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Title: Out from the heart
Author: James Lane Allen
Release date: August 2, 2024 [eBook #74178]
Language: English
Original publication: New York: R. F. Fenno & Company, 1900
Credits: Al Haines
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUT FROM THE HEART ***
Out from the Heart
BY
JAMES ALLEN
Author of
"FROM POVERTY TO POWER,"
"AS A MAN THINKETH," ETC.
_Make pure thy heart, and thou wilt make thy life
Rich, sweet, and beautiful, unmarred by strife;
Guard well thy mind, and, noble, strong, and fret,
Nothing shall harm, disturb, or conquer thee;
For all thy foes are in thy heart and mind.
There also thy salvation thou wilt find._
R. F. FENNO & COMPANY
18 EAST SEVENTEENTH ST., NEW YORK
CONTENTS
The Heart and the Life
The Nature and Power of Mind
Formation of Habit
Doing and Knowing
First Steps in the Higher Life
Mental Conditions and Their Effects
Exhortation
OUT FROM THE HEART
THE HEART AND THE LIFE
As the heart, so is the life. The within is ceaselessly becoming the
without. Nothing remains unrevealed. That which is hidden is but
for a time; it ripens and comes forth at last. Seed, tree, blossom,
and fruit is the fourfold order of the universe. From the state of a
man's heart proceed the conditions of his life; his thoughts blossom
into deeds, and his deeds bear the fruitage of character and destiny.
Life is ever unfolding from within, and revealing itself to the
light, and thoughts engendered in the heart at last reveal themselves
in words, actions, and things accomplished.
As the fountain from the hidden spring, so issues man's life from the
secret recesses of his heart. All that he is and does is generated
there. All that he will be and do will take its rise there.
Sorrow and gladness, suffering and enjoyment, hope and fear, hatred
and love, ignorance and enlightenment, are nowhere but in the heart;
they are solely mental conditions.
Man is the keeper of his heart; the watcher of his mind; the solitary
sentinel of his citadel of life. As such, he can be diligent or
negligent. He can keep his heart more and more carefully; he can
more strenuously watch and purify his mind; and he can guard himself
against the thinking of unrighteous thoughts: this is the way of
enlightenment and bliss. On the other hand, he can live loosely and
carelessly, neglecting the supreme task of rightly ordering his life:
this is the way of self-delusion and suffering.
Let a man realize that life in its totality proceeds from the mind,
and lo, the way of blessedness is opened up to him! For he will then
discover that he possesses the power to rule his mind, and to fashion
it in accordance with his Ideal. So will he elect to strongly and
steadfastly walk those pathways of thought and action which are
altogether excellent; to him life will become beautiful and sacred;
and, sooner or later, he will put to flight all evil, confusion and
suffering; for it is impossible for a man to fall short of
liberation, enlightenment, and peace, who guards with unwearying
diligence the gateway of his heart.
THE NATURE AND POWER OF MIND
Mind is the arbiter of life; it is the creator and shaper of
conditions, and the recipient of its own results. It contains within
itself both the power to create illusion and to perceive reality.
Mind is the infallible weaver of destiny; thought is the thread, good
and evil deeds are the warp and woof, and the web, woven upon the
loom of life, is character. Mind clothes itself in garments of its
own making.
Man, as a mental being, possesses all the powers of mind, and is
furnished with illimitable choice. He learns by experience, and he
can accelerate or retard his experience. He is not arbitrarily bound
at any point, but he has bound himself at many points, and having
bound himself he can, when he chooses, liberate himself. He can
become bestial or pure, ignoble or noble, foolish or wise, just as he
chooses. He can, by recurring practice, form habits, and he can, by
renewed effort, break them off. He can surround himself with
illusions until Truth is completely lost, and he can destroy one and
another of those illusions until Truth is entirely recovered. His
possibilities are limitless; his freedom is complete.
It is in the nature of mind to create its own conditions, and to
choose the states in which it shall dwell. It also has the power to
alter any condition and to abandon any state, and this it is
continually doing as it gathers knowledge of state after state by
repeated choice and exhaustive experience.
Inward processes of thought make up the sum of character and life,
and man can modify and alter these processes by bringing will and
effort to bear upon them. The bonds of habit, impotence, and sin are
self-made, and can only be destroyed by one's self; they exist
nowhere but in one's mind, and although they are directly related to
outward things, they have no real existence in those things. The
outer is moulded and vivified by the inner, and never the inner by
the outer. Temptation does not arise in the outer object, but _in
the lust of the mind for that object_; nor do suffering and sorrow
inhere in the external things and happenings of life, but in an
undisciplined attitude of mind toward those things and happenings.
The mind that is disciplined by Purity and fortified by Wisdom,
avoids all those lusts and desires which are inseparably bound up
with affliction, and so arrives at enlightenment and peace.
