Kolbrin - The Book of Gleanings - Chpt 15 - Voice of GOD

\This lays out  GODS agenda and the rule to live consciously by.  It explains why.  Few other sources of such knowledge are as clear.

 Read through this carefully.  So far i have found the entirety of the Kolbrin as written by a profoundly rational source.  Others may well have found issue but there is none here at all.  I have found much issue with the Hebrew bible not least because it was assembled later from work such as this without complete preparation.


It now appears that we will be picking our way through fragments and other texts as well.  They may or not be terribly useful, but these early chapters were apparently written on bronze which places them firmly back in the Bronze Age and even fairly early even then. My sense is that they were written while long lived humanity still oversaw significant colonizing communities after the Pleistocene Nonconformity.  This period largely preceded the Bronze Age proper in which urban populations had arisen and sea borne trade was in full swing.

 The bronze books may well have been ordered up by those long lived leaders.  If so then the Kolbrin is the only copy that has apparently come down to us in this era..
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

THE VOICE OF GOD

(This is a modernised, revised version of a difficult to understand original and it probably contains some interpolated material).

The Voice of God came out of the Heavens unto His servants even before the days of Wunis, but in these days it has come to certain of His Devoted Ones who heard it within the cavern of visions. Afterwards, each wrote it down according to his own hearing, and lo, when they came together it was seen that each had recorded the same words. Thus, the things which were heard by the three and set down by them in writing, all being agreed alike are things recorded forever.

"I am the Voice of God Who is the God of All Men and Ruler of their Hearts. 1 have many aspects and come differently to all men, I am the God of Many Faces. To you. My servants, I give these words, that they may be carried to all men. Obey My commands and I will be Your God. I will enlighten and instruct you, guiding you along the way. I desire your love and loyalty, and your adherence to My plans, but I do not desire your servility.

I am not only your God but your Commander as well, and so I expect obedience and discipline, as befits those who prepare for harsh and grim battles such as those which lie ahead".

"My desire is for love rather than futile sacrifices of burnt offerings, but it should not be a passive love but one expressing service in My Cause. A certain knowledge of right and wrong, with fi-ee choice of the former, is of greater value in My sight than pointless ritualistic worship. I derive no pleasure from the wasteful shedding of blood from bulls and lambs. 1 gain nothing from the fat of sheep and the flesh of goats. 1 am the Creator of All, so what can men give that would increase My greatness? Men are misled if they believe that their sins can be purged by vain rituals. Only active goodness can obliterate the stain of sin".

"Men approach Me in fear, they come to me with servility. They beg forgiveness for their sins and request My help in worldly matters. To sing My praises is their excuse for coming into places made sacred unto Me, but they come wanting something, be it only reassurance. With this attitude towards Me, do you wonder that I remain mute before their pleas? Bring Me no more vain offerings of flesh and blood, for such wastefulness of life is an offence to the God of Life. What benefit do I derive from all your feasts or festivals? Give me dedication and effort, that is all I ask. Above all be true to yourselves, for I abhor the face of hypocrisy, the face now all too familiar when men approach Me".

"Men bring Me meat and wine, fine flour and wheaten cakes, thinking I can consume these, or that 1 have need of such sustenance. I would be far better served were these to be given to the widow and orphan, to the multitudinous poor whom you suffer to exist in your midst. Poverty is man-made and it is not sufficient for the wealthy to give alms to the poor; those with power and position, with wealth and plenty must strike at the roots of poverty. If they fail to do this, then the alms they give have no merit in My sight".

"Your solemn assemblies, your tedious processions, your long faces and melancholy expressions bring no gladness to My heart. Your burdensome ceremonials and fiitile offerings of life and food benefit Me in no way at all. Men themselves may derive benefit fi-om these, but their hypocrisy when they proclaim they do this in My name is not hidden from Me".

"The reek of your incense smoke rises and disappears into the air, but it comes not unto Me, nor do I have need of it. Yet I will not deny you the pleasure of its fragrance which can bring inner harmony and peace by soothing the spirits of men. Nor will I deny you your feasts, if the fetters of wickedness be thereby loosened from your souls, but do not say they are undertaken for My benefit or glorification. Fasting and the denial of bodily appetites may serve useful ends for men, but though you may deceive yourselves regarding their intent, do not try to deceive Me by mis-stating their purpose. I have no desire to repress the joy and exuberance welling up in the hearts of men, far rather would 1 prefer that such humanising emotions be cultivated. Therefore, pray if prayer serves its true purpose, which is to harmonise your spirit with Mine so communication becomes possible.

Keep your festivals and feasts if they serve their purpose, which is to inspire and refine your spirit. Do all that elevates your spirit and develops your souls, that is the true purpose of life. Do all that is good for you, nothing wholly beneficial is denied you, but do not declare that in so doing you confer benefit upon Me. I am the God Above and Beyond AH".

