P UBL I SH ER S N OT ICE

’
.

“
R ev P C Moz oomd ar
. . .
’
s The Spirit of
‘

G od was
first p ublished in America by Mr . G eo . H . Ellis ,

141 , F ranklin Street , Boston ,

in 1 898 , in a decent
volume and since then
, has always b een regarded by
many as a really remarkable contribution to devotional
literature . Latterly the bo ok was very d ifli c ult to
obtain in this country ,
and friends and admirers of
the author could secure only a few copies now and
then from Mrs Mo z oom dar who was su p l ie d occa
s
.

s ion ally with some volum es by the publisher in

America as kind gifts . I t was this scarcity of such a
valuable book which led th e undersigned to attem p t
a N ew E diti on to be pu blished in this country and ,

the sincerest th anks of all who esteem the work are

due to R aj a Ve nk atak umar Mahip ati Sury a R ao of
P ithapuram who came forward with the generous
,

ofi e r of bearing the e ntire cost of publication .

I t goes without saying that but for his tim ely and
liberal help it would have been d ifli c ult to undertake
the work before us . This generous donati on has been
further enriched by an admirable suggestion coming
from the same source that the proceeds of the sale of
this book might be held as a permanent fun d for
bringing out other important w orks of the same
author and it has been intend e d
,
to materialise the
suggestion as soon as it is found feasible We have .

also to record here most thankfully the readiness with

which Mr Geo H E llis gave us permission
. . . to pri n t
an I ndian edition here . The price of the first edition
w asa bit prohibitive to many in th e present edition ,

however every attempt has been made to maintain

,

the standard of the get up of the forei g n edi tion and

at the sam e time to keep the price reasonably wi thin
the means of all I t is now earnestly to be hoped and
.

desired tlf t all interested in devotional literature will

w elcome and encourage this undertaking .

B R AJA G OPAL N I YO G I .

B R AH MA MI SS ION HO US E ,

3, R A MAN AT H M A J U M D AR S T .
,

Calcu tta, A ug u s t 2 0, 1918 .

 CO NT E NT S

PREFACE ,

T H E S PI R I T ,
H I ND U DO CT RIN E O F TH E SPI R IT
,

D O CTR I N E OF TH E S P I R IT IN C H R ISTIA N IT Y ,

S E N SE O P TH E UN SE E N ,

T H E S P I R IT IN N ATU R E ,

T H E K IN SH IP IN N ATU R E ,

T H E SPIR ITUAL POWE R or TH E S EN SES ,

T H E S PI R I T IN L IF E ,

S P I R IT IN TH E S PI R IT ,
T H E SP I R IT IN IMM O R TAL L I FE ,

T H E S PI R IT IN R EA SON ,

T HE SP IR IT IN L OVE ,

T H E SPI R IT IN CO N SCIE N CE ,

T H E S PI R IT IN C H R I ST ,

T H E S PI R IT IN H ISTO R Y ,

T H E S PI R IT IN A LL R ELIG I ON S ,

L IV E I N TH E SPI R IT ,
 PR E F A C E .

I FEE L helpless at the thought that all language

is nearly worked out in conceiving expressing and , ,

glorifying God Thou gh inspired thought is an im

.

pul s e that stirs one s being to the lowest depths yet

’
,

the forms left to embody it are the used up forms to

whi ch thousands have given thousands of meanings .

How can I adequately say what is in me , ? that

S) the
reader will readily see what I mean ? There is
nothing said—I have done my best to say nothing
but what has rep eatedly come to me as th e devoutest
experience . I do not pretend to be a scholar , or
theologi an ,
or teacher . My utterances are only
my personal record . A nd I have had to express
th em through a language which , do what I will ,

being a foreigner ,
I can use very imperfectly . But
these transcendent expe ri ences must be uttered . I
only hope I shall not be accused of misleading any
one by d ishonest subtleties or conscious mysticisms
, ,

or saying one thin g and meaning another I have .

often failed in my utter incapacity to fitly conceive

6 PRE FAC E

or un fold the Spirit who is beyond word and thoug ht

.

I n His name and glory I have only tried to describe

His dealings wi th me one of the humblest of
,

mankind that He may deal similarly with others to

,

whom in the plenteousness of his grace God has

given greater light greater love or g reater holiness
, , .

May the spirit of God abide with the rea d er

 C H AP T E R I .

TH E S PIRI T .

R E AL I S E as you may the presence of God ,

in
sublime nature , in far reaching events
-
,
in
th e di vine lin eaments of the best among mankind or ,

in your own soul it is impossible to grasp the form

,

of any created thing or the whole of creation itself

, ,

“ ”
and say This is he All great f orm s inanirnate
.
.
,

or alive material or spiritual

, ,
in time in space or in
, ,

mind are his shadows

, ! all voices language music , , ,

the inspired word ,

the sounds and breathings of
nature are his echoes
, . But the R eality is i nd e s crib

able inexhaustible like everyt hing unlike anything

, , , ,

filling all things seen in all things beyond all things

, ,
.

Th e reality Of the Spirit is an unutterable experience .

\Vhat name will s u fii ce for him will be aught but the

,

barest indication of his glo rious fuln e ss ? We call thee

Spirit the E ssence and the Unity of all
,
. We feel
after thee ,
we meditate on thee , we are awe struck -

bv the maj esty Of thy presence . We invoke thee ,

O Transcendent Being ,
to make manifest before us
thy wonderful ways !
8 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

WH AT Is HE ?

Around that word particle -

, God , countless asso
have gathered the most glorious on earth
c iati ons ,

and Sky the profoundest sanctities known among

,

our race ever ascendent powers of personality the

,
-
,

tenderest humanities But the divine passion of our

.

nature is still unsatisfied . Who can utter that name

as he Should ? T he utterance made can set no b ound
to th e tide of ideas that arise . The song of the
prophet was hushed , the vision of the seers was
w ithdraw long before th e glory of God s countenance ’

e
found adequate expression . The light of the worship
of aeons kindles creation ; yet by the Si d e of the
Spirit s splendor it is a twilight ! we feel our burning
’

devotions pale like Spent oil lamps in the great morning -

splendor . We feebly h alt on our way in the great

pilgrimage . Th e generations taught by all religions
are yet uninspired the unity of man wi th God is an
unaccomplished ideal the ways of the Spiri t are dark
and unsearchable . Though indeed the most illustri
, ,

ous have shed their in fluences and examples as ,

lonely rocks in the d esert cast deep Shadows and point

the path though there are fellow pilgri ms found -

straggling here and tll cre —yet i t seems the las t part
,

of the journey has to be made in solitude an d semi

 THE S PIRI T 9

nake dness with none but the presence of the great

,

Spirit as one s only companion

’
. Let uS d raw closer
to that companionship then . The visible things of
the world , t e h invisible things of the mind the fi gures ,

an d dee d s of d ivine men the signs of the times when

, ,

shorn of their grossness slowly unveil G od in the ,

sig ht of devout thought O ne all investin g Life one

.
-
,

perceptible I nfluence , one felt P res ence , a ghostly

awful Likeness which thrills through and illumines
all the senses in flashes of sudden insight ,
—
this Life
everywhere is a marvellous P resence . Th e universal
back ground of things is not void the , univ t sal heart
of t hin gs i s not vacant . I t is s urcharged wit h the
Spirit an d presence of God .

H IS IN CA RN AT ION .

