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As you turn your attention toward nature, will you gaze with me upon a little bird held in your hands? Observe how its heart is swiftly beating - then release him and let him go. Watch how he travels into the sky, glad at last to try his fledgling wings, pleased that he is free, and not certain of anything except the power to buoy himself upward.
You are delighted that you have let him go. So will you also let the soul expression of your self go? So will you release yourselves from the turmoil of the outer condition which surrounds you and gaze with me upon the great solar fires that exist in the forces of nature, that also exist within you? For they consist of the patterns of cosmic grace for the unfoldment of the being of man.
And what is man, that thou art mindful of him1 - but a manifestation of God? But he has not thought of himself in this way but, rather, as a separate manifestation. Yet in reality, each of you are beautifully connected with God and are an extension of himself in form.
Either knowing or unknowing his grace, you move in the field of consciousness, first from this idea and then to that idea, flitting hither and yon, but never understanding the great Reality that is to be found centered within yourself - a position of equipoise, a position of the calmness of knowing and the firmness of Reality.
Outer conditions may change, but the inward condition never changes. For it is a manifestation of the constancy of God which you ought to know and to understand, that the manifestation of his purity may have a breathing, living reality of freedom to each of you - freedom to wear the garments of your Real Self and to express it without fear as to what man may think.
For the opinions of men ought not to mar the opinions of God. They ought to complement them, but they sometimes do not. And these are the facts of life which should be understood quite simply by humanity, that the grace that is eternal might shine into every heart and create a climate, a condition, a response to the voice of God, the tenderness of his thought of man.
And the thought of God is everywhere manifest but sometimes seemingly nowhere apparent, because the attention of man is gone from it. And the attention of man is the requirement for the manifestation of the great God ideals.
That all may share in these ideals is our hope. And as we come to you today, it is with a mind that the world is not in an easy state but one of mass confusion, because it has created conditions that are warranted by the activities of man but are never warranted by the activities of God.
His peace would long ago have become a beautiful garment for the world, but the world has not been actually interested in the manifestation of the garment of God. They have been interested in perhaps touching the hem of the garment of God;2 they have been interested in physical healing. They have been interested in various phases of cosmic existence, but usually not in every phase because the universal consciousness is sadly lacking in manifestation to mortal men.
They ought, then, to respond to the vibration of our peace - and if not to the vibration of our peace, then to the vibration of the high-sounding manifestation that comes to them from time to time from other ascended beings. A response should be generated in the soul by men not just according to the vicissitudes of human nature but according to the divine nature that is within themselves. Do you see?
We, then, promulgate a pattern for men that is concise, that is related to the process whereby man can quite easily understand that God expresses a concern for him and that this concern radiates out into the world of form, showing itself in various fashions - but not of necessity succeeding in the little game of attracting mankind's attention, because he is so busy, engaged in a host of pursuits. The first thing that we must accomplish, then, is to secure his attention.
Sometimes, born out of sheer frustration, the Karmic Lords have said to one another, "Let us now, then, take our attention and place it upon the Law of Karma. Let Karma bring to the world exactly what they have sent out." At other times, the Law has been most tempered in its relationship with humanity, and we have abated the Law - caused conditions that were imminent to restrain themselves and not manifest because of the prayers of so many for so many.
Do you understand, however, that in a true relationship, the prayers for the masses are by the few? And therefore, we have heeded but the few. And we have restrained the action again and again of world karma and the patterns of karma, preventing earthquakes, floods, fires, diseases, and disasters from becoming a part of the world scene because of our great love for man, that we could shed abroad in the world community the opportunity for peace and the pursuit of happiness.
Again and again, individuals have taken no advantage whatsoever of our interlude. And therefore, the Karmic Lords have sometimes said, "Let us allow the great anvil of karma to be struck. Let there ring out an action whereby humanity may feel the lash of that which they have sent out to one another."
We do not, in most of these cases, directly interfere; we simply cease to interfere. And by the cessation of our action, we produce a manifestation that is perfectly natural in the world order. For humanity have again and again sent out these patterns, and the same patterns return to them which they have sent out. And while they do not bring refreshment to humanity, they do wake up a certain segment of the population who are concerned with themselves and read the handwriting we have written upon the wall.
