Calmness is the ideal medium through which we should receive everything. Nervousness
is the opposite of calmness. Today nervousness seems to be the world’s disease. He is your best friend who humbly suggests to you how you may be benefitted.

Many people think that by forgetting disease you get rid of disease. You may forget disease but disease does not always forget you. Two men were standing on the bank of the Ganges when they saw a wonderful black blanket floating by. One of them jumped on the wonderful black blanket but he could not get loose from it ...could not get away from it. The other man said: "Why don’t you leave the black blanket?" He replied: "I want to leave the black blanket but the black blanket doesn’t want to leave me." It was a black BEAR.

Nervousness is the deadliest disease. It looks very simple but has far-reaching consequences. It is better to destroy disease in its infancy. Many people blame poor nervousness ...but nervousness has no brain to be nervousness. It’s the innate side to nerves. Nerves have no mind of their own, no power of their own to be nervousness.

What makes nervousness? Think of a house telephone. You send messages and receive messages through the same wire. If you talk angrily through the telephone, do the wires get nervous? No! The medium is the wire itself and the electricity passes through the wires. Similarly, in your body, you have a telephone system called the nervous system. When I pinch my arm ...the sensation of the pinch goes to the brain. It hurts me and I don’t like it. Nerves send the response.

When you are excited it disturbs the nerve force. So you ought to be very careful not to get excited. What happens when you get excited? You send a flash of energy into the nerves. The nerves are just like a fine wire. If you send too much current—1,000 volts, it will suddenly burn the wires. Excitement creates energy and if you are excited, you send too much energy—unbalanced energy—more energy to some parts of the nervous system and less to others. When you are very angry, you burn the nerves of the brain up.

Then again, why shouldn’t you be nervous? If your ordinary telephone gets out of order, you call the electrician and ask him to put it in order again. But when nerve wires, through excitement, become worthless and useless ...when the nerve tissues become destroyed ...where is the electrician who will fit you up with a new set of nerves? So you can’t afford in any way to destroy your fine nervous system. These nerve wires of your body have been grown from within, and if they are destroyed ...you cannot replace them. Medical science has not found the way to replace them.

What is the function of the nervous system? It is your means of getting in touch with the world and of keeping your sense of touch alive. It has the same function as your ordinary telephone in the house. The nervous system is the telephone that sees, hears, feels, etc. The nerves supply the current to your heart, brain, etc. Everything is carried on by the nerves. They act as a telephone also to supply the eyes, ears, olfactory nerves, etc. Nervousness burns the nerves, cutting off the supply of current or energy. Nerves are your medium of contact with the world. Nerves are the medium of vitalizing all the different organs of your body, of the senses and every particle of your body. The disease of the nervous system is the cause of all diseases. Yogoda has a special technique by which you can revive tissues if you have burned them out; you can revive tissues by sending energy into nerves that have been destroyed. Each cell and tissue in the nervous system is a living thing. Each nerve tissue and cell is intelligent. Nerves take messages from the brain to the outer world. You must know how to treat nerve cells so that they will not be destroyed. Keep them cheerful always. Causes of nervousness are mental excitement, wrong diet, and wrong environment.

When an animal dies, its trainer knows if it wasn’t fed scientifically. When a human being dies, we say: "Well, Heavenly Father took him"; whereas white bread killed him perhaps. Wrong thinking, eating and environment ...cause nervousness. There are two kinds of nervousness—psychological and mechanical. Superficial or organic. Psychological nervousness is due to mind excitement—when energy is created it excites the nerves and tissues and burns them out. If you indulge in the habit of psychological nervousness all the time, thereby flashing energy into certain nerves, the nerves get burned and you are the victim of physiological nervousness. It’s generally due to lack of proper diet, lack of right company and lack of right attitude, right peace, that you become nervous.

The best way to get rid of nervousness is first to remember choice of company. Tell me what kind of company a person keeps and I will tell you what he is. We always love the company of those who flatter us. This weakens us, though. We should like the company of those who tell us the truth and help us to be better. If we always live in the company of flatterers, it is bad for us—for our spiritual growth. Once there was a Master who had a disciple who criticised everything the Master did. He died, and his disciples came running joyously to their Master and said: "Master, that man who is all the time troubling you, he is dead." Then the Master began to weep. The disciples said: "Why do you weep; you should be glad you are rid of this terrible man?" The Master replied: "No, I am sorry, my teacher is dead." His criticism acted like a warning. To criticise is bad, but if you can stand criticism it is wonderful. Brutal, harsh criticism is like hitting a man on the head with a hammer. There is nothing greater for helping people than the power of love. The gentle power of love which comes to others as suggestion, as the voice of suggestion, is better than criticism. Too much criticism is not good, but suggestion is better. Always remember this, if you want to criticise, do it to help and not to satisfy your spirit of revenge within. Criticise lovingly to help. Judge not. Judge not others, only yourself. Spend your efforts in judging yourself and you will spend it profitably.

Be careful in the choice of company. Keep company with people who are calm, strong and wise, with a deeper nature than you have. When a criminal is put into the company of a greater criminal, that does not help him. When it is time for him to leave, the warden says: "When are you coming back?" When nervous people are in the company of other nervous people they cannot get better. Always choose calm company. If nervous, mix with those who are not nervous. The best way is to analyze yourself and find out that anger, fear, worry and all such things ...do cause nervousness. As soon as you are angry, disturbed or afraid, you burn the nerves. Fear burns the nerves of supply to the heart. Feeling timid destroys the nerve endings. Too much sleep drugs the nerves and too little sleep is hurtful to nerves. Treat nerves as a whole—treat them by sending messages of calmness and peace. The messages you send from the brain to the world will then be sent calmly and likewise, all received, will be received calmly.

Now, about fear. Analyze a little. Why should you fear? Wisdom only can make you free. Understanding the law ...God’s law. If I go into a dark room, take a stick and pound the darkness, break the table, will the darkness go? No. But if I bring the light in, it goes immediately. Don’t be afraid. That won’t do any good. Bring the light of reason. As long as you are not dead, you don’t know whether you are going to die or not. When you’re dead, it’s all over. What’s the use of fearing? By fearing, you not only create nervousness, but you move toward the very object of fear.

If you are perfectly calm you will AVOID EXCITEMENT. If you are too much elated about making money, you will often make wrong speculation or investment. If you are calm, no matter how many propositions people may bring to you, you are always able to separate sentiment from fact. If you fear too much, you bring the very things you wish to avoid. You are destroying vitality of nerves and drawing sickness. When you are full of power and strength and life, it destroys disease. In anger, you burn the nerves out. The reason why you should not be angry is that it poisons the blood. Angry vibrations affect circulation. An angry mother can poison her milk that feeds her child. Cultivate peace, calmness and cheerfulness. The more cheerful and calm you are, the better it is for you. The more you worry or are angry or afraid, the more you are losing poise. The more peace you have, the less nervousness.

How can you obtain poise? If it’s difficult to earn money, it is much more difficult to obtain poise. Make a triangle and on one side write SWEETNESS, on the other side write CALMNESS and at the base write HAPPINESS; sweetness in speech, mind and body. People have two kinds of nature—the drawing room nature and the home nature. The home nature is when we feel that we are natural ...but we wish sometimes that we are not natural ...because in our naturalness we express ugliness. Many people go out all dressed up ...but inside, passions are boiling and raging within. Inside the house they say: "I am angry." Outside: "Oh, how are you?" Be calm in speech, in mind; be calm in your triune unity. What you think ...you must testify—what you think and speak, your body, soul and mind, everything ...must testify. We must have UNITY of MIND, SPEECH and BODY. Attain calmness; attain peace; attain happiness; attain poise.

Every night before going to bed, say this: "I am the Prince of Peace ...sitting on the throne of Poise." Poise is your center. Whether you act quick or slow, you will never lose your kingly attitude of peace. Jesus, Son of God, is the prototype. On Sundays people get religious. One day is better than none—better than nothing at all. But every day ought to be God’s day with us. Christ has given us a great ideal ...that we may live the life of Christ. "To all those who receive Him ...He gave the power to be SONS OF GOD". Everywhere Jesus demonstrated peace. He passed through all situations but He had poise and peace. Jesus demonstrated peace in His speech, mind and body.

For ordinary nervousness take a cold shower bath. Splash your face with cold water. Partial fasting is good—to go without breakfast or lunch. Keep company with cool, calm people.

Always act calmly—be calm in everything; be calmly active and actively calm, have a good diet, but above all move in the company of calm people. Get away from the city once in awhile. Above all, remember that you should learn the method of controlling energy. You can contact Cosmic Energy and bring energy into your body, not through imagination. Your body is like a little bubble of energy in the Cosmic Energy, God is everywhere. He controls planets, stars, everything that you see and yet He is not disturbed. He is above this world, yet He is in this world. You must reflect the image and likeness of God.

Accept nothing that is unreasonable;

Discard nothing as unreasonable

Without proper examination

—Buddha.

Amid the jungle of human souls,

Amid strange, flowering faces

Which ne’er I saw before,

I oft cognize again

Those of yore

That I knew always.

