Nature:


Nature is indeed a strange and fascinating entity. Ostensibly random and without direction or purpose, acting in mindless obedience to the laws by which it is shaped, and exhibiting neither conscience nor remorse for the events that arise within it. And yet, at the heart of each event lies the seed of Divine intention and within the operation of each physical law is deposited a Divine intelligence without which all matter and all phenomena that derive from it would cease to exist.

Many phenomena, although ostensibly random, act in accordance with, and bear eloquent witness to, the pervading presence of universal laws that govern the behaviour and direct the operation of all matter, whether in the observable universe or in those as yet undiscovered.

Nature is guided by an infinite Intelligence, incapable of mistakes, absolute in Its control over all things both visible and invisible, and infinitely patient in the gradual disclosure of Its secrets. What may appear to be bizarre or unique or an anachronism not in keeping with the normal course of events can, in retrospect, be recognized as a self-regulating expression of a perfectly designed, self-contained system, that requires neither intervention or improvement. What may appear to be intervention, or wrath, or the correction of inherent errors, or the remedy for oversights, or the introduction of measures to compensate for flaws in the original design are, in reality, the outer expression of inherent safeguards intrinsic to the original blueprint and not, as is so often mistakenly advanced, Divine attempts to rectify deficiencies in the original design.

When the need arises and the occasion demands, there will appear, with varying degrees of capacity, those who will meet the exigencies of the period in which they appear and who, by virtue of their example, will assist humankind in its advance toward a pre-determined destiny the duration of which can only be measured in infinity. And, there are Those within each epoch Who arise and, as Divine Spokesmen for the age in which They appear, found the great religions, uplift the human spirit, edify the soul, cultivate the morals, enlighten the mind, animate the heart, and inaugurate a new and vital cycle of progress for humankind as a whole.

Interpretation?


There is no doubt that God had a hand in the writing of, not only the Bible, but of the Sacred Scriptures of all the major religions of the world. Inherent in each is the underlying belief that, out of nothingness, God created the entire universe and all living things within it, including humankind within whom He has deposited self-evident truths and upon whom He has conferred the distinctive and inestimable privilege of being in His ‘Image and Likeness’.

It does not matter at what point in time the human species was created or over what extended period it struggled to evolve until it finally shaped an instrument that could finally begin to manifest those distinct and unique attributes by which it was a mirror image of its Creator. Humankind was created, gradually evolved, and was destined to be the crowning point of creation.

It is self-evident that humankind possesses qualities and attributes found nowhere else in nature and of which nature is bereft. Nature is solely concerned with the arena of the physical universe whereas humankind also occupies the realm of the spirit and expresses abstract and intellectual properties that are absent elsewhere in nature. What other organism in nature is able to distinguish between good and evil or right and wrong other than humankind? What other organism can exhibit a conscience or experience a sense of shame except humankind? Where in all of nature, be it the mineral, vegetable, or animal kingdoms can be found an oral and written language except by humankind? Where can be found an oral and written science that unlocks and exposes the jealously guarded secrets of nature except in humankind? Where can be found an oral and written history, not only of its own evolution, but also that of the other kingdoms of nature, except in humankind? Where in all of nature can be found an organism that composes music and constructs instruments of various design by which to express it except in humankind? Where in all of nature can be found an organism that can sculpt from shapeless granite an exquisite masterpiece such as Michelangelo’s Pieta or apply colour to canvas and produce a matchless painting such as Leonardo’s Last Supper? Where in all of nature is there an organism that has reached a point in its evolution whereby it is no longer necessary to evolve and physically adapt to its surroundings, except in humankind? Humankind wishes to fly but does not grow feathers and wings. It discovers the laws of aeronautics and creates the airplane. Humankind wishes to swim and to penetrate the ocean depths but does not grow scales or develop gills. It creates the submarine, the diving bell, and constructs ships. Humankind wishes to see far distances accurately and with great clarity but does not develop the eye of an eagle. It constructs the telescope and binoculars. Humankind wishes to travel quickly over long distances but does not devolve onto four legs with ground eating strides. It develops automobiles and land vehicles that leave the fastest ground creatures far behind. Humankind wishes to penetrate the world of the infinitesimal but does not shrink into this environment. It constructs microscopes that enlarge the atomic world and bring it into the range of his perception. Humankind wishes to process enormous quantities of information in the twinkling of an eye but does not grow a head with a brain casing several times larger than at present. It constructs computers that can do in a few moments what all the brains on the planet combined cannot do in months or even years. It is manifest and self-evident that there is an aspect to humankind that subdues and gains mastery over nature and its mysteries and it is this aspect that is unique and separate from nature regardless of the indisputable fact that it cohabits and lives in partnership with its animal proclivities and engages in a perpetual battle for dominance from cradle to coffin.

A Prayerful Observation:

Seek not recognition from man for his vision is as limited as the perishable treasures he lays up in vain.
Be content, therefore, with the good pleasure of the All-Loving Father Who has bestowed upon you the eye of mercy and has engraved the emblem of justice upon your soul
Let not your heart be troubled if you are encompassed by afflictions while treading the straight path.
Be assured that the All-Loving Father ever tests his children that they may distinguish truth from error and that the faithful may be distinguished from the heedless. Outwardly the test may appear cruel and the wayfarer feeble, albeit, inwardly it is merciful and immeasurable is the strength it bestows upon its recipient.
Falter not in your steps nor be hesitant in your journey to the Beloved One and be not discouraged by the iniquities and transgressions of those who bear His name and commit that which is beneath their noble and lofty station and ill-beseems the good name of the All-Loving Father.
Know that the All-Loving Father is immeasurably exalted above the loftiest description that any of His creatures assign to Him and that His Wisdom will forever remain infinitely beyond the power of the mightiest mind to fathom. The Wisdom of the All-Loving father is All-Encompassing whereas the wisdom of the most excellent of His creatures is frustrated by the confines of its inherent limitations. Can it be believed that the Perfections of the Father are capable of measurement by the imperfections of His creatures or that His Immutable Will is capable of frustration by the vain imaginings and idle fancies of those who bear His name? Such are the conceptions of those who are deluded by their own ego. He is sufficient unto Himself and neither the goodly deeds nor the devoted praise of His reverent servants are capable of scaling the heights of His Presence nor are the transgressions and blasphemy of the heedless ones capable of restraining, even for a moment, the irresistible force of His Divine Purpose. Know of a truth that all these things must come to pass and are the means whereby the wayfarer is guided along their journey and the sincerity of the true seeker is tested. It is not for the creature to test the Beloved One but, rather, for the All-Loving Father to test His creatures, albeit, as a sign of His Loving Kindness and a Bounty from His inexhaustible Mercy He has engraved His Image upon the soul of man and has commanded him to protect its beauty from the dross of human corruption in order that His Reflection may become evident therein.
Do not cast aside an imperishable and everlasting treasure for the transient attractions and perishable treasures of the earth. Do not barter the rose-garden that perfumes the nostrils and delights the vision in exchange for a dwelling place among the heedless wherein ignorance is in abundance and moral sickness is manifest. Do not persist in vaunting your puny intellect over that of the Lord your God and do not defend your mortal pursuits and transgressions lest your mind become confounded, your vision obscured, and your hearing veiled from discerning the radiant melodies issued forth from the Heaven of God’s Mercy as a token of Grace that all mankind may hearken to the Truth and Justice contained therein. Beware! Lest you dispute with the Divine Mariner Who sails His Ark upon the ocean of humanity and casts His Net into the sea of human hearts. From the beginning that has no beginning He has separated the pure wave from the corrupted foam with the sterilizing sword of His Tongue and to the end that has no end He chooses the pure in heart as the repositories for His Wisdom. He does whatever He wills and chooses whomsoever He pleases and to none is given the authority to question the Wisdom of His Purpose.
Reflect with justice upon that which is past and meditate upon it with sincerity that the wisdom contained therein may be revealed to you. All that has come to pass has been in accordance with man’s capacity to bear its weight and can not be attributed to limitation on the part of Those Who revealed its Wisdom. Those Prophets from whom the great religions have evolved, those Dawning-Places of God’s Wisdom, those Chosen Mouthpieces for the All-Loving Father’s Counsel, those Brilliant Orbs from whence the Rays of the Beloved One’s Effulgent Light was shed upon all mankind, have ever been and will continue to be the only refuge for a wayward world bereft of discernment. They are the Eyes wherewith man’s vision is illumined, the Ears wherewith man’s hearing is enabled to detect truth, the Wisdom wherewith man’s intellect is expanded, and the Guiding Light wherewith man’s journey is kept safe and straight.
That Their Messages appear to differ may be ascribed to the varying conditions and needs of the age in which they were manifest and the capacity of the peoples to whom they were revealed. They have ever been and will continue to be the only Stronghold wherein man may reside for Protection. Their Purpose, from the beginning that has no beginning until the end that has no end, will ever be to remove the causes of estrangement and disharmony, to edify the souls, to purify the hearts, to illuminate the minds, to regulate the societies, and to tranquillize the spirits of the peoples and age in which They appeared. That disunity, hatred, and bloodshed have arisen afterward may be ascribed to the vain imaginings and idle fancies of those who have submerged the Ocean of God’s Wisdom in clouds of superstition, ceremony, and ritual.
Can we believe the All-Loving Father capable of violating His Promise? Will He ever leave His children comfortless? Are we to show such little faith and feeble vision? When will the heedless speed out of their rotting sepulchers and attain unto true life? When will they put aside the playthings of the corrupt and robe themselves in the garment of everlasting purity? Why do they busy themselves with that which is beneath their lofty station and neglect that which will enable them to ascend to the heights of an imperishable dominion?
In every age the All-Loving Father has chosen a Stainless Soul to mirror forth His Beauty and reveal His Ordinances that men may attain unto that for which they were created. Know that the physical station of the Messenger of God has ever been a source of controversy and confusion and has acted as a cloud that veils the sight of the ignorant from perceiving the Spiritual Station and Inner Essence thereof. Consider the atrocities and calumnies that were heaped upon these Stainless Souls for no other reason than They exhorted men to worship the one true Father and encouraged men to live in harmony and to abide in loving unity with their fellow man. Reflect upon the actions of those who reviled and scorned Their Message that sought only to remove the mantle of hatred and animosity and replace it with the cloak of love and compassion. Ponder this in your heart! What could have provoked such savage and ruthless behaviour by so many ignorant souls other than the promptings of their own perverted fancies and lustful degeneracy? Albeit, they have passed into the oblivion of shame and have assuredly received that which they deserve, whereas, the Word of the Messengers, those Central Orbs of Unity, continues to guide mankind and will forever be the only Refuge and Asylum within which mankind may abide in peace and security.
Be alert and attentive! Cast your sight in every direction and do not overlook the tiniest atom for the Guiding Flame has once again been lit. Look to It and receive from It the cleansing force that will consume the dross and reveal the pure gold. Do not hesitate for a moment lest it pass you by and leave you in the confusion of your predicament. Do not barter it for the fleeting vanities of this world and do not exchange its inestimable value and transcending quality for that which is worthless and beneath your station.

