"Ideas of cold and warmth, pleasure and pain, O son of Kunti, arise from the contact of the senses and matter. They come, fade away and are short-lasting. Endure them thou, O Bharata."

By identifying the Ego with the senses the mind becomes disturbed, for it then cognizes only impermanent experiences; whereas, due to the soul’s inner contact, the Ego hides within itself a dormant expectation for permanent equilibrated states of consciousness. The sense-identified Ego becomes deceived when it fixes its expectations on the fickle senses instead of the permanent-joy-giving Soul. So the Gita warns the spiritual aspirant not to get his Soul mixed up with the closely-associated senses, which will make him miserable and forgetful of his innate blessed state. The sensations of heat, cold, pleasure and pain are suggested by the senses and cannot be felt by the Ego if it keeps a strong undisturbed matter-disengaged mind. The word titiksha, or endurance, does not imply one should rashly expose the body to intense cold and heat and thus destroy it. If the body is sense-enslaved and unspiritualized, it should be protected from extremes, while mentally disciplining it to rise above its slavery. It is only when the mind by deep spiritual development realizes its aboveness, that the suggestions of suffering born of the senses do not register in the consciousness. Ultimately, when one sees the body as condensed spirit, through realization and not through imagination (as many try to do), then one finds that the spirit is above suffering.

(Kaunteya and Bharata are different names of Arjuna. Krishna calls Arjuna Kaunteya, or the son of a woman named Kunti, when he feels the weakness of Arjuna, and by way of encouragement, calls him Bharata.)

Here the Gita gives unique advice as to what one should do when invaded by sensations of heat or cold, pain or pleasure. To protect the body from extreme heat or cold is not wrong. Artificially cooled or steam-heated apartments can temporarily comfort the body and remove the physical suffering arising from over-heat or extreme cold. These are the methods generally adopted by modern man. But constant ministrations to and changes adapted to the demands of the body often enslave it to the impositions of environment. Herein lies the fundamental difference between the East and West in their methods of combating suffering. The Bahgavad-Gita says in this stanza that an environment-enslaved body is a constant trouble to the mind. An enslaved body is apt to enslave the all-powerful mind.

A deep metaphysical problem is involved in understanding the psychology of pain. Stimuli of cold and heat touch the nerve-endings of the body and are transmitted through the nerve electricity and nerve wires as sensations. No one knows exactly what sensations are. We experience sensations as the immediate feelings produced by the contact of the senses and matter. Sensations of cold and heat are entirely different from the objects which produce coldness or warmth. The contact of a piece of cold ice or of hot water is only experienced as an idea. A sensation or first-flowing feeling produced in the mind through the contact of material objects is elaborated in perception. It is expanded into conception, and lastly, conception changes into feeling.

Feeling is that faculty which passes judgment on the experience of the senses. It expresses itself in terms of pain or pleasure of the body, sorrow or happiness of the mind. Sensitive feelings get so used to passing quick judgments on the nature of specific sensations which they experience that the all-powerful mind succumbs to their disturbances. Sensitive feelings magnify sensations and instead of academically and impartially experiencing the variety of sensations of cold and heat emanating through the body, they create pleasure or pain out of their attitudes of likes and dislikes which they whimsically form in their hasty judgment about the nature of specific sensations. Feeling classifies all experiences as being pleasurable or painful according to its likes and dislikes. If feeling could be neutralized, i.e., made impervious to short-lasting excitations or ephemeral pleasures and pains, then all experiences would be merely intellectually cognized.

That is why most wild animals (not those who become sensitive through domestication) and savages and children or those living close to nature, suffer much less from cold or heat or pain, due to their lack of unmagnifying mental sensitiveness.

Consciousness of pain, physical or mental, is purely mental and created by the Ego and feeling. One may reason, "If anybody hits the shinbone of my leg with a hammer I cry out with pain. I did not imagine pain," or "Imagination of pain, as in the hurt in a dream, and pain itself, must be different." But the only difference between imaginary and physical pain is that the former may be roused by imagination and the latter roused by feeling born of a sensation. Both of them are mind-born. Dream-born pains hurt as much in the dream-consciousness as actual physical pain.

Some hold that sensation is the feeling of consciousness of a certain state in the nerves and flesh. Even if this be so, sensations cannot be felt without the action of the mind. A knife may be thrust into the flesh of a person under chloroform, but, though the stimulus is present there, there is no sensation—nor is there any feeling to create pain. Hence this absolutely proves that when the mind is detached by deadening of the nerve centres, it cannot feel the nature of a stimulus as an inharmonious sensation nor can it create the feeling of pain. Sensation is nothing but a mental attitude born out of the state which a stimulus creates in the nerves or flesh. Of course the birth of a mental attitude as sensation must exactly correspond to the nature of a stimulus applied to the body. Sensations of cold, heat and such distinctions between various stimuli visiting the body give rise to the different consciousness, mental states or sensations.

At this point careful attention should be given to the idea of the genesis of pain or pleasure. All stimuli applied to the body at first just report themselves as distinct sensations cognized by the discriminative faculty of man. Gradually, immediately after that, the mind begins to recognize the sensations in terms of utility. A sensation, after its appearance in the body, begins to reveal whether it is harmonious or inharmonious to the conditions of the body. Thereupon the feeling becomes roused and begins to develop likes or dislikes from certain sensations. This innate feeling (in animals as instinct) instead of intellectually cognizing body-sensations as harmonious or inharmonious, begins to feel pleasure or pain. Strong liking of the human feeling toward a set of sensations produces the satisfied mental state called pleasure. Strong dislike of man’s feeling to a train of sensations develops pain. That is why feeling-predominant people suffer heat or cold more than the better-balanced mentalities. Physical pleasure and pain are derived through long-continued mental habit. That is why harmful, distasteful drugs might give imaginary joy to some, and why the first taste of a wholesome, delicious fruit is sometimes repugnant to people.

Two children of the same age and health but varying in the degree of sensitiveness, made to walk twenty miles under the hot sun, or to undergo a minor, painful operation without the use of chloroform or local anaesthetics, will behave differently. The sensitive child may collapse during the walk, or cry or become hysterical during the operation, whereas the child of strong mentality may smilingly walk the twenty miles and not be afraid to do the same all over again. He may calmly watch the operation on himself as something wonderfully interesting. A doctor was known to perform the most complicated major operation for hernia on himself, cheerfully.

Hence my contention is that pain or physical pleasure, though they accompany body-sensations, are not created by the stimuli or sensations but by feeling, imagination and mental habit, born of wrong environmental and hereditary influences. Just as bad habits are so transmitted, so also the consciousness of pain has been bequeathed to mankind from its erring predecessors. As formerly the world bequeathed the strong erroneous notion of considering the earth to be flat, so modern man has been bequeathed the notion of pain from his ancestors who were not sufficiently versed in psychology to check the growth of the mental disease of pain or sensitive mentality.

In India, where there is a general notion that eating ice-cream in the winter-time predisposes one to catch cold, a Hindu friend of mine used to catch cold whenever he ate ice-cream in winter. When he came to America, he was surprised to find Americans eating ice-cream even in the dead of winter without any ill effects. He followed their example and suffered no more from those colds which had previously been brought on by his own expectations. Innumerable instances of such self-imposed troubles can be brought to mind by anyone.

Hence pain is a man-made delusion. We, being made in God’s image of joy, never were meant to suffer pain. It appeared in man first in the nature of a mild desire to warn himself of the advent of an inharmonious sensation detrimental to the interests of the body. Later, instead of proving itself as a friend or a warner of the body, it turned out to be a veritable tyrant-torturer to cause the tears of mankind to flow. A baby, when operated upon, cries more through a sense of inharmony in the body than through pain. The famous doctor of an orthopedic hospital told me the children in his hospital vie with one another to be the first in being operated upon and regret it if they do not get the first chance. "But adults are entirely different—the mention of an operation chills their souls, due to imaginative and sensitive feelings," he said.

This hereditary error of pain has brought forth fears and cries from self-hypnotized souls, as the imaginary sight of an imaginary ghost makes a child tremble and shout with terror and pain. As an absent mind of a chloroformed person cannot create pain, so my contention is that a strong mind may recognize the presence of an inharmonious sensation in his body without being sensitive of a created pain. That is why the Spartan, Boy-scout method of training, and the Yogi systems of bodily discipline and endurance, are not meant for methods of self-torture but for lessening the suggestions of pain thru developing the resisting power of the mind.

Sensitiveness is the root cause, the primeval mother of all pain and mental sorrow. Pain is the dread of death, whereas it really is generally a cessation of pain.

Inharmonious physical sensations—for instance, of a thorn in the foot—give rise to the imagination of pain, as the inharmonious thought of the loss of a loved possession of friend may cause sorrow. Some imagination-born sorrows cause more suffering than excruciating pain-giving body sensations. I know of a man who died because of the corroding agony due to the loss of his beloved. He ate, walked, talked, but pined away to his death. He decayed faster than if galloping consumption had attached him. In fact he had tuberculosis from which he had successfully recovered, but even after being cured he faded into death—killed without any physical disease.

Thus it is wrong to acknowledge pain or sympathize with misery-making sensitiveness in people, for it strengthens the delusion of pain and sorrow. All wrong ideas such as breaking of bones, crash from an airplane, pricking of pins, the burning power of heat, or the freezing qualities of zero degree temperature, must be gradually overcome by the mind first and then by the body. The Bhagavad-Gita says that, instead of catering all the time to the whims of cold or warmth, learn to endure them by mental control. The Gita does not advise rashness by asking a man to put his hand in the fire or to lie without any clothing on the icefield. But in the final analysis it is found that the body, though trade-marked by limitations of the God-untuned human mind, still is nothing else but materialized consciousness. Since fire and ice are also materialized cosmic consciousness, they should not be the cause of engendering suffering to the body. Unless each human soul breaks away from the self-imposed imaginary limitations of the body, he is never going to learn that everything is spirit and condensed consciousness.

In India I have seen men who after great mental preparation by fasting, concentration and deep prayer can walk on blazing red-hot fire without harm. Besides, William James proved that by the suggestions of hypnosis, blisters could be produced on the body. Such is the power of the mind.

A matter-sensitive man should avoid rashness. He must not follow a method which may be powerful but which may kill him when he sees it. The cure must not be worse than the disease. He must train himself gradually. He must first realize that sitting in a draft does not produce cold. He must practice using less steam heat. He must never be afraid of out-doors. He must feel that the snow and the burning sun are but materialized God-consciousness just as his body is. Thus he must reason that these similar forces could not hurt his body or cause pain. He must realize that naught else but life exists and that pain comes only by permitting one state of consciousness to affect another state of consciousness.

Pain comes by identification, just as the mother suffers at the sight of her son’s suffering through an accident. So also the mothering mind suffers if any inharmony is present in the body. It transfers its suffering to the body and vice versa. But perhaps another man watching the above-mentioned son’s accident may feel hardly any of the pain that the mother feels. Sympathy or identification causes pain. One must be impartial and not excited. This does not mean that one should neglect an accident to the body, but that he may attend to its cure as detrimental to the interests of the body, but he must not feel pain.

A mentally sensitive man, a "touchy" individual, in his outward contacts and conversations with people, always feels hurt. He moans and says, "Oh, the weather is bad." "Oh, I read in between the lines of Mr. John’s words, during my conversation with him, and, oh, he hurt me so terribly." Whereas a cheerful person, understanding the way of the world, in spite of severe tests of persecutions may wear a soul-warming smile and love his fellow-man as much as ever.