Yet some remain, ever remain

Stranger, though we meet again and again.

There are some, since seeing first

Are ever my own to the last.

In trembling joy

My memory wakes

To meet again

Those forgotten faces.

But many a brother sleeps

And dreams of me, a stranger,

To whom there is no stranger now.

____________

Blessed, blessed are the mad,

For they see in the friendless and forlorn

The Eternal King that moves in many masks.

Blessed, blessed are the mad,

For they hoard not but spend among the poor,

And glorify His Name.

* * *

Father, my business is but this—

To sing the Sacred Name

And give myself in glad renouncement

To the poor, the lonely and the lost.

For in these

...Masks the many-mansioned Lord

Who doth

Mingle in His mercy

With us all

To teach the mystic truth of sacrifice.

In the winter of 1897, English explorers unearthed a portion of papyrus book near the Nile in the ancient ruined city of Oxyrthynchus, a book supposed to have been written in the 2nd or 3rd century after Christ, and a work previously unknown to scholars. One leaf presented seven terse sentences attributed to Christ, each sentence introduced with the words, "Jesus says..." A free translation of the fifth sentence reads, "Bring alive the stone and thou shalt find Me; cleave the wood, and there am I."

"We know what we are,

But know not what we may be."

—Shakespeare.

1.

I am that which began;

Out of Me the years roll;

Out of Me ...God and man;

I am equal and whole;

God changes, and man,

And the form of them bodily;

I am the soul.

2.

Before ever land was,

Before ever the sea,

Or soft hair of the grass,

Or fair limbs of the tree,

Or the flesh-colour’d fruit of My branches,

I was, and thy soul ...was in Me.

3.

First life on My sources

First drifted and swam;

Out of Me are the forces

That save it or damn;

Out of man, woman, wild-beast and bird: Before God was, I am.

4.

Beside or above Me

Naught is there to go;

Love or unlove Me,

Unknow Me or know,

I am that which unloves Me ...and loves;

I am stricken, and I am the blow.

5.

I the mark that is miss’d

And the arrows that miss,

I the mouth that is kiss’d

And the breath in the kiss.

The search, the sought, the seeker,

The soul ...and the body that is.

6.

I am that Thing

Which blesses My Spirit elate;

That which caresses ...with hands uncreate;

My limbs unbegotten

That measure the length

Of the measure of Fate.

7.

But what thing dost thou now,

Looking Godward, to cry,

‘I am I, Thou art Thou,

I am low, Thou art high’?

I am thou,

Whom thou seekest to find Him;

Find thou but thyself, thou art I.

8.

I ...the grain and the furrow,

The plough-cloven clod and the ploughshare Drawn through the germ and the sod,

The deed and the doer,

The seed and the sower,

The dust which is God.

9.

Hast thou known

How I fashioned thee, child, underground?

Fire that impassioned thee,

Iron that bound,

Dim changes of water,

What thing of all these

Hast thou known of or found?

10.

Canst thou say in thine heart

Thou hast seen with thine eyes

With what cunning of art

Thou hast wrought in what wise,

By what force or what stuff thou wast shapen, And shown on My breast to the skies?

11.

Who hath given, who hath sold it thee.

Knowledge of Me?

Has the wilderness told it thee?

Hast thou learnt of the sea?

Hast thou communed in spirit with night?

Have the winds taken counsel with thee?

12.

Have I set such a star

To show light on thy brow

That thou sawest from afar

What I show to thee now?

Have ye spoken as brethren together,

The sun, the mountains and thou?

13.

What is here, dost thou know it?

What was, hast thou known?

Prophet or poet

Nor tripod nor throne

Nor spirit nor flesh can make answer,

But only thy Mother alone.

14.

Mother, not maker,

Born, and not made;

Though Her children forsake Her,

Allured or afraid,

Praying prayers to the God of their fashion,

She stirs not for all that have prayed.

15.

A creed is a rod,

And a crown is of might;

But this thing is God:

To be man with thy might,

To grow straight

In the strength of thy Spirit,

And live out thy life as the Light.

16.

I am in thee ...to save thee,

As My soul in thee saith;

Give thou as I gave thee,

Thy life-blood and breath,

Green leaves of thy labor,

White flowers of thy thought,

And red fruit of thy death.

17.

Be the ways of thy giving

As Mine were to thee;

The free life of thy living.

Be the gift of It free;

Not as servant to lord,

Nor as master to slave,

Shalt thou give thee to Me.

18.

O children of banishment, Souls overcast,

Were the lights ye see vanish

Meant always to last,

Ye would know not

The sun overshining the shadows

And stars overpast.

19.

I that saw

Where ye trod the dim paths of the night

Set the shadow called god

In your skies ...to give light;

But the morning of manhood is risen,

And the shadowless Soul is in sight.

20.

The tree many-rooted that swells to the sky

With frondage red-fruited,

The Life-Tree am I;

In the buds of your lives

Is the sap of My leaves;

Ye shall live and not die.

21.

But the gods of your fashion

That take and that give,

In their pity and passion

That scourge and forgive,

They are worms

That are bred in the bark that falls off;

They shall die and not live.

22.

My Own Blood

Is what staunches the wounds in my bark;

Stars caught in My branches

Make day of the dark,

And are worshipped as suns

Till the sunrise

shall tread out their fires as a spark.

23.

Where the Dead Ages hide

Under the live roots of the tree,

In My darkness

The thunder makes utterance of Me;

In the clash of My boughs with each other

...Ye hear the waves sound of the sea.

24.

That noise is of Time

As his feathers are spread

And his feet set to climb

Through the boughs overhead

And My foliage rings round him and rustles,

And branches are bent with his tread.

25.

The storm-winds of Ages

Blow through Me and cease,

The war-wind that rages,

The spring-wind of peace,

Ere the breath of them roughen My tresses,

Ere one of My blossoms increase.

26.

All sounds of all changes,

All shadows and lights

On the world’s mountain-ranges

And stream-riven heights,

Whose tongue is the wind’s tongue

And language of storm-clouds

On earth shaking nights.

27.

All forms of all faces, all works of all hands

In unsearchable places of time-stricken lands,

All death and all life,

All reigns and all ruins,

Drop through Me ...as sands.

28.

Though sore be My burden

And more than ye know,

And My growth have no guerdon

But only to grow,

Yet I fail not of growing

For lightnings above me or deathworms below.

29.

These too have their part in Me,

As I too in these;

Such fire is at heart ...in Me,

Such sap is this tree’s

Which hath in it all sounds

And all secrets of infinite lands and of seas.

30.

In the spring-colour’d hours

When My mind was as May’s

There brake forth of Me ...flowers

By centuries of days.

Strong blossoms with perfume of manhood,

Shot out from My Spirit of Rays.

31.

And the sound of them springing

And smell of their shoots

Were as warmth and sweet singing

And strength to My roots;

And the lives of My children

Made perfect with freedom of soul

Were my fruits.

32.

I bid you but be;

I have not need of prayer;

I have need of you free

As your mouths of Mine air;

That My heart may be greater within Me,

Beholding the fruits of Me fair.

33.

More fair than strange

Fruit is of faiths ye espouse;

In Me only

The root is that blooms in your boughs;

Behold now your god that ye made you,

To feed him with faith of your vows.

34.

In the darkening and whitening

Abysses adored,

With dayspring and lightning

For lamp and for sword,

God thunders in heaven,

And his angels are red

With the wrath of the Lord.

35.

O my sons, O too dutiful

Toward gods not of me,

Was not I enough beautiful?

Was it hard to be free?

For behold,

I am with you and in you and of you;

Look forth now, and see.

36.

Lo, wing’d with world’s wonders,

With miracles shod,

With the first of his thunders

For raiment and rod,

God trembles in heaven,

And his angels are white with the terror of god.

37.

For his twilight is come on him,

His anguish is here;

And his spirits gaze dumb on him,

Grown gray from his fear;

And his last hour

taketh hold on him stricken,

The last of his infinite year.

38.

Thought made him and breaks him,

Truth slays and forgives;

But to you, as time takes him,

This new thing it gives,

Even love, the beloved Republic,

That feeds upon freedom and lives.

39.

For Truth only is living,

Truth only is whole,

And the love of his giving

Man’s polestar and pole;

Man, pulse of My centre,

And fruit of My body, and seed of My Soul.

40.

One birth of My bosom;

One beam of Mine eye;

One topmost blossom

That scales the sky;

Man, equal and one with Me,

Man that is made of Me, man that is I.

I have a rendezvous

With the Great Spirit of the Universe;

A Seer, He broods upon immensity,

A vast and purple sea, gazing within

To find Himself in me,

As I look up to find myself in Him.

I have a tryst

With the Great Lover of Mankind,

Eager as maid to meet her loving swain.

Each day speeds on to the appointed hour,

When I shall see His light,

And feel my heart leap

To the strong vibration of His power.

O Rose! Your curling petals

are His smile who fills the earth with beauty; who conceals in you His joy of being,

and reveals His inmost heart

that men who pass the while

may see Him, though unseeing.

