1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:06,160 The divine center. The secret of life, of abundant life, with its 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:11,359 strength, its felicity, and its unbroken peace, is to find the divine 3 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:16,760 center within oneself, and to live in and from that, Instead of in 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:23,719 that outer circumference of disturbances, the clamors, cravings, and argumentations which make 5 00:00:23,839 --> 00:00:29,920 up the animal an intellectual man, These selfish elements constitute the mere husks of 6 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,920 life, and must be thrown away by him who would penetrate to the central 7 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:39,960 heart of things, to life itself. Not to know that within you that 8 00:00:40,119 --> 00:00:45,280 is changeless and defiant of time and death, is not to know anything, 9 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,280 but is to play vainly with the unsubstantial reflections in the mirror of time. 10 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:56,759 Not to find within you those passionless principles which are not moved by the strifes 11 00:00:56,799 --> 00:01:00,320 and shows and vanities of the world, is to by nothing but illusions, 12 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:06,640 which vanish as they are grasped. He who resolves that he will not rest 13 00:01:06,719 --> 00:01:11,519 satisfied with appearances, shadows, allusions, shall, by the piercing light of 14 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:18,599 that resolve, disperse every fleeting fantasy, and shall enter into the substance and 15 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:23,840 reality of life. He shall learn how to live, and he shall live. 16 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:29,079 He shall be the slave of no passion, the servant of no opinion, 17 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,040 the votary of no fond error. Finding the divine center within his heart, 18 00:01:34,599 --> 00:01:38,480 he will be pure and calm, and strong and wise. And he 19 00:01:38,519 --> 00:01:44,599 will ceaselessly radiate the heavenly life in which he lives, which is himself, 20 00:01:45,519 --> 00:01:51,519 having betaken himself to the divine refuge within and remaining there, a man is 21 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:57,799 free from sin. All his yesterdays are the tidewashed and untrodden sands. No 22 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,239 sin shall rise up against him, to torment and accuse him, and destroy 23 00:02:01,359 --> 00:02:07,920 his sacred peace. The fires of remorse cannot scorch him, nor can the 24 00:02:07,959 --> 00:02:13,639 storms of regret devastate his dwelling place. His tomorrows are its seeds, which 25 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:19,080 shall germinate, bursting into beauty and potency of life. And no doubt shall 26 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:24,199 shake his trust, no uncertainty rob him of repose. The present is his 27 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:29,840 only. In the immortal present does he live. And it is as the 28 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:35,240 eternal vault of blue above, which looks down silently and calmly, yet radiant 29 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:39,599 with purity and light, upon the upturned and tear stained faces of the centuries. 30 00:02:40,879 --> 00:02:46,400 Men love their destinies. For gratification seems sweet to them, but its 31 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:52,800 end is pain and vacuity. They love the argumentations of the intellect, for 32 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,960 egotism seems most desirable to them, but the fruits thereof are humiliation and sorrow. 33 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,680 When the soul has reached the end of gratification and reap the bitter fruits 34 00:03:04,719 --> 00:03:09,120 of egotism, it is ready to receive the divine wisdom and to enter into 35 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:15,000 the divine life. Only the crucified can be transfigured. Only by the death 36 00:03:15,039 --> 00:03:20,479 of self. Can the Lord of the heart rise again into the immortal life 37 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:25,680 and stand radiant upon the all of it of wisdom, Thou hast thy trials. 38 00:03:25,719 --> 00:03:31,360 Every outward trial is the result of an inward imperfection. Thou shalt grow 39 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:38,560 wise by knowing this, and shalt thereby transmute trial into active joy, finding 40 00:03:38,599 --> 00:03:43,439 the kingdom where trial cannot come. When wilt thou learn thy lessons, O, 41 00:03:43,639 --> 00:03:47,719 child of Earth, all thy sorrows cry out against thee. Every pain 42 00:03:47,879 --> 00:03:53,520 is thy just accuser, and thy griefs are but the shadows of thy unworthy 43 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:59,360 and perishable self. The kingdom of Heaven is thine. How long wilt thou 44 00:03:59,439 --> 00:04:03,639 reject it, preferring the lurid atmosphere of hell, the hell of thy self, 45 00:04:03,719 --> 00:04:08,719 seeking soul. Where self is not, there is the garden of the 46 00:04:08,759 --> 00:04:14,719 heavenly life. And there spring the healing streams, quenching all thirst. There 47 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:18,759 bloom the immortal flowers, carpeting all the way with joy, their throng, 48 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:26,600 swiftest and sweetest hours. The redeemed sons of God, the glorified in body 49 00:04:26,639 --> 00:04:30,560 and spirit, are bought with a price, And that price is the crucifixion 50 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:35,800 of the personality, the death of self. And having put away that within 51 00:04:35,959 --> 00:04:41,519 which is the source of all discord, they have found the universal music, 52 00:04:42,079 --> 00:04:47,120 the abiding joy. Life is more than motion. It is music more than 53 00:04:47,199 --> 00:04:54,959 rest. It is peace more than work. It is duty more than labor. 54 00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:01,399 It is love more than enjoyment. It is blessedness more than acquiring money 55 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:06,720 and position and reputation. It is knowledge, purpose, strong, and high 56 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:12,600 resolve. Let the impure turn to purity, and they shall be pure. 57 00:05:13,439 --> 00:05:16,959 Let the weak resort to strength, and they shall be strong. Let the 58 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:23,959 ignorant fly to knowledge, and they shall be wise. All things are man's, 59 00:05:23,959 --> 00:05:28,759 and he chooses that which he will have today, He chooses in ignorance. 