Thus it is that stimuli and sensations of heat and cold or of body wounds should be cognized by the mind only as ideas. The mentally sensitive persons are always troubled by even suggestions of a hot summer day or a very cold night or a slight operation. Man’s body must be made pain-proof, until in it is found not the decaying, hurting, changing qualities of matter, but the invulnerable, unchanging qualities of spirit. Consciousness cannot hurt consciousness without acceptance. It is very difficult to hurt an ever-smiling wise man who considers all the injury done to him as due to ignorance. He refuses to allow his consciousness to acknowledge or accept others’ inharmonious ideas. He knows that the Ego’s process of cognition and any hurt-suggesting thought can only be linked by feeling. Thought can never be hurtful unless feeling overpowers it. That is, consciousness cannot be hurt by consciousness without conscious acceptance. Certain sensations in the body being inharmonious suggest pain, but that does not mean they should be given the opportunity by a weak mentality to be successful in producing pain.

Feeling, mental dislikes, haunting suggestions of ancestral habits, lack of mental training, ever-increasing sensitiveness, and nervousness, give birth to pain. Continued sensitiveness nurtures pain and in turn produces mental sorrow. Whereas a steel mentality which cannot be dented by the blows of accidents and physical and mental trials can remain untarnished, ever-shining, ever-piercing the veil of dark ignorance, destroying the vitals of the apparition of pain.

As awakened immortals breathing the ever-living life and primeval happiness, let us by endurance and discipline of body and mind destroy this reign of terror, haunting superstition of the imagination-born Emperor of Pain. God made man and God made Joy. Man made pain and he will have to know Joy always to be God again.

When pain arrives in the body through cold or heat, hurt or disease, remember the following:

1. Your mind manufactures pain—during absent-mindedness or deep mental preoccupation or under the influence of chloroform, you do not feel pain because the mind is otherwise occupied and unresponsive to sensory impressions.

2. Pain is a friend which warns you of body-troubles, and is not intended to be a torturer. While adopting the proper remedies against inharmonious conditions in the body, do not give way to the suggestions of pain by allowing the mind to become identified with the bodily condition. Pain is short-lasting and has its limitations.

3. Divert your mind during pain by directing it into engrossing work. Keep calm and do not make much of the sensations.

4. Association with stronger-minded or less pain-sensitive people is beneficial.

5. The best way to overcome sorrow is to know that it springs from identification. Sorrow is not overcome by sorrow but by joy. Some sorrows we want to indulge in, but let not sorrow stay with you too long, for it will robe you of the richest of your soul’s possessions—perennial Bliss.

The stars

Shall fade away,

The sun himself

Grow dim with age,

And nature sink in years;

But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,

Unhurt amidst the war of elements,

The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.

Whatever takes place according to natural laws repeats itself. This may be accepted as an axiom, permitting of no objection. Forces and phenomena of the past are, therefore, forces and phenomena of the future.

We are all familiar with the Biblical legend of the deluge of Noah, which is but one of the great number of legends among all ancient nations and tribes of man about a great flood in the remote past that swept over the earth. Let us see how this happened:

According to conclusive evidence now discovered and to be considered presently for the benefit of fair-minded geologists and seekers of truth, it appears that shortly before the Glacial period, a polar displacement of about 64 degrees occurred and caused the oceans to sweep with tremendous violence over three-fourths of the earth. The polar displacing force acted from south to north, in the western hemisphere, along 165 degrees to 175 degrees W. Longitude and brought the equatorial region northward 64 degrees at those longitudes. The Sahara Desert was therefore the north polar basin of the preceding period, the pole being situated at a point which may be indicated by 26 degrees N. Latitude and 15 degrees W. Longitude; while the Andes, the Rocky Mountains, and the Stanovio of Asia were nearly equatorially situated, parallel to the plane of rotation.

As on the west coast of North America so in Europe, strata prove to have been moved and raised by lateral pressure over vast areas. In the northern part of the Rocky Mountains, immense strata have been split open, raised and shoved ahead over other formations for twelve miles, according to Leconte.

This indicates the inconceivable pressure, acting from west to east in this locality, as the earth was tipped over so that Alaska, which formerly was in the tropics, was brought northward about 64 degrees.

The polar displacing force which acted form south to north over Alaska acted from north to south over central Europe, and moved and disturbed the upper formations in many places. The Alps of central Europe appear to have been thrown up at that time.

As the passing cosmic force turned the earth transversely to the former plane of rotation, the sea began to move in the same direction and rose, on the west coast of North America, nearly to the mountain tops. Thus the flowing sea was pressing onward through the mountain-passes on its course east-northeast over the country. Contorted strata and ancient lava-flows show that seismic activity prevailed in a degree surpassing a thousand-fold anything of its kind ever recorded in history. As starta folded and crumbled, the furiously rushing water was forcing along debris of shattered mountains and broken formations, while angular masses of rocks, thus transported, denuded the surface, scooped out valleys and striated the bedrock along all courses of concentrated force.

The Wyoming pass over the Rocky Mountains appears to have accommodated passage for the greatest volume of water, south of the 45th parallel. This is strangely testified to by the tremendous mass of immense blocks of stone, heaped together, east of the Laramic range, along the valley where now lies the Union Pacific Railroad. "What stupendous agency scooped out this valley and piled up these masses of boulders, big as castles?" inquires geologist Hayden.

The Wyoming pass points toward the western end of Lake Superior, whose basin is dug out of a formation of red sandstone; and it is evident that this was the course of the mighty body of water that came across Wyoming. Meeting the Laurentian Mountains, to the east of Lake Superior, the flood turned southeast and continued over the basins of Lake Huron and Georgia Bay and descended with tremendous pressure over Ontario to the State of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. As the rock-bearing flood leaped over Ontario down into these states it had a fall of 400 feet. The Finger Lakes of New York, having a depth of 1700 to 1800 feet, although partly filled with drift, lie right in the wake of this concentrated force, and parallel with it, as it here descended with masses of rocks over the great cataract and hammered out Lake Erie and Ontario and the Finger Lakes, to the south. Big boulders to the south of the Appalachian Mountains are recognized by geologists as having come from the north side, and to have been transported across the mountains in the region where this agency passed from the direction of the Finger Lakes.

The rock masses to the south of the Appalachians, where they are heaped together along the main river-course several hundred feet high, contain boulders, says McGee, fifty times greater than any of the biggest stones moved by these rivers in modern times.

Geologists have long known from the striation of the bed-rock that a singular force, unaccounted for by the glacial hypothesis, once came down over Ontario from the northwest; but no explanation of it has ever been given. This article offers the explanation.

There may be more gorges in the bed-rock like the Finger Lakes, south of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, but which may be entirely filled with drift so as to have become undetectable.

The boring for oil at Waking, near one of the Finger Lakes, found no bottom to the drift at a depth of 1080 feet, according to the late Prof. Tarr, who had begun to discredit the ice theory as an explanation of the drift.

The small river Cuyahoga, that runs into Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio, has a drainage area of one-fortieth of the State of Ohio, or about 1000 square miles. Yet so far as twenty-five miles from Lake Erie this little river lies in a mass of drift 400 feet deep, filling an ancient water-dug gorge in the bedrock about a mile wide. The same gorge, which well might have accommodated the water of Amazon River, proves to be another phenomenon of a concentrated portion of the rock-bearing flood that came down from the northwest over the Province of Ontario.

The western wing of the flood from the northwest crossed the Appalachian Mountains in the direction of Washington and made the Potomac River gorge; while the rock-bearing force at the center scooped out Chesapeake Bay. A concentrated portion of the same division, farther to the east, dug out the Delaware River.

It is plainly shown both by the drift and the erosion of the bedrock that when the flood plunged from Ontario into the State of New York it spread fan-like to the east and northeast. This movement was also greatly directed by the Adriondack Mountains, at a distance. Thus one portion proceeded in the direction of Albany, while that to the north followed the course of St. Lawrence River, which was then made, and so were all the lakes in northeastern New York. Masses of rocks, torn out of their original bed at the east end of Lake Ontario, are scattered along both of these courses and have been recognized along the mountains, to the north of St. Lawrence River, testifying to that mighty force which had thus transported them.

Evidence shows that the tremendous volume of rock-bearing water that scooped out the St. Lawrence River valley reached to the mountain peaks in that locality. Prof. Hitchcock relates that Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire, 3250 feet high, is scarified from top to base on the western and northern sides, but not on the eastern and southern sides, which shows that the scarifying force acted from the direction of St. Lawrence River valley, which served as passage for the flowing sea.

It is a matter of observation and records also that the greatest boulders in America are found in the New England states where also other strange phenomena of the drift prove to have been transported and arranged by torrents of water of great volume and violence, pressing through the mountain passes form the St. Lawrence River valley and form northern New York.

By striking the Taconic or Green Mountains, the force flowing toward Albany, also divided; one arm going south and scooping out the Hudson River gorge and making grooves in the sea bottom for hundreds of miles into the ocean; while the arm going north scraped out the basin of Lake Champlain.

At the same stage of the flood, when all this was going on, another division of the flowing ocean came with equal violence over Central America, and it can now be seen on perfect maps, where the gorges and valleys in the sea-bottom are shown, how this portion of flood spread along several main courses. The northern wing of this force came up the Gulf and the Mississippi valley. Then, because of the force from the northwest, across the country to the south, this torrent from the Gulf was flowing directly north and scooped out the basin of Lake Michigan. By pressure from the west and the mountains to the north, it turned eastward, between upper and lower Michigan, and confluent with the flowing sea from the northwest, coming over the eroded basin of Lake Superior, it continued together with this as one force.

This explains the origin of the Great Lakes and the enormous quantity of sand on the northern part of lower Michigan, sand which settled in the back-waters within the great loop of the semi-circular movement of the flood in that locality.

But there were several stages of the flood in North America owing to the topographical formation of the country, and this complicated the drift and has misled geologists. As the water ceased to flow over the Rocky Mountains, the flood ceased to flow over the Lake Superior region, but continued unabated for some time from the Gulf, which portion no longer went north over the basin of Lake Michigan, but was flowing northeast in the direction of the St. Lawrence River. It was at that stage, and by this force, that the Finger Lakes and similar gorges, to the south of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, were partly filled with drift.

At this stage, a sea of muddy water covered the western plains and was held in check by the mighty torrent from the Gulf. During this stage, sediment of sand and clay settled over all other drift-formations and give appearance of belonging to another geological period. The ancient vegetation of Dakota, known as the lignite of that region, was buried at that time.

Then followed the concluding stage, which caused the most bewildering phenomena of the drift.

When the flood had spent its energy and ceased to flow from the Gulf, a reverse movement of the great inland sea, from the Laurentian highland to the Gulf, took place and greatly re-arranged the drift and gave it appearance of having been formed by a force coming from the north. This led to the origin of the "Glacial Drift" theory, so named by the geologists who have been misled by the complexity of the phenomena.