You beguile the unexpectant mind

with joy that steals all hate away,

all human evil heals,

and brings to hardened lips an answering smile.

The loveliness that blossoms in the rose,

in soulful beauty

reaches its perfection.

For God, the Source of Beauty,

will disclose in us, as in the rose,

His own reflection.

Who thus with His supernal beauty shine

have proved themselves

His children and divine.

____________

Scientific thought is compelled to accept the idea of a Creative Power. Forty years ago I asked Liebig if he believed that the grass and flowers around us grew by mere chemical forces. He asserted, ‘No, no more than I believe that the books of botany describing them ...could grow by mere chemical forces. Every action of human free will is a miracle to Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Science.

"He that would enjoy the fruit

Must not gather the flower."

Schopenhauer, in his book: "Die Weltals Wille and Vorstellung," speaking about palingenesis, says—

"What sleep is for the individual, death is for the ‘will.’ It would not endure to continue the same actions and sufferings throughout an eternity without true gain, if memory and individuality remained to it. It flings them off, and this is Lethe, and through this sleep of death it reappears fitted out with another intellect as a new being; a new day tempts to new shores. These constant new births then constitute the succession of the life-dreams of a will —which in itself is indestructible— until instructed and improved by so much and such various successive knowledge in a constantly new form ...it abolishes and abrogates itself.

"It must not be neglected that even empirical grounds support a palingenesis of this kind. As a matter of fact, there does exist a connection between the birth of the newly appearing beings and the death of those that are worn out. It shows itself in the great fruitfulness of the human race, which appears as a consequence of devastating diseases. When in the fourteenth century the Black Death had for the most part depopulated the Old World, a quite abnormal fruitfulness appeared among the human race, and twin-births were very frequent. The circumstance was also remarkable that none of the children born at this time obtained their full number of teeth; thus Nature, exerting itself to the utmost ...was niggardly in details. Also, the number of births in a given population has the most decided influence upon the length of life and mortality in it, as this always keeps pace with mortality; so that always and everywhere the deaths and the births increase and decrease in like proportion. Every new-born being comes fresh and blithe into the new existence, and enjoys it as a free gift; but there is and can be nothing freely given. Its fresh existence ...is paid for by the old age and death of a worn out existence —which has perished. That which continued—the indestructible seed out of which the new existence has arisen ...they are one being."

A so-called great argument is made against the idea of pre-existence, by asserting that the majority of mankind are not conscious of it. To prove the validity of this argument, one must prove that the whole of the soul of man is bound up in ...the faculty of memory. If memory be the test of existence, then all that part of our lives which is not now in it must be non-existent. Every person, who in a state of coma, or otherwise, loses his memory, must be non-existent also.

The premises which make the inference of a previous existence, and that, too, on the plane of conscious action, as adduced by the Hindu philosophers, are chiefly these:

First, how else to explain this world of inequalities? Here is one child born in the providence of a just and merciful God, with every circumstance conducing to his becoming a good and useful member of the human race, and perhaps at the same instant and in the same city another child is born, under circumstances every one of which is against his becoming good. We see even children born to suffer, perhaps all their lives, and that owing to no fault of theirs. Why should it be so? What is the cause? Of whose ignorance is it the result? If not the child’s ...why should it suffer, even for its parents’ action?

It is much better to confess ignorance than try to evade the question by the allurements of future enjoyments in proportion to the evil here, or by posing "mysteries." Not only undeserved suffering here is immoral—for any agent to force it upon us, not to say unjust—but even the future-making-up theory has no legs to stand upon.

How many of the miserably born ...struggle toward a higher life, and how many more succumb to the circumstances they are placed under? Should those who are made worse and more wicked by being forced to be born under evil circumstances ...be rewarded for the wickedness of their lives in the future? In that case, the more wicked the man, the better will be his deserts hereafter.

There is no other way to vindicate the glory and the liberty of the human soul and to reconcile the inequalities and the horrors of this world, than by placing the whole burden upon the legitimate cause—our own independent actions, or "Karma." Not only so, but every theory of the creation of the soul from nothing ...inevitably leads to fatalism and pre-ordination, and instead of a Merciful Father ...places before us a hideous, cruel, and ever-angry god ...to worship. And so far as the power of religion for good or evil is concerned, this theory of a created soul ...leading to its corollaries of fatalism and pre-destination ...is responsible for the horrible idea prevailing among Christians and Mahomedans—that the heathens are the lawful victims of their swords—and all the horrors that have followed and are following it still.

But an argument which the philosophers of the Nyaya School have always advanced in favor of reincarnation, and which to us seems conclusive, is this. Our experiences cannot be annihilated. Our actions (Karma) though apparently disappearing, remain ...still unperceived (Adrishtam), and reappear again in their effect ...as tendencies (Pravrittis). Even little babies come with certain tendencies—fear of death for example.

Now, if a tendency ...is the result of repeated actions, the tendencies with which we are born ...must be explained on that ground too. Evidently we could not have got them in this life; therefore we must have to seek for their genesis in the past. Now it is also evident that some of our tendencies are the effects of the self-conscious efforts peculiar to man; and if it is true that we are born with such tendencies, it rigorously follows that their causes were conscious efforts in the past—that is, we must have been on the same mental place which we call the human plane ...before this present life.

So far as explaining the tendencies of the present life by past conscious efforts go, the reincarantionists of India and the latest school of evolutionists are one; the only difference is that the Hindus, as spiritualists, explain it by the conscious efforts of individual souls, and the materialistic school of evolutionists only by an hereditary physical transmission. The schools which hold to the theory of 'creation out of nothing' are entirely out of court.

The issue has to be fought out between: (1) the reincarnationists—who hold that all experiences are stored up as tendencies ...in the subject of those experiences, the individual soul, and are transmitted by reincarnation of that unbroken individuality; and (2) the materialists, who hold that the brain is the subject of all actions and the transmission through cells.

It is thus that the doctrine of reincarnation assumes an infinite importance before our mind, for the fight between reincarnation and mere cellular transmission is, in reality, the fight between spiritualism and materialism. If cellular transmission is the all-sufficient explanation, materialism is inevitable, and there is no necessity for the theory of a soul. If it is not a sufficient explanation, the theory of an individual soul bringing into this life the experience of the past ...is as absolutely true. There is no escape from the alternative, reincarnation or materialism. Which shall we accept?

It is a happy sign that during recent years several associations have been endeavoring to create strong public opinion against wars. I believe 90% of the population all the world over is sick of war and crying for Peace. We all agree that war is needless, is foolish, or rather merely organized insanity. And this insanity has the temerity to call in men of Science to aid in the task of slaughtering.

The late world war was fought, presumably for the purpose of preventing future wars, by giving the right to arbitrate and the right of self-determination to oppressed and subject nations, in order to insure permanent world peace. At least that was the theory advanced, especially by the original fomenters of it, when the uncontrollable and colossal ruin had been brought to a point far beyond their first intent.

Although nine years have passed since the end of the war, there is no mantle of gentle peace spread over the world. There are several wars in actual progress and the world’s atmosphere is filled with preparations for future conflict on a gigantic scale, with still more formidable and of course expensive weapons of war. Perhaps seventy per cent of the world’s resources are being employed or are being made available for employment in destroying the beneficent fruits of nature ...instead of using them for the benefit of humankind. There is small wonder, therefore, that peace organizations are creating strong public opinion against future warfare.

The League of Nations was sponsored by the late President Wilson to outlaw future wars and bring world peace by settling international disputes on the basis of his famous fourteen points. In the last six years the League has been unable to prevent international disturbances which have culminated in warfare. The League is now generally admitted to be a failure, even by some of its ardent advocates. The men who are the causes for wars, a tiny, but exceedingly powerful minority, have been more potent in their manipulation of international jealousies and hatreds than have been the overwhelming majorities that want and demand peace.

The aims of the League of Nations have been noble no doubt, but the operation, the membership and the financing of the League have been exceedingly faulty. It has virtually been controlled by the cynical diplomatists of a few carefully selected imperialistic nations to safeguard selfish national interests and the war booty which accrued through the nefarious Treaty of Versailles. That Treaty was a perfect flower of modern diplomacy, a flower which flourished above the graves of the innocent millions who died, at least so some of them thought, for ideals.

Yet I believe the League might still accomplish the desired object ...provided it would sincerely and unconditionally welcome every nation of the world, including all subject nations, and provided it would punish any outlaw nation, not by declaring war on it, but by forcing decency upon it ...through political, economical and social pressure, or boycott. I must frankly say, however, that I doubt whether such a proposal would endear or commend itself to the imperialistic nations and their war lords.

As a matter of fact even momentarily victorious nations ...ultimately suffer from the effects of war. They face critical financial situations and loss of man power and commerce. They suffer spiritual slackening and great moral weakening. Who would dare assert that our entire world has not grievously suffered to its very soul as a result of the world war?

Yet the overlords of the warlike nations, and all the big nations, are warlike ...despite protestations of the innocent populace who cannot realize that their masters and not they ...make the wars, keep up the war fever and prepare for more wars.

