction is obtained through intuition. Initiation or the introduction into higher truth is by way of intuition. Truth is as infinite as God. Therefore, truth cannot be circumscribed within a narrow circle for the convenience of man. There is no limit to the wisdom of God, and there is no limit to cur growth in understanding and the acquisition of wisdom, un- less we limit ourselves and refuse to grow. When a man denies tliat there are higher possibilities for him by that very thought does he exclude himself from a higher life. When a man says he cannot do a certain task even before he has tried, by that very thouglit has he sealed his failure. The great mass of man- kind build around themselves a fence and refuse to venture out. How are they going to know what is beyond if they fear, to do, to think and to try? No one limits man but himself. Man is the individual point within the circle of his vision of truth. If his vision is narrow, his horizon of truth will be narrow. The more we unfold, the greater we increase the circumference of the 110 Sixty-Eighth Convocation circle of our vision, and the greater expanse of truth we come in contact with. The storehouse of God's wisdom is vast, and it is there for our ure and for us to draw on. But if we have not developed our faculties, what have we by which we can draw on that store- house? Tlie savage and the musician both listen to the same divine melody, but how differently are they impressed, due to difference in tlie development of the musical perception. As the connecting link between us and God's wisdom is intuition, it is our duty to develop our intuition, so that we can absorb more truth and wisdom. The unfoldment of our intuition is initia- tion . True initiation is evolution on the soulual side of man. A man may have physical perfection, he may acquire mental acu- men and Ills mind may become a storehouse of facts, and yet be far from truth and spiritual understanding and from master- ship. Many men reach a high plane of mentality, and yet are evil at heart, where is their wisdom? Physical culture is good; it brings health and physical well being. But physical culture alone cannot bring us spiritual understanding nor does it teach us how to build an immortal soul. !Mental culture enables us to become acciuainted with the physical sciences and mental laws which are useful to man. But mental culture cannot develop intuition. The greatest progress the human race has made and is making is on their spiritual side which concerns itself with internal i^rovvth. !Man evolves from darkness and is^norance into liglit and truth through the development of his soul, and this is true evolution and initiation. The greatest progress of the human race is not done in the physical laboratory, but in the laboratory of the human heart. In the hc\irt base passions are changed into pure gold of love. V/b.cn transmuting evil tendencies, refines his nature and de- vclcps grod-ncss or God-ness, he is fulfilling his mission in life and is treading the path of evolution. When man can ad- vance from hating his enemies into loving them, he has made the hig'icst progress he is capable of. We can measure the re- actions tliat take place in the test tu])e, but who can measure the wonderful reactions that take place in the laboratory of the human heart? \Miat difference is there between the uncivilized and civilized man? Is it a physical difference, a matter of flesh Fundamental Laws HI and bones? Is it a mental difference? The ignorant man can be taught a great deal of the mental culture of today. Is it not rather a difference of the spiritual make-up? The savage cannot grasp abstract truth such as virtue and forgiveness. This un- derstanding of the abstract dealing v/ith morality is not a men- tal process. Were it so, then the criminal would not be a crim- inal. The criminal class are mentally capable, but spiritually they are dark. The difference between the race of today and that of the Roman Fmpire is not due so much to mental culture, but in a change of heart — which is tlie spiritual side of man. We can no longer sit in an arena and derive pleasure and en- tertainment from watching wild beasts mangle human ])eings. What is true of the race is also true of the individual. True initiation aims at a change of heart in the individual. True initiation is through regeneration and purification. Regeneration is rebirth or birth into a new life. To become re- generated is to become bom again, not only in mind, but in body as well. It is possible to create a new body, younger and health- ier. Purification is freedom from grossness, from impurities and from base and vile habits. Purification is not only of the body, but of the mind and heart as v/cU. The ideal man, the one who has developed the Christ soul, is he who is of pure and healthy body, of sound and powerful will and of loving heart that throbs for hunmanity. A martcr-man is as wise as a ser- pent and innocent or pure as a bal^e. Initiation is life. Life is a scliool. Life is an onncrtunitv, and every moment of our life is a change — a variation of oppor- tunity. This we must become conscious of. If we let our op- portunities go, we are the losers, and we go down the scale of life bv some degrees. Everv man w\\o is bA)rn to this wcrld, v.