1
00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:04,440
Speaker 1: Self discipline. A man does not live until he begins

2
00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:09,640
to discipline himself. He merely exists like an animal. He

3
00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:14,359
gratifies his desires and pursues his inclinations just where they

4
00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,000
may lead him. He is happy as a beast is happy,

5
00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,719
because he is not conscious of what he is depriving himself.

6
00:00:22,679 --> 00:00:26,079
He suffers as the beast suffers, because he does not

7
00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:30,280
know the way out of suffering. He does not intelligently

8
00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:35,479
reflect upon life, and lives in a series of sensations, longings,

9
00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:40,200
and confused memories which are unrelated to any central idea

10
00:00:40,399 --> 00:00:44,679
or principle. A man whose inner life is so ungoverned

11
00:00:44,719 --> 00:00:49,679
and chaotic must necessarily manifest this confusion in the visible

12
00:00:49,719 --> 00:00:52,920
conditions of his outer life in the world. And though

13
00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,159
for a time, running with the stream of his desires,

14
00:00:56,719 --> 00:00:59,280
he may draw to himself a more or less large

15
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:03,479
share of the outer necessities and comforts of life, he

16
00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,760
never achieves any real success, nor accomplishes any real good,

17
00:01:08,519 --> 00:01:12,079
and sooner or later, worldly failure and disaster are inevitable

18
00:01:12,799 --> 00:01:16,319
as the direct result of the inward failure to properly

19
00:01:16,359 --> 00:01:21,239
adjust and regulate those mental forces which make the outer life.

20
00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:24,959
Before a man accomplishes anything of an enduring nature in

21
00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,159
the world, he must first of all acquire some measure

22
00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:32,120
of success in the management of his own mind. This

23
00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,480
is as mathematical a truism as that two and two

24
00:01:35,519 --> 00:01:38,560
are four. For out of the heart are the issues

25
00:01:38,599 --> 00:01:42,959
of life. If a man cannot govern the forces within himself,

26
00:01:43,599 --> 00:01:47,239
he cannot hold a firm hand upon the outer activities

27
00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,439
which form his visible life. On the other hand, as

28
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,519
a man succeeds in governing himself, he rises to higher

29
00:01:55,519 --> 00:01:59,640
and higher levels of power and usefulness and success in

30
00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,480
the world. The only difference between the life of the

31
00:02:03,519 --> 00:02:06,879
beast and that of the undisciplined man is that the

32
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,879
man has a wider variety of desires and experiences a

33
00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,879
greater intensity of suffering. It may be said of such

34
00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,479
a man that he is dead, being truly dead to

35
00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:23,759
self control, chastity, fortitude, and all of the nobler qualities

36
00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,199
which constitute life. In the consciousness of such a man,

37
00:02:28,479 --> 00:02:33,719
the crucified Christ lies entombed, awaiting that resurrection which shall

38
00:02:33,759 --> 00:02:37,000
revify the mortal sufferer and wake him up to a

39
00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,439
knowledge of the realities of his existence. With the practice

40
00:02:41,479 --> 00:02:45,319
of self discipline, a man begins to live. For He

41
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,879
then commences to rise above the inward confusion and to

42
00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:54,000
adjust his conduct to a steadfast center within himself. He

43
00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:58,000
ceases to follow where inclination leads him, reigns in the

44
00:02:58,039 --> 00:03:01,800
steed of his desires, and lives in accordance with the

45
00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,360
dictates of reason and wisdom. Hitherto his life has been

46
00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,159
without purpose or meaning. But now he begins to consciously

47
00:03:10,199 --> 00:03:15,479
mold his own destiny. He is clothed in his right mind.

