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LECTURE GIVEN AT EDITH’S GROUP --
A GENERAL STATEMENT OF SELF-CULTUE
By
DR. BHAGWAN S. GYANEE
GREETINGS, My Friends:  Los Angeles, California
May 5, 1956

It is a privilege to address this audience from this platform, and whatever is said here tonight is an expression of the TEACHING which goes under the name of SELF-CULTURE. Our work is generally known under that name.

SELF is one of those ingredients without which no thing can exist nor can BE. Without Self, different elements cannot be put together and be sustained or held together.

CULTURE is a QUALITY that flows from the Race Reservoir into the individual Personality when we are receptive.

Therefore these two words together constitute the title of our work – SELF-CULTURE. In proper terminology it could not be defined any other way. It is NOT exclusively a science nor psychology, not even mathematics and yet it embraces all these at their best as far as they are applicable to the Human Personality. It is a PHILOSOPHY, a WAY of LIFE only proved by and thru its LIVING-NESS.

Our focusing point is MAN. How to approach man with all his characteristics, qualities, powers, principles and processes so that his own active participation, his own conscious efforts will and can awaken in him the dynamics of his faculties, the instruments, or senses and super-senses by which man can explore and come to understand his own personal reservoir, which he has inherited from his race and with which he is born.

No man can be anything unless there is something to be with.Each individual at birth inherits a racial pattern. No matter to what group he belongs or to what country you have inherited the traits and the characteristics of the race-reservoir or the experience of that particular group plus the experience of other larger groups as well. Therefore we are born with certain characteristics. Characteristics mean certain degrees of sensitivity which is the quality-quantity relationship of the material which composes the Human Personality. There are certain types of racial pattern, certain types of blood, of skull, of skin, of temperament, attitude and disposition, ect. All these certain characteristics are inherited. We are circumscribed and limited by them. We are born in a given environment, country, or race because it is those particular conditions that fit our pattern to develop and giv the most satisfactory answer to what we are looking for or for being where and what we are. As long as we understand this much, let us carry the thot a little further, on a higher level and proceed this way:
Each person or each being is where he is and what he is because his inner structure, his sensitivity and his evolutionary growth require exactly that kind of environment for further development. He could not fit into any other circumstances, any other conditions, or any other place, else he would be THERE rather than HERE.

The Universe or the INTELLIGENCE of this Universe does not enforce its laws or its principles upon anybody arbitrarily, against the individual’s own receptive capacity or his own wellBE-ING. This is a GENERAL TENET of Self-Culture and from this we reduce our focusing point to THERE main OBJECTIVES:

First,-Everything that IS, is ALIVE no matter what. Whatever you are capable of conceiving whether it is an electron, a human being, a saint, a savior or an Avatar or God, it is ALIVE. Alive means that it has the characteristics and quality of being aware, of having a response-mechanism, that it is sensitive and susceptible to growth. Anything in the Universe that you can conceive that IS, is ALIVE; it is capable of further growth, of responding, of susceptibility and evolutionary progress.

Second,-Everything that is capable of being conceived and that it exists is LIMITED by its own necessity, its own conditions. In order to be as is, what it is, where it is, it has to be limited. There are no beings nor states in existence that are limitless. They cannot be everywhere.

Third, This is very important. Everything that is, no matter what, in spite of its size, characteristics, quality, dimension or plane, is subject to evolutionary GROWTH – subject to CHANGE and DEVELOPMENT.

If you can keep these three things in mind, it will help you to appreciate the kind of world we live in. Often people who are confused make the statement: “I do not know what this is all about!” Well, THIS is what it is all about,- these three things. Anything you wish to conceive, whether in relation to the Creator; the nature of God, or the spirit of the soul, apply these three tests, these three principles and you will find them accurate. You cannot conceive anything to which these, or one of them will not apply.

So much for the statement of the REALITY of the BEING. Now when you try to associate with a Universe in which these three kinds of characteristics just described apply, namely: that everything is ALIVE, everything is LIMITED, and everything is subject to GROWTH and CHANGE, it is well to remember that we, being part of this universe, are also subject to these laws, like everything else. Our existence is ever bound by these three conditions.