Capitalism and true patriotism mix no more than do oil and water. The big money of the world of Big Business flows where it has the best chance for more profit and more territory, and always in the guise of patriotism. The ordinary manufacturer or legitimate exporter of goods is not to blame and is not referred to. One refers in this connection to the very largest banking and corporate interests, especially those interested in the principal sinews of warfare. They are the ones who fan the flames of hatred or bring about critical situations, making use of the government officers whom they have raised up and elected, since they control the leaders of all major political parties, and making use of official news which is passed out to blinded news gathering agencies and newspapers. The entire system has been magnificently perfected for instant use in which is called peace, or for manufactured war, and war fever unfortunately is a contagious disease, since it is spread by flag-waving and appeals to men’s best instincts.

It has rightly been said that if those who foment wars were forced to serve in the front line trenches from the beginning, there would be no more wars. The profiteer type of human glutton is not a glutton for the punishments of war. He wants to stay home and put his huge munitions or provision contracts into non-taxable liberty bonds and advocate frugal meals while he lives on the fat of the land. And how he will boost the bond issues, and how he will launch ships built in thirty days and wave the flag and nobly accept only one dollar a year for his government services. And how he will sob publicly later ...if anyone unfeelingly suggests that he may have made huge profits from the blood-letting of his fellows!

Mankind in general seems quite docile and stupid about the matter, for only a small percentage of people make the big profits out of war. If high wages come ...they mean nothing, for the cost of living rises too. The young men sacrifice their lives or their limbs; the women and children weep.

But the masses are waking up. They are beginning to see the inside structure of war and how it works. They are beginning to see that in a material way even, it works only evil for the general population. They have become sick unto death of wholesale murder, wholesale tears and the wholesale immorality which follows war and the fettering of personal freedom.

What can be done? Well, whatever is done must be accomplished by substituting enlightenment for hastily-stirred emotion ...which is thoughtless and credulous. First of all, since there was never a good war, one which could not have been avoided at least, nor a just peace, since somebody always gets the worst of it, the real power of declaring war or peace should belong only to the people, the masses of the people who must bear the brunt of war. I therefore beg to suggest the following plan to bring about permanent peace by outlawing all war.

I suggest a PEOPLES PARLIAMENT OF PEACE. An international organization should be formed of the peoples of all countries to establish such a parliament. The people of all nations including subject nations, should be unconditionally welcomed. Each nation should send to this parliament three delegates. One delegate should be selected by the commercial and professional class; one by the labour organizations and one by the women’s associations and clubs. Each elected delegate of course must be known absolutely as a firm advocate of international peace and must not be connected with any war material industry. The headquarters of this People’s Parliament of Peace should be in some small country which was neutral during the late war, such as Holland or Switzerland, and the delegates should meet perhaps quarterly.

Any member nation that has any cause for disagreement with any other nation must submit its case to the parliament through its elected delegates. The executive committee of the parliament would then call upon the delegates of the other nation or nations in the dispute to submit their case and then both sides would be submitted to a special committee of delegates from neutral counties not involved. This neutral committee would then submit its findings to the parliament as a whole for open discussion and a decision based on President Wilson’s fourteen points and supported by a majority of the delegates.

Any nation which refused to submit its case to the parliament and to abide by the decision of the parliament would be considered an outlaw, or guilty nation.

Punishment of a guilty nation would not consist in declaring war but would be accomplished by declaring a political, commercial and a social boycott against such nation and by bringing passive resistance to bear against such nation through public opinion in other member nations and brought about by all the pledged delegates.

We are inclined to call ourselves civilized, but to my mind the difference between barbarism and civilization lies in the employment of physical force and deadly weapons in attempts to settle disputes. It is the difference between might and right, between physical strength and mental strength.

But there is something to be said for the so-called benighted savage barbarian. He at least fights his enemy face to face and with antiquated weapons according to his rights, whereas modern, civilized man fights at long range with weapons of terrible power that slay innocent men, women and children. As long as we resort to organized warfare we have no right to term ourselves civilized.

Boycott and passive resistance are the only methods civilized people can logically and ethically employ against outlaw nations. I am proud to be a follower of Mahatma Gandhi of India, who has recently proved that such peaceful retaliatory methods are much more effective and far-reaching than warfare. He has shown that these boycott methods will cause an outlaw nation to think twice before declaring war against the moral sentiment of the world.

I want to add that the proposed international parliament of the people for peace should publish a monthly bulletin making known investigated facts respecting matters of international moment. This bulletin should have free and uncensored entry into every nation to acquaint the world public with actual conditions.

America is the melting pot of all races and religions. But there is in reality only one race, and that is the human race and there is only one religion worth discussion and that is the religion of humanity and of brotherhood. No other country is so well situated as America to undertake this movement of a People’s Parliament and to me it seems the only hope. For one I should be intensely glad to volunteer my humble services for such a divine purpose.

As to the established churches, Jesus Christ taught us not to kill, and to love our enemies. Incidentally we have few if any enemies in the collective sense, as we find when facts are sifted. It is sad to reflect that during the World War many clergymen of all faiths and nations, instead of persuading their peoples against war, openly blessed armies and invoked divine power for both sides in the conflict. Is that Christianity? No, the clergy abused their power and their spiritual trust and made a mockery of the Christian faith.

In concluding, I want to leave the final thought that if such a People’s Parliament is well established, an international agreement can then be reached to greatly reduce or abolish armaments.

The most terrible weapons of war are the products of modern inventors. I am a modest inventor from India, but I am happy to say that during the terrific conflict in Europe, I refused several tempting offers to invent or improve weapons with which to murder my fellow human beings. I believe that the inventive faculty is a divine gift for creative work to benefit mankind and is not given to destroy it. I take this opportunity of appealing to all inventors and scientists everywhere to refrain firmly from giving their services to the prosecution of warfare and thus to aid the cause of world peace.

I have discovered that love is omnipotent, all the forces of earth cannot prevail against it.

Hatred, war, cruelty, greed and lust must all give way before it. It will overthrow all tyrannies. It will empty all prisons. It will not only emancipate the human race eventually, but, to a great extent, it lifts us individually above the struggle while we are in the thick of the fight for Human Brotherhood.

Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest of earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.

"Live to explain thy doctrine by thy life."—Prior.

Deep within every heart there is an urge,

ungauged, unsatisfied, but ever there;

that reaches out beyond the things of Earth

and finds its peace and assuagement in prayer.

Prayer is not mouthing ...endless, futile words;

vain repetition of an empty phrase.

They who pray thus, have never prayed at all,

though they entone their plaints

through all life’s days.

The truest prayers that man has ever said

has been from hearts

too deeply touched for speech.

Prayers, when the very soul went forth

and found the Master Spirit,

there within their reach.

They who have learned

to make such prayers,

have found an endless source

of strength, hope and peace.

The Pain of Life can touch them not at all,

for they have found the gateway of release.

As we swing back and forth in our daily lives, sometimes seeming to catch a glimpse of the real meaning of life, while at other times reluctantly believing that matter seems to be all there is, let us try to understand that this oscillation, this unending battle, is the outcome of the Self becoming blinded by Maya or Delusion.

Because of the identification of Self with the material body ...springs forth delusion. Out of this identification (that is, the Self with the material body) springs the Ego, who being born of matter, naturally can see no further than matter and feels that he is the doer of all action. Thus, is it to be wondered at, that the feeling of inability to see and understand the underlying spiritual cause of life ...is predominant?

With this combination of the identified Self, the Ego, and the attachment thereof, is set up the Atom of Delusion so to speak. From this state of delusion springs forth the attraction for certain objects and the repulsion of others. Those attracted, are the objects giving pleasure ...while those repulsed are those producing pain ...and so the structure of misconception and delusion is built up with unending complications.

But thank God, underneath it all still surges that impulse, which, when salvation seems absurd and impossible ...silently yet convincingly, through intuition, makes known to us that this seemingly real life is but a false conception of the Real. But, so deep rooted is this Unreal Drama (because of the bad habit created through so many lives) that we cannot argue or reason it away. The very faculties which we use in the attempt, are themselves so water-logged with delusion, that we sink only further in the mire.

But there is a way out. And that way is through devotion to Spirit in meditation and concentration. Whatever state is held to, that state will gradually permeate our very being and life. Through eternal psychological truths and methods, which Yogoda students are fortunate in knowing, we approach the unpolluted Self. We cling to that state with success ...in proportion to our will and deep desire. Gradually the power of the Self, in a silent and subtle manner, clears our faculties of their coat of mire and then with these intuitionally sharpened faculties ...we are able to realize the unreality of delusion and matter, for we have unseated the Ego and placed in its stead ...the real Self.

That Self is above attachments to matter, that Self is above desire. As that Self, we realize ourselves to be just a particle of that great Spirit, manifesting as God wills.

With fullest love for Him begin;

With all thy heart, thy will, and limb,

And soon thou’ll find the strangest spy

Not I, but I, for I has died.

