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Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism402
that the different layers of cloth manifest varying degrees of light, make
you doubt the brightness and reliability of the light itself? Think over this
clumsy illustration for a while, and see whether your mind does not open to
a clearer idea of the value of Conscience.
Do not despise Conscience or its voice, just because you see that the
Conscience of the lowly and undeveloped man allows him to do certain
things that you consider “bad.” That “bad” is “good” when compared to the
next lowest stage of unfoldment. And do not feel self-righteous because your
Conscience holds you to a very high code of ethics—there are beings today,
in the flesh, that view your code of ethics as you do those of the Bushman.
You doubt this! Let us give you an illustration. You call yourself “honest” and
“truthful.” Can you truthfully say that you have ever lived a month without
telling an untruth? Come now, honor bright—“white lies” and an evasion
of “the whole truth” count as well as the big lies—have you ever been
absolutely truthful and honest for a whole month? Trade lies—professional
“necessities”—“business talk”—“politeness”—and all the rest count against
you in this test. Oh, no, we do not condemn you—in fact, we cannot see
how you could be much better in the present stage of the unfoldment of
the race—you are doing the best you know how—to be able to see that you
are not strictly honest and truthful is a mighty advance. And this test is only a
trifling one—the race is committing much greater crimes, when viewed from
a few steps up the mountain side. Are any people suffering from want in the
world? Are any of your brothers not receiving their share of the benefits
that have come to the race? Are things fully as “good” as they should be?
Can you not suggest a single improvement in the state of affairs? Oh, yes, we
know that you alone are not able to remedy things—but you are a part of
the race and are enjoying the privileges that come to the race—you are one
of the crowd in the car that is rolling over the victims of the present state of
affairs. But, as you say, you cannot help it—the race must grow into better
things—must work itself out of the slough. And the pain of it all will cause it
to work out—it is beginning to feel that pain now, and is getting very uneasy