"I do not deny you your rituals and ceremonials, worship Me if you will as you will, but bear in mind that this cannot substitute for your obligations. Ritual and worship cannot be an adjustment or payment for the things you have failed to do, or be an apology for your own shortcomings. Neither do they compensate for iniquities against your fellowmen. If you attach importance to ritual and ceremonial let it be in a proper proportion, and never let them dull your conscience against deeds of wickedness, of usury and injustice. Never let your duty and obligations be neglected because you worship Me diligently, following a formalised ritual and ceremonial. Let this not become an excuse for failing to share your bread with the hungry or for neglecting the needs of the destitute or weak. I am not deceived. A life dedicated to Me is not one preoccupied with worship, that is more the life of a coward trembling before the unknown. He who dedicates bis life to Me gives shelter to the homeless and succours those in distress, but even these are not the ultimate in goodness, for they are passively accepted. The ultimate in goodness is to actively combat all the root causes of evil. Those who are my true followers live a life of service and goodness. They live in harmony with their neighbours, harm none and do not shirk the burdens and obligations of earthly existence".

"I am better served by obedience to My laws and conformity with My plans than by ritual and offerings. To listen to the words of the Sacred Writings while striving to understand them is better in My sight than offerings of flesh and treasure which benefit the priests more than they do Me. Among the things which I abhor few are more detestable than the hypocritical offerings of the evildoer. The offerings and worship of a hypocrite are an abomination to Me. Evil enters the realm beyond Earth as a foul smell, and the worse one of all is the smell of hypocrisy. Those who pander to hypocrites or do not actively oppose them are also creatures of evil".

"I know too well the deceit to which men are prone. The adulterer and fornicator preach chastity for others, while the liar declares the virtues of Truth. The thief preaches honesty and the lewd-minded professes modesty. Men say one thing and mean another, while all too often the half or slanted truth replaces the real thing. Men may deceive themselves and other men, but I am not deceived. Now I say, let men first cleanse their own souls and eradicate hypocrisy before presuming to approach Me. Men may well cry out, "Why does God remain mute, why has He deserted Me? " Do they think their deeds are hidden or that I cannot read the secrets of their hearts?"

"Worship by men of iniquity is mere mockery. How rare the sincere and genuine heart! Were men indeed deserted by their God, they would have none to blame but themselves. Do men think their lack of kindness and consideration for others, their insincerity and inconsistency are truly hidden from Me? I am the All Knowing One. I see too little love of goodness in the hearts of men and too much fear for the consequences of their deeds".

"Real and sincere worship is to obey My laws and to shoulder the responsibilities of men, to steadfastly conform to My plan and to live in neighbourly harmony. He who devotes his life to Me also devotes it t his own welfare. He who serves Me well likewise serves himself This is the Law of Laws. For the whole purpose of life is not the service of God but the development of the soul of man. He who worships Me with empty ritual and vain ceremonial but neglects the wellbeing of his own soul, does not serve Me well, for he thwarts My purpose. I have endowed the creature made in My likeness with a religious instinct, for this springs from its everlasting spirit, as fire generates heat; therefore, to worship is not unnatural. But blind worship lacks the vitalising element, it defeats its own end, for in true worship man should reach out beyond himself to discover his own soul. Then, having done so, he should develop it until the soul aspires to godhood itself. "Therefore, dedicate all your labours and the skill of your hands unto Me, and let your heart ever dwell on the borders of the spiritual. Let the life which you cherish be the spiritlife. Free yourself fi-om all vain hopes and selfish thoughts; fi^om all worthless encumbrances; from ungainful avarice and unbeneficial lusts; from the domination of the flesh, life is not easy, nor is it wholly pleasant; it is not meant to be, but bear your burdens with cheerfiilness and fortitude. Entrench yourself within an inner fortress of peace".

"Whatever you do or give, do or give in My name, and whatsoever sufferings descend upon you, suffer them for Me. Thus, you will avoid the stigma of false pride and all given and suffered will be without any taint of self- interest".

"The path of godliness is not an easy one to follow, for it is beset with the pitfalls of perplexity and doubt. Then, too, there is not one path but several, and few among men know which is the best. There are many false paths leading nowhere, there are paths that lead to a wilderness of disillusion and some which lead to destruction. Yet among the many beliefs springing up fi-om time to rime in various lands, there are always those which lead to the same Truth, to the one Fountainhead of Light, though some may be devious and some wander through dangerous territory. They are like many roads leading pilgrims to the one shrine. Though all true paths are lit by the guiding light of Truth, not all see it alike; but the fault lies not so much in the light as in the beholder. It is this which leads to misunderstandings concerning each other's teachings and to disputes between those who prefer one road and those preferring another. Each considers his own way, his own interpretation of the light to be the best, if not the only, way".

'There are few, even among truly enlightened men, who are able to conceive My true nature, and these know that I am even above unchangeability in manifestation. I can think of Myself as some other and forthwith that other comes into being. There are those among men who declare all life, all My creation to be an illusion of the senses, a dream without sustenance. They are in error, for all that is real and all that exists was ever latent, awaiting the awakening kiss. Because men cannot know reality as it actually is but only as they can conceive it to be with their deceptive sense, does not make it any less real. If all men were blind, the stars would still exist".

"Neither reality nor Truth, nor the God Who is beyond and above both will be inconceivable to the minds of the ultimate man. Only man in his present undeveloped state and in his ignorance cannot conceive such things and therefore, because in his blindness they are beyond his sight, he says they do not exist".

