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Speaker 1: The glorious conquest. Truth can only be apprehended by the

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conquest of self. Blessedness can only be arrived at by

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overcoming the lower nature. The way of truth is barred

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by a man's self. The only enemies that can actually

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hinder him are his own passions and delusions. And till

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a man realizes this and commences to cleanse his heart,

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he has not found the path which leads to knowledge

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and peace. And till passion is transcended, truth remains unknown.

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This is the divine law. A man cannot keep his

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passions and have truth as well. Error is not slain

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until selfishness is dead. The overcoming of self is no

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mystical theory, but a very real and practical thing. It

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is a process which must be pursued daily and hourly

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with unswerving faith and undaunted resolution, if any measure of

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success is to be achieved. The process is one of

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orderly growth, having its sequential stages, like the growth of

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a tree, and as fruit can only be produced by

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carefully and patiently training the tree, even so, the pure

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and satisfying fruits of holiness can only be obtained by

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faithfully and patiently training the mind. In the growth of

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right thought and conduct. There are five steps in the

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overcoming of passion, which includes all bad habits and particular

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forms of wrongdoing, which I will call one repression, two endurance,

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three elimination, four understanding, five victory. When men fail to

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overcome their sins, it is because they begin to try

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at the wrong end. They want to have the stage

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of victory without passing through the previous four stages. They

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are in the position of a gardener who wants to

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produce good fruit without training and attending to his trees.

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Repression consists in checking and controlling the wrong act such

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as an outburst of temper, a hasty or unkind word,

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a selfish indulgence, etc. And not allowing it to take

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actual form. This is equivalent to the gardener nipping off

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the useless buds and branches from his tree. It is

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a necessary process, but a painful one. The tree bleeds

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while undergoing the process, and the gardener knows that it

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must not be taxed too severely. The heart also bleeds

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when it refuses to return passion for passion, when it

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ceases to defend and justify itself. It is the process

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of mortals find the members of which Saint Paul speaks.

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But this repression is only the beginning of self conquest.

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When it is made an end in itself, and there

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is no object of finally purifying the heart. That is

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a stage of hypocrisy, a hiding of one's true nature

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and striving to appear better in the eyes of others

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than one really is. In that case it is an evil,

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But when adopted as the first stage toward complete purification,

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it is good. Its practice leads to the second stage

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of endurance or forbearance, in which one silently endures the

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pain which arises in the mind when it is brought

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in contact with certain actions and attitudes of other minds

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toward one. As success is attained in this stage, the

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striver comes to see that all his pain actually arises

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in his own weaknesses, and not in the wrong attitudes

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of others toward him, these latter being merely the means

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by which his sins are brought to the surface and

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revealed to him. He thus gradually exonerates all others from

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blame in his falls and lapses of conduct, and accuses

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only himself, and so learns to love those who thus

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unconsciously reveal to him his sins and shortcomings. Having passed

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through these two stages of self crucifixion, the disciple enters

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the third, that of elimination, in which the wrong thought

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which lay behind the wrong act, is cast from the

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mind immediately it appears. At this stage, conscious strength and

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holy joy begin to take the place of pain, and

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the mind, having become more comparatively calm, the striver is

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enabled to gain a deeper insight into the complexities of

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his mind, and thus to understand the inception, growth, and

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outworking of sin. This is the stage of understanding perfection,

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and understanding leads to the final conquest of self, a

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conquest so complete that sin can no more rise in

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the mind, even as a thought or impression. For when

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the knowledge of sin is complete, when it is known

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in its totality, from its inception as a seed in

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the mind to its ripened outgrowth as act in consequence,

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then it can no more be allowed a place in life,

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but it is abandoned forever than the mind is at peace.

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The wrong acts of others no longer arouse wrong and

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pain in the mind of the disciple. He is glad

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and calm and wise. He is filled with love and

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blessedness abides with him, and this is victory. Chapter eighteen.

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Contentment in activity, the confounding of a positive spiritual virtue

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or principle with a negative animal vice, is common amongst writers,

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even of what is called the Advanced Thoughts school, and

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much valuable energy is frequently expended in criticizing and condemning,

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where a little calm and reasoning would have revealed a

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greater light and led to the exercise of a broader charity.

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The other day I came across a vicious attack upon

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the teaching of love, wherein the writer condemned such teaching

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as weakly, foolish and hypocritical. Needless to say that which

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he was condemning as love was merely weak sentimentality and hypocrisy.

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Another writer, in condemning meekness, does not know that what

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he calls meekness is only cowardice, while another who attacks

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chastity as a snare is really confusing painful and hypocritical

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restraint with the virtue of chastity. And just lately I

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received a long letter from a correspondent who took great

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pains to show me that contentment is a vice and

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is the source of innumerable evils. That which my correspondent

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called contentment is, of course animal indifference. The spirit of

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indifference is incompatible with progress, whereas the spirit of contentment

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may and does attend the highest form of activity, the

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truest advancement and development. Indolence is the twin sister of indifference,

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but cheerful and ready action is the friend of contentment.

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Contentment is a virtue which becomes lofty and spiritual in

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its later developments, as the mind is trained to perceive

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and the hard to receive the guidance in all things

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of a merciful law. To be contented does not mean

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to forego effort. It means to free effort from anxiety.

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It does not mean to be satisfied with sin and

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ignorance and folly, but to rest happily in duty done,

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work accomplished. A man may be said to be content

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to lead a groveling life, to remain in sin and

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in debt. But such a man's true state is one

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of indifference to his duty, his obligations, and the just

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claims of his fellow men. He cannot truly be said

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to possess the virtue of contentment. He does not experience

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the pure and abiding joy which is the accompaniment of

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active contentment. So far as his true nature is concerned,

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he is a sleeping soul, and sooner or later will

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be awakened by intense suffering, having passed through which he

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will find that true contentment is the outcome of honest

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effort and true living. There are three things with which

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a man should be content. One with whatever happens, Two

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with his friendships and possessions, Three with his pure thoughts.

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Contented with whatever happens, he will escape grief. With his

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friends and possessions, he will avoid anxiety and wretchedness. And

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with his pure thoughts he will never go back to

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suffer and grovel in impurities. There are three things with

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which a man should not be content. One with his opinions,

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two with his character, three with his spiritual condition. Not

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content with his opinions, he will continually increase in intelligence.

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Not content with his character, he will ceaselessly grow in

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strength and virtue. And not content with his spiritual condition,

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he will every day enter into a larger wisdom and

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fuller blessedness. In a word, a man should be contented,

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but not indifferent to his development, as a responsible and

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spiritual being. The truly contented man works energetically and faithfully,

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and accepts all results with an untroubled spirit, trusting at

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first that all is well, but afterwards with the growth

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of enlightenment, knowing that results exactly correspond with efforts. Whatsoever,

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material possessions come to him, come not by greed and

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anxiety and strife, but by right, thought wise action, and

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pure exertion.