An abstract God is no God . H e may be an i d ea ,

an opinion a sentiment a moral principle to satisfy

, ,

the min d but until h e reveals hi mself is embo d ie d in ,

something w hi ch the senses as well as the soul a

c n

grasp , reli gion will n ever influence life . T he i nc ar

nation of th e Spiri t is therefore the very fi rst trut h of
all practical religion . The being an d attributes of
G od are not mere inferences , but perceptions in the
material an d moral world . I n continually higher ,
10 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

clearer nearer revelations through all things do e s the

,

Spirit approach our nature till he makes hi s glorious ,

a bode in ourselves .
We find our home in all obj ects ,

they find their home in us w hen God incarnates

himse lf in what he has made . With all that is now
knowable of him ,
he is here , all things show him ,

they are his forms his thoughts the features of hi s

, ,

countenance deeply veiled He lives in outward .

nature as the soul in an august body . He lives in

man the Life of his physical form the presiding
, ,

Spirit of his mind hea rt and soul Humanity is his

, ,
.

in c arn atiq the best among men are most like him
’
.

The Son of God is th e type of that humanity .

H E IS UN I V E R SAL .

All men see the Spirit ,

most me n ignore him ,

exceedingly few realise him . Th at what i s obscurely

and unknowingly felt may be perceived throu gh an
inspired consciousness by all the faculties is the obj ect
'

O f sp iritu al culture . That amid th e chances changes , ,

and delusions of life this one R eality may cast his

,

unfailing radiance in all dark places ,

and make a
myriad manifestations of himself that we may hold ,

by him dwell in him kno w love and t rust him at all

, , ,

times with the certainty and security we long for ,

 T HE S PIRI T u

faithful men in every age have spoken to us their

experiences These experiences are so simple and
.

natural that under certain conditions of mental

awakenin g they exact universal response . They
prove not only that God is one but als o that man s ,
’

nature is one . Th a
t man s nature is one and nearly
’
,

th e sam e everywhere proves that the Universal is in

,

it that God is th e deepest spirit in all men

, . The
seeking and seein g of such a God is most eminently
n atural , most wholesome to every man s heart ’

otherwise reli gi on would not survive th e wreck of so

many systems an d S O many endeavours Wha tever
.
.

ultimate mysteri es there may be in the great depths

of th e E ternal B eing th ere is no expression that makes
,

such a direct appeal to th e restless instincts of our

nature as that God i s that h e is near that he is in
, ,

th e h eart an d tha t h e is
, great and good an d we had,

better fly to him as to our refuge and home . An

un natural G od is th e imagination of an unnatural
man .

H E IS N ATU R AL .

That religious teaching which outrages human

n ature is undoubtedly false . The prevailing i d eas
about Go d are either abstract , or sentimental , or
moral or all thre e combined
,
. Take instances . T he
12 T HE S PIRI T OF GO D

Vedantic God in Hinduism is essentially metaphysical

the Vaishnava God in another department of Hindu
,

ism is extremely sentimental the Christian God as

,
,

part from Hebrew is extremely moral

a ,
N ow as .
,

morality and afi‘

e c tionate ne ss cannot be but in a
person the Christian and Vaishnava systems strongly
,

and incessantly teach the personality Of the D ivin e

Being . O n the other hand , as metaphysical ideas
do not necess arily include personality —nay often , ,

exclude i t —the P aramatman of the Vedanta is abs

,

tract and impersonal . The character of th e followers

Of a reli gi n depends u pon the conceptio n O f God they
o

are taught to adopt I f your God is too abstract you

.
,

have a nat ural distrust of sentiment if your G o d is

too sternly just ,
tenderness and mercy have little
influence on your character if your God is too tender
and indulgent your moral character suffers and your
, ,

theology lacks in insight . To b e Simple and natural ,

all three elements need to be c o- ordinate and in due

proportion . Any Violence done to the naturalness of

the worshipper brings the reaction surely as all false ,

creeds and false disciplines testify P erhaps absorp .

tion in any religious pursuit ,

if sincere ,
whether
metaphysical , or moral , or sentimental cannot but ,

exercise some influence on the formatio no f character

henc e on, the average all religious men are worthy of
,
 TH E S PIRI T
13

respect . But surely the spi ritual leaders of mankind

, ,

must cultivate the higher nature in such a way that

the ethical
esthetic sentimental and rational fac ul
, a , ,

ties may combine and c o ordinate in layin g before us-

the fulness o f the conception of Go d . Some day

reli gion shall cease to be a philosophical extravagance
s ome d ay worshi p shall b e the most wholesome thing
in life .

W OR S H IP AN D I N S PIR AT ION .

F rom th e fi rst dawn of man s histo ry ’

, so far as
traceable the Sp irit of God has spoken t him and
,
s ,

he to the Spiri t . Th e ve ry first act of the world s ’

worship was in response to the Spirit s call ’

. That
call may come from ina rticulate nature , articulate
prophecy or the mysterious pulsations of one s own
,
’

h eart . But no true worship is possible except when

G od breat hes into man . Worship is the satisfaction
of a craving appetite of the soul . I t is not a discipline ,

it is not a rou tine ! i t is a sore need felt . I t is

s ometimes an unconscious act . God inspires the
fe elings to d evotional tenderness ; intensifies , also ,

the love of fellow worshippers -

. God inspires th e
reason to rapturous thought , or d octri ne or ideal , ,

inspires the conscience to the sense of personal holi

n ess an d nee d o f self -
s acrific e , inspires the imagination
14 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

to lofty ceremony and symbolic rite . N0 true worship

is p osisble without inspiration n o tru e sense of the
,

d i vine nearness and personality is poss ible without

m
inspiration The agnetic touch of the Spirit draws
.

out man to an infinite search of his secrets to infinite ,

self improvement and aspiration How rarely and

- .

by how very few is that contact felt ! T he search is

a succe ss and an unsuccess . Th e Being is found , the

begi nnings of some of hi s purposes are revealed ,

infallibly revealed but the last developments are not

found . We have to trust in them we h ave to expect
t hem ever day or in the great b eyond E verythin g
y , .
,

noteworthy in life the l east or the , greatest , involves

a most wise secret of God and we are insatia bl e
seekers of it Th e artist seeks beauty the scientist
.
,

seeks law the philosopher seeks wisdom the prophet

, ,

seeks revelation th e poor in spirit seek assurance

, and

rest . They say the very greatest things in the world ,

things truly worth knowing are secr ets to be patiently,

searched found out with wonder or to be waited for

, ,

in great pain and anxiety Measureless h as been th

.

advance of the nations in the knowledge of God yet

our thirst for that knowledge is still measureless .

T helight of lastin g wisdom is th e light of the spiritual

heavens which lie concealed in th e bosom of God .

But the greater the advance in wisdom , the clearer and

 THE S PIRI T IS

stronger the sense that the Spi rit of God is ever

familiar though always equally new and strange most
, ,

like unt o us in our deepest being most congenial to our ,

better nature . There is a unity in man with himself

in his highest and lowest moods ! there is also a unity
with God . He created us in his own image and it is
profoundly tru e that when we are truly faithful God
re - creates himself in o ur image and breathes
, a new
breath in us . Then only do we worship in s pirit and
in tru th . I n our feebleness we cannot grasp him as
he is . I n his gracious stren gt h the Almighty t akes
form in the meanest of his children that powe s
u
o r r
, ,

such as they are may not fail to lead us unto him ,

.

