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Each potential facet of the mind yearns to drink in the flame, the golden flame of illumination. The illumination of peace is the result of courageous action. Inward concealment of one's devotions from the prying eyes of the profane can well result in inward revealment of the living flame.1 The flame of the resurrection is a unique contribution of God to each man and woman. Its exclusivity is discovered only when it is claimed by the individual; then he becomes unique as God intends, his life a significant contribution to one or more facets of the Divine Whole.
As long as the world remains a place of turmoil and struggle, it might be supposed that out of this would be generated a recoil into higher realms. While this does occur in many cases, it is not always assured; for destructivity, violence, and hatred cannot give rise to love and peace. Students of the Great Law should understand that regardless of man's infamy, his error, and his wickedness, the Law of Love functions independently of human misfortune to establish temples of peace in the countless lives of those who pursue it diligently.
The vileness of the world will remain as it is until it passes away through a change of consciousness. So long as any individual lingers in his cups of shame, so long will his world remain outside of the manifestation of the perfection of God. There is a tenderness in the heart of God that would rescue the most violent or hardened sinner, that seeks to save that which is lost, that expresses, perchance, even a greater love for that which is turned out of the way than for all of those who are walking the straightforward path.
Those who are on the Path have the comfort of contact; those who are outside of the holy circle are the despairing ones, even when they acknowledge it not. Hence, the Spirit of Peace and Love, the Spirit of Perfection, goes forth into avenues of service to humanity, into government circles, labor movements, cultural endeavors, and teaching at all levels; above all, it invokes the establishment of true religion.
Myopia is a strange disease. When men are convinced of their own superiority and of the superiority of the intellect, they too frequently ignore the mandates of reality. Today, greater understanding of the principles of life and truth, free from the distortions and unrests of mortal rebellion, is urgently needed. But, much of the world is seething in social unrest, jingoism, and religious competition, while competition between capitalism and communism is dragging the nations headlong toward destruction.
Those who seek to save their lives2 and to establish without God a perfect social order will soon find, one by one, that they have failed in their understanding of life's purposes; for the kingdom is not temporal, but eternal, and the life of man is not for just a few short years and then extinction. Attainment and service are advantageous, because they lead the way to eternal life when they are harnessed to the stars of cosmic law. The way of peace that we seek to establish is the way of men tilling the soil, planting and reaping - of men planting orchards and eating the fruit thereof.
When the understanding of God is given to men as the Eternal Brotherhood intended, then all things are perceived not as they seem to be but as they are. And what a vast difference there is between the realities of eternal truth and the religious concepts that have acted as a solvent to dissolve all unity upon the planet through the centuries! Wars have been fought and incredible pain has been inflicted upon a humanity already scarred by the viciousness of past ages. The shedding of blood has been most unfortunate; for linked to it as cause is mankind's misunderstanding of the divine nature.
There are times that we almost wish that men were without religion; then we could begin again to show them the first principles of cosmic law. It seems highly unlikely, in the next few decades, that we will be able either to establish a world order based on universal reality or to bring about peace on earth. But we will continue to try and to know that each devotee won for our cause shall invoke a strengthening of reality in the present world order. Those who serve the Eternal Light can rejoice in their labors, knowing that the fruit of God's service will ultimately bless and benefit even those yet unborn.
The full meaning of life may never come to men upon this planet, for life is vast in its dimensions; but the Holy Child that emerges from within the individual through the initiatic processes and through devotion to divine truth shall bear fruit for the individual and the world order. I do not recommend excess concern for the reaping of spiritual rewards, but I prefer to advocate concern for the service that is presently being rendered, knowing as I do that service always generates its own reward and that without fail.
Let us, then, put first things first and establish the kingdom upon earth because we have established it within ourselves.3 The peace of the Lord Christ, the peace that he has to give, the peace that enabled him to have steadiness of courage in the face of adversity is yours even as it is mine. But we must advocate the seizing and the acceptance of this faith, the blazing forth of the flame of peace as a tangible reality of God's identity; for the nature of the Eternal God is peace, and when the turmoil of the world manifests, it is always with the intention of destroying Godly ideals and God-reality.
No man can vanquish the Eternal, for the flame will always rise. No man can put out this light; for it will reestablish itself somewhere, sometime. Therefore, let us increase courage and the flow of service, not in order to break the servant of the light, but to make the servant of the light a point of principle in the eternal chain of cosmic identity, a link of holy hands descending from infinity into the finite.