60 00:05:29,439 --> 00:05:33,319 Tomorrow he shall choose in wisdom. He shall work out his own salvation, 61 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:40,120 whether he believe it or not. For he cannot escape himself nor transfer 62 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:46,839 to another the eternal responsibility of his own soul. By no theological subterfuge shall 63 00:05:46,879 --> 00:05:50,519 he trick the law of his being, which shall shatter all his selfish makeshifts 64 00:05:50,519 --> 00:05:57,040 and excuses for right thinking and right doing. Nor shall God do for him 65 00:05:57,639 --> 00:06:02,040 that which it is destined his soul shall accomplish for itself. What would you 66 00:06:02,079 --> 00:06:06,040 say of a man who, wanting to possess a mansion in which to dwell, 67 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:12,040 peacefully purchase the sight, and then knelt down and ask God to build 68 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,199 a house for him? Would you not say that such a man was foolish? 69 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,079 And of another man, who, having purchased the land, set the 70 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:26,560 architects and builders and carpenters at work to erect the edifice, would you not 71 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,759 say that he was wise? And as it is in the building of a 72 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,319 material house, even so it is in the building of a spiritual mansion, 73 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:41,759 brick by brick, pure thought upon pure thought, good deed upon good deed. 74 00:06:42,439 --> 00:06:46,920 Must the habitation of a blameless life rise from its sure foundation until it 75 00:06:46,959 --> 00:06:53,480 at last stands out and all the majesty of its faultless proportions. Not by 76 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:59,480 caprice, nor gift nor favor does a man obtain the spiritual realities. But 77 00:06:59,639 --> 00:07:05,160 by diligence, watchfulness, energy and effort. Strong is the soul, and 78 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:12,279 wise and beautiful. The seeds of godlike power are in us still God's We 79 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:17,720 are bards, saints, heroes, if we will. The spiritual heart of 80 00:07:17,759 --> 00:07:24,399 man is the heart of the universe, and finding that heart man finds strength 81 00:07:24,439 --> 00:07:29,759 to accomplish all things. He finds there also the wisdom to see things as 82 00:07:29,759 --> 00:07:34,000 they are. He finds there the peace that is divine. At the center 83 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:40,160 of man's being is the music which orders the stars, the eternal harmony. 84 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:46,839 He who would find blessedness, let him find himself. Let him abandon every 85 00:07:46,879 --> 00:07:53,879 discordant desire, every and harmonious thought, every unlovely habit. Indeed, and 86 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:59,199 he will find that grace and beauty and harmony which form the indestructible essence of 87 00:07:59,279 --> 00:08:05,519 his own being. Men fly from creed to creed and find unrest. They 88 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:11,959 travel in many lands and discover disappointment. They build themselves beautiful mansions and plant 89 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:18,759 pleasant gardens and reap on wei and discomfort. Not until a man falls back 90 00:08:18,839 --> 00:08:24,360 upon the truth within himself does he find rest and satisfaction. Not until he 91 00:08:24,439 --> 00:08:31,399 builds the inward mansion of faultless conduct does he find the endless and incorruptible joy. 92 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,840 And having obtained that, he will infuse into it all his outward doings 93 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:41,919 and possessions. If a man would have peace, let him exercise the spirit 94 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,519 of peace. If he would find love, let him dwell in the spirit 95 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:52,799 of love. If he would escape suffering, let him cease to inflict it. 96 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,720 If he would do noble things for humanity, let him cease to do 97 00:08:56,879 --> 00:09:01,919 ignoble things for himself. If he will but quarry the mind of his own 98 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,639 soul, he shall find there all the materials for building whatsoever he will. 99 00:09:07,399 --> 00:09:13,000 And he shall find there also the central rock on which to build in safety. 100 00:09:13,919 --> 00:09:18,279 Howsoever a man works to right the world, it will never be righted 101 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,879 until he has put himself right. This may be written upon the heart as 102 00:09:22,919 --> 00:09:28,600 a mathematical axiom. It is not enough to preach purity. Men must cease 103 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:35,960 from lust to exhort love. They must abandon hatred to extol self sacrifice, 104 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:41,519 they must yield up self to adorn with mere words the perfect life. They 105 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,120 must be perfect. When a man can no longer carry the weight of his 106 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:50,720 many sins, let him fly to the Christ, whose throne is the center 107 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:56,639 of his own heart, and he shall become light hearted, entering the glad 108 00:09:56,679 --> 00:10:01,240 company of the immortals. When he can longer bear the burden of his accumulated 109 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:07,480 learning, let a man leave his books, his science, his philosophy, 110 00:10:07,039 --> 00:10:13,279 and come back to himself, and he shall find within that which he outwardly 111 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:18,120 sought and found, not his own divinity. He ceases to argue about God, 112 00:10:18,159 --> 00:10:24,320 who has found God within. Relying upon that calm strength which is not 113 00:10:24,399 --> 00:10:30,440 the strength of self, he lives God manifesting in his daily life the highest 114 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,000 goodness, which is eternal life.