48
00:03:15,719 --> 00:03:19,000
In the process of self discipline, there are three stages,

49
00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:29,360
namely one control, two purification, three relinquishment. A man begins

50
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:34,000
to discipline himself by controlling those passions which have hitherto

51
00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:38,879
controlled him. He resists temptation and guards himself against all

52
00:03:38,919 --> 00:03:43,879
those tendencies to self gratifications which are so easy and natural,

53
00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:48,639
and which have formally dominated him. He brings his appetite

54
00:03:48,719 --> 00:03:52,400
into subjection and begins to eat as a reasonable and

55
00:03:52,439 --> 00:03:57,319
responsible being, practicing moderation and thoughtfulness in the selection of

56
00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,479
his food, with the object of making his body a

57
00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,159
pure instrument through which he may live and act as

58
00:04:04,199 --> 00:04:08,159
becomes a man, and no longer degrading that body by

59
00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,960
pandering to gustatory pleasure. He puts a check upon his tongue,

60
00:04:13,439 --> 00:04:18,079
his temper, and in fact his every animal desire and tendency.

61
00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,800
And this he does by referring all acts to a

62
00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:26,120
fixed center within himself. It is a process of living

63
00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:31,120
from within outward, instead of as formerly from without inward.

64
00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,839
He conceives an ideal and enshrining that ideal in the

65
00:04:35,879 --> 00:04:40,199
sacred recesses of his heart. He regulates his conduct in

66
00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:45,360
accordance with its exaction and demands. There is a philosophical

67
00:04:45,439 --> 00:04:49,040
hypothesis that at the heart of every atom and every

68
00:04:49,079 --> 00:04:52,959
aggregation of atoms in the universe, there is a motionless

69
00:04:52,959 --> 00:04:57,279
center which is the sustaining source of all the universal activities.

70
00:04:58,439 --> 00:05:01,040
Be this as it may, there is certainly in the

71
00:05:01,079 --> 00:05:05,120
heart of every man and woman a selfless center, without

72
00:05:05,199 --> 00:05:08,639
which the outer man could not be, and the ignoring

73
00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:13,279
of which leads to suffering and confusion. The selfless center,

74
00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:16,519
which takes the form in the mind of an ideal

75
00:05:16,639 --> 00:05:21,959
of unselfishness and spotless purity, the attainment of which is desirable,

76
00:05:22,519 --> 00:05:26,199
is man's eternal refuge from the storms of passion and

77
00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,000
all the conflicting elements of his lower nature. It is

78
00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,920
the rock of ages, the Christ within, the divine and

79
00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,759
immortal in all men. As a man practices self control,

80
00:05:39,439 --> 00:05:43,399
he approximates more and more to this inward reality, and

81
00:05:43,519 --> 00:05:46,879
is less and less swayed by passion and grief, pleasure

82
00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:52,199
and pain, and lives a steadfast and virtuous life, manifesting

83
00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:57,360
manly strength and fortitude. The restraining of the passions, however,

84
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,279
is merely the initial stage and self DEAs discipline, and

85
00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,959
is immediately followed by the process of purification. By this,

86
00:06:06,079 --> 00:06:09,600
a man so purifies himself as to take passion out

87
00:06:09,639 --> 00:06:13,600
of the heart and mind altogether, not merely restraining it

88
00:06:13,639 --> 00:06:17,680
when it rises within him, but preventing it from rising altogether.

89
00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,240
By merely restraining his passions, a man can never arrive

90
00:06:22,319 --> 00:06:27,199
at peace, can never actualize his ideal. He must purify

91
00:06:27,319 --> 00:06:31,360
those passions. It is in the purification of his lower

92
00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:36,040
nature that a man becomes strong and godlike, standing firmly

93
00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,759
upon the ideal center within and rendering all temptations powerless

94
00:06:40,879 --> 00:06:47,759
and ineffectual. This purification is affected by thoughtful care, earnest meditation,

95
00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:53,360
and holy aspiration, and as success is achieved, confusion of

96
00:06:53,399 --> 00:06:57,199
mind and life pass away and calmness of mind and

97
00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:03,519
spiritualized conduct insure true strength and power and usefulness are

98
00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,680
born of self purification. For the lower animal forces are

99
00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:13,279
not lost, but are transmuted into intellectual and spiritual energy.

