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Speaker 1: Temptation. Aspiration can carry a man into heaven, but to

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remain there he must learn to conform his entire mind

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to the heavenly conditions. To this end, temptation works. Temptation

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is the reversion in thought from purity to passion. It

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is going back from aspiration to desire. It threatens aspiration

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until the point is reached where desire is quenched in

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the waters of pure knowledge and calm thought. In the

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early stages of aspiration, Temptation is subtle and powerful, and

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is regarded as an enemy. But it is only an

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enemy in the sense that the one tempted is his

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own enemy, in the sense that it is the revealer

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of weakness and impurity. It is a friend, a necessary

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factor in spiritual training. It is indeed an accompaniment of

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the effort to overcome evil and apprehend good. To be

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success ustfully conquered, the evil in a man must come

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to the surface and present itself. And it is in

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temptation that the evil hidden in the heart stands revealed

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and exposed. That which temptation appeals to and arouses is unconquered.

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Desire and temptation will again and again assail a man

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until he has lifted himself above the lusting impulses. Temptation

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is an appeal to the impure. That which is pure

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cannot be subject to temptation. Temptation waylays the man of

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aspiration until he touches the rein of the divine consciousness,

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and beyond that border, temptation cannot follow him. It is

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when a man begins to aspire that he begins to

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be tempted. Aspiration rouses up all the latent good and

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evil in order that the man may be fully revealed

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to himself. For a man cannot overcome himself unless he

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fully knows himself. It can scarcely be said of the

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merely animal man that he is tempted, for the very

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presence of temptation means that there is a striving for

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a pure state. Animal desire and gratification is the normal

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condition of the man who has not yet risen into aspiration.

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He wishes for nothing more, nothing better than his sensual enjoyments,

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and this for the present satisfied. Such a man cannot

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be tempted to fall, for he has not yet risen.

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The presence of aspiration signifies that a man has taken

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one step at least upward, and is therefore capable of

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being drawn back. This backward attraction is called temptation. The

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allurements of temptation subsist in the impure thoughts and downward

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desires of the heart. The object of temptation is powerless

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to attract when the heart no longer lusts for it.

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The stronghold of temptation is within a man, not without.

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An intel a man and realizes this, the period of

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temptation will be prolonged. While a man continues to run

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away from outward objects and tell the delusion that temptation

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subsists entirely in them, and does not attack and purge

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away his impure imaginings, his temptations will increase, and his

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falls will be many and grievous. When a man clearly

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perceives that the evil is within and not without, then

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his progress will be rapid, his temptations will decrease, and

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the final overcoming of all temptation will be well within

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the range of his spiritual vision. Temptation is torment. It

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is not an abiding condition, but is a passage from

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the lower condition to the higher. The fullness and perfection

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of life is bliss, not torment. Temptation accompanies weakness and defeat,

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but a man is destined for strength and victory. The

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presence of torment is the signal to rise and conquer.

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Persistence in ever renewed aspiration does not allow himself to

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think that temptation cannot be overcome. He is determined to

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be the master of himself. Resignation to evil is an

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acknowledgment of defeat. It signifies that the battle against self

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is abandoned, that good is denied, that evil is made supreme.

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As the energetic man of business is not daunted by difficulties,

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but studies how to overcome them. So the man of

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ceaseless aspiration is not crushed into submission by temptations, but

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meditates how he may fortify his mind. For the tempter

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is like a coward. He only creeps in at weak

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and unguarded points. The tempted one should study thoughtfully the

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nature and meaning of temptation, for until it is known,

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it cannot be overcome. A wise general, before attacking the

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opposing force, studies the tactics of his enemy. Likewise, he

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who is to overcome temptation must understand how it arises

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in his own darkness and error, and must study, by

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introspection and meditation how to disperse the darkness and supplement

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the error by truth. The stronger a man's passions, the

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fiercer will be his temptations, The deeper his selfishness, the

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more subtle his temptations, the more pronounced his vanity, the

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more flattering and deceptive his temptations. A man must know

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himself if he is to know the truth. He must

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not shrink away from any revelation which will expose his error.

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On the contrary, he must welcome such revelations as it

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aids to that self knowledge, which is the handmaid of

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self conquest. The man who cannot endure to have his

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errors and shortcomings brought to the surface and made known,

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but tries to hide them, is unfit to walk the

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highway of truth. He is not properly equipped to battle

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with and overcome temptation. He who cannot fearlessly face his

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lower nature cannot climb the rugged heights of renunciation. Let

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the tempted one know this, that he himself is both

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tempter and tempted, That all his enemies are within, that

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the flatterers which seduce, the taunts which stab and the

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flames which burn all spring from that inner region of

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ignorance and error in which he has hitherto lived. Knowing this,

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let him be assured of complete victory over evil. When

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he is sorely tempted. Let him not mourn therefore, but

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let him rejoice in that his strength is tried and

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his weakness is exposed. For he who truly knows and

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humbly acknowledges his weaknesses will not be slow in setting

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about the acquisition of strength. Foolish men blame others for

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their lapses and sins, But let the truth lover blame

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only himself. Let him acknowledge his complete responsibility for his

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own conduct, and not say when he falls this thing

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or such and such a circumstance or that man was

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to blame. For The most which others can do is

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to afford an opportunity for our own good or evil

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to manifest itself. They cannot make us good or evil.

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Temptation is at first sore, grievous and hard to be borne,

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and subtle and persistent is the assailant. But if the

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tempted one is firm and courageous and does not give way,

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he will gradually subdue his spiritual enemy, and will finally

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triumph in the knowledge of good. The adverse one is

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compounded of a man's own lust, selfishness, and pride. When

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these are put away, evil is seen to be naught

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and good is revealed in all victorious splendor.