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To Men of Earth Who Seek the Reality of Cosmic Wisdom,
The challenge of mountain heights does not seem to be for all. Are those earth bound individuals who are afraid of dizzying heights and unsure of their own limbs unable to live profitably? We do not believe so. We believe that we should hold the immaculate concept for all, and we recognize the bounds of man's habitation. All have not attained, yet all should.
The Darjeeling Council ponders now the subject of race. Each day man weaves a strand of his own future. Long ago when the pigmentation of race was implanted in the soul structure of man through the radiation of the seven color rays,1 there lived upon the planet what were known as the red man, the yellow man, the green man, the blue man, and the purple man. At that time the darker pigmentations of the skin did not exist.
Now I am well aware of the fact that down through the years men have stressed the differences of race and that the brown and the black have been questioned in particular. But if individuals will think of themselves as solar manifestations of the living God - recognizing that the outer garment of race that they wear is only an overcoat which they will one day put off - they will cease to think of themselves as white, black, yellow, red, or any other color. This attitude of mind is much to be desired, for while we cannot deny that racial prejudice does exist in the world - and that without our favor - we propose, as one of the first steps to the shedding of the racial consciousness, that men understand who and what they are.
Man is not his body any more than he is his memory, his emotions, or his mind. He is a being. He has a body, he has a mind, he has a memory, and he has a spirit. The spirit of man is neither black nor white - it is forever free. The consciousness of man and of his individuality is, however, very involved in his own density patterns. Men think black, they think white, and they think yellow and red. Men express, through the opacity of their thoughts and feelings, the light that itself is never in bondage to the intruding screens of consciousness through which it is projected. It is true that a part of the light is trapped in these screens and thereby opaqued from view. But the energy that is trapped is obedient to man; therefore, it is content to abide anywhere.
The problem lies not in the energy but in the vision of those who do not see the light that glows just beyond the veil of manifestation but only the limited release that passes through the form. The problem of density is not a problem of race. On the contrary, it is common to the whole human race.
Individuals who have a great deal of light are often despised by members of their own race or of other races who have less light. Students of the light should understand that as they grow in grace and in the knowledge of the law they may become objects of despite or ridicule insofar as the world goes. Be not concerned about this. They have their day and vengeance belongs unto God. He will repay.2
Never allow yourself to become involved in retaliation. This is how man creates negative karma. Each time he arises to defend himself he puts himself, as you say, "behind the eight ball."3 Self-defense is always a defense of the human ego, for the Christ of every man needs no defense - truth bears witness of itself.4
In matters of race, many have put themselves behind the eight ball. Evil dwells in all races. And wherever racial differences are given power in this uninhibited age, there is a strong possibility that violence and negative karma will accrue to the records of many lifestreams. We wish to avoid this most unfortunate eventuality not only for the sake of humanity but also for the sake of the individual.
We know very well that a sharp thought or an unkind word can easily rise to the surface of the unguarded consciousness. But mankind should not indulge in a display of crassness concerning their own or another's race. After all, can the leopard change his spots? Can man by thinking add one cubit to his stature? as Christ said,5 the very hairs of his head are numbered.6
Man must learn to live not in his externals but in his internals and above all to keep the inside of his vessel spotlessly clean. Let all races heed this word, for it is an admonishment as well as an indictment. The furies released by mankind in racial disorders and riots instead of putting forward the races that are behind will put them further backward, and every individual who has augmented the strife by thought, word, or deed - seen or unseen, known or unknown - will surely pay the penalty for all of the karma he has created - and this applies to both sides of the fence.
The ascended masters have thought long and hard on the matter of "racial inequality." In this release we desire to express to the peoples of the earth the consensus of our thoughts about it.
Man is a product of his environment, but he is also a product of his heredity. His heredity is twofold: (1) he has an earthly inheritance, a portion of which was bequeathed by his earthly parents, and another portion which represents his own karma from the present as well as past embodiments; and (2) he has a heavenly inheritance. His heavenly inheritance is the soul of God individualized and focalized for him as his very own I AM Presence and his causal body, which contains the solar fires he has magnetized through faith and good works.
Each man possesses an infinitesimal drop of the ocean of infinity. He himself is intended to be a gatherer of more light as he makes his way along the Homeward path and as the entire body of God expands throughout cosmos. As long as he limits himself to race, regardless of the sense of injustice he may have, he is actually selling his birthright for a mess of pottage.7
I do not say that underprivileged races and peoples should not rise. I do not say that the enlightened among humanity should not help them. I do say that men of hatred and ill will, speaking out with craftiness and sometimes appearing as angels of light,8 have gone forth with the intent of Mark Antony in his funeral oration to Caesar: "I came to bury Caesar, not to praise him."9 These have often thought to arouse and to incite to violence the members of a particular race and of the entire world community as well.
Can hatred give rise to love? Can darkness bring forth light? Enlightened conduct recognizes that the winds of change are best harnessed by the sails of application to existing law. While it may seem that a situation is intolerable by reason of its duration and men may feel that they must win their freedom now, they must also bear in mind, and full well, that temporary and transitory freedom as a gift grudgingly given and enforced upon the world community by either a minority or a majority will ultimately be recognized as tyranny and one day it may well be withdrawn.
You cannot force people to love you or to accept you. You can only expand the light within your heart and, by noble and useful effort, contribute to the well-being of the world community. If violence is to continue unabated in the world, it will be a long time before it comes to know the peace of Christ that passeth understanding.10 The hunger in the hearts of men and in the little children of all races for kindness and brotherly love clearly shows that if they could have their way, they would live together in harmony.
The world must learn to live with what it cannot change and to change that which it can. Change can be wrought by the people of any race. I cite the miracle of George Washington Carver who, by his great love, won the respect of an entire nation. The son of a slave who, in one sense, was born in ignorance achieved by his illustrious and noble spirit such freedom as few of any race have enjoyed.
Men must learn to garner respect first for themselves and for what they do. Then they must learn to respect the rights of others because they respect this freedom for themselves. Those who would expound upon nonviolence must be nonviolent in thought and in feeling as well as in word and deed. Mohandas K. Gandhi of our own land of India was a man of peace in every way. For this reason he was successful in carrying out his campaign of nonviolence. Those who cry peace and safety but who are filled with violent feelings are hypocrites and traitors to reality. They keep not the city of the world in peace, nor do they win by their efforts respect for their own race in the world community.
Let those who would bring about a change in racial relations understand that all change begins within the individual. You can never legislate respect, you can only earn it. There are among the white race those who live in abject poverty and are looked down upon by many. These, too, can rise; for all can rise through their own noble efforts and put down the awful specter of violence that has loomed in the land and brewed destruction to the very marvelous democratic principles upon which the nation America was founded.
We of India, mindful of the crux of all of these problems, ask in God's name that men consider who and what they are. Let them understand that the short period of time during which they live is spent in the schoolroom of earth, a place where they can learn to love to do well.11 Here the challenges of life are meant to be overcome. Each man is intended to become illustrious. His purpose is "Destiny not dust."12
May I remind you of the words of one of your American poets, "We can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time."13 If your footprints, beloved ones, are to be followed in safety by those who come behind you - your children and your children's children, by the posterity of all ages to follow - would it not be well if you understood that to be a Christ or a Buddha in the making is far better than to be a Hitler or a Genghis Khan?
For India and America and for the world's freedom from prejudice, I AM