At the start of this reverse movement of the flood in America all the Great Lakes were at highest maximum stage. The southward movement proves to have been quite sudden and violent, for a ridge of moraine has been outlined by the geologists to the south of all the Great Lakes and termed "Glacial Moraine," containing, however, not a handful of glacial material. At this stage was made the baffling feature of the drift known as the "Driftless Area of Wisconsin." In order to explain this, the geologists have imagined different glacial and inter-glacial periods, stretching across time for millions of years; whereas the fact of the matter is this, that the highland from east to west, to the north of the Driftless Area, held the retreating water back from Lake Superior, while the highland to the east of the Driftless Area held the retreating water back from Lake Michigan, while masses of moraine or drift lie in great heaps from the west end of Lake Superior till way down into Iowa and also to a great distance south of Lake Michigan.

There was also a third and supreme stage of the flood in America, and the movement was universally in a direction form southwest to northwest. The main demarcation made by the flood is also remarkably in that direction, or parallel to St. Lawrence River. This probably is even more pronounced in Canada than in the United States. The force of the flood also appears to have been greater to the north, as seems to be evident from its cutting up of the west coast of Greenland, where it has leaped over the mountains and likewise cut up the country at the east coast. Much more of this may be learned by studying the maps in the light of the above explanation.

In Canada, where there was no reverse movement of the flood, north of the Laurentian highland, the boulder drift is said to be very conspicuous, inasmuch as transportation of boulders is traced from south to north for 600 miles, altogether contrary to the glacial hypothesis; whereas along the west coast of Greenland boulder-drift is found to have been moving northward for more than 1000 miles.

As the flood crossed Greenland and the polar region and came down upon Norway and the British Isles from the north-northwest, the coast lines were cut up similar to those on the east coast of America and the west coast of Greenland. The rock-bearing flood leaped over the Norwegian mountains to the north, and bore down upon Sweden and Finland to the east. But Nova Zembla turned part of the same force in a southwesterly direction, which also was the course of a mighty portion of the flood from the Kara Sea. These two latter torrents, joined into one force, prove to have intersected and partly checked the force from the northwest; for where this confluence can be shown to have taken place in Finland, is to be found the greatest mass of boulders on the Eastern hemisphere. Immense blocks of granite from northern Finland and Norway are found scattered over Denmark and Germany and were transported by this same force.

Near Berlin, says the Britannica, there is a piece of chalk measuring 2,000,000 cubic meters, which must weigh approximately 3,000,000 tons, that has been transported 15 kilometers; whereas near Milton, in England, another block that has been transported from a distance, is 900 feel long and 300 feet broad.

The great seismic activity, upheaval and breaking up of rigid formations during the mighty flood made this transportation of sections of mountains possible. They may have been moved along as easily as if made of wood.

Although the above outlines of the universal flood and its destruction contain many forceful facts as proofs in the case, let us here rely on other evidence.

First: The earth’s mass is in a state of expansion because of heat, and conclusive proof can be given that the greater length of the diameter through the equator than through the poles is due to the greater temperature and the resultant greater expansion of the earth’s mass through the former than through the latter diameter. For this reason it came to pass, following the geological revolution, that the internal temperature of the equatorial and tropical region that was thrown up to the arctic circle, began to fall, while the internal temperature in the polar regions, which were moved down into the tropics, began to rise. By this cause the expansion of the internal mass began to change accordingly, so that the surface of the former equatorial region up in the arctic began to sink, while the surface of the former polar regions began to rise. These phenomena are known in geology as the oscillation of the earth’s surface, but without any known cause or explanation.

More than two centuries of observations have established proof that northern Norway is rising, the amount being 6 feet per century at North Cape, according to Lyell. It is also observed that a short distance east of northern Norway, the land is gradually sinking and that this sinking is continued and increasing eastward. This is testified to by the uncovering by sea and storm, of masses of bones of an ancient tropical fauna along the Siberian coast and on the far-off islands in the Arctic sea.

Identical submergence is known to begin to the west of northern Norway and to continue increasingly to the west, so that stone huts on Greenland, put up by Norwegians 1000 years ago, are now found to be submerged. Continuing investigation of this evidence, we find that the whole arctic North America presents the appearance of a submerging continent. Thus traced from the North Cape to the east and to the west, the maximum submergence, indicated by Bering Strait, is reached along 165 degrees W. Longitude extending northward.

Corresponding to this settling of the former equatorial region, at the Arctic Circle, in the western hemisphere, we find that northern Africa, as the former north polar basin, has been simultaneously rising, and that ancient shorelines at Gibraltar are now 900 feet above sea level.

These phenomena prove to be due to the changing temperature in the respective regions, giving rise to the observed changing of the earth’s surface in the same regions, and thus proving that the polar displacement took place in the way outlined in this article. This fact established makes it absolutely certain that the flood took place as already described.

Second: It follows, since the equatorial region in the western hemisphere was brought northward about 64 degrees, that a new equatorial expansion of the earth’s mass, in the western hemisphere, would be going on in the following geological period. This is known to have taken place and is still going on as an unfinished geological activity, caused by the last polar displacement. The earth’s surface along the equator, in the Pacific, has long been known to be rising both to the east and to the west of 165 degrees W. Longitude for thousands of miles.

This great rising of the earth’s surface along a region of about 6000 miles in extent, proves that a sudden and radical change in the axes and plane of rotation has been taking place.

Third: Identical tropical fossil vegetation is being found along the entire western mountain region of all Americas from the Strait of Magellan to the Bering Strait, proving that all of this vast expanse of country, now stretching from south to north over two hemispheres, from one arctic to the other, once had tropical climate. It must therefore have lain parallel with the earth’s plane of rotation, in the tropical zone. This fact supports the preceding evidence and shows that a revolution has taken place. Testimony to the same effect is furnished by fossils of tropical vegetation on Greenland and Spitzbergen.

Fourth: It has long been known that a fossil remnant of a tropical fauna prevails in north Siberia, along the coast for several thousand miles and on the northernmost island, in the Arctic Sea, off the Siberian Coast. It is also known that during storms the waves of the sea always uncover bones and tusks, along the coast and islands, such as stated above. Eastern traders are said to have gathered thousands of tons of mammalian bones and mammoth tusks in those regions ever since the tenth century.

We are presented here with mute evidence of a perished tropical fauna of a former geological age that came to an abrupt close by a sudden revolution of nature, by which this zone was thrown up into the Arctic and polar latitudes. The bones and tusks, on the sea-bottom and on the islands, testify to the submergence of land to an unknown distance into the polar sea, during subsequent times.

As might be expected under this class of evidence, the remnants of tropical animals diminish as one searches southward over Europe, so that in the Mediterranean region, they are not to be found at all, whereas the antlers of the reindeer abound. This is very natural in view of the fact that by going south over Europe is to be going toward the north polar region of the former geological period. Of course, therefore, traces of the tropical fauna of antediluvian times will be diminishing as one proceeds in that direction, whereas traces of arctic mammals of the former geological age will be in evidence.

One of the blunders of modern anthropology cannot here escape our attention. It is held that the mammoth and the mastodon, with their contemporary mammals, appeared in the so-called Quartenary or Pleistocene period, better known as the Glacial period; whereas incontrovertible evidence in the case shows that northern Siberia and a submerged region, now covered by the Arctic Sea, were inhabited by the mammoth long ages before the Glacial period. Thus it is known that the ice mantle reached the Siberian mainland practically up till modern time, when, in 1799, a whole mammoth was dug out of the ice on the Siberian coast, and another mammoth, 100 years later, was found in the ice of Nova Zembla. When we now consider that tusks and bones of the mammoth are found on the far-off Siberian islands, and are washed up from the bottom of the sea, along the coast, the conclusion is inevitable that this was a country in which the mammoth flourished before it became covered by ice and the Arctic Sea.

We also observe that a revolution and change in climatic temperature came so suddenly, that floating carcasses of the mammoth were frozen and buried in ice even before decomposition had time to set in. It is therefore natural that remnants of the mammoth and the mastodon are associated with the drift, which is a formation and phenomenon of the flood, and not of ice at all.

We must be awake to the fact, however, that we have to deal with survivors both of the mammoth and the mastodon and their contemporary species of all kinds. There is evidence that the mastodon lived in America subsequent to the formation of the drift; but that does not upset the fact that the remnant of this extinct mammal is abundantly associated with the drift and proves to belong to an animal kingdom that flourished in a former geological age.

This, however, holds equally true to man. In fact, the great shell heaps along the Atlantic coast and the west coast of America, and also in some places on the west coast of Europe, were accumulated by people during the Glacial period. It shows that oysters were probably their main source of food, and that there were open seas along all the coasts of America.

That the earth is very old, according to the human conception of age, is quite true. Nothing can better demonstrate that fact than the Laurentian formation of the minute shell, foraminifera. Its crustacean growth in modern times is found to amount to one inch in a century; yet the Laurentian formation by this shell has a continuous thickness of 90,000 feet, according to the Canadian Geological Survey, revealed along lines of upheaval. As it took twelve centuries to make one foot of this formation, the total thickness therefore represents twelve times 90,000 centuries of continued crustacean growth! Yet this was but the morning hour of geological work.

But when we come to deal with the classification by geologists of drift-formations as representing periods of geological ages, spanning millions of years, we must admit that they do not realize or understand the phenomena they are dealing with in these matters. Much of their "millions of years" of Glacial and inter-Glacial periods can be cramped into a division of time less than five or six weeks, which appears to have been the duration of the world cataclysm.

There are lacustral or fresh-water formations of recent times to be met with, and local flood phenomena caused by draining of lakes, through which rivers have been flowing and, in time, wearing down ancient gravel embankment so as to empty the lakes and causing local flood and rearrangement of old drift material, uncovering ancient soil or covering new soil; but this required no extra period of geological time or millions of years. A week or a month at the most will have seen the change made. Angular masses of ice during spring floods might easily have accomplished such changes. So might also floods like those of the Mississippi valley.

Dealing with the complexity of the drift of the world cataclysm we should be aware of the different elements and conditions represented. We should not overlook the tremendous seismic and volcanic activity that prevailed during the formation of the ancient drift and for some time following, nor the fact that it was the outpouring of the iron-forming gases of the earth’s interior that made the red color of the clay in some localities and deposited iron ore formations, although these facts are not now generally thought of by geologists. Then we should be aware of the different violently rushing rock-bearing torrents wearing away at different land-elevations and thus frequently changing courses so that formations laid down by one torrent became intersected or overlaid by dissimilar material from another far-off region by another torrent, giving the different series of drift-strata the appearance of being the formations of so many different geological ages, a conclusion wrongly accepted by the geologists.

At last the immense clay sediment covered all other drift formations as the flood was nearing its close. This, too, has been deemed the work of long ages; but not so. Finally came the reverse movement of the flood in America and elsewhere, with rearrangement of all the drift in some localities, causing other complexities and other imagined periods of millions of years.

The city of Minneapolis is built on the ancient drift, and in that vicinity are to be seen mixed phenomena of two mighty forces during the reverse movement. The flood from the Superior region brought drift from that direction and covered it all with red sediment, known as red clay. But this torrent had no reinforcing supply and soon spent its force, whereas the torrent from the north-northwest came over Manitoba by pressure of the sea to the north, flowing south-southeast, and was of a much longer duration. The late Prof. Winchell recognized boulders in the drift of Minneapolis, even to the east side of the Mississippi, as having come from Winnipeg; whereas the writer has recognized at the bottom of this drift a yellow sandstone from Kettle river, (midways between Minneapolis and Duluth) which, therefore, was transported by the Flood from Lake Superior, at its reverse movement.