When we are most like unto what is t ruly good and

great in ourselves we are like unto thee and thou , ,

art like unto us , 0 Spi rit ' Thou art never far but ,

always within our hearts . Whither shall I go from

thy spiri t and whit her Shall I flee from thy pr e sence
,

the P salmist c ied r

and th e wise r Spirit of Augustine
exclaimed ,
I am afraid of God ! therefore I will flee
to his a rms . N atural indeed it is to wish to flee
,
,

into the paren t embrace Of the Spirit . When Shall we

b e so simple and SO childlike as to know how to do it ?
God s nature
’
,
rightfully vi ewed ,
t hrows light into
every part of our nature . NO one is so natural as he
who has fou n d God .
IO T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

THE SU PERN ATU R AL

But surely we are not exhausted by what is

, ,

called natural Human nature is infinite progress

. ,

rising from the animal to God . There is no real

religion without the supernatural . We always eschew
the unnatural but the supernatural is not unnatural
, .

I n its endless , measureless growth nature unfolds ,

into what is above and beyond itself . N ature is born

from Him who is above and beyond nature and in ,

its turn deads us again to the supernatural . The

intellect is not the highest power in us , —no , not even
when touched with emotion or morality . F aith may
be defined as the sense O f the I nfinite or as the hi gher ,

reason ! i t is the sense which transcends the intellect

quite as much as love transcends self interest -
. AS
soon as we limit th e promptings of the Spirit within
speculation or logic or what is called the knowable
, ,

the whole exercise becomes metaphysical and unin

By spiritual transcend ent faith we surely
te re sting .

know the unknowable N atural reli gi on is said to

.

be the tomb of all historic cults Repress it as we .

may if the seed of faith has grown and taken root in

,

u s it will look for strange things for such phenomena

, ,

as th e ordinary range of observation can never expect .

IS THE S PIRI T OF GOD

ourselves and in the measure O f that faith and

, ,

endeavour will unexpected things happen to a man

,
.

The Spirit of God is ,

indeed , in all nature , in all
things ! they are his form he is their life ,
. N e ve rthe

less he is beyond our vie w beyond everything more

, , ,

than all outside or inside He controls adapts . , ,

balances material things and human progr e ss in ways

unknown or most partially known and that without ,

departing from his fixe d eternal faithfulness of law .

F or as the poet says there is no law without love

, , ,

and no love without law . But love is always higher

than l av x Spi ritual mysteries occult harmonies
y , ,

hidden processes whereby aspirations are fulfilled ,

wants relieved prayers answered and effects worked

, ,

out are all beyond the dream

,
Of our philoso phy . But
the supernatural happens so naturally that few beyond
men of faith detect it . Miracles harden the unbe
liever . Let us repeat , the supernatural is not
unnatural ; the unnatural is false and fleeting ; the
supernatural is nature beyond nature . The infinite
will ever remain a mystery ! there will be left a v ast
remnant of the dark unknowable in all reli gion that
is worth its name h owever definite and do gmatic it
,

may be . That i ne fl’ ac e able darkness Of the super

natural looms in our horizon as the obj ect of religion ,

feared revered loved tr usted when all conj ectures

, , , ,
 T HE S PIRI T 19

and calculations h ave failed about the deep things the ,

hidden t hings the possible things

,
Of God .

TH E SU P E R H U M AN .

The distinction between th e natural and super

n atural leads to the distinction of the h uman and
s uperhuman in the realms of the Spiri t . The human
i s mixed up with the carnal the ,
w orldly , the selfish ,

whether consciously or not ! the superh uman is the

pure spirit of righteousness love and truth , ,

. There
is in most men a craving —nay more than raving
, ,
g ,

an ineradicable expectancy of the superhuman . All

philoso phies have protested against it but it is there ,
.

E very form Of religion has tried to minister unto it

an d sometimes science ,
or what is called SO , has
a ccepted that O ffi ce . I ntellectually we have shake n
ofi the superhum an ! practically ,
we O ften detect
ourse lv es to b e its slaves . V
Vhe nc e this anomaly ? A
s pontaneous faith in th e tran scendence Of th e powers ,

wisdom and love of God begets expectations and tru sts

,

we dare not utter b efore any man except per haps , , ,

the genuine man of God if we are ,

so blessed as to
have found him . Man s personal love for God and
’
,

God s ’
love ,
or ,
rather , his unb ounded supreme
humanity reali z ed in a thousand providences will make ,
20 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

no legitimate prayer ,
no spiritual hope impossible .

I t is absurd to expect the fulfilment from our own

unaided strength it is absurd to expect from men the
help that is adequate ; yet the aspirations will rise ,

the necessities will force t hemselves impossibilities , ,

will present themselves and the glory of God shall,

demand their fulfilment . The wicked and arbitrary

fancy of vain men to overreach and set at naught the
whol e some laws and provisions of nature will continue
to delude the world but soon do we outgrow such
fancies yet the instinct for the superhuman help of
,

God c an
qp be repressed
t The man of faith though .
,

apparently weak as a child will find superhuman ,

strength . Men see it but do not believe

, . When our
humanity ceases to be selfish ,
but i s neve rthele ss
compelled to hope and trust and struggle for what all
human beings say is imposs ible ,
then the super
humanity of the E ternal gives us an accomplishment
which in the highest sense is miraculous . I t is thus
that the humanity of man finds itself continually
exalted to higher p la n es of tr ust and achievement
and thus , also , th e sympathies and co- o perations of
God are prov ed to be intensely human and concrete .

The genius of wickedness and self interes t has indeed -

sometimes achieved almost impossible purpo ses ; but

its victory only lasted a little while and soon recoiled ,
 T HE S PIRI T 21

on itself with inevitable disaster . The triumphs of

spirituality are not only marvellous but grow to be ,

more and more ma rvellous ,

till the holiest of men
b ecome superhuman in our sight ,
and humanity is
deified and worshipped . But all men are born with
the inheritance Of the divine the Spirit hath promised
to descend upon every one and n othing is impossible
,

to those who love G o d . By overcoming the flesh the ,

world , and the self every faithful spirit shall rise to

,

the height of ac complishing the superhuman purp oses

Of God . O nly what is superhuman is accomplished
by the dev out in such a simple modest e ceedi ngly , ,
x
h u man way that it seems to be a matter of course .

T he man of spiritual insight alone can distinguish

between the human and the superhuman .

F A M I LY L I K E N E SS E S

There is a point wherein each man s spirit is in ’

contact with God th ere is a lineament wherein the

family likeness between ourselves and our Father ,

between ourselves and th e holiest Of our race cannot ,

be wiped out . Yet no two souls are alike each one ,

rounded out in the fulne ss Of its individuality . I f the

rese mblance lacks in any particular , a little needful
culture makes up the want . There is such a thing as
2
22 THE S PIRI T OF G O D

fi nding an d losing our hi ghest self . When the hi ghe st

is found the I n d welling Spi ri t is found an d the
, ,

common universal soul in all humanity is foun d

,
.

When it is lost one becomes an outc ast in the

,

universe like I shmael every man s hand against him

, ,
’
,

his hand against every man . Wh en the accidents of

birth ,
b reedin g , or station , when the tyrannies of
heredity or the necessities of circ umstance are shaken
,

off in the stress of some great responsibility or in the

storm of some resistless impulse this great lofty , ,

nature in man S uddenly discloses itself Thus he .

lauded hyp ocrites under the fear of d eath or the

, ,
'

despair o d owrrfall or the fever of self interest have

,
-
,

cast Of their vain tra p pings to S how the absol ute

meanness Of their make . And thus a Swiss moun
or the consumptive daughter of a light house
taine er -

keeper achieves immortality by the innate heroism of

the soul . E ven in the worst of men ,
however the ,

soul nature cannot be wholly repressed

-
! opportunities
and possibilities of re generation are never entirely lost .