The team Concept

By Paul Suddess








A team, by the most simple description, may be defined as two or more persons working together toward a common goal.

Hence


 If you have only one person you do not have a team
 If they do not work together you do not have a team
 If they do not share the same objective you do not have a team.
 If they are in conflict and pull against each other you do not have a team
 If you have more than one member competing for the prestige or recognition of team leadership without regard either for the team or its objectives then you do not have a team.
 If you have one or more members who openly or surreptitiously engage in criticism or ridicule of other members you do not have a team.
 If you have one or more members who deliberately conspire or collaborate to reduce or slow down the productivity of the team as a whole in order to expand the time required to achieve the objective then you do not have a team.







A team is not simply a group but is, rather, a cohesive whole in which the component parts fit beautifully together to form a harmony and atmosphere that is uplifting, inspiring, and welcoming to its members both individually and as a whole and which promotes greater productivity and fewer mistakes in the pursuit of its objectives which, of course, is welcomed and to the advantage of the employer. The Team Concept favours both sides without detriment or disadvantage to either. It is an arrangement that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved and which lends itself to the stability and success of any company that faithfully and diligently embraces its principles.

In any team there can be only one ‘team leader’ who is not the boss, who does not give orders, who does not observe while the others work, who is not inherently superior or more intelligent than his co-workers, and who does not convey the impression or impart instructions in the manner of a dictator.

A ‘team leader’ is one who is willing to assume responsibility for coordinating the activities of the team by mutual agreement of its members and who, by virtue of either inherent or trained administrative skills, is equipped to facilitate and to elicit from each of its members those talents, abilities, and expertise which are most needed in the pursuit of the team’s objectives. The ‘team leader’ is an integral and equally involved component of the whole who may be described as the ‘glue’ or ‘binding material’ that keeps the team focussed and efficiently working toward the successful conclusion of its goal.

A ‘team leader’ is supportive, encouraging, sensitive to the differences and/or inexperience of individual members, and is prepared to take those extra steps to assist and/or explain and demonstrate when confusion or uncertainty have become evident.

A ‘team leader’ is a friend not an overlord. A ‘team leader’ is a co-worker not a CEO. A ‘team leader’ exists only as long as the team exists and when its task is completed and the unit is disbanded so too does the ‘team leader’ cease to exist and reverts to the same standing as his or her co-workers.

There are already more than enough dictators and overlords in this world. The graveyards are replete with their victims and the unending list of failed ventures may be accurately laid at their doorstep. What is in short supply and sorely needed is effective and dedicated leadership that is supported by keen and penetrating vision and fueled by selfless devotion to principle and personal integrity.






The Team Concept is remarkably adept at nurturing those inherent qualities with which each and every person, without exception, is endowed at birth and promotes higher standards of ethics and behaviour by appealing to the inter-dependence and gregarious nature of the human personality. Humans cannot live alone and survive unimpaired. Isolation is unhealthy and handicaps the positive development of uniquely human qualities. Confrontation, hostility, and even rage are the expected symptoms when individuals feel isolated and alienated from those around them and, sadly, all too often this anger and resentment is discharged against the most helpless and innocent, namely, family members and business associates.
The progressive and advanced thinking of Japanese industrialists has long recognized this axiom of behaviour and for decades they have employed and cultivated the Team Concept as a critical and essential component of their various enterprises the rewards of which have rendered them successful in whatever venture they have pursued.

The ‘team’ is simply a family in miniature. The family is simply a country in miniature and the country is clearly the world in miniature. It follows, therefore, that what is good for the team is also good for the world. Whatever promotes peace and unity within a team also, by its radiating influence, promotes peace and unity throughout the world.

The Immortal Soul:

It is a fragile thread that connects us to this world. We are at every moment precariously poised upon the precipice of extinction. The duration of our existence at best is brief and at worst is but a momentary flickering of a spark that will never become a flame. The span of our journey is as much a matter of chance as it is of genetic inheritance or conscious calculation and we are ever exposed to the ruthless and merciless demands of our senses. It is a journey that is as beautiful as it is ugly and the distinction between the two, to a large extent, lies both in the mind of the interpreter and the heart of the observer while that selfsame mind and heart are unceasingly subject to the immediate circumstances and events that mold and manipulate them. It is, nonetheless, the joy of humankind that it has been endowed both with the power of vision and the power of discovery whereby it is enabled to rise above the world of the senses and dwell in the heaven of spirit. It requires, however, a conscious effort and vigilant attention of the mind and heart to subdue the raging forces of nature and avoid becoming a slave to the senses. It is not without pain nor is it without sacrifice but the prize is worth the effort.

Why is it that humankind, from as far back as accurate records and story telling traditions indicate, has always entertained the inner conviction that only his outer body dies but that his inner soul lives on forever? This is an assertion that has always been advanced by religion and its most revered and respected proponents and it is also an assertion that has been embraced by most members of the scientific community. Nevertheless, there is also an element within humankind composed of scientists and philosophers who scoff at the idea of God, who refuse to give credence to His existence, who reject the idea of an immortal soul, who assert that death is the end of both the physical and spiritual life, who claim that the entire range of a human person’s existence occupies only the time frame from crib to coffin, who contemptuously state that there is no hereafter and that those who believe that there is have been deluded by religious leaders and spiritual cranks whose only area of expertise is myth and superstition.

However, if we ignore myth and superstition, set aside traditional religious beliefs, subject the question to reason, logic, and empirical examination and then clothe it in the garment of scientific and technological discovery then perhaps we will find that the scales will tip more to one position than to the other and perhaps, also, will advance the irresistible likelihood that humankind, as a whole, has been instinctively, intuitively, and deductively correct from the very beginning. Besides, only in humankind does the faculty exist whereby the question can be conceived, its related data researched, and its various and contending aspects subjected to the rigors of argument. Nowhere in nature does this faculty exist except in humankind and not even nature itself, despite our physically being a part of it, is able to depart from obedience to its own inviolable laws and is incapable of abstract reasoning, conscious deliberation, deductive speculation, or coherent speech. It is a faculty neither exercised nor demonstrated anywhere else in nature and begs the question, “How is it that nature can produce something possessed of qualities and attributes of which nature itself is bereft?” It is the same as imagining that if a person were to take an empty cup and immerse it in the ocean that they could find in the contents of the cup that which is absent in the ocean from which it was derived.

Even the most cynical and irreligiously minded scientist, who disclaims any association with any organized religion will, when the question is appropriately put to them, admit that they have neither an explanation as to how the expanse of the universe originally came into being nor any means by which they can replicate it. They are unable either to describe or define the First Cause, the Primary Motivating Force, the Creator of all things visible and invisible, and yet, are equally unable to deny that an effect must have a Cause, that a creation must have a Creator, and that it takes Intelligence to beget intelligence. Not even the most skeptical scientist would attempt to advance the notion that intelligence came into being as a result of random chance nor would they be so presumptuous as to claim that they have personally created any of the operating principles and underlying laws of nature that they have discovered. Humankind was created in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of God with the primary difference being that God is the Creator whereas humankind is simply creative. God brings something into existence out of nothingness whereas humankind must have something with which to begin. Science is the arena of discovering that which is already there whereas God is the One who put it there.

One of the axioms, that is to say, the self-evident truths that even the simplest of human intellects can readily grasp is that, ‘We did not create ourselves’ and another is that, ‘We did not create the universe in which we live’. These two axioms, without drawing upon any others, are incontrovertible proof of the existence of God. However, they do not describe Him nor do they explain His Existence. They simply testify that He exists and that humankind is a product of his Creative Energy. Knowing that something exists and observing and recording the phenomena that derive from it is not the same as understanding it or comprehending its inner reality. We know that God exists but at the same time have not the capacity nor the means by which to know what He is.