There is a second cycle which takes us further than the Universe AS IS. What has just been given are the CHARACERISTS of the UNIVERSE AS IS, no matter what, where or how; and these three things disturb every one unless he is a student of deep metaphysics or cable of thinking correctly:

First; Tho everything we can conceive or think of exists in the Universe, by its NATURE; by its ACTIVITY and by its STRUCTURE of being what it is, as it is, it is NOT satisfied to be what it is. It wants to be what it is NOT and where it is not. And, in order to be where it is not it has to disappear from where it is. It is of a contradictory nature and unless we are philosophically inclined we will misjudge our entire work. We would not know how to contribute our share, how to be useful to the society, how to understand the work we are meant to do. We have to understand the nature of the Universe in which we are operating in order to function intelligently.

So, nothing that exists will be satisfied to be what it is as it is because it is NOT the nature of the being or of anything to be satisfied. It changes automatically whether it wills or not, whether it wants to or not. This is because whatever it is, its inner as well as its outer nature are combinations of the forces and powers of the universe and thru the conditions of evolving these forces or powers in certain proportional relationship to each other, every thing is brought into being where it is, as it is. It was not always there. It comes to be in TIME and in SPACE.
Now, if we understand that nothing will remain stationary where it is, it always changes from here to there and from there to some place else, than where it is, as things are, it could not be considered or assumed that it has always been there. This is the part of reality which religion calls “illusion”. This world of manifestation, this world of changing phenomena, this world of appearing and disappearing is all unreal, illusionary, the background of something, and beyond that the real is not apparent but the inherent is reality. This is mistake Number One.
REALITY is that phenomena which impinges upon our sensitivity. If this outward manifestation of the Universe is capable of impinging upon our sensitivity and creating in us some sort of response, - response in the form of color, shape or the arrangement of things, their order, or establishment or even changing from growth to decline, then it is real. If it were not real it could not produce change in us. It could not affect us. Anything that influences us and that impinges upon our sensitivity is real.

But reality as such, is not confined to everything only to the capacity of impinging upon one’s sensitivity. There are things in existence that are part of reality which our senses are not capable of registering even. We do not know them. So this is the disturbing point in the realms of thot and the study of the philosophy of life: “That nothing remains as is.” By its very nature it is always and continuously changing. And the reason is simply this: That all things are what they really are on account of the proportional relationship of elements of which these things are arranged. So much sodium, so much water, carbon, oxygen, so much electricity, so much this, so much that and they are brought into relationship with each other by some law of magnetic cohesion. They are not the same powers. There are various kinds of powers; their vibrations are different. Their degrees are different. Elements are different buy they are brought in contact with each other and held together “under the law” of affinity, “under the law” of creative impulse, under pressure and this pressure is as much a reality from within as pressure as such is a part of reality from without.

We are told by the physicists that there is an atmospheric pressure. More than 14 pounds to a square inch on our physical structure, and equally, there is the pressure of gravity which pulls us towards the center of the earth. These are all pressures. Due to these pressures, where one is stronger than the other, energy escapes under the pressure. This we call Force. Only force is capable of creating pressure. There are infinite number of forces as there are infinite number of powers and infinite number of energies. There is not ONE Energy, ONE power but many. This whole Universe is a powerhouse and each individual has access to draw as much power as he is capable of USING.

The Sun is a center of power. All the planets around the sun are centers of power. The whole Universal structure is a storehouse of powers. We can USE as much power as we want. POWER is that which operates machines, lifts elevators, runs trains, aeroplanes, steamships. It is all power converted into force. FORCES are derivatives of powers. Powers are combined with other powers in a certain state of suspended animation. When released thru external impetus they become forces. Forces do their work and then revert back to powers or energy again. Energy and power are static, force is dynamic.

