Who is he? Where shall he be found? Our experience of life leads us to doubt his existence, and yet the belief in him is deep in the heart. As children, with our yet unburdened atmospheres, how often have we thought we saw him? Our parents, in the first place, were perfect, and later many others surrounded by the haze of distance. And when a nearer approach disclosed their failings, our unfaltering faith often made us ready to transfer the title to some other figure-shining with reflected glory, until on reaching years of maturity, one by one, all our idols had fallen. And yet this faith has a meaning. No man is perfect, but all are perfectible. As children, our instincts told us this. But so dense are the clouds in this age, they have almost covered this truth for the man.
Our skepticism is born of our ignorance as to what man is. We have confused the image with the reality. No wonder we have been utterly mystified and confounded, and that theory after theory, dogma after dogma, has been formed to account for the bewildering array of facts before us. Truly, the ray of sanity remaining expressed itself in the honest agnosticism of this century, which knew it did not know. Poor humanity! deceived, deluded, discouraged and disheartened; knowing not whence it came, nor whither it was going, and too blind to see the few lights over the earth, not yet extinguished.
From many, many quarters came the cries of distress. And they were heard. In 1875 the answer came, clarion-like, ringing over the earth. "Man is divine, and not originally sinful. Within him lies a god. Awaken! ye sons of God!" And some were aroused. And the voice from above, has gone on sounding louder and louder, and has been taken up by an ever increasing army of warriors.
As we study ourselves and those about us more deeply, we perceive that this part of ourselves which we can see and communicate with in the ordinary way — our personality, so called — is simply a reservoir and transmitter of something. Although there is always a certain amount of permanence during a lifetime, there is always a still greater degree of impermanence. This centre, through which streams of force of different kinds are constantly passing, we think of as being ourselves. We may not, perhaps, think thus when we stop to philosophize, but practically we look at one another and think, "He is noble,. truthful, attractive, artistic, entertaining, vicious, clumsy, or one of the other manifold qualities," and we think of this individual as being separate from others in a way, and in possession of these faculties, and we admire or condemn him accordingly. The idea of personal possession is everywhere so strong that we may desire to possess this other individual, who seems to us to possess these desirable qualities. And men may even come to the absurd position of fighting each other for the possession of a third person. Now, although no creature can possibly possess anything, except what all possess, and although every Soul is in itself free, the whole civilization is based on the belief in and the desire for personal possessions. So full is this earth of delusions that we must gain the power to dispel!
For that alone which knows, feels, suffers, enjoys — which possesses because it is everything — is the eternal divine spirit, which is one in essence, and is in and through every thing and every creature. It breathes itself out as a tree, and though each leaf appears separate, yet are their spirits one. It breathes itself out as many trees, and though each tree appears separate, yet the spirits of all are one, sleeping or waking in mother earth. It enlivens the waters of the deep. It stirs the bird to song. It moves the inert stone to crumble. Even all these objects which are acted upon, must be but that part of itself which has not learned to move. For can any part of the universe be divided against itself?
In like manner it breathes itself out as many men, and though each man seems separate, yet is the spirit, the essential man, common to all. But man's personal life is fleeting, as the leaf. Like it, it will drop, and be no more. Why should it concern us so deeply? Why should our doings, our disappointments, seem of such moment to us?
The mysterious delusive difference seems to be in this, that consciousness as it flows into the leaf, cannot there inject the idea of self-consciousness. The leaf, as a, leaf, does not know itself. And so the expression there is more free and without the opposition of the idea of separateness. But into the vehicle we call man, a higher quality of consciousness can enter — that which has the godlike faculty of knowledge of its existence. This consciousness animates this vehicle, which is as much above the leaf vehicle, as man's consciousness is above that of the leaf's. And there it remains, pent up for a time, so to speak, because the avenue of its connection with the vast ocean of which it is a part, is so narrow, that it is not seen or understood. This portion of universal consciousness, called man, which has all its potentialities, is for the time being placed in such a position that he is deluded, and thinks his life is separate.