To condemn others as evil, and to rail against outside conditions as
the source of evil, increases, and does not lessen, the world's
suffering and unrest. The outer is but the shadow and effect of the
inner, and when the heart is pure all outward things are pure.
All growth and life is from within outward; all decay and death is
from without inward; this is a universal law. All evolution proceeds
from within. All adjustment must take place within. He who ceases
to strive against others, and employs his powers in the
transformation, regeneration, and development of his own mind,
conserves his energies and preserves himself; and as he succeeds in
harmonizing his own mind, he leads others by consideration and
charity into a like blessed state, for not by assuming authority and
guidance over other minds is the way of enlightenment and peace
discovered, but by exercising a lawful authority over one's own, and
by guiding one's self in pathways of steadfast and lofty virtue.
A man's life proceeds from his heart, his mind: he has compounded
that mind by his own thoughts and deeds: it is in his power to
refashion that mind by his choice of thought: he can therefore
transform his life. Let us see how this is to be done.
FORMATION OF HABIT
Every established mental condition is an _acquired habit_, and it has
become such by continuous repetition of thought. Despondency and
cheerfulness, anger and calmness, covetousness and
generosity--indeed, all states of mind--are habits built up by
choice, until they have become automatic. A thought constantly
repeated at last becomes a fixed habit of the mind, and from such
habits proceeds the life.
It is in the nature of the mind to acquire knowledge by the
repetition of its experiences. A thought which it is very difficult,
at first, to hold and to dwell upon, at last becomes, by constantly
being held in the mind, a natural and habitual condition. Just as a
boy, when commencing to learn a trade, cannot even handle his tools
aright, much less use them correctly, but after long repetition and
practice plies them with perfect ease and consummate skill, so a
state of mind, at first apparently impossible of realization, is, by
perseverance and practice, at last acquired and built into the
character as a natural and spontaneous condition.
In this power of the mind to form and reform its habits, its
conditions, is contained the basis of man's salvation, and the open
door to perfect liberty by the mastery of self, for as a man has the
power to form harmful habits, so he has the same power to create
habits that are essentially good. And here we come to a point which
needs some elucidating, and which calls for deep and earnest thought
on the part of my reader.
It is commonly said to be easier to do wrong than right, to sin than
to be holy; such condition has come to be regarded, almost
universally, as axiomatic, and no less a teacher than the Buddha has
said:--"Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do;
what is beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do,"--and as
regards humanity generally, this is true, but it is only true as a
passing experience, a fleeting factor in human evolution; it is not a
fixed condition of things, is not of the nature of an eternal truth.
It is easier for men to do wrong than right, because of the
prevalence of ignorance, because the true nature of things, and the
essence and meaning of life, are not apprehended. When a child is
learning to write, it is extremely easy for it to hold the pen
wrongly, and to form its letters incorrectly, but it is painfully
difficult to hold the pen and to write properly; and this because of
the child's ignorance of the art of writing, which can only be
dispelled by persistent effort and practice, until, at last, it
becomes natural and easy to hold the pen properly, and to write
correctly, and difficult, as well as altogether unnecessary, to do
the wrong thing. It is the same in the vital things of mind and
life. To think and do rightly requires much practice and renewed
effort, but the time at last comes when it becomes habitual and easy
to think and do rightly, and difficult, as it is then seen to be
altogether unnecessary, to do that which is wrong.
Just as an artisan becomes, by practice, accomplished in his craft,
so a man can become, by practice, accomplished in goodness; it is
entirely a matter of forming new habits of thought, and he to whom
right thoughts have become easy and natural, and wrong thoughts and
acts difficult to do, has attained to the highest virtue, to pure,
spiritual knowledge.
It is easy and natural for men to sin, because they have formed, by
incessant repetition, harmful and unenlightened habits of thought.
It is very difficult for the thief to refrain from stealing when
opportunity occurs, because he has lived so long in covetous and
avaricious thoughts; but such difficulty does not exist for the
honest man who has lived so long in upright and honest thoughts, and
has thereby become enlightened as to the wrong, folly, and
fruitlessness of theft, that even the remotest idea of stealing does
not enter his mind. The sin of theft is a very extreme one, and I
have introduced it in order to the more clearly illustrate the force
and formation of habit; but all sins and virtues are formed in the
same way. Anger and impatience are natural and easy to thousands of
people, because they are constantly repeating the angry and impatient
thought and act, and with each repetition the habit is more firmly
established and more deeply rooted. Calmness and patience can become
habitual in the same way--by first grasping through effort, a calm
and patient thought, and then continuously thinking it, and living in
it, until "use becomes second nature," and anger and impatience pass
away for ever. It is thus that every wrong thought may be expelled
from the mind; thus that every untrue act may be destroyed; thus that
every sin may be overcome.