Admitting the existence of God, even though we have neither the tools nor the method by which to grasp His inner Reality and Essence, is the first step toward admitting also of the existence of the human soul, that pre-eminent spiritual substance that distinguishes humankind above and beyond any other creature on planet earth and by which he is in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of his Creator. This term is applied in the same way that we would describe our own image and likeness were we to gaze upon our reflection in a mirror. Although all the characteristics, the shape and form, that identify us outwardly as human are captured in the reflection, nonetheless, we did not descend into the mirror in order to create that reflection and the reflection cannot be said to have the same qualities or attributes that we ourselves possess. It is true that we are in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of God in that we possess all of His attributes but we possess each and every one to a limited degree which is what makes us human whereas God possesses each and every quality and attribute to an absolute degree which is what makes Him God.

If we admit that God exists and that He is the Creator of all things both visible and invisible and, if we admit that He possesses all qualities to an absolute degree, then it necessarily follows that His Creation is absolute, that is to say, it has no boundaries, no limitations, no ending, and no dimensions because as an absolute it will possess all characteristics to an infinite and immeasurable degree. Science readily accepts the postulate of the ‘indestructibility and conservation of matter’ wherein the ‘building blocks of matter’ may disassemble and re-assemble in various shapes and forms but are themselves never destroyed and, hence, are infinite as regards the physical universe. On the other hand, religion postulates that the soul is an indivisible substance not subject to decomposition that was created by God to be eternal and imperishable and which will travel through all of His infinite worlds gradually unfolding the infinite qualities it has in common with Him and by which it will arrive at its intended destiny. There should be no conflict between these two positions that, in essence, are two halves of a whole. God is called the Creator not the Uncreator. Whatsoever He fashions and sets in motion cannot be unfashioned or set in reverse. Nothing whatsoever can frustrate the Will of God and any and all attempts are invariably met with built in safeguards that protect its design and purpose and which impose corrective measures against those who foolishly disregard its warning signs.

Having advanced simple but incontrovertible proof of the existence of God and, similarly, having advanced the self-evident truth that humankind possesses qualities and attributes of which nature is bereft, we are left with the irresistible postulate that these qualities and attributes, not found in nature, are the human soul. Further, since God is an Absolute, the only absolute, it necessarily follows that He does not act with limitation and, having created the soul in His ‘Image and Likeness’ would confer upon it the self same infinite nature and range of qualities that would enable it to pass successfully through an infinite extension of worlds which by His Absolute Nature He would be compelled to create. The human soul is the crowning point of God’s creation and by its very nature is immortal, indestructible, and indivisible.

The Wrath of God:


Man is, unhappily, possessed of a highly developed faculty for blaming everyone and everything other than himself for whatever happens to or around him. He can justify his every error, foolishness, vanity and perversity, and he can rationalize his every shortcoming, injustice, inadequacy, and brutality by blaming it on some outside influence over which he had no control and for which he had no resistance. When all else has failed as a defense for his weaknesses and iniquities he will inevitably blame God. Such is the pettiness of humankind and therein lies the essence of his degradation and self-inflicted misery. When humankind describes the misery and suffering that they have wrought upon themselves as the vengeance and wrath of God they are exercising nothing less than manifest hypocrisy and human deception.

A loving mother will forbid her child to place its unprotected hand upon a red-hot burner because she knows the pain and suffering that will result. She tells the child that it will hurt him, that it will injure his hand, and that it may never properly heal. Her warning is a protection to him and the sign of her loving-kindness and concern for his happiness. If the child does not pay heed to her warning, defies her command, and places his hand on the red-hot burner then he will experience the agony of pain and will have severely damaged a member of his body. The mother cannot be blamed for the child’s defiance of her warning any more than she can be blamed for the suffering that resulted from the disobedience. This cannot be called the wrath of the mother or maternal chastisement. Likewise it cannot be called the wrath of God or Divine chastisement when humankind disobeys the commands of God and suffers the agonizing results. God is not vengeful but He is just. He has provided humankind with the protection of His Word as a sign of His Loving-Kindness and has endowed him with the capacity to distinguish truth from error as a sign of His infinite Mercy and Justice. God has never left humankind comfortless nor has He ever withheld the Wisdom of His Counsel. Humankind’s rejection of His Counsel, defiance of His Commands, disobedience against His Teachings, violation of His Principles, and persecution of His Messengers has invariably resulted in immeasurable pain, suffering, and abject misery.
Humankind, if it be true to that which it professes to believe must, of necessity, also recognize, embrace, and attest to the logical consequences of each and every one of those beliefs and must, if it be true to the integrity of those beliefs, act and be the living example by which the truth of those beliefs can be vindicated. Each belief leads irresistibly to its logical consequence and each logical consequence leads irresistibly to another belief. To profess to believe in one while at the same time denying its logical consequence is to engage in blind imitation and to become a puppet for the myths and superstitions that abound throughout society.
Belief is not only spiritual but must also be logical and must not fly in the face of reason and common sense. An illustration of this is as follows;

To believe in God is to believe in the eternal, imperishable, and unalterable nature of the soul.
To believe in the immortality of the soul is to believe in the survival of the soul after death.
To believe in the survival of the soul is to believe in the existence of another life in another world.
To believe that life does not begin and end in this world is to believe that there are joys, rewards, bounties, and treasures in the next world that are eternal and imperishable.
To believe that the joys and rewards of the next world are eternal and imperishable is to believe that the transitory and perishable joys and rewards of this world, by comparison, are insignificant and only worthy of a modicum of pursuit.
To believe that the joys and rewards of this world are only worthy of a modicum of pursuit is to believe that only the treasures of the next world are worthy of the focus of our pursuit.
To believe that only the treasures of the next world are worthy of pursuit is to believe that the qualities necessary to acquire them have been deposited in the human soul.
To believe that theses qualities have been deposited in the human soul is to believe that each and every soul has the capacity to unfold them.
To believe that the soul has the capacity to unfold these God-given attributes is to believe that they are the hidden essence of humankind.
To believe that these attributes are the hidden essence of humankind is to believe that their unfoldment will reveal the true knowledge of humankind.
To believe that these unfolded qualities will reveal the true knowledge of humankind is to believe that humankind is ignorant and handicapped without their unfoldment.
To believe that God is a Spirit and not a physical being is to believe that humankind can only reflect the spiritual attributes of God.
To believe that humankind can reflect the spiritual attributes of God is to believe that these attributes have been deposited in the human soul.
To believe that these spiritual attributes have been deposited in the human soul is to believe that they are the hidden essence of humankind.
To believe that these spiritual attributes are the hidden essence of humankind is to believe that they are the means by which humankind is in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of god.
To believe that humankind is ignorant and handicapped without their unfolding is to believe that humankind is ignorant and handicapped unless he is reflecting the spiritual attributes of God.
To believe that humankind is ignorant and handicapped unless he is reflecting the spiritual attributes of God is to believe that the unfolding of these attributes will lead to the discovery of the true knowledge of humankind.
To believe that the unfolding of these attributes will lead to a true knowledge of humankind is to believe that the hidden essence of humankind, the spiritual attributes of God, the ‘Image and Likeness’ of God, and the true knowledge of humankind are all one and the same.
To believe that they are all one and the same is to believe that the exaltation and progress of humankind rests solely in their achievement.
To believe that the exaltation and progress of humankind lies solely in their achievement is to believe that the degradation and regression of humankind lies in their abandonment.
To believe that the degradation and regression of humankind lies in his refusal to reflect the attributes of God is to believe that God has given humankind the freedom to, on the one hand, choose either to gratify its greeds, passions, and desires or, on the other hand, to comply with the Teachings, Principles, and Commandments that He has sent to them through His Messengers.
To believe that God is Just is to believe that He has provided humankind with the Protection of His Word so that humankind can avoid unnecessary pain, suffering, and abject misery.
To believe that the Word of God is a Protection against pain, suffering, and abject misery is to believe that defiance and rejection of His Word will lead to pain, suffering , and abject misery.
To believe that that defiance of God’s Word will lead to pain, suffering, and abject misery is to believe that this suffering is a result of humankind’s defiance and disregard and is not, therefore, a demonstration of God’s wrath or vengeance.
By the Wrath of God is meant the defiance, betrayal, and disregard of those spiritual and physical laws that are inherent in His universe, are self-regulating, and which do not require His personal intervention in order to assure that both the soul of humankind and His physical universe arrive at their pre-determined destiny.

The Eternal Covenant:


A Covenant, by definition, is a solemn agreement or promise between two or more parties. The Covenant between God and humankind is eternal, imperishable and indestructible and does not rely on the behaviour of His creatures whether good or bad inasmuch as He cannot by His nature violate a trust. We may not live up to our side of
this covenant because we are limited and imperfect but God will always maintain and act in accordance with His promise. God’s love and bounty do not discriminate but, rather, are the essence of equity and justice and rain down their nourishing effect upon high and low alike.

The Covenant between God’s Prophet and Messenger, on the other hand is temporary, that is to say, it begins with His Messenger’s appearance upon the horizon of humankind and terminates upon the appearance of His Successor Who has the Authority and Mission to minister to the needs of the age in which He appears and to supplant, abrogate, alter, dismiss, or re-establish any or all of the dictates of His Predecessor. Each new Manifestation of God refurbishes, revitalizes, and spiritually propels the body of humankind forward while at the same time infusing into it a spirit of moral and ethical sacrifice and dedication the example of which in a select few of its martyrs and saints stands as a model for others to follow and to emulate and the effect of which lifts humankind out of the mire of corruption and perversion into which it has descended and enables it to gradually rise toward the destiny for which it was created.

