{The following is a letter from Achad to new students of an organization he supported called the Universal Brotherhood. - Ed.}
Greetings
My Dear Brothers and Sisters
In the course of human life when a voidity, an emptiness seems to enthrall the soul it is a great consolation to receive a token of whatever kind to assure us that others are thinking about us, that others are also concerned about our welfare. It fills the void, raises the spirit, gives new hope and zest for life.
Some of you who receive this may have thought so at one time or other. But you can never enter the path to illumination and be forgotten by those who have taken over the task to lead your way, and this is so because they themselves have passed through the same stages, have been helped, have been taught and have acquired “RIGHT KNOWLEDGE” and know the responsibility which it entails and sometime, each of you should expect to step into their place and lead others as you are, or have been led. The spiritual progressive urge of every human soul makes this course inevitable.
It is of Right Knowledge, Document No 2 of which I shall discourse with you this time.
Right knowledge may in truth be called: “The Pacifier of the Soul.” The nourishment of the soul is: Knowledge, Wisdom. What happens to the physical body when nourishment stops? It starves, becomes useless and an unfit instrument for the soul to manifest through. Therefore, the soul leaves that body; the body, having lost its governing principle, becomes lifeless, disintegrates.
Nature has given us here a good example to learn from.
Let us carry this process of the body, as a simile, into a higher realm of existence, that of the soul, and analyze the process on that plane.
The very fundamental constitution of the soul is hardly any different from that of the body it inhabits. It can build according as it is itself constituted but will not be able to step outside of that limit.
Healthy growth and activity of the body depend mainly on its proper nourishment. The same with the soul; proper nourishment is necessary for its progress and development. That nourishment, I repeat, is KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, mental food, spiritual food.
An undernourished body manifests as and is called a Weakling. An undernourished soul manifests ignorance. Ignorance itself is weakness in whatever field it predominates. It is always the loser, whether it be in battle at arms, in battle for wealth, in battle for happiness, in battle for sustenance, but most decisive and far-reaching are the consequences of that weakness in battle with invisible evil forces.
Considering all from this aspect it should be evident to every thinking human being that the soul needs to be nourished as well as the body and its first duty after the awakening to full consciousness should be to keep the proper balance between physical and spiritual nutriment.
It is also a well known fact that he who labors is able to sit down and enjoy a good repast of physical nourishment, and, have you ever thought of this, that he, who performs mental or spiritual labors is equally able to feast and enjoy a good repast of soul-food, knowledge and wisdom? But the indulgent, lazy human being who performs no physical labor can never ENJOY a repast as well as he who is exerting his energies in some direction. Truly, he will get hungry responding to the natural impulse, but the joy, which is soulfood in another aspect, lacks that quality. He lets his soul starve to its limit, thus creating a discord or inharmony, having as its manifested result an unbalanced individual entity. Had not the Creator baptized each human soul with a spark of hunger for knowledge many a soul would virtually starve and perish as individual entities if such were possible.
Another picture. In order for the human body to be healthy and virile it has to take that kind of nourishment which is most suitable for its growth and state of health; in other words: Right nourishment is necessary to achieve that result. The same holds true in the life of the soul. Right knowledge is necessary for its development.
Again, some human beings will consume food hardly fit for human consumption; may even consume poisons; and live. Some may interject: and live; but how? Such food naturally will produce illness and failings. Under even the most favorable conditions it will impair the vitality, health and activities of the individual who indulges in such unwholesome foods, notwithstanding the claim of some stimulating effects of poisons.
The same analogy holds good if applied to the soul. Though it cannot die, but sometimes get very, very sick, it can consume nourishment entirely unfit for it; consume actual poisons which sometimes also have a stimulating effect and are taken as actual nourishment; and consume great quantities of it. It will transmit that poison to other souls not satisfied by its own suffering and impairments. Can the soul get sick you may ask? Yes, sick enough to commit suicide. It may probably be said for a truth that every suicide has been, and is caused by such soul-poison. The mental or spiritual carrion has rendered the soul so sick that it gives up in digest, throwing its life at the Creator’s feet practically declaring itself unwilling to suffer the consequences of its own actions.
Have you ever thought of what an unpleasant task it is to unlearn what you have accepted as the truth but found it to be pure soul-poison? The process of learning and unlearning has, as a simile in the material realm, the process of eating and disgorging; and is equally as painful and unpleasant, on one side as it is pleasant on the other. Poisons are consumed with the same facilities as Right food but how hard they are to eliminate from the body after they have permeated the system is another story. Even so is it with Soul-poisons of which a great variety are offered by so-called self-styled Masters, adepts, mahatmas and what not; Some offering a panacea for all ills of human society yet they themselves are seriously ill from the poisonous soul-food they have consumed; ill with a psychological malady which cannot be diagnosed by others.
