the dangers of evil magic. Be willing to be children until you acquire
adult knowledge of these subjects.
“I am in no danger, for I understand these things,” is often said with
self-gratulation by these who are in the very grip of the evil forces.
Truly, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
If you want an added protection, my children, guard your own evil
passions and resentful thoughts, your jealous emotions and unkind
criticism of others. The devils ride on waves of anger and resentment.
Beware also of temptations, remembering that young souls are tempted
through their faults, greater souls through their virtues.
Be not deceived into saying there is no evil. Evil is--so long as good
is.
“Beyond good and evil” is a state to which few of you can aspire, and
you have no conception of it. But “beyond good and evil” is a mighty
slogan for the temptation and bewilderment of vain souls.
When you are really beyond good and evil you will not gossip about your
neighbors, nor envy them their charm or their possessions, nor try to
use them for your own ends, nor worry lest some evil person shall do
you harm, nor twist your faults till they seem virtues, nor deceive
yourself as to your motives.
Examine yourselves, my children. Look for your faults. If you can find
no fault in yourself, hang your harp on the nearest willow, for your
progress is at an end.
Man progresses through recognizing his faults, through transmuting them
and transcending them. If you are perfect, this world is no place for
you.
“Beyond good and evil,” indeed!
Judge not, that ye be not judged. But do not flirt with the devil to
prove that you judge him not.
Yes, all men are your brothers, even bad men. Attend to your own
affairs, and leave the issue with God.
This much to you, dear children of the world, from my vantage place
above your passions.
_July 25._
LETTER L
THINGS TO REMEMBER
THAT the contents of this book may become the possession of those who
want it, I will now bring it to a close.
One might go on writing forever about the astral incidents of this war,
and not exhaust the subject. What I have been able to give is a mere
sketch, a few incidents, a few suggestions.
These things, however, bear in mind:
That there are angels as well as devils in the neighborhood of the
battlefields.
That those who see the war from above see causes as well as effects,
and from those causes can draw sane conclusions based on a richer fund
of data than that available to the men of earth.
That war, like everything else, has its rhythms. Do not be discouraged
when the pressure of battle bears heavily on the side that you call
yours. If your side went forward too quickly, you would need to look
for a violent reaction, as in the retreat from the outskirts of Paris.
That though evil is a necessity so long as good exists, though evil is
the other pole of the magnet, yet it is the duty of those who desire
to walk the White Road ever to do battle for the right. And this is no
repudiation of the saying of the Christ, “Resist not evil.” A paradox,
you say? Great wisdom is locked in paradoxes, for those who have the
key. The existence of evil gives greater strength to good. This is the
Kali Yuga, as the Hindoos say.
That this war is an attempt of the personal evil forces to destroy
mankind. A former attempt was made in Europe before the so-called Dark
Ages, but the Renaissance followed and restored the balance.
That man has in himself both the Christ principle and the demonic
principle; that will is free, and that man can make his choice between
them.
That new races are born of revolutions and wars. He that hath ears to
hear, let him hear.
That though I may have a wider sight than you, I do not know
everything. I draw conclusions from premises, the same as you do.
I predict the probable effects of causes known to me; but a sudden
irruption of free and erratic will sets up a new cause, and my
calculation has to be made afresh. My predictions are not the result of
divine omniscience. I see further than you, that is all. My logic may
be no better than yours. For instance, when we drove back the forces
of evil during the early months of the war, I forgot the Law of Rhythm
that would enable them to roll forward again when they had generated
another supply of strength. Even devils generate their own strength.
Yes, they too are Units of Force, and must be figured on as such. I
shall not make that mistake again.
My Teacher, who stands beside me at this moment, directs me to say
that even the Masters do not know everything. As my vision is wider
than yours, so their vision is wider than mine; but they cannot always
see what goes on in the farthest stars. They invite you to become like
them; but they know that you are held by rhythmic law, and that for
every two steps you take toward them, you will fall back at least
one step. That you do not fall back two steps is because of your free
will, and because of that greater rhythm which urges mankind to the
flood-tide. Each achievement is a ripple in a larger wave which you
cannot always see.
I have been requested to write further of my Teacher, but my Teacher
wishes to remain in the background. I may tell you this, however, O
world! my Teacher still has a physical body and walks the earth as a
man. He works in both the material and the astral worlds, and in higher
worlds beyond them, and the purposes of his life are outside your
comprehension. He is a servant of the Law, and his joy is in working
_with_ the Law. The Black Masters, for there are Black Masters,
work against the Law. I have told you of my conversations with one of
them, and have given you a hint as to his methods.
When you are strong, you need not fear the Black Masters. You may pass
the time of day with them, as I do. They are far more afraid of me than
I am of them. I do not go out of my way if I see one coming. I find
them rather diverting, though I recognize the tragedy of their lot.
They fill a terrible office, which must be filled, and their sufferings
are great. They are the erring brothers of the White Masters. In the
beginning they were trained in the same school; but the great “moment
of choice” came, and the evil ones _separated themselves_ from
their source. The White Masters do not seek to destroy them, knowing
that in the end they will destroy themselves. Why waste effort in
striving to hurry the sunset?
Do not let the black Masters and their servants mislead you, and avoid
them if you can until you are stronger than they. But when you are
stronger than they, you have nothing to fear from them.
When they cannot affect you directly, they strive to affect you through
those you love. Be at peace. You are not your brother’s keeper. If
your brother delights in the devil, let him have the pleasure of his
preference. Will is free.
Give testimony of the truth that is in you; but do not attempt to
muzzle the hounds that bay the summons to the witches’ sabbath.
Enter the Holy Temple and shut the door; then invoke the angels. The
baying of the hounds cannot drown the music of the angel voices.
Be still, and know that God is God.
A great day is dawning for America--after a time of trial. The sun
will rise from behind a bank of clouds; but in the freshness of the
dawn much labor will be done for the new race, and for the Brotherhood
of races. All over America movements will be started for the training
and perfecting of mankind. Give them your help, for thus you will be
working with the Law. Thus you will be learning the first lessons in
the school of the White Masters, whose watchword is Service.
Though I am not going far away this time, yet I leave you my blessing,
O world that I have labored and suffered for--far more than you know
during the last hard year.
And I want to thank the world for its great interest in my former book,
“Letters from a Living Dead Man.” Yes, I am living still, and am far
more alive than when I wrote for you before. Little by little I am
growing into an intensity of life which I could not have imagined when
I walked the earth as a man among men.
In these War Letters from the other world I have tried to give you
glimpses of that intenser life which I lead now, after my return from
the journey among the stars. I had thought to tell you of that journey
when I should return again; but the story would not have been so
instructive at the present time as this story of the war in the astral
world. For you are nearer the astral world than you are to the stars,
and until you learn the a-b-c you cannot read and understand romances.
I am only a humble servant of the Law, a learner in the school of those
who are wiser than I. To get, I must give. To learn, I must teach. To
go forward, I must try to bring you forward with me.
It has seemed to me that what the world needed most at the present time
was a knowledge of the mysteries behind this war. I have been an unseen
soldier in this war, in which I have received many a wound. I have
had my nights of vigil and my days of labor; but they have given me a
strength that I could not otherwise have gained. I am strong because I
have served.
Serve you, and the reward will come in due season!
I am going to rest now for a little while, because I have another
service to perform in the near future.
I shall not go far away.
“X.”
_July 28, 1915._
THE END.
=TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES=
Simple typographical errors have been silently corrected; unbalanced
quotation marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and
otherwise left unbalanced.
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.