God has, through His human Manifestations, a gradually progressive series of human Emissaries carrying His Message to His creatures, assured those creatures that He will never leave them comfortless either in this world or in any of the worlds to come. This is the Eternal Covenant that has no boundaries or limitations and which spans an infinite array of worlds yet to be experienced but through which the soul must travel on its unalterable journey towards its Creator. The soul is inextricably bound to its Creator by Will, Purpose, and Intent that no intervention by any outside force can disturb or alter. The Eternal Covenant is equally inherent and expressed in the biblical quotation, “ Let Us make man in our Image and after our Likeness.” It is implicit in this statement that humankind is the recipient potentially both ‘en masse’ and individually of all of the qualities of God, i.e., immortality, indestructibility, knowledge, wisdom, creativity, etc. all of which will become more and more apparent and more and more fully developed as the soul progresses through each world of God and encounters those conditions necessary to the expression of qualities and abilities not as yet manifest but which are inherently possessed.

It is self-evident that there can be no Eternal Covenant unless eternity exists. There can be no Eternal Covenant unless God exists and there can be no Eternal Covenant unless humankind exists. It is implicit in this trinity that an Eternal Covenant exists even if Its length, breadth, and duration cannot be fully grasped in any individual lifetime. We know It exists because of the evidence that attests to and derives from Its existence. Eternity is a very long time and the most generous duration of the physical body is dwarfed and diminished by comparison and stands in stark clarity and incontrovertible testimony to the exhortation of every Manifestation of God that the focus of our entire lifetime should be to the progress and cultivation of our soul which is immortal and not to pandering to and pursuing the pleasures of the physical world which are brief, temporary, and of limited value. It offends all reason and common sense to discard the pearl and to cherish and delight only in the shell.

God has promised in the tenets of each of the great religions, that is to say, He has entered into an Eternal Covenant with humankind that His Grace and Blessings will never be withheld, even for an instant, from even the lowliest and that we have but to call on His Name, never forget Him in any of our dealings in life, recognize His Manifestation of Wisdom when He appears, and strive to live our lives according to the Teachings of His Messenger in order to be the eternal recipients and benefactors of this overflowing shower of limitless bounties and bestowals. We have but to be vigilant in our search, diligent in our efforts, and unflagging in our resolve to live for our soul and not sacrifice its treasures for the mundane pursuits of an ephemeral word and a frail and temporary human body.

The Eternal Covenant:


A Covenant, by definition, is a solemn agreement or promise between two or more parties. The Covenant between God and humankind is eternal, imperishable and indestructible and does not rely on the behaviour of His creatures whether good or bad inasmuch as He cannot by His nature violate a trust. We may not live up to our side of
this covenant because we are limited and imperfect but God will always maintain and act in accordance with His promise. God’s love and bounty do not discriminate but, rather, are the essence of equity and justice and rain down their nourishing effect upon high and low alike.

The Covenant between God’s Prophet and Messenger, on the other hand is temporary, that is to say, it begins with His Messenger’s appearance upon the horizon of humankind and terminates upon the appearance of His Successor Who has the Authority and Mission to minister to the needs of the age in which He appears and to supplant, abrogate, alter, dismiss, or re-establish any or all of the dictates of His Predecessor. Each new Manifestation of God refurbishes, revitalizes, and spiritually propels the body of humankind forward while at the same time infusing into it a spirit of moral and ethical sacrifice and dedication the example of which in a select few of its martyrs and saints stands as a model for others to follow and to emulate and the effect of which lifts humankind out of the mire of corruption and perversion into which it has descended and enables it to gradually rise toward the destiny for which it was created.

God has, through His human Manifestations, a gradually progressive series of human Emissaries carrying His Message to His creatures, assured those creatures that He will never leave them comfortless either in this world or in any of the worlds to come. This is the Eternal Covenant that has no boundaries or limitations and which spans an infinite array of worlds yet to be experienced but through which the soul must travel on its unalterable journey towards its Creator. The soul is inextricably bound to its Creator by Will, Purpose, and Intent that no intervention by any outside force can disturb or alter. The Eternal Covenant is equally inherent and expressed in the biblical quotation, “ Let Us make man in our Image and after our Likeness.” It is implicit in this statement that humankind is the recipient potentially both ‘en masse’ and individually of all of the qualities of God, i.e., immortality, indestructibility, knowledge, wisdom, creativity, etc. all of which will become more and more apparent and more and more fully developed as the soul progresses through each world of God and encounters those conditions necessary to the expression of qualities and abilities not as yet manifest but which are inherently possessed.

It is self-evident that there can be no Eternal Covenant unless eternity exists. There can be no Eternal Covenant unless God exists and there can be no Eternal Covenant unless humankind exists. It is implicit in this trinity that an Eternal Covenant exists even if Its length, breadth, and duration cannot be fully grasped in any individual lifetime. We know It exists because of the evidence that attests to and derives from Its existence. Eternity is a very long time and the most generous duration of the physical body is dwarfed and diminished by comparison and stands in stark clarity and incontrovertible testimony to the exhortation of every Manifestation of God that the focus of our entire lifetime should be to the progress and cultivation of our soul which is immortal and not to pandering to and pursuing the pleasures of the physical world which are brief, temporary, and of limited value. It offends all reason and common sense to discard the pearl and to cherish and delight only in the shell.

God has promised in the tenets of each of the great religions, that is to say, He has entered into an Eternal Covenant with humankind that His Grace and Blessings will never be withheld, even for an instant, from even the lowliest and that we have but to call on His Name, never forget Him in any of our dealings in life, recognize His Manifestation of Wisdom when He appears, and strive to live our lives according to the Teachings of His Messenger in order to be the eternal recipients and benefactors of this overflowing shower of limitless bounties and bestowals. We have but to be vigilant in our search, diligent in our efforts, and unflagging in our resolve to live for our soul and not sacrifice its treasures for the mundane pursuits of an ephemeral word and a frail and temporary human body.

Why?

Why is it that we do not ask ‘Why?’ more frequently, more persistently, and more deliberately? The world abounds with self-evident truths and is filled with axioms upon which to launch our opinions and convictions and from which to test the validity of our beliefs. Even the most simple-minded human is capable of grasping the lions share of these axioms and truths and to recognize the fundamental wisdom inherent in each. Why is it that so many ignore the stark reality of a self-evident truth in order to embrace a myth or superstition that flies in the face of logic and reasoning and collapses in the face of honest investigation?

Do we not have an obligation to our natural curiosity and insatiable thirst for truth to subject the accuracy and validity of any belief to the rigorous scrutiny of personal investigation and do we not have an obligation to this same curiosity and thirst for truth not to blindly accept a belief, tradition, dogma, or ritual, simply because our ancestors or because someone we hold in high esteem does so?

We have an obligation to our own selves, to our conscience, and to the integrity of our soul, to acquire knowledge and to tenaciously cling to its verities but only after we have first, through our own efforts, determined that these verities will not collapse and vanish in a puff of smoke when subjected to the harsh reality of a probing mind, an inquiring intellect, and an inflexible logic that refuses to accept as valid that which is in defiance of it’s reason.

Socrates, Galileo, and Copernicus, along with countless multitudes, are serious examples and victims of the confrontation between reality and superstition who have, even though they are the crowning point of God’s creation, been sacrificed upon the altar of ignorance and stupidity for no other reason than to maintain a concept, belief, or philosophy that has crumbled in the face of self-evident truth. Religion is the co-equal partner to science but to be true unto itself it must act in consort with science not in defiance of it. Religion, as it is often presented, is not always correct nor is its counterpart science. Each is but a half of a whole and it is only when they unite in partnership that the ark of knowledge that they sail upon the ocean of humanity will chart a safe journey to the shore of truth.

Humankind lives in two worlds simultaneously. The physical world of science and the spiritual world of religion and philosophy and it simply becomes less than human when it pursues one to the exclusion of the other. Both are necessary to healthy development and each provides the essential balance by which the other is restrained from descending into the ruthless pit of excess. Science without the morals and ethics of religion will, without these regulating guidelines, wander into the ruthless and brutal arena of contempt for the rights of the individual who it will mercilessly sacrifice in the name of the pursuit of knowledge whereas religion, without the logic and reason of science will, without the sanity of these virtues, descend into the reproachable pit of superstition and myth from which it will perform acts that stain the mirror of the human soul so that it is no longer able to reflect those attributes by which it is in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of God.

Why, since they are clearly two halves of a single whole, do not science and religion walk hand in hand as do any two betrothed’s when dedicated to the same destiny and committed to serving the same Master of their union? Why do they not extend to each other the respect deserved by each?

Why can they not perceive in each other the autonomous arena in which each is gifted with its unique expertise and which should be welcomed and embraced by the other and without which each is diminished and left wanting?

Why does each immediately reject out of hand that which does not, in appearance or perceived substance, conform to its own strongly held views without extending to it the simple courtesy of a receptive ear, a discerning eye, an open mind, and an appraising intellect?

Perhaps the answer may reside in the deep rooted fear and suspicion that the other may be more correct than they wish to admit and, if admitted, would demand that they scrutinize their own beliefs more deliberately and honestly and be forced into the insecure position of relinquishing a portion of the firm foundation upon which their life perspective had been established. A scary position indeed! Perhaps even a position so intolerable to their emotional and spiritual equilibrium that rejection and denial becomes the only recourse and, hence, ethics and morality are deemed of secondary importance and must be sacrificed upon the altar of emotional security and sanity. A sad indictment of our standards and code of conduct that they are so fragile and frail that we must seek to exterminate anything that differs for fear we will be ensnared in its brambles and drawn into its differences.