Therefore, the kind of Universe in which we are living is not limited only by its structure but it is limited also by its function. It is, as stated above, also that the Universa is ALIVE. Anything that one can think of is capable of responding; but it does NOT respond to everything or anything at every time or any time. It has its moods. It has “certain degrees” of awakening, “of sleep” of animation or in between.
Our chemistry is not yet scientific enough. For instance, when we try to approach the elemental structure when it is in an in-between or inter-change, a negative or positive electrical force and we interfere, there is a very important reaction to it. It is not a normal action like positive or negative electric force, but it is a reaction that is antagonistic.

The whole Universe is composed of elements that are friendly to each other and that are antagonistic to each other. Some elements combine with each other very readily like iron and oxygen, while some always remain hostile to every other element just like fluorine. It does not mix with any other. No element like it. So when we read of the “Romance and the Elements” or the chemicals, we find all those things and discover the nature of the Universe in between. We have also, in the nature of our bodies, the chemical structure which we call CELL-structure. Of that a little later.

Second, The second important point is: that as long as things are made up of powers, forces and energy, and that they cannot be held together unless in the state of Energy. Energy is innert. It never moves by itself. It needs to be polarized with other types of energy. Power also never moves by itself. It is a storehouse and remains put, but there is a tension in power. In Energy we have intention, Intensions abide in the realms of energy, and those intentions are brought into being by the individual and collective experiencing of universal things & beings

Let me connect this particular concept with the original statement we made. We said: “That everything in the Universe which one can think of is alive”. Alive means it is receptive, sensitive, capable of growth. Naturally when it comes in other conditions with other powers, other states of existence, it becomes aware of their existence and makes its own nature know to them. And from that we draw another important conclusion: “That everything in the Universe that exists is knowable”. We can know it. Anything that is knowable we will know it some time, somebody will know it. That does not mean that we know it already, We may not have the instruments with which to know, but if it exists, it is knowable. It wants to be known.

This knowability of the Universe becomes the element of AWARENESS when it passes thru the receptive-mechanism of the human being. When this knowability passes thru the sensitivity of the human being and is arrested by the polarized sensitivity it becomes awareness. This awareness is not a part of energy, a part of the universe, but it is a quality of the Universe. When energy passes thru the focusing point of an experiencing being it absorbs the element of awareness. Something is known to somebody at this particular point or moment or experiencing. Hence the energy changes into awareness and awareness changes into knowledge, knowledge into consciousness, consciousness into realization, and realization changes again into something else. Now apply this particular sequence or field to the learning of our first lesson:

If something is what it is it must be here for some particular PURPOSE and the purpose is this: It wants to give up; expand, offer to the rest of the Universe what it has of its OWN and in exchange, it wants something from the Universe that it LACKS. This is the interchange, and experience in the FIELD in which this interchange takes place otherwise there would be no purpose of being, nor living. This is the purpose of our being, --the interchange of energy and qualities. When we are born we have a certain amount of quality which we have inherited and we are under pressure to release it as quickly as possible and we do. A certain amount of energy we spend on growth, a certain amount of Energy on digesting food or assimilating ideas, or experiencing something, learning languages, techniques, driving automobiles, speaking, reading, writing poetry --doing something --All this energy is expended for the purpose or in order to make room for the something we came here for. And as we are here for the VALUES of EXPERIENCE.
If we do not gain anything we spend the energy with which we are born but do not take back anything in exchange for what we have spent, our life is lost. We are doing a losing business, an unprofitable business and that is not the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to spend our energy so wisely, so intelligently that no amount of energy is wasted without gaining some particular lesson from our activity, from our life or from our behavior. Always be a student under all and every condition.
Therefore, when we have stated this much: “that nothing in the Universe is satisfied”, it is because we are under a pressure to move here. We are under the Cosmic Command “TO BE”..What we want to be..how low, how high, is up to each individual. It is up to us “TO BE”. BE we must, there is NO escape from it.