-icthcr he knovrs it or net, trcr.il^^ the initiatory patli of evclu- tirn. The difference betVvcen the average man, and Xh? man who takes up the path of inner init'ation or soul devolopmcnt as trur:!it bv the n^reat and true Ro^e Cross Fratcrnitv is that, whore- as the average m.an goes throui;h life Mindlv, not knov/inc: what he is aiming for, nor vrhithcr he is drifting to and perniits h''s divine possibilities and potentialities to remain dormant and undeveloped, the student or Soul Science is constantly conscious of an ideal bcfcre him towards wliich he concentrates every ounce of his strength and every minute of his life and is scien- 112 Sixty-Eighth Convocation tifically directing his energies towards the development of his latent potentialities. The student is hastening his freedom from karmic conditions and from slavery to bound destiny and is working towards soul illumination or Christhood. The first is like a piece of driftwood in the grip of the rushing current, helpless to direct its own course; while the latter is like the able swimmer, who breasts life's currents and is able to direct his course whither he wills against tide and wind. Which do you desire to be, drift wood, or a masterful swimmer? Life is not only an opportunity, l)ut a gift. It is not a curse and a misfortune as some believe. If you believe in a loving God, would he curse you by giving you life? If God is love, then out of love for man has he given him life. Then life is a blessing. This life of ours is one grand opportunity given us to unfold, to grow, to gain experience, and through experience, wisdom. It is a school on a great scale; and every experience we encounter furnishes us with a problem to solve — and solve w-e must. For, Nature, unlike a lenient and forgiving teacher, knows no excuses and expects from us an accounting and a cor- rect solution to her problems. Then why run away from the problems of life, when you know you cannot escape them? Initiation is by way of the crucifixion of the son of man. That is, the earthly man with his false appetites, his prejudices and vices, his sensuous loving desires, and the craving of the flesh to be indulged in apj^etites that degrade and pull down, must be hung upon the cross. Man has indulged his body so long not with what he desires, but with what it desires, that he has become a slave to its desires. And the average man's mind is like a runaway horse. He has no control over his thoughts. The thoughts control him and they are for the most part destruc- tive in character. Just as long as a drug fiend feeds his body with drugs the apctitcs are satisfied; but let him deprive these appctities of their stimulants, when they will fight for their verv lives. And in like manner, as long as the individual sees no necessity of depriving the appetites of his body and mind and keeps indulging them, he is unmindful of the slave that he is. But as soon as he begins to assert his mastery by depriving those appetites of their desires then he faces a battle w^hich requires strong resolution and indomitable will to gain mastery. As long as the individual has no desire to reach perfection and gives in Fundamental Laws I13 to his body and mind, there is no struggle; but when he begins to nail upon the cross the unnecessary and the useless things, then doc3 he find cut what a slave he is. This is not a struggle for a day. It is a matter of time, of patience, of perseverance and of continual trying. But each time he gains strength and the appetites lose their power. Progress on the path of initiation is by way of sacrifice. But do not think it is nccc?sar)' for you to sacrifice an}^hing that is worthy and good. What is required is that you give up the things that arc unncccssar}- — the things that are so much dead weight. Just as we expect the growing child to give up its toys as it reaches the adult state, so do we expect that the man who desires progress on the path of initiation to give up the childish and unimportant things. When man has lived a life of delu- sion when from infancy he has been taught to regard the im- practical as practical, and the practical as impractical, the things that are not necessary seem essential. Initiation is the great climb up the steep and rugged ascent to God. It is a rcu5;h and rugged journey. To make progress one must divest himself of all unnecessary impediments. The higher you climb this path, the more one must free oneself of unnecessary luggage, ctherv/ise they weigh the candidate down and prevent h^'s ascent. And on this steep ascent, to make head- way, the candidate must overcome beasts that are stationed along the journey and that fight his progress. For instance, you will have to overcome the beast of pride. Pride stands in your way of obtaining wisdom. It malies you cling to things that are not necessary to your growth. It blocks your path and would keep you down in ignorance. It is no easy matter to kill the beast; you will have a long struggle with it; but you will have to overcome and utterly destroy it, if ycu de-ire to ascend the path to wisdom and God. After all, pride is net necessary to your welfare. If then it becomes es- sential that ycu part company with pride, will you love it so much as