100
00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,560
The pure life, pure in thought, indeed, is a life

101
00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:22,480
of conservation of energy. The impure life, even though the

102
00:07:22,519 --> 00:07:26,160
impurity should not extend beyond thought, is a life of

103
00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,759
dissipation of energy. The pure man is more capable and

104
00:07:30,839 --> 00:07:34,160
therefore more fit to succeed in his plans and to

105
00:07:34,199 --> 00:07:39,519
accomplish his purposes than the impure. Where the impure man fails,

106
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,560
the pure man will step in and be victorious, because

107
00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,720
he directs his energies with a calmer mind and a

108
00:07:46,759 --> 00:07:51,360
greater definiteness and strength of purpose. With the growth in purity,

109
00:07:51,839 --> 00:07:55,519
all the elements which constitute a strong and virtuous manhood

110
00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,560
are developed in an increasing degree of power. And as

111
00:07:59,639 --> 00:08:03,439
man brings his lower nature into subjection and makes his

112
00:08:03,519 --> 00:08:07,000
passions do his bidding, just so much will he mold

113
00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:11,439
the outer circumstances of his life and influence others for good.

114
00:08:12,519 --> 00:08:16,920
The third stage of self discipline, that of relinquishment, is

115
00:08:16,959 --> 00:08:20,759
a process of letting the lower desires and all impure

116
00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,720
and unworthy thoughts drop out of the mind, and also

117
00:08:24,759 --> 00:08:29,040
refusing to give them any admittance, leaving them to perish.

118
00:08:29,439 --> 00:08:32,799
As a man grows purer, he perceives that all evil

119
00:08:32,879 --> 00:08:37,240
is powerless unless it receives his encouragement, and so he

120
00:08:37,279 --> 00:08:40,799
ignores it and lets it pass out of his life.

121
00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,960
It is by pursuing this aspect of self discipline that

122
00:08:45,039 --> 00:08:49,080
a man enters into and realizes the divine life, and

123
00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:55,240
manifests those qualities which are distinctly divine, such as wisdom, patience,

124
00:08:55,799 --> 00:09:01,279
non resistance, compassion, and love. It is here also where

125
00:09:01,279 --> 00:09:05,960
a man becomes consciously immortal, rising above all the fluctuations

126
00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:10,159
and uncertainties of life, and living in an intelligent and

127
00:09:10,279 --> 00:09:15,320
unchangeable peace. By self discipline, a man attains to every

128
00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,279
degree of virtue and holiness, and finally becomes a purified

129
00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,240
son of God, realizing his oneness with the central heart

130
00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:28,240
of all things. Without self discipline, a man drifts lower

131
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,360
and lower, approximating more and more nearly to the beast,

132
00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,679
until at last he grovels a lost creature in the

133
00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:41,240
mirror of his own befolment. By self discipline, a man

134
00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,240
rises higher and higher approximating more and more nearly to

135
00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:49,159
the divine, until at last he stands erect in his

136
00:09:49,279 --> 00:09:54,120
divine dignity, a save soul, glorified by the radiance of

137
00:09:54,159 --> 00:09:58,639
his purity. Let a man discipline himself, and he will live.

138
00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,279
Let a man cease to discipline himself, and he will perish.

139
00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:07,960
As a tree grows in beauty, health, and fruitfulness by

140
00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,720
being carefully pruned and tended, so a man grows in

141
00:10:11,759 --> 00:10:14,840
grace and beauty of life by cutting away all the

142
00:10:14,879 --> 00:10:18,279
branches of evil from his mind. And as he tends

143
00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:23,120
and develops the good by constant and unfailing effort. As

144
00:10:23,159 --> 00:10:27,039
a man by practice acquires proficiency in his craft, so

145
00:10:27,159 --> 00:10:31,639
the earnest man acquires proficiency in goodness and wisdom. Men

146
00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:35,440
shrink from self discipline because in its early stages it

147
00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,279
is painful and repellent, and the yielding to desire is

148
00:10:39,519 --> 00:10:43,440
at first sweet and inviting. But the end of desire

149
00:10:43,519 --> 00:10:47,960
is darkness and unrest, whereas the fruits of discipline are

150
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:56,639
immortality and peace. Chapter sixteen. Resolution. Resolution is the directing

151
00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:02,120
and impelling force in individual progress. Without it, no substantial

152
00:11:02,159 --> 00:11:06,279
work can be accomplished. Not until a man brings resolution

153
00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,559
to bear upon his life. Does he consciously and rapidly develop.