Here is the beginning of evil, so called. Yet dimly we can see, that even this is beneficent, that to become godlike, each spark must for itself discover the truth. It must learn little by little, under the most adverse circumstances, to know the truth, so that nothing can ever have the power to deceive it. And so it, as the son of man, is sent, is born into this wonderfully complex vehicle, which it has itself evolved and intellectualized through the ages, and which represents, and which is subtly connected by manifold unseen threads with all the forces of the universe, which are opposing the onward march — the inert — the so-called forces of evil. It creates, and then throws into its creation a part of itself, bidding its offspring know itself. This offspring, thrown off as is the leaf, with its vehicle, we call man. And as life after life is lived in failure to penetrate the darkness, and recognize his divinity, they seem to have passed in vain. And so the process must be repeated again and again, until little by little, comes that which will liberate the Soul. All true religious teachings can be seen to lead to that end. To do with others as we would be done by, to love each other, is the natural method by which a Soul comes into sympathy with other Souls and learns its unity with them.
Really to enter into deep sympathy with all others, is but a returning to that original ocean of consciousness and partaking of that greater life. But we must not only practice the golden rule, but practice it with a consciousness of our divinity. For great and helpful and necessary as it is to work for and with others, the greatest good of which we are now capable cannot come from a doing of these deeds of kindness from any motive of sentiment. To offer a gift to another because he is personally attractive to us, is but selfishness or vanity; to offer it with the idea that we possess and are superior to him, is degrading to both and only trammels the Soul, as it increases the delusion as to our real relations. To offer it in purity of heart, with true love, is surely helping to bring heaven upon earth, but even that cannot carry with it the power that will follow a gift with the thought that we are all divine, and living our true life together, behind all this giving and taking; that our personalities are allowed to be under the delusion of possession of things until they can overcome it and that they are but our tools.
It is that deeper spirit of brotherhood, which can look with impartiality upon all, that is going to liberate the world — a feeling of brotherhood within, which makes us capable of indifference whether it must be the little chariot we are directly driving, or the many about us, which we are indirectly affecting, that must suffer in the coming strife, providing only the best be done for our common life. Unless even our virtues are based on this fundamental idea they will all fall, like the house that is built upon the sand, for it is the basis in fact. It is the underlying- stratum of everything. To get back to it is like planting our feet upon a foundation rock. All systems of philosophy must be built upon it, if they would stand, all religions, all arts, for what are these, but different modes of expressing the one eternal truth.
Yet so mystified is man by these conflicting voices always sounding within him, that it is with the greatest effort that he can bring himself to recognize it. When the real man says, "I am divine." the devil within answers, "You are full of original sin." When the real man asserts his powers, the devil answers, "Only through the help of another can you be saved." When the real man would reach out to his brothers, the devil in him suggests that he gain power for himself, and every word of his carries with it in some form the idea of separateness. The voice of this devil grows ever more subtle, ever more persuasive and intelligent as the voice of the god becomes stronger and clearer.
What we commonly, in our ignorance, consider man, is but the focus for these two contending forces — is but a battle ground, so to speak. We attach ourselves to such under the delusion that it is the growing and divine light we have seen. Though often, even while we are gazing, the picture suddenly changes, and we see to our disappointment, a being of selfishness, ambition, or vanity, or a pitiful creature who, with nearsighted vision is losing himself in trifles, or turning his whole attention upon some microscopic speck of imperfection, or perhaps one who has betrayed his master or friend. In amazement, we can scarcely believe our senses, and we exclaim: "Is this my friend?" No! it is not and was not. He who sat within was the friend, and when for a time the doors were opened, his gaze met ours, and, mystery of mysteries, he was ourself — our greater self. For it is always but ourselves we seek, as we peer into window after window of this multitude of houses.
How shall we conquer this delusion, so that it has no more power to deceive, and we shall not be forever ground in this mill of sin and sorrow? First, we must admit it, to be sure. That is the beginning of the hour of deliverance, and then we must animate every act with the motive power which emanates from that real self. The consciousness then would be quickened with every act, and that quickening would be carried out from the centre to the very surface of our lives. That is the meaning of the lifting up of the "Son of Man." I believe that every time we do that, we break one of the myriad strands of the chains that hold us. And if we really could succeed in doing this all the time, we should quickly see ourselves revealed.
This is no figure of speech that we can reveal ourselves to ourselves. Everybody knows it, even those who have done no analytical thinking. We all recognize that we have greater possibilities than we now express, and when occasionally we express more, we know we have not created anything, only brought something out. We say commonly: "We have developed." So we recognize when we pause to think that we are something which we do not at present know. Can we imagine that this greater thing which we are has less self consciousness than the smaller? Can we develop that which we have not, or bring all of these treasures out of a worm of the dust or an originally sinful being?
