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To Those Who Stand Fearless in the Flame of God:
The circumstance of fear must be cast out of the consciousness that would move forward with success. And God-success is always accompanied by a feeling of fearlessness and accomplishment.
It is not enough to be aware of one's involvement in the universe; one should also be master of the mind and of the circumstances that enmesh the mind in outer conditions but produce neither success nor the sense of accomplishment which success brings. This sense is akin to the feeling of progress, of soul movement, of victory over the web of illusion and those devices that sometimes engage the thoughts and feelings, accentuating the worst aspects of a man's nature without providing any tangible benefits to the soul.
I speak of the thousand and one lures of the senses, of the tragic sense of involvement in the world of maya1 that becomes a winding of circumstances upon the staff of a man's being, erecting a prison house that cuts him off from the Light and air of God's wondrous mercy. How true it is that individuals, through fear and a sense of oppression, seem able to weigh themselves down with the weight of darkness right where the beauty and bounty of the Light should dwell.
Now, at a time when the attention of mankind is turning toward the East, looking for the wisdom to be found there, it is proper and just that men should enter into neither a wholesale condemnation of that which comes out of the East nor a wholesale approval of that which comes out of the West. The world is one. Good and bad men dwell everywhere upon the face of the landed earth; but none are so bad as those who allow their consciousness to dwell in the cups of darkness, dipping again and again into a spirit of hopelessness rather than into a spirit of joy.
It is to the general upliftment of the race, then, that I would recommend mankind's acceptance of the Good that cannot be measured by worldly thought or feeling but only by man's individualized sense of expansion. What a pity it would be if all men used different yardsticks. Yet this is exactly what they do when it comes to the things of the Spirit. Each one sets his own standard of divine or human values, especially of those which are difficult to measure by human means.
I advocate, then, that in order to effect a greater soul freedom and a greater emancipation of one's personal energies, the individual enter into the higher Consciousness of the Christ and its magnificent yet altogether dominant influences for God-Good. These may be evoked by a measure of the universal potential that is already active within all men if they will but open themselves unto the Divinity that is their true being.
Blessed ones, there is no need for clashes; there is no need for human struggles. And men ought not to pervert those values which have been clearly stated and made luminous for ages. There is too great a tendency in men to rationalize their acts and to adjust values according to their worldly desires. They do not perceive the richness of grace itself, which is inherent within the soul when it can drink deeply of the draught of eternal sweetness.
The root of human bitterness2 is man's worst enemy, choking out the fruit of individual possibilities while destroying the lives of multitudes by its viciousness. I therefore advocate a willing relinquishment of those self-satisfying actions that are hurtful to others as well as to the self. I recommend instead the cultivation of the consciousness as though it were a great open temple beholding in the dome of heavenly manifestation its wondrous opportunity for expansion that is so beautifully governed by cosmic law. To obtain victory over oneself and then to offer oneself as a conquered one ready for the imprint of the Light unto the eternal purpose - this is what truly makes life worth living.
I have watched for thousands of years the folly of man's misbehaviors, his engrossment in negative patterns and in destructive engines of darkness. In contrast I have also seen those qualifications and generosities which God has scattered amongst His children as jewels of His own hopes for man's eventual perfection as His kingdom is manifest upon earth. To these I advocate that man dedicate his energies; for the Universal Christ and eternal Logos, whose eyes are ever turned toward hopeful rays, scatters God's wondrous graces everywhere.
Let those who can hear and understand the beauty of simplicity, of mutual trust, of consecration, of mystery revealed share in the joy that you are and the joy that I AM. For out of the fount of our oneness in the pursuit of His knowledge shall we correctly offer the perfume of victory unto all.
Joy be with you always in the service of the living Flame.
And as I speak to you now I would like to give you a little exercise that we learned from Jesus concerning his trip to India when he himself explored in the temples there the mystic teachings of that land. This is the exercise he gave to us. He said to us: "In India the lotus is revered; but as you know, all flowers are manifestations of genuine purity. And born out of their purity, descending from the Mind of God in that transient form is the fire of God's ideal. Therefore, the true lotus is a white flame; and if you would understand that, you would also understand that there is a lotus of the heart, a lotus of the mind, and a lotus of the hand."
And when he spake to us thusly, he said: "Visualize the white-flame lotus around your heart; and as its glow begins to illumine your form and being, visualize the white-flame lotus rising from the heart to enfold the mind. Then as you reach out your hand in service, see resting upon it - upon the hand of God's servant - the pulsations of the white-flame lotus." And he said to us, "As you understand this, it shall become tangible unto you all; and when you envision the white-flame lotus around your heart, it will consume the dross that exists in consciousness and you shall understand what it means to be the pure in heart."
His words "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"3 came to our minds. And then he spoke to us and said: "When the flaming lotus blazes around the mind, it will burn up the negative thoughts - the thoughts of darkness - and your hearts will rejoice as you behold the purification of the mind. And so there will arise from the heart a flaming thread connecting the heart to the mind and head, and there will arise from the mind an extension of the flame of the mind upon the hand in action. Thus the leap of the flame of purity will be given to other parts of Life - an endowment through yourselves and a power to heal, a power to resurrect, and a power to perfect by the laying on of hands." And as he went on speaking to us our hearts glowed as with a cosmic fire.
Tonight I have told you of this episode (which certain forces did not wish you to hear) in order that you might participate in that simple but exquisite ritual of his love memory, a bestowal from India to the children of the Sun in America in memory of the universal love of the living Christ.
"Lo," he said, "I AM with you alway even unto the end."4
Peace be upon you;
Out of the depths of purity
The heart will speak;
Out of the depths of purity
The mind will seek;
Out of the depths of purity
The hand will move;
Out of the depths of purity
God's love will prove
Lo, I AM with you alway.