"In the beginning I established the Law, without which the souls of men could not develop and progress. As each soul is itself a divine fragment, with all the powers of divinity latent within itself, it can modify all but the Great Law. Man thinks but his thoughts alone do not create, for, as yet, he lacks knowledge of the power which creates in substance. First I created the firmament, which is the matrix of all; then when I took thought the creative power flowed outward and, operating upon the medium, brought into being things of substance".

[ of course !!!  the firmament is the first tier of matter, or the first particle or even the first movement all of which self replicates to form the matrix or firmament.  - arclein  ]

"My creation arose before Me as light does before a flame or heat before a fire. It came and still comes into being because I exist, it is because I Am. Creation in no way affects Me any more than a man is affected by his shadow, or light by its reflection. As raindrops, waves, rivers, dew and mist are all forms of water, so is everything existing and knowable by man but various forms of the one substance. This substance has its origin in Me, but it is not Me".

[  This is confirmation of the idea of continuous creation which is what i have already described. - arclein ]

"I am the source of all things, supporting but not being supported by them. Even as the mighty winds which sweep across the Earth find their rest in the tranquil vastness above, so all beings and all things have their rest in Me. It is a power outflowing fi-om Me which holds all things in stability and form".

'They who devote their lives to My service must do more than love and worship Me, for such service entails the elevation of mankind, the spreading of good and the combating of evil. They must not only fight against the ungodly, but also overcome the wickedness welling up in their own thoughts. They who love Me desire the well- being of all men, and their souls are filled with harmony and peace. Dearer to Me than their love for Me is the labour and tribulations of those who serve Me. I am their end. I am never the God of Inertia but the God of Effort; if you offer no more than deeds done in My service or in conformity with My design, then you serve Me adequately".

"However, too rarely do the ways of men conform to My plan and the ranks of those who serve are too thin. Therefore, I shall call forth leaders from among men and send out the clarion cry to service. I shall seek out men who will serve Me diligently and loyally. They will be men of goodwill who are of a friendly nature. They will be kind and compassionate, men who can love deeply and truly, whose steadfastness is the same in pleasure and affliction; whose resolve remains equally unbroken in the sweet embrace of good fortune as under the harsh blows of misfortune. I will send men who are fair and just, proud and resolute, but these qualities mean nothing unless they also have courage and resolution, fortitude and tenacity".

"I shall seek the man who is himself ever seeking, who seeks to unravel the riddle of life. One whose determination is strong, who detests wickedness and delights in the good; whose heart and inner vision reach out for enlightenment. His tranquillity will remain unshaken under stress and within his heart will be a haven of peace beyond the reach of excitement and anger. He will be a lover of wisdom and seeker of truth. He who is wise, he who knows what to do, who remains calm when others lose their self-control; he who is clearheaded under stress, who enjoys the challenge of the task, that man is Mine, He who labours uncomplainingly, who disdains to satisfy deforming lusts, whose spiritremains the same under the temptations of honours or the pressure of disgrace; he who is free from the shackles of unworthy earthly attachments, who retains his balance under praise or blame, who can shoulder his own burdens, whose spirit is calm, silent and strong under all circumstances; he who can bear the responsibilities of life and the obligations of love, that man is Mine. I am the God of Inspiration, I am the God of Love".

"I am the Knower and you are the known. I am the Source of Life. In the vastness of My nature I place the seed of things to be, from which come forth all things that are now or ever will exist".

"Men must nourish their spirit and sustain it with spiritual fare. They must also learn that the spirit is not something seperate from man, or something within him. Man is spirit, man is soul. There is no need to engage in long-winded empty discussions about far away things Ijdng beyond the reach and understanding of men. To know the reality of the spirit and to establish the existence of the soul, man has only to delve within his nature,to seek within himself The spiritual part of man is not a mysterious something outside his being, or a thing difficult to understand. To discover it requires no more than the effort of seeking".

"Men with sincere hearts, seeking a path ask for a starting point. However, for most the key is self-discipline, and this is the reason for many laws and restrictions. But these must never be unnecessarily restrictive, each must have a definite purpose and beneficial end, obscure though these may be. The means for overcoming unwholesome desires and for harmonising with the divine chord he within the reach of all, but effort must be expended in their cultivation. If the end is great beyond man's conception, it is no less true that the task before man is arduous and difficult in the extreme. To master himself and gain complete self-control is no more than the first step along the path".

"Though men may despair because I am veiled from them, though they may seek without finding, I am not indifferent to their needs and desires. Doubt and uncertainty are essential earthly conditions serving a definite end. I have not surrounded men with perplexities and obscurities unnecessarily. The climate of unbelief and materialism, strange though it may seem to men, is best for their spiritual health. I know better than men themselves what is best for them, for I alone can see the broad design spread over the ages, I alone see the end and objective. Though unenlightened men expect it, it is not meet for Me to interfere unduly in the affairs of Earth".

"All things are Mine and under My dominion, but man may deal with them as he will. I do not interfere, but finally man is accountable. Though I have all and nothing can add to My grandeur, with all this I still labour.