to prefer its ignorant association to making progress on the path ? Then you must meet the beast of laziness. To the death with this beast. It would have you temporize and procrastinate. It w^hispers into your ears soothing words lulling you to sleep. It would make you believe that there is no hurry to climb life's 114 SiXTY-EitiHTH Convocation path, that there is plenty of time, that somehow or other you will advance v/ithout putting forth effort. This is a hard beast to overcome. He is subtle in his arguments. You are offered a life of ease and indulgence. Laziness would convince you that no climbing is necessary to advance on the path of God, and that nature will take care of you. Mental laziness is the strong- est beast that rules humanity. The people will not think, but let others do the thinking for them. Do not listen to the seduc- tive pleading of this beast. Realize that growth and progress is to be had only at the expense of effort and work and systematic training. Nothing that is bom or produced is bom of laziness, but of struggle and of effort. A muscle is developed through ex- ercise; a voice is developed through hard work. If no effort v.as required for our evolvement and spiritual unfoldment, and if all were equally created in the image of God, then at present every individual of the race should be on the same plane of de- velopment. We should be all alike, think alike, feel alike. If nature takes care of us and evolves us, whether we want to or not, tlien nature would have taken care of us all alike and we would be now on an equal footing. But the fact of the matter is that no two individuals are alike and every one is on a different plane of evolvement because every one puts forth different effort. Some are farther on the path of evolution than others, not be- cause nature has been partial to them. Effort and practice and self-mastery is the keynote to growth and progress. To make headway in spiritual unfoldment is to make effort now, wisely and systematically. We will not enumerate the many beasts the traveler on the path of initiation must overcome to reach the summit, which is mastership or Christhood. But the effort is worth while. Power and wisdom is gained only through experience in overcoming. Understanding of Divine law is gained through application and practice in our daily living. True initiation is conservation of our bodily and mental forces and concentrating them for build- ing character, manhood, soul and attaining Mastership of Christ- hood. Ordinar}' living leads to diffusion of our forces, stagna- tion and death. While true initiation is concentration and leads to power and immortality of life. Soul building recognizes that man is a triune being — ^body, mind and soul. In order to obtain the most efficient results, Fundamental Laws 115 each department of man's being must be given equal attention through co-ordinating and harmonizing the training so that one- sided development may be avoided. The aim of initiation is perfection, and to attain perfection, man must begin with his foundation or body. For upon the strength of the body rests the strength of the nervous system and the power of the mind; and a powerful mind is required to build the Christ soul. Just as in plant life, we have at one end the earth and at the other end the product of creating, the beautiful rose, so in man, the foundation is a strong and healthy body, and the product of our living, creating and developing is a beautiful soul. As in the plant the essences of the earth go for the production of the rose, so in man, the strength of our body should go in building soul. But if the plant has parasites living off it, the essences of the earth go to feeding the parasites and never build tlie rose. And in man, if he is a slave to his parasites, the beasts that are in him, the essences of his body are wasted in feeding the appetites of the beasts, and there is no energy left with which to build the soul. It is possible through a systematic training of the body, mind and soul to accomplish in one life what it would take thousands of lives to do. We can if we will by concentration of our efforts on one ideal hasten our development from a plain ordinary unregenerate mortal to a sinless Master-man or Christ soul. This is what all the great Masters, prophets, Messiahs and Christs have taught and it is taught today by the true Rose Cross Fraternity. True initiation is an inner growth and unfoldment of one's spiritual faculties leading to Illumination and immortality of soul while external or ceremonial initiation is pure ritualism and merely symbolic of the inner initiation or growth. We de- clare that the "initiation" as practiced by most fraternities, so- cieties or orders of today is external initiation only and is purely ceremonialism and ritualism. These bodies have long lost the true "word" or the true logos or science of teaching the candi- date inner development leading to illumination and immortality of soul. In pantomine they conduct the candidate through a ceremony but they do not know how to teach that Divine science which enables the student through years of training to develop himself into a master soul. Most of these bodies, fraternities and 116 Sixty- Eighth Conv(x:ation societies, so-called mystic and occult, can offer their candidates only ritualism and external initiation. While the true Rose Cross Fraternity, insists now, as it has always in the past, that the seeker after truth, first of all, pass through the inner initia- tion or growth before the ceremonial part shall be conferred upon him. The true Rose Cross Fraternity is first of all a school of spirituality, but it is also an order, in that it has a ritual and a ceremonial initiation. However, it is not a degree peddling in- stitution. It docs not take money for its instruction nor does it accept money for the conferring of the ceremonial work. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST I'lie law of evolution is a reality. Nowhere is it more evi- denced than in man. But Man must comply with this law, which is the law of growth, in order for him to experience the operation of the law of evolution in his life. In other words, in order for us to manifest the law of growth, we have to comply with Divine law and live in accordance with its rules. We have to assume an active, positive and co-operative attitude towards the law, and not remain passive or indifferent to it. Passivity is stagnation and not growth. Growth implies activity and change. A close study of mankind, its various peoples and races, the spA'age, the semi-civilized and civilized — discloses to us the operation of this law of evolution. And by it also we account for the differences between individuals. Some have more heart and more intelligence than others, and, in consequence, are fur- ther advanced on the evolutionary path than others. Of the white race today, there are those, who, in their unfoldment and growth, have far outstripped the rest of mankind. These are the thinkers and leaders, who mould human thought and give direc- tion to civilization. In the study of man we perceive that the law of evolution is operative principally on his spiritual side. The more highly evclvcd the man, the more spiritual he is, or the more soul or goodness he displays. As soul in man is his highest plane, and the connecting link between him and God, the more soul he has, the nciircr God man is. And the more Godly a man is, the more of soul he is. In the vane given you; knock and the door will be opened unto vcu.'' The individual must of his own free v/ill and accord seek sc:ul development and wisdom, and a v/ay is found v.hcreby the cr.rnc.-t seeker will meet the true teacher. Jc'us said, *'Think not that I come to destroy t]ie law, or the prcp]:ets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Tlie Di- vine lav/s were given to the people by Moses, as by all other iMer^sialis to all people in every age. But after Moses passed avviiy, the people turned their backs on Divine law and drifted back into materialism. When Jesus came, no one among tV.e pecple including tlie priesthood, understood Divine law ond the scienre of soul development. The mission of Jesus, then, was to fuL"!il the kiw and the teachings of the prophets, fur he wns in hr-rn-jny Vviih them; and by his exemplary life to sliow them "Tl:e way, the truth and the life" or how to unfold their soul and repch supreme illumination or Christliood. The question arises, can a Messiah or Christ change tlie ma: s cf the pecple? Kistor>' proves this has not been done. For, con^ldi^r, the many great teachers who have ay')peared before the pecj)le to brino; them out of darkness into lii^ht. What have they ae able to amend for the blunders of the past and build peace and happi- ness for the future. Reincarnation is by no means a newly advanced idea or theory. Rebirth, or reincarnation was tau^zht by Jesus. In speakinq: of John, the Baptist, he said, "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, v;hich was for to come." Jesus told the people that John was the reincarnated Elias. Elias was one of the prophets that lived five hundred years before the birth of John. Fundamental Laws 139 As today, there were few among them who realized the full meaning of Jesus' words. But there were, and are, those who sought the inner meanings of these words and recognized the truth. No master, or teacher, has ever taught the law of Justice more clearly than Jesus. His golden rule, "Do unto others as you wish that they should do unto you," is but another way of exprcbsing the law, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." Again we find him admonishing his followers to agree quickly with their adversaries, lest they be cast into prison, from Vvhich there is no release until the utmost farthing be paid. Here again is the law of absolute Justice, showing that if we sow seeds of wrong-doing against our brother, we shall not be re- leased from tlie effects of this wrong doing until full compensa- tion is made. Jesus taught absolute individual responsibility. He taught that each individual thru' his own sowing of deeds, reaped the result cf such sowing, whether good or bad. Never did he teach that he came to release them from the effects of their own reap- ing thru' mere belief in him. Jesus came to "show the way." In otlicr words, his mission was to teach mankind how to sow, in order to avoid undesirable reaping. He never taught that belief in h:m would cancel their past debts. In