I hear the question, What can be said in a concrete way in regard to
the method of coming into this realization? The facts underlying it
are, indeed, most beautiful and true, but how can we actualize in
ourselves the realization that carries with it such wonderful results?
The method is not difficult if we do not of ourselves make it
difficult. The principal word to be used is the word,--Open. Simply
to open your mind and heart to this divine inflow which is waiting only
for the opening of the gate, that it may enter. It is like opening the
gate of the trough which conducts the water from the reservoir above
into the field below. The water, by virtue of its very nature, will
rush in and irrigate the field if the gate is but opened. As to the
realization of our oneness with this Infinite Life and Power, after
seeing, as I think we have clearly seen by this time, the relations it
bears to us and we to it, the chief thing to be said is
simply,--Realize your oneness with it. The open mind and heart whereby
one is brought into the receptive attitude is the first thing
necessary. Then the earnest, sincere desire.
It may be an aid at first to take yourself for a few moments each day
into the quiet, into the silence, where you will not be agitated by the
disturbances that enter in through the avenues of the physical senses.
There in the quiet alone with God, put yourself into the receptive
attitude. Calmly, quietly, and expectantly desire that this
realization break in upon and take possession of your soul. As it
breaks in upon and takes possession of the soul, it will manifest
itself to your mind, and from this you will feel its manifestations in
every part of your body. Then in the degree that you open yourself to
it you will feel a quiet, peaceful, illuminating power that will
harmonize body, soul, and mind, and that will then harmonize these with
all the world. You are now on the mountain top, and the voice of God
is speaking to you. _Then, as you descend, carry this realization with
you_. Live in it, waking, working, thinking, walking, sleeping. In
this way, although you may not be continually on the mountain top, you
will nevertheless be continually living in the realization of all the
beauty, and inspiration, and power you have felt there.
Moreover, the time will come when in the busy office or on the noisy
street you can enter into the silence by simply drawing the mantle of
your own thoughts about you and realizing that there and everywhere the
Spirit of Infinite Life, Love, Wisdom, Peace, Power, and Plenty is
guiding, keeping, protecting, leading you. This is the spirit of
continual prayer. This it is to pray without ceasing. This it is to
know and to walk with God. _This it is to find the Christ within_.
This is the new birth, the second birth. First that which is natural,
then that which is spiritual. It is thus that the old man Adam is put
off and the new man Christ is put on. This it is to be saved unto life
eternal, whatever one's form of belief or faith may be; for it is life
eternal to know God. "The Sweet By and By" will be a song of the past.
We will create a new song--"The Beautiful Eternal Now."
This is the realization that you and I can come into this very day,
this very hour, this very minute, if we desire and if we will it. And
if now we merely set our faces in the right direction, it is then but a
matter of time until we come into the full splendors of this complete
realization. To set one's face in the direction of the mountain and
then simply to journey on, whether rapidly or more slowly, will bring
him to it. But unless one set his face in the right direction and make
the start, he will not reach it. It was Goethe who said:
"Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute:
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Only engage and then the mind grows heated;
Begin and then the work will be completed."
Said the young man, Gautama Siddhârtha, I have awakened to the truth
and I am resolved to accomplish my purpose,--Verily I shall become a
Buddha. It was this that brought him into the life of the Enlightened
One, and so into the realization of Nirvana right here in this life.
That this same realization and life is within the possibilities of all
here and now was his teaching. It was this that has made him the Light
Bearer to millions of people.
Said the young man, Jesus, Know ye not that I must be about my Father's
business? Making this the one great purpose of his life he came into
the full and complete realization,--I and the Father are one. He thus
came into the full realization of the Kingdom of Heaven right here in
this life. That all could come into this same realization and life
here and now was his teaching. It was this that has made him the Light
Bearer to millions of people.
And so far as practical things are concerned, we may hunt the wide
universe through and we shall find that there is no injunction more
practical than, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all other things shall be added unto you. And in the light of what
has gone before, I think there is no one who is open to truth and
honest with himself who will fail to grasp the underlying reason and
see the great laws upon which it is based.
Personally I know lives that have so fully entered into the kingdom
through the realization of their oneness with the Infinite Life and
through the opening of themselves so fully to its divine guidance, that
they are most wonderful concrete examples of the reality of this great
and all-important truth. They are people whose lives are in this way
guided not only in a general way, but literally in every detail. They
simply live in the realization of their oneness with this Infinite
Power, continually in harmony with it, and so continually in the
realization of the kingdom of heaven. An abundance of all things is
theirs. They are never at a loss for anything. The supply seems
always equal to the demand. They never seem at a loss in regard to
what to do or how to do it. Their lives are care-less lives. They are
lives free from care because they are continually conscious of the fact
that the higher powers are doing the guiding, and they are relieved of
the responsibility. To enter into detail in connection with some of
these lives, and particularly with two or three that come to my mind at
this moment, would reveal facts that no doubt to some would seem almost
incredible if not miraculous. But let us remember that what is
possible for one life to realize is possible for all. This is indeed
the natural and the normal life, that which will be the every-day life
of every one who comes into and who lives in this higher realization
and so in harmony with the higher laws. This is simply getting into
the current of that divine sequence running throughout the universe;
and when once in it, life then ceases to be a plodding and moves along
day after day much as the tides flow, much as the planets move in their
courses, much as the seasons come and go.