Therefore, man should never disdain to labour, for this is an attribute of the Highest. I do not require of any man that he do something I would not do, or be something I would not be, I am the God of Righteousness. If ever I ceased to labour, the universe would be without order, chaos would prevail and precede its destruction".

"I am the God of Many Aspects, for men may conceive Me in any form they wish, or even as something without form. I am the God of Men's Hearts. In whichever way and by whatever name men serve Me, abiding by My laws and conforming with the Great Design, is right in My eyes. Any path which will bring man to his goal is the right road. Truly the paths chosen by men are many and varied, some are even devious, but if they be true paths of enHghtenment and development, they are acceptable in My sight. However, those who lust for earthly power, offering sacrifice and worship to earthly gods conceived to accord with their desires, are not acceptable to Me. It is true that earthly success and power may come to those who strive for them, but do they achieve anything more than fleeting satisfaction? What manner of being would now dominate Earth, had all men been without divine enlightenment from the beginning, if earthly ends alone had dominated men's minds? Consider what earthly life would have been like, had it been left to develop predominated by materialism, if it had not been mitigated by injections of the divine".

"There are four main types of men who are good and serve Me well. They are those who suffer courageously the afflictions and sorrows which develop the soul. Those who labour, that Earth and man may benefit. Those who seek after Truth and those with vision and creativity. Yet how rare are those among these who do not besmirch their record with deeds of evil and thoughts of wickedness. All too many may have, by their carnal desires and acts of wickedness, countered their goodness to the detriment of their immortal souls".

"If a man follow a false god with goodwill and honesty, serving men well and living in accordance with My laws, I will not repudiate him and he will not be denied enlightenment on the way. There are many roads along which the soul may travel to bring about its development and awakening to self-consciousness, but is it not advantageous to choose the best one? Only the foolish travel blindly, without seeking guidance and directions.

Those who have little wisdom or who are easily misled follow roads which go nowhere. They who follow a barren faith reach a barren destination, they find only an empty place devoid of hope, incapable of fulfilling their dreams and aspirations".

"Those who worship gods of their imagination, gods in strange likenesses, which have been brought into being by man's creative conceptions, will go to these gods who have an existence in a dim shadow realm. Those who worship lower spirits will go to them and those who worship the demons of darkness will join them, for what a man desires he deserves. There is a hnk between that which men desire and what becomes established in existence. Provision is made for man to receive the fruits of his own creations".

"Whatsoever you do, whatsoever you plan or create, whatsoever you suffer, let it be an offering unto Me, not for My sake but for yours. I am the God of Compassion, the God of Understanding. From those who in their devotion offer Me but a single leaf, a flower or fruit, or even a little water, this I will gladly accept, thus lightening their loving spirit, for it is offered in sincerity of heart. He who comes before any god, whatsoever its image, with pureness of heart and good motives, comes unto Me, for I gaze upon him with compassion and understanding. I am not concerned with the deeds alone of men, but with their motives. Empty gestures are ignored, but that which is done with good intent and a loving heart never goes unheeded".

"I am the Hidden God, hidden to serve an end. Veiled in mystery, I am further obscured by the mists of mortal delusion. Unable to see me, men declare I do not exist, yet 1 declare to you that man, with his mortal limitations, sees only a minute part of the whole. Man is the slave of illusion and deception. Though man is bom to delusion, for it is a needful state, he is further inflicted by deceptions wrought by men. Though man cannot perceive the greatness above him, because of its greatness, neither can he see the smallness beneath him, because of its smallness. From the greatest came the smallest and from the smallest came creation, and within the smallest is greatness and power. For the smallest is far less than the mote, yet it is the upholder of the universe and it shines like the sun beyond the darkness. It lies out towards the edge of the reach of man's thought. In the beginning all things arose from the invisible and into the invisible all things will disappear in the end, but the end is not the end of the spirit. Out beyond this material creation bom of the invisible, there is a higher eternal invisible of greater substance. When all material things have passed away, this will remain. Above all is timelessness, which is etemity, and there is My abode, the supreme goal of man, and those who attain it dwell in etemity. I am the Etemal God".

"Few are they who can conceive of Me as I really am, the Unbom and Uncreated, Beginningless and Without End, Lord of All the Spheres. Those few who can conceive Me as I am are awakened spirits freed from mortal delusions. As thick clouds of smoke rise up and spread out from a fire buming in damp wood, so did the material universe come forth from Me. As a lump of salt dropped into a pool of water dissolves and cannot be removed afterwards, yet from whatever part of the water you draw there is salt, so it is with My pervading Spirit. I am the Great Luminary, the everlasting source of light sparks, which, imprisoned in matter, become the slumbering souls of men. These, unconsciously guided, spread out the five senses under the control of unconscious thought. That which the senses harvest departs with the spirit. It is home away by the spirit, even as perfiime is carried by the wind. I am the Boundless One, The One Beyond Limitations. I remain free and unencumbered by the effort of creation. I Am and I watch life unfold. I set the course which nature follows to bring forth all that lives".