Stairway of Human Affairs:

The stairway of human affairs either ascends into the
Heaven of wisdom or descends into the hell of
Arrogance and ignorance.

Those who descend the stairway into the abyss of ignorance
and arrogance are characterized by symptoms the blight
of which erodes their human attributes and deprives them
of the potential for moral, ethical, and spiritual excellence

If, however, they ascend the stairway the steps
they trod will lead them to the threshold
Of that which is their most beloved.

-------------------

The first step on the stairway to wisdom
Is the recognition that there is more to learn
than is already known.

The second step is acceptance that what has
Long been believed to be true may not be.

The third step is the knowledge that truth is in the mind
of the interpreter and that the true translation of truth has only
been bestowed upon the Founders of the Great religions
and not on the self-appointed prophets who profess
to speak on Their behalf and with Their approval.

The fourth step is the recognition that science
Is one of the greatest Gifts of the Creator to His creation
And that through it the truths revealed by his Prophets
are tried, tested, and immersed in the cleansing crucible
of rigorous examination and reason.

The fifth step is respect and courtesy toward even the lowliest
of God’s creatures each of whom derives its existence
from His behest and that disrespect to that which
He has created is an affront to Him also.

The sixth step is the realization that forgiveness is
greater than revenge, kindness is more powerful than cruelty,
compassion is more productive than callousness, generosity is
more rewarding than greed, love is more fulfilling than hatred
and courtesy is more bountiful than rudeness.

The seventh step is the recognition that there is only
one God though He may be known through various Messengers
each of whom is a credit to and a legitimate Spokesperson
on His behalf and Each of whom appears at a different time
and with a different Message suited to the needs of the
age in which They appear.

The eighth step is the recognition that superficial differences
such as color, language, race, or culture are simply ecological
adaptations by the species and do not reflect any inherent
weakness or deficiency thereby and that there is only one
human family and one country to which all equally belong

The ninth step is the recognition that it is the virtues
not the vices that distinguish us as human and that
it is the degree to which we aspire to the one and
diligently avoid the other that will lead us to the destiny
for which we were created and into the beckoning
arms of the inmates of heaven.

The Fear of God?




There are no justifiable or warranted reasons to be evil but there is every reason to be good.

Those who wish to absolve their mean and despicable ways will argue that life has dealt them a harsh and cruel hand and that they are only responding in kind and that if there is a God that He too must be inherently cruel and harsh for He looks down with favour on some and on others with malice and perversity.

If God is All-Powerful, All-Loving, and All-Encompassing, they say, then why does He not intercede on behalf of the innocent and helpless who, through no fault of their own, are victims of cruel treatment, merciless conditions and punishing deprivation? How can a kind, loving, and generous Creator stand idly by and allow such suffering and torture to continue? The world abounds with cruelty, brutality, and injustice so why then does God not bring an end to these tragic and pitiful symptoms of imperfection in a creation for which He alone claims credit?

Man creates nothing! He merely discovers that which already exists and then creatively employs it to his advantage. Man has the power of discovery but not the power of creation, hence, from whence comes cruelty, torture, hatred, treachery, betrayal, lying, cheating, and theft? Humankind may exhibit these symptoms but cannot rightfully claim credit for having created them. This dubious distinction must be laid at the doorstep of He Who is the Creator of all things both visible and invisible. If evil exists then God must have created it. How then can the Creator of evil condemn and punish His creation for having fallen prey to insidious forces that are not of their making?

We most certainly can fear a God Who possesses such overwhelming power and Who can impose terrible anguish and retribution against all who would rebel against Him but how can we be expected to love and worship such a biased and whimsical deity? We cannot help but fear Him for He is Omnipotent and we are helpless and powerless pawns in the face of His irresistible Will. But, in the same way that a bag cannot contain more than it can hold, so too is it true that there is no room in a human heart for love when it is filled to overflowing with fear and outrage.

When confronted by the inescapable reality of all the pain and suffering that surrounds us, these observations and criticisms are unavoidable and expected, nonetheless, no matter how easily these complaints and queries roll off the tongue and occupy the mind, an answer capable of subduing the bitterness and of instilling a serenity of attitude into a troubled soul does lie within our grasp, but, the conditions for its discovery require that we observe with an eye that is not clouded by imitation, that we listen with an ear that hearkens to the exquisite sounds of harmony and is not deafened by the discordant cacophony of shrieking ravens, and that we listen with a mind that is uncluttered by the clamor of the misguided, uncontaminated by the blemish of enmity, and unsullied by the stain of bias.

All the elements for securely grasping and resolving this perplexity are well within our reach and require only that we approach them with a purity of motive, sincerity of intent, and earnestness of heart.

What then is meant by the ‘fear of God’? Indeed! The phrase is both a contradiction and a riddle. On the surface it would seem to be a contradiction for it flies in the face of our conception of God as being All-Loving, All-Merciful, and All-Forgiving, and yet, all of the Founders of the Great Religions have instructed Their followers to arm themselves with, and to exhort their fellow man to observe, a proper fear of God and to dread and beware of His wrath.

How can we, on the one hand, embrace the concept that God is loving, merciful, generous, and forgiving and, on the other hand, recoil from Him with a heart that is filled with fear and dread of His wrath?

The answer lies in the reality that these are two entirely different positions of the mind whereby our heart is moved and our actions dictated. These are two very different vantage points and each cultivates praiseworthy behaviour and promotes commendable conduct by appealing to very different perceptions entertained in the minds of very different individuals.

In general, when we think of the word fear it conjures up an image of limbs quaking, knees knocking, loins cramping, bowels sagging, and kidneys emptying in response to some imminent threat of injury to body, mind, or cherished possession and, generally, this is true. However, there is also the fear that arises when we consider the consequences of our actions by which behaviour is molded, conduct is guided, emotions are harnessed, and passions are restrained, thereby liberating our innate abilities and loosing our inherent talents to soar to the heights for which they were intended.

Nothing is more pitiable than to waste time and energy rallying our talents and abilities in the pursuit of that which is worthless and profitless. Man was not intended to be a fig tree that bears no fruit and that is only fit for the fire. The meadow of his mind was meant to blossom in a dazzling spectrum of floral beauty and the orchard of his heart was meant to abound in a succulent array of unblemished fruit from which all succeeding generations may partake. The sound of his voice should carry a melody to delight the hearing of the lover of song and cause all the atoms of his limbs to dance to the ecstasy of its exhilarating harmony. Joy and gladness are gifts of God the absence of which brings anguish to the mind and the prospect of the loss of which brings fear to the heart.

Why then would any person persist, with an intransigent mind, to disregard these self-evident truths and to indulge their most corrupt inclinations? Why does the intelligent and perceptive mind construct battlements to enclose and protect its selfish pursuits and to shut out every effort by the Emissaries of truth and reason to bridge the moat of their self-imposed isolation from reality?

Is it, perhaps, that they fear the loss of that which they already possess and are unable to perceive any substitute of equal or greater value that could impel them to relinquish their hold on it? Or is it, perhaps, that they refuse to gaze beyond the moment, and in the narrow and confined prison of their ignorance, have no fear of consequences that they refuse to acknowledge and, hence, no motive to curb their appetite?

Each and every person throughout the limitless expanse of the universe has been created to know God and to worship Him and each soul from the moment of its birth embarks on a journey the ultimate destination of which is reunion with its Creator and asylum within His loving embrace. When, however, a soul resorts to and employs torture, cruelty, betrayal, violence, cheating, lying, and theft as a means to gain their fortune or advance their position, so too do they attract to them forces of a similar nature with an effect equally as fearful, since the daily practice of these contemptible actions forces them to exist at a level that is immeasurably beneath the station that they are destined in the fullness of time to occupy. They have every good reason to fear the consequences of such flagrant misconduct because this spiritually criminal behaviour does no less than rally the forces of the universe to resist their perverse actions and automatically invokes its self-regulating safeguards to ensure that all the elements within it are properly disciplined for all attempts to disrupt the harmony and unity of its existence.

Both fear and the wrath of God pre-exist our awareness of them and whether in this world or the next the inescapable effect of our transgression will exert its influence and be brought to bear upon the soul.

By the wrath of God is meant cause and effect and should not be construed to mean that God sits idly upon His plush throne surveying His creation while at the same time correcting mistakes that have not gone according to His Will. God does not make mistakes that He must at a later date correct. The universe does and is unable to resist unfolding according to His Will. In other words, the entire universal system, all of God’s creatures including humankind, and all other universes presently unknown to us, have been created by Him completely equipped with all safeguards and universal laws that, if ignored or transgressed, will bring retribution to bear upon the transgressor. If you disregard His instructions to you, or if you deliberately and knowingly act in opposition to His laws and teachings then you will pay the price for your transgression whether it be in this world or the next. That is one of the immutable and universal laws that underlies His entire creation both visible and invisible.

Two innate guardians that serve as protective champions to the soul are, the sense of shame and, the sentinel of conscience, neither of which exists in every persons heart or occupies every persons mind.

