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Contents |
THE SEVEN PURPOSES
Part II
THE LESSONS
"The lessons came from great forces combined. They
represent unity of all purposes, and were framed by the
co-operation and agreement of the greatest forces of each
constructive purpose, to reach the consciousness of men in
general terms of your plane."
Chapter I
March 23d.
ALL pure purpose is fearless, whether for
good or evil, but few humans are pure
purpose, and the first fight is in themselves.
All this has been said before in effect, but
based on other premises. This is the first
time the original purpose has been defined and
explained. For centuries men have sought the
source of life. This is the first time they have
been ready to accept the whole truth about
that, or to be prepared for the next step.
"Once convinced that chaos grew from pur-
poses born of the Force Beyond Perfection,
purposes perfect from the beginning, but at
war because they contained within themselves
all the elements of life and of conflict—once
convinced of this, men will gradually find their
own clear purposes defined, and the war within
themselves will cease. They will choose defi-
nitely to build or to destroy, to be honest or
dishonest. Self-deception will be less easy or
possible, and the fight will then be with you,
as it is now with us, between forces clearly in- [98]
dicated. Now you are all confused by a war
within a war, infinitely continued. Conflict
multiplied by the number of purposes in each
purpose. This has been recognized, but the
remedy has never been clearly found. It lies
in the conviction that force of every nature is
purpose, which has existed from the beginning,
and that the force which builds is beneficent
and may be clearly segregated and united.
"The Force Beyond Perfection is composed
of all things, and therefore understands all
things. The original purposes were all good,
and will be again, if they can all become intel-
ligent. They became evil through attraction
of like for like, akin to your atomic attraction,
and chaos resulted. This struggle created a
desire and determination to exist in concrete
form, to add a new force to the forces of
chaos. That was a great conflict, resulting in
a tie. Purposes became fused in the same in-
dividual, and the battle infinitely multiplied,
but yet not lost. Now the effort of both par-
ticipants is for united purpose again, and the
fusion of purposes in each individual makes the
confusion greater and the fight more bitter.
Men are swayed first by one purpose and then
by another, and are themselves unable to dis-
tinguish between good and evil.
"This precipitated the Great War with you, [99]
the purposes in the Central Empires being more
nearly united than elsewhere. Their purposes,
are fundamentally destructive, because fun-
damentally autocratic, based on fear, and
would ultimately reduce civilization to infancy
again. The reason Germany has been able to
fight so long is because her purpose is con-
scious, while the Allies fight blindly but deter-
minedly, moved by purposes they do not recog-
nize and yet must obey. They talk of unity,
but do not perceive its nature. They are mis-
led by phrases hollow, but plausible, and do not
perceive them to be the enemy in disguise—
not the mortal enemy, but the ancient purpose,
divided into many.
"The light is beginning to break now, and
the hour has almost come for the forces of
construction to unite and smite powerfully.
But it must be consciously, as the purpose of
construction, if the victory is to be permanent
or truly for progress. Men must learn to
choose their purposes consciously and intelli-
gently, to be definitely and actually building
for a definite and actual future. There is too
much quarreling about ways and means, and
too little recognition of the goal. Too much
self, and too little sympathy. This is equally
true of all classes of society. Materialism has
been rank in the tenement and in the cottage, [100]
as in palace and counting-room.
"It is a common purpose we serve, for build-
ing or for tearing down. It is impossible to be
consistently for both continuously. That has
made the Great War, and that is the struggle
that must be settled in the minds of men
before there can be peace on earth or lasting
and progressive brotherhood.
"This is the first lesson."
Chapter II
March 26th.
"THIS is the second lesson.
"The forces of disintegration are gathering
for a titanic struggle, of which your Great War
is only the beginning. Had Germany won
there, they would have a foothold with you
that we would find it difficult, if not impos-
sible, to combat effectively for many years.
The spirits of free men would have been soiled
with fear and despair, and the forces of doubt
and disintegration would have held civilization
captive.
"Germany has felt her forces weaken and
fail under the onslaught of freedom, light, and
progress, and the forces of disintegration are
deserting her. She is left alone, to work her
way, through mazes of despair, back to a place
in the sun. She must find her own way. She
chose to follow the forces of destruction, and
they will surely destroy her.
"But the forces she followed are uniting for
a fiercer fight, more subtle, more deadly, more
furious. Hidden beneath the garments of [102]
peace and good will, they make ready to poison
the minds of men before destroying their forces
and delaying their purposes.
"This is the battle to which we call you and
all who are for progress. This is the message
you are to give the world, to warn them of
the danger at hand. The time has come when
men must choose consciously to fight for or
against the forces of construction. They are
confused from the conflict within themselves,
running hither and thither, calling for help
from the gods they have made unto themselves,
but looking only to the present good, perceiv-
ing only the present purpose, fearing only the
present defeat. They will find no help from
these gods, for they have impotent feet of
clay.
"The forces of disintegration have made
friends with the poor and the needy, and have
fed them husks of brotherhood. They have
made friends with the powerful and rich, and
have tempted them with earth and its king-
doms. They have fed the artist falsehoods,
and the writer fear of fear. They have touched
the priest with tainted hands, and rulers with
fear of the people. They have entered the
home and rent it asunder, and the temple is a
market-place. These are the works of the
purposes we fight, and thus do they disguise [103]
themselves. Unless this can be brought home
to the souls of men, the fight will be long and
bitter.
"Forget the class and remember the man.
Forget the price and remember the pearl.
Forget the labor and remember the fruit. For-
get the temple and remember God.
"Men fight together for one end alone—the
purpose for which they live. It is hard to
find there, in the confusion of personal con-
flict, but the time is at hand when it must be
found.
"The forces of light are positive. Shun
negation. The forces of freedom are individ-
ual. Shun dependence. The forces of prog-
ress are fearless. Shun fearful combinations.
Work together as individuals, consciously co-
operating, not as sheep. You will learn to
think. You will learn to feel. You will learn
to see. Then we may move on to the next
phase of development toward the great pur-
pose.
"The forces of disintegration are wily, but
fearful. Bullies and cowards. But when they
are united in sufficiently strong numbers, fear-
less and unscrupulous. They fear the reawak-
ening of the forces of progress in your life.
This is the reason they gather now, to smite
while the world is weary. Disguised as pur- [104]
poses of light, they hope for welcome.
"This is our call to arms. Arouse ye!
Come forth for freedom, light, justice, and
progress—consciously, freely, strongly.
"This is the second lesson."
Chapter III
March 31st.
"THIS is the third lesson.
"When men learn that the Force Beyond
Perfection is purpose, which has personified it-
self in them, they will grow to feel the pos-
sibilities to which they have heretofore been
insensible.
"Life is purpose. Purpose is force. Force is
personality, from highest to lowest, from saint
to stick and stone. Men have called it many
things, but what it is none have perceived
clearly.
"Eternal purpose is perfect justice, perfect
fearlessness, perfect understanding, perfect hon-
esty, perfect sympathy, perfect unity, and
eternal growth, which is progress perfectly ex-
pressed. This is the end for which we work.
Not Nirvana. Not oblivion. Not power stag-
nant and powerless. But a perfect balance,
progressing to purposes and powers as yet un-
dreamed. This is the Eternal Purpose, toward
which all purpose moves. Purposes of con-
struction consciously and determinedly, pur- [106]
poses of destruction unwillingly and inevitably.
They fear us, they fight us, they seek to de-
stroy us, not perceiving that they must in
the end rejoin us, having left us in the begin-
ning.
"To bring this home to the souls of men is
our first duty, and for that reason those of us
nearest to your life work first among men.
Purpose frees forces you but dimly apprehend,
and free forces construct a foundation in your
life for the perfect unity of Eternal Purpose.
"Any force not free destroys itself. Any
good not animated and active destroys itself.
Force imprisoned becomes destruction. Good
imprisoned becomes evil. All are fundamen-
tally good, fundamentally beneficent, but have
become powers for destruction through lack
of progressive development and exercise.
"All men are fusions of many purposes,
moved by many forces, answering to many
calls. Each responds to the call of his domi-
nant purpose, which flows and fluctuates with
his life's struggle. One day he destroys, and
cares not. One day he builds, and marvels at
his power. One day he sleeps and forgets.
One day he fights to the death for a purpose
he had not yesterday, and loses to-morrow.
This is the life of man, and this our field of
battle. There are other lives, other struggles, [107]
other lessons to learn, but this is the first.
"Purpose manifests itself in man inevitably
in action. His purpose is not what he believes,
not what he desires, but what he is and does.
If he destroys, and builds not on the ruins, he
is against us. If he falls and fails not, he is
with us, though he stumble an hundred times.
He fights within himself the ancient fight, and
if he win that, his eternal battle is won. There-
after, he is part and parcel of the forces of
construction.
"Purpose answers freely only to its kind,
freely and fearlessly it responds to the call of
self. If a man be captive to destructive forces,
he responds to the cry, Destroy! But if he be
given to powers of progress, he builds, though
his eyes be blinded and his hands cut off.
"In every man captive to forces of disin-
tegration the builder lies dormant. To reach
that faint glow of Eternal Purpose is the first
duty of every constructive force. Call to it,
rouse it, free it, and it will eventually respond.
But do not smother it with false charity, darken
it by conflicting precepts, weaken it by fictitious
aid. Every individual must serve his own
purpose. Only thus is the integrity of the
whole conserved. Though he be only a door-
keeper in the house of the Lord, yet does he
serve his eternal purpose as truly as the priest. [108]
Let each man learn his purpose and serve
forcefully where his development has placed
him. Only thus can he progress.
"Purposes are divided. Thus do they show
themselves to men. The purpose of Progress
is first and greatest, because it moves all the
others toward the Great Purpose. The other
constructive purposes are these, divided and
subdivided: Light, Justice, Truth, Production,
Healing, Building. Each divided and divisible
by any of the others, yet pure and perfect in
itself. Light may dwell with Healing or Pro-
duction, but only Light calls unto Light, only
Justice unto Justice.
"All forces of construction work together,
yet each purpose separate unto itself. Choose
ye, therefore. Build or tear down, produce or
destroy, illumine or obscure, free men, or hold
them captive to themselves. Choose daily and
hourly the purpose ye serve.
"This is the third lesson."
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