fact, he plainly stated that "should they be cast into prison, they should not be released until ll;e la.st farthing was paid." He told others to follow Ilim and they tco should do even greater things than he, and should also come into sonship with the Father. He also told them there v.as no way but by the cross, implying that each one must bear his own cross. In none of Jesus' teachings do we find a basis for the orth- odox lelief of vicarious atonement. Viewed in the liglit of jus- tice, it is clearly perceived that such a belief is a false one; one contrary to Divine Laws. If Jesus taught that as we sowed, so should we reap, could he deliberately contradict this law by teaching them the doctrin^* 6_f vica ri ous a tonement? Could he teach them the individual responsibTTity" of their every thought and deed, and then take tliis responsibilitv awav from them bv cO'erinr^ to atone for their sins if thev would but believe on him? 'l\i^ true mission of Jesus was to show man his relac'on to himself, to God and to his fellow man. Jesus came to show man 140 Sixty-Eighth Convocation how to think and live that he might come to a better under- standing of himself ^that he might know his purpose on earth and might be brought to a realization of his own individual re- sponsibility in shaping his own life and destiny. Some there were who accepted these teachings in their true meaning, who applied them to their own lives, thereby becoming true masters and leaders of man. But many there were who were not willing to apply the Master's teachings as they really were, who were not ready to recognize such laws as would bring them to a realization of their ovm responsibility. These it was, who set up the false standards of religion, who preferred to set Jesus, the man, before them as one to be worshipped and adored, rather than take his teachings into their hearts and become like him. Like cowards they sought to hide behind his merits and good deeds. In blind faith they held up his life before them and claimed it as their own. They would steal Eternal Life by per- mitting Him to bear their sins, while they went unpunished. Thru' their cunning and deceit they would defy the absolute law of Justice and defraud God himself, by receiving the man in- stead of his teachings, which they knew would bring them to a responsibility of their own sins. It is the same in the present day. There are those masters and teachers on earth who would teach man that he is absolutely responsible for every word and act. Those who would show him tliat as a soul sent forth from God, he must come again unto the Father, not thru' the efforts of another, but thru* his own efforts and experiences. There are those who know and under- stand the Divine Laws governing the growth and development of man, who can bring man to a knowledge of his own soul thru' that system of living which the Master Jesus taught. Today, as Jesus, there are those masters and teachers of the Divine Law, who are earnestly striving to bring mankind to the real Truth, that he may know and understand the workings of the immutable law of Justice and bring his life into harmony with this law. Who know that only thru' the recognition and un- derstanding of the law of Reincarnation is it possible to perceive the workings of the law of Justice. For then and then only can man realize that everything about him, his conditions, his en- Fundamental Laws 141 vironment, his success, his failures are his exact due, brought about thru' his own efforts in time gone by. Such a teaching naturally necessitates that man put aside all cowardly thought of evading the consequences of his own deeds thru' various forms of belief and repentance, and places him in the position of a true man, strong in the love and justice of God, ready to grapple with his own life's problems, and thru* his own suffering and untiring efforts, to come forth the victor over every weakness, every sin. It is such a teacliing that dis- closes the fallacy and uselessness of any ceremonious doctrine, creed, or belief, which would lead man to believe that he could gain anything, even Eternal Life, tliru' the efforts, or at the ex- pense of another. It teaches clearly that every individual is a separate being, apart from his fellow man, in that he is abso- lutely accountable to God for his own soul, its growth and de- velopment into sonship with the Father. Such a teaching is Soul Science, for as its name implies it teaches the science of training, developing, and knowing the soul ; showing man how the soul was sent forth from the Father into the world of flesh that it might take on experiences, com- prising botli good and evil, that it might overcome, and thru* overcoming become the Christ, the True Son of God. Soul Science has as its basic, fundamental principles the law of absolute justice, or "as ye sow, so shall ye reap," and the law of reincarnation. It recognizes that the one is not complete without the other, for without Reincarnation, there is no Justice. Reincarnation is the only solution of the law of justice. Rein- carnation explains why a certain condition, a certain event, or happening, is just. And without such a solution man may in- deed look upon the conditions and scenes of misery about him and see only