Just as when the life current forcing itself through an acorn, becomes an oak, so in passing into a human organism, it becomes a man. Only here the power to aid in the evolution is injected into the vessel, whereas in the tree, it is not. And just as in a leaf the consciousness flows through a stem, so in man it flows through a small channel which he has to work to find. And for him, the possibilities are infinite. There are limits to any one body, of course, though we have never probably reached them, but we throw off one body after another and can each time call down into it more and more of ourselves. For we are working on both sides of the stem. On the one side we are urging down with divine love and compassion, and on the other we are reaching up, and longing and looking, and when we have evolved our Hercules there, we begin to pull and command. For we are Prometheus and we are Hercules. We are all together in this struggle, and when we have liberated ourselves — we who are now bound to earth — then shall we know our Titanic strength, and the perfect man will be uncovered. Thus we shall see that he is a god, and earth will be lifted up to heaven.
To bring this about, we must consciously turn our faces toward the light, and listen for the Voice with music in it. For if we look at the picture of helpless humanity too long, our arms will hang lifeless at our side, and our power will be gone. We have been so long in it and a part of it, that we know it well. It is not necessary to dwell upon it. And if we waste our precious time in a contemplation of our own weaknesses, we know well how the clouds will envelop us. Despair, discouragement, is of the devil. There is no doubt of it. When we discourage others, we play the part of the devil. Nothing saps our strength like the loss of self confidence. Everybody knows that. And it is the work of the evil forces to destroy that in humanity, or to centre it in the lower man. Here is a wonderful example of the majestic power of thought. That which is born of courage and trust in our higher possibilities can lead us to liberation, while that which is born of doubt and despair will always lead us deeper and deeper into the mire. Jesus of Nazareth used to appeal to that courage, for he explained that the kingdom of heaven was within, and that it must be taken with violence. And when the Jews sought to stone him for calling himself the Son of Man, he said: "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, Ye are gods.' "
Yet the evil forces have got even into the churches, where they would most like to be, for there they can weaken humanity in its heart — and they have got the church practically to deny these teachings by emphasizing that other view in regard to man — viz., that he is helpless, a worm of the dust and full of original sin. In other words, they have persuaded man to identify himself in consciousness with that lower animal side of his nature, instead of the divine. Through the church, man has been taught to forget his divinity. What could be more subtle and destructive than that? For it is a truth that has been taken hold of, but by separating it from that other truth, it has of necessity become so distorted as to be a falsehood.
What could more effectually arrest man's development than that — to make him think himself that lower self? His liberation must begin with a consciousness of his divinity, and end with a realization of it. That is the method by which it is to be brought about. It is the magic thought which will open for him the gates of heaven. How Satan must have laughed through most of these years of the Christian Era. From what was supposed to be the fountain of wisdom — from the church — he has been uttering this blasphemy. And he has made good people his mouthpiece. What a master stroke!
But the hour of deliverance is at hand. Satan has been loosed, but he will be bound again. Humanity shall henceforth know it is divine. The forces of light will again be in the ascendant. The wheel is turning and we are even now in the transition age.
What we have to do, to help this wheel in its turning, is just the opposite of what we have been doing. Instead of fearing one thing after another, and seizing whatever we can to save ourselves from these various fears, even trying to seize spiritual life for fear of some punishment if we do not — instead of that, we must rise into that serene part of our natures, where trust reigns supreme. And in that region of peace we must, by the divine gift of imagination, create here on earth for all that lives, that which our awakened intuitions tell us is in accordance with the reality. And we must hold this image firmly by the will, and nourish it with out heart's blood. For we are gods, and we can create. We have been creating selfishness all these years, and retarding this wheel in its turning, and now we must realize that every particle of selfish fear, of selfish ambition, of selfish virtue even, is a clog to the onward movement.
It is a difficult task we have before us, for the force of habit is strong. And yet those who have brought us the light and who know the way, say it is so easy. "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
It is just the giving up of the burden of personal life. It would seem to be a simple thing. And when we understand what life it is we are to give up, we do not really care anything about it. Why should we? "He that loseth his life shall find it."
But though this simple thing is, for most of us, so difficult, that it often seems impossible, yet the time must come when the perfect man shall stand revealed within us, and when we too shall say: Ah! how easy this is! Why could we not have done it long ago?