diligently.
LUC:13:8 When a man's life becomes a pattern of perfection reflecting the perfection above, he is a container for the lifeforce and a channel for the down pouring power which serves to uplift the whole of mankind. Becoming this is in fact the only real service man can render The Supreme Spirit. LUC:13:9 Man's prime duty is to himself, and even when he serves others he is serving his own ends; therefore, he should not be hypocritical about his goodness. The good deeds of men are the soulspirit moulders, as also are spirituality, freedom from agnosia, forbearance, love of Truth and justice, tranquillity of heart, simplicity, austerity, generosity and integrity. LUC:13:10 Only in a well-balanced being can the lifeforce manifest harmoniously. Therefore, all excesses of joy and sadness, pleasure and melancholy, despair and exhilaration, are to be avoided. The rule must be oft repeated: Moderation in all things and complete control over the self. LUC:13:11 My friends, I have revealed to you the nature of the inner being who controls all things from within, now it is up to you to use this knowledge to good effect. I have shown you the chords, by which the spheres are held together and the same chords bind all things. LUC:13:12 You ask me, "What is a good man?." He is one in whom goodness triumphs over evil, whose qualities grow stronger daily, while his evil qualities weaken. In him, conceit, avariciousness, selfishness, anger, rashness and agnosia are diminishing each day, and he governs his life in
accordance with the Good Books.
LUC:13:13 Self-mastery is freedom, not restraint, for it is bondage to the body which makes life a misery to the man who aspires to goodness and the spiritually inclined. This bondage is caused by ignorance of the true nature of man and his destiny, and can best be overcome by a steady advance towards self-knowledge, spirituality and soulspirit awakening. The essential qualities for such advancement are tranquillity of heart (which means serenity), self- mastery, fortitude and resolution under the afflictions of life, kindness and consideration for others, a life led in accordance with the Good Books. The man who is truly good understands the troubles of another and stands ever ready to help the weak and oppressed. He never boasts of his achievements and treats every woman with respect, the same respect he has for his mother. He does not sully his lips with falsehood and is free from the fetters of greed
and envy.
LUC:13:14 The lifeforce diversifies into many expressions, the greatest of which is love. This is a prime quality essential to soulspirit awakening, but
it may take on many forms. Reverence is a form of love, so is the appreciation of melody and beauty. Uprightness is love manifesting in self- control; wisdom and desire for Truth is another form of love. Duty and obligation call forth an expression of love in a different aspect, though no less
strong and beneficial. LUC:13:15 My friends, there are those who teach that spirituality comes from turning away from the world, but this is a wrong teaching, for life is meant to be lived fully, and to live means to experience. A man who shuts himself away from the world can love no one except himself. To say he does it for love of The Supreme Spirit is empty talk. LUC:13:16 No step is lost on the path of experience, though sometimes what appears to be a gain will be a loss, but so may a loss be a gain. The
wayfarer must keep one objective ever before his eyes, and that is the ultimate end. He must strive towards this with all his resolution and allow nothing to divert him. The alluring sideroads are many-branched and lead to dead ends, and along them, worldliness beckons bewitchingly. Along the road, there are strugglers and stragglers, seekers and non-starters. LUC:13:17 Therefore, if you would travel the road, firmly rid yourselves of the burden imposed by worldly and selfish desires. This does not mean that worldly things are to be completely shunned, for worldly success is not to be despised if sought with moderation and without prejudice to greater things. In all things there is a proper balance and state of harmony. However, whatever comes your way do not become too elated with success or too downcast by failure, both are tests and serve the same end. LUC:13:18 Labour in the cause of earthly gain is of less value than labour, which benefits mankind or glorifies Earth. Therefore, if a creed brings men together only for worship, it serves little purpose; but if it is also a creed where men labour to learn, to beautify life and to advance mankind then its
value is beyond estimation. LUC:13:19 The lifeforce must be conserved and guarded, it must not be dissipated in the uncontrolled tempests of passion and emotion. These carry away the lifeforce, as the winds carry away the autumn leaves. LUC:13:20 My friends, one of you says my words confuse him because they contain contradictions indicating two paths, and asks which is best for the attainment of the supreme goal. Let me say, and heed it well, that the most profound truths can be explained, in the limited expressions of men, only by seeming contradictions and paradoxes. Man may travel two paths to the perfection lying beyond Earth, one is the path of wisdom lit by the lamp of vision, and the other the path of action lit by the lamp of determination. There are men of wisdom and counsel, and men of deeds and action. All are equally necessary to maintain the balance and harmony of life, and an
existence with one and not the other becomes chaotic. LUC:13:21 Two things man cannot do, he cannot refrain from learning and he cannot refrain from action. He must not turn his back on life or renounce the worldly struggle. However, there is learning that is beneficial and learning which is not, there are actions which are good and others which
are bad. It is the choice that counts. LUC:13:22 Man is like a cornered bear, and life is like the hunters who surround it, goading it into action, forcing it to strike. So are all men driven to action by the nature of things, and any who seek to avoid it while permitting their thoughts to wander idly towards life's pleasures, do inestimable damage
to their soulspirit. The true man is one in whom wisdom and action are balanced, whose mind, controlling his inner forces with harmony, governs his resolute steps along the path of action, and the mortal body could not exist
here were it not continually active. LUC:13:23 The lifeforce in man turns the wheel of progress, aim to be good, and carry out your allotted tasks in life, and progress in the right direction will follow. Though it is folly to sit irresolutely at the crossroads, it is no wiser to press forward along the wrong road.
LUC:13:24 Have faith in these teachings and follow the indicated path with cheerfulness, goodwill and resolution, and your soulspirit will safely reach the high pass where it can look out over the good country spread before it. Ignore the inner urges which rise from the depths of mortal flesh and drive a man, often even unwillingly, to act wrongfully. LUC:13:25 Have faith in the reality of the soulspirit, for it is the only permanent thing in the ever changing waters of life. It may be hidden deep in agnosia, it may be clouded by mortal desires, as fire is clouded by smoke, by petty unfruitful pursuits, as a mirror is darkened by dust, or by the denseness of matter, as a kernel is hidden by its shell, but the reality lies underneath. LUC:13:26 The lifeforce must never be consumed by flames of desires generating in the flesh. Unhealthy or abnormal desires, like wood ants, burrow into the minds of men and breed there, eating away their reasoning powers and wisdom. From such desires arises a noxious cloud of vapour which, having overcome reason and wisdom, smothers the soulspirit in