Speaker 1: Temptation. Aspiration can carry a man into heaven, but to
remain there he must learn to conform his entire mind
to the heavenly conditions. To this end, temptation works. Temptation
is the reversion in thought from purity to passion. It
is going back from aspiration to desire. It threatens aspiration
until the point is reached where desire is quenched in
the waters of pure knowledge and calm thought. In the
early stages of aspiration, Temptation is subtle and powerful, and
is regarded as an enemy. But it is only an
enemy in the sense that the one tempted is his
own enemy, in the sense that it is the revealer
of weakness and impurity. It is a friend, a necessary
factor in spiritual training. It is indeed an accompaniment of
the effort to overcome evil and apprehend good. To be
success ustfully conquered, the evil in a man must come
to the surface and present itself. And it is in
temptation that the evil hidden in the heart stands revealed
and exposed. That which temptation appeals to and arouses is unconquered.
Desire and temptation will again and again assail a man
until he has lifted himself above the lusting impulses. Temptation
is an appeal to the impure. That which is pure
cannot be subject to temptation. Temptation waylays the man of
aspiration until he touches the rein of the divine consciousness,
and beyond that border, temptation cannot follow him. It is
when a man begins to aspire that he begins to
be tempted. Aspiration rouses up all the latent good and
evil in order that the man may be fully revealed
to himself. For a man cannot overcome himself unless he
fully knows himself. It can scarcely be said of the
merely animal man that he is tempted, for the very
presence of temptation means that there is a striving for
a pure state. Animal desire and gratification is the normal
condition of the man who has not yet risen into aspiration.
He wishes for nothing more, nothing better than his sensual enjoyments,
and this for the present satisfied. Such a man cannot
be tempted to fall, for he has not yet risen.
The presence of aspiration signifies that a man has taken
one step at least upward, and is therefore capable of
being drawn back. This backward attraction is called temptation. The
allurements of temptation subsist in the impure thoughts and downward
desires of the heart. The object of temptation is powerless
to attract when the heart no longer lusts for it.
The stronghold of temptation is within a man, not without.
An intel a man and realizes this, the period of
temptation will be prolonged. While a man continues to run
away from outward objects and tell the delusion that temptation
subsists entirely in them, and does not attack and purge
away his impure imaginings, his temptations will increase, and his
falls will be many and grievous. When a man clearly
perceives that the evil is within and not without, then
his progress will be rapid, his temptations will decrease, and
the final overcoming of all temptation will be well within
the range of his spiritual vision. Temptation is torment. It
is not an abiding condition, but is a passage from
the lower condition to the higher. The fullness and perfection
of life is bliss, not torment. Temptation accompanies weakness and defeat,
but a man is destined for strength and victory. The
presence of torment is the signal to rise and conquer.
Persistence in ever renewed aspiration does not allow himself to
think that temptation cannot be overcome. He is determined to
be the master of himself. Resignation to evil is an
acknowledgment of defeat. It signifies that the battle against self
is abandoned, that good is denied, that evil is made supreme.
As the energetic man of business is not daunted by difficulties,
but studies how to overcome them. So the man of
ceaseless aspiration is not crushed into submission by temptations, but
meditates how he may fortify his mind. For the tempter
is like a coward. He only creeps in at weak
and unguarded points. The tempted one should study thoughtfully the
nature and meaning of temptation, for until it is known,
it cannot be overcome. A wise general, before attacking the
opposing force, studies the tactics of his enemy. Likewise, he
who is to overcome temptation must understand how it arises
in his own darkness and error, and must study, by
introspection and meditation how to disperse the darkness and supplement
the error by truth. The stronger a man's passions, the
fiercer will be his temptations, The deeper his selfishness, the
more subtle his temptations, the more pronounced his vanity, the
more flattering and deceptive his temptations. A man must know
himself if he is to know the truth. He must
not shrink away from any revelation which will expose his error.
On the contrary, he must welcome such revelations as it
aids to that self knowledge, which is the handmaid of
self conquest. The man who cannot endure to have his
errors and shortcomings brought to the surface and made known,
but tries to hide them, is unfit to walk the
highway of truth. He is not properly equipped to battle
with and overcome temptation. He who cannot fearlessly face his
lower nature cannot climb the rugged heights of renunciation. Let
the tempted one know this, that he himself is both
tempter and tempted, That all his enemies are within, that
the flatterers which seduce, the taunts which stab and the
flames which burn all spring from that inner region of
ignorance and error in which he has hitherto lived. Knowing this,
let him be assured of complete victory over evil. When
he is sorely tempted. Let him not mourn therefore, but
let him rejoice in that his strength is tried and
his weakness is exposed. For he who truly knows and
humbly acknowledges his weaknesses will not be slow in setting
about the acquisition of strength. Foolish men blame others for
their lapses and sins, But let the truth lover blame
only himself. Let him acknowledge his complete responsibility for his
own conduct, and not say when he falls this thing
or such and such a circumstance or that man was
to blame. For The most which others can do is
to afford an opportunity for our own good or evil
to manifest itself. They cannot make us good or evil.
Temptation is at first sore, grievous and hard to be borne,
and subtle and persistent is the assailant. But if the
tempted one is firm and courageous and does not give way,
he will gradually subdue his spiritual enemy, and will finally
triumph in the knowledge of good. The adverse one is
compounded of a man's own lust, selfishness, and pride. When
these are put away, evil is seen to be naught
and good is revealed in all victorious splendor.