the workings of an awful and unmerciful God play- ing with man as his fancy sees fit. Like the true Christie teachings, it shows a man how to sow that he may reap desired results, both in the present as well as the future. It guides and trains him in this school of life, teach- ing him to stand upon his own merits, to honestly pass his own examinations if he would creditably finish the course. It shows him the utter folly of wasting his study hours in idleness and mischief and then stealing and copying from another when ex- aminations come. 142 Sixty-Eighth Convocation Soul Science holds before its followers the one standard, that of Love ; helping him to love his neighbor as himself. This is made possible thru' the understanding of the law of Reincar- nation. For when others persecute him or seek to wrong him, like Jesus, he can say ^'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." He realizes that they are brother souls, w^ho thru' past as well as present mistakes, have not as yet reincarnat- ed or come up into the higher classes of this great school of life, where they have the knowledge of the higher laws of love. He is then more able to overlook their misdeeds and show compassion and tolerance towards them, for full vrell he knows the law, that they shall reap as they are sowing and that in time they shall be their own judges, and that in wronging him they are but sow- ing Kanna, which means accumulated indebtedness to the law of Justice, for which they must compensate at some future time. In this light it is easily understood how an individual can come to liold no ill will or malice against his fellow man, and can come to love and forgive, to serve and guide his erring brother just as Jesus loved and served his fellow man. And this is the life that Jesus came to teach the people to live. Is it any wonder that the forces of evil tried to frustrate his plans by inducing the people to accept the man Jesus in- stead of his teachings. For had the people accepted the true teachings of Jesus tv»'o thousand years ago, the evil powers should long ago have lost their hold upon their hearts and the Kingdom of Heaven, the Universal Brotherhood of man would be estab- lished amonc; us. Hovv' successful the forces for evil have been in bb'nding tlie people is easily seen in our materialistic sciences, our relig- ions of l>l:nd faith, doctrine, and ceremony of today. How cun- ningly tliey have fixed the attention of man on the exterior, modninglcss issues of life, preventing him from seeking his cen- ter, his soul, his God within. They have shown him a God outside and apart from him- self — to be feared and dreaded, instead of allowing him to know that Gcd dwells within his o\mi bosom as his guide and strength. And v.'hen any great teacher, such as Jesus, dares come among the people to show them the real truth, how quickly they snatch the kernel of truth from the mouths of hungry men, and give them but the shell of doctrines, creeds and ceremonies, upon Fundamental Laws 143 "which to feed the starving soul. How deftly they center the people's mind upon that which is apart from themselves by holding up the man, the teacher, as a God to be worshipped, rather than his teachings which they know would lead man to know himself and his God, and which would end their hold on the hearts of men forever. For full well do thev who are evil know that once man is brought to see real truth; once he is brought to a realization of his soul or God power within, the cliarms of evil will no longer temi)t him, for tliru' tlie strength of the developed soul within he is master, not slave — he is con- queror, not victim. Docs it surprise you then, that the pov/er of evil permeates our materialistic sciences, even our religions ana pliilosonhies of today ? Do you wonder tliat our sciences embody and support such ideas as those of chance, of fate, and of destiny; that they con- sider and measure man's success bv his abilitv to outwit his fel- low man? That they permit such outrages as vivi-section, causing the harmless and innocent ones of God's lower kingdoms inconceivable pain, in the blind pretense of helping mankind? That they support such practices as vaccination, thus innoculat- ing the human race with the vilest of poisons? Are you surprised that our religions of today teach every- thing but Divine Truth; that they would hold tliis false belief and that before the eyes of the people to keep them from seeing their true selves and their divine possibilities? Do you v/cndcr that such doctrines as those of vicarious atonement and remis- sion of sins have become the fundamentals of our relisrion tcdav? W'lien true religion has been lost to the people, and v^hen ccrditiwDS become almost unbeara!)le, there is a desire amonrj them for a Messiah or Saviour to lead them back to the sinmle teachings of the Masters. The people have V-ccn led to l^elieve by fal.