Sympathy from a great neighbourin g Spirit is apt to

bring out the spiri tual life of the nei g hborhood as ,

boring an outlying rock brings out the resources of a

whole mine This latent spirit n at ure of each man
. -

saves him from the utter wreck to which all fl esh

tends ceaselessly b ecause it puts him in relations
,
 THE S PIRI T 23

which draw nutriment from the surrounding mass Of

human i ty . This is the sole ground on which So ciety

or Church or State ,
or even f amily life , becomes
possible ! otherwise our animal instincts and sinfu l
opportunities will make short work of eve ry large or
sacred interest . He w ho knows the secret sp rings of
s p iritual n ature influences not only men but mankind ,
.

'

E very mass of rock has an ore of some kind withi n

its hard embrace every wild herb has so me heali ng
virtue ; every sky , howe ver inclement , sheds so me
be ne fic e n tinfluence .

So the character of every man holds t

h
e divine
somewhere . God kn ows i t, the p rophet sees it ! we
cynics do not E ach individual is a point of radiance
.

in the gr eat corona of humanity whereof the s ubstance

is God . No ,
we need despair over no ne whom we
love ,
not even the vilest and most ab andoned nor
need we b e vain that being made in the image of God , ,

we are each on e Of us called no w and then to the

feast of the spirit But it is as d ifli c ult to discern the

.

pec uliar humanity of each man as the prese nce of

God in each O bject or event . The thing escap es us
by its very nearne ss . In the grossne ss of our sight ,

we take account of the aggregates ! the uni t in the ,

minutene ss and delicacy of its artistic detail , is

imperceptible . But what is the value of the general
24 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

w ithout the accumulated excellence of the particulars ?

Almost as little as the abstract without th e concrete .

The workmanship of God d ifie rs from that of man in

this —that while the latter makes an
, ,
e fl ec t in its
outlines and its general mass the divine is infinitely ,

b eautiful the deeper you go in the endless littleness ,

of its atoms The leg O f a fly is more wonderful than

.

Cleopatra s N eedle Therefore w e can be indiff erent

’
.
,

to no person no people no religion no age in any

, , ,

“ ”
state of development 0 Man says the P ersian .
,

“
poet ,
thou coin b earing the doub le stamp of the body
and sp iri I do not know what thy nature is for thou
é,

art the mixture higher than heaven and lower than

earth ! Do not be cast down because thou art the
mixture of the four elements ! do not be self com -

placent because thou art the mirror of the seven

realms .

E very faithful man in the uninterrupted medita ,

tion of God or the self forgetful service of his -

fellow men -
, is raised at intervals to an ecstasy of
being . I t may be calm quiet self contained well , ,
-
,

balanced nevertheless it is a rapture a fulne ss of

! , ,

realised manhood a universal state of consciousness

, .

I t is not worked up , afie c te d , or unnatural in any way

it
.
is Simple , unforced ,
wholesome most human , .

P hilosopher or s cientist lawyer artist , , ,

or saint ,
26 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

in the whole world I n the transcendent consc iou s

.

ness of epoch m aking men how much is God how

-
, ,

much is man who will disc riminate ?

,
I n the s elf lost
-

r apture of the devotee who will say how much of the

,

inspiration is personal and how much i s the glow of

,

the Universal Essence ? I n such a man the Spirit

“
voice once declared This is my Son in whom I am
,

”
well pleased and the world has acknowledged that
the F ather and Son are one . These ways of the

Spirit I shall attempt to trace . I crave the reader s ’

forbearance .
 CH A P T E R II .

TH E H INDU D O CTR INE O F TH E SPI RI T .

the e arliest dawn of man s recorded life

F R OM ’

th e Spirit o f G o d has spoken to him in accents

so real yet so won d erful that he instinctively sought
, ,

the mysterious Spe aker . Th e B eing was found but ,

the vastness and hei ght in which it was veile d nothing

could penetrate . T he inscription on th e Temple of
“ ’
I sis at P ort Sai d is , I am that which has b een which ,

i s which will be
. and no man has yet lifted the veil
”
that covers me . God ,
the absolute Bein g requires ,

to b e specifie d ! thus alon e can we know him . We

cannot kno w him in his infinite d epths but only in ,

our human relations to him . These relations how ,

ever are so complex so manifold expansive original

, , , , ,

assumin g difl ere nt forms in each man s case almost in ’

,

each circumstance of each man that there is no end ,

of knowin g God . I n nature , in life , in soul , in

h umanity in revelation in history secular and sacred
, , ,

divin e relations and dealings are unfol d e d and have

to b e d iscerne d . How to call him who has given
names an d forms to all realities ? The Spiri t seems
28 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

to be the most appropriate name to call him by . He

is the substance the soul the glory the breath the
, , , ,

life of all things . We are Spirits ourselves . He the

universal we the individual
,
the common name b rin gs
out the common nature the common relations as ,

’
between parent and o fl sp ri ng The Spirit can only .

comprehend Sp irit can love consciously ob ey and be

, , ,

united with the Spirit When God s nature is dis .

’

cern ed and man is one with his spirit the destiny of

, ,

all religion finds fulfilment T wo religions unfol d .

the doctrine of the Spirit and lay down the path of ,

union with him ,

—
the
two wit h which I am only
‘
somewhat familiar —the Hindu and the C hristian
,

religions The conceptions are very dissimilar

.
,

nay sometimes apparently opposite —but to my

, , ,

mind true according to their respective stan d points

,

though I confess the manner of presentation sometimes

makes me hesitate .

CHAR GE OF PA N TH EI S M

I t is not true to begin with that the Hindus failed

, ,

to observe the di stinction between the individual and

universal Spirit but as the latter was to them the

,
 H IND U DO CT RIN E OF THE S PIRI T 29

s piritual exercise the Spirit of God was regarded as

,

the All -
in -
All and the egoistic soul was either merged
,

in devout identity or ignored altogether . N othing can

be more b eautiful than the allego ry whi ch the O ldest
of the Vedas contains ,
illustrating th e distinction
between the individual and Supreme Soul . The
Spirit Of God , as a living embodiment ,
has been
likened unt o a swift winged bird descending from the-

e ternal skies to make her abode on the tree Of human

l ife . AS the mother bird broods over the symbolical
egg and at last leads out her feathered off spring into
,

the swelling harmonies of the upper air , SO does the

’
Spirit breed and bring up our spirits at la st carrying ,

“
t
us on its wings in o the music of the I nfinite T wo .

birds (the Supreme Soul P aramatman and the indivi , ,

dual so ul Jivatm an ) always united Of the same name

, , ,

(Atman ) live on the same tree (the human body )

, .

O ne of them enj oys the sweet fruit of the tree ! the

o th er looks on as a witne ss needing no food ,
. Dw ell
ing on the same tree (with the Supreme Soul ) the ,

d elud e d soul (immersed in worldly relations) is gri eved

by the want of power ; but ,
when it perceives the
R uler (separate from worldly relations) and his glory ,

t hen its g rief ceases When th e beholder sees the .

g olden colored Maker the Lord the Soul the Source

-
, , , ,

the Brahma ,
then , having become wise , shaking Ofl
30 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

virtue and vice without tain t of any kind he obtain s

, ,

”
the highest identity This not only sets forth the
.

distinction between the two S pirits but also defines ,

their relations indicates the cause of their alienation

,

and the proc ess of their ultimate unity There is not .

much rank pantheism here Can other scriptures .

produce passages of equal beauty and simplicity ,

setting forth the august subj ect of spiritual rela tions ?

