He who loves Truth, who desires and seeks wisdom, will be much alone.

JUST as the body requires rest for the recuperation of its forces, so the spirit requires solitude for the renewal of its energies. Solitude is as indispensable to man’s spiritual welfare as sleep is to his bodily well-being; and pure thought, or meditation, which is evoked in solitude, is to the spirit what activity is to the body. As the body breaks down when deprived of the needful rest and sleep, so do the spirits of men break down when deprived of the necessary silence and solitude. Man, as a spiritual being, cannot be maintained in strength, uprightness, and peace except he periodically withdraw himself from the outer world of perishable things, and reach inwardly towards the abiding and imperishable realities.

Unselfishness and Joy

Inside the gateway of unselfishness lies the Elysium of Abiding Joy.

KNOWING this – that selfishness leads to misery, and unselfishness to joy, not merely for one’s self alone – for if this were all how unworthy would be our endeavours ! but for the whole world, and because all with whom we live and come in contact will be the happier and the truer for unselfishness; because Humanity is one, and the joy of one is the joy of all – knowing this, let us scatter flowers and not thorns in the common ways of life – yea, even in the highway of our enemies let us scatter the blossoms of unselfish love – so shall the pressure of their footprints fill the air with the perfume of holiness and gladden the world with the aroma of joy.

Seek the highest Good, and you will taste the deepest sweetest joy.

James Allen

A pure heart and a righteous life are the great and all important things.

THE deeds and thoughts that lead to suffering are those that spring from self-interest and self-seeking; the thoughts and deeds that produce blessedness are those that spring from Truth. The process by which the mind is thus changed and transmuted is two-fold; it consists of meditation and practice. By silent meditation, the ground and reason of right conduct is sought, and by practice, right-doing is accomplished in daily life.

For Truth is not a matter of book learning, or subtle reasoning, or disputation, or controversial skill; it consists in right-doing.

Truth is not something that can be gleaned from a book; it can be learned and known by practice only.

Purification

Purification is effected by thoughtful care, earnest meditation, and holy aspiration.
TRUE strength and power and usefulness are born of self-purification, for the lower animal forces are not lost, but are transmuted into intellectual and spiritual energy. The pure life (pure in thought and deed) is a life of conservation of energy; the impure life (even should the impurity not extend beyond thought) is a life of dissipation of energy. The pure man is more capable, and therefore more fit to succeed in his plans and to accomplish his purposes than the impure. Where the impure man fails, the pure man will step in and be victorious, because he directs his energies with a calmer mind and a greater definiteness and strength of purpose.
With the growth in purity, all the elements which constitute a strong and virtuous manhood are developed.

Self-discipline and the process of Purification

The Rock of Ages, the Christ within, the divine and immortal in all men!

AS a man practices self-control he approximates more and more to the inward reality, and is less and less swayed by passion and grief, pleasure manifesting manly strength and fortitude. The restraining of the passions, however, is merely the initial stage in self-discipline, and is immediately followed by the process of Purification. By this a man so purifies himself as to take passion out of the heart and mind altogether; not merely restraining it when it rises within him, but preventing it from rising altogether. By merely restraining his passions a man can never arrive at peace, can never actualize his ideal; he must purify these passions.

It is in the purification of his lower nature that a man becomes strong and godlike.

Practice of self-discipline

BEFORE a man can accomplish anything of an enduring nature in the world he must first of all acquire some measure of success in the management of his own mind. This is as mathematical a truism as that two and two are four, for “out of the heart are the issues of life.” If a man cannot govern the forces within himself, he cannot long hold a firm hand upon the outer activities which form the visible life. On the other hand, as a man succeeds in governing himself he rises to higher and higher levels of power and usefulness and success in the world. Hitherto his life has been without purpose or meaning, but now he begins to consciously mould his own destiny; he is “clothed and in his right mind.”

With the practice of self-discipline a man begins to live.

Enfolding the Universe.

In the perfect chord of music the single note, though forgotten, is indispensably contained, and the drop of water becomes of supreme usefulness by losing itself in the ocean. SINK thyself compassionately in the heart of humanity, and thou shalt reproduce the harmonies of Heaven; lose thyself in unlimited love toward all, and thou shalt work enduring works end shalt become one with the eternal Ocean of Bliss. Man evolves outward to the periphery of complexity, and then involves backward to the Central Simplicity. When a man discovers that it is mathematically impossible for him to know the universe before knowing himself, he then starts upon the Way which leas to Original Simplicity. He begins to unfold from within, and as he unfolds himself, he enfolds the universe. Cease to speculate about God, and find the all-embracing Good within thee.