In breathless silence back you’ll creep

With none to guide save Great Om’s beat,

Within that Om, thine age long friend,

Whose guidance will be till the end.

Oh! ring of gold, within, of nameless hue;

Oh! door of Heaven

By which we all pass through

Into that realm, God’s kingdom bright,

Eternal Bliss, Immortal Light.

(a) Physical Mechanics, (b) Food Chemistry, (c) Mental Mechanics, these are three subjects which lend themselves to newspaper promotion in a way which will be of tremendous service to the millions of newspaper readers of America.

"These subjects can be ‘Henry Forded’ and merchandised to the masses in just the same way as an industrial product is merchandised.

"Along the line of (a) Physical Mechanics, Bernarr MacFadden, of Physical Culture, has for twenty years led the field until today there is everywhere a consciousness of the necessity of physical well-being.

"Along the line of (b) Food Chemistry, Dr. Frank McCoy of Los Angeles is pre-eminent in his class.

"In (c) Mental Mechanics, Arthur Brisbane has for twenty years led the field. Others like Glenn Frank and Dr. Frank Crane are now reaching out to the mentality of America and in a straight merchandising way are carrying on mass education.

"By following (a), (b), and (c), a spiritualization of America will come. This applies not so much in a religious sense but rather an appreciation of ethical values. This is being sold to America today by exponents like Swami Yogananda who has just started to merchandise thru the press of America the value of a fuller and more complete life, a life somewhere between the spirituality of Calcutta and the materialism of Chicago.

"Mass education along these four lines is a new phase of journalism, the potentialities of which are just making themselves felt among the newspaper publishers of this continent."

The picture at the top of this page is a segment of the pediment of the south-east pavilion of the new Philadelphia Museum of Art. It is called "The East" and its various figures express the pursuit and achievement of wisdom.

The middle of the pediment is occupied by three colossi, with India as the central figure. Silhouetted against the Tree of Life, she represents the source of all life, philosophy, and religion. Her companion figures are, on the right, Babylon, and on the left, Egypt. The former is a symbol of Empire, the acquisition of the material, and the latter of Religion, the development of the spiritual.

The human figures which fill the composition on either side take their general character from the nearest colossus. Thus on the left, the first figure is Isaiah, greatest of the Old Testament Prophets, and the first to preach the coming of a personal Messiah. Next to him are Solomon and The Rose of Sharon, whose allegory, according to tradition, sets forth a spiritual and not merely an earthly love. Beyond them is Buddha, in whom the spiritual growth of the East culminated and who has stood for over two thousand years as the greatest religious influence of the Orient. The lion near him, called a Foo dog, is a Buddhist emblem, and is used at the doors of temples to ward off evil spirits.

On the right, next to Babylon, is Xerxes, called "King of Kings" and "King of the World," an outstanding example of one whose passion was the acquisition of the material. Beyond him are the Sultan and Scheherazade, showing the magnificence of earthly love and luxury as described in the greatest romance of the East which has come down to us, the Arabian Nights. The final figure is Confucius, the supreme philosopher, whose rules for the conduct of life were as important on the material side as were Buddha’s on the spiritual. The dragon at his feet is the emblem of royalty.

"The King of Kings" produced recently by Cecil B. de Mille, may be said to be the perfect picture. One cannot detect a flaw in it anywhere, neither in treatment nor pictorially. It is the finest achievement of the motion picture art to date, in the sense of lasting, worthwhile beauty.

Mr. de Mille, who is an East-West subscriber, is a student of religion. When recently asked to define his personal religion, he replied.

"I think it is best defined in the words of Rama Krishna:

" ‘God is the same flame, but men see it in different colors.’ I believe in all religions. We all are worshipping the same God."

Mr. de Mille tells the following story of what took place when they were filming the crucifixion scene:

"There were 3000 extras—of every creed—as Roman soldiers, Judeans and Pharisees. They had worked magnificently for months. This scene, however, was a severe strain on everyone, as you may well guess. It was the California rainy season. Although the huge set was built inside my studios, it was cold and damp. Fifty wind machines had been hurling dirt for hours. Everyone was grimy, dirty and tired—yet we were all uplifted. We reached the foot of the cross when I called a halt for a rest. The great pipe organ, which we used during the making of every scene, was silent. ‘You can do just as you wish,’ I told the vast crowd. ‘You can laugh, you can sing, you can pray, you can rest. Do what you wish.’

"Suddenly they began to sing ‘Lead Kindly Light.’ Out of the three thousand extras and players, fully twenty-five hundred fell on their knees. The organ picked up the hymn. I saw tears streaming down the faces of hundreds of the grimy extras. It was as if we had been whirled back two thousand years. That I think was the highest emotional point in my whole life. That is why ‘The King of Kings’ has the ring of sincerity. We did it with complete sincerity."

The following lines from Browning’s "Paracelsus" seem expressly designed to describe the epic flight of the brave American boy who has won the heart of the world as much thru his innate nobility as thru his achievement:

I go to prove my soul!

I see my way as birds their tractless way,

I shall arrive! what time, what circuit first,

I ask not, but unless God sends His hail

Or blinding fire balls, sleet or stifling snow,

I some time, His good time, I shall arrive.

He guides me and the bird.

In the beginning the earth was without form and void. God cohered the mists into nebulosity and spheres, by the same law that rounds the dew drops.

God is Law—natural, chemical, universal and supreme. God is the Divine energy that flows through the Universe. He is the Universe. God and I and my soul are one.

"All matter," says Mr. Lodge, "is composed of electrons and protons, simply knotting of the ether; and these groupings contain ninety-two different chemical compounds."

Substance is non-atomic. It is finer than matter. Substance is that from which everything is derived, and, when brought into manifestation through thought, it becomes matter. Therefore, the creation of our Earth and billions of other planets is Divine Thought. This is theistic evolution, a truth of Eternal verity. All matter, solid, gaseous or liquid, is persistent, continuous and indestructible. There is nothing lost, certainly not the human soul, which may be called intensified matter.

According to one theory, our Earth is a condensation of primeval gas or meteoric matter, thrown off from some parent star or enlarged by planetesmial particles that come in contact with our atmosphere.

World making is going on now. It is visible through powerful telescopes, where we see whirling nebulae in large numbers constructing other stars and suns.

Another theory on the creation of our planet is the Nebulae Hypothesis, which remains more popular than the planetesmial.

The Sun at one time was a voluminous body probably one hundred million miles in diameter, but today it is eight hundred and fifty-six thousand miles. As it rotated on its axis, the outside matter lagged and lost centrifugal force and it became disengaged from its nucleus center and floated out into space and formed our eight planets and nearly one thousand asteroids. By the same celestial and cosmic laws, these major planets in return threw off satellites or moons. The Earth and Neptune each have one; Uranus, four; Saturn, nine; and Jupiter, nine.

This story of creation has been fully agreed upon by the great scientists, scholars and thinkers of the world. It is not made with a view to upset old archaic traditions that have dwarfed the brain and stultified the soul. The Oriental proverb says:

"Study to know; know to understand, and understand to judge." You had better be agnostic than a narrow-minded bigot; the first does not know and the latter refuses to learn any great truth.

So on this bit of cosmic matter, we are moving rapidly through space one thousand miles east and sixty-seven thousand miles west every hour. It is the only case on record where we ride two horses running in opposite directions at the same time.

The great naturalists, after reading in the book of nature the "riddle of rocks," chemics, radio-activity, the disintegration of lead into uranium, and in every field of physical research, have agreed that our Earth is ten billion years old.

The following ages have been determined:

Bryozoans—800 million years.

Trillobite—750 million years.

Ganoids (fish)—500 million years.

Carbonifrous or Coal age—350 million years.

Reptiles—250 million years.

Mammals—50 million years.

We must pass over the story of non-organic evolution, that is, the creation of precious metals, gems, stones, etc., wrought out in nature’s great laboratories. Organic evolution is now an established fact, along with X-Rays, anesthetics, electrons, cell theory and embryology, velocity of light and sound, and hundreds of other great recent discoveries and achievements that exceed those of all preceding centuries.

Organic evolution accounts for origin of both planets and animals that came into existence, not by magic art, but by natural law, a process we are now beginning to understand.

We have two hundred expeditions roaming the globe in every continent and isle of the sea, and they are digging, exploring in caves, valleys, plains and hills for fossils, bones, teeth and eoliths for bodies and records of ancient and extinct animals and other forms of life.

"And now comes the leading question" says Swami Yogananda, "how did life originate on this Earth?" Life is the supreme miracle and the crowning phenomena of all mysteries. We do not know. It is a matter of simple faith with some, and of philosophical and hypothetical theories with others.

"Life is universal and eternal," said Aristotle. "In space there are both cradles and tombs," said Flammarion, the astronomer and metaphysician. Plato said that everything that appeared upon this Earth had its beginning in Spirit. The great thinkers and scientists stand on this platform—that all living organisms or primordial germs, under certain conditions, as of heat, air and water, originated in the slime and ooze along the shores of the once-boiling seas and oceans.