Such then is the e sse nce of th e Hindu doctri ne of the
, ,

Spirit which has been and shall be the bur den of

,

the song of all philoso phy and religion . So diverse ,

however has been the treatment of this doctrine by

,

'
men who have taken it up for their own purposes ,

that its thousand meanings are lost in the wildest

speculation . Let me point out one or two of its uses .

C R E AT I O N .

Take for instance the sub j ect of creation

, , Th e .

Spirit of God is adored in the Hindu scriptures as the

ori ginating pr inciple of all that is —a pure st ate of ,

being from which everything else is mysteriously

“
evolved .
Asks the Book of Job !
Where wast tho u
when I laid the foundations of the earth ? D eclare ,
if
thou hast the understanding . Who laid the measures
thereof , if thou knowest , or who has s tretched the
 H IND U DOC TRI NE OF TH E S PIRI T 31

”
lin e upon it ? The R ig Veda in the tenth Mandal a -
,

makes that declaratio n

In the be gi nn i ng the re w as ne ithe r n au ght n or aught,

T he n the re w as ne i the r sk y nor atmosphe re above .

W hat e n shrou d e d the u nive rse ?

In the re c e ptac le of w hat w as it c on tai ne d ?

Was it e nve lop e d in gulf p rofound of wate r ?

T he n w as the re ne ithe r d e ath nor immortality ,

T he n was the re ne ithe r d ay nor nig ht nor lig ht nor d arkne s s

Only the e x i ste nt On e bre athe d c almly s e lf c ontaine d
N au ght e l se t han hi m the re w as —
-
.
,

naught e l se abov e be yon d

, ,
.

T he n firs t cam e d arkn e ss hid in d ar kne ss g loo m in gloom , .

N e x t all w as wate r all a c haos in d iscre e t

, ,

In whi ch the One l ay voi d s hrou d e d i n not hingne ss .

T he n tu rni ng inward s he by s e lf d e ve lo pe d f ort e gre w

, ,
-
.

A n d in him d e s ire , the p rimal ge rm of mind ,

A ros e , w h i ch l e arne d me n , p rof ou ndly se arc hing , s ay

Is the s ub tl e bond c onn e c ting e ntity

With n ullity T hi s r ay . that k ind le d d orm an t
l if e ,

W he re w as i t the n ? be fore ? or w as it above ?

We re the re parturie nt powe rs and late nt q ualit ie s
A nd f e c u nd pri nc ip l e s be ne ath , and ac ti ve f orce s
T hat e ne rg ize d aloft ? Who k now s ? Who c an d e clare
H ow an d f rom what has S pr u n g the univ e r s e ? T he god s
T he m se lve s are sub se q u e nt to its d e ve lopme nt .

Who ,
t t
the n , p e ne ra e s the se c re t of i ts r i se ?

D og mati z e as we may about the origin of all thing s

from the Spirit of God in their depths the theories ,

fail . An i gnorance which is not confe ss ed but must ,

be felt darkens th e mystery of creation and the cry

, ,

”
st ill rises ,
Who can penetrate ? The problem of
32 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

originating force meets us in every part of the universe ,

in every part of our own experience and resolv e s ,

itself —
ii there be any solution at all—into the fact O f
turning will into deed That man is a creator who .

can Shape his sub j ective impulses into O bj ective reali

ties All f ounders of all systems and all religions
.

effected that We do it we smaller men more or

.
, ,

less according to the measure of the force in our

character . We do it for good or for evil according to
our habit and training but the process of doing
none can explain The proximate explanation lies in
.

“ ” “ “
inner fe r or , intense abstraction and desire
y , ,

the primal germ the subtle bond that connects entity

,

with nullity The Spirit s mind is in us the process

.
’ ’

of that mind is also in us O nly the conscious union .

-

of the Spirit and ourselves — that is the whole ques ,

tion which practical religion is to solve The holiest .

and best in all lands pre eminently the Son of Man ,

-
,

solved it for us ! to be like them is to solve it but to ,

b e like them means the working out of the problem

anew in the case of each man .

Speaking Of the originating force of things lying

involved in our will , of course we see that the
materials with which we make are ready at our hands
we have not to make thes e I t was di ff erent with the .

Supre me Maker who alone assuredly knows all ab out

,
34 THE S PIRI T OP G OD

religious p hilosophy is divided into two great schools .

The Dvaita and the Advaita schools both believe in

the pervasiveness and universality of the Godhead ;
but the form er certainly insist on the supreme fact
of Divine P ersonality
personal religion at all po ssible
with the Spirit of God are not only acknowledged but
, which makes practical and
. I ndividual relations
,

laid down and cla ssified in detail which Shows great ,

spiritual insight . The alienation of the so ul through

sin and ignorance is also described the moral respon
sibilitie s of man are not forgotten The incarnation .

of the Divine Spirit is loo ked upon as the very first

(
principle of all tr ue reli gion The love of God .

becomes a perfect self immersion -

, a perfect inebri a
tion God is regarded as the F riend the P arent the
.
, ,

Child the Husband th e Master T he whole d octrine

, , .

of incarnation is expresse d most completely in two

ve rses of the B hagavad Gita -
,

“
To save the ri ghteous to destroy evil works to , ,

prese rve the continuity of religion I am b orn from ,

” ’
age to age God s incarnations are thus a progre ssi ve
.

course Of self revelation

-
. But though all this be
,
'

undo ubtedly true of Hinduism it is equally true that ,

the D ivine Spirit remains as abstract pervasive uni , ,

versal and absolute as the nationa l philoso p hy is

,

reputed to teach G o d is an unthinkable metaphysic

.
 H IND U DO C T RINE OR TH E S P IRI T 35

es sence . I t must b e c onfessed , however ,

that the
human mind being narrow individual impersonations ,

of God are therefore called for . Hence the popular

falling off i nto crowds of minor deities each with a ,

name form function who people the national pan

, , ,

theon . Too great abstraction in thought on the other ,

hand , has served to alternate faith doct rine and , ,

worship into that subtle all encompassing pantheism -

the evidences of which are to be found in every sc hoo l

of the religious philosophy of th e Hindus .

These two opposite extremes of conception perplex

all right understanding of the Hindu e p tion
con ra Of

God . The one takes Shape in the agnosticism and

metaphysics of the Vedanta which recommends itself ,

to th e sceptics of all classes and co untri es , the other in

the numberles incarnations and complex
s
po lytheism
Of the P uranas whi ch ch aracteri z es modern Hinduism
,
.

A double formula underlies these two extremes . God ,

being the universal Life and Soul O f creation has made ,

e veryt hing in near or remote likeness Of himself . He

is in eve rything ! ev erything is his shado w , the
putting forth Of his thought force and will force
- -
.

Hence whatever impre sses us is the likeness of God .