DOING AND KNOWING
Let a man realize that his life, in its totality, proceeds from his
mind, and that that mind is a combination of habits which he can, by
patient effort, modify to any extent, and over which he can thus gain
complete ascendancy and control, and he has at once obtained
possession of the key which shall open the door to his complete
emancipation.
But emancipation from the ills of life (which are the ills of one's
mind) is a matter of steady growth from within, and not a sudden
acquisition from without. Hourly and daily must the mind be trained
to think stainless thoughts, and to adopt right and dispassionate
attitudes under those circumstances in which it is prone to fall into
wrong and passion. Like the patient sculptor upon his marble, the
aspirant to the Right Life must gradually work upon the crude
material of his mind until he has wrought out of it the Ideal of his
holiest dreams.
In working toward such supreme accomplishment, it is necessary to
commence at the lowest and easiest steps, and proceed by natural and
progressive stages to the higher and more difficult. This law of
growth, progress, evolution, unfoldment, by gradual and ever
ascending stages, is absolute in every department of life, and in
every human accomplishment, and where it is ignored, total failure
will result. In acquiring learning, in learning a trade, or in
pursuing a business, this law is fully recognized and minutely obeyed
by all; but in acquiring Virtue, in learning Truth, and in pursuing
the right conduct and knowledge of life, it is unrecognized and
disobeyed by nearly all; hence Virtue, Truth, and the Perfect Life
remain unpractised, unacquired, and unknown.
It is a common error to suppose that the Higher Life is a matter of
reading, and the adoption of theological or metaphysical hypotheses,
and that Spiritual Principles can be apprehended by this method. The
Higher Life is a higher living in thought, word, and deed, and the
knowledge of those Spiritual Principles, which are imminent in man
and in the universe can only be acquired after long discipline in the
pursuit and practice of Virtue.
The lesser must be thoroughly grasped and understood before the
greater can be known, and practice always precedes real knowledge.
The schoolmaster never attempts to teach his pupils the abstract
principles of mathematics at the commencement; he knows that by such
a method teaching would be vain, and learning impossible. He first
places before them a simple sum, and, having explained it, leaves
them to do it. When, after repeated failures and ever-renewed
effort, they have succeeded in doing it correctly, a more difficult
task is set them, and then another and another; and not until the
pupils have, through many years of diligent application, mastered all
the lessons in arithmetic, does he attempt to unfold to them the
underlying mathematical principles.
In learning a trade, say that of a mechanic, the boy is not at first
taught the principles of mechanics, but a simple tool is put into his
hand and he is told how rightly to use it, and is then left to do it
by effort and practice. As he succeeds in plying his tools
correctly, more and more difficult tasks are set him, until, after
several years of successful practice, he is prepared to study and
grasp the principles of mechanics.
In a properly governed household, the child is first taught to be
obedient, and to conduct itself properly under all circumstances.
The child is not even told why it must do this, but is commanded to
do it, and only after it has so far succeeded in doing what is right
and proper, is it told why it should do it. No father would attempt
to teach his child the principles of ethics before exacting from it
the practice of filial duty and social virtue.
Thus practice ever precedes knowledge even in the ordinary things of
the world, and in spiritual things, in the living of the Higher Life,
this law is rigid in its exactions. Virtue can only be known by
doing, and the knowledge of Truth can only be arrived at by
perfecting oneself in the practice of Virtue and to be complete in
the practice and acquisition of Virtue is to be complete in the
knowledge of Truth.
Truth can only be arrived at by daily and hourly doing the lessons of
Virtue, beginning at the simplest, and passing on to the more
difficult; and as a child patiently and obediently learns its lessons
at school, constantly practising, ever exerting itself until all
failures and difficulties are surmounted, even so does the child of
Truth apply himself to right-doing in thought and action, undaunted
by failure, and made stronger by difficulties; and as he succeeds in
acquiring Virtue, his mind unfolds itself in the knowledge of Truth,
and it is a knowledge in which he can securely rest.
FIRST STEPS IN THE HIGHER LIFE
Seeing that the Path of Virtue is the Path of Knowledge, and that
before the all-embracing Principles of Truth can be comprehended,
perfection in the more lowly steps must be acquired, how, then, shall
a disciple of Truth commence? How shall one who aspires to the
righting of his mind and the purification of his heart--that heart
which is the fountain and repository of all the issues of life--learn
the lessons of Virtue, and thus build himself up in the strength of
knowledge, destroying ignorance and the ills of life? What are the
first lessons, the first steps? How are they learned? How are they
practised? How are they mastered and understood?
