第2章

“B“relatesthefollowingasadream：“IsawtheAmericansoldiers，inclay-coloreduniform，bearingtheflagofvictorytwoweeksbeforetheSpanish-Americanwarwasdeclared，andofcoursebeforeanylivingbeingcouldhaveknowntheuniformtobeadopted。LaterIsaw，severaldaysbeforetheactualoccurrencehappened，thedestructionofCervera’sfleetbytheAmericannavy。”Signed“B。” “JustaftertheSouthAfricanhostilitiesbegan，IsawinadreamafiercestrugglebetweentheBritishandBoers，inwhichtheformersufferedseverelosses。AfewnightsafterIhadaseconddreaminwhichIsawthecontendingforcesinalong-drawncontest，verydisastroustoboth，andinwhichneithercouldclaimavictory。Theyseemedtobefightingtoafrazzle。”Signed“C。” “D“relatedtomeatthetimeoftheoccurrenceofthedreamthefollowing：“Ithadbeensuggestedtomethatthetwocereals，cornandwheat，weretoofarapart，andthatIoughttobuycorn。AtnoonIlaydownonaloungetoawaitluncheon；Ihadbarelyclosedmyeyesbeforeavoicewhispered：`Don’tbuy，butsellthatcorn。’`Whatdoyoumean？’ Iasked。`Sellatthepresentprice，andbuyat237/8。’“Theforegoingdreamwasrelatedtomebyapractical，successfulbusinessmanwhoneverspeculates。Iwatchedthecornmarketandknowittooktheturnsindicatedinthedream。 Inthisdreamwefindthedreamerconversingwithsomestrangeintelligencepossessedofknowledgeunknowntoobjectivereason。 Itcouldnot，therefore，havebeenthewakingthoughtsofthedreamer，forhepossessednosuchinformation。Wasthemessagesuperinducedthroughtheenergiesandactivitiesofthewakingmindonthesubjectivemind？ This14 couldnothavebeen，becausehehadnosuchthoughts；besides，theintelligencegivenwasfreefromtheerrorsofthecalculatingandanxiouswakingmind。 Wemustthereforelooktoothersourcesforanexplanation。 WasitthehigherselfthatmanifestedtoAbrahaminthedimagesoftheworld？WasittheDivineVoicethatgavesolacetoKrishnainhisabstraction？ WasittheunerringlightthatprecededGautamaintothestrangesolitudesofAsia？WasitthesmallvoicethatElijahheardinthedesertofShurr？ WasittheComforterofJesusinthewildernessandthegardenofdistress？ Or，wasitPaul’sindwellingspiritofthisearthlytabernacle？Onethingwemaytruthfullyaffirm——thatitdidnotproceedfromtherational，objectivemindoftherankmaterialist，whowouldclosealldoorstothatinnerlifeandconsciousnesswherealltruereligionfindsitsbirthmark，itshope，itspromisesanditsfaith；which，rightlyunderstood，willleavetothehorrorsoftheRomancrucifixionthetwinthieves，superstitionandscepticism，whiletheangelof“Goodwill“willgofreetosolacetheworldwiththefruitandfragranceofenduringpowerandpromise。Thesteelchainsthatfastenthesehydra-headedcrocodilesofsensuouspoisonaroundloveanddestinycanonlybeseveredbythediamondofwisdomandknowledge。 Acitizenworthyofconfidencerelatesthefollowingdream： “InDecember，1878，Isawinadreammybrother-in-law，HenryYarnell，sufferingfromabloodyknifewound；afterthisIawoke，butsoonfellasleepagain。ThesecondtimeIdreamedofasimilarscene，exceptthatthewoundwastheresultofashotgun。AfterthisIdidnotgotosleepagain。Iwasmuchtroubledaboutmydream，andsoonstartedinthedirectionofmybrother-in-law’shouse。Ihadnotgonefar，whenImetanacquaintancewhopromptlyinformedmethatmybrother-in-lawhadbeenshot。”Signed“E。” Awell-knownresidentofChattanooga，Tenn。，formerlyofNewYorkCity，willvouchfortheaccuracyofthefollowingincidentinhislife： “OnFebruary19，1878，IwasboardingwithafamilyonChristopherstreet，NewYork，whilemywifeandbabywerevisitingmyparentsinthecountry，ashortdistancefromthecity。Ourbabywastakensick。 Themaladydevelopedinto15 brainfever，followedbywateronthebrain，causingthelittleone’sdeath。 “Atourboarding-placetherewasatthetimeaquartetteofusgrasswidowers，aswecalledourselves，andinordertopassawaythetimepleasantlywehadorganizeda`grasswidowers’euchreclub。’Weusedtomeetalmosteveryeveningafterdinnerinthedining-room，andplayuntilabouteleveno’clock，whenwewouldretire。