"The fools on Earth, who shut their eyes and complain because they stumble, the ignorant who choose to walk in darkness and the apathetic who choose paths of ease and comfort, have no knowledge of Me. Their hopes are sterile. Theirs the choice of darkness, theirs the choice of ignorance, theirs the choice of apathetic inertia. Their leaming is futile, their thoughts finitless and their deeds without purpose. Though man is bom in ignorance and darkness, he is also heir to the guiding light which dispels them. The light is his for the taking. Then there are the awakened souls among men, their sustenance is My own nature. They know My Spirit is among men as an everlasting source of strength and refreshment to the weary and disheartened. They are in harmony with My Spirit and therefore know Me".

"Men call Me the God of Battles, which I am not, for good men fight each other when kings declare war. Men call Me many things, but this does not make Me become what they think I am. I am the hidden power which ultimately rights all wrongs, which will eventually redress all injustices. I come to all who are worthy, but it is the lonely, the unwanted, the undesirable whom I seek. To Me, the dispirited, the perplexed, the sorrowful and humiliated soul is an irresistible magnet. I am the welcoming light at the end of the road, the companion who watches in compassionate silence, the understanding fiiend, the ever ready arm. I am He Who presides over the haven of peace within your heart".

"To those who unite their spirit with Mine and to those who are in harmony but not united, I increase that which they have and provide what they lack. I tum a like countenance to all men. My love for them remains constant. but those who join Me in devotion to My cause are truly in Me and I am in them. This is My everlasting and unchanging promise unto me: He who walks with Me, serving My cause, shall not perish. So join your spirit with Mine, giving me your confidence and trust, and thus united in a harmonious relationship you will come to know the supreme goal. Men say they cannot know Me through their senses, and this is true, for I am above and beyond the reach of their finite senses. The senses of man are not meant to be the means for experiencing Me, they are for experiencing the material spheres. They are also limiting, shutting out far more man they reveal. Yet men have within mem a greater sense which can know Me, but it Kes dormant in the mass of men. I am the Light Widiin the Heart, the Consciousness of All Living Things. I am the God of Consciousness, the Listener in the Silences".

"I do not manifest to man through his mortal senses, for these are bounded by earthly limitations. I manifest through the great sense which is of the spirit, the sense of the soul. As pure light hides many colours, so am I hidden in the hearts of men. As sparks fiy from a bellows-blown fire, so from the Eternal Fire the life sparks fly out to glow for an instant in matter and then fall back. As the sun radiates heat, a flower perfume and a lamp light, so does the heart of man create his own spiritual state. The eye of man sees a pebble, a star, a sheep or a tree and these do not appear to him in anyway alike. Yet all are differing forms manifesting in the one outflowing force originating with Me. This outflowing force generated mat which gave birth to substance and endowed it with the matrix for form. The fragments of Divine Spirit interpret that which the Divine Spirit created, but they cannot know it in its reality, for, enshrouded in matter, they sleep. Because the material sphere is a separate part of the greater whole, the mortal part of man can never hope to know in full its boundless beauty, or experience its limitless bliss. Out beyond the limits of man's thought and conception, beyond reach of even the most vivid imagination, the wonder and glory of it all stretch out into absolute perfection. Even at the outer reaches where eternity begins the wonder of the inner glory remains veiled. No words of man can ever hope to describe the true nature of divine things, to the divine alone can the divine be known. The radiant living heart pulsating with love can never be known to man as man, but when man becomes more than man he may take his first glimpse behind the veil. I am the Inspiration and Goal of Man".

"Before creation I was the One Alone. I thought and the thought became a command of power, and into the void of the invisible came that which was the potential of substance, though itself then part of the invisible, light was bom of the power and My Spirit was in the midst of the light, but it was not that light which lightens the day. A firmament became the foundation of all things, matter gradually forming there, becoming ever denser as it thrust outward from the invisible. It moved from a subtle state to something more solid, from intangibility to substance, from incoherent substance into a state of density and form. I commanded the subtle substance, with light but without form, to mate with the subtle substance of darkness and become dense. It did so and became water. Then I spread water over the darkness below the light, placing a fountain of light about the waters. This brought forth the light of mortal vision, which is not the light of the spirit, nor the light of power. At that time the universe was made and then Earth received her form. It slept warmly in the midst of the waters, which were not the waters of Earth, and this was before the beginning of Hfe in earthly substance. I am the God of Creation".

"At the foundations of My creations are Truth and Reality, these are with Me and of Me, but they are not My substance, neither are they things comprehensible on Earth. These are truly great things indescribable in the inadequate words of men, which can do no more than form an imperfect, incomplete and distorted picture of them; simple things can be described clearly in a few words to the understanding of man, but greater things become increasingly difficult to deal with through mere words. What words of man can be used to describe the indescribable? How can tilings beyond the comprehension of mortal men be brought within the limits of their understanding? Before the shadow there was the reflecting light, a light so bright that were it not veiled in the darkness it would consume the shadow. Seeking to explain and describe transcendental things in the limited language of man only leads to obscurity and confusion, the words form incomprehensible sentences and unthinking men will declare them to be incoherence. Therefore, look behind the sentences strung together with mere words. I am the Unknown God veiled from man by man's mortal limitations".