This is the source of the million of deities who fill the

Hindu pantheon . On the ot her hand , all things ,

b e ne fic e nt or terri bl e g ood or bad are ruled by G o d

, ,
.
36 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

He is above them beyon d them more than they

, , ,

difiere n t from them in his power and essence I f he .

is above and unlike all things matter or mind known , ,

or unknown what is h e like what and how Shall we

, , ,

know him ? T hus God is unknowable . He can be

defined only by negatives —nay nay , ,
. N o condition
can represent him no mind can comprehend him no
, ,

quality can express him . E ve ry statement about him

cripples his infinity and sets limit to the fathomless
,

perfections . I n a se nse indeed b oth views are true

, ,
.

B ut let us he ar in mind that likeness unto the

image of G od is not to b e God also tha t because the ,

D ivine Spirit is beyond everything made he has not ,

the power to abide and reveal himself in what h e has

himself made Th e immanence and transcendence of
.

the Spiri t of God form the opposite poles wherein the

whole system of Hin du religion revolves .

I MMA NENCE OF TH E S PIRI T .

Whether likened u nto the vast canopy of the sky ,

where all things lie in their warp and woof whether ,

likened unto the sun the all revealer or the thun d er

,
-
,

re ady with its terror , the Spirit of God is most

intensely assimilated in the genius of Hindu contem
p lation . He is now th e I nspirer of great dread , now
 H IN D U DO CT RI N E OF TH E S PIRI T 37

of j oy or everlasting peace
, . He is now the Light ,

the Glory of all things or the E ssence the Li fe the , , ,

Soul of the creation and the I ndweller in the spirit ,

of man . His many manifestations are according to

the di fferent points of View from which the nature Of

God is studied but , whatever these views may be ,

they all set forth the fervid immanence of the Divine

Spirit . T he manifestations of the glory of God in the
forces and fac ts Of nature give ri se to the literature
of the Vedas commonly misrepre sented by foreigners
,

as nature worshi p . His manifestations in the soul of

man were the so urce of the sublime literat ure of the
Upanishads the spiritual philosophy of the Hindus
,
.

And the incarnation of the Spirit of God in heroes

and prophets in the history of mankind is the real
meaning of the much abused P uranas . Thus the
presence of God in creation in the soul of man and , ,

in his dealings with the types Of the race , through

religious and national dispen sations , discloses the
marvellous analogy that there is b etween spiritual
Hinduism and th e characteristic doctrine Of Christia
nity .
The Spirit of God is the source and substance
of all things the evolvin g principle in all matter and
,
,

“
bears forth all souls As the spider casts and draws
.

its web as from a living man th e hairs of his he ad

,

”
and body spri ng forth ,
so is produced the universe
3
38 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

“
from the indestructible Spirit A S from a bla z ing
“

fire consubstantial sparks proceed in a thousand ways ,

so from the imperisha ble Spirit various living souls

are produced and they return to him also AS ,
.

flowing rivers resolve into the sea losing their names ,

and forms SO the wise losing their name and form

, , ,

pass into the Divine Spirit who is greater than the ,

great . He who kno ws the Supreme Sp irit becomes

S pirit .

God is not a vast self willed D emiurge who crashes

-

i n thunder through the O vercast skies or treads on the ,

world in 'e arthq u ak e s causing oceans to overflow and

—that
,

the mountains to tre mble to their foundations ,

is not the Hindu conception of the world s origin’

. It
is not the giant machinery of nature self~
made and ,

se lf evolving
-
, oulless neither creator nor created but
s , ,

an all devouring furnace of things from which this

-

fair earth is vomited like smoke ,

or dissolved anon
into the abyss whence it grew . This pantheistic
dream is the delirium of moral natures gone astray .

R ather is our F ather the vast image of the Supreme

P urusha (person ) described in the R ig Veda whose -
,

one footstep is the earth and whose second and ,

third footsteps are the heavens ,

from whose mind
” “ ”
is the moon , from whose eye the S u n, from
“
whose interior are the S kies , and from whose head
 H IND U DO CT RIN E OF T HE S PIRI T 39

the heavens . F rom his mouth the Brahmin from ,

”
his arms is the K he tryia, from his feet the Sudra .

He is the So urce and Substance Sou l and Li fe and ,

F orm Of creation . O ut of his inten s e abstraction it

g rew . He is the Supreme Sacrifice who s hapes him
self into the devotions of the saints into the , ofl e ring s

of the faithful and is re p roduced as the scriptures

, ,

and the enj oyments of th e godly both in life mortal

and immortal .

N o religion w ith any pretension to spirituality

sets forth as distinctly as Hinduism the immanence
of the Spirit of God as the life and glory qt nature .

N ay thi s n aturally follows from the theory of creation

,

de scribed before . The substance of God unfold e d

into forms by sp iritual self action is the universe -
.

There is one glory one beauty one power one life , , ,

in all the worlds and that belongs to the P aramatma n

,
.

The Hindu concepti on of the Spirit is a pervasive

“ ”
P resence . He is the binding chord , says the
“ ”
A tharv a Veda ,
which links all things that are bo rn .

N ot as mere Maker or Supporter or R uler of the

universe not as a mere Mechanic and Mender is G o d

,

to be adored but as I ndwelling Glory in all obj ects of

,

“
all thought . The A tharva Veda asks , Say who is
this pillar like O ne in whom all worlds all creation
-
, ,

are held all th e waters and all the Vedas all bein g
, ,
40 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

and non being all vows that come from the devotions
-
,
,

and all works that come from the vows in whom are ,

held all reverence and all earth the atmosphere and , ,

the heavens the sun and moon and th e fires and the
, ,

winds —say ,
v

,
who is this pillar like O ne - ?”
I ndeed ,

it is P aramatman the Spirit Supreme The B rihad

,
.

“
arany ak Upanishad says ! Man is indeed a tree the ,

lord of the forest ! his hair is like the leaves ,

hi s Skin
is the bark . F rom his skin flows blood as sap from ,

the bark . I t issues from his wounded b ody , like sap

from the stricken tree . I f a tree be cut down ,

it
springs enew from the root F rom what root does .

mortal man grow again when hewn down by death ? ,

”
The root is Brahma who is knowledge and bli ss ,
.

All great books teach the interpenetration of the Spirit

in every creature and in every Ob j ect There is nothing
.

apart fr om him nothing alien to him though as the

, , ,

“
T alabk e n Upanishad says ,
He is diff erent from all
” “
things known as well as unknown He who
beholds all things in the being of God and b eholds ,

God in all things ceases from hatred toward any ,

o ne . I n the same spirit th e , Bhag avad -

Gita declares
“
that man sees God who realizes him as existent and
uniform in all O bj ects the only Unchangeable in all ,

this changeful creation .

The seeing of God which is only a promise in ,

42 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

te riz e d in the Sermon on the Mount as blessed are

”
the pure in heart for they shall see God
,
. I t is
seldom given to any man to be in per pe tual sight of
the Spirit of G od ! that would mean the everlasting
elevation o f heart intelligence and will to the eternal
, ,

heights . We h ave , each on e of us to take our rise ,

and fall our light and darkness according to the

, ,

measure of our so uls and the merits O f our endeavour .

But every spiritually minded man if he at all believe

-
,

in the possibility of seeing God ,

can behold him
through one or other of these proce sses . The a e com
p lishe ddevotee according to Hindu notions has
, ,

three eyes to behold God with —th e eye of pure ,

intelligence of pure emotion and of pure character

, , .

With the se he enjoys G od vision in three regi ons —

in -
,

the past in the present and in the future above the

, , ,

earth on the earth and underneath I n other words

, , .
,

the spiritual man beholds the Spirit in infinite space

and in infinite time .

