Speaker 1: Man the master. By the mastery of self, a distinct
form of consciousness is evolved, which some would call divine.
It is distinguished from that ordinary human consciousness, which craves
personal advantages and gratifications on the one hand, and is
involved in remorse and soil on the other. The divine
consciousness concerns itself with humanity and the universe, with eternal verities,
with righteousness, wisdom, and truth, and not with pleasures, protection
and preservation of the personality. Not that personal pleasure is destroyed,
but that it is no longer craved in sought. It
no longer takes a foremost place. It is purified, and
it is received as the effect of right thought and action,
and is no longer an end in itself. In the
divine consciousness is neither sin nor sorrow. Even the sense
of sin has passed away, and the true order and
purpose of life being revealed, no cause is found for lamentation.
Jesus called the state of consciousness quote the Kingdom of
Heaven unquote. Buddha named it quote nirvana unquote, and loud
Serve's term for it was quote Tao unquote. Emerson refers
to it as quote the over soul unquote, and doctor
Bucky calls it quote cosmic consciousness unquote in his valuable
work bearing that title. The ordinary human consciousness is self consciousness. Self,
the personality is placed before everything else. There are ceaseless
anxieties and fears concerning the self. Its possible loss is
thought to be the most grievous calamity, and its eternal
preservation the most important thing in the universe. In divine consciousness,
all this has passed away. Self has disappeared. Therefore they
can be no more fears and anxieties concerning the self.
And things are considered and known as they are, and
not as they afford pleasure or cause pain to self,
not as self wishes them to be for its own
temporal or eternal happiness. The self conscious man is subject
to desire. The divinely conscious man is master of desire.
The former considers what is pleasant or unpleasant. The latter
acts from the righteous law without reference to pleasure or pain.
The race is passing through self consciousness to divine consciousness,
through the slavery of self with its sense of sin
and shame, to the freedom of truth, with its sense
of purity and power. The great Teachers and saviors of
the race have already attained in former existences. They have
already passed through all forms of self consciousness, and now,
having subjugated self, have become divinely conscious. They have reached
the summit of evolution on this earth, and have no
further need to be born in the self conscious form.
They are masters of life. Having conquered self, they have
acquired the supreme knowledge. Some of them are worshiped as
God because they manifest a wisdom and consciousness which is
quite distinct from the normal or self consciousness of humanity,
and which is therefore regarded with and shrouded by incomprehensible mystery.
Yet in this divine consciousness there is no mystery, but,
on the contrary, a transparent simplicity, which becomes apparent when
the confusions of self are dispersed, the abiding gentleness, the
sublime wisdom, the perfect calm of the great teachers, qualities
which appear supernatural when viewed from the self consciousness state,
are seen to be simple and natural when the first
glimmering of divine consciousness dawns in the mind. And such
divine consciousness does not appear until a high degree of
morality is attained by the self conscious man. Man becomes
divinely conscious, divinely wise, divinely gentle, and strong in the
measure that he subdues and dominates within those passions by
which humanity is subdued and dominated. Man becomes divinely conscious,
divinely wise, divinely gentle, and strong in the measure that
he subdues and dominates within those passions by which he
may subdued and dominated. The divine master is one who
has attained mastery of his self. The abiding nobility, beneficent characteristics,
and unobtrusive virtue which mark off the spiritually enlightened man
from others are the fruits of self conquest, the logical
outcome of a long struggle to master and comprehend those
mental forces which self conscious man blindly obeys without understanding.
Self conscious man is a slave to self obeying self
centered inclinations. He is in submission to his passions and
to the sorrows and pains which allegiance to those passions
inflict upon him. He is conscious of sin and sorrow,
but sees no way out of these conditions, and so
he invents theologies which he substitutes for effort, and which,
while affording him fitful comfort through uncertain hope, leave him
the easy victim of sin and the willing prey of sorrow.
Divinely conscious man is the master of self. He obeys
truth and not self. He curbs and directs his inclinations,
and is conscious of a growing of a sin and sorrow.
He sees that there is a way out of these
conditions by the path of self mastery. He needs no
theologies to aid him, but exerts himself in right doing,
and is gladdened by a sense of victory and increasing
purity and power. When his mastery is complete, he has
no inclinations but those which accord with truth. He has
then become the conqueror of sin, and is no longer
subject to sorrow. Enlightened, wise, and even more peaceful and
happy is he who has subjected, overcome, and cast out
the turbulent self that reigned within. The Tempests of sorrow
do not chill him. The cares and troubles which beset
man pass him by, and no evil thing overtakes him.
Secure in divine virtue, no enemy can over throw him,
no foe can do him harm. Kind and peaceful, no person,
power nor place can rob him of repose. There is
no enemy but self, no darkness but ignorance, no suffering
but that which springs from the insubordinate elements of one's
on nature. No man is truly wise who is involved
in likes and dislikes, wishes and regrets, desires and disappointments,
sins and sorrow. All these conditions belong to the self
conscious states, and are indications of folly, weakness, and subjection.
He is truly wise, who, in the midst of worldly
duties is all, is calm, all is gentle, all is patient.
He accepts things as they are, and does not wish
nor grieve, desire nor regret. These things belong to the
divinely conscious state, the dominion of truth, and are indications
of enlightenment, strength, and mastery. He who does not desire riches,
fame or pleasures, who enjoys what he has, he does
not lament when it is taken from him, he is
indeed wise. He who desires riches, fame and pleasure, who
is discontented with what he has, yet laments when it
is taken from him, he is indeed foolish. Man is
fitted for conquest, but the conquest of territory will not avail.
He must resort to the conquest of self. The conquest
of territory renders a man at temporal ruler, but the
conquest of self makes him an eternal conqueror. Man is
destined for mastery, not the master of his fellow men
by force, but the master of his own nature by
self control. The mastery of his fellow men by force
is the crown of egotism, but the mastery of self
by self control is the crown of humility. He is man,
the master who has shaken off the service of self
for the service of truth, who has established himself in
the eternal verities. He is crowned not only with perfect manhood,
but with divine wisdom. He has overcome the disturbances of
the mind and the shocks of life. He is superior
to all circumstances. He is the calm spectator, but no
longer the helpless tool of events, nor more sinning, weeping,
repenting mortal. He is pure, rejoicing, upright, immortal. He perceives
the course of things with a glad and peaceful heart,
A divine conqueror, master of life and death,