Even committing suicide is no escape because you destroy your one form and may be emerging into a thousand or a million different forms. If you cannot live one life intelligently and try to escape from that on life by scattering your energy and potential powers into a million different directions, your problem has increased by suicide. It has not diminished or been solved. You have to live a million lives and face a million different directions

Now, as long as we are under this compulsion “TO BE” and only by being “BECOME”, we draw a great lesson and it is this:
“Each individual must be satisfied in being where and what he is because he could not be anything else”. He cannot be any place else. There is nothing in you to be ashamed of. Nothing in you to regret, nothing in you where you are that you are responsible for, only thing you are responsible for is “to be where you are what you are ,and how you are.” That is your responsibility. Nobody can take that from you. No body can lead your life for you. You alone can live. You alone can (discipline) dispense with the energy which you have inherited. The opportunity is here; conditions are here; there is plenty of room on the planet, it is open for you to travel all over into space even and you have all the elements within you to sustain you. Whatever you are, wherever you are and what you intend to be, there are enough element to sustain you in this particular form also. In other word, the Universe or Cosmic Intelligence does not create anything for which it has not provided the elements for its sustenance or for its preservation.

No, as long as we are here and we have the space to move in, the elements with and by which we are sustained and the purpose in life then it is up to us to be as low are we want to, mediocre if we must or as high as we have the will and capacity of rising. This is the problem..the PURPOSE of BE-ING!

The SECOND LESSON we can learn is: That as long as we cannot remain what we are as we are, that we have to change for something that we are not, would it not be better to gain some value, some lesson from experience in the light of which we can plan intelligently what we would like to be? We have the faculties, with which we can envisage the future, like vision and imagination and intuition…we can penetrate into the future and we can conceive what we would like to be…what kind of character, what strength, what characteristics, what qualities,ect. We have that capacity of envisioning the future, but we do not use this creative power intelligently.
On one side, we cannot remain what we are, we must be something that we are not. We cannot be in two different places at the same time. Even here we cannot be two opposite things at the same time,--you cannot sit and stand at the same time; be silent and talk, ect. We cannot be and what we are going to be at the same time. It is against nature. So whether we like to be what the forces of the Universe are pushing us around thru suffering, pain and blunders and all that or whether we have any capacity and faculty with which we can map out our future and plan intelligently, discard all these unnecessary elements and march right there where we would like to go, singleminded, concentrated, and this power of raising ourselves to the focusing point..is what we consider our IDEAL or our OBJECTIVE.

Each individual has an objective of life. Ten years from now you are going to be some thing. Well, as long as you are going to be something, as you are something now, the only difference is that you did not stay where you were in order to be where you are now, and you will not stay where you are in order to be where you will be. That is the only difference. And, there is nothing you can do about it. We are destined that way. The only thing to do would be to plan intelligently and see what can best be done.

We have the planning power…our architecture, our engineering, our poetry ect., all those powers are given to use to build the MAN of the FUTURE. We build bridges where they did not exist; we build libraries, schools for the purpose of the future. Even we eat for the future. You do not eat your food because you were hungry yesterday, you eat because you are afraid you are going to be hungry 6 or 7 hours from now. And so before you reach that point, you eat now…and people say: “We are living NOW”. No you are not. NOW is a very short-lived point, to be lived. If you fall on this side, it is past, and if you fall on the other side, it is future. Present is ever-changing and ever so short-lived that you can never live IN the present. Only two field in which we can live and from which we can draw: - the past experience of the race and yourself and the future vision and hope.

Part of our educational system should be devoted to and in conformity with the human personality and human existence in order that we might benefit from our institutions. Here then is the 2nd problem:

We do not know just WHAT and WHY. First, we do not know why we do not remain what we are because it is contrary to our STRUCTURE and to our NATURE. We are not supposed to be in any place and skip to any where and in spite of this warning we stick to a creed, a country, a race, a dogma and claim that it is ETERNAL..and we do not know how subtly, how unknowingly we change from this eternity.

“Everything”, it was stated “is subject to change, to evolution” and yet we say “this is permanent”, --“ my belief is that only right belief, the rest is all illusion”…Well that is where the trouble starts believing that everything is permanent…”My country, my land,. does not change. It is the best, the rest are all riff-raff”…This is the mistake of History. It is not true. How to modify this? How to inter-blend with the universal reality as and what we know is the universe and form our habit pattern in conformity to the nature of the Universe, so we would not create needless conflicts with the harmony of nature and our own harmony is the problem indeed!