"The universe came into being and exist because I AM. It is My reflection in matter. As a man remains unaffected by the manifestations of his shadow, so do I remain unaffected by the material creation. As heat comes forth fi-om fire and contains its essence and nature, though it is not fire, neither has it the substance of fire, so does My creation relate to Me. I am as an object reflected in water. The water may not know the reflection or find it within itself, but this inability has no effect on the reality of the object, nor on the fact of its reflection. It is as a man looking into clear water on a calm day sees bis reflection therein, but if the wind blows the image becomes distorted, and if the sun hides its face the image disappears. Yet none of these effects touches upon the image itself, nor upon that which casts the image. When the wind drops, the cloud vanishes and the sun reappears, both distortion and deception end, and the reality is again reflected. Within My creation is My Spirit, which supports it, and this Spirit is the bond between My creation and Myself. No man acknowledges the air because it is still, but when this same air becomes a whirlwind men give it their whole attention. With Me all is real, while with man all is illusion; but man may abandon his illusions in seeking Me, and he will thereby discover reality. I am the Reahty Behind the Reflection, I am the Uncaused Cause".

" Those who turn away from the glorious jewel within to seek an outside god, a separate, unresponsive being, are looking for a mere trinket, while disregarding the priceless treasure already in their keeping. Men of light worship the vision of light, men of darkness and ignorance worship ghosts and dark spirits, demons of the night.

There are men who, moved by dark beliefs or their carnal lusts and perverted passions, perform awful austerities and self-mutilations never ordained by Me. They delight in tormenting the life and spirit within their bodies.

They are truly deluded victims of the darkest form of ignorance. Yet some derive pleasure from their pains and torments, and so continue them, but these may be truly described as mutilated souls. Some men follow gods who punish wickedness and reward good, and therefore tend towards goodness, but is it not folly to follow non- existent gods? All men choose their own spiritual destiny, whether it be done knowingly or not, for under the Law their future state must rest in their own hands. I am the GodWho ordained the Law, and nothing man can do will change it. My love alone mitigates the consequences of man's unredeemed wickedness. I am the Changeless One. Could a God of Love become a God of Vengeance? Revenge is something alien to Me. Therefore, is it reasonable that men should believe I could be one thing today and then because they fall into error become something else tomorrow? My nature is not as that of man. I AM as 1 AM.

"I am not influenced by the mere formal actions of men, or by empty sacrifice. Lighted lamps and candles, days of fasting and self-mortification by man cannot sway Me in his favour. I am not to be bribed, for I am God. He who handles fire carelessly and gets burnt cannot blame the fire, neither can he who goes into swift waters and drowns blame the waters. There are laws, the violation of which brings retribution in its train. They who by their own deeds bring pain and suffering upon themselves cannot blame Me for what ensues. These are the effects of the lesser laws which are easily understood, but above these is the Great Law which is not so incomprehensible.

Under this the link between the deed and its effect is not so apparent; men bring down calamity and suffering upon their own heads and blame Me, when the fault lies with them and the cause is their own misconduct or misconception. Men reap as they sow and I am the Fertile Field which takes no part in the sowing or the reaping. Man is his own master and the lord of his own destiny. He catmot expect help from any great power, unless he himself expend effort to contact such power or be deserving of help. Everything a man is or becomes is the result of his own striving and efforts, or his lack of them. I made man to be a man, not a mere puppet or nurseling. I am the God of the Law. I am the God of the Stalwart".

"Man is the heir to divinity, and the road to divinity is spirituality. Man cannot become spiritual except through his own efforts and striving. He cannot achieve it by being led by the hand or through fear of punishment, nor by greed through anticipation of a reward. He who enters into his heritage of divinity will be no weakling, he will have trodden a hard and stony path".

"Man has two ways of knowing Me. He can know Me through his own spiritual awakening or through the continued revelation of moral law and divine purpose by My inspired servants. To know Me through a spiritually awakened self is the way of certainty, but few can suffer its austerities and disciplines".

"When the spirit of man is unawakened he cannot know the great self within him, of which he is a part. Not knowing his true nature and unable to see clearly, he is blinded by material delusions. Would not the creatures of the night, which never see the sun, deem the moon to be the most brilliant light in the sky above? So it is with the man walking in the darkness of spiritual unconsciousness. He says, "I am the body and the body is my whole being", and in the delusion of that belief he becomes ensnared in an existence bound to matter. Like the creatures bound to an existence in the night, which cannot know the glories of things flourishing in the brilliance of daylight, so it is with men bound to the darkness of spiritual ignorance".

"As a shadow in the night is mistaken for an intruder, or a mirage is mistaken for a pool of clear water, so does the spiritually immature man mistake the material body for the whole living being. As the shimmering heat haze appears like solid water, so does the outer body appear as the whole being to the spiritually imawakened. As, to a man in a moving boat, another boat lying still on the water will often appear to be moving while he himself seems to remain still, so the unawakened spirit is deluded by appearances, seeing the mortal body as a whole being. When in fact the clouds are flying overhead, it appears as though the moon itself is speeding across the Heavens, it is only the knowledge and experience we have of the skies above, which tell us this cannot be the truth. Thus it is with the spiritually unawakened man who, in his ignorance, thinks the mortal body is the whole being, and, having no knowledge or experience of the spiritual region, is deceived. In fact all the beliefs of man which hold that the mortal body is the whole being are generated in the darkness of ignorance. A man may be wise in the ways of men, but completely ignorant and unaware of the higher, more glorious things which are revealed in the light of the spirit".