OntheabovedateIdreamedthatafterplayingourusualeveninggameswetookourdepartureforourrooms，andonthewayupthesecondflightofstairsIheardaslightmovementbehindme；onlookingaroundIfoundIwasbeingfollowedbyatallfigurerobedinalong，loosewhitegown，whichcamedowntothefloor。Thefigureseemedtobethatofaman——Iwouldsay，aboutsevenfeettall——whofollowedmeupthesecondflightandalongthehallway，enteringmyroom。Aftercominginthedoorhemadeacircleoftheroomandseemedtobelookingforsomething，andwhenheapproachedthedoortomakehisexithestoppedstill，andwithagestureofhishandremarked，`Ihavetakenallyouhave。’Onthefollowingmorning，about9：30o’clock，Ireceivedatelegramfrommywifeannouncingthedeathofouronlybaby。” Signed“F。” Awell-knowncitizenofChattanooga，Tenn。，relatesandvouchesforthetruthofthefollowingoccurrence： “Severalyearsago，whenaboy，Ihadaschoolmateandfriend，WillieT。，betweenwhomandmyselftheresprungupamutualfeelingofhighregard。Wewerechumsinthesensethatwewerealmostconstantlytogether，bothatschoolandathome，andamongthepartnershipsweformedwasoneofhavingamateurshadowgraphandpanoramicshowsinthebasementofWillie’shome。Thismuchtoshowthementalandsocialrelationshipthatexistedbetweenus。Sometimeduringthisassociation(Icannotrecalltheexactnightnow)Ihadastrangedream，inwhichmychumappearedtomewithout-stretchedhand，askingmetoshake，saying，`Ishallnotseeyouanymore。’Withthat，thedreamlapsedandwasover。Ithoughtnothingoftheoccurrence，andhadalmostforgottenit，whenoneday，aboutaweeklater，duringwhichtimeIhadnothadaglimpseofmychum，whilehewasouthuntingwithanotherfriend，W。McC。，infollowinghimoverarailfence，thelatter’sgunwasaccidentallydischargedinWillie’sfaceand16 neck，resultingininstantdeath。WiththisshockingnewsthememoryofthedreamIhadhadcamebacktomevividlyandpuzzledmeverygreatly，andindeedhaspuzzledmetothisday。”Signed“G。” Therecipientsoftheabovedreamsarelivingto-dayandtheirnamesandaddressmaybeobtained，noneofthemarecredulousfanaticsorpredisposedtoabeliefinpsychicorspiritphenomena。 Theabovedreams，excepttwo，cannotbeexplainedbytelepathy，becausethementalpicturecastonthedreammindhadnotineitherinstancetakenplaceinwakinglife。Thiswouldaccountforthedreamperceptionof“D。”whichdidnot，inallprobability，takeplaceuntilafterthemurderhadbeencommitted。 Thevisionof“F“mightbedisposedofinthesameway。 Inthisinstance“F“sawthewhite-robedspecteropenthedoor，walkaroundtheroomandfinally，takinghispositionasiftodepart，say：“Ihavetakenallyouhave。”Nodoubtthisvisiontookplaceattheexactmomentofthechild’sdeath。 Therearethousandsofsimilarexperiencesoccurringdailyinthelivesofhonest，healthyandsanehumanbeings，thatrivalthepsychicmanifestationsofIndianYogismorHebrewrecords。 Stillmengoondoubtingthistrueandlovingsubjectiveintelligencethatisconstantlywooingforentranceintothesoulandisevervigilantinwarningthemateriallifeofapproachingevils。TheyprefertheWitchofEndor，andtheBlackMagiciansofancientEgypttothehigher，orChristself，thathasbeenseenandheardbythesagesandsaintsofallages，assumingappropriatesymbols，asinthecaseofthevisionof“F。”wheretheangelofdeathwasassumed。 ToPaulitappearedasagreatpersonaltruthwhomhewasrelentlesslypersecuting。Tomanyawaywardsonordaughterofthepresenttime，itappearsasadeadrelativeorfriend，inordertoapproachthematerialmindandmakeitswarningmoreeffective。 TothosewhowereinterestedintheteachingsofChrist，butwhoafterhisdeathwereinclinedtodoubthim，thishigherselfmaterializedintheformoftheGreatMasterinordertoimpressontheirmaterialmindsthespiritualimportofhisteachings。So，tothisday，whendoubtandtemptationmarthemoral17 instinct，God，throughthespiritualself，asJobsays，approachesmanwhileindeepsleepuponthebedtoimpresshisinstructionsthathemaychangemanfromhispurpose。 Thespiritualworldalwaysfixesitsorbituponastraightline，whilethematerialworldisfonderofcurves。