All the frictions, all the uncertainties, all the ills, the sufferings,
the fears, the forebodings, the perplexities of life come to us because
we are out of harmony with the divine order of things. They will
continue to come as long as we so live. Rowing against the tide is
hard and uncertain. To go with the tide and thus to take advantage of
the working of a great natural force is safe and easy. To come into
the conscious, vital realization of our oneness with the Infinite Life
and Power is to come into the current of this divine sequence. Coming
thus into harmony with the Infinite, brings us in turn into harmony
with all about us, into harmony with the life of the heavens, into
harmony with all the universe. And above all, it brings us into
harmony with ourselves, so that body, soul, and mind become perfectly
harmonized, and when this is so, life becomes full and complete.
The sense life then no longer masters and enslaves us. The physical is
subordinated to and ruled by the mental; this in turn is subordinated
to and continually illumined by the spiritual. Life is then no longer
the poor, one-sided thing it is in so many cases; but the three-fold,
the all-round life with all its beauties and ever increasing joys and
powers is entered upon. Thus it is that we are brought to realize that
the middle path is the great solution of life; neither asceticism on
the one hand nor license and perverted use on the other. Everything is
for use, but all must be wisely used in order to be fully enjoyed.
As we live in these higher realizations the senses are not ignored but
are ever more fully perfected. As the body becomes less gross and
heavy, finer in its texture and form, all the senses become finer, so
that powers we do not now realize as belonging to us gradually develop.
Thus we come, in a perfectly natural and normal way, into the
super-conscious realms whereby we make it possible for the higher laws
and truths to be revealed to us. As we enter into these realms we are
then not among those who give their time in speculating as to whether
this one or that one had the insight and the powers attributed to him,
but we are able _to know_ for ourselves. Neither are we among those
who attempt to lead the people upon the hearsay of some one else, but
we know whereof we speak, and only thus can we speak with authority.
There are many things that we cannot know until by living the life we
bring ourselves into that state where it is possible for them to be
revealed to us. "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine." It was Plotinus who said, The mind that wishes to behold
God must itself become God. As we thus make it possible for these
higher laws and truths to be revealed to us, we will in turn become
enlightened ones, channels through which they may be revealed to others.
When one is fully alive to the possibilities that come with this higher
awakening, as he goes here and there, as he mingles with his
fellow-men, he imparts to all an inspiration that kindles in them a
feeling of power kindred to his own. We are all continually giving out
influences similar to those that are playing in our own lives. We do
this in the same way that each flower emits its own peculiar odor. The
rose breathes out its fragrance upon the air and all who come near it
are refreshed and inspired by this emanation from the soul of the rose.
A poisonous weed sends out its obnoxious odor; it is neither refreshing
nor inspiring in its effects, and if one remain near it long he may be
so unpleasantly affected as to be made even ill by it.
The higher the life the more inspiring and helpful are the emanations
that it is continually sending out. The lower the life the more
harmful is the influence it continually sends out to all who come in
contact with it. Each one is continually radiating an atmosphere of
one kind or the other.
We are told by the mariners who sail on the Indian Seas, that many
times they are able to tell their approach to certain islands long
before they can see them by the sweet fragrance of the sandalwood that
is wafted far out upon the deep. Do you not see how it would serve to
have such a soul playing through such a body that as you go here and
there a subtle, silent force goes out from you that all feel and are
influenced by; so that you carry with you an inspiration and
continually shed a benediction wherever you go; so that your friends
and all people will say,--His coming brings peace and joy into our
homes, welcome his coming; so that as you pass along the street, tired,
and weary, and even sin-sick men and women will feel a certain divine
touch that will awaken new desires and a new life in them; that will
make the very horse as you pass him turn his head with a strange,
half-human, longing look? Such are the subtle powers of the human soul
when it makes itself translucent to the Divine. To know that such a
life is within our living here and now is enough to make one burst
forth with songs of joy. And when the life itself is entered upon, the
sentiment of at least one song will be:
"Oh! I stand in the Great Forever,
All things to me are divine;
I eat of the heavenly manna,
I drink of the heavenly wine.
"In the gleam of the shining rainbow
The Father's Love I behold,
As I gaze on its radiant blending
Of crimson and blue and gold.
"In all the bright birds that are singing,
In all the fair flowers that bloom,
Whose welcome aromas are bringing
Their blessings of sweet perfume;
"In the glorious tint of the morning,
In the gorgeous sheen of the night,
Oh! my soul is lost in rapture,
My senses are lost in sight."
As one comes into and lives continually in the full, conscious
realization of his oneness with the Infinite Life and Power, then all
else follows. This it is that brings the realization of such
splendors, and beauties, and joys as a life that is thus related with
the Infinite Power alone can know. This it is to come into the
realization of heaven's richest treasures while walking the earth.
This it is to bring heaven down to earth, or rather to bring earth up
to heaven. This it is to exchange weakness and impotence for strength;
sorrows and sighings for joy; fears and forebodings for faith; longings
for realizations. This it is to come into fullness of peace, power,
and plenty. This it is to be in tune with the Infinite.