"The man held in bondage to delusion says, "If mere be another body, a part of me of which I am unaware, it cannot be real, neither can I know it. My eyes are infallible guides, seeing things just as they are, and any feelings I may experience have their origin within my mortal being. I am the child of my body". This man is deluded, like the creatures of the night, or as the man who sees a mirage. Are the eyes which see mirages totally reliable? Motes swimming in the sunbeam are imsubstantial things, yet things such as these are the bricks of man's body, the eyes making them appear solid and substantial, the unreal for the real, his mortal body for his whole self The deluded man ignores the spiritual part of his being and its needs. He cherishes the mortal body, gratifying its desires with earthly pleasures. Like the silkworm, he becomes captive in a cocoon of his own making. The man who lavishes undue care on the mortal body displays his own spiritual ignorance and inadequacy. To be free from existence in the darkness of ignorance, to know the glory of life in the light of spiritual consciousness, a man must first awaken his spirit, in this way alone can he become aware of his true nature".

"Ask yourselves, "What am I? What is real within myself? What comprises the whole man? Can it be that I am truly no more than this fleshy thing, the petty, immature, unstable being balanced between futile unearthly ideals and carnal cruelty and lust? Or am I something greater which is undiscoverable by mortal senses? Am I really akin to something divine and glorious from which source alone could have come the ideals and virtues which transcend the mundane needs of earthly existence? " Ask yourselves, in the solitudes, and perchance you will not go unanswered. I am the God of Silences".

"The words of men are inadequate to express just what man really is, the knowledge of his true nature is beyond the understanding of the unawakened spirit. The inheritance within the grasp of man is without limitation, for it is the totality of all things. Man has not been misled in the hope and belief that the seemingly mortal is in fact immortal. The spirit does not mislead men. They are deceived by their own eyes, they are misled, so they are unable to see things as they are in reality. All that men see and experience throughout earthly existence is veiled in illusion. Man may think his eyes reveal things as they are, but no mortal eye has ever beheld a thing as it actually is. It appears to man through the coloured distorting glass of his own mortality.

Spiritually, men as a whole are little different from the madman who builds himself a kingdom from the fabric of his imagination.

The flowing life existence about him is seen as a distorted image, a distortion which his own defects have imparted to it. Yet it was meant to be thus, for man is surrounded by the conditions meet for him. It is for man to discover why this is so, and in discovering he will find himself I am the Truth, 1 am the Reality".

"This earthly life, which I have given you, should not be viewed in its minute aspect but in the light of infinitude. All the suffering and disillusionment, the futility, the forlorn hopes and wasted efforts, the oppressions and injustices are not without a purpose. That purpose is beyond anything man can understand and infinitely greater than his conception can grasp. The truly awakened man, alone among men, can have any insight into life's end and goal".

"These are divine things, yet they can be set down only in the mere words of men and will thus be reduced to things of mortal frailty. Mere words will be read and the pattern formed by them will be far short of Truth and Reality. The taste of a fruit or the fragrance of a fiower cannot be known by reading about them. The fruit must be eaten and the flower smelt. Only in union with Me, spirit conmiunicating with Spirit, can proof of My reality be found. Yet, because things are as they are. Truth must ever be veiled from man as man. But who would labour, if labourers were paid whether they worked or not? Were they revealed to him, the ignorant man would not comprehend great things, therefore the light is not for him. The insincere and shallow seeker after diversion and pleasure will find little entertainment in these words. The really illuminated man will already know something of the Truth and will therefore seek it more diligently along a higher path. So these words are given just for those sincere seekers who are aware of their own shortcomings and ignorance. These will be people whose thoughts are not smothered by prejudice, who are not set in their opinions. For who among men is the most confirmed in his opinions? Who states things in the most assertive manner and talks with the loudest voice? Is it not the most ignorant? I will not let the sincere seeker go unguided. I am the Light on the Path".

"Well do I know the hearts of men, they ever seek to deceive themselves. They clearly see the errors and follies of others but are blind to their own. There are those whose idea of righteousness is mumbled words and repetitious prayers. Their souls are warped with selfish desires and their Heaven is the fulfilment of these. Theirprayers are pleas for pleasure or power, for freedom from the things which develop the spirit. The lovers of pleasure and power delight in following the path of their own inclinations, they build a creed of their own desires. They have neither courage nor the will to follow a sterner and true path. Avoid the companionship of such as these, setting your heart upon the task in hand rather than the reward. I am the Knower, I am the Rewarder".