T R A N SC E NDEN C E OF T H E S PIRI T .

The vastness of I ndia the multitude of its people

—
, ,

its great lordly rivers some of them fifteen hundre d

miles long —its mountains forests its natural pheno
, , ,

mena of violent storms rending earthquakes devour , ,

 III N D U DO CTRIN E OF THE S PIR I T 43

ing deluges desolatin g famines have always acted on

, ,

the imagination of our religious leaders . I t has been

i mpossible for them to rest contented with small and
limited conceptions of God s nature and power ’
. The
universal the unconditioned the everlasting is sug
, , ,

gested by everything . T h e extreme climate , both hot

and cold the highly nervous temperament ,
the
over -
strung emotions , Of our thinkers ,
—contradict the
mere mechanical relations of life . O f itself the mind
nry stic ally goes in search of th e unseen the vast the , ,

immortal and th e eternal , .

God contains rules and transcends these things

, ,
.

I nner impulses thus favor outside sugg estions and ,

th e Spirit of God magnifies himself as the u nc o nd i

tion e d Absolute . E very thing that pertains to time or

sense or space or intellect is carefully abstracted from
him . He exceeds all limits ! he is beyond all unlike ,

all unboun ded by law

, ,
or quality , or attribute or ,

condition . O nly he is ! nothing more could be said

of h im . F aith is sublimated into agnosticism but it ,

is a devout agnosticism . God b ecomes the I nfinite

Abstract . He enters int o all things . They are his
passing Shadows . He alone is real ! all else is delu
sion . He is all in all there is nothing but him . In
our vanity we imagine that we have some power or

s ome being . The devout mingle and disappear

44 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

God as a spark in the c on flag ration , or a bubble in

,

the sea . F aith thus dissolves into pantheism . An d

thus fatal errors Spring from goo d beginnin gs ,

errors which if we only knew how to avoi d them

, ,

would exalt the faith of all mankind .

The Hindu doctrine of God as the Universal Being

is familiar to all the world The perception of the.

world the consciousness of self melt like cloud specks

, ,
-

in the sky when the Supreme Spirit overreaches and

embosoms us in rapturous communion This is .

intelligible to the man of spiritual experi ence I n .

God we temporarily forget all else even that we our ,

selves e x !St . But ,

if the sentiment of devotional
ecstasy is beaten into the dogma that there is naught
else in existence that the universe and the human self
,

are but modifications of the Dei ty men feel a Shock ,

'

t hey feel that all personal religion and morality are

slipping away from their grasp When the Bhagavad .

Gita teaches the indestructi bility of the soul saying ,

that it cannot be cut asunder or burn ed or dried up or

d e file d , that it always lives that it is inarticulate
,

before birth inarticulate after death

, ,
articulate only
i n the interval of life that at the time of death it
,

leaves the flesh like a faded garment and takes

immediately a fresh form we respond heartily , . B ut
when , as an inference from this we are taught that ,
 H IN D U DO CT RI N E OF THE S PIRI T 45

there is neither sin nor inhumanity in slaughtering

men who are thus only hastened into the inevitable
,

c ondition of further existence we feel as if the , f ou n d a

tion of right and wrong was being taken away from
under our feet . I ndeed there is a universal soul in
,

all lands in all ages in all men

, ,
otherwise truth and ,

g oodness would not find this world wide acceptance -

.

There is a universal humanity above temporary local , ,

and personal limitations and that humanity is

Di vinity . But the individual and local is there also ,

all the same . I t shall be there always ,

and its
progress and perfection mean the necessity of religious
culture .

I n the P uranas ,
and in the Vaishnava scriptures
g enerally , there is a healthy dualism ,
al ways recog
niz ing the existence of the individual and Supreme
s oul side by side in the devotee s nature —in simple ’
,

theistic relations , as between the Master and the

s ervant the Beloved and the loving the F ather and
, ,

the son the Helper and the helpless

,
. I n the Vishnu
P urana the great Vaishnava devotee P rahlad a, thus
“
replies to the threats of his persecuting father ! O
father what is the occasion of any fear when in the
, ,

heart one feels th e presence of that eternal reassuring ,

Spirit the very remembrance of whom dispels every

,

fear of disease and death ?” And then later on we

, ,
46 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

find the bene diction ,

Unto the I ndweller of the

hearts of all living bein g s may your love and yo ur

purpose tend night and day ! Thus shall y ou fi nd
”
deliverance from all manner of sorrows .

The fact is that no speci es of doctrine abo ut the

n ature and immanence of the Spirit is unknown to

one or other of the vari ous orders of Hinduism . The

very multitude of the doctrin es perplex es the believer .

In trying to simpli fy them on e finds three forces of

,

the Divine nature have according to Hindu wi sd om

, ,

entered into the formation of all things Th e fi rst is .

the force whereby God holds his own being and gives
being to bthe rs the second is the force by which he
has intelligence and gives intelligence to others the
third is the force whereby he has love and j oy and
confers love and j oy upon others . The first is exist-5
ence the second is reason the third is joy The first
, , .

means the reality of b eing or creation the second is

,

the reality of intelligence in all things made the third

is the reality of love or joy which to Hindu thinkers
,

means on e and the same thing The three best .

known n ames of God ,

familiar to all who know
anything of Hinduism , correspond to this spiritual
analysis . The first name is Brahman th e secon d is ,

P aramatman
and the third is Bhagavan Brahman
, .

“ ”
means He who is great and makes what is great
 H IN DU DO CTRI N E OF TH E S PIRI T 47

P aramatman means the Supreme Spirit , from whom

all intelligent b eing s have sprung and who dwells in ,

“
them the third is Bhag avan , which means He to
whom belong all th e resources all the forces all the , ,

wealth of all the worlds and who incarnates himself

,

”
in all gr eat men . N ow no possible conception of
,

the Divine n ature ,

anci ent or modern ,
E astern or
Weste rn is possible beyond this threefold p rinciple
,
.

Th e close st parallel between the Christian and Hindu

conceptions of the threefold nature of God is here
observable . The only di ff erence is that in the Hindu
evolution the Spirit oc cupies the second and in the
Ch ristian system it occupi es the thi rd pl aice in the
self revelation of G od s nature The Vedas deal with
-
’
.

that self revelation as manifested in natural laws and

-

obj ects ,
the Upanishads deal with the soul and
intelligence of man ,
and the P uranas deal with
inca rnation and the dealings of God with mankind .

We h ave not the remotest wish to compare the Hindu

and Christian scriptures ; but , generally speaking ,

the O ld Testament corresponds to th e Vedas , the

G ospels to the P uranas ,
and th e E pistles of Saint
P aul to the Upanishads . But Christianity in the
O ld and N ew Testaments has mainly the dispensation
of the F at her and the dispensation of the Son ,

scarcely anythin g that can be called the di spensation

48 TH E S PIRI T OF GO D

of the Spirit .
When the last finds adequate record ,

the anal o gy between the Hindu and Christian schem s e

will b ecome complete .

S PIRI TUAL I N S I GH T .

To see the immanent Spirit enveloping the universe

means that glori ous omnipresence of which nature is
the fitting temple . I t enlivens inspires intoxicates
, ,

the seer and obliterates all sense of the meanness and

,

misery of life . The interpretation of God in nature

shall one day furnish a new world to religion and a
new wisddm of all things The Isop an ishad says .