We all, more or less, belong into that category which has eagerly devoured some of those poisons and, this holds good of all of us, are now endeavoring to eliminate them; equal to unlearn a lot of falsehoods we have held to be the truth. What a task this is! Tenaciously we cling to those fallacies; eagerly we seek for excuses to hold on to them. Though we may be fully convinced they are fallacies and yet, how reluctantly we part with them. This is one of the great paradoxes of human nature.
Now, my Dear Br. & Sis. Allow me to harken back to the time when you received your first U. B. paper. How did the reading of it affect you? Or have you lost your recollection of it? If so it does not show up to your credit as a Truth-seeker. Or, did you say to yourself: Well, I don’t see anything new in that? Or perhaps I know all that! In your selfwise estimation: “How did it affect you?” I have heard these remarks even from very sincere students.
Yet with all the denial of the actual state of mind of the student at that time there is something the student either has not recognized or is unwilling to do so. I maintain there is something different to these papers than what the student expected; something of which most students if any, have never thought of; have never read in any book; a different approach to the mind of the student than any society, order or teaching has ever presented to him. He may in his inner reserve sense a little something but is unwilling to admit it to himself even, much less so to others. It is a remnant of dishonesty with ourselves which still holds us, but will stand out distinctly when the process of Self-analysis has progressed sufficiently to admit this self-deception.
The pretensions to be what we are not; the knowing what we don’t know; or the clinging to something of which we have a subconscious sense of being wrong, is one of the inconsistencies of spiritual-corporeal beings, due to the possession of free will. It is absolute dishonesty with oneself. It is an inordination hard to overcome. A painful disgorging process; but sooner or later we have to go through it.
The open confession of our ignorance is a sign of sincerity and leads, coupled with earnest effort to overcome the obstacle, quicker to the goal of Right Knowledge than almost anything else.
Now comes the question: “How can I know what is Right Knowledge, Truth? How can I acquire it?” This question is probably asked by every Human being one time or other, even if not in earnest.
Another question, to some extent the offspring of the foregoing one, is: “If there are those who are in possession of Right Knowledge why do they not come forward and teach the world; let the world know about it?”
The first question has the criteria of sincerity; but the second question bears, to a large extent, the stamp of insincerity. From another point of view the latter question shows ignorance and ulterior motives in bold type, insincere desire to take advantage may be father to that question.
Right Knowledge is not a concoction which can be prescribed and prepared for anyone like the physician prescribes a medicine; nor can it be condensed and acquired in the form of one short Universal Formula; no more so than a human being could take all its food for the period of its earthly life in one big meal. You may retort: Well, that seems absurd. Yet it would be no more absurd than to expect this Right Knowledge, which is Truth, being presented as a universal formula on a silver platter. The soul must take nourishment along with the body. We are subject to the limitations of time and therefore the acquisition of Right Knowledge also takes time.
Right Knowledge, as said in the document, is Knowledge of the system of the Universe. The system of the universe is as well each ones own system. Therefore, the first to learn is ones own system. Every human being is a miniature universe; his body representing the lower aspects of that universe, the ethereal, mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms. The most outstanding feature of this visible universe is the mutation of matter which manifests as growth and decay; being also the original cause of the digestive process.
But his soul represents a higher aspect of that universe. It is also subject to a process of mutation but not like matter. Matter may remain matter but the soul must grow. Its food, Right Knowledge, Wisdom, add to it. Reason, Analysis, are the digestive process, experience the ills and joys of assimilation; but, since all mutation is a process subject to time and its limitations and the acquisition of Right Knowledge is a process of mutation, the folly of the second question becomes quite apparent.
I am glad to be able to say that we have indeed been fortunate to contact a source where Right Knowledge, the true soul-food, is dispensed. Some reactions are bound to ensue when the real soul-food meets the assimilated poisons. Some eliminating will have to take place. But the pains of elimination, (disgorging) like the training of the Athlete, pave the way to victory.