The first lessons consist in overcoming those wrong mental conditions
which are the most easily eradicated, and which are the common
barriers to spiritual progress, as well as in practising the simple
domestic and social virtues; and the reader will be the better aided
if I group and classify the first ten steps in three lessons as
follows:--
VICES TO BE OVERCOME AND ERADICATED.
VICES OF THE BODY.
1. Indolence. ) FIRST LESSON.
2. Self-indulgence. ) Discipline of the Body.
VICES OF THE TONGUE.
1. Slander. )
2. Gossip and idle conversation. ) SECOND LESSON.
3. Abusive and unkind speech. ) Discipline of
) Speech.
4. Levity, or irreverent speech. )
5. Captiousness, or fault-finding speech. )
VIRTUES TO BE PRACTICED AND ACQUIRED.
1. Unselfish performance of duty. ) THIRD LESSON.
) Discipline of
2. Unswerving rectitude. ) Inclination.
3. Unlimited forgiveness. )
The two vices of the body, and five of the tongue, are so called
because they are manifested in the body and tongue, and also because,
by so definitely classifying them, the mind of the reader will be the
better helped; but it must be clearly understood that these vices
arise primarily in the mind, and are wrong conditions of heart worked
out in the body and the tongue.
The existence of such chaotic conditions is an indication that the
mind is altogether unenlightened as to the real meaning and purpose
of life, and their eradication is the beginning of a virtuous,
steadfast, and enlightened life.
But how shall they be overcome and eradicated? By first, and at
once, checking and controlling their outward manifestations, by
suppressing the wrong act; this will stimulate the mind to
watchfulness and reflection until, by repeated practice, it will at
last come to perceive and understand the dark and wrong conditions of
mind, out of which such acts spring, and will abandon them entirely.
It will be seen that the first step in the discipline of the mind is
the overcoming of indolence. This is the easiest step, and until it
is perfectly accomplished, the other steps cannot be taken. The
clinging to indolence constitutes a complete barrier to the Path of
Truth. Indolence consists in giving the body more ease and sleep
than it requires, in procrastinating, and in shirking and neglecting
those things which should receive immediate attention. This
condition of laziness must be overcome by rousing up the body at any
early hour, giving it just the amount of sleep it requires for
complete recuperation, and by doing promptly and vigorously, every
task and duty, no matter how small, as it comes along. On no account
should food or drink be taken in bed, and to lie in bed after one has
wakened, indulging in ease and reverie, is a habit fatal to
promptness and resolution of character, and purity of mind. Nor
should one attempt to do his thinking at such a time. Strong, pure,
and true thinking is impossible under such circumstances. A man
should go to bed to sleep, not to think. He should get up to think
and work, not to sleep.
The next step is the overcoming of self-indulgence, or gluttony. The
glutton is he who eats for animal gratification only, without
considering the true end and object in eating, who eats more than his
body requires, and is greedy after sweet things and rich dishes.
Such undisciplined desire can only be overcome by reducing the
quantity of food eaten, and the number of meals per day, and by
resorting to a simple and uninvolved dietary. Regular hours should
be set apart for meals, and eating at other times should be rigidly
avoided. Suppers should be abolished, as they are altogether
unnecessary, and conduce to heavy sleep and cloudiness of mind. The
pursuit of such a method of discipline will rapidly bring the
hitherto ungoverned appetite under control, and as the sensual sin of
self-indulgence is taken out of the mind, the right selection of food
will be instinctively and infallibly adapted to the purified mental
condition.
It should be well borne in mind that change of heart is the needful
thing, and that any change of diet which does not subserve this end
is futile. Whilst one eats for enjoyment he is gluttonous. The
heart must be purified of sensual craving and gustatory lust.
When the body is well controlled and firmly guided; when that which
is to be done is done vigorously; when no task or duty is delayed;
when early rising has become a delight; when frugality, temperance,
and abstinence are firmly established; when one is contented with the
food which is put before him, no matter how scant and plain, and the
craving for gustatory pleasure is at an end,--then are the first two
steps in the Higher Life accomplished; then is the first great lesson
in Truth learned. Thus is established in the heart the foundation of
a poised, self-governed, virtuous life.
The next lesson is the lesson of Virtuous Speech, in which are five
orderly steps. The first step is the overcoming of slander. Slander
consists in inventing or repeating evil reports about others, in
exposing and magnifying the faults of others, or of absent friends,
and in introducing unworthy insinuations. The elements of
thoughtlessness, cruelty, insincerity, and untruthfulness enter into
every slanderous act. He who aims at the living of the right life
will commence to check the cruel word of slander before it has gone
forth from his lips, and will then check and eliminate the insincere
thought which gave rise to it. He will watch himself that he does
not vilify any, and will refrain from disparaging and condemning the
absent friend, whose face he has so recently kissed, or shaken his
hand, or smiled into his face. He will not say of another that which
he dare not say to him. Thus, coming at last to think sacredly of
the character and reputation of others, he will destroy those wrong
conditions of mind which give rise to slander.