The flood from northwestern Canada brought gray sediment, know as gray clay, and this clay proves to have intersected and, in many places in the vicinity of Minneapolis, to have buried the red clay. These drift phenomena, thus proving to be brought about by two different forces, for two different directions and distant places, have been ascribed to different glacial movements, requiring inter-glacial times and covering millions of years; whereas ten to fifteen days could have seen its accomplishment.

The geologists, however, have observed that the drift has been carried and stratified by water, for this can be seen in any sand bank or gravel hill. But let us realize for a moment that the evidence shows that this water was flooding the hilltops and the valleys at the same time; that a sea of muddy water, moving with a tremendous force and violence, covered the country from Manitoba to Minneapolis in order to be transporting clay and boulders over that distance; that the water swept over the northern highland of Minnesota, when clay and boulder-drift were piled up at Tower and Virginia, at the same time as it carried boulder-drift across the Appalachian Mountains. This water, the geologists venture to explain, was produced by melting ice! But where was the ice, when the water occupied the whole country?

The geologists have assumed that the maximum thickness of the ice mantle was at least a thousand feet, north of the 40th parallel; whereas the melting and retreat of this sheet of ice was very slow and gradual, requiring thousands of years, they say. This, therefore, could have produced only a few inches of water annually, 5 to 8 inches at the most, all of which must have been lost in evaporation. Thus it is evident that no water for transportation of drift could be had from the melting ice. It may be said in excuse of the old geologists that, lacking the essential knowledge of the facts in the case, the best they could offer in explanation of the drift was a poor guess.

There are legends among all people of antiquity referring to a great revolution of nature. It is spoken of in the older Edda, Norse lyrics, where the passing comet-sun is called the Midgard-serpent; that is, the serpent of the universe. In company with him comes the Fendris Wolf, which stands for the terrestrial forces of destruction; and together they cause "Ragnarok" during which "the earth in ocean sinks . . . towering fire plays against heaven itself." another passage says: "The sea rushes over the earth for the Midgard-serpent writhes in giant rage."

Descriptions by Hesiod and Ovid are to the same effect. Yet probably some of the most remarkable legends bearing on this world-wide terrestrial revolution are furnished by ancient races of America. These legends speak about a great flood and fire which destroyed all the living save a few survivors; also that the heat from the depths of the earth was so great in some places that the rock surface boiled. This is remarkable in view of the fact that rock-formations in many localities are known to have been heated in that manner.

One legend tells that the sun ceased to move, and remained for a long time down at the horizon. This story is very striking in view of the cause of the revolution and the change and temporary cessation of the earth’s rotation, which of course also brought the sun to an apparent standstill, relative to every geographical locality. Another ancient American legend is more remarkable still, inasmuch as it indicates having originated with a people of high culture and astronomical knowledge and observations. It reads thus:

"The earth shook to its very foundation, and the sun and moon and stars changed their motion."

Now, since the earth, when the revolution took place, was turned in a direction transversely to the plane of relation, it is obvious that the sun and moon and stars all appeared to change their motion. This phenomenon was then observed and recorded in America at the time of the revolution, 540,000* years ago!

Again another legend says that when the sun Nahui-alt appeared on the sky, this undepictable catastrophe occurred.

Legends to the same effect are numerous, among which the biblical narrative is one. They all tell of the same tragedy, that more than any other tragedy impressed itself upon the mind of men, to be handed down from race to race till the last generation and the last day.

In view of the above sketch of the great doomsday of the past, we can judge the value of all earthly treasures and glory, and better realize the importance of employing our energy in the best way possible for development of our inborn divine life that shall survive all revolutions.

__________

*This figure is arrived at by taking into consideration the following facts: An expansion of the earth’s mass on account of heat is calculated to amount to 762 feet per degree of latitude from the equator to the pole. Two centuries of observation have ascertained that the raising of the earth’s surface with respect to the sea amounts to six feet per century at North Cape, but the true oscillation shows that this region, too, is gradually sinking with respect to the terrestrial center. The conclusion is warranted that the decrease of expansion in the earth’s mass at 165 degrees W. Long., and 64 degrees N. Lat., ha been going on at the rate of 9 feet per century. On the assumption that this subsidence is now nearing its close, we obtain a period of 5,418 centuries by dividing 48,768 (the amount the expansion of the earth’s mass has decreased in this region since the time of the revolution) by 9, the number of feet of shrinkage per century.

William Penn was born in 1644. He was the son of a distinguished British admiral, who in 1655 had captured Jamaica for Cromwell, and afterwards had given valuable assistance in the Restoration of the Stuarts. William became a Quaker, or Friend, very greatly to his father’s disgust. It was a time when the Quakers (or members of the Society of Friends) were exceedingly unpopular, and were undergoing severe persecution; indeed at that time, or shortly afterwards, there were probably at least four thousand of them in jail on account of their religious opinions.

William Penn himself was imprisoned, and underwent a trial which has become of historic importance in the development of British liberty, on account of the opposition aroused by the efforts of the judge to browbeat the jury into bringing in a verdict against Penn.

In 1682, Charles II discharged some of his old obligations to the Penn family by making a grant to William Penn of the vast area in eastern North America now known as the State of Pennsylvania. Penn immediately decided to use, as effectively as possible, this opportunity for carrying out in a practical way his religious convictions, especially those regarding non-violence, non-resistance to evil and the treatment of all men with honesty and with love. The area assigned to him was inhabited by Red Indian tribes, whose fellows in the other areas of colonization had been grossly maltreated by the European colonists. They were cheated and robbed; tyrannized over; made to sign treaties after having first been made so drunk that they were incapable of knowing what they were doing; persuaded to part with great areas of land in exchange for muskets or drink. In consequence, a deadly hatred had sprung up between the Red Indians and the White settlers in the districts bordering on that just granted to Penn. Constant wars occurred, many of which were marked by appalling atrocities; for the Red Indians were past-masters of the art of torturing prisoners, and this led to savage reprisals from the Whites.

In spite of all this, and in accordance with his Quaker belief in non-violence, Penn decided that in his new settlement, which was afterwards called Pennsylvania, there should be no military defenses of any kind,—’no forts, no soldiers, no militia, even no arms.’ In view of the relations existing in surrounding regions between Whites and Red Indians, this appeared at the time to be a piece of criminal and suicidal folly, but it succeeded.

In the second place, Penn decided to treat the savages with scrupulous honesty. In accordance with his Quaker faith, he believed that in every man, however cruel or degraded, there is (although it may be hidden) the Divine Light of God’s Spirit. He therefore believed that he could appeal to this best element in the Red Indians, and by treating them with honesty and love establish his new settlement on the basis of friendly and peaceful relationships between the races.

Accordingly, as soon as he landed in Pennsylvania, he made a formal treaty with the Indian chiefs, entirely refusing—to their great astonishment—to get them drunk first. Every effort was made to guard against any exploitation by the Whites, and to establish permanent peace and agreement. Penn was so scrupulous, that he even refused to sanction an arrangement, which would have been exceedingly profitable to himself for a trade-monopoly in the newly settled regions.

Later on, the Quakers in Pennsylvania, who held African slaves, became very uneasy in their minds regarding the legitimacy of slavery; and at a time when others regarded such an action as Quixotic in the highest degree, they set their slaves free. They not only did so, but ‘an enquiry was held, and by a voluntary decision owners setting free their slaves gave to their slaves what was estimated as a just payment of past services.’

Penn’s ‘Holy Experiment,’—as this attempt to found a State on the principles of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount was called—succeeded in a very remarkable fashion. Time and again, fierce frontier wars broke out in the neighboring settlements between the Whites and Red Indians. There were horrible massacres and other atrocities. The surrounding colonies put considerable pressure upon the Quaker Assembly of Pennsylvania to arm the colonists, or to help in other ways in the wars. But the Quakers absolutely refused. The result was, that ‘the province was entirely bare to the attack of enemies,—not a single man, nor, at the public expense, a single fortification to shelter the unhappy inhabitants.’

The courage involved in such an attitude may be realized by anyone who takes the trouble to enquire what happened to fighting-men (and still worse to women and children) who came under the power of the American Indians in the other colonies.

Yet the policy was justified, even when judged by the most superficial and ‘worldly’ standards. Amidst the devastations suffered by surrounding colonies in the Indian wars, Pennsylvania remained unscathed. ‘Others were slain; others were massacred; but they were safe. Not a Quaker woman suffered assault; not a Quaker child was slain, not a Quaker man was tortured; and when at last, under pressure, the Quakers gave up the government of the State, and war broke out, and some Pennsylvanians were killed, only three Quakers were killed. These three had so far fallen from their faith, as to carry weapons of defense.’

On one occasion, in any outlying station, a group of Friends (Quakers) were holding one of their meetings for the silent worship of God, when they became conscious that a war-party of Red Indians had stolen out of the neighboring forest, and were preparing to attack them. In spite of the imminent and terrible danger, the Friends, remained seated in their silent worship. ‘Not a man, not a woman, not a child stirred.’ The fierce red men filed in and stood silently looking at them. The power of God came upon them, and they sat down and took their part in that strange meeting for worship. When it was over the Friends, as is their custom, shook hands with one another; first they shook hands with those Red Indians and said, "We have been worshipping the great Father of us all." and the Indians said, "We have worshipped Him with you!"

It is said, "Faith without deeds is dead." Buddha pronounced three paths, the long way of knowledge, the shorter way of faith and the shortest way, through action. David and Solomon also glorify the strivings of labor. Vedanta philosophy extols the manifestation of works. Verily, in the foundation of all covenants, action is placed foremost. This is the creative fire of the Spirit.

—From "Himalaya" by Nicholas Roerich.

Shines forth from thy deep eyes?

What inner radiance lights thy face

With peace that glorifies

The pain-torn hearts of men?

What haunting echo hast thou heard

Of Heaven’s far-sounding lyre,

That ever as I hear thy voice

My heart beats swift with warm desire

To share thy soul’s rich dower!

To know thee is to catch a breath

Of God’s great sea of Love,

To hear His quiet oracle

Of beauty from above,

To glimpse the poignant mystery

And wonder of His Love!

What winged glory of thy soul

Shines forth from thy deep eyes?

II

Thou art like morning in a desert place!

Like radiant mist the shining of thy soul!

Thy passing step a benediction is

To hearts o’er whom the waves of sorrow roll.

I look at thee with wonder in my heart,

And see in thee the mystery of God’s love;

His Touch divine hath greatly dowered thee

With riches from celestial courts above.

I look at thee, and tears bedew my eyes,

The healing tears God’s beauty bids to flow;

And prayer unsought ascends from my rapt heart,

That God may keep thee whereso’er thou go!

____________

John Norris, an English divine of the 17th century, stressed the great importance of thinking (meditation), rather than reading, for spiritual development, claiming that "Ideas and Ideal Truths (the true subjects of our studies) are within ourselves, by reason of that union which we naturally have with the Divine Word or Wisdom, the universal Reason of all spirits, it follows that the most direct and natural way for the discovery of truth is, instead of going abroad for intelligence, to retire into ourselves and there with humble and silent attention, both to consult and receive the answer of interior Truth, even of that divine Master which teaches in the school of the breast."

Leopold Stokowski has recently been touring India for the purpose of studying Indian music. He is also deeply interested in the spiritual culture of India.

Mr. Stokowski, who studied yogoda with Swami Yogananda in Philadelphia several years ago, wrote the following tribute:

"Music is vibration, and all life is vibration. Yogananda has a profound knowledge of this, and of concentration and of charging the body with vibration. I have learned much from him."