Wefindmanstrugglingthroughdreadfulmarshesanddesertsofcharlatanisminordertogetaglimpseintohisfuture，insteadofsolicitouslyfollowingthestraightlineofinnerconsciousnessthatconnectswiththeinfinitemind，fromwhich，aidedbyhisChurchandthehealthyactionofhisownjudgment，hemayreceivethosehelpfulspiritualimpressionsandmessagesnecessarytosolacethelongingsofthesearchingsoul。 ThephilosophyoftheTrueMasteristhestraightline。 Pythagoras，PlatoandChristcreatedanglesbyrunningverticallinesthroughtheecclesiasticalandhypocriticalconventionalitiesoftheirday。ThenewanglesandcurvesthusproducedbytheboldphilosophyofthehumbleNazarenehaveconfrontedwithimpregnablefirmnessduringtheinterveningagesthesophistryofthePharisees。 “Inadream，inavisionofthenight，whendeepsleepfallethuponmen，inslumberingsuponthebed；thenheopeneththeearsofmenandsealeththeirinstruction。Thathemaywithdrawmanfromhispurposeandhidepridefromman。”——JOB33：15。 “MancannotcontradictthelawsofNature。But，areallthelawsofNatureyetunderstood？” “Realphilosophyseeksrathertosolvethantodeny。”—— LYTTON。 Thosewholiveactivelivesexcludespiritualthoughtandfilltheirmindswiththefascinationsofworldlyaffairs，pleasureandbusiness，dreamwithlessfrequencythanthosewhoregardobjectivematterswithlighterconcern。Theformerdependaloneuponthevoluptuouswarmthoftheworldforcontentment；theylooktomoney，thepresenceofsomeone，ortootherexternalsourcesforhappiness，andareoftendisappointed； whilethelatter，withajustappreciationoftemporalwants，dependaloneupontheinnerconsciousnessforthatpeacewhichpassethallcarnalunderstanding。 Theyarestrengthened，aswereBuddhaandChrist，bysuppressingthesensualfiresforfortydaysandnightsinthewilderness18 oftrialandtemptation。Theynumberafew，andareneverdisappointed，whiletheformernumbermillions。 Natureisthree-fold，soisman；maleandfemale，sonorsoul。Theunionofoneandtwoproducethetriadorthetrinitywhichunderliesthephilosophyoftheancients。 Manhasaphysicalorvisiblebody，anatomofthephysicalorvisibleearth。Hehasasoultheexactcounterpartofhisbody，butinvisibleandsubjective；incompleteandimperfectastheexternalman，orviceversa。 Thesoulisnotonlythesonorcreationofman，butitistherealman。Itistheinnerimperishabledoubleorimprintofwhathasoutwardlyandinwardlytranspired。Allthoughts，desiresandactionsenterthesoulthroughtheobjectivemind。 Theautomatonofthebodyrespondsasquicklytothebatoftheeyeasitdoestothemovementofthewholebody。Byitthefoot-stepsofmanandtheveryhairsofhisheadarenumbered。Thusitbecomeshisinvisiblecounterpart。Itisthereforethebookoflifeordeath，andbyithejudgeshimselforisalreadyjudged。Whenitiscompletenothingcanbeaddedortakenfromitspersonnel。Itissometimespartlyopenedtohiminhisdreams，butindeathisclearlyrevealed。 Manhasalsoaspiritualbody，subjectiveto，andmoreetherealthanthesoul。Itisaninfinitesimalatom，andisrelatedinsubstancetothespiritualorinfinitemindoftheuniverse。Justasthegreatphysicalsun，thecenterofvisiblelight，lifeandheat，isstrivingtopurifythefoulmiasmaofthemarshandsenditsluminousmessagesofloveintothedarkcrevicesoftheearth，sotheGreatSpiritualSun，ofwhichtheformerisavisibleprototypeorreflection，isstrivingtoilluminatewithDivineWisdomthepersonalsoulandmindofman，thusenablinghimtobecomecognizantofthespiritualorChristpresencewithin。 TheheresyandHerodofwantonflesh，degeneratevictimofthesensuousfilthandfermentationofself-indulgence，iseverstrivingtoexileandsuppress，fromthewildernessofsin，thewarningcryoftheNazaritevoicebyintriguingwiththecunning，incestuousdaughtersofunholythoughtsanddesires。 Theobjectivemindismostactivewhenthebodyisawake。 Thesubjectiveinfluencesaremostactive，andoftenfillthemindwithimpressions，whilethephysicalbodyisasleep。Thespiritualintelligencecanonlyintrudeitselfwhenthehuman19