Mankind suffers from the wounds it inflicts upon itself thru its own folly. Not even 1% of our problem is caused by nature, 99-9/10ths percent is our own man-made problem, created by man’s ignorance. Ignorance of our own nature and the purpose for which we came here.

Now the THIRD very important thing is: That it is a fact that the Universe transforms from where it is into the higher level thru experience which is that field where we acquire the tools with which we would like to make ourselves over. It is the work-shop in which we manufacture the tools for making ourselves anew as we would like to be and

If we do not benefit from experience we do not manufacture the instruments with which to be or become.

But, it is neither the nature of the Universe nor of man not to learn from experience. We can learn slowly, ignore things, stupify ourselves by drugs and drink, or entertaining ourselves on the level that the problems do not exist. We can do this. We have the authority and the privilege not to see the problem as it exists but turn our faces on the other side…where all is Divine and hunkydory, but this is not correct. We can ignore the problem of the Universe and the problem of ourselves in relation to the Universe only at a great peril.

The work that needs to be done by each individual and for which we came here to do, if not done by us has to be done by some one in our next generation. A certain amount of work,…of obligation which each individual assumes at the point of being,must be performed. It must be fulfilled. If not by them, its duties and functions have to be carried on by some one else, and when on one assumes the responsibility for those who are reckless, ignorant, selfish, who debauch their energy without contributing anything, without assuming any responsibility to society for its growth in proportion to their expenditure of energy, races decline.
Where the majority of the beings become selfish and very few remain, capable of fulfilling the obligations of living life, the collective quality and capacity of the race declines because there are more parasites living off the energy of others than are contributing energy, and the few who grind and suffer and carry the burdens of the rest are unable to provide the requirements of continuity. This is the secret of WHY NATION, races, communities, families decline or perish.

You know the history of Civilizations: The come, they flourish, they reach their maximum height so long as each citizen performs his duties and functions, and are loyal to the society, willing to serve and is compassionate. As long as outing of energy continue,society grows, human beings grow and humanity becomes stronger. But when each individual become selfish and begins to shrink from his responsibilities with the attitude of “let George do it”, then the quality is not pouring into the reservoir so that next generation will inherit. Thus each succeeding generation become poorer and poorer in quality, more and more selfish, and the time comes when the race disappears completely. This is one reason or one explanation how and why races and civilizations die out.

Now we are reaching the THIRD point: “That there is an IDEAL that embraces all the objectives of each individual and book”..In other words,-Ideal is the reservoir of all objectives and objectives are the reservoir of ideal conditions. This is the difference between the two. Objectives are not ideals and ideal is not objective; they are two different things.
In the states of IDEAL or within the picture of IDEAL – all objectives are covered. Everybody’s own objective comes in. When ideals become so lofty, so majestic that they embrace not only the whole species of mankind, but all living creatures, man has become an IDEALIST. Each individual has an objective because that is the state he has in mind, where he wants to reach from here, but when he reaches there he will have another objective and so on.

Ideals are never reached, they can not be realized. They are always stimulating, irritating, always pulling, attracting. Objectives once realized may cause a person to become restive, lazy. By the realization of an objective you are very likely to pass on without any impetus. But with an ideal you never relax your interest. Therefore, we are privileged thru understanding to develope, to evolve our idealswhich we can realize about 10%. 90% will still remain allure and it is allure of the unknown which is the impetus and the tension in the spring. This is the tension created by unrealized dreams, unrealized hopes! So, build up your hopes as lofty as you can but not too far away so that you do not have to die hopeless, a failure without realizing anything Have them near enough so that you can realize something, yet maintain your impetus to realize further so that the tension will not be relaxed completely and you will not pass on and out without some will-power.

An ideal is evolved out of unselfish experience only, or conduct that is not focussed about or around the self-interest of the being.An ideal person cannot be a selfish individual and a selfish individual cannot be an idealist. So, if you want to be pulled toward your lofties future you must have an ideal of your own. Have a lofty ideal. Have a practical philosophy by which you can live that ideal. You ideal is the Polar Star of awareness, toward which you are moving no matter what you do. Maybe you are moving around like a whirling dervish of Persia, even so you are never without an ideal. Ideal can be so far, however, that you do not know how to reach it. Tuning in, affinitizing yourself, your whole conduct pattern, your whole being, to that ideal is a most important thing and a very practical part of living.