The following interview appeared recently in the Bombay Chronicle:

"Music—the divine Indian music. That’s what has brought me here." said Mr. Leopold Stokowski, the famous Conductor of one of the finest Symphony Orchestras in America, who is now in Bombay, to a representative of the "Chronicle." Possessed of a charming and magnetic personality, Mr. Stokowski has most unassuming and genial manners.

"We Westerners have much to learn from the highly developed rhythm of Indian music," he confessed. Born of a Polish origin, he spent most of his time in America and distinguished himself as a world figure in the realm of Western music. "I have come to India," he added, "to derive inspiration and to study Indian music. I feel there is much to learn from the highly developed rhythm of Indian music and also from the division of the octave into 22 ‘Murlis’ which are what we call quarter-tones."

"I have already heard most interesting Indian music in Bombay, and so have begun my studies, and shall be most happy to meet Indian musicians and hear their music and study with them if they are willing to do so," he observed.

Q—"How do you find the study of Indian music?"

A—"Indian music is almost an entirely new thing for me, and I have to study it from the very beginning. It was only in the last summer that I heard a wonderful gramophone record of Indian ‘bin’ music. It seemed to me to be the most divine music I have ever heard. I am very desirous of hearing more of this music. I am also deeply interested in the ancient sermon chants, and should like to study that also. I am willing to look to the study with an open mind, and shall be most appreciative of any help I may receive from Indian musicians."

Q—"Do you think there are any business possibilities for Indian musicians in the West?"

A—"Don’t, please, mix the words ‘business’ and ‘music.’ I am one of those who believe that music has its own rewards apart from the expectancy of making money out of it. But you can take it from me, Europe and America would be much interested to hear the best Indian musicians. I first heard Indian music through the gramophones and I have come to India to hear it directly. But I am sure there are many in Europe and America who would like to hear Indian music but cannot come to India. It would be a wonderful thing if India could send one or two of its best musicians to Europe and America."

Q—"Does an average European appreciate Indian music?"

A—"Well, if you call me an average European, of course they do. For myself I can say that I am longing to hear and learn it."

Q—"For making the study of music accessible to most people, don’t you think it should be introduced in schools and colleges?"

"Of course," was the reply, but Mr. Stokowski did not very much believe in the formation of an academy of music and a regular standardisation of it, because it was the voice or the soul of a master that would interpret music and not the diplomas or the degrees obtained by him. He said only a skilled musician would receive patronage and not merely a man who had some degrees attached to his name.

It is worth-while to note that, besides Indian music, Mr. Stokowski is deeply interested in every Indian art, Indian civilization, religion and science.

"My creed is an all-absorbing love for everybody and everything. I try to benefit humanity by improving vegetation. A hundred years ago, I would have been burned at the stake as a witch for interfering with the will of God in the accomplishing of many of my experiments.

"Deny God! Why, I have spent my life in trying to prove Him. Perhaps my concept of God may differ somewhat from the theological view, but I have been in partnership with a Guiding Power, a Grand Architect, if you will, who has used me as His tool in creating the New Nature, for which I am given credit. Since no church provided this inspiration, I found my Temple under the Canopy of Heaven."

Those who have left their flesh

Dimly recall the world of senses

That they knew as Earth;

Those who are garmented in bodies yet

Are haunted by a life before their birth.

I also keep the archives

Of my joys,

Achieving, failure, sorrowing and sin,

Hours of sunshine, days of drought and rain

And cold and wind;

All written deep within.

Even the tiny creeping flying things

Whose happy life is spanned within an hour,

Remember coolnesses and certain glints

Of sun and rain—and so do leaf and flower.

And trees!

In the stout hearts of them

Old chants and moon-song

Talk of fruit and nest and breeze,

Shuddering death by axe and lightning sear

And lonely crash.

What memories have trees!

For trees are men unmade

And men are trees

Footloose and pruned

—At heart they both are one.

Trees once were shrines;

Their secret eyes have seen

All good or ill that men have ever done.

And sometimes when I pass

A certain oak

Or palm or purple-bloomed acacia tree

Or rest beneath magnolia petal-rain

Or touch a sighing cypress-comes to me.

And to that green thing, sudden memory

That moves upon a secret spring within

And though I call in human work

And it

In creaking sound,

We feel ourselves akin.

And while we cannot tell each other

Where

Nor when;

We know

That we have touched before;

And it has watched me:

Priestess? harlot? slave?

In human-dawn, on long-forgotten shore.

Whether of fathomed space or pond’s small brink

Whether of second’s flick or all infinity,

God and the insect, tree and star and I

Have each the cache of our memory.

Dear Woman, Blessed Mother,

With the heart that understands,

I come in pain of petty earthly things

That sear my faith.

Turn to me the light of ancient wisdom,

When in your hands

Grew Vedic verse and precept for the soul,

Thus conquering flesh.

In half a hundred arts of pleasing

You were skilled;

And plans of thousands hung upon the sayings

Of your priestly mouth.

Revered by all, apart you lived,

Unloved by gold or lands,

Though long in temple song, or dance,

You ravished fragrant nights.

Whence came your wisdom clear and good,

The balance of both heart and brain,

The eye that sees, the soul that knows,

The glory of your womanhood?

Teach me, to-day, sore-sick of shams,

Seeking the deathless strands

Of truth, amid the wondrous works of man;

And groping thus,

In laboured rings,

In loops and hoops of steel, and iron bands

What you, Great Mother,

Knew by direct consciousness of God.

Or, must it be for good of human ones,

Divine Commands,

Cause man by reason’s path

To find the partless, selfless One?

Thus, growing a new chalice

To contain the shining sands

Immortal, in tune at last

With the Living Law of Love?

____________

It must be so, Plato, thou reasonest well!

Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,

This longing after immortality?

Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror

Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul

Back on herself and startles at destruction?

Tis the divinity that stirs within us;

’Tis heaven itself that points out an hereafter

And intimates Eternity to man.

Each night as I roam

In the sphere of slumber

I become a mystic and renounce

My title, body-weight, possessions, creeds,

I break the self-erected

Prison walls of limitations.

No more an all-pervading son of God

Caged in a dingy clod of brittle flesh

Or bound by the cords of birth,

Position, man-born narrowness or material ties.

There in the eternal ether of sleepland

I have no home, no country,

I am not Hindu nor Christian

Oriental nor Occidental.

My religion there

Marauding far and near

Is plundering joy from everywhere.

There’s no lording god o’er me

But Myself.

The slave-god become the God

The sleeping immortal

Now the awakened Immortality.

An unseen God in an invisible plane

Drinking, breathing gladness,

Gliding in the Endless Land.

Free from haunting fear of a possible crash

And shattered skull.

No solids there to hurt me

No liquids to drown me

No vile vapours to choke me

No fires to scale my unseen form.

I shake off the memory of a fragile bony body

Remembering I am all space.

Being everything, how could aught

Dare me hurt?

Unknown to any, but known to Myself

I wake, walk, dream,

Eat, drink and glide in joy.

I am the Joy which I sought—

Which everyone seeks.

I was so little when I dreamt

In my mortal wakefulness—

I am boundless large now when I am awake

In my wakefulness omniscient.

___________

Ask me not the Eternal Question "Why";

You call me "Sphinx" because I silent kept

The Secret which is yours, although you slept;

You know the answer e’en as well as I.

It is hard to praise this book too highly. Mrs. Beck (E. Barrington) has outdone her best past efforts in writing this illuminating and intensely interesting story of Oriental Philosophy for the delight and edification of western readers. "A worthy successor to Will Durant’s ‘the Story of Philosophy,’" said Prof. Kenneth Saunders of it. Buddha, Shankara, Confucius, Lao-Tsu, Mencius and many another noble and heroic mind meets us in these pages, aglow with spiritual fire and insight, but simply and beautifully expressed. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Sufi mystics of Persia, the teachings of Zen, the ancient heroes of China, the Indian sacred scriptures and the various Yoga systems are dealt with by Mrs. Beck in a fascinating and unforgettable manner.

This book, as its title implies, is a presentation of the actual kernel of Indian philosophy. Prof. Shastri, not only a scholar but a mystic in his understanding, has ably and readably handled his subject for the inquiring western mind. The book consists of two addresses which the author delivered before the Philosophical Conference at the University of Toronto in 1922.

This is an unusually interesting and instructive little book, whose author offers a different plan of fasting than that ordinarily followed. Dr. Seton gives directions for various types of fasting—those undertaken for physical, mental or spiritual reasons. Good advice and worth-while thoughts are presented.

In this book the author gives, first, a philosophical explanation of the reasonableness of Reincarnation and its scientific and ethical values. He then presents evidence of the belief in reincarnation by the Biblical writers and the early Christian fathers and by all great ancient religions as well as the majority of the modern ones. Extracts are given from modern literature, lays and poetry to show that this inspiring theory of rebirth is again coming back into general popularity in Christian lands.

While this book is of particular interest to students of Freemasonry in view of the proof offered by the author that the modern Freemason Lodge is rooted in ancient Egyptian mysteries, it holds a wealth of fascinating information for the general occult student also. Dr. Stewart, formerly leader of the Cincinnati Yogoda Sat-Sanga Center, has given freely in this book of his rich store of knowledge of symbolism and ancient spiritual teachings. The inner meaning of the various Egyptian gods, the symbolism of the Book of the Dead, the purpose of symbolism, and Egyptian teachings and modern thought are some of the many topics discussed in scholarly, stimulating and illuminating fashion. The book is illustrated with figures of the Egyptian gods.

In this book the author attempts with much success to prove that all the problems of life and death assume an altogether different aspect when viewed from spiritual rather than from intellectual experience. The problems of the material world vanish as the material consciousness is outgrown and are seen to have been illusory. By an intuitive and metaphysically-inclined mind, and the seeking student of philosophy, much of permanent worth and inspiration will be found in Dr. Van Der Leeuw’s chapters on intuition and intellect, the absolute and the relative, the mystery of creation, spirit and matter, the phantom of evil, the freedom of the will, Karma, and immortality.

A digest of Replies to Miss Mayo’s book, "Mother India." (Chester Green, 88 Washington Ave., Cambridge, Mass., or S. G. Pandit, 5135 Range View Ave., Los Angeles, Calif.) 5c, copy, 50c for 15 copies, $1.00 for 40 copies.

This inexpensive little pamphlet, issued for the purpose of wide distribution to those who have been misled by Miss Mayo’s wicked book, "Mother India," contains extracts from numerous articles and books written to expose the falsity of Miss Mayo’s statements. Extracts from articles by Gandhi, Tagore, Annie Besant, Dhan Gopal Mukerji, C. F. Andrews, Rev. E. Stanley Jones, author of "Christ of the Indian Road," Miss M. M. Underhill, a well-known English missionary in India, and Margaret Cousins of the Women’s Indian Association, as well as articles from the Atlantic Monthly, Nation, New Republic, Current History, Unity, Christian Century and extracts from the official protest issued by the National Christian Council of India are used in this stimulating little booklet in order to give the fair-minded reader a chance to understand the views held by the best authorities on India, as distinguished from those widely circulated by the prejudiced four-months’ tourist, Miss Mayo.

The Son of Man—By Emil Ludwig.

(Boni and Liveright, N.Y.—$3.00). This is the story of the human Jesus grown into the divine Christ.