The next step is the overcoming of gossip and idle conversation.
Idle speech consists in talking about the private affairs of others,
in talking merely to pass away the time, and in engaging in aimless
and irrelevant conversation. Such an ungoverned condition of speech
is the outcome of an ill-regulated mind. The man of virtue will
bridle his tongue, and thus learn how rightly to govern the mind. He
will not let his tongue run idly and foolishly, but will make his
speech strong and pure and will either talk with a purpose or remain
silent.
Abusive and unkind speech is the next vice to be overcome. The man
who abuses and accuses others has himself wandered far from the Right
Way. To hurl hard words and names at others is to sink deeply into
folly. When a man is inclined to abuse and condemn others, let him
restrain his tongue and look in upon himself. The virtuous man
refrains from abuse and quarrelling, and employs only words that are
useful, necessary, pure, and true.
The next step is the overcoming of levity, or irreverent speech.
Light and frivolous talking; the repeating of coarse jokes; the
telling of vulgar stories, having no other purpose than to raise an
empty laugh; offensive familiarity, and the employment of
contemptuous and irreverent terms when speaking to or of others, and
particularly of one's elders and those who rank as one's teachers,
guardians, or superiors,--all this will be put away by the lover of
Virtue and Truth.
Upon the altar of irreverence absent friends and companions are
immolated for the passing excitement of a momentary laugh, and all
the sanctity of life is sacrificed to the zest for ridicule. When
respect towards others and the giving of reverence where reverence is
due are abandoned, Virtue is abandoned. When modesty, gravity, and
dignity are eliminated from speech and behavior, Truth is lost, yea,
even its entrance gate is hidden away and forgotten. Irreverence is
degrading even in the young, but when it accompanies grey hairs, and
appears in the demeanor of the preacher,--this is indeed a piteous
spectacle; and when this can be imitated and followed after, then are
the blind leading the blind, then have elders and preacher and people
lost their way.
The virtuous man will be of grave and reverent speech; he will think
and speak of the absent as he thinks and speaks of the dead--tenderly
and sacredly; he will put away thoughtlessness, and watch that he
does not sacrifice his dignity to gratify a passing impulse to
lightness and frivolity. His mirth will be pure and innocent, and
his voice will become subdued and musical, and his soul be filled
with grace and sweetness as he succeeds in conducting himself as
becomes a man of Truth.
The last step in the second lesson is the overcoming of captiousness,
or fault-finding speech. This vice of the tongue consists in
magnifying and harping on small or apparent faults, in foolish
quibbling and hair-splitting, and in pursuing vain arguments based
upon groundless suppositions, beliefs, and opinions. Life is short
and real, and sin and sorrow and pain are not remedied by carping and
contention. The man who is ever on the watch to catch at the words
of others in order to contradict and controvert them, has yet to
reach the higher way of holiness, the truer life of self-surrender.
The man who is ever on the watch to check his own words in order to
soften and purify them will find the higher way and the truer life;
he will conserve his energies, maintain his composure of mind, and
preserve within himself the spirit of Truth.
When the tongue is well controlled and wisely subdued; when selfish
impulses and unworthy thoughts no longer rush to the tongue demanding
utterance; when the speech has become harmless, pure, gentle,
gracious, and purposeful, and no word is uttered but in sincerity and
truth,--then are the five steps in virtuous speech accomplished, then
is the second great lesson in Truth learned and mastered.
And now some will ask, "But why all this discipline of the body and
restraint of the tongue? Surely the Higher Life can be realized and
known without such strenuous labor, such incessant effort and
watchfulness?" No, it cannot. In the spiritual as the material,
nothing is done without labor, and the higher cannot be known until
the lower is fulfilled. Can a man make a table before he has learned
how to handle a tool and drive a nail? And can a man fashion his
mind in accordance with Truth before he has overcome the slavery of
his body? As the intricate subtleties of language cannot be
apprehended and wielded before the alphabet and the simplest words
are mastered, neither can the deep subtleties of the mind be
understood and purified before the ABC of right conduct is perfectly
acquired. As for the labor involved--does not the youth joyfully and
patiently submit himself to a seven-years' apprenticeship in order to
master a craft? And does he not day by day carefully and faithfully
carry out every detail of his master's instructions, looking forward
to the time when, perfected through obedience and practice, he shall
be himself a master? Where is the man who sincerely aims at
excellence in music, painting, literature, in any trade, business, or
profession who is not willing to give his whole life to the
acquirement of his particular perfection? Shall labor, then, be
considered where the very highest excellence is concerned--the
excellence of Truth? He who says, "The Path which you point out is
too difficult; I must have Truth without labor, salvation without
effort," that man will not find his way out of the confusions and
sufferings of self-hood; he will not find the calm and well-fortified
mind and the wisely ordered life. His love is for ease and
enjoyment, and not for Truth. He who, deep in his heart, adores
Truth, and aspires to know it, will consider no labor too great to be
undertaken, but will adopt it joyfully and pursue it patiently, and
by perseverance in practice he will come to the knowledge of Truth.