So when we say that the ideals and the methods as well as the techniques of becoming are part of the individual life, we mean that you have the energy with which “to be”; opportunities galore on this planet with which to be, but you need a technique, a science, and instrument and these do not come from nature, nor do they come from the future they come by your own application of energy, opportunity and the conditions in which you live.

This is where the Human Race has faltered and failed miserably, because in spite of all our living, our boasting and talking in highfaluting terms, w e have failed to learn the technique of how to live the life of a human BEING, corresponding to our human integrity, to the structure and nervous system. We are capable of responding to the sensitivity of things, capable of speaking precise language, capable of having a conduct that is dependable and stable, capable of developing our mental faculties with which to see, exalt and intuit, capable of feeling, but our life as we live it, in 24 hours of the practical world, does not indicate that we utilize all our facilities, all our powers or that we possess the technique to live as a human being should live.

For instance, when we are talking intelligently in the realms of philosophy we emotionalize the mental concepts. When we are expressing emotionalism we try to reason it out and make it rational. It won’t wor’ In other words, living is an art and, like all other arts, the technique has to be mastered. We have the opportunity, we have the conditions but we lack something and that is the process of education. We are not educated right nor trained right and the result is that there is much confusion in our civilization. Every department of life is just dark with confusion. In the realms of politics, economics, religion, philosophy, education.everywhere, nothing but confusion.

If you are a student of life go into all departments and find out just what can be found with which you can express intelligently and clearly. Ask those who are very staunch believers in religion--what is religion? Keep on asking all the ministers and preachers, and each one will give you a different interpretation of what religion is. Ask them what God is. Each will give you a different picture of God. It is quite natural that they should.

The Universe is determined to create diversity instead of unity; multiplicity instead of oneness. But somehow or other thru a quirk in our psychological understanding we want to unify everything. The greatest desire of Americans is that they should convert everybody to their way of belief, of life. You send your missionaries into China, India, ect., so that the natives give up their natural religion, their form of worship, of God, whether a Being or a stone, and everything so they become just exactly like you, duplicate of you. Why? So that when you sit down, they should sit down; when you wake up they should wake up; when you talk they should talk; and this desire is universal. Moslems want their way of doing things, Hindus, Chinese, Turks, Christians,ect. all want their way. This ego-mania of trying to supersede everybody so that everybody should be “looking thru our rosy glasses and see as we see ourselves”, is actually a disease. But this is the order of things as they are. Why? Because we do not understand the Universe. As long as there are two blades of grass they will be different; no two leave are exactly alike, no twigs or trees are exactly alike. They are perhaps identiaal but not exactly alike. Nature does not produce duplication no matter who slight there is a difference. Nature wants the individual to be UNIQUE, everything to be unique. If you do not have something that no one else has nobody is attracted to you because you have nothing to contribute, nothing to offer.

The world is looking for something it does not have. That is why we change from where we are in order to be where we are not, and if in 10 years from now we are going to be exactly just what we are now there is no use of spending 10 years –we might just as well commit suicide now.
These important problems have to be understood and that is what Self-Culture is trying to explain. Self-culture is a technique which makes every individual conscious of his own potential powers, and how to develop the technology and methods by which those power-potentials can be brought out into the conduct pattern. It evolves the instruments, the dynamics, the medium of expression, understanding, language,semantics, and your character, ect. so you can be what nature intended you to be – your noblest best. Nature has given you the power of energy. Your physical body is a product of your racial heredity, a product of the cell-structure. The sensitivity,or the quality that produces sensitivity, is inherited but whatever you are in your internal nature,whatever you are intrinsically, altho this instrument fits in, you are circumscribed, limited by this instrument, because it is the only place where it fits in. Then you are limited by your society, your family, neighborhood, your state, your religion, limited by your outlook, your language, circumstances, habits – practically everything is limiting. But you have the capacity to overcome these limitations. That is what you are here for: to overcome the limitations.