Bambi: A Life in the Woods—By Felix Salten.

(Simon & Schuster, N.Y.—$2.50). A beautiful story of the life of a forest deer.

The Life of Buddha—By A Ferninand Herold.

(A. & C. Boni, N.Y.—$3.00). Beautiful stories from the life of the Light of Asia.

The Presence—By Charles.

(P. O. Box 221, Washington, D. C.—$3.00). This book continues to call forth great appreciation from Yogoda students all over the country.

Man and His Becoming, According to the Vedanta—By Rene Guenon.

Translated from the French by C. J. Whitby. (Rider & Co., Paternoster House, London, E. C. 4—$2.50.) A scholarly and illuminating exposition of Hindu metaphysical thought.

Creative Education in School, College, University and Museum—By Henry Fairfield Osborn.

(Chas. Scribner’s Sons, N.Y.—$2.50.). A compilation of educational addresses delivered by one of America’s most eminent exponents of creative education for children and adults.

A Little Book of Loneliness—Compiled by P.B.M. Allan

(Philip Allan & Co., London—$1.00). Extracts from writings on the joys and discipline of the quiet life.

Mrs. Sarojini Naidu, India’s most eminent daughter, will visit America in late October.

The First India Conference of America will be held in New York City from October 14th to 20th, 1928. Mrs. Naidu, Dr. Ananda Coomaraswamy and other prominent Hindus and Americans will speak at the Conference, which aims to present to America an intelligent view of India’s life and thought, art and culture. The Committee on Arrangements has invited Swami Yogananda to be a guest of honor at the conference. He will speak on "India and America." There will be an Exhibition of Modern Indian Paintings in cooperation with the Roerich Museum, and other attractive features.

Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose was given an ovation at the University of Vienna by a huge audience, which included members of the Cabinet and leading scientists, May 4th.

Welcoming Sir. J. C. Bose on behalf of the University, Professor Molisch, a plant physiologist, rejoiced that the "Indian wizard’s" wonderful discoveries would benefit humanity, not merely by advancing pure science, but by their practical application to agriculture and medicine. He said Sir. J. C. Bose had the unique distinction of having his revolutionary doctrine acclaimed in his lifetime, as testified to by his election as a member of the Academy of Science, Vienna, and many other honors.

One of the most recent revelations in plant life accomplished by Dr. Bose was the demolishing by him of the old theory that the rise of sap was due to transpiration from leaves. Dr. Bose experimented with an isolated stem from which leaves and roots had been removed. He made the sap flow up or down at will at the University College, London.

The following two accounts appeared recently in Time:

"The Dutch hero, Little Peter, who saved a city by plugging hole in dike with finger, was totally outclassed, last week, by an Indian youth, one Mung.

"Perceiving a leak in the retaining dikes of the Schwebo reservoir, near Calcutta, Hero Mung stopped the chill rushing waters for six hours with his slender buttocks, collapsed in agony when help came."

Assan Dina, Hindu owner of Mont Blanc Observatory, died suddenly at Cruseilles, Switzerland. He had begun the construction of a larger observatory on Mont Saleve, France, to cost $6,250,000, to be equipped with the world’s largest telescope (diameter 105 inches).

Princess Roshanara Begum, Indian feminist, daughter of a distinguished Mohammedan Raja of Lucknow, recently visited New York and spoke on "The Challenge of the New Women of Mother India."

Miss Florence Holbrook of Chicago, prominent educator and author, was entertained on June 21st by the Indo-American Association in New York. Miss Holbrook sailed recently for Europe and India as a leading member of Prof. John Dewey’s party for World Educational Tour. She is much in sympathy with India and expects to write a book on that country. Swami Yogananda gave her a letter of introduction to the principal of his school in Ranchi, India.

The following article appeared recently in the San Francisco Examiner:

"Scholars are puzzled at a statement contained in a 2,500 years old Hindu scripture, of the Buddhist church.

"It refers to an estimate of the stars. ‘There are one hundred thousand times ten million worlds, the stars,’ runs the scriptural astronomical conjecture. Written in figures it is this—1,000,000,000,000. This tallies pretty remarkably with the estimate made recently by the foremost modern astronomers that there are some thirty billion stars in the universe to which our universe belongs, and there are a million similar universes, known a the spiral nebulai.

"Another remarkable affirmation is contained in the Mahabharata, 4,000 years old Hindu epic, referring to the stars. ‘The stars are immensely large, but they appear so small in consequence of their tremendous distances from us.’

"Thus, the Brahman scientists of thousands of years ago understood certain things which modern science is upholding and rediscovering.

"Not only in astronomy but also in geology the ancient Aryans of India were in a strange accord with the spirit of modern thinking. According to the Brahman scientists of the early Vedic age, the earth has been in existence for several hundred million years. That is the present conception of science, based upon a study of the radioactive changes in the minerals found in the rocks.

"In contrast to this ancient Hindu understanding of the vast numbers and vast periods

involved in the making of the universe, the idea in the Western world was current until very recently that Bishop Usher’s estimate was correct, that the world was created in 400 B. C., or less than six thousand years ago. How the ancient thinkers forestalled so much modern scientific conception still remains a riddle."

The word prayer often smells of beggary. As sons of God we must not beg; we must demand and believe that what the Father has, we have. Our demands must not be one-sided. We must demand everything which is good for us and above all we must demand Him. Then, again, there must be power and persistency in the demand. Demanding, with disbelief gnawing at the heart, is futile. Unbelief must be put out every time it secretly slips in your sacred temple. Demand must be continuously and forcefully carried on if you want to see Him act. No matter if everything tells you He is not listening to your demands—believe not—laugh at doubt—be persistent. If you do not meet with success in receiving some little doll of matter which you are infatuated with, be not resentful to Him. Sometimes it is good that you do not get the things you want. Sometimes the Divine Father protects your fingers from getting burnt at the fires of passions in which you wish to plunge, being lured by their luminosity.

Even through unfulfillment, if you still keep steadily, deepeningly believing that the Father is listening to you and will answer you, you will be rewarded with his presence. As the miser loves, dwells on, craves and works for money, so do thou love God. As the new lover loves the beloved, so do thou love God. As a drowning man pants for breath, so do thou pant for God. As the mother yearns for her child, so do thou yearn for God. As the drunken love wine, so do thou love God. As the diseased crave health. so do thou crave God. As the sleepy want sleep, so do thou dive into God.

Read every book critically and with open-mindedness. Reject the froth and get at the substantial ideas. Read books according to the principle of classification: something of real novels, something of physiology, botany, chemistry, physics, astronomy, astrology, psychology; and everything of Scriptures and true books on realization. Go over mentally, thoroughly, after reading twenty-five pages of each book, and find out how it affected you. Books are your best friends. You can quietly hear Shakespeare, Milton, Emerson, Kalidasa, Krishna, Confucius, Plato, Buddha, Christ, talk to you, solace you and give you infinite advice. If you have no friends or if they are a drain on your time uselessly, consort with these wisdom friends by entering through the portals of real study into the eternally charming and interesting thought-land. Read something of everything, and everything of the one thing of living books on God.

My heart breaks to hear that even in prosperous America, three business men out of four fail in their business ventures. I analyzed the situation and find that, though most people love money, few know how to get it rightly or invest it rightly after having made it. It is not sin to make money to nourish yourself and the bodies of your family because they were given into your charge. A failure neglects to discharge his duties toward health, happiness and success created by God. It is virtue to make money to help God’s work and thereby be worthy of the name of being created in the image of God.

Money-making is the next greatest art after the art of realizing God. All the good and philanthropic works of the world, all noble successes, have to be accomplished through money. No saint lived who directly or indirectly did not use money. But the great paradox and riddle of life lies in judiciously acquiring money. To love money is to be lost. That is the snare. You must use it rightly. You must use the right voltage of prosperity to shine through the bulb of your life—if you send a mad desire for prosperity, the bulb of your life will burn and become dark with the lust for money. Money is the source of infinite evil to those who rely on it as the lasting means of happiness. To those, it promises much until they have it. When they have it, they find themselves spent out—too late realizing that they have served a false God of the will-o’-the-wisp.

Yet money gives power, and if judiciously held with unattachment, one can use it to bring happiness to many and can himself outgrow the desire for material happiness.

It is easy to be idle or filled with hopelessness and thus desist from making a financial success. It is easy to earn money dishonestly when such opportunity presents itself. It is wicked by dishonest, organized craft to draw money away from the more needy. It is common to make money just for yourself. It is common to hoard money to satisfy the gold-craving.

But to earn money, abundantly, unselfishly, honestly, quickly, just for God and God’s work and making others happy is to develop many sterling qualities of character that will aid one on the spiritual as well as the material path. Responsibility, knowledge of organization, efficiency, order, leadership and practical usefulness are developed in business success and are necessary for the all-round growth of man.

Vegetarians should eat abundantly of bananas, cream or milk, ground nuts, cheese, cocoanuts.

1. Grated green cocoanuts with Thousand Island dressing, served on lettuce leaves.

2. Half of the heart of a lettuce chopped and mixed with honey, two tablespoonfuls of whipped cream and ground nuts on top, makes an ideal desert. It is better than pies and cooked desserts.

3. Raw food is nature-and-sun-cooked food with even temperature. Use it abundantly. But if you eat cooked food, let it be steamed or baked food without loss of the natural juices, which boiling evaporates.

He felt the heart of silence

Throb with a soundless Word;

And by the inward ear alone

The Spirit’s voice he heard.

And the spoken word seemed written

On air and wave and sod,

And the bending walls of sapphire

Blazed with the thought of God.

I know of a song

That is hidden deep down in my heart;

Know how the chords of my being

Are quivering to start;

But I know not yet

How to awaken the world with a song,

So I wait for the touch of a Minstrel

Who cometh ere long.

Music that throbs from a universe,

Wonderful, near—

Music that tells

Of the whirling of sphere upon sphere,

As they turn in the vastness of space,

I can hear; yet I stay

Silent and still in the darkness—awaiting my day.

And yet not alone, for you others, as silent as I,

Wait also, as powerless to waken

The echoes and cry to your fellow

The song that is in you.

We’re striken and dumb.

But to you, as to me, O my brothers,

This Minstrel shall come.

I have heard the strings tuning,

The throbbing, the music of rain,

That falls to an earth

That re-echoes the wondrous refrain;

I have heard sweet low notes in the wind,

Strong staves that the sea has struck on the beach

In its travail—but cannot break free.

Ah, we wait here the touch of the minstrel,

Who holds in His hand

The songs of the ages

Unsung by the sea and the land,

The words that the voiceless will utter,

The long-looked-for lay

That will break from our lips in wild triumph

No heart shall betray.

He shall string the great harp tuned to gladness

—The music of dreams;

He shall gather the songs of the rivers,

The laughter of streams;

He shall teach us the notes of the rain,

And the chords of the sea,

The songs of the leaves and the birds,

And the lyre of the bee.

Greater than man’s

Shall the Orchestra be He shall lead,

And then shall our closed lips be loosed

And our chained souls be freed;

We shall sing, O my Brothers of Silence

—Not one shall be dumb,

When to us, the dull brethren of Earth,

The great Minstrel shall come.

How much room does a planet take,

How many revolutions make?

When ideas of a planet-ball

In mind take up no room at all?