Therefore, be discriminative of your soul-food the same as you would be if you set down to a banquet table and you felt suspicious of the cleanliness of the nutriments. Become an epicure in that respect. Analyze before accepting. Don’t reject offhand, not until the victuals prove unwholesome; even then pick out the wholesome parts and enjoy them to the fullest. This means learn truth, learn the system of the Universe so you may become a co-worker therein thus gain experience by which the soul may grow and perform useful labor in that system, the same as any worker who desires to become proficient in some particular art. Question: “How can we know, or by what means can we recognize that, or when, Knowledge is RIGHT Knowledge?”
Learn from the book of creation, must ever be the answer. Creation reflects the Creator’s Idea. In order to make it a little more clear I will take recourse to a parallel:
Try the experiment of standing between two mirrors opposite each other. You will note an almost endless reflection of yourself at least so far as your eye may see. In the illusionary distance into which the mirror throws your own reflection your sight is lost; your reflection may be lost, but this you can not determine. You see in the nearest reflection an exact replica of yourself. The farther the reflection is thrown the less distinct it becomes till your image disappears entirely due to the limits of vision. From the first reflection one could adequately describe the originator of the image. From the second less so; less from the third and so forth. In the far distance the description of what is seen might be entirely unlike the original.
But would you, standing before the mirror, say that the image thrown by you is your very self? You would call that absurd. You would say, that is my image or shadow, or reflection. The mirror may be broken and immediately the reflection ceases. But, would the breaking of the mirror affect you? You would still be there unchanged but your reflection would have disappeared.
A Great Arcanum may be gleaned from this simile quoted by those with true spiritual perception.
The Macrocosm, as we behold it is the reflection we see in as concrete form as our minds are able to grasp. The Originator of that reflection is therefore the Creator. The mirror let us say, to suit our thesis, is your mind; the human mind; may be the angelic mind; who can tell. We know by experience that to some minds the Macrocosm is full of beauty, wonders and harmony. To others it appears to be a monster in disguise; To others just an ordinary machine working something like a Perpetuum Mobile; to others a Purposeless coming and going from nowhere to nowhere; others again see a glorious purpose therein. The state of mind (the mirror) may warp the reflection so its picture is entirely mishapen.
But there are those whose minds are clear to view the whole picture in all its splendor; and they are only too willing to give a good description of it if they find ready ears to listen. They are also nearest to the original cause of that reflection, The Creator, and therefore, in His Light can see or distinguish clearly. They are the real Masters or Teachers and should be revered as such.
Another picture. We know by experience that the universe is in a constant state of flux and change. This changing or revolving process as we may call it, may be likened to the presentation of a constantly different aspect of the Creators infinite reality to the spectator. We may say therefore that the Creator throws a constantly different aspect of His Infinite reality into that mirror.
Since we, men, are also reflections of Him we must be also in His likeness: in reality, compared to Him, as the image to the cause of the image; as the highest product of corporeal nature we must be the nearest the nearest in likeness to Him in the corporeal universe; therefore a closer reflection. Nearer in reality as well; a better image. But He has so vivified the image that it became a Conscious Entity, a beholder of the wonders of His reality. And, as hinted above, should the Macrocosm perish or pass away nothing would affect its Cause or the Source whence the reflection comes.
The task of all conscious entities in that Macrocosm is the learning of its workings, which is the Divine Will and purpose. That is Right Knowledge. The Right Interpretation of that will and purpose is Right Knowledge. Right Knowledge alone can enable the human soul to fulfill the Divine Will and co-operate in the Divine Purpose. Right Knowledge is the first prerequisite to attain to happiness and perfection. Right Knowledge alone can satisfy the souls limitless longing.
A great artist is able to build a good and true mirror. True Initiates, true masters are the artists whose mind has been built, through their own efforts and by Divine grace, to reflect a true picture of the aspects of the Divine Reality. They have lived in all ages and are living now. The world would perish without them; for they are the link between the Celestial and the Terrestrial planes. Their description has been handed down in tradition. To a large extent their description has been misinterpreted by others whose mind (mirror) distorted the picture as described by them. Few minds have been able to grasp the whole; many just a small part. But those who can only grasp a small part utter the loudest cry.
I did not intend to make this such a long epistle but as it seems there is so much to say on this subject that it is rather difficult to refrain from making this epistle too long. But I would like to give you another idea for comparison and development of your discriminative faculties in your search for Right Knowledge. I will quote this in the form of a parable.