Plants and animals are of the same plasm, and in the lower forms it is difficult to say to what kingdom each may be properly placed. Protoplasm is the source and foundation of all organic life. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sodium, etc., in plants and animals, in fact, in our Earth, Sun, star and stellar world.

In man, the five senses are manifested and fully understood. The sense of smell began with the molesca and it reached a more perfect development in carnivorous and herbiverous animals. The sense of taste began with insects. The sense of seeing and hearing began with ganoids and fish. The five senses are more highly developed among the lower animals than in man, but the striking difference between man and the primates depends upon the quantity and quality of the brain box.

Human evolution has been physical, intellectual, social and spiritual. It is still going on.

Man did not descend from monkeys, but with them he branched off from one ancestral stem. He is related, but removed many thousand degrees. It is true that man and the anthropoid ape are connected by a thousand links and vestiges. Both have two hundred bones, thirty-two teeth, twelve pair of ribs, and are subject to the same laws of nutrition, assimilation, digestion, elimination and procreation.

The doctrine of universal kinship was taught by Buddha 2400 years ago. It was advocated by Pythagoras, Aristotle and Plato, great writers of antiquity; also by Shelley, the poet; Tolstoy, the philosopher; Darwin, the scientist, and thousands of other brilliant minds of the last century.

There is no such thing as the first man, monkey, fish or bird, ox, lion, cotton, corn, flower or tree. Everything is the result of changes, mutations, transformations and differentiations, brought about by evolutionary laws. "A man’s body contains the whole biological tree." Go back a million years or more, following the ages of gigantic birds and beasts with bloody chops, scales and claws, and we will find freakish-faced sub-human beings, which we will call gnomes, the progenitors of the human race. They wandered in groups and had no language, except signs and signals, grunts and jabbers.

Then followed the long, dark ages of savagery, in which man warred with brute force with tooth and claw, the only law of the jungle, until he learned the use of clubs, spears and battle axes. Here began some co-operation in hunting, division of spoils, agriculture and matrimony.

The races of mankind today have risen from darkness to light, from savagery to civilization; from clans to organized governments; from grunts to the alphabet language; from ignorance to literature, mathematics, justice, humanity, social service, and pure and undefiled religion that opens the path to heaven for all cults and creeds.

Reason is the weapon of science. Intuition belongs to the prophet and seer, and instinct to plants and animals, for their protection, procreation and preservation.

There is a universal kinship between man and the insect he trods upon. The Buddha taught this beautiful scientific truth.

The animal heritage and remnant in man pulls him down to the plane of the beast. Tame the wild beast, gorilla, jackal, hyena and "devil" in man, and you will have suppressed the lawlessness of the race. Develop the Divine spark and the spiritual mind in man and he will be attuned to God’s harmonious laws of love and achievement. Man is not fully created yet, but is slowly being evolved. Five hundred years hence the people of this age will be considered ignorant and half-civilized. It is only the dawn with the human race. "All are but parts of one stupendous whole, Whose body Nature is, and God the soul."

____________

Judge Lindsey’s outstanding work in the Juvenile Court of Denver has made its name a household word. His original mind and sympathetic heart have combined to frame laws of such practical and courageous constructiveness in the handling of juvenile delinquency that they have been used as models for laws in Canada and England as well as in the United States.

In his own Denver Court, Judge Lindsey has accomplished untold good thru his understanding heart and fatherly advice to wayward young people. He has made arrangements, among numerous other beneficial innovations, that cases of juvenile delinquency which are brought by Colorado "against" an arrested person, may be transferred to his own court, where the cases are brought "in the interest" of the person accused.

Swami Yogananda met Judge Lindsey and his wife in Denver in 1924 and gave them the Yogoda message. They became good friends and Swami wrote later that he considered that Judge Lindsey had one of the most original minds he had encountered in America.

The Denver Judge, not content to let certain social evils, which everyone recognizes as such, continue, has from time to time offered suggestions for their betterment. These suggestions may not be the right ones, but at least it is more to his credit as an intelligent citizen, awake to the needs of society, that he has opened discussion and offered definite advice on the problems, than it would be if he quietly and lazily accepted social conditions which his court work for almost thirty years has shown him to be productive of so much unhappiness and crime in this country. The Judge explains his position thus: "One must start somewhere in a discussion. My suggestions are put forth as this starting point. I have an open mind. My suggestions may never be accepted in their present form. But at least they are a remedy even if they do not prove to be the remedy. . . . It’s important to heal the patient, but it is more important to find the causes that bring about the disease. I am going to find those causes."

By discussion and frankness and deep thought on any subject, its solution is finally attained. That means progress. Otherwise, retrogression and worse evils result. Judge Lindsey has started the discussion. He does not say he has said the final word. But his views have made enemies for him, as well as friends. It took courage and love for humanity to start a discussion that he knew would bring, and which has brought, much trouble upon himself. A less conscientious man would have purchased his security with silence.

Ideas, as such, are not important. They come and go, changing with time and place. The fine traits of a man’s character are the only things that count. They are permanent and worthwhile. One may not agree with Judge Lindsey’s ideas but one cannot but admire his character. As a matter of fact, the Yogoda message is not in accordance with some of Judge Lindsey’s ideas on marriage. Changing the laws or even the conventions and opinions of society, will not accomplish any lasting good. There never can be a complete solution of the marriage problem until each individual has learned self-control and self-knowledge. Then he will know his true mate when he sees her and will be strong enough to await her. The Yogoda message is nothing if not practical and applicable to all the problems of our daily life. By helping us to help ourselves, it has helped society too. When the principles of Yogoda are applied in every life, there will be no social problems left to contend with. In the meantime, education of all kinds is the crying need, and especially education along lines such as Yogoda, which embraces the development of man’s physical, mental and spiritual natures in a way that is easy, earthly and understandable, but leads to heaven and to freedom.

On June 30th 1927, Judge Lindsey’s long and honorable career as Judge of the Denver Juvenile Court, which he founded and made famous, was interrupted by a court order which officially ousted him, in keeping with a previous decision of a higher court that there had been a miscount of the ballots in the 1924 election. But it is not difficult to see the powerful hand of Judge Lindsey’s enemies behind this astonishing ousting.

At a special election later in the year, Judge Lindsey will again be a candidate for re-election and we sincerely hope that the people of Denver, for whom he has done so much, will stand behind him to a man.

Many claim the Principles of life are hidden. Yes, but only from the ones who have not eyes to see. Without knowledge of the principle of music we could have no music. Without the knowledge of the principle of mathematics we could not work out the problems of mathematics. So, likewise, if man lacks knowledge of the principles of life, he cannot solve the problems of life, for he is a weakling, he has no life in him. So, just as long as we worship Jesus only, and misunderstand or ignore his teachings, we remain in ignorance, which is the cause of war, suicides, sickness, poverty, unhappiness, and all suffering. Religion and Education as they now exist in orthodox channels give no genuine illumination to the mind, for not having the knowledge and consciousness of the Laws of Being, they cannot give what they do not possess. When Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their dead," he referred to those ignorant of God’s love and lacking understanding of God’s Laws.

It is by love of the good and of higher things; by reverence; by the love of God, of the Great Power ...that our intuition grows. We must know that God is good and that we want to know Him. That alone is worth while. When we die, and our lives come before us, it will be this alone that we will feel joy in having sought. The money we have made and the worldly power we have had, will not interest us then. We will feel joy in that hour, if we, in our lives ...have loved the best; felt the best; loved God; and helped man. This is the true conception of death and if we have this true conception of death during our lives, we will have the true conception of how to live. This is a new interpretation of the verse, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

So shalt thou feed on death, that feeds on men,

And death once dead, there’s no more dying then.

—Shakespeare.

Man is two men; one is awake in darkness,

The other is asleep in light.

—Kahlil Gibran.

Beauty is Omnipresent, therefore

Everything is capable of giving us joy.

—Tagore.

"When any church will inscribe over its altar,

As its sole qualification for membership,

‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God

With all thy heart, and with all thy soul,

And with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,’ That church will I join with all my heart

And with all my soul."—Abraham Lincoln.

____________

I hold that to need nothing ......is divine,

And the less a man needs

The nearer does he approach divinity—Socrates.

MR. AINSLIE’S "PREFACE"

Mr. Douglas Grant Duff Ainslie, formerly Attache to the British Legation at Athens, the Hague, and Paris, and a delegate to the recent international Congress of Philosophy which met at Harvard University, has written a very interesting Preface to Swami Yogananda’s book, "The Science of Religion."

Mr. Ainslie, who is well-known in Europe and America as an author, lecturer, and poet, is the translator of some dozen works from the Italian of the philosopher and essayist, Benedetto Croce.

The text of Mr. Ainslee’s Preface to "The Science of Religion" is given here:

"This small book is the clue to the universe.

"Its value is beyond estimation in words, since between these narrow covers is to be found the flower of the Vedas and Upanishads, the essence of Patanjali, foremost exponent of the Yoga philosophy and method, and the thought of Sankara, greatest mind that ever dwelt in mortal body, placed for the first time within reach of the multitude.