154
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,720
For a life without resolution is a life without aims,

155
00:11:15,279 --> 00:11:19,039
and a life without aims is a drifting and unstable thing.

156
00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:24,639
Resolution may, of course be linked to downward tendencies, but

157
00:11:24,759 --> 00:11:27,679
it is more usually the companion of noble aims and

158
00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,039
lofty ideals, And I am dealing with it in this

159
00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:35,919
its highest use in application. When a man makes a resolution,

160
00:11:36,519 --> 00:11:39,759
it means that he is dissatisfied with his condition and

161
00:11:39,879 --> 00:11:42,840
is commencing to take himself in hand with a view

162
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:45,879
in producing a better piece of workmanship out of the

163
00:11:45,919 --> 00:11:49,559
mental materials of which his character and life are composed.

164
00:11:50,399 --> 00:11:52,840
And in so far as he is true to his resolution,

165
00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:57,519
he will succeed in accomplishing his purpose. The vows of

166
00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,759
the saintly once are holy resolution directed towards some victory

167
00:12:01,799 --> 00:12:05,679
over self, and the beautiful achievements of holy men, and

168
00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:10,080
the glorious conquests of the divine teachers were rendered possible

169
00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:15,240
and actual by the pursuit of unswerving resolution to arrive

170
00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:19,919
at the fixed determination to walk a higher path than hithertofore.

171
00:12:20,639 --> 00:12:24,240
Although it reveals the great difficulties which have to be surmounted,

172
00:12:24,919 --> 00:12:28,480
it yet makes possible the treading of that path, and

173
00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:32,600
illuminates its dark places with the golden halo of success.

174
00:12:33,799 --> 00:12:37,799
The true resolution is the crisis of long thought, protract

175
00:12:37,919 --> 00:12:42,759
its struggle, or fervent but unsatisfied aspiration. It is no

176
00:12:42,879 --> 00:12:47,120
light thing, no whimsical impulse or vague desire, but a

177
00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,399
solemn and irrefacable determination not to rest nor cease from

178
00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,720
effort until the high purpose which is held in view

179
00:12:55,080 --> 00:13:00,240
is fully accomplished. Half hearted and premature resolution is no

180
00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,080
resolution at all, and it is shattered by the first difficulty.

181
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,519
A man should be slow to form a resolution. He

182
00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:13,039
should searchingly examine his position and take into consideration every

183
00:13:13,039 --> 00:13:17,600
circumstance and difficulty connected with his decision, and should be

184
00:13:17,639 --> 00:13:20,879
fully prepared to meet them. He should be sure that

185
00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,960
he completely understands the nature of his resolution, that his

186
00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,200
mind is finally made up, and that he is without

187
00:13:28,279 --> 00:13:32,320
fear and doubt in the matter. With the mind thus prepared,

188
00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,200
the resolution that is formed will not be departed from,

189
00:13:36,759 --> 00:13:38,919
and by the aid of it, a man will in

190
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:45,000
due time accomplish his strong purpose. Hasty resolutions are futile.

191
00:13:46,159 --> 00:13:51,399
The mind must be fortified to endure. Immediately the resolution

192
00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:55,200
to walk a higher path is made, temptation and trial begin.

193
00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,679
Men have found that no sooner have they decided to

194
00:13:58,799 --> 00:14:02,519
lead a truer and nobler then they have been overwhelmed

195
00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:06,320
with such a torrent of new temptations and difficulties as

196
00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:10,639
to make their position almost unendurable. And many men, because

197
00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:15,720
of this relinquish their resolution. But these temptations and trials

198
00:14:16,039 --> 00:14:19,440
are a necessary part of the work of regeneration upon

199
00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,360
which the man has decided, and must be hailed as

200
00:14:22,399 --> 00:14:25,879
friends and met with courage if the resolution is to