“
Whatever obj ects there are inside the universe are
” “
infused with the Spirit of God . F orsake all earthly
temptations , and enj oy him . Do not covet other
”
men s wealt h
’
. O n all four sides is the E ternal
spread out . O n all four sides is the I nfinite and what
seems to be the finite . He who is the Supporter of
the universe knows all ! knowing the past and future
”
of all things , his Spirit moves in it . When the
intensity of spiritual immanence was reali z ed thus ,

the ancient Hindu could not but perceive that God

was in his heart also F aith in the I ndweller meces
.

sarily follows the conscious presence of the Spirit in

all things . N ay , it is the P rese nce within that
50 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

ness of man to e ff ect this internal purification is once

or twice confessed in accents of P auline tenderne ss .

E very Hindu quotes the well kn own verse from the -

Vishnu Dharmottara I know what is righteousness ,

but I have not the readiness to perform it . I know

what is unrighteousness ,
but have not the power
to abstain from it . 0 R hishik esa, thou art in my
heart Dispose O f me as thou wouldst and I would
. ,

act accordingly ” The ring of the apostle s cry

.
’

“
faintly echoes in the ear The good that I would
”
I do not but the evil that I would not that I do
,
.

I n the dispensation of the ways O f the Spirit

future
‘

the Hindu religion will surely play a pro minent part ,

because at every step profound resp onses meet the

seeker Of God in all his lofty aspirations amidst the
world of Hindu spiritualities . Their h elpfulne ss and
truthfulness are withou t e nd , though , indeed , care
and discretion be needed in their study . Some day ,

when the one great Spirit God is worshi pp e d all the

-

world over the unbroken continuity of the race of

,

spiri tual men wherever born

, ,
shall be established .

But all great accomplishment of ideal ,

while it
t e- explains the past and inspires profound impulses in
the present must be a hope and a promise and rest
, ,

with the future for its final e fie c t . D oes not this mean
ceaseless prayer ceaseless faith and ceaseless work on
, ,
 H IND U DO CT RI N E OF THE S PIRI T 51

o ur part ? The Dispensation of the Sp rit is a daily i

unfolding a daily light and progre ss for the individual

,

and for the race . Wh en in this blessed , though

di fficult process no personal experiences even of
, ,
the

meanest of God s apostles can be set aside who dare

’
, ,

think that the spiritual history of one of the most

c ontemplative races of th e world is to be ignored ?

But to be included among the children of lig ht we

, ,

must claim no more than is our due ; we must be

always conscious of ou r want ,
one sidedness
-
, and
ignorance always hail the Spirit s guidance and self
,
’

revelation from whithersoever it may come ive honor

,
g
to all ages and the dealings of God with his people
eve rywhere .
 CH A P T E R III .

DO CTRINE OF TH E SPIRI T IN CH RI ST I A NI TY .

H E doctrine
T Of the Spirit O f God as the Source
of thin gs ,
as the P resence the P ervader and , ,

the Witness and ,

the I ndweller ,
is indeed old and
universal ; b ut the Christian doctrine is so charac
teri stic ally personal that it is unique . Like the Hindu
P aram atnfa, it is not a metaphysical substance a sort ,

of spirit protoplasm of which the universe is spun out

-
,

a circumam bient essence d ifiu se d through nature ,

implicit in all things an intellectual a bstract a

, ,

totalized consciousness of the race an undercurrent ,

Of influence nay ,
not even the mere Muni ,
the
inactive witness and knower who indwells ,
the wrong
doer s heart and keeps record of what is done or
’

thought . Whether all this be true or not ,

the
Christian doctrine on the su bj ect is very di ff erent I t .

is a tremendous personality inalienable concrete , , ,

living permanently a biding in us

, . I ts voice is stern ,

aggressive commanding —sometimes still and tender

, ,

also but at other tim es the Spirit speaketh trumpet

“
tongued to the churches ,
striveth with man ,
 DOCT RI N E OF T H E S PIRI T IN C H RI ST I A NI TY 53

lifteth up the standard against the enemy ,

con
“
fe rre th the fierce gift of prophetic fire and ,
poureth
”
himself like the floods . The relation Of the Spirit to
man is an austere moral relation ,
—the relation of
resp onsibility of , O bedience of voluntary self subj ee
,
-

tion . God and man are two ,

not one . A wful
anathemas are hurled against those who heed not the
“ ”
Spirit s deliverance
’
. Whoever speaketh a word ,

Jesus himself s aid , against the Son ,

it shall be
forgiven him but whoever speaketh a word against
the Holy Spirit ,
it sh all never be forgiven him ,

neither in this world nor in the n ext .

The dignity of thi s personal spirit however is not , ,

solely the dignity of sternness and power ,

but his
relations are also most a ff ectionate and kind . The
Spirit is the most constant of friends . He is the
All holy God in individual relations with every man
-
.

The work of the SDi rit is to shed the j oy of the love

of God in the heart He comforteth he te stifie th to
.

our hopes ,
helpeth our i nfirm i tie s he teacheth ,

revealeth , g uid e th he compassionately i n te rc e d e th

for man with unutterable supplications he is the

ready Consoler ever present wit h us .

In the history of the Christian Ch urch believers

have often accorded to the personality of Christ
4
54 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

absolute God head and thus tried to fi nd satisfaction

,

for every spiritual instinct . But this was never

Without some kind or other of protest ! it was not
natural and the leading minds of early Chri stendom
were forced after a few centuries
, , to determine in
public council what place should be assi gned to the
Spirit in the economy of Christian theology How .

far the decision then made has answered the exig enci es
of sp i ri tual development we would not say , though
perhaps theologically it has quieted some people
, , .

JE SUS ON T HE S PIRI T .

I ndee d the Master at the time of his departure

,
,

even before left the whole development of his work

,

in the hands of the Spirit The very conception of

.

“
Christ by Mary was of the Spirit . Th e Holy Ghost
came upon her and the power of the Highest over
,

”
shadowed her , showing th at in Christ s time no ’

theological difierence between the F ather and the

Spiri t was observed . Th e c hild J esus “ waxed strong
in spirit fi lle d with wi sdom and th e
,
g race of G od .
”

At his baptism the Spiri t desc ended upon him in the

“
form of a dove .The Spirit dove forsook the ark of
-

“
N oa says a Christian wri ter and lighted on the
,

u ”
Ch rch of Christ . He earnestly taug ht his d isciples
 DOCT RINE OF TH E S PIRI T IN C H RI ST I A N I TY 55

to pray for the F ath er gave the Holy Spirit to the m

,

” “
that ask Behold my s ervant whom I hav e
.
,

chosen my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased

, .

I will put my Spirit upo n him ,

and he shall Show
”
j udgment to th e Gentiles . And when during his ,

“
lifetime Jesus sent hi s first apostles
, ,
like sheep in
”
the midst of wolves ,
he exhorted them to take no
“
thought as to what or how they s hould speak for
it is not ye that speak but the Sp irit of the F ather
which s pe aketh i n you . He declares in Samaria ,

“
The hour cometh and now is when y e shall neither
, , ,

in this mountain nor yet in Jerusalem worship the ,

F ather bu t the tru e worshippers Shall worship th e

F ather in spirit and in truth . F or the F ather seeketh
su ch to worship hi m . God is a Spirit and they that
”
worship him must worship in the spirit and in truth .

O nce for all this Should settle th e question what

,

and whom we are to worship . When was Christ ever

slow to derive th e authority of hi s teachings from
God the Spirit or acknowledge th e deepest relations
, ,

to him as long as h e was alive ