progress of this Himalaya Cathedral during construction, its
“evolution,” as they expressed it; and geological records were found
safely deposited for those who know how to read rocks. It appeared
that the design had been originally conceived and sketched by the
hand of the Master, and then worked out, or developed according to
forms suitable to all climes, from the tropical in the valleys below
to the arctic amid glaciers and domes of eternal snow. Pupils of the
Master had embodied His ideas; His own assistants and workmen, the
forces of Nature; born, brought up, educated in His own industrial
and artistic schools; where His own master mind, masterful technique,
and masterly spirit dominated--the Trinity of Mind, Matter, and
Spirit.
There had never been a period during the work when the real progress
had been arrested, nor had the original purpose of design ever been
changed by alterations, extras, or further information on the subject.
In the beginning He had conceived it; the work commenced; it grew; it
continues. In itself manifesting a clear distinct purpose, namely;
a place in which to live, learn, and worship; thereby manifesting
the Trinity existent and operative, in action, action, action; three
as one. Within and without its needs and decorations have ever been
growing and progressing, as the world grows older and the worshipers
grow wiser. The purpose pointed clearly towards what the intellect
of man designated as “perfection;” and of what the Holy Spirit in man
dreamed of as “The Perfect Day.”
At various periods in time poor humanity standing aside like helpless
children, had seen great commotions on the premises, apparent
catastrophes, and seeming opposition to things as they should be.
Humanity had actually seen the lightning “strike” and demolish; and
there was marvelous unity in co-operation of labor when the lightning
did strike. Nevertheless the real status of things was not thereby
changed. Man imagined that the edifice itself would fall, and the
world come to an end; a mass of débris to be blown away, much like
nebulous mist or a comet’s tail is scattered and disappears in space.
Man had seen such things with his “field-glasses;” similarly man
presumed to know. He really knew just so much of the building and
its eternal purpose as the present stage of progress permitted--no
more, no less. Of many things he could be but a spectator; and when
he manufactured his glasses for greater depths of penetration, he
reduced his scope (field), and less and less grew the light upon his
lens.
Thus far there had been no real catastrophe; it was merely the taking
down of scaffolding amid a cloud of dust and rubbish. The scaffolding
removed, the Temple stood behind safe and erect; its beauty more
apparent than ever before. A new façade had been brought to light
for the admiration of all who cultivated their inborn capacity for
appreciation; both worshipers and non-worshipers alike.
It was during the crises of scaffold-demolishing, when there was
much talk of what would happen when the world dissolved, that absurd
disputes had arisen among the crowd of lookers-on. Non-worshipers, in
their conceit, offered criticisms, although in fact they knew only
“the little” that is vouchsafed to all mankind. Theological fanatics
asserted themselves, saying with intensity:
“You have neglected your opportunities, and now it’s too late. You’ll
be condemned.”
To which came, of course, the practical responsive application:
“Be condemned!--yourself!” Hence the sobriquet, “condemned,” popular
in application to this day as a verb of intensity.
Such dogmatic assertions and petty recriminations were really absurd
in this presence; disputes embodying mere words; since naught is
condemned in nature where each day’s work is pronounced “good,” and
where “there is no condemnation” to those who seek the Truth and
follow in it; and where the Divine Voice of a man to his brother man
has pronounced the dictum: “For this cause came I, the Truth, into
this world, to save it.”
This Himalaya Cathedral stood in a region where the rain-fall
was appalling. It was more sudden and more terrific than occurs
elsewhere. Torrents, apparently devastating, passed that way,
carrying all loose impedimenta before them, gathering fresh strength
by momentum as they rushed headlong into the depths. Humanity stood
aghast, wiseacres felt confident that nothing could withstand the
force of these downpours. Having observed similar phenomena on a
smaller scale, therefore these reasoners concluded it must, must
forebode the worst, annihilation.
It was then that the voice in nature, resonant through the Cathedral,
actually laughed them to scorn for their blindness.
From the beginning nature had abhorred the idea of annihilation,
and would never permit a vacuum where she had built so beautiful
a Temple. Truth destroys not, but fulfils; it is not destructive,
but constructive. Annihilation, a vacuum, is an abstract conception
without a concrete embodiment even in physics; and less still where
the Mind of Nature and the Spirit that is Holy dominate.
The phenomena of apparent devastation in this Cathedral were but
changes or transmutations of the forces employed by the Great Master
Builder. A change from lightning to rain was simply a change of
workmen, from those of one trade to those of another, neither more
nor less; only the removal of that which had done its work, and
now would interfere with the progress of the building, the Temple,
its greater usefulness and its greater beauty. The torrents which
seemed to devastate were in fact cleansing, purging, sweeping
henceforth the accumulation within and around which had served
its purpose, and in that form was no longer needed. Acting under
natural laws, as recognized in geology, biology, natural history
and botany, the Divine Administration had cleaned and purified that
region. Cleanliness being a feature of godliness, even the odor
of the unkempt, the unwashed, and the unclean, must be scrubbed
out--the Cathedral to remain holy must be kept fresh, clean and pure;
befitting those who would be pure, and thus able to pray and to
praise.
And again was the Voice Divine of a man to his brother man heard
resonant through the Cathedral arches:
“I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. Wash and be clean! Cleanse
your hearts, and not your garments only.”
XXXVII
PRIMATE OF THE CATHEDRAL--EX CATHEDRA
It was during one of these cleansing periods, in years gone by, when
the terrific rain-fall scoured out the useless and hideous from this
Himalaya Cathedral, that a company of poor native Lepchas stood upon
the hill-side watching. Comparatively safe in their own position they
witnessed and heard the forces of nature at work.
Among them was one whom they accounted as a wise man, a Seer, who saw
more in nature than most people can see; a prophet who had foresight
founded on close observation of facts. Some of his neighbors would
have designated him a Lama, others would have called him a Buddha,
and some, more distant still, would have said a Medicine Man. Yet,
all listened to his words of wisdom, repeating them, until they
became in time the folk-lore of the land.
This Seer, who was so clear-sighted, stood for much, both
historically and ecclesiastically; also in Wisdom Literature.
He, and no one else, was the venerable and venerated Primate of
this Cathedral where a thousand years are as one day and one day as
a thousand years. As Primate-Leader he received many visitations
from distinguished ecclesiastics, men with other titles; notably a
primitive nature-worshiper named Abel, whose parents, according to
one form of record, were quasi-divinities in the Garden of Eden;
and another named Tenno, himself also, according to another form of
record, a semi-divinity, his mother a Goddess--father of a dynasty
ruling upon earth to this day, the Mikado. There were also Holy
Rishis of the Vedic Period with their descendants, Brahmins, Chief
Yogis; also Buddhas, Grand Lamas, and Superior Men; Priests after
the order of many things; Priests from Adab, “the oldest city in the
world,” founded in the misty years of the fifth millennium B. C.;
Priests of Bel at Nippur, 3800 B. C.; Priests of the Sun God from
Sippar (Biblical Sepharain), 3750 B. C.; Priests from Lagash, the
Sumerian Priest (King Gudea) who reigned 2800 B. C., fully 500 years
before the days of Abraham; Priests from Assyria, 860 B. C.; Priests
of the North and of the South, of the Highlands and of the Lowlands,
and of the “Unknown,” after the order of Melchisedek. Also Priests
of Isis, from Egypt; and the Great Priest of Ormuzd, Zoroaster,
through whom the brightest light as to conscience over intellect
enlightened the world for one thousand years--representing millions
upon millions of worshipers born from the womb of ancient time. Also
Wise Men of the East, Apostles, Elders, Deacons, Metropolitans, Popes
and Archbishops; Archdeacons, Priests, and Fathers; Rectors, Pastors
Emeritus, Ministers of the Word of God, Preachers of the Gospel of
Salvation; and Evangelists who brought both the Word and the Bread of
Life; of latter day experience; all filling offices acknowledged to
be sacred, and some using words which sounded almost profane.
While he, the Himalaya Seer, was often clothed in rags, and fed upon
the flesh of wild beasts, and upon edible locusts and excellent
wild honey, and his loud ringing voice was as one crying in the
wilderness, the others often officiated in robes of state. While he
carried a staff in his hand, and had little change of raiment, they
often bore relics they considered sacred, rings through their noses,
and even iron bars thrust through their cheeks, and others bore a
gilded shepherd’s crook so weighty in importance that it proved an
incumbrance even unto themselves. While he, in hot weather, wore but
a cloth about his loins, and a band across his forehead to absorb the
sweat of his brow, bowing his head in reverence and fear when he saw
the manifestations of Energy in the Supreme Force in nature; another
manifested the life of asceticism and callousness to both heat and
cold; another brought lotus leaves and meditated, trying to think
of nothing at all--of absorption into nature; another brought the
Sacred Fire and preached the higher light which did enlighten for a
millennium of years: “O Ormuzd, Fountain of Light! thy Light is in
all that shines;” another brought his artistic image and preached
justification by faith in Ameda. Another brought his crude and
immoral images, yet preached justification by faith in Krishna, and
the enfranchisement of women; and another, a fearless man, a married
priest as God had made them so from the beginning, who preached
justification by faith in Him who had said, “I am the Light of the
World; believest thou this? follow Me.”
And when he, the Seer, cried with a loud voice: “Repent! I say unto
thee, Repent!” the others also preached as they had ability; using
diverse institutions and rituals according to the spiritual needs
of the times and places. Thus it was these who embodied the diverse
manifestations of the Spirit that is Holy; their experience in
history proving that intellectual effort only stimulates the craving
of the soul, whereas religious consciousness is never satisfied
except by spiritual growth.
Thus, there were many, very many, sincere preachers who appeared and
labored conscientiously, each after his own belief, and officiated
in this Cathedral, Nature’s own Temple; some proselyting, others
not--only trusting to natural growth. And while all “took up
collections,” yet, strange to say, one only possessed the ancient
veritable title of Seer, the one in primitive costume, with primitive
sincerity; the Venerable Primate who lived in the open “without money
and no scrip,” and thus preserved his loud sonorous voice in nature;
he who lived very close to his Creator-God, the Creator and Father
of all.
What did this Seer see?
Standing in the presence of the storm, none realized his own
helplessness more devoutly than this poor Himalaya Seer himself,
following in the footsteps of his own primitive ancestry since the
beginning of man’s appearance as a religious animal upon earth; hence
known, in consequence, as a nature-worshiper. Calling his group of
followers about him he spake to them as if in a trance, as if he
saw what they could not see: the Evil Spirits, or spirits for evil,
flying hither and thither over the land. While in this trance-like
condition of religious rapture, he spoke of the wind, the rain, and
the lightning as antagonistic personalities. He gesticulated, as
if he saw them as such, wild and irresistible, in indiscriminate
conflict with things as they are. Being himself human he could not
conceive personality as otherwise than subject to human influences;
therefore he called upon his fellow-worshipers to send up some sweet
odor, to propitiate, to offer a sacrifice, to attract attention to
something good and not evil--aye, to crowd out the evil by the good.
The people obeyed him. Then and there arose the good influence, and
lo! a marvelous change took place in the heart-life of each primitive
worshiper. The evil spirits in the storm ceased their warfare and
dispersed--the tempest ceased, nature smiled, each heart was filled
with peace. “Peace, be still! I say unto thee, peace, be still! My
peace I give unto thee.”
When in due course of nature the heavens had again cleared, the Seer
spake anew; but not now from a trance. He had no trances after it
cleared off, and he stood in the bright sunlight of nature. No! He
was as other men--no more, no less--in all ages. What he now saw was
also different, and the tenor of his voice had changed.
He announced a message to be delivered.
His followers fell upon their faces before him.
He kept them waiting; in fact, being no longer in physical fear
himself he began to lack his primitive simplicity. The sight of
others bowing with their faces to the earth before _him_ was not
unpleasant. Weak human nature asserted itself; he posed, after his
fashion. He kept the people waiting; and he flattered himself that
this was due to his office as Seer, as if the office made the man,
and not man the office.
The people waited; they had long since learned to wait, and to wait
upon others. The Seer then raised his hands heavenward and spake;
a message so ancient that its form now sounds archaic, from before
Abraham, from Job, from primitive man; a poet of the Vedas of the
South, or a historian of the Northern Sagas, might have said it each
after his own fashion; it is recorded in the Holy Bible, the truth
from the beginning.
THE MESSAGE OF THE SEER.
“The God of thy fathers hath sent me.”
The people respected the speaker--messenger--apostle--the one sent.
“I know that my Bondsman, my Redeemer, liveth.”
The people were glad there was some one to call upon in time of
trouble.
“Thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it cometh, at
destruction and famine thou shalt laugh. The Almighty shall deliver
thee in six troubles; yea! in seven there shall no evil touch thee;
therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. Thou
shalt be hid from the scourge, even the scourge of the tongue; it
shall not come nigh thee. I know that my Redeemer-Bondsman liveth!
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.”
Such was the message, god-like, short and to the point; natural,
personal, spiritual; the Trinity in Speech.
The first message of Truth Immortal signaled from the Fortress of the
Primitive in nature; signaled from the “hills whence cometh our Help.”
This thrilling message was heard around the world, in all religions
in some mysterious form or degree. A divine utterance, original, it
has continued to resound through all the ages. It was the beginning
of Hope, the assurance of Help, from “Our Father who art”--art “ever
present.”
The primitive populace wondered at the wisdom of their Seer; his
strange words which spoke of the God of their fathers, as if He
would help them and would save them from destruction. They then, at
first, thought little of that historical significance of the message
which referred to His coming to the earth at a “latter day,” perhaps
after they themselves had departed; they were interested only in the
present. They wanted Him now; why would He not come at once?
The Seer satisfied them, explaining by application of the message
sent to them each individually. He did it in his own way. The Seer
had seen according to his capacity then and there; he continued to
preach as he had ability.
“The Good Spirit is here. I heard Him above the wind and storm. I saw
Him when He took me to the seventh-heaven where I did see more than
I do now. But He is here!--the thunderings and lightnings were the
noise of His horn (trumpet), and the light of His Countenance?--the
dust you saw was the mountain smoking under Him.”
The people trembled with dread of what their Seer had seen.
“I saw the Evil Spirits driven before Him, as the torrent drives the
wild beasts from the forest; and when He made a scourge of small
cords He drove them from his Temple as sheep and oxen are driven.
Some had disguised themselves as those who sold doves--they fled at
His approach. Deceivers offered Him money, to tempt--He overthrew
their tables, tore their shams (hypocrisy) to shreds, and banished
them from His sight. And they cried: Peace! peace! and there was no
peace.”
The populace thought of demons let loose, and of a “hell upon earth.”
The Seer instantly thrust home his vivid thoughts:
“You, yourselves, saw how He cleared the sky! You, yourselves, know
how His rains and storms cleaned out the dirt and sickness. You saw
it! You saw it yourselves! You sent up the sweet odor! You made the
sacrifice! See how you were answered, your prayers answered.”
And a great shout went up: “We did! We saw it! a miracle! when the
sun shone again.”
And then the Seer closed with a statement so terrible, that none in
reason, among them, could doubt the truth depicted:
“These are they--these evil ones--who fell into deserted graves;
graves that men walk over them and are not aware of them.”
The hearers shivered with abhorrence--the direful thought! deserted
graves! terrible consequence of disrespect to ancestors, frightful
neglect of ancestral veneration, abhorrent disrespect to that source
from which they had received their being, as the Great Good Spirit
had granted them life.
Thus ended the Seer’s message, and his own application of it. Such
was the imagery he used, such the emotion he endeavored to portray
and to excite. And yet, with all his flights, from the Divine
Message to the human application, this Primitive Primate of Nature’s
Cathedral had been profound. He had touched upon the three great
facts in things as they are, and reasonably shall be:
“Dependence, Right Living, Eternal Security.”
Or, to employ another category of later date in Asia:
“Thought, Being, Joy.” (Hindoo formula for Brahm.)
Or another, philosophic:
“Science, Morality, Religion.”
Or as Christianity teaches:
“Faith, Hope, Love.”
And when seen as “The Light of the World”:
“The Almighty, the Saviour, the Holy Spirit of Truth, Immanuel.”
* * * * *
“The Soul of Man is the candle of the Lord.”
--PHILLIPS BROOKS.
XXXVIII
INTERMEZZO--THE VOICE IN NATURE
Cathedral Orchestra and Organ.
Chorus, with Divine Solos.
O Man! Blessed is thine inquisitiveness--to learn and to know:
Cursed is thine inquisition of others.
O Man! Blessed is thy longing--to look upwards and beyond:
Cursed is thy willingness to sink downwards;
Where vice brings vileness in its train.
O Man! Blessed is thine altruism--to help others:
Cursed is thy selfishness, to bury thy talent of help.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness--for
they shall be filled.
Blessed are they who seek the Truth--for they shall know.
Blessed are they who follow the Way--for they shall attain.
