place.
WSD:13:18 The course of life is determined by destiny, so pay no heed to those who pretend to read futures in the stars, for they predict only in riddles and what they say may apply to many. No two predictions are alike, except by coincidence, and the planets have no power to determine what a man will
become.
WSD:13:19 The origins of superstition and false belief lie in the conceit and presumption of man, but to an even greater extent in his mortal tendency towards deceit and hypocrisy. They also stem from his spiritual immaturity and indifference, for he tries to attain and understand things which are attainable only by the spiritually developed, and interprets them with his inadequate knowledge and inspiration. Superstition and blind faith are pillars
supporting the religions of ignorance.
Chapter Fourteen - Personal Conduct
WSD:14:1 Every man should have a cause to fight for and a road to follow. He should fight for the cause until its objective is attained and follow the road until the end. The horizon of each should be outward towards perfection. The causeless man is like a riderless horse.
WSD:14:2 It is better to adhere to one cause absolutely and wholeheartedly than to dabble in many causes without being wholehearted in any. A truly great cause should carry all other worthy causes forward with it, and one great cause cannot fall into conflict with another. A man is judged by what he fights for, or by what he declines to fight for, he must do one or the
other.
WSD:14:3 A man must keep careful watch on himself, so he does not wax fat and self-indulgent. Whatever his position in life, he should always be engaged in some worthwhile occupation and never neglect the study of the Sacred Books. Idleness is the mother of miseries. Indolence occupies itself in
filling the body with fat. WSD:14:4 To study the Books of Wisdom is good, for thereby a man learns what to do and what not to do. On the other hand, if a man is busily engaged in earning his livelihood and fulfilling his obligations, it will not
occur to him to steal and fornicate. WSD:14:5 Man and woman are intended to be unalike, and therefore, a man should conduct himself as a man and a woman as a woman. They were made to serve differently; their separate purposes should not become confused. A mannish woman cannot inspire men or serve the cause of womankind. If she serves mankind, it is in a capacity below that of other
women.
WSD:14:6 Do not disgrace a man before others or hold any man up to ridicule. The Books of Wisdom say that the only person a man will disgrace before others is his bitterest enemy. Mockery of another discloses the mocker's own weakness of character.
WSD:14:7 Do not be immovable in your ways or set in your circumstances. Be like the reed, which bows with the wind and bends all the way, but always springs up again. Always be alert and ready for whatever may come your way, and above all, do not expect life to deal kindly with you always. Do not envy those who have more than you, but turn your eyes
towards those less fortunate. WSD: 14:8 Do not be complacent about your personal attainments, for no one can say truthfully that he has purged his spirit of all disfiguring stains and is now perfect. No matter how perfect a man may appear to himself in any respect, there is still a greater perfection attainable, and that is the goal. The limits of earthly perfection remain unmarked. WSD:14:9 Cleanliness in all things is essential. If you would not put filth in your mouth, why put it in your mind? No one allows garbage at the eating table, yet many gladly overload their minds with it. These are weaknesses of character, which have to be eliminated. Through long ages it has been known that a foul tongue expresses the language of weakness, and filthy jokes are the consolation of slaves. The nation sinking into the mire is comforted by
the knowledge of its affinity to filth. WSD:14:10 The man who boasts about his prowess as a fornicator does so to hide the secret knowledge of his own inadequacy. His foolish boasting
is the source of his satisfaction and indicates the limit of his achievements. Let the man of weak character and weaker vitality betray himself, but keep away, lest you be numbered among the self-deceivers.
WSD:14:11 Let your personal conduct be in all ways above reproach. Strive to be worthy of the respect of all men, though their praise is froth on the waters of life. Live as you should live and not as you would like to live. If you cannot acknowledge your own worth, then recognise your own failings.
Chapter Fifteen - The Spiritual Realm
WSD:15:1 The Spiritual Realm lies between the realm of matter and the realm of The Divine. If your mind is unable to grasp the idea of The Divine and you cannot understand what is meant by spirituality, do not be dismayed. How can an ordinary, unenlightened mind do so when it is shut in by a corrupt material world and enclosed on every side by illusion? Absolute purity cannot be seen amid the clouds of earthly impurity, and in this defiled place, the immaculate is inconceivable. Therefore, if you cannot understand this or perceive the reality of perfection, how much less are you able to
comprehend The Divine! Step confidently along the path, guided by understanding companions, who are more enlightened, for they will not lead you astray, and soon the light of understanding will be placed in your hand.
WSD:15:2 The Spiritual Realm is divided into two parts. On one side is the place, where the wicked have companionship of their own kind, and it is a cold place of gloom and darkness. This is the realm of evil containing those who are repulsive even to their own kind. Their greatest punishment may lie in the fact that they retain the memory of beauty, goodness and cleanliness,
just as the happiness of those in the realm of good, on the other side is heightened by its contrast with the sorrows and afflictions they have known.
WSD:15:3 The realm of evil is separated from the realm of good by an etheric form of flame, through which communication can be made. Were those on the sunlit side to enquire from the dwellers in gloom what brought them to their deplorable state, if the truth could be found in them, they would reply: "We are those who were heedless of all spiritual and ennobling things.
We were those who thought only of their own betterment and not the advancement of mankind and the welfare of others. We were the selfish ones who considered only their own comfort and convenience. Now look at what we have! We oppressed the poor and lowly and exploited the helpless and
weak, doing nothing to improve their lot. Now look at ours! We sat on councils and in seats of authority engaging in vain disputes about right and wrong, while the poor, the hungry and the oppressed stood by and suffered in patience. We are, above all, those who could have done much but did little. We were those who, given great gifts, used them for selfish ends. What have we now? We inhabited fine houses and surrounded ourselves with all things to give ease and comfort. Now we are comfortless. We sought out places of pleasure and closed our eyes to the sorrow and suffering of the world. We laughed at those who sought to teach us spirituality and took a base and easy view of right and wrong. There is no laughter here. We doubted that there was any life to come and could not understand the talk about it. Would that the grave had been the end! Talk of duty and service disturbed our ease and complacency, and we let others carry our burdens. If only we could return! Only now when we so miserably exist in the certainty of life after death can we realise our errors and suffer for them. Here the air is filled with the sighing sound of the saddest words we know, "Too late!"'
WSD:15:4 Those words did once span the gulf and were recorded by an
ancient seer.
WSD:15:5 On the day when the whole being is split apart by death and the mortal clay is consigned to its proper place, the spirit passes through the great gates into the Spiritual Realm. There it first enters a Borderland, where the floodgates of memory are opened and each and every deed recalled. This is where the newly arrived spirit waits while slowly it assumes its chosen shape and realises the direction of its destination. WSD:15:6 The spirit does not arrive in a state of waking, but it is like one asleep. It awakes to its new life like a man awakes to a new day. Then, if during earthly life it has doomed itself, this realisation will slowly dawn, and the newly formed being will cringe away from those who came to welcome it. It will indeed wish that death had been the end. The wisdom of ancient times disclosed that the newly arrived spirit stood in completeness for judgement, but what it called the Place of Decision is the Borderland.