There are some who are not endowed with a sense of shame and whose sordid existence is a reflection of this absence and there are others whose heart and mind are deprived of conscience and for whom torture and cruelty are instruments of delight and for whom pity, mercy, and remorse, are deemed to be the attributes of fools. Their hardened hearts are unmoved by the cries of their victims, the pleas of their captives, or the tears of the grief-stricken whose agony arises out of the loss of a loved one at the hands of evil butchers. Such as these are parasitic organisms whose behaviour is not regulated by ethics or morality and who respond only to the fear of retribution by outer social forces designed to safeguard the whole of which they are a destructive part. Justice, not personal revenge, demands that laws and the means for their application be put in place to protect the innocent from the parasites that seek to feed upon them. A flock of lambs must be safeguarded by a shepherd to protect them from the insatiable appetite of the wolf against whom they have no defense. The shepherd harbors no ill-will and his protection is not motivated by hatred for the wolf, rather, while recognizing that the wolf is a victim of its predatory and carnivorous inclinations and cannot be blamed for pursuing its prey he, nonetheless, also recognizes that the lambs have neither the strength or the faculties to stand against the wolf who, if left to his own devices, will steal into the pack and devour them all one by one. The shepherd would prefer that the wolf never approach his flock for it is not his wish to bring harm to it, however, his first duty is to his flock and if necessary he will destroy the wolf if it threatens the safety of the innocent lambs in his custody. Punishment should never be motivated by revenge lest it descend into the abyss of brutality and cruelty and in so doing transform the guardian into a mirror image of the perpetrator that they condemn so that no distinction can be detected between them.

If the actions of the heart and mind are conditioned by the sense of shame then it becomes unthinkable to entertain any idea or course of action that would redound either to your own personal dishonor or to the dishonor of those things that you hold most dear.

If the actions of the heart and mind are faithfully served by the sentinel of conscience then it becomes equally unthinkable to knowingly and deliberately perpetrate acts that would bring injury and suffering to the innocent and harmless or that would inflict savage, brutal, and merciless torture and revenge upon those who are deemed to be guilty.

The sense of shame and the sentinel of conscience are the twin pillars upon which the canopy of justice is supported and they are the secure foundation upon which the institution of justice is erected. Within the hallowed sanctuary of their embrace, that is an asylum for the righteous and the innocent, can only be inhaled the fragrance of equity and the scent of freedom.

...................

Carbon is the most abundant element of the earth and no living organism has yet been discovered that does not rely upon it for the integrity of its existence. When carbon is placed in the crucible of fire and subjected to the rigors of extreme pressure it emerges as the hardest substance known to man and when this same substance is refined and polished its beauty and brilliance cause it to be diligently sought after as a source of wealth and adornment. The many faceted diamond expresses its luster no matter from which vantage point it is viewed and has long been the symbol for the journey of that which is crude, in its earliest stages, to the eventual zenith of its potential.

From the bowels of human history and out of the earth of human understanding have been extracted two unique diamonds pre-eminent over all others, both of which are pursued with passion, and each of which is the reciprocal counterpart and adversary of the other. One is a prodigy to be admired and emulated whereas the other is a prodigal to be distrusted and avoided. In a contingent world life does not exist without both since the presence of one depends on the presence of the other. The knowledge of one requires the knowledge of the other since only in the Eden of total ignorance does the presence of either remain undetected.

These two paramount diamonds that dominate the activities of humankind are Love and Hate, out of which all other qualities and attributes arise and they represent, on the one hand, the conditions of heaven and hell and, on the other hand, the two compelling forces that propel humankind either to soar to the heights of greatness or to descend to the depths of shame.

Love, that is to say, the force of attraction and affection, without which solid form would cease to exist and the most minute component of the tiniest atom would suddenly vanish into nothingness, and without which, throughout the infinite expanse of our universe and all universes that extend beyond, all matter and all life that depended upon it would simply disappear with only a void remaining where life had once existed, is the central emanation from God and the surest sign of His presence.

Those who know God and worship Him are also those who love Him and whose hearts are filled with dread, not because of the expectation of His retribution against them, but because they fear that they may transgress His Word, earn His censure, and thereby fail to enjoy His approval. This fear arises from the need not to disappoint their Beloved and is a natural corollary to the sense of shame and the sentinel of conscience. This is the spiritual and emotional fear and is a healthy and necessary part of our existence and it is a fear that is capable of subjugating all other considerations, including physical fear, as is evidenced by those courageous and heroic martyrs who have shed their blood and their very substance in the path of their beliefs and who have stoically endured a persecution and suffering, the like of which we can but imagine, for the sake of their love for their Beloved.

Love is the essence of life, the cause of all attraction, the basis of all affection, the source of all bonding, and it permeates all things whether visible or invisible, and, though it is not a thing that can be seen, touched, or examined, nonetheless, the evidence of its existence is both undeniable and irrefutable and is the most eloquent testimony to the All-Pervading Presence of the Creator from whence it emanates.

...................

Hate, that is to say, the forces of division and repulsion, the source of chaos and confusion, the manifestation of corruption and depravity, the mother of sin and imperfection, the cause of decomposition and death, and the vortex into which all the engulfing snares of hell lure and attract us, is the adversary and counterpart of love that constantly lurks in the darkness and that is ever poised and vigilant and that, patient and tireless, seeks to topple us into the abyss of error and to dash our hopes, smash our spirits, and cripple the ability of our soul to attain the lofty position it was destined to occupy. It is both resourceful and opportunistic and will avail itself of any moment of carelessness to distract us from our purpose and will employ any occasion of weakness or mistake to divert us from our path. It ill behooves us to underestimate either the influence or strength of such a nefarious foe or to disregard the growing signs of its pervasive presence in the activities that surround us and that influence and manipulate our every move.

Hate, however, is not a being or a personality nor is it a living, conscious, and thinking adversary that with willful deliberation plots and conspires for our downfall. Nor can we, with picturesque simplicity, ascribe to it the various names of Lucifer, Satan, or the Devil, whereby it is transformed into a competitor against God. God has no peer, is without an equal, has no rival and is without a competitor. God stand alone and Pre-Eminent above His creation that includes all things living or inanimate and all things whether visible or invisible.

Hate is a condition, an emotion, a symptom, that fills the vacancy when love departs, when affection is discarded, when attraction vanishes, and it seeps into every fiber, occupies every niche, and takes up residency wherever and whenever the spirit loses sight of the purpose for which it was created. It is the soil in which the seeds of evil are nourished and cultivated and it is the germ that invades and infects the healthy organism. Hate can only exist in the absence of love in the same way that evil can only exist in the absence of good. Hate and evil do not have any substance in and of themselves but, rather, become manifest and exert their pernicious influence when love is abandoned. They tarnish the mirror of the human soul and form the dross that obscures the ‘image and likeness’ of God that lies potentially therein from appearing in all its resplendent glory.

Prayer:

The true potential of the human soul is known only to God its Creator. The Sacred Scriptures have emphasized this indescribable, immeasurable, and unknowable nature of each and every human soul by applying a comparison the essence of which can be understood by the most primitive, undeveloped, and limited intellect.

It is written that if all the Manifestations and prophets of God that have ever existed, that exist in the present, and will exist in the future, were to combine Their spiritual knowledge and understanding that they would be powerless to grasp the essence and nature of a single human soul so great is its potential and so vast is the range of its qualities and attributes. The human soul was created by God and only God is aware of its final form and destiny.

The soul, however, is not a physical product of nature regardless of whether it inhabits a physical form through which it is enabled to progress and express itself in a physical world. The human soul is indestructible, imperishable, and infinite in its existence and when the human body finally gives way to the irresistible laws of nature and its constituent parts disassemble and return to the dust from whence they were born then does the soul depart this world and take up residence in a new sphere of existence and continue its spiritual journey wherein those inherent qualities by which it is in the ‘Image and Likeness’ of its Creator will exert their innate urge to become manifest and will continue, throughout the infinite worlds of God, to advance toward that inevitable destiny for which they were created. This physical world is but one of an infinite number of worlds of God and the degree to which its inherent attributes and abilities manifest themselves will be in direct proportion to the degree of effort and sacrifice expended by the soul to this end. The human soul, not the human body, is the embodiment of God’s attributes and, let their be no mistake, the bond and union of the soul and body is by design and only the death of the body can release the soul from its journey through this world which, we have been told, is the only world in which we can exhibit choice to the extent that we can voluntarily and deliberately choose between good or evil, right or wrong, kindness or cruelty for in the next world and all worlds thereafter the progress and direction of the soul will not be afforded this blessing but will be imposed upon it and from which it will be unable to digress.

The soul will enter the next world in the state and condition in which it left this world and will either rejoice over its elevated position or bemoan the plight of its station the status of which was earned according to its actions and/or inactions in this world. Retribution and karma are unavoidable and, universal laws of creation that impose their equity and justice upon the soul throughout the worlds of God, will be either to the distress or joy of the soul which will be acutely aware that it has fashioned its own abode in the next world and every world thereafter either through its neglect or obedience to those laws and principles revealed to humankind through its divinely inspired Prophets.

The essence of every single human soul is so charged with potential that not even the soul itself, no matter how divinely inspired, can foresee it in its final state of development and fulfillment. The soul may be likened to a locked door that requires a key to unlock it and reveal the treasures that lie hidden behind it and which, when opened, reveals several other locked doors each of which requires a separate key to unlock and reveal its hidden treasures behind which lie further treasures and several more doors increasing exponentially to infinity the extent of which is incalculable. The first door that begins this process exists in the physical world and the key that unlocks its treasures is prayer.

The worlds of God do not admit of error, and imperfection exists only in the mind of the interpreter who can only see it at that level of evolution in whatever stage through which it is passing. Only God can see both the beginning and end simultaneously for it is only God Who is able to embrace and surround both time and matter which are elements which He alone has fashioned and which are characteristics that exist only in a physical world. The soul although abiding temporarily in a physical abode must, perforce, cultivate those qualities inherent within it in this world by which it will be enabled to progress and develop in the next world and prayer is the medium and key that unlocks the door to these treasures of the soul.