The necessity for this preliminary discipline of the body and tongue
will be the more clearly perceived when it is fully understood that
all these wrong outward conditions are merely the expressions of
wrong conditions of heart. An indolent body means an indolent mind;
an ill-regulated tongue reveals an ill-regulated mind, and the
process of remedying the manifested condition is really a method of
rectifying the inward state. Moreover, the overcoming of these
conditions is only a small part of what is really involved in the
process. The ceasing from evil leads to, and is inseparably
connected with, the practice of good. While a man is overcoming
indolence and self-indulgence, he is really cultivating and
developing the virtues of abstinence, temperance, punctuality, and
self-denial, and is acquiring that strength, energy, and resolution
which are indispensable to the successful accomplishment of the
higher tasks. While he is overcoming the vices of speech, he is
developing the virtues of truthfulness, sincerity, reverence,
kindliness, and self-control, and is gaining that mental steadiness
and fixedness of purpose, without which the remoter subtleties of the
mind cannot be regulated, and the higher stages of conduct and
enlightenment cannot be reached. Also, as he has to do right, his
knowledge deepens, and his insight is intensified, and as the child's
heart is glad when his school task is mastered, so with each victory
achieved, the man of virtue experiences a bliss which the seeker
after pleasure and excitement can never know.
And now we come to the third lesson in the Higher Life, which
consists in practising and mastering, in one's daily life, three
great fundamental Virtues--(1) Unselfish Performance of Duty; (2)
Unswerving Rectitude; and (3) Unlimited Forgiveness. Having prepared
the mind by overcoming the more surface and chaotic conditions
mentioned in the two first lessons, the striver after Virtue and
Truth is now ready to enter upon greater and more difficult tasks,
and to control and purify the deeper motives of the heart. Without
the right performance of duty, the higher virtues cannot be known,
and Truth cannot be apprehended. Duty is generally regarded as an
irksome labor, a compulsory something which must be toiled through,
or be in some way circumvented. This way of regarding Duty proceeds
from a selfish condition of mind, and a wrong understanding of life.
All duty should be regarded as sacred, and its faithful and unselfish
performance one of the leading rules of conduct. All personal and
selfish considerations should be extracted and cast away from the
doing of one's duty, and when this is done, Duty ceases to be
irksome, and becomes joyful. Duty is only irksome to him who craves
some selfish enjoyment or benefit for himself. Let the man who is
chafing under the irksomeness of his duty look to himself, and he
will find that his wearisomeness proceeds, not from the duty itself,
but from his selfish desire to escape it. He who neglects duty, be
it great or small, or of a public or private nature, neglects Virtue;
he who in his heart rebels against Duty, rebels against Virtue. When
Duty has become a thing of love, and when every particular duty is
done accurately, faithfully, and dispassionately, there is much
subtle selfishness removed from the heart, and a great step is taken
towards the heights of Truth. The virtuous man concentrates his mind
on the perfect doing of his own duty, and does not interfere with the
duty of another.
The second step in the third lesson is the practice of Unswerving
Rectitude. This Virtue must be firmly established in the mind, and
so enter into every detail of man's life. All dishonesty, deception,
trickery, and misrepresentation must be for ever put away, and the
heart be purged of every vestige of insincerity and subterfuge. The
least swerving from the path of rectitude is a deviation from Virtue.
There must be no extravagance and exaggeration of speech, but the
simple truth should be stated. Engaging in deception, no matter how
apparently insignificant, for vain-glory, or with the hope of
personal advantage, is a state of delusion which one should make
efforts to dispel. It is demanded of the man of Virtue that he shall
not only practice the most rigid honesty in thought, word, and deed,
but that he shall be exact in his statements, omitting and adding
nothing to the actual truth. In thus shaping his mind to the
principle of Rectitude, he will gradually come to deal with people
and things in a just and impartial spirit, considering equity before
himself, and viewing all things with freedom from personal bias,
passion, and prejudice. When the Virtue of Rectitude is fully
practised, acquired, and comprehended, so that all temptation to
untruthfulness and insincerity has ceased, then is the heart made
purer and nobler, then is character strengthened, and knowledge
enlarged, and life takes on a new meaning and a new power. Thus is
the second step accomplished.
The third step is the practice of Unlimited Forgiveness. This
consists in overcoming the sense of injury which springs from vanity,
selfishness, and pride; and in exercising disinterested charity and
large-heartedness towards all. Spite, retaliation, and revenge are
so utterly ignoble, and so small and foolish, as to be altogether
unworthy of being noticed or harbored. No one who fosters such
conditions in his heart can lift himself above folly and suffering,
and guide his life aright. Only by casting them away, and ceasing to
be moved by them, can a man's eyes be opened to the true way in life;
only by developing a forgiving and charitable spirit can he hope to
approach and perceive the strength and beauty of a well-ordered life.
In the heart of the strongly virtuous man no feeling of personal
injury can arise; he has put away all retaliation, and has no
enemies; and if men should constitute themselves his enemies, he will
regard them kindly, understanding their ignorance, and making full
allowance for it. When this state of heart is arrived at, then is
the third step in the discipline of one's self-seeking inclinations
accomplished; then is the third great lesson in Virtue and Knowledge
learned and mastered.
Having thus laid down the first ten steps and three lessons in
right-doing and right-knowing, I leave those of my readers who are
prepared for them to learn and master them in their everyday life.
There is, of course, a still higher discipline of the body, a more
far-reaching discipline of the tongue, and greater and more
all-embracing virtues to acquire and understand before the highest
state of bliss and knowledge can be apprehended, but it is not my
purpose to deal with them here. I have expounded only the first and
easiest lessons on the Higher Path, and by the time these are
thoroughly mastered, the reader will have become so purified,
strengthened, and enlightened, that he will not be left in the dark
as to his future progress. Those of my readers who have completed
these three lessons will already have perceived, beyond and above,
the high altitudes of Truth, and the narrow and precipitous track
which leads to them, and will choose whether they shall proceed.
The straight Path which I have laid down can be pursued by all with
greater profit to themselves and to the world, and even those who do
not aspire to the attainment of Truth, will develop greater
intellectual and moral strength, finer judgment, and deeper peace of
mind by perfecting themselves in this Path. Nor will their material
prosperity suffer by this change of heart; nay, it will be rendered
truer, purer, and more enduring, for if there is one who is capable
of succeeding and fitted to achieve, it is the man who has abandoned
the petty dissipations and everyday vices of his kind, who is strong
to rule his body and his mind, and who pursues with fixed resolve the
path of unswerving integrity and sterling virtue.
MENTAL CONDITIONS AND THEIR EFFECTS
Without going into the details of the greater steps and lessons in
the right life (a task outside the scope of this small work) a few
hints and statements concerning those mental conditions from which
life in its totality springs, will prove helpful to those who are
ready and willing to penetrate further into that inner realm of heart
and mind where Love and Wisdom and Peace await the strenuous comer.
All sin is ignorance. It is a condition of darkness and
undevelopment. The wrong-thinker and wrong-doer is in the same
position in the school of life as is the ignorant pupil in the school
of learning. He has yet to learn how to think and act correctly,
that is, in accordance with Law. The pupil in learning is not happy
so long as he does his lessons wrongly, and unhappiness cannot be
escaped while sin remains unconquered.
Life is a series of lessons. Some are diligent in learning them, and
they become pure, wise, and altogether happy. Others are negligent,
and do not apply themselves, and they remain impure, foolish, and
unhappy.
Every form of unhappiness springs from a wrong condition of mind.
Happiness inheres in right conditions of mind. Happiness is mental
harmony; unhappiness is mental inharmony. While a man lives in wrong
conditions of mind, he will live a wrong life, and will suffer
continually. Suffering is rooted in error. Bliss inheres in
enlightenment. There is salvation for man only in the destruction of
his own ignorance, error, and self-delusion. Where there are wrong
conditions of mind there is bondage and unrest; where there are right
conditions of mind there is freedom and peace.
Here are some of the leading wrong mental conditions and their
disastrous effects upon the life:--
WRONG MENTAL THEIR EFFECTS.
CONDITIONS.
Hatred. Injury, violence, disaster, and
suffering.
Lust. Confusion of intellect, remorse,
shame, and wretchedness.
Covetousness. Fear, unrest, unhappiness, and loss.
Pride. Disappointment, chagrin, lack of
self-knowledge.
Vanity. Distress, and mortification of spirit.
Condemnation. Persecution, hatred from others.
Ill-will. Failures and troubles.
Self-indulgence. Misery, loss of judgment, grossness,
disease, and neglect.
Anger. Loss of power and influence.
Desire, or Grief, folly, sorrow, uncertainty, and
Self-slavery. loneliness.
The above wrong conditions of mind are merely negations; they are
states of darkness and deprivation and not of positive power. Evil
is not a power; it is ignorance and misuse of good. The hater is he
who has failed to do the lesson of Love correctly, and he suffers in
consequence. When he succeeds in doing it rightly, the hatred will
have disappeared, and he will see and understand the darkness and
impotence of hatred. It is so with every wrong condition.
The following are some of the more important right mental conditions
and their beneficent effects upon the life:--
RIGHT MENTAL THEIR EFFECTS.
CONDITIONS.
Love. Gentle conditions, bliss, and blessedness
Purity. Intellectual clearness, joy, invincible
confidence.
Selflessness. Courage, satisfaction, happiness, and
plenty.
Humility. Calmness, restfulness, knowledge of
Truth.
Meekness. Equipoise, contentment under all
circumstances.
Compassion. Protection, love and reverence from
others.
Goodwill. Gladness and success.
Self-control. Peace of mind, true judgment,
refinement, health, and honor.
Patience. Mental power, far-reaching influence.
Self-conquest. Enlightenment, wisdom, insight, and
profound peace.
The above right conditions of mind are states of positive power, of
light, of joyful possession, and of knowledge. The good man knows.
He has learned to do his lessons correctly, and thereby understands
the exact proportions which make up the sum of life. He is
enlightened, and knows good and evil. He is supremely happy, doing
only that which is divinely right.
The man who is involved in the wrong conditions of mind, does not
know. He is ignorant of good and evil, of himself, of the inward
causes which make his life. He is unhappy, and believes other people
are entirely the cause of his unhappiness. He works blindly, and
lives in darkness, seeing no central purpose in existence, and no
orderly and lawful sequence in the course of things.
He who aspires to the attainment of the Higher Life in its
completion--who would perceive with unveiled vision the true order of
things and the meaning of life--let him abandon all the wrong
conditions of heart, and persevere unceasingly in the practice of the
good. If he suffers, or doubts, or is unhappy, let him search within
until he finds the cause, and having found it, let him cast it away.
Let him so guard and purify his heart that every day less of evil and
more of good shall issue therefrom; so will he daily become stronger,
nobler, wiser; so will his blessedness increase, and the Light of
Truth, growing ever brighter and brighter within him, will dispel all
gloom, and illuminate his Pathway.
EXHORTATION
Disciples of Truth, lovers of Virtue, seekers of Wisdom; ye, also,
who are sorrow stricken, knowing the emptiness of the self-life, and
who aspire to the life that is supremely beautiful, and serenely
glad,--take now yourselves in hand, enter the Door of Discipline, and
know the Better Life.
Put away self-delusion; behold yourself as you are, and see the Path
of Virtue as it is. There is no lazy way to Truth. He who would
stand upon the mountain's summit must strenuously climb, and must
rest only to gather strength. But if the climbing is less glorious
than the cloudless summit, it is still glorious. Discipline in
itself is beautiful, and the end of discipline is sweet.
Rise early and meditate. Begin each day with a conquered body, and a
mind fortified against error and weakness. Temptation will never be
overcome by unprepared fighting. The mind must be armed and arrayed
in the silent hour. It must be trained to perceive, to know, to
understand. Sin and temptation disappear when right understanding is
developed.
Right understanding is reached through unabated discipline. Truth
cannot be reached but through discipline. Patience will increase by
effort and practice, and patience will make discipline beautiful.
Discipline is irksome to the impatient man and the self-lover, so he
avoids it, and continues to live loosely and confusedly.
Discipline is not irksome to the Truth-lover, and he will find the
infinite patience which can wait and work and overcome. As the joy
of the gardener who sees his flowers develop day by day, so is the
joy of the man of discipline who sees the divine flowers of Purity,
Wisdom, Compassion, and Love, grow up in his heart.
The loose-liver cannot escape sorrow and pain. The undisciplined
mind falls, weak and helpless, before the fierce onslaught of passion.
Array well your mind, then, lover of Truth. Be watchful, thoughtful,
resolute. Your salvation is at hand; your readiness and effort are
all that are needed. If you should fail ten times, do not be
disheartened; if you should fail a hundred times, rise up and pursue
your way; if you should fail a thousand times, do not despair. When
the right Path is entered, success is sure if the Path is not utterly
abandoned.
First strife, and then victory. First labor, and then rest. First
weakness, and then strength. In the beginning the lower life, and
the glare and confusion of battle, and at the end the Life Beautiful,
the Silence, and the Peace.
_BOOKS BY_
HENRY FRANK
The Mastery of Mind
The Kingdom of Love
The Shrine of Silence
The Triumph of Truth, or The Doom of Dogma
Books by
FLOYD B. WILSON
Paths to Power
Man Limitless
Thro' Silence to Realization
The Discovery of the Soul
_BOOKS BY_
JAMES ALLEN
As a Man Thinketh
Out from the Heart
The Heavenly Life
Entering the Kingdom
The Way of Peace
The Path of Prosperity
R. F. FENNO & COMPANY
18 EAST SEVENTEENTH ST., NEW YORK
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