Nature is the material world. When we look upon it, we see that it is dark
and imperfect. For instance, if we allow a piece of land to remain in its
natural condition, we will find it covered with thorns and thistles;
useless weeds and wild vegetation will flourish upon it, and it will
become like a jungle. The trees will be fruitless, lacking beauty and
symmetry; wild animals, noxious insects and reptiles will abound in its
dark recesses. This is the incompleteness and imperfection of the world of
nature. To change these conditions, we must clear the ground and cultivate
it so that flowers may grow instead of thorns and weeds--that is to say, we
must illumine the dark world of nature. In their primal natural state, the
forests are dim, gloomy, impenetrable. Man opens them to the light, clears
away the tangled underbrush and plants fruitful trees. Soon the wild
woodlands and jungle are changed into productive orchards and beautiful
gardens; order has replaced chaos; the dark realm of nature has become
illumined and brightened by cultivation.
If man himself is left in his natural state, he will become lower than the
animal and continue to grow more ignorant and imperfect. The savage tribes
of central Africa are evidences of this. Left in their natural condition,
they have sunk to the lowest depths and degrees of barbarism, dimly
groping in a world of mental and moral obscurity. If we wish to illumine
this dark plane of human existence, we must bring man forth from the
hopeless captivity of nature, educate him and show him the pathway of
light and knowledge, until, uplifted from his condition of ignorance, he
becomes wise and knowing; no longer savage and revengeful, he becomes
civilized and kind; once evil and sinister, he is endowed with the
attributes of heaven. But left in his natural condition without education
and training, it is certain that he will become more depraved and vicious
than the animal, even to the extreme degree witnessed among African tribes
who practice cannibalism. It is evident, therefore, that the world of
nature is incomplete, imperfect until awakened and illumined by the light
and stimulus of education.
In these days there are new schools of philosophy blindly claiming that
the world of nature is perfect. If this is true, why are children trained
and educated in schools, and what is the need of extended courses in
sciences, arts and letters in colleges and universities? What would be the
result if humanity were left in its natural condition without education or
training? All scientific discoveries and attainments are the outcomes of
knowledge and education. The telegraph, phonograph, telephone were latent
and potential in the world of nature but would never have come forth into
the realm of visibility unless man through education had penetrated and
discovered the laws which control them. All the marvelous developments and
miracles of what we call civilization would have remained hidden, unknown
and, so to speak, nonexistent, if man had remained in his natural
condition, deprived of the bounties, blessings and benefits of education
and mental culture. The intrinsic difference between the ignorant man and
the astute philosopher is that the former has not been lifted out of his
natural condition, while the latter has undergone systematic training and
education in schools and colleges until his mind has awakened and unfolded
to higher realms of thought and perception; otherwise, both are human and
natural.
God has sent forth the Prophets for the purpose of quickening the soul of
man into higher and divine recognitions. He has revealed the heavenly
Books for this great purpose. For this the breaths of the Holy Spirit have
been wafted through the gardens of human hearts, the doors of the divine
Kingdom opened to mankind and the invisible inspirations sent forth from
on high. This divine and ideal power has been bestowed upon man in order
that he may purify himself from the imperfections of nature and uplift his
soul to the realm of might and power. God has purposed that the darkness
of the world of nature shall be dispelled and the imperfect attributes of
the natal self be effaced in the effulgent reflection of the Sun of Truth.
The mission of the Prophets of God has been to train the souls of humanity
and free them from the thralldom of natural instincts and physical
tendencies. They are like unto Gardeners, and the world of humanity is the
field of Their cultivation, the wilderness and untrained jungle growth
wherein They proceed to labor. They cause the crooked branches to become
straightened, the fruitless trees to become fruitful, and gradually
transform this great wild, uncultivated field into a beautiful orchard
producing wonderful abundance and outcome.
If the world of nature were perfect and complete in itself, there would be
no need of such training and cultivation in the human world--no need of
teachers, schools and universities, arts and crafts. The revelations of
the Prophets of God would not have been necessary, and the heavenly Books
would have been superfluous. If the world of nature were perfect and
sufficient for mankind, we would have no need of God and our belief in
Him. Therefore, the bestowal of all these great helps and accessories to
the attainment of divine life is because the world of nature is incomplete
and imperfect. Consider this Canadian country during the early history of
Montreal when the land was in its wild, uncultivated and natural
condition. The soil was unproductive, rocky and almost uninhabitable--vast
forests stretching in every direction. What invisible power caused this
great metropolis to spring up amid such savage and forbidding conditions?
