Chapter Twenty - Teaching, Study and Learning
WSD:20:1 Conscience is the best guide, and experience the best teacher. Nature is the best book, and life the highest form of schooling. Death is the
great graduation day.
WSD:20:2 Study itself is not enough, for learning without application and practice is futile and leads towards wickedness. The man who studies the Sacred Books as a child and applies their teachings to his life is like one who works with metal while it is still hot. The man who leaves such study until old age is like one who works with metal when it is cold.
WSD:20:3 Study, when not combined with work and practice, tends to lead towards the path of weakness. Unless a man is engaged in a skilled or useful occupation, all his book learning serves little purpose and does not avail him much. Therefore, even the man most devoted to the study of the Sacred Books must also learn a skilled or useful occupation.
WSD:20:4 Practice is of greater importance than study; for of what use is it to study the way for goodness, and being willing to do good, if experience of what constitutes good living is lacking? The good life is a life of action
and not a life of passiveness.
WSD:20:5 Yet, study and learning are not to be neglected, for they are part of the discipline of living. Without the study, which leads to knowledge,
right living and right action in their fullest expression are very unlikely.
WSD:20:6 In your absorption of knowledge, consider nothing impossible and nothing beyond achievement. Bear in mind that whatever is possible will one day come into being. The road to wisdom begins in attentive silence and passes through study and practice into fulfilment.
WSD:20:7 A teacher's words should be goads to goodness and learning, and not like a salve to the wounds of wickedness or a narcotic deadening the instructive pains of life. As the herdsman's goad directs beasts and urges them along the right road, so should the teacher's word direct and urge the pupil.
Words of worth do not fall softly.
WSD:20:8 A teacher may have a pupil wait upon him and attend to his needs, providing it is regarded as an opportunity for training and teaching.
The teacher who fails to set a good example, or to abide by his own teachings, is unworthy of his position and betrays his trust.
WSD:20:9 The man who quietly carries out the precepts of the Sacred Books and upholds their teachings is better than he who studies diligently and teaches well, but fails to put his teaching into practice. A hypocritical teacher
is the lowest order of hypocrites.
WSD:20:10 A disciple is one who follows a religious master, and it is better to be the disciple of a wiser man than the master of others who are ignorant. Always seek self-improvement and advancement in knowledge, for
these are the justifiable aims of the disciple. WSD:20:11 The man who is diligent and careful in his studies, but not in his deeds or words, is a weak character who tends to hypocrisy. The man who learns but does not practise what he learns is like a man who labours at the sowing, but does not reap the harvest. He is like a man who digs a well and
never draws water.
WSD:20:12 The purpose of learning is to know the good from the bad, the beneficial from the harmful. The good and beneficial should not be scorned, whoever dispenses them. Would you take poison even if offered by your best friend, or refuse dressing for a wound because given by an enemy?
WSD:20:13 The man who is filled with learning and knows all the wisdom of the Sacred Books, but fails to put it into practice, is like a many- branched tree with no depth of root. The wind blows, and it is laid low to quickly rot. The man with much learning and knowledge but no strength of character, is like a frail pot filled with precious liquid. If roughly handled, it
falls apart, and the contents are lost.
WSD:20:14 Good has its fount in The Divine, and at its source is uncontaminated with evil. It is that which harmonises best with the Divine Design, and evil is that which harmonises least. Good is absolute quality, while evil is not; therefore, even in the greatest concentration of evil there must be some good. So there is no form of evil, whether in man or outside of him, from which some good cannot be extracted, but man by nature tends to
overlook this. Entrapped in matter, evil is more easily seen. Bear in mind that, in even the greatest evil, there is somewhere a speck of good which can
be of service if extracted.
WSD:20:15 Finally, if seeking a religious master, be careful in your choice. In matters of religion, the whole forces of evil are marshalled to deceive and delude. If one whom you would choose as a master seeks popularity or self-advancement, avoid him like the plague, for he is a false
prophet.
Chapter Twenty-One - A Word to Prophets and
Preachers
WSD:21: 1 The true prophet is a message bearer who has heard a voice crying out across the distances. The message may not be clearly heard and perhaps conveyed with errors and distortion, but if it is the dedicated effort of
a sincere man, it must be of value.
WSD:21:2 Because there are many false prophets, the words of a true prophet do not lose their value. No man has ever sought to counterfeit a valueless thing. The vine is judged by the drink it produces and not by its leaves and appearance. It is the end product that matters. WSD:21:3 The pattern of the Divine Design is marvellous and its working intricate. The threads are many, and their preparation involves countless processes. The weavers are numerous, but few can visualise what
magnificence completion may reveal, and none can see the uncompleted whole. Therefore, those who would show others the pattern to follow should not seek to guess at what lies beyond their own range of vision.
WSD:21:4 So if you are a prophet chosen to guide, do not exceed the scope of your authority or seek to describe things beyond the reach of your light. Go forward with courage and confidence, and the voice of The Divine will teach you the signs along the road and make clear their meaning. WSD:21:5 When you stand up to deliver your message, many hypocrites will gather and declare their belief in what you say. The words they speak may deceive you, for they are a cloak disguising their true garb and, because of their hypocrisy, those who would otherwise listen to your words will turn away in disgust. Therefore, when you make converts, beware of including the faint-hearted and hypocrites, for they will only be a liability. WSD:21:6 Do not be afraid to speak up when men will listen to what you have to say, but also know when to be silent and hold your peace. It is futile
to waste words when you will not be given a hearing. You will have to contend with many false-faced prophets whose words are beautiful baubles falling from silver tongues. They attract the attention of many who listen for
pleasure and so are led astray.
WSD:21:7 Some men will come to you declaring that they have been converted to your cause, but the words they utter have no more substance than the breath, upon which the words ride. Their speech does not reflect the image in their hearts, and their hypocrisy places them among the damned. WSD:21:8 Others will come prepared to accept what you say in part only and to serve with reservations. If good comes out of what they do, they consider the effort sufficient, but if they find the going hard, they will fall away. Those are weak characters who can derive little benefit from your teachings, until they first change themselves. The first duty of the Good Religion is not to preach The Divine, but to teach men to change themselves.
Its first aim is to develop a better being.
WSD:21:9 Do not ever tell others the way to live and how to govern their lives, until after you have put your teachings into practice. First practice what you teach, and then, you can instruct others from your experience. The
hypocritical teacher betrays his cause. WSD:21:10 Though you may preach to an audience of allcomers, choose your disciples carefully. Do not waste time on fools or simpletons, or on those unwilling to take the road towards spirituality. Always explain in such a manner that your words cannot be misconstrued. Do not always expect people to ask for further explanation if they do not understand, for their misinterpretation may satisfy them, or they may be reluctant to speak up.