Prayer and its counterpart meditation are inseparable attributes that enable it to commune with God. Prayer has been described as ‘Talking with God’ and meditation has been described as ‘Listening for His answer’. Each is a separate key that unlocks different treasures but, though separate, must be exercised together and in their proper order. To employ one to the exclusion of the other is simply to handicap the soul in its conversation with God and to limit its receptivity to His wisdom and response. The more passionately the soul communes with its Creator in the form of prayer and the more uncluttered, naked, and freely exposed it presents itself in the form of meditation, the more like unto a hollow reed it will become through which the Voice of God can commune and inspire it.

Prayer and meditation are weapons of the soul by which it wages a battle against the temptations and corrupt inclinations of the world of nature from which it will eventually escape but during which, in its brief sojourn, the soul is held captive and subjected to the incessant demands of its animalistic and predatory urges. Urges which, if unchecked, lead the soul into the depraved abyss of behaviour that causes the inmates of heaven to weep oceans of tears and to wring their hands in agony and despair over such a spiritual waste. Prayer and meditation are the guardians of the soul that guide its steps, inspire its spirit, bring joy to its heart, illuminate its mind, and raise it to breathless heights that no other earthly organism can either achieve or imagine.

Prayer is of two kinds, that is to say, there is the prayer conceived in the mind of the human soul supplicating to its Creator for His assistance and then there is the prayer that emanate from God through the medium of the Holy Spirit that is conveyed by way of those Holy Souls specially chosen by God to carry His message to His creatures and which carry a special power and force in each letter of each word of each phrase in each tablet. They are imbued with a supernatural force that can neither be described nor detected by the senses but the effect of which is as certain and irresistible as the physical forces of gravity and motion. Prayers revealed by the Founders of Religions and which are inspired of God exert an influence upon the heart and mind that can raise it to unimagined heights and elevate it to a level of ecstasy that cause the very atoms around it to dance in delight. Although not always immediately apparent, the force and influence of prayers revealed by God’s Prophets will exert its beneficial effect upon any and all souls that repeat them with a sincere heart unsullied by the desire for personal advantage. Both types of prayer are acceptable at the threshold of God but it is self-evident which holds greater potential for the most positive results.

To journey through life without being clothed in the armor of prayer and meditation is foolhardy, fraught with danger, and an exercise in futility which the soul will ultimately be forced to concede and thereafter will bemoan its plight and reap the harvest of its neglect. In order to maintain its spiritual health the soul is obligated to engage in prayer and meditation on a regular and ongoing basis throughout its odyssey in the world of nature and without which is destined to fall victim to the tireless and unsleeping snares of ever-present immoral and unethical temptations that lead the soul astray and into the darkened world of depravity and corruption. The soul must either pray or be prey and in this physical existence the soul has been granted the right to choose which path it will pursue.

Gossip:



He stood at the top of the hill and pondered the events that had conspired to bring him to this point in his career. The wind howled out its rage causing his loose fitting clothes to billow like the sails of a racing craft. He finally loosed his firm grip on the large bag he was clutching and released its contents to the whim and mercy of the elements around him. The feathers were instantly scattered randomly in all directions carried like a foreign potentate on a litter until they finally began to settle all across the countryside seeking sanctuary in the most unlikely nooks and crannies. He then instructed the slight figure that was almost hidden in his shadow to take the bag and gather all the feathers and return them to the bag without missing a single one.

" That is impossible." she wailed in retaliation. "How can I possibly know where the wind has carried them. No matter how hard I might try I could never find them all or even know where they might have carried. What you ask is beyond my ability to accomplish. It is unreasonable. It is cruel and I cannot believe that you could expect me to engage in such a task."

"In the same way that you find this task impossible," he replied, "so too is it equally impossible for you to call back the gossip and slander that you have been spreading that is swept by the wind of waggling tongues into corners and memories that we cannot reckon. The damage that your careless and irresponsible tales have caused to the good name and reputation of undeserving victims can never be completely erased and, like a stealthily spreading disease or cancer, will continue to infect healthy, untainted minds and hearts wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself. You have much to regret and, God willing, this practice of maligning whoever happens to invoke your anger, by alleging contrived stories and false accusations, will never again occur. Take this empty bag and, whenever you are provoked to strike back against some alleged injury or slight, recall this moment and your inability to perform this task and it will give you the strength and resolve that will enable you to resist the temptation. Go my child and gossip and slander no more."

He watched the tiny figure descend the mountainside for several minutes until it finally disappeared from sight. He followed in its wake, weighted by the agony he felt for those who had been contaminated by this child's lies and fabrications, and uncertain that the lesson he had just demonstrated would have the power to deter her from further repetitions.

Victims of Arrogance



One symptom of arrogance is the overwhelming
Conviction that you are smarter than everyone else.

Another symptom is the belief that your truth
Is the only truth and that all else is false

A further symptom is the self-perpetuating myth
That access to wisdom can only be gained
Through your exclusive pathway and that
all others are merely misguided ignorance

One more expression of arrogance is the use of mockery
Insult and slander against all with whom
You disagree or who disagree with you

“Arrogance may be likened to a prison cell
In which an inmate & criminal is confined.”

Arrogance is a blight that is blind
To the sight within and the sight without
It is a symptom of a mind unkind
That knows not what the world is about.

Arrogance and ignorance are both unlikable
And bedfellows betrothed in blindness
Without shame or conscience and both indictable
Nor are they touched with kindness.

“The heart that is arrogant and the
mind that is ignorant occupy the
common abyss of self-deception and are
Trapped in the vortex of ego.”

Can right be wrong?


To believe that what we do is right is reward in and of itself, however, this belief does not always derive from truth. We can be sincere and yet be sincerely mistaken. We can be honest but, nonetheless, be honestly in error, and, we can believe with a belief that is predicated upon a false premise. Sincerity, honesty, and belief are praiseworthy and admirable virtues that should characterize, in all things, the activities of humankind, however, they are not a guarantee of truth. Humankind is frail, riddled with shortcomings, and prone to error, however much they may pursue truth and rightness with diligence and determination. The annals of the history of humankind are replete with atrocities and depravity committed in the name of righteousness and morality. Examples of moral rectitude descending into moral turpitude. What is required is a yardstick, a criterion, a standard by which to measure and on which to base our conduct and from which derive universal principles of right and wrong that can be recognized and agreed to by each and every person.

A yardstick and/or criteria must be one which all may recognize and accept. Consider, for instance, the concept of God. All of the major religions advance the premise that He is All-powerful, All-knowing, All-loving, All-compassionate, All-forgiving etc. and is without blemish or shortcoming, has no imperfections, and holds the entire universe and all it possesses securely in His grasp. Nothing occurs without His knowledge. And yet it is not uncommon for discussion of God to drag Him down to the level of an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, a schizophrenic, unpredictable, player of favorites, and a higher power afflicted with an abundance of human frailties. God can be both God and not-God at the same time. God is just but plays favorites. God is loving and compassionate but permits suffering and pain and cruelty to exist. God is portrayed as being in the ‘Image of humankind’ rather than the other way around. It is not possible to reconcile this misrepresentation and distortion of God. The solution to this paradox lies securely in the convoluted concept of God embraced by the perpetrators of these contradictions.

How is it possible for God to be both God and Not-God? How can He be both All-Loving and hateful? How can He be both All-Forgiving and vengeful? How can He be both All-Compassionate and jealous? How can He be both Infinite and human? On the one hand we have the virtues of God and on the other their counterpart or antithesis. They are not the same but God is all too often represented as possessing and expressing both. Sadly, God is represented as being human with all its shortcomings and deficiencies. This misrepresentation alone is warrant for each and every person to conduct their own investigation into the truth of any philosophy or principle with which they are confronted. To be influenced by the beliefs and convictions of others is a reasonable starting point but to fail to subject them to the scrutiny of reason and logic and criteria that are acceptable to all humankind is akin to driving along a twisting and circuitous highway while blind. A person needs to see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears. Anything less is fraught with danger and deception. To become prey to or to descend into the abyss of someone else’s misconceptions is an affront to the nobility of the human spirit and an indictment of our laxity in the exercise of our inherent virtues and attributes.

Who or What is God?

Before any meaningful discussion can take place regarding the subject of religion and the requirements it imposes upon those who have faith, trust in its validity, and who seek to pattern their lives according to its principles and laws, there must first be established an agreement by all persons or parties involved as to the nature and identity of the Deity upon which their faith, trust, and pattern of life is predicated.

The question inevitably arises. “Do we all mean the same thing and is our conception of God the same for every person so involved?”

There was a time in the not too distant past when the controversial statement that “God is dead!” was both shocking, disconcerting, and thought provoking and yet, in the minds of those who heavily favoured this belief, religion had so disintegrated and was so clothed in the garment of imitation, distortion, ritual, myth and superstition that to accept its tenets was an offense to the intellect of any reasonable person and, hence, the hostile, antagonistic, and defiant assertion that any God Who permitted such moral and ethical incongruities to continue must either not exist or had long since died and was no longer in control of anything.

It is evident, therefore, that all parties to any discussion of religion must, of necessity, be in complete harmony and in full agreement as to exactly what is meant by use of the word “God”.