"If a man fixes his attention wholly upon one goal or one thing for his own selfish purpose, as if it were an independent, all unrelated to others, thing, then he moves in darkness of ignorance. If he undertakes a task with a confused mind, not considering the outcome or where it will lead him, or the harm it may do to others or himself, then it is an undertaking of evil. There is a wisdom which knows when to go and when to stay, when to speak and when to remain silent, what is to be done and what is to be left undone. It knows, too, the limitations set by fear and by courage, what constitutes bondage and what freedom. This is the wisdom I have placed at the disposal of man, if he would but seek it, the true wisdom of the spirit. Opposed to this clear-sighted wisdom is the false, man-made wisdom obscured by the darkness arising fi^om delusion. Here wrong is thought to be right and error passes as Truth, things are thought to be what they are not. The unenlightened men dwelling in comfortable darkness, unperturbed by the challenge of reality as revealed by the light of Truth, lack any understanding of true values. That which appears to them to be no more than a cup of sorrow is in fact a chalice filled with the wine of immortality. The vain pleasures that come from pandering to the carnal cravings of the senses appear at first to be a cup of sweetness, but in the end it is found to hold the brew of bitterness.

He who does right does it not for Me but for himself; he is the one who benefits, not his God. He who does wrong infiicts himself for it, and he is the sufferer. He who does right does it to bis own good and he who works wickedness does it to his own hurt. It could not be possible, in a just creation, that those whose ways are evil should be dealt with as are those who live goodly lives and perform good deeds. The fate of the selfish and that of the unselfish could not be alike. I am the God of Justice, the Maker of the Law".

'The spirit of man has the. potential for doing all things, it can even rise above earthly limitations. The awakened soul can do whatsoever it wills. Man makes the environment for his own development; as it is now, so countless wills from the past have fashioned it. When the body awakens in the morning, it is like a man entering his habitation, it becomes a place of awareness. The soul becomes active in matter, that with which you hear, taste,smell and feel is the soul. Physically, the ear of a dead man is still in perfect condition for hearing, but the hearer, the interpreter, has gone. The eyes of a corpse are not blinded, but that which operated them is no longer there".

"So long as the soul looks outward only, into the deceptive environment of matter and is satisfied with the material pleasures it finds there, and which its baser body finds compatible, it remains cut off from the greater realm of the spirit. It binds itself to matter, failing to find the greater pleasures always there in the silent depths of its being. Confirmed in his attitude by experiences in a deceptive environment, mortal man becomes convinced that all desirable things lie outside himself. He concludes that satisfaction comes from gaining the things which promote material welfare. This is the folly of the unbalanced man. However, balance is the keyword, for it is equally foolish to turn away from material things altogether. Man is made of earthly things, because it is intended that he should live and express himself on Earth. It is also intended that he should discover his nature through earthly conditions and experiences".

"However, the Divine Spark must kindle the spirit. It must not be smothered. Balance is the ideal, the whole becoming neither wholly inwardly nor outwardly orientated. Man needs his body and must not repudiate it, and if it requires man's labour to sustain it, then is not man entitled to enjoy its pleasures? Here also it is simply a matter of proper balance. Man lives in a sea of material manifestation where I am only indirectly reflected, as the soul of man is indirectly reflected in his body. If a man sees with nothing but the eyes of the body, then he caimot perceive Me, for I am beyond his vision. I am the God veiled Behind Matter, I am the God of the Spirit".

"Yet there is a vision possible to man, which pierces the universal veil, a vision free from all obscurity, a vision uncontaminated by the dark shadows of base desires or fear, by unstable emotions or unworthy motives. It is the vision seen when man develops a new faculty, a new sense. It is an inward vision of splendour. A wave of spiritual light will engulf him, a mysterious power indescribable in mere words sweeps like a shooting star over the expanse of his spirit, giving a sudden illuminating flash which floods his whole iimer being, his soul, with a glorious light. In its brilliance he is granted, for a brief moment in time, a glimpse of the vision splendid.

He is then united with the living heart of the universe by a bond reaching out to infinity. Nothing known to man, no symbols of his conception can express the joyousness which floods his whole being. It can be experienced in quiet tranquillity of spirit. It can burst all the bounds of restraint, expressing itself in an all embracing, overwhelming feeling of love. Lost in an unfathomable sea of silent contemplation, the body will shine with radiance from the inner light, and all about will be bathed in a luminous spiritual glow. Having once been in divine communication, these awakened spirits know a joy supreme, and never again do they walk through the veil of mortal sorrows. The truly awakened soul is beyond carnal lust and mortal grief, his love is alike for all My creation and thus he shows supreme love for Me. By this love alone he knows Me in Truth, Who and What I am, and knowing Me in Truth he participates in My Whole Being. Those who seek union with Me must first prepare a dwelling place for Me in their hearts; but those who are not pure, those who do not fight for Me, those who have not suffered under the discipline of love and those without wisdom cannot attain union, no matter how much they strive. I am the God of Illumination, I am the God of Enlightenment".

"Would you know the ultimate state of man when he has finally reached his goal, when he has entered into his inheritance of divinity? It is a state of glory transcending an5^hing conceivable by him during an earthbound existence. His consciousness expands to embrace everything, all that ever was or will be. He sees all. He knows all. He is in all and he contains all. These things come to him through infinite powers of perception, yet he is above all such powers. He is beyond all yet within all. He is beyond the realm of matter, freed from all restrictions, yet he is not denied its joys and may, if he so desires, manifest again in matter. His thoughts have the power of creation. He is one with the Light of Lights, the Light transcending vision. He is the partaker of My Substance, My son in eternity, the inheritor of everlasting life. I am your God, the Father of Man".