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The Fourth Lesson: The Unity of Life.757
magnified man. Verily, indeed, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” as
the poet hath said.
Those who will read our next lesson and thus gain an idea of the sublime
conception of the Absolute held by the Yogi teachers may shudder at
the presumption of those mortals who dare to think of the Absolute as
possessing “attributes” and “qualities” like unto the meanest of things in this
his emanated Universe. But even these spiritual infants are doing well—that
is, they are beginning to think, and when man begins to think and question,
he begins to progress. It is not the fact of these people’s immature ideas
that has caused these remarks on our part, but rather their tendency to set
up their puny conceptions as the absolute truth, and then insisting upon
forcing these views upon the outer world of men, whom they consider
“poor ignorant heathen.” Permit each man to think according to his light—
and help him by offering to share with him the best that you possess—but
do not attempt to force upon him your own views as absolute truth to be
swallowed by him under threat of damnation or eternal punishment. Who
are you that dares to speak of punishment and damnation, when the smell
of the smoke of the hell of materialism is still upon your robes. When you
realize just what spiritual infants you still are—the best of you—you will
blush at these things. Hold fast to the best that you know—be generous
to others who seem to wish to share your knowledge—but give without
blame or feeling of superiority—for those whom you teach today may be
your teachers tomorrow—there are many surprises of this kind along The
Path. Be brave and confident, but when you begin to feel puffed up by your
acquirement of some new bit of knowledge, let your prayer—our prayer,
for we too are infants—be, “Lord, be merciful unto me, a fool!”
The above words are for us, the students of the Yogi Philosophy—the
teachers of the same—for human nature is the same in spite of names, and
we must avoid the “vanity of vanities”—Spiritual Pride and Arrogance—that
fault which has sent many a soul tumbling headlong from a high position on
The Path, and compelled it to again begin the journey, chastened and bruised.