The selfless pool is part of all it sees,

Mirrored sky, aqueous flowers and trees;

It has learned to be nothing—and then

Is itself, and all it sees again!

____________

On April 22nd, a Hindu-American dinner was given in honor of Swami Dhirananda on his return to Los Angeles after a month spent in northern California. About 140 students and friends attended. Countess Tolstoy, James Warnack, Prof. Karl Waugh and Miss B. Irwin, in charge of the Mystic Color Display at the Pacific Southwest Exposition in Long Beach, were speakers at the dinner.

Swami Dhirananda’s subjects during July at the regular Sunday services at the Mount Washington Center were "Immortality—a Belief or a Certainty?" "Unfoldment," "Suggestion and Yoga" and "Universal Factors in Buddhism." He also spoke each Monday during July at the Church of Divine Science, on Yoga, and the Masters of India. He has been invited to address a group in San Bernardino, and to lecture again at the Walmsley studios in Hollywood, where he spoke to a very enthusiastic audience about six weeks ago. The regular Gita classes on Thursday nights at the Mount Washington Center are open to the public.

The Mount Washington Center received with much appreciation donations during June for the Mortgage Fund, from the Cleveland Center, Detroit Center, Afro-American Washington Center, and from many students in Cincinnati, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia, California, and other places.

James MacLachlan, former district attorney of Los Angeles, former congressman for twelve years form California, and beloved attorney and friend of the Yogoda Sat-Sanga cause, left Los Angeles in July in order to help nominate Herbert Hoover at the Republican Convention, and also to visit Swami Yogananda in New York City.

After enjoying the delightful hospitality of Mme. Galli-Curci and Homer Samuels at their summer home in the Catskills, and of Mr. Mott and Mr. Hunsicker in Pennsylvania, Swami Yogananda turned his steps toward Los Angeles in order to spend the rest of the summer vacation there. A large crowd of students and friends greeted him at the station in Los Angeles when he arrived on July 15th. He spoke that afternoon at his Yogoda Sat-Sanga headquarters on Mount Washington on "Scientific Concentration—Success and Power of Truth." The auditorium of the Mount Washington Center, which seats about one thousand people, was filled and many stood outside. After the services, a dinner was given in honor of his arrival, at which about 200 were present. Prof. Karl T. Waugh, dean of the college of Liberal Arts at the University of Southern California, was present and gave a splendid talk, which was highly appreciated by the Swami and the others present. Swami Dhirananda, Countess Tolstoy and Swami Yogananda also spoke. Leslie Brigham of the Los Angeles Grand Opera Company sang both at the services and the dinner.

Swami Yogananda conducted a Yogoda class at the Center during his stay in Los Angeles, which was attended by many old and new students. He was much pleased with the activities and the progress of the Yogoda headquarters, and the splendid work of Swami Dhirananda and his faithful workers in carrying on the Yogoda message in California.

At the invitation of Sid Grauman, Swami Yogananda and Swami Dhirananda attended the dinner given in honor of Carl Laemmle by the Hollywood Association of Foreign Correspondents, at which Samuel Goldwyn, Dr. W. Griffith, Irving Thalberg, William C. DeMille, Norma Shearer, Lois Moran, Delores Del Rio, Claire Windsor and dozens of other screen luminaries were present. Swami Yogananda gave a talk on "India," which was very enthusiastically received.

On July 17th, Swami Yogananda and Swami Dhirananda entertained Jan Rubini, the celebrated violinist and Yogoda student, at dinner at the Mount Washington Center. Another enjoyable event of the Swami’s stay in California was his attendance at the Spanish pageant in Santa Barbara, where the colorful atmosphere of old California days was revived.

Grace Thompson Seton, noted clubwoman, author, wife of the famous naturalist, and member of the National Committee of the Yogoda Sat-Sanga Society, was a recent guest at the Mount Washington Center. On Sunday, July 22nd, Mrs. Seton gave a scholarly and very interesting talk on "What is Occultism?" at the regular Sunday service at the Center. Swami Yogananda also spoke on "Is this Life a Dream?"

After the services, a dinner given by the students in honor of Mrs. Seton was attended by about 200. James Warnack of the Los Angeles Times acted as toastmaster. The students presented Mrs. Seton with a beautiful framed hand-illumined motto.

Swami Yogananda left Los Angeles on August 3rd and proceeded to Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Yogoda Sat-Sanga Center had a dinner and reception in honor of his arrival, with several hundred students present, at the beautiful Radisson Hotel. The Swami was very much pleased with the fine Yogoda spirit shown by the Minneapolis leader, Mr. Stanley Staring, who, with the able cooperation of Mrs. Jenova Martin and others, has kept the Yogoda banner flying in Minneapolis.

Swami then visited his St. Paul Yogoda Center. Mr. George Young, leader, and Mr. M. R. Keith arranged a delightful dinner and reception to honor the Swami, which he greatly appreciated. While in St. Paul, Swami had the pleasure of dining with Father Howard of the Christ Episcopal Church, a true Yogoda example and one whose deep Christian faith and wide brotherhood are an inspiration to all who know him.

Swami Yogananda next visited Detroit on August 12th. He there discussed with Br. Nerode, leader of the Detroit Yogoda Sat-Sanga Center, important Yogoda matters, including a new venture, soon to be started, of a regular weekly paper, the "Yogoda Healing Bulletin," to be sent out to all Yogoda Centers weekly from Detroit. While in Detroit, the Swami was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Rall, who have always afforded him a hospitable welcome during his visits to their city.

The Swami next proceeded to Cleveland, where he addressed a large audience of the Cleveland Yogoda Center students at the Hotel Statler, on August 14th. Rev. Lohman, leader, arranged the fine meeting.

The Swami spoke before his Buffalo Yogoda Center students in July, before going to Los Angeles, on the subject of "Dream Consciousness." While there he was pleased to meet Dr. Bhagat Thind, and invited him to address the Buffalo Yogoda Center.

The Pittsburgh Yogoda Center, under the able leadership of R. K. Das, has invited Brahmacharee Nerode to lecture in Pittsburgh this fall.

The Cincinnati Yogoda Center had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Thomas Stewart lecture on "Teacher and Teaching" on June 10th. The Center conducts Sunday lectures and Monday student meetings.

Brahmachari Jotin, the new leader brought from Swami Yogananda’s school in Ranchi, India, to take charge of the Washington Yogoda Society, took up his duties in Washington on June 17th, and has held regular Sunday evening meetings with good attendance all summer, despite the hot weather. The General Committee of the Washington Yogoda Society had made every arrangement for his comfort and had leased and furnished an attractive apartment for him. Brahmachariji is reviewing the Yogoda lessons for the students and in addition has organized several small classes for study of the Scriptures. At present he is giving a fine spiritual interpretation of Genesis.

The General Committee regrets to announce the resignation of Mr. John B. Freeman, Vice-Chairman of the General Committee and Chairman of the Business Committee. Mr. Freeman severed his connection with the Washington Branch of the National City Company of New York City and has entered upon engagements which require him to leave Washington. The General Committee feels keenly the loss of one of its most active members, for Mr. Freeman held himself responsible for practically all the business arrangements of the Society. At the same time the committee is fortunate in being able to announce that Mr. Louis E. Van Norman has accepted the appointment as Vice-Chairman of the General Committee. Mr. Van Norman had charge of supplying leaders for the meetings of the Society during the past winter, and it is largely due to his efforts in this direction that interest was sustained among the membership during the period of expectation for the arrival of Brahmachari Jotin.

Swami Yogananda visited his Washington Center on August 19th and addressed a large number of students. He was much pleased with the way Brahmachariji is carrying on his work in Washington.

On October 7th, a special lecture will be given by the Swami on "My Mother India," which will be followed by a complete showing of Prof. Sandoz’s marvelous pictures of India.

Swami Yogananda is well-known in Boston, having landed there in 1920 when he first came to America as the delegate from India to the International Congress of Religious Liberals. At that time he expected to remain only a few months in America! He was a stranger, without friends or ties in this land, and with many responsibilities calling him back to India. But the desire of America for the message of India has held him here now for eight years.

Swami Yogananda spread the Yogoda message very enthusiastically and successfully in Philadelphia during May and June, 1928, and was happy to see the earnest spiritual response of that city. The Swami carries with him many happy memories of Philadelphia, including beautiful friendships with Mr. T. F. Clabby and several others. The Philadelphia Yogoda students have met several times during the summer to carry on their studies.

A recent pleasure enjoyed by Swami Yogananda was his meeting, through Madame Galli-Curci and Mr. R. J. Cromie of the Vancouver Sun, with Mr. Clarence W. Barron, publisher of the Wall Street Journal and other financial reports in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Mr. Barron and the Swami dined together in New York and discussed matters of common interest, including the writing of Swedenborg, on which Mr. Barron is an authority;. Mr. Barron’s powerful and many-sided personality enables him to combine an intensely active life with the study and development of his spiritual nature. The following extract is from a speech on Swedenborg given by Mr. Barron at the New-Church Club in Boston:

"The way to enlarge the affections and the driving forces in life, business, and service to your fellow man, is to enlarge the truth within you. But if you are determined to serve yourself and not your fellow man, your perceptions of truth will be dulled, narrowed and distorted. You will not go far in the temple, and your service in life will be restricted; for neither the Lord’s truth, nor the Lord’s love, can flow through you; and if truth were permitted to flow into you, but not through you, it could be your destruction.

"It is the mercy of the Lord that certain great truths are kept from certain people, or from millions of people, who would profane the truths and harm themselves.

"The Flaming Sword must ever keep the way of life; for it is still true that ‘Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart’ (Ps. xcvii, II). The declaration of nineteen hundred years ago still stands: ‘If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him’ (John xiv, 23). This was the answer to the disciples who asked: ‘How is it Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us and not unto the world?’

"If you want to read the answer in Swedenborg, it can be found in ‘Arcana Coelestia,’ n. 2388:

"‘The truths of faith are the very receiving ‘vessels of good. As far as man recedes from evil, so far good enters and applies itself to his truth; and then the truth of faith with him becomes the good of faith.’

"Faith and the phrase ‘the goods and truths of faith’ are largely without popular meaning, and the work ‘faith’ has been much abused in the English tongue. But to the New-Churchman the word "faith’ should comprehend all of his truth and all of his life; for faith is real obedience, as Swedenborg many times declares."

The following excerpt is re-printed from the Los Angeles Times of May 7, 1928:

"The Science of Silence" is the subject of a sermon preached yesterday by Swami Dhirananda at Mt. Washington Educational Center. Excerpts form the sermon follow:

"Our physical ears have limited sensibility. Science says, whether we perceive all sounds or not, soundlessness in this universe is an impossibility. If it be so, then silence is not an absence of sounds, but our failure to detect their presence. But is this negative definition of silence complete? If it were, then the worship of silence by the poet, the genius, the man of action, the ordinary man or the spiritual man, thus to prepare his mind to create or give something to the world, would be meaningless. Truly speaking, silence is a positive force of consciousness, the absence of outer sounds and inner disturbing thoughts being the favorable occasion for it to assert itself. Silence is not just not to talk, but to any wholehearted homage to something more than speech, the dignity of the Soul or the dignity of reason at a particular situation. Silence is the blessing of the eternal on the temporal man. It is the dynamic center of creation. Whatever you wish you will get from it—kingdom of matter or kingdom of spirit."