Seek and ye shall find. Knock!--it shall be opened.
I have the words--
The Words of Eternal Life.
Arise! O Soul! I say to thee, Come forth!
The Truth hath made thee free.
Arise! O Soul! and stretch thy wings;
Thy better portion seek.
Arise! and soar! towards greater things,
Enlightenment--and Peace.
Peace and Rest--Rest in Peace.
I am the Resurrection--and the Life.
This triple comprehensive chorus from nature, with its Divine Solos,
was heard by both Professor Cultus and the Doctor with profound
feeling and a deep sense of responsibility. They had never heard an
inner voice (solo) blending with sounds in nature (chorus) quite like
this. And a veritable intermezzo in their experience, a recitative
of the wonderful harmonious truths in nature accompanying the pure
melody of Christ’s words; and corroborated by others who knew Him,
personally. All so true when sung in concert of harmony and rhythm;
the sacred music of this sphere.
It seemed as if the Voices sang of truth ever present, ever active,
with men at work or a man at rest. All who entered the Door of Truth
in experience had the Words of Eternal Life spoken unto them; and the
words implied action, greater light, intelligence, and peace; rest
from trouble, in an immortal active existence--a life immortal:
“Activity for all our powers, and power for all our activities.”[1]
* * * * *
Such was the deep impression made in the Himalaya Cathedral upon the
elder members of the party. Being elderly they saw things that way.
How about the younger members? Youth does not see things in nature as
elders do; youth has much to learn yet; and old heads rarely grow on
young shoulders.
Adele had insisted upon going to a greater height up the mountains.
She longed to reach some high summit. She wished to lose nothing of
the lofty that could be reached; and neither Paul nor the Doctor
failed to second her motion.
XXXIX
ON A PINNACLE IN NATURE
From the time that this region of the Himalayas first impressed
itself as a Cathedral upon the mind of Adele, an idealist, she
invariably spoke of the various natural beauties of the locality as
parts of the Grand Edifice.
“This Cathedral has magnificent proportions. I must explore it, and
go all over it, from crypt to dome, visit the baptistry, and, as the
Doctor says, ‘mount upon a pinnacle;’” then musingly: “I should like
to attend a service.”
“All right,” said Doctor Wise, the liberal, “we can have a service of
some sort, even if we are obliged to read prayers ourselves.”
“It would be better to have the natives officiate--one of the local
bishops,” said Adele.
“He would not have Apostolic succession,” said Paul, of Non-conformist
proclivities.
“Apostolic, nevertheless,” remarked Professor Cultus, who habitually
looked at things from a literary point of view. “He would consider
himself sent by some one--that makes him apostolic. He would
have been ‘called’ to preach, or to write, or to do something,
fundamentally apostolic, if he is a true man.”
“I should like to see a primitive cassock or stole,” said Miss
Winchester, who was inclined to ritualism, “and a real old-time monk
with his beads and a rope around his waist.”
“You shall,” said the Doctor, “and we will investigate to see whether
the clergy face towards the East.”
“Not here,” said Adele promptly; “they would not if they knew.”
“Why not?” exclaimed Miss Winchester.
“Because they must look up.”
“Oh, of course.”
“Northward, I mean--up north.”
“What has that got to do with it?”
“It’s towards the centre of things--the pole star in the heavens.”
“Dear me!” said Miss Winchester, “you’re so ‘broad’, you’ll flatten
out, become thin. I don’t like my bread buttered too thin; but tell
me, Adele, why here, in this place?”
“This Cathedral is so constructed.”
Miss Winchester said she had not before observed it in that light.
“Which way shall we start?” inquired Paul.
“For a good view, down the nave,” said Adele. “Let’s ask a verger to
show us around.”
The verger presented himself in the person of a Bhootan peasant
astride of a Manchu pony, and leading others saddled for members of
the party.
“I’m not accustomed to attending church on horseback,” remarked Miss
Winchester. “But I rather like the idea.”
“Our ancestors did; often two on the same pony,” laughed Paul.
“That’s why I like it; heredity, I suppose.”
“It strikes me it was a case of go-as-you-please with our primitive
ancestors,” said the Doctor, jovial. “That’s why we all like it.”
“If you mean liberty in worship,” whispered Adele, “that’s why it
suits me.”
“That’s about it,” thought the Doctor.