201
00:14:25,919 --> 00:14:28,960
do its work. For what is the real nature of

202
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,679
a resolution? Is it not the sudden checking of a

203
00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,039
particular stream of conduct and the endeavor to open up

204
00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:40,000
an entirely new channel. Think of an engineer who decides

205
00:14:40,039 --> 00:14:42,679
to turn the course of a powerfully running stream or

206
00:14:42,759 --> 00:14:46,200
river in another direction. He must first cut out his

207
00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:50,080
new channel, and must take every precaution to avoid failure

208
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,759
in the carrying out of his undertaking. But when he

209
00:14:53,799 --> 00:14:57,120
comes to the all important task of directing the stream

210
00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,039
into its new channel, then the flowing force, which for

211
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:06,559
ages has steadily pursued its accustomed course, becomes refractory. And

212
00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:09,360
all the patience and care and skill of the engineer

213
00:15:09,759 --> 00:15:12,759
will be required for the successful completion of the work.

214
00:15:13,759 --> 00:15:16,639
It is even so with the man who determines to

215
00:15:16,679 --> 00:15:20,039
turn his course of conduct in another and higher direction.

216
00:15:21,039 --> 00:15:24,080
Having prepared his mind, which is the cutting of a

217
00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,759
new channel, he then proceeds to the work of redirecting

218
00:15:27,799 --> 00:15:33,440
his mental forces, which have hitherto flowed on uninterruptedly, into

219
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:38,879
the new course. Immediately this is attempted, the arrested energy

220
00:15:38,919 --> 00:15:42,600
begins to assert itself in the form of powerful temptations

221
00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:48,000
and trials hitherto unknown and unencountered. And this is exactly

222
00:15:48,039 --> 00:15:51,120
as it should be. It is the law, and the

223
00:15:51,159 --> 00:15:53,919
same law that is in the water is in the mind.

224
00:15:54,759 --> 00:15:57,840
No man can improve upon the established law of things,

225
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,440
but he can learn to understand and the law. Instead

226
00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,559
of complaining and wishing things were different. The man who

227
00:16:05,639 --> 00:16:09,159
understands all that is involved in the regeneration of his

228
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:13,960
mind will glory in tribulations, knowing that only by passing

229
00:16:14,039 --> 00:16:17,919
through them can he gain strength, obtain purity of heart,

230
00:16:18,399 --> 00:16:22,200
and arrive at peace. And as the engineer, at last,

231
00:16:22,799 --> 00:16:26,960
perhaps after many mistakes and failures, succeeds in getting the

232
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:31,200
stream to flow on peacefully in the broader and better channel,

233
00:16:31,279 --> 00:16:34,440
and the turbulence of the water is spent, and all

234
00:16:34,519 --> 00:16:38,039
dams can be removed. So the man of resolution at

235
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,240
last succeeds in directing his thoughts and acts into the

236
00:16:42,279 --> 00:16:46,399
better and nobler way to which he aspires, and temptations

237
00:16:46,399 --> 00:16:50,720
and trials give place to steadfast strength and settled peace.

238
00:16:51,919 --> 00:16:55,200
He whose life is not in harmony with his conscience,

239
00:16:55,759 --> 00:16:58,600
and who is anxious to remedy his mind in conduct

240
00:16:58,919 --> 00:17:02,919
in a particular direction, let him first mature his purpose

241
00:17:03,519 --> 00:17:07,640
by earnest thought and self examination, and having arrived at

242
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:12,279
a final conclusion, let him frame his resolution, and having

243
00:17:12,359 --> 00:17:15,759
done so, let him not swerve from it. Let him

244
00:17:15,759 --> 00:17:19,759
remain true to his decision under all circumstances, and he

245
00:17:19,799 --> 00:17:23,359
cannot fail to achieve his good purpose, For the great

246
00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,960
law ever shields and protects him who, no matter how

247
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,000
deep his sins, or how great his many failures and mistakes,

248
00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,799
has deep in his heart resolved upon the finding of

249
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,119
a better way, And every obstacle must at last give

250
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,720
way before matured and unshaken resolution.