"This is the deliberate statement of one who has at last found in the East, after many wanderings, the solution to the riddles of the West. The Hindus have revealed to the whole world the Truth. And this is only natural, when we consider that more than five thousand years ago, while the forefathers of Briton and Gaul, Greek and Latin, were roaming the vast forests of Europe in search of food, true barbarians, the Hindu was already engaged in pondering the mystery of life and death, which now we know to be one.

"All the world desires bliss, as the Swami says and proves, but most are deluded by desire for pleasure. Buddha himself never stated more clearly, that it is desire, ignorantly followed, which leads to the morass of misery in which the vast majority of mankind is helplessly floundering.

"But Buddha failed to state with equal clearness the fourth of the four modes of attaining to the state of bliss that we all desire. This fourth mode is by far the easiest, but needs for its practical achievement the guidance of an expert. This expert is now among us to give to the West the technique, the simple rules, which have been handed down for centuries from the ancient philosophers of India, and which lead to realization or the state of permanent bliss.

"This direct contact is always stressed as of great importance in Hindu thought and practice. Until our day, it has been out of the reach of all but those fortunate enough to dwell in India. Now that we have it in the West, actually at our door, he would indeed be unwise, who should avoid or neglect to make trial of a practice which of itself is intensely blissful—‘far more purely blissful than the greatest enjoyment that any of our five senses or the mind can ever afford us,’ as the Swami Yogananda truthfully declares, and adds, ‘I do not wish to give any one any other proof of its truth than is afforded by his own experience.’

"The first step can be taken by reading this small book; the others needful for reaching the complete state of bliss will follow, naturally.

"I conclude by quoting a few lines from my ‘John of Damascus,’ in which I attempt poetically to suggest what in this book is attained. The Buddha speaks, who for us is Swami Yogananda, since ‘Buddha’ means simply, ‘He who knows.’

"Long have I wandered, long, he sang,

Bound by the chains

Through lives and pains innumerable,

And felt the fangs of self on fire,

Of fierce desire."

"Found, it is found, the Cause, he sang,

Of self on fire, of wild desire.

No house, O Architect,

For me again can ever builded be.

Shattered are Thy rafters,

Scattered are Thy roof timbers utterly:

No house Thou buildest more for me."

"Mine is Nirvana, mine;

It lies within my reach, before mine eyes,

Now, if I will it, now,

I may pass now eternally away

To bliss eternal, leave no trace of me

In this or other place."

"But love I bear thee, love, and stay,

Humanity, for thy sole sake,

With mine own hands the bridge to make,

Which, if thou cross,

Thou too shall’st gain freedom

From birth and death and pain,

And thus eternal bliss attain.

"We have the Bridgemaker among us.

With His own hands He will build the bridge,

If we truly wish Him so to do."

—Douglas Grant Duff Ainslie."

___________

Man is born with the material consciousness of animality predominant in him. The soul is clouded over with matter and material instincts. Like a caterpillar in a cocoon, man is surrounded by his silken, clinging, temporarily sweet prenatal and post-natal tendencies. He must cast them off and spread the gorgeous, delicate wings of his hidden soul ...before the silkman death gets him.

Be not afraid, though your sins be as deep as the ocean or as high as the Himalayas. The soul remains unpolluted, like age-long covered gold. All you have to do, is to wash off the dirt, and the spiritual rays will shine forth thru your joy.

Direct contact of God, thru silent persistent demands of prayer at night and on waking in the morning, can alone satisfy the doubting soul. Thru the technique of meditation, God must answer. You have Him in your hands.

The trouble is, people are afraid of God and want everything else but Him. They pretend they are shedding tears for Him when they really want an automobile or a million dollars. God, being the nearest to our thoughts, knows this and it is not possible to deceive Him. So He stays away for centuries from most of the churches and temples and human hearts. It is proper to pray for the fulfillment of your righteous desires, but once in a while, show that you want Him also. They are self-deceivers who are satisfied with gorging themselves with dogmas and beliefs without actual contact of God. God cannot be bribed by man’s beliefs. He will only come when you are no longer satisfied to know Him thru the intellect merely.

We must be earnest and play the part of the persistent babies, not allowed in the apartment houses, who ceaselessly cry to arouse the attention of the Divine Mother. The spiritual babies who cry little in prayer and who fall quickly asleep—to them the Divine Mother does not come.

Pray, cry persistently, until you hear Her Voice in the hour of Silence. Don’t be satisfied until you are sure that you have heard Her Voice and can always hear It at will in response to your prayers.

This month read "Christ of the Indian Road" (Abington Press) by Rev. E. Stanley Jones, a Methodist missionary who went to India to convert the people and who himself returned as a convert "from Christianity to Christ."

Another fine book for this month’s reading is "Laotzu’s Tao and Wu Wei" by Goddard and Borel (Brentano’s, New York). The spirit of the Gita and the Upanishads is in the teachings of this ancient Chinese philosopher.

Read the "Physical Culture Magazine" every month.

Read scientific books, too. Each new finding of science reveals the glory and wonder of God. Begin with physiology and hygiene, and then study botany, zoology, astronomy or whatever most attracts you. New discoveries are constantly being made and you should keep up with them.

Read and think and absorb the good ideas of any book by sifting them from confused vague sentiments. A book is usually a mixture of facts, and inferences of doubtful truth. Separate these sands of unproved theories from the sugar of facts as the good ant does.

Do you run everyday? If, when you run or go upstairs, you feel a pain in the chest or are quickly out of breath, take care. You have a lazy heart, suffering from lack of proper exercise. Begin to take daily walks and increase your speed until you can run without panting. Then run every day.

A bowl of orange juice and pulp served with a banana sliced to paper-like thinness, is not only delicious but nourishing and can take the place of meat. Bananas contain more nutrition than fish, lobsters or crabs. They are grown by nature and free from all poisons.

Small squares of your favorite cheese served with chopped hearts of lettuce and topped with thousand island dressing, is appetizing and healthful. If desired, add a few nuts or raisins or pieces of sliced orange. Now that summer time is here, live as much as you can on fruits and raw foods.

"Yogoda has opened up every door of success for me spiritually, materially, physically and financially. I prayed for years to go to India and get its teachings, but now Yogoda has made that unnecessary. I lost the sight of my right eye when quite young. In the past months, due to my practice of the Yogoda lessons, I can see splendidly with it. I am so happy about it."—Mrs. Daisy Henson, 444 P. St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

"I have no words to express the gratitude I feel for the benefits I have received. Through the life-giving elements of Cosmic Energy which I have learned to apply for all ailments and ills, I have been able to overcome all fatigue of the body, by keeping well-charged with electro-vibrations."—Mrs. Julia L. Benjamin, 1229 9th St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

"I have taken other courses in psychology, philosophy and metaphysics, but this is the first time I have received from a teacher something of lasting satisfaction, and the first time, I believe, such teachings have been given to the masses since the time of Christ. It is for the thinker the concentrated wisdom of the ages. The physical and spiritual benefits I have received in the short time are incalculable. I know now how to draw from the unlimited storehouse of Cosmic Energy."—Dr. F. A. Goerger, Peoples Life Insurance Bldg., Washington, D.C.

"I have tried different systems of concentration. I can say, in all sincerity, that Yogoda far surpasses any system which I have previously investigated. It is practical, tangible, and if practiced, brings immediate results. I have realized a very definite result in the complete cure of a case of constipation of life-time standing. The spiritual realization has been a revelation to me, and will be of ever-accruing value as the years go by. Everyone who wishes an all-round development ....physically, mentally, and spiritually, should make a study of this wonderful system."—G. W. Hicks, 1316 Kenyan St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

"The doctors have treated me for over a year for a serious misplacement of the left kidney. I was left in a very uncertain and weakened condition. After having the Yogoda classes, I am perfectly healed and getting stronger every day. I am now beginning to be able to control my quick impulsive temper. For both of these blessings I am most thankful."—Mrs. Isabel S. Kelley, 5514 Carolina Place, N.W., Washington, D.C.

"Never before, it may be said, has the National Capital had such an outpouring of spiritual blessings, spreading over all creed lines. Washington has had its share of psychologists. But it is the well-nigh universal testimony that the Yogoda philosophy and system of not only spiritualizing our spiritual perception but of spiritualizing our bodies, was an entirely new experience."—Louis E. Van Norman, Commercial Attache, Washington, D.C.

"For ten years I have worn glasses, but since the first Healing Meeting I have discarded them."—Maude Hennessey, 707 W. Delavan Avenue, Buffalo, N.Y.

"Thru the Healing Vibrations, I was cured of a growth in my throat, which came after a fall last August, after which I suffered from breath and heart trouble. After the Healing Vibrations, however, I found I can breathe freely and run and do work I could not do before without choking and shortness of breath. Words cannot express my gratitude."—E. L. E. Waltz, Optometrist, 603 Brisbane Bldg., Buffalo, N.Y.

"Yogoda has not only taught me the truth but realization of the truth. It might have taken me lives to learn what I have done in a few weeks, had the door not been opened."—D. M. Rogers, 363 Colvin Parkway, Buffalo, N.Y.