It was the human mind. Therefore, nature and the effect of nature's laws
were imperfect. The mind of man remedied and removed this imperfect
condition, until now we behold a great city instead of a savage unbroken
wilderness. Before the coming of Columbus America itself was a wild,
uncultivated expanse of primeval forest, mountains and rivers--a very world
of nature. Now it has become the world of man. It was dark, forbidding and
savage; now it has become illumined with a great civilization and
prosperity. Instead of forests, we behold productive farms, beautiful
gardens and prolific orchards. Instead of thorns and useless vegetation,
we find flowers, domestic animals and fields awaiting harvest. If the
world of nature were perfect, the condition of this great country would
have been left unchanged.
If a child is left in its natural state and deprived of education, there
is no doubt that it will grow up in ignorance and illiteracy, its mental
faculties dulled and dimmed; in fact, it will become like an animal. This
is evident among the savages of central Africa, who are scarcely higher
than the beast in mental development.
The conclusion is irresistible that the splendors of the Sun of Truth, the
Word of God, have been the source and cause of human upbuilding and
civilization. The world of nature is the kingdom of the animal. In its
natural condition and plane of limitation the animal is perfect. The
ferocious beasts of prey have been completely subject to the laws of
nature in their development. They are without education or training; they
have no power of abstract reasoning and intellectual ideals; they have no
touch with the spiritual world and are without conception of God or the
Holy Spirit. The animal can neither recognize nor apprehend the spiritual
power of man and makes no distinction between man and itself, for the
reason that its susceptibilities are limited to the plane of the senses.
It lives under the bondage of nature and nature's laws. All the animals
are materialists. They are deniers of God and without realization of a
transcendent power in the universe. They have no knowledge of the divine
Prophets and Holy Books--mere captives of nature and the sense world. In
reality they are like the great philosophers of this day who are not in
touch with God and the Holy Spirit--deniers of the Prophets, ignorant of
spiritual susceptibilities, deprived of the heavenly bounties and without
belief in the supernatural power. The animal lives this kind of life
blissfully and untroubled, whereas the material philosophers labor and
study for ten or twenty years in schools and colleges, denying God, the
Holy Spirit and divine inspirations. The animal is even a greater
philosopher, for it attains the ability to do this without labor and
study. For instance, the cow denies God and the Holy Spirit, knows nothing
of divine inspirations, heavenly bounties or spiritual emotions and is a
stranger to the world of hearts. Like the philosophers, the cow is a
captive of nature and knows nothing beyond the range of the senses. The
philosophers, however, glory in this, saying, "We are not captives of
superstitions; we have implicit faith in the impressions of the senses and
know nothing beyond the realm of nature, which contains and covers
everything." But the cow, without study or proficiency in the sciences,
modestly and quietly views life from the same standpoint, living in
harmony with nature's laws in the utmost dignity and nobility.
This is not the glory of man. The glory of man is in the knowledge of God,
spiritual susceptibilities, attainment to transcendent powers and the
bounties of the Holy Spirit. The glory of man is in being informed of the
teachings of God. This is the glory of humanity. Ignorance is not glory
but darkness. Can these souls who are steeped in the lower strata of
ignorance become informed of the mysteries of God and the realities of
existence while Jesus Christ was without knowledge of them? Is the
intellect of these people greater than the intellect of Christ? Christ was
heavenly, divine and belonged to the world of the Kingdom. He was the
embodiment of spiritual knowledge. His intellect was superior to these
philosophers, His comprehension deeper, His perception keener, His
knowledge more perfect. How is it that He overlooked and denied Himself
everything in this world? He attached little importance to this material
life, denying Himself rest and composure, accepting trials and voluntarily
suffering vicissitudes because He was endowed with spiritual
susceptibilities and the power of the Holy Spirit. He beheld the splendors
of the divine Kingdom, embodied the bounties of God and possessed ideal
powers. He was illumined with love and mercy, and so, likewise, were all
the Prophets of God.
5 September 1912
Talk at St. James Methodist Church
Montreal, Canada