The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a large tree covering the whole face of the earth. Under its branches all living creatures find sustenance, pleasure and joy. Its beauty is unexcelled. It is covered with blossoms all over. It is admired by all spectators. One of the creatures to whom it furnishes nourishment and protection plucks one of its blossoms. This creature, let us call it man, yearning for acclaim from its fellow-creatures, goes forth to proclaim that he has plucked the tree, the whole tree, on the strength of that one blossom. He finds ready followers to give him credit for his claim. He describes the blossom, to some extent, guarding it closely to prevent its destruction. But plucked from its parent stem, the blossom gradually fades. Others, like the one who plucked it, see it in its fading conditions; others again see it nearly withered; others again barely recognize it as a withered branch or blossom. Each in turn tries to describe it as he sees it. Yet they all make the same claim to have the whole tree, the whole Kingdom of Heaven in their grasp and who does not abide by the rules to attain to that Kingdom according to their conception is eternally excluded therefrom.
But there are also those who behold the whole tree in its full glory. They do not pluck the blossoms but study them, behold them ever blooming on the parent tree. They advise against listening to those, who pluck the blossoms, in the description of the tree. But Alas! They find few listeners, few followers. But it is they that truly rejoice in the beauty and splendor of that mighty tree reaping Peace and Happiness, freedom from the miseries which the lack of the trees full benefits entails.
Now let us interpret the meaning. The tree is “TRUTH” “RIGHT KNOWLEDGE.” The creature who plucks the blossom is Man, individual or collective. Individual the founder of a religion, the interpreter of religious tenets or dogmas or its promulgator; collectively the religion founded with its tenets and ramifications.
Each religion has such a flower equaling a certain truth but taken out of its proper setting. It is a kernel of truth but unrecognizable as to what the possibilities of the kernel are. It is a seed and that is all that is positively known. Is it going to be a thornbush or a poison tree or what? But it is a kernel and the life in the kernel may persist for a time. Ultimately the life in the kernel is withdrawn and the kernel then becomes sterile.
This is exactly the course of any such religion which makes just a little part of the truth its basic tenet. It will find adherents till the life or Truth has fled entirely when it disappears. To pluck one blossom and claim it exclusively to be the whole tree, or the truth is equivalent to claim to possess the only road to Heaven, yet it is only one tiny blossom. Equally, for a religion to prohibit its followers to study other blossoms (religions) is an indubitable sign that fear exists that other and even more beautiful blossoms may be discovered and enlighten its adherents more than is desirable to hold his allegiance. That religion or society which demands the absolute and undivided allegiance of its adherents is profoundly tainted with error and is inordinate in its esoteric basis. Use this as a clue in your search. That religion or society which encourages the delving into the tenets and mysteries of other religions and societies does not fear the consequences because they know that they are built on the solid rock of Truth.
REMEMBER: TRUTH SEPARATED BECOMES ERROR. Most of our present day religions are based mainly upon certain aspects (blossom or blossoms) of that tree, or Truth, and even those aspects are viewed in a distorted mirror, but whatever one may do is never to reject any religious tenets entirely and never condemn it. Look into its teachings and pluck the real blossom out of it and keep it alive, and make it your task, if possible, to refresh the withered blossom in that setting.
But what of the Beholder who analyses the blossoms of that tree in its freshness and splendor? He does not separate the blossoms and so appear to despoil the grandeur and beauty of the tree. To him every blossom is ever fresh, ever new, ever beautiful, ever grand. He sees the tree in its full glory, adores its beauty, worships its magnificence, rejoices in its bounty.
Does he shout of his discovery from the housetops? Of his knowledge? Or of the nature of the tree? Nay! In secret he cherishes the precious jewel ever waiting, ever eager to share the knowledge, the joys that are inalienable to it, with those who can recognize it, whose eyes are able to behold the brilliant splendor of the tree of UNIVERSAL TRUTH, Right Knowledge.
Knowledge of that tree has been gained through long ages of human endeavor to learn the truth and the span of a single individual life would be far too short to learn all its mysteries. Therefore for most of our knowledge we must look to tradition to furnish us the fundamental basis whereon each generation may build its addition. Therefore, Right Teaching is necessary.
Through Right Teaching we may attain to Right Knowledge; Right Knowledge enables us to Rightly Evaluate Truth and Right Evaluation of truth leads to Right Ordination.
You have, in your Obligations, expressed a willingness to receive that Right Knowledge but this in turn entails the duty to Rightly Ordinate your life according to its teachings in order to gain the benefits of Right Teaching and Knowledge which may at first not appear to you as such.
You have contacted a source where it is to be had, gained through the efforts of those who have gone before.
Are you a worthy student for this Right Knowledge or just a fluttering bat which must retire before the sun rises?
The first prerequisite to Right Knowledge:
KNOW THYSELF.
Your Elder Brother
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