"Only those who have tasted can know the riches of Yogoda. One of the many blessings I received was the healing of my heart trouble."—Mrs. Mary Jane West, 214 Purdy St., Buffalo, N.Y.

"Yogoda has done wonders for me. I suffered for four years with my left foot, which was hurt in an accident. For four years now, walking has been very painful. I also had neuritis in my right hip and hands. These troubles have disappeared, all at once. I feel like a new being."—Minnie A. Holmes, 90 Lisbon St., Buffalo.

"The greatest help that I have received from Yogoda has come from the fulfillment of statements in the Bible. The greatest revelation was seeing the ‘Light’. I found the key to the signification of the allusions to ‘light’ in the Bible."—Mrs. A. L. Ormsby, 3413 Holmead Place, N.W., Washington, D.C.

"I have had palpitation of the heart for over four years. With last night’s healing meeting, I felt a great wave sweep thru me of refreshing energy. Such awakening and relief from pressure and pain, made me feel that I was born anew."—G. L. L. Parkington, Government Hotels, R. S. Bldg., Washington, D.C.

"While taking the lessons, a disagreeable and annoying catarrhal condition of long standing was cleared up. What Yogoda has done for me, in opening up to me the possibilities that I have within me, that have been dormant, is impossible to express in words. During the past 35 years, I have heard many lectures and lessons on new thought, psychology, esoteric philosophy, spiritual teachings of all kinds, but Yogoda is by far the most inspiring and the most practical of them all. Any one who appreciates the teachings of Jesus will appreciate Yogoda."—Belle C. Saunders, 1603 3rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C.

"After one lesson I was healed of insomnia from which I had suffered for four years. To those who have not found the key to life and its so-called mysteries, I beg you ....do not miss this opportunity."—Blanche Y. Mitchell, 623 Lexington Pl., N.E., Washington, D.C.

"Yogoda is a sublime system by which we may expect to reap untold benefits in the physical realm as well as in spiritual development. The mere beginning of the practice of Yogoda has brought me that peace of mind ‘which passeth understanding’."—Mansfield Spasoff, 1514—17th St., N.W., Washington.

"Yogoda has done wonders for me. I feel like another person. For years I have been troubled with a bruised chest—I have no pain there now."—Mrs. Ruth M. Newman, 1132 C. St., N.E., Washington.

"Due to double pneumonia and grippe in the past year, I have had nervous trouble and insomnia. Since taking Yogoda my nerves are calm and I enjoy peaceful sleep—it seems like a miracle or dream. The time spent listening to the teachings of Yogoda is the best spent time of my life."—Helena G. Brooks, Washington, Hotel, Washington.

"At the healing meeting, to my great joy and surprise, I was cured of an involuntary twitching of the facial muscles which had bothered me for a number of years. The Yogoda lessons were inspiring."—Alice M. Prentiss, R. N., 2123—18th St., Washington, D.C.

"I am already reaping wonderful benefits physically and mentally, and am beginning to find that for which I have searched all my life. I had given up all hope of finding it this side of the grave."—I. B. Norton, 3516 Center St., N.W., Washington.

"Have been relieved of constipation by practicing exercises. Feel stronger and have longer endurance."—A. E. Harman, Hotel Chastelton, Washington.

"Thru the Yogoda exercises I have become a tireless worker, and thru the healing affirmations I have been cured of a chronic cold. From both the physical and the spiritual standpoints, I feel everyone needs Yogoda."—Katherine F. Bell, 300 Clifton Terrace East, Washington.

"By faithfully doing the exercises, I find I need only four or five hours sleep, and I have not been tired. This gives me plenty of time to do those things I’ve always wanted to do, but never had the time before. These teachings have made God a real Being to me, a Friend that we can always contact and understand."—Anna S. Walton, 1651 Lamont St., N.W., Washington.

All local Centers report continued interest in their regular weekly meetings. Some Centers plan to discontinue meetings during the summer vacation months.

On June 12th, Swami Yogananda visited the Washington Yogoda Society and addressed the members at the Washington Hotel.

The Cleveland Yogoda Center helped in the preparations for the Oriental Pageant. On June 13th, this Center heard Swami Yogananda in a lecture on "Mystic India". In March, the Cleveland Center published a special "Yogoda Service Bulletin".

In the last issue of EAST-WEST, we printed a list of the accomplishments of the Yogoda Sat-Sanga headquarters on Mt. Washington in Los Angeles, from the time of its founding to date. This list of services and achievements so impressed Miss Jennie Louise Fraser, a teacher in the Boston Public Schools, that she sent in $25.00 as a nucleus for a fund to carry on this work. Such donors will be made life members of the Mt. Washington Helpers Association.

The Yogoda message proved of such tremendous attraction in Buffalo that Swami had to give three, large, separate Yogoda classes and two higher classes before he left. Well over a thousand students joined the classes, and tens of thousands attended the free lectures.

Swami spoke before twenty of the leading Buffalo Clubs during his visit. His last talks were before the Civic Club on May 4th, on "Gandhi and India"; before the Unity Club on May 8th; and before the Buffalo Choral Club on "Music of India" on May 23rd.

Swami attended the anniversary banquet of the Woodcraft League of Buffalo. Ernest Thompson Seton related stories of the mountains, plains, Indians and animals.

Mayor Schwab of Buffalo offered Swami his state automobile in which to tour the city. Swami was much interested in the De Gink Institute, and donated toward its upkeep. This Institute was founded by Mayor Schwab to house, feed and employ stranded men.

The organ recitals at Swami’s Buffalo lectures at the Elmwood Music Hall were much appreciated. Miss Antonia Luisa Brico, protege of the great Polish musician, Sigismond Stojowski, was the organist. Her instrument was the J. N. Adams Memorial Organ which had been in the Temple of Music in the Pan-American Exposition.

On June 18th, the "Friends of India Society" under the direction of Mrs. E. C. T. Miller, presented an elaborate Oriental Pageant, "A Night in India", at the Masonic Auditorium in Cleveland. Swami Yogananda and many of his Yogoda students assisted with the program, which included Hindu songs and dances by Ragini, a Sanskrit Chant and Stories of India by Swami Yogananda, a dancing ensemble forming the map of India, orchestral selections, an Oriental Drama, India lantern slide pictures shown by Prof. Sandoz, and a demonstration of breath, muscle and will power by the leading light-weight strong man of India, Mazumdar, who held an automobile on his chest, restrained it while moving, and performed other extraordinary feats.

This Pageant was attended by several hundreds of Yogoda students from Buffalo, Pittsburgh and other cities, as well as Cleveland students. After the Pageant, these students met to greet the Swami, and were served with Hindu dishes.

The following day, a Cleveland Yogoda Picnic was held in Lakewood Park, after an Open-Air Service conducted by Swami Yogananda at 11:30 on the shores of Lake Erie.

Swami Yogananda’ earlier plans were to speak next in Chicago, but this arrangement is canceled for the present.

The Swami will give his next series of lectures in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Lyceum Theatre, from September 18th to October 2nd. These free lectures will be followed by Yogoda class-work.

Swami Yogananda addressed an audience of notables at Greenwich, Conn., on June 27th. The New York Herald-Tribune outlines this event as follows:

"The Connecticut Branch of the League of American Penwomen has completed its program for the summer and fall season, which will include a number of social festivities of importance, chief of which will be the garden party to be held on June 27th at the Pickwick Arms in Greenwich, at which many distinguished out-of-town guests are expected. The guest of honor will be Swami Yogananda, A.B., educator and psychologist. The Swami will lecture and he will be introduced by Mrs. Ernest Thompson Seton, national president of the League of American Penwomen."

The lecture was preceded by a luncheon and followed by a tea.

Who owes no debt for crust or crumb

Can sleep within a beaten drum.

When drinking water, bless the parent rill;

When eating, thank the plow

that broke the clod;

When donning garments,

Praise the weaver’s skill—

With every breath He gives, remember God.

—From the Chinese.

"Hard words are like hail-stones in summer

—Beating down and destroying

What they would nourish

If they were melted into gentle drops."

"Knowledge doth only widen love;

The stream, that lone and narrow rose,

Doth, deepening ever, onward move,

And with an even current flows

Calmer and calmer to the close."—Lowell.

"How far the mind has an effect on the body is not yet accurately known. What mental reactions may be set up to preserve health or combat disease cannot yet be stated. If there is anything which the progress of science has taught us, it is the necessity of an open mind. Truth must always be able to demonstrate itself. But when it has been demonstrated, in whatever direction it may lead, it ought to be followed."

Whether Mr. Coolidge was influenced in making these statements by the tremendous interest that people of all classes in Washington evinced in the Yogoda message and the Yogoda healings during the first three months of 1927, is a matter of speculation. But when Swami Yogananda was presented to Mr. Coolidge in January, the president told him he had been reading a great deal about him and Yogoda. At any rate, Mr. Coolidge’s striking suggestion to the medical profession cannot help but widen its outlook and interests.

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