-^e teachings that when such a ^lessiah would api^jear, he would i;e sent bv God to rescue them from their sufferings, re- store order and bring peace, prosperity and happiness to all who belie^•ed. At the time of Jesus the Jews were looliing for a Mcr-iah to come. Throughout the centuries they have been looking for a Messiah and today some of them are still locking for one to ap- pear. And in like manner many Christians today are looking for 144 Sixty-Eighth Convocation the return of Jesus. Every people in every age have had Mes- siahnic expectations. They have been led to believe that their troubles would be over when these Messiahs would appear; and that by some magic process these Divine teachers would forgive the people their sins, and would make them wise, beautiful, healthy, happy, and transplant them direct to heaven without, the people, being required to do more than professing a belief in the divinity of the Messiah or Christ. Such is the race belief fostered and encouraged by false teachings. Yet what is the witness of history? If we are to be- lieve that civilized Man has been on earth for the past hundred thousand years, and we have authority for our statement, there have come at various times great teachers to instruct the people in Divine law and how to live a life in conformity with Divine law. They have failed to interest the majority of the people. Only a few understood the teachings and lived them. While the mass blindly believed and set up the Christ as a God, and never practiced what he taught. These Christs failed to bring lasting peace. Most of the great teachers have been stoned, per- secuted and crucified. Neither Lao-tze Confucius, Zoroaster, Buddha, Moses or Jesus brought peace on earth or succeeded in getting the majority of the people interested in the science of soul building. The people have always found it easier to be- lieve in dogma and creed and have shown a marked disinclina- tion to practice Divine law. And you may be sure a designing priestcraft in every age has seen to it that the people were en- couraged in this for selfish reasons. And our modem philosophies! Who can estimate the evil results of the teachings of the thousand and one "so called" re- ligious, destructive philosophies and cults of today? Philoso- phies that teach negative and destructive systems of living set- ting forth such theories as will lead man into the great sea of nothingness, of no use to himself or his fellow man. How deceptive is Evil! Truly it comes as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Let us seek then for the real Truth, the Truth that shall redeem the world. The truth that embodies such sciences as recognize the workings of the Divine Law, both in man's treat- ment of his fellow man and God's creatures of the lower king- doms: such religions as teach man's individual responsibility and Fundamental Laws I45 the Universal Brotherhood of man: such philosophies as pro- pound only positive constructive modes of living and thinking, bringing him into the higher development of body, mind and soul. And where shall we look for such a truth — where shall we seek the light that shall illumine the world? We are told that "as the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West, so shall the Coming of the Son of Man be." Let us turn our minds and hearts then towards the East, towards its morning light of truth, and let us bow down in reverence and obedience to the great and divine laws it would teach us, coming forth from the very source of Truth itself. For from the East shall come our redemption. PRAYER There is not an individual, no matter how materialistic or atheistic, during a crisis or when in great trouble, but consciously or unconsciously will turn to God or the Invisible Cause of all, with a prayer or appeal for help. As long as conditions are fav- orable, tiie materialists and skeptics, who scoff at God and re- ligion, will never think of prayer, but let them face a crisis or find themselves in dire distress, when they consciously utter, as the first words, "Oh Godl Help me!" The nations in Europe who are at war and who are denying God by breaking every commandment of God in this most unholy war, are yet appealing to God with prayers for help and success. No matter how low and degraded an individual may be, yet by his desire for life and for better things, is unconsciously praying to an invisible power, God or Nature, for help, for strength, for life. What is prayer? Prayer is desire. True prayer originates in the heart and is always referred to the heart? True prayer is true desire. The desire or hunger which begins in the heart, for life, for happiness, for help, is the prayer of the Soul. Prayer is the voice of the heart and soul calling to God for the tilings man needs and by his helplessness is unable to obtain. If our prayer, our desire, is strong enough, it leads us to put forth effort to obtain that for which we pray. But if our prayers or desires are feeble, they are too faint to be of force or power. A feeble electric current will not produce sufficient mo- tive power to move a street car, but a powerful current is produc- tive of results. And so it is with prayer and desire. If prayer is too feeble, it does not move us or anybody to activity, to bring about a fulfillment of what we desire. But if our prayers are powerful they are productive of results. WTiile prayer or desire begins in the heart, we use our minds as instruments to bring about the realization of our pray- ers or desires. Intense desire of the heart is real prayer, and the greater ^••'•*»«-» '-'■^i" •■■■•. •-.••■*«>~^».