By “God” is meant That which created the entire universe both visible and invisible and all of the laws by which it operates and to which it is irresistibly subject. Humankind is included in this definition, however, humankind is the only species on earth that operates in both worlds simultaneously, that is to say, we progress and are subject to the laws of both the visible and invisible universe. We are both physical and spiritual at the same time. The body and soul are partners and co-habit but are distinct and separate entities. One is temporary and perishable whilst the other is immortal and capable of journeying throughout the infinite immensity of all the worlds of God.

It is self-evident that we did not create ourselves. As a matter of fact we cannot create anything. To create, by definition, means to be able to bring something into existence out of nothingness. This we cannot do. We simply discover that which is already there and then act creatively in applying it to our advantage. Only God can create. We discover what He created and then we creatively use it for our own purposes, however, at no time can we take credit for having created that which we discover. This then is what is meant by the term God regardless of the religion that expresses it and this is the foundation upon which any discussion of religion must necessarily rest.

God is an absolute – the only absolute. Everything other than God was created by Him, is less than Him, is limited and, hence, by comparison imperfect. God possesses each and every quality to an absolute degree, an accomplishment that we can neither grasp nor ever duplicate. Humankind possesses each and every quality of God but each to a limited degree. The limited and imperfect can never grasp or embrace the absolute but can, nevertheless, know that an absolute exists because of the evidence that abounds attesting to its existence. This is knowledge without understanding an example of which would be a large cannon in a valley lobbing shells over an intervening mountain that separates it from another valley on the opposite side. The people in the valley opposite the cannon certainly know that the cannon exists because of the indisputable evidence thereof but, nonetheless, cannot see the cannon or know its type, size, etc. We know that gravity exists but we cannot see it. We can see and feel its effect which is the proof of its existence but it is invisible to the naked eye or to any instrument so far devised. To deny its existence because we cannot see it is ludicrous.

The entire universe both visible and invisible or whether in the microcosm or macrocosm is evidence of the existence of God and it is an axiom of our intellect that we neither created any of it nor do we understand but an infinitesimal fraction of it. God exists everywhere in all things and at all times and nothing exists that does not express at least one attribute of God nor bear testimony within it to the creative action of God.

Because God is an absolute, the only absolute, He is perfect in every way without limitations or imperfections and is incapable of making mistakes. God does things right the first time every time and never has need to correct something that went wrong. God created the universe, hence, the universe is perfect and is unfolding as it should and God has no need to intervene in a creation that is already perfect. What we often perceive as God is nothing less than a self-regulating universe with built in safeguards designed to protect its design and to ensure that no actions or circumstances can deflect it from its pre-ordained destiny. Nothing whatsoever whether in nature or in humankind can frustrate the will of God. What God has purposed shall come to be and no power whether in the heavens or on earth can resist or alter His purpose.

God possesses all qualities to an absolute degree and, therefore, cannot express Himself in a limited way. When we call God the Creator it is implicit in this title that He creates infinitely and, by His own nature, cannot ever stop creating. He is infinite and so is His creation. As long as God exists so too will His creation and so too will He continue to create and inasmuch as He is infinite and indestructible so too is His creation the duration of which will never end. The form may change or terminate but the process will continue forever.

Perhaps one of the most important factors to be considered when discussing religion is always to remember that we did not create God but, rather, that He created us and He created us in His image and likeness. Too often religion becomes distorted and an affront to the heart and mind when humankind creates God in a human image with all its imperfections, limitations, and shortcomings. God can only be measured against Himself and can never be compared to anything except Himself and, since God is unknowable, incomprehensible, infinite and perfect, none of which attributes can be applied to humankind, then it irresistibly follows that when God is presented to us with even the least trace of human characteristics and is attired in the robe of human anger, violence, or vengeful malevolence, we must reject such an image or portrait as the feeble flailings of a misguided and misinformed mind. If God is All-Loving then it is impossible for Him to be hateful. If He is All-Forgiving then it is impossible for Him to be vengeful and cruel. These are qualities that are more readily perceived in humankind and in a physical universe but are anathema to any legitimate concept of God. Hate, cruelty, vengeance, violence, and an unforgiving heart are distinctly human qualities and have no legitimate place in any religion and are simply the fabrications of a deluded mind that seeks to drag God down to a wretched human level and thereby attempt to give sanction to unholy and irreligious practices.

To sum up this topic on what is meant by the term “God” is to exhort the participants in any religious discussion to be vigilant and diligent in remembering, and to bring that memory to bear on any issue under discussion, that God is All-Loving, All-Merciful, All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate, All-Knowing, and All-Powerful and when all of these attributes cannot be applied to the image presented by any alleged spokesperson or messenger of God then we must seriously question the validity of their authority or capability to represent God in particular or religion in general.

Whose truth is truth?:

Can a tree talk about itself? Can an animal write an exam? Can a rock develop a philosophical argument? Why is it that only humans have a written and oral language? What animal, tree, or rock has a written, organized, and historical record of itself? What is the only element in nature that possesses qualities and attributes not found elsewhere in nature? What is it that makes a human a human? Can a rock decide what is fair? Can a tree distinguish between right and wrong? What other organism has been able to extract the hidden secrets of nature from its grasp and then employ them to its own ends in a way not revealed or expressed in nature? Nature produces that which we call natural whereas humans are able to develop that which is synthetic and which does not occur naturally. The three kingdoms that lie beneath humans, to wit, the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, never have and never will be able to develop radio, television, computers, microscopes, telescopes, printing presses, satellites etc. because they are deprived of the intellectual tools found only in humans whereby the hidden secrets of nature are brought into visibility and extracted from its jealously guarded grasp. Humans do not have the power of creation but they do have the power of discovery and it is this power of discovery manifested through human curiosity that is the motivating force behind research. Research, experiment, and intellectual reasoning are the tools by which we explore the mysteries of nature and discover that which was hidden.

If humans were just another product of nature why is it that they possess qualities not found elsewhere in nature? It can be argued that because the human body is a part of nature and humans have intellectual reasoning that it necessarily follows that intellectual reasoning is, therefore, a part of nature. This is a superficial argument and does nothing to explain how a product of nature is able to produce that which nature cannot. If we are to take a cup of water from the ocean it cannot be argued that the cup can contain that which the ocean does not since all it contains was taken from the ocean and all it will ever be is contained in the ocean. This is not true of humans. The human intellect is superior to nature even if it is housed in a physical receptacle formed from elements taken from nature. It is not, however, the body that is superior since the human body is generally inferior in most respects to the other kingdoms of nature. It is the human mind, the intellectual personality, the deductive reasoning power of the human spirit that animates and utilizes the material body all of which enable the mind to function in a physical world.

What is required is for each and every person to exercise their God given power of discovery and deductive reasoning to arrive at self-evident truths and to not be diverted by the misguided conceptions and superstitions of others. Imitation may well be the greatest expression of admiration in arts and crafts but in the realm of common sense and philosophy it can be the greatest deterrent to the truth. To believe something simply because someone else believes it, without conducting your own personal investigation into its verities, is nothing more than moral and ethical foolishness that can launch a person along the pathway to error and potential disaster. Because a person is a celebrity or an expert in some particular field, or even our parents or siblings, is no guarantee that their views and opinions are valid and not simply the imitation of someone else whom they admired and assumed could not be mistaken. Truth, whether it be scientific, philosophical, or religious must be that which we have arrived at by applying our own resources and exploration and equally must not be that which is imposed upon us arbitrarily by some outside alleged source of authority. This is not anarchy but is, rather, the exercise of our native talents in the pursuit of truth.

Truth, however, is relative and that which may be true for one person, group, or nation may not necessarily be true for another. This can apply to social customs, history, or empirical experience, nonetheless, there are universal truths that apply to each and every person without exception and if these are not recognized, embraced, and incorporated into a criteria by which to evaluate and discriminate between spiritual and moral truth and to separate it from that which is sheer superstition and myth then we become nothing more than emotional and spiritual sheep being led to the slaughter by wolves ‘dressed in sheep’s clothing’.

-------------------

Nature is indeed a strange and fascinating entity. Ostensibly random and without direction or purpose, acting in mindless obedience to the laws by which it is shaped, and exhibiting neither conscience nor remorse for the events that arise within it, and yet, at the heart of each event lies the seed of Divine intention and within the operation of each physical law is deposited a Divine intelligence without which all matter and all phenomena that derive from it would cease to exist.

Many phenomena, although ostensibly random, act in accordance with and bear eloquent witness to the pervading presence of, universal laws that govern the behaviour and direct the operation of all matter, whether in the observable universe or in those as yet undiscovered.

Nature is guided by an infinite Intelligence, incapable of mistakes, absolute in Its control over all things both visible and invisible, and infinitely patient in the gradual disclosure of Its secrets. What may appear to be bizarre or unique or an anachronism not in keeping with the normal course of events can, in retrospect, be recognized as a self-regulating expression of a perfectly designed, self-contained system, that requires neither intervention or improvement. What may appear to be intervention, or wrath, or the correction of inherent errors, or the remedy for oversights, or the introduction of measures to compensate for flaws in the original design are, in reality, the outer expression of inherent safeguards intrinsic to the original blueprint and not, as is so often mistakenly advanced, Divine attempts to rectify deficiencies in the original design.

When the need arises and occasion demands, there will appear, with varying degrees of capacity, those who will meet the exigencies of the period in which they appear and who, by virtue of their example, will assist humankind in its advance toward a pre-determined destiny the duration of which can only be measured in infinity. And, there are Those within each epoch Who arise and, as Divine Spokesmen for the age in which They appear, found the great religions, uplift the human spirit, edify the soul, cultivate the morals, enlighten the mind, animate the heart, and inaugurate a new and vital cycle of progress for humankind as a whole.