The Swami’s address inspired the following poem by James M. Warnack:

Out of the silence and song of the lark,

The humming-bird and the bee;

Out of the mystery, out of the dark,

The laugh of the joy-mad sea.

Up from the tomb of the centuries

(Sweeter with passing years)

Gush forth those heavenly harmonies

That fill the eyes with tears.

Out of the mist of the pallid past

The speech of wisdom rings;

Out of the night the trumpet-blast

And rustle of angels’ wings.

Out of the silent heart of Life,

And into the hearts of men

Sweet Music comes to call and guide

Life’s children home again.

____________

If thou swim

In wealth, see Him in all; see all in Him;

Sink’st thou in want, and is thy small cruse spent?

See Him in want; enjoy Him in content.

—Francis Quarles.

"The recharging vitalizing exercises are all they were promised to be . . . great benefits will be derived continuously from them from day to day, in addition to those experienced from the very beginning. I hope some day to see every educational center incorporate your principles regarding transmuting creative energy, in their curriculum."—V. E. Rogers, 1107 Wallace St., Philadelphia, Pa.

"The world is looking for a new world teacher. I believe the Yogoda teaching will be as far-reaching for good, and to bring the people once more back to God, as was the teaching of Jesus. We have read the Bible without understanding. Your masterful interpretation is wonderful and beautiful—opening our eyes that we might see God in everything, and best of all, in self."—Ferdinand Letoriere, 200 W. Johnson St., Phila.

"It had been the height of my ambition from childhood to tread the sacred soil of India and there learn God’s mysteries. Through Yogoda, God gave me all that I had hoped and prayed for so long."—M. W. Davenport, 3955 Ludlow St., Phila.

"Yogoda has come to stay in my life as a fixed purpose toward true realization. It fascinates my soul and animates my whole being with luminous consciousness, seeing ‘energy’ in every cell of my body. I feel, now, not as body isolated in the midst of chaos, but as a center of a universe moving in the orbit of Law toward a fixed destination. Because Yogoda wakes your soul, it, when fixed in your being, will stay with you forever. Yogoda can precipitate actual bliss for all mankind."—Mr. I. Spiegelman, 881 No. 5th St., Phila.

"Last November I had a stroke which paralyzed my right side. It left me with a fear of falling without the support of a cane. During the divine healing by Swami Yogananda I was healed of that fear. Yogoda has given me new life and inspiration, and brought me in closer contact with God and Truth. I am devoted to its teachings."—Florence K. Miller, 3631 N. Gratz St., Phila. (This written testimonial by Mrs. miller is the first writing she had been able to do since her paralysis).

"It fills me with joy to write in appreciation of Yogoda and of the many benefits I have received through its teachings. Now I know how to concentrate and meditate, which brings me into a closer relationship with God. It has opened a new life to me. When I see how my sister has been blessed through Yogoda, I appreciate God more, and I shall pray for Yogoda’s spread all over the land."—Bessie Kaufman, 3631 N. Gratz St., Phila. (Mrs. Miller’s sister—see preceding testimonial).

"I wish I could express myself, for I feel like another person since I first began to attend the lectures. Yogoda is like the rays of a beautiful day after a long siege of rain. I am glad that I was one of the number that was ready for it when it appeared. It is just heavenly to have this peace on earth. I have been pondering and searching for contentment. I have the answer now and I am grateful beyond words to Yogoda. If I had a thousand tongues, I could not give thanks as I wish."—L. Meekins, 1810 Montrose St., Phila.

"Your lessons have done more for me in showing me the way to understanding and peace than all the study I have ever done."—E. G. Fredericks, 1426 W. Norris St., Phila.

"Yogoda has helped me more than anything else in the world. I was never able before to accept the teachings of our Bible, as taught to us. Now I have the realization (of the Bible) which was necessary and at last I can be happy without reservation. Physically a change is gradually coming about, due to the Yogoda system."—N. Giberson, 258 Springton Rd., Upper Darby, Pa.

"For some time I have had a longing for a practical spiritual guidance and it is being realized through your teaching Yogoda. To me, this revelation is fundamental for an understanding of life and death. Being a teacher, I thoroughly appreciate the different phases of your work and I am happy to say, because of Yogoda, I find myself so strengthened physically, mentally and spiritually that I daily prove myself by far more useful work."—Letitia Cottman, 1836 N. 22nd St., Phila.

"The teaching I received from you has opened a new dawn for me which will never darken, for I am traveling in light; my body of cells shall be the temple of the Lord and my pledge is to serve Him. Since childhood I have always prayed sincerely to see God and to come into real contact with Him and through Yogoda I have found him"—C. Eberland, 1045 Edgemore Rd., Overbrook, Pa.

"By practicing your lessons, I will find more health and happiness than I have ever had before. I have had several other courses in psychology and metaphysics, but none has inspired me as Yogoda has. It has surely shown me the true way to God."—Mr. A. Alpert, Box 131, Phila.

"Yogoda has proved a revelation to me, bringing me into the understanding of the true character of God, and of interpreting the Bible spiritually. The lessons have given me a spiritual uplift, quickening of the intellect and a richer understanding. The course has been a great inspiration. The series of exercises is most admirable, bringing a calmness over the body and mind. The points which have been confusing to me are now clarified. I look forward in the confident assurance that I am now being led from the narrow confines of ignorance and sense-consciousness into the realms of perfect bliss, a broader, newer and freer life that has ordained for me from the foundations of the world."—E. V. Heaton, 1949 N. 19th St., Phila.

"These Yogoda classes, only and alone, have given me a right belief in and a real grasp of the spirit and power of cosmic consciousness, of God and our relation to Him, of right exercise and right food, of the Life Forces in this our world and universe, and of how we should rightly use them for our development. I now realize much more fully how completely you carry the power of Yogoda, or ‘harmonious development of all human faculties’ and of Sat-Sanga or ‘fellowship with Truth.’"—James M. Denny, 2620 Gray’s Ferry Rd., Phila.

"If these truths of Yogoda could be taught in the schools and churches,m I believe that in fifty years there would be hardly any need for prisons or divorce courts."—O. Turner, 912 N. 12th St., Phila.

Hugh M. Sterling, a prominent attorney of Washington, D. C., and a member of the Washington Yogoda Society, has written the following article about Yogoda, which was recently published in part in the Washington Post:

"India’s message is that spirit and not matter is the only reality, that God who is spirit and all pervading Bliss, is not a being apart from man but is in unity with him, immanent in all life, and, what is to important to us, immanent in us, always there as our larger self and available when the smaller self or ego shall seek a greater contact with and mergence in His being. We have sunk in desperation and loneliness under the vague idea of Him because we have not had the realization of His making us one with Him as Christ made Him one.

"Though we send missionaries to India they come back and tell us the Hindus will take our Christ but not our brand of Christianity, and one of the greatest of these missionaries* tells us that civilization and religion would suffer most greatly if there were lost to them the Hindu ideas of the reality of spirit, the reality of God consciously present to us in our lives and forming the highest Self of each. ‘Yogoda’ presents this reality and the realization of God, ever present in our consciousness, and realized in us as Bliss, that attends us at all times, and not merely upon occasions. The fault is our own that we do not have a realization of God, but a far away and doubtful hope instead. The Hindu takes Christ as God’s highest manifesting of himself as identified with the human. To him He is the Mystic, sweet and pure, a fountain head of love, that yearns to open humanity’s eyes and hearts to the supreme reality of man’s spiritual nature, the storehouse of all that is worth while and enduring, the Kingdom of God; while the Western church has often encumbered the real teachings of the simple Christ with dogma that changed Him from a mystic to a myth.

"‘Yogoda’ tells us that man consists not so much of a body as of states of consciousness, and that by the development of these states we reach our high destiny of realizing the indwelling God, and that there is no separateness, but a unity that only needs the exercise of conscious will for contact and knowledge of His presence. The path to the higher states of consciousness is thru concentration and meditation, and ‘Yogoda’ teaches us the technique of this as one of the great helps to attain to God-consciousness and the Bliss of His real presence in our being.

"We are all too much encumbered by the body’s demands, too much attached to the body’s materialistic world, too much enslaved by the sensory consciousness. We need not be so identified with out bodies. ‘Yogoda’ teaches a spiritualization of the body by leading it away from its grossness, by using our wills to energize it to renewed life and to hold it in leading strings against wrong diets and habits. In hand with this is the spiritualization of our minds. We function too much in the plane of our objective senses. We are guided too blindly and erringly by the sub-conscious mind,—the mind of ignorance, experience, habits, and prejudices. ‘Yogoda’ tells us how to reform the sub-conscious mind to make it help in our spiritualization and make easier our path. ‘Yogoda’ acquaints us with the little-used super-conscious mind and develops its use so that we can contact the cosmic consciousness, the Universal Mind, and have intuitive knowledge and the realization of God. In this over-mind, Christ consciousness is attained and our realization had of God’s indwelling within us and in all. Our energies are renewed by the exercises, and the psychology of healing is made plain to help ourselves and others, but in everything accomplished the working of natural law is shown—nothing super-natural.

"‘Yogoda’ has the same Gospel as the Master, inviting us to come into the ‘southland’ of the spirit, and be given the ‘upper and the nether springs’."

A recent article in Forward (Calcutta) described the adventures of the Australian explorer, Francis Birtles, in the Indian jungles. Mr. Birtles was loud in his praise of the jungles, which he characterized as "varied, beautiful and safe." His method of discouraging the fierce tigers from becoming too intimate was related by him as follows:

"Coming thru Burma I kept the tigers off with fly paper. Every night I spread a quantity of sheets around my camp and was never disturbed. The fly paper is an absolute protection against tigers. The reason is psychological. The tiger is an animal of great conscious dignity. He prowls about and challenges man until he comes to the fly paper. Then all his dignity goes and he slinks away. No dignified tiger would dare face a human being after squatting down upon a sticky fly paper."

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"For manhood dies on the roads of east

Where the skies are ever blue;

And each of us needs,

If he would grow strong,

Some difficult thing to do."

STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, CIRCULATION, ETC., REQUIRED BY THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24, 1912, of EAST-WEST, published bi-monthly at New York, for April 1, 1928. State of New York, County of New York. Before me, a notary public in and for the State and county aforesaid, personally appeared Swami Yogananda, who having been duly sworn according to law, deposes and says the he is the owner of East-West, and that the following is, to the best of his knowledge and belief, a true statement of the ownership, management, etc., of the aforesaid publication for the date shown in the above caption, required by the Act of August 24, 1912, embodied in section 411, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of this form, to wit: 1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing editor, and business manager are: Publisher, Yogoda and Sat-Sanga Society, 509 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. Editor, Swami Yogananda, 509 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. Managing Editor, Swami Yogananda, 509 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. Business Manager, none. 2. That the owner is: Swami Yogananda, 509 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owing or holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities are: none. 4. That the two paragraphs next above, giving the names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, contain not only the list of stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the books of the company but also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, is given; also that the said two paragraphs contain statements embracing affiant’s full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the book so the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other than that of a bone fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe that any other person, association or corporation has any interest direct or indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated by him. (Signed) Swami Yogananda, Owner. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 12th day of April, 1928. Rina Salmon, Notary Public.

"Dr. Porter has projected himself into the outward form of Bunyan’s dream and reanimated it so completely that it stands before us in the lineaments of perpetual youth."—EAST-WEST.

"This book is a joy, an inspiration and a feast of wisdom."—Swami Yogananda.

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