These various approaches we have made to humanity from time to time are calculated to elicit the very best response from man, because we are truly concerned. But when the great Book of the Law is ignored, when men pay all of their attention to those outer-world musicians who bring forth out of the astral realm those vibratory qualities which are calculated to spread abroad discord in the consciousness, discord in the soul, and ultimately discord through the whole being of man, we feel that we are certainly justified in releasing upon man the fruit of his own sowing.3
Now today, mankind are faced with a frightful crisis in the Far East,4 far greater than they realize at this moment in time. (And I speak of the average man.) For the turmoil is not just born out of the sea of one man's emotions or feeling but is the foment of a world discontent. Further, it is a destructive force generated by man and turned against him.
It is not, then, just a matter of gathering various groups together and saying, "We are for peace, and they are for war." It is not that easy to define. Let all understand that in all men is the great love for peace. Yet, lurking somewhere deep within their consciousness is the centuries-old struggle for violence that has become so much a part of mankind in this modern world, in depth, manifesting unexpectedly and in unexpected places.
The current rash of airplane problems5 has further complicated the whole structure for humanity. And today, there is a certain quality of world nervousness (you may call it "jitters," if you will) that humanity is experiencing. It is a troubled condition, and we would pour oil upon the troubled waters. Yet, what is really needed is a greater understanding on the part of humanity of the depth of our love, of the depth of our reality. But how shall we bring this about?
It is not enough simply to have desire on our part to be of assistance. We must serve and work through many among mankind. We must alert them to the conditions of the world when, somehow or other, there is a tendency for them to lull themselves to sleep, to say, "All things continue as from the first6 - life has gone on yesterday, it is going on now, it will go on tomorrow."
But there is no promise that can be given to the individual for a continuation of his existence according to a certain pattern. Life is full of changes, and the world experiences in every age a large number of them. What is important is to develop the condition of personal response to these changes, being unmoved by outer conditions but recognizing that one can and should be moved by the inner condition of their own being.
Then humanity can at last begin to climb the stairways to attainment, and as he attains step by step, his virtues will come forth. Naturally, they will be challenged by the residual substance - the magnetism of his own world, the accumulation of the darkness in himself. But we are concerned with the eliminating of this darkness from the most hidden recesses of the `soul', so called - or the `soul personality', better called.
Let us then make clear to all that the struggle for divine existence is not easy. Yet there is no other way that can actually come to humanity.
I recall full well when I sat under the great [etheric] stupa in India and preached my first sermon.7 Some of you were there. But will you understand, with me, that many were not? And yet, the love that went forth was the love of discovery. It was the grand adventure! It was a participatory revelation, an experience in cosmic law that showed humanity the love of God as the wisdom of God. And today, many years hence, we come unto humanity and seek to spread abroad the canopy of our regenerative effort for them.
Today the little children are, most of all, the victims of mankind's depredations. For they do not realize the state of the world or the conditions in their generation, and when they attain to it, they are often set upon by outer conditions. And adults themselves have not made it easier for the little children to grow up, to mature in a comfortable world or environment where they can be taught the principles of Christ-regeneration. This is why Jesus said, "It were better for humanity if a millstone were hung about their neck ..."8
And so, the millstone of karma will eventually fall about the neck of humanity if they do not watch it, if they are not more careful, if they do not experience the reality of divine peace and divine love - not simply as a worded expression but as the reality of the soul's growth and expansion.
For when the soul begins to expand, it is at first to humanity somewhat a condition of the pressures of the hand; for they are restrained by outer conditions even as the little bird was [restrained by the hand that held it]. They cannot fly free. They do not have the understanding of just how they should enter Peace, and they seem to be troubled about many conditions. But our love and the love of God is real. And the ascended-master consciousness, as you have called it, is the reality and joy of every man who would experience it for himself.
These conditions are truly the development of the invisible world. When they come into the consciousness of humanity, they flood man with delight when properly understood. But first, he must have faith, as you have been told. For faith is truly the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen as yet.9
You, then, by the generation of greater faith, will have a greater expression of the tender realities of God, until at last you will see that there is a need for you to enter in, to a greater degree, to the affairs of humanity, to speak out in many cases amongst men concerning the problems of the world.
In a way, in a very real way, this is your world. This is a place where the Lord lay,10 where he walked the sorrowful way, where many of us, with or without staff in hand, have gone forth in hope. We have gathered the dust of many roads. We have walked many places upon the planet and suffered many experiences and known many joys.
Will you then enter in to the realization that the consciousness of God and of the ascended masters is a subtle one? Will you recognize the basis for the subtle world? Will you realize that the subtleties of life are truly the real qualities you must seek to embody? For they are not always readily apparent. They do not come upon the surface but are to be found beneath the waves of life experiences where you can better understand why certain conditions manifest.
I know that you are often puzzled about outer conditions. And perhaps it is well that you are puzzled, for then you will begin to seek the answers. The answers lie not within some great book but within the Book of Life, which is your own Self. There they can be brought forth and manifest all the qualities of solution to the world problems. They can bring forth an application that in this day and age will bear the fruit of an ageless peace. And then, humanity will no longer feel the sense of struggle, but they will fly free at last into the beauty of the air, into the beauty of the sunlight, into the beauty of the divine sense!
Will you recognize with me that I am a being of love, that I have come also with a fountain of wisdom in my heart, that this wisdom can be garnered by each soul and realized as most precious to his development? But it requires application. And therefore, I have been asked by the Karmic Lords to speak unto you today about the application of the Law, for so many are interested in hearing the Law expressed without an understanding of its application in their own lives.
Will you, recognizing this great privilege, bear with me the fruit of doing and becoming? For doing is becoming. To sit idly by and watch conditions mature is not the way. Others may mature, but the self-development of each one occurs naturally through unfoldment.
And you must begin (if you are to end) the great battle of life, at last making your ascension in the light, without forgetting to understand that others also need assistance. They are at various levels of consciousness. They do not always understand the way of peace and the way of freedom. They do not know that out of peace comes freedom - freedom to express, freedom to be delight [`de-light'], freedom to know that God is near!
And when he is near, the divine sense makes him nearer. For it is not so much that he is not near at all times as it is that some do not hear it - they do not see it, they do not feel it, they do not know it. And so I say, you must feel and hear and know - and open the divine ear, and regulate the concept of cosmic grace.
You are the arbiter of your own destiny. And out of the fruit of that will come the beauty of peace to you. And as you exhibit it, so will the world exhibit it, so will all men come to know it, so will new systems be developed of thought and feeling! And the correct habits - growing, expanding, manifesting at an early age - will be quite natural at a later age because they have been early in their expression.
Yet, today is the time to start. You need not wait until another embodiment. You need not wait until another age. Understand that today is the day to start. Understand that today is the day of your salvation;11 today is the fruit of our peace and our benignity.
May I share with you my love in greater depth by expanding the forcefield of my peace? May I cause it to expand and reach out into the world? May I cause it to touch you, one by one? And may it bring delight to your eyes and joy to your heart. And may the cup of your being overflow - because others need to be inundated, because you require saturation.
There is so much turmoil, and peace is ever within. Yet, turmoil also may hold a certain pattern of good unto humanity if it will awaken them to the realization that they have a need for our peace - that that peace is within, that that peace is beauty, that that peace is reality, that that peace is joy, that that peace is God, that that peace is opportunity.
The door is still open.
Will you come through?
Will you come through?
Will you enter in
to the joy of thy LORD?
Our service is to help develop it. Our service is to help generate it. Your service is just the same, but you do not realize it sometimes. You can generate peace! You can generate love! You can generate the qualities that are of God in the world. You can be a center of benign influence.
Above all, the great masters who are with me want you to know the meaning of what you can do. For you, too, should enter in to a joy just like we have, a consciousness just like ours - a spirit of perfect love, perfect peace, perfect understanding.
And as I go back to Shamballa, as I return to the fold of light and truth upon the planetary body, let there lodge in your heart some demonstration of our reality, some circlet of identity, some comfort, so that our coming has not been in vain.
Let the fruit of endeavor break forth with shining in your eyes and hearts. Let that endeavor be God. For he loves you very much.
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"The Summit Lighthouse Sheds Its Radiance O'er All the World to Manifest as Pearls of Wisdom."
This dictation by Gautama Buddha was delivered through the Messenger Mark L. Prophet October 11, 1970, during the Harvest Festival of Light and Gratitude in Santa Barbara, California.
The Dhamekh Stupa in Sarnath, commemorating Gautama Buddha's first sermon there. The smaller monument (foreground) represents the sacred "seat of the Buddha," where it is believed Gautama sat in meditation.
Child meditating in the "seat of the Buddha".