The growth of life is not the distance travelled from here to there, from birth to death. Life is lived by obstacles overcome. Life is measure in terms of overcoming. If you can not overcome your own prejudices, your own bigotry, you are not living life no matter what your religion or what your nationality. You are not living life according to the law of life.

That is the purpose of Self-Culture. We take human beings as they are where they are without apology for fuss, but we take them for their own and show them how to develop their potential powers by and thru their own efforts, by their own liking. Self-Culture is something that each individual has to live by himself. It does not come from outside; self development does not come from outside; it comes from within-the more you live, the loftier, more unselfishly you live, the more you grow.
This is the LAW of LIFE. Therefore, in closing, I would suggest three simple methods by which you can transform yourself from a slave driven by the forces of nature from pillar to post so you can emerge as a separate entity, as a UNQUE INDIVIDUAL, a unique being. You can use nature’s law and nature’s process and BE > what you WILL to BECOME, not what nature intended you to be, /but not WITHOUT Self-Culture.

There is a departure, there is a privilege, there is a power and there is a time and an opportunity when a human being can transform from being a slave of nature to a master of Nature. This is the privilege of our modern age, modern technology…but the question is: Can we with our equipment, our limited knowledge, can we without technique, without character even, can we function as a master when we cannot function as a good slave even. That is where the preparation, the discipline and the technique are essential.

Life cannot be lived by imagining things or by wishful thinking. Life demands practical adjustments with the forces of nature. Life want to be lived thru you with you but are you fit to live with life? Are you prepared to live life? That is the question which each individual will have to answer according to his own make-up and his own way.

The three points are:

First: You are here. You have the powers. You are capable. You have the ability to be what you will to be. That is a fact. No “ifs” and “buts”. Even if you do not know anything, you have the health and energy, the attention, the intelligence with which to train yourself how to do the things you want to do. You have the capacity.

Second: Some of your fellow human beings possess the knowledge. If you do not have the necessary amount of information some one will have it. Those who are mature, who have greater information, who are more advanced, who possess greater wisdom. Therefore you can acquire that knowledge from them and benefit from it – if you are a student. This is a very important point, a very practical problem. If an individual is not capable of being a certain level of entity or a certain level of will-power and intelligence, the

collective effort of society or some close friend or relative can give him the impetus or inspiration so that he can be raised to that level; and be what he would like to be. Society is formed for that purpose. Your service to society is in payment for the service it is doing for you. If society is not doing anything for you and it consumes your devotion and your loyalty, then it is your moral obligation to make society conscious of its failure, not because of your own indebtedness, but because it is suffocating its own creative impulse by not giving privilege to its own citizens what is needed for the development of their best. True patriotism, true loyalty is to make society conscious of its obligation to each individual citizen and make its citizen, conscious of his obligation to seize the opportunity for self-growth and self-development. And finally:

Third: Ninety per cent of the energy that you are using now can be saved or dispensed with if you have a definite pattern, a definite objective an a definite goal. You can get along without 90% of the things y u do and save that energy, that time and forces, and direct your ttention to that point which you can see when you have grasped the possibility of economizing on the one side in order to expand on the other. Close the door to wastefulness in very line. Your energy, your time, your talking, you finances – close the door wherever there is waste. Spend only where you see that your progress and growth are assured. This much you can do intelligently. You alone know what you are doing now. Some time sit down with paper an pencil and jot down how much time: “I spend in gossip, or
  Doing something which does not benefit me or anyone. That I waste…ect.”

You may be able to read a good book, go to classes, or meet a friend, or study some lesson instead. Stop wasting. What you are wasting is energy and that energy is not yours. You have inherited it from the race and it was loaned to you for the purpose of becoming YOU. You have no right to waste it. It is sacred.

Nature has provided you with facilities. You should take advantage of all these opportunities. If you waste them, you are the loser. You are not justified in wasting anything that does NOT BELONG to you. It is only loaned to you; you are obligated to pay it back in one way or another.

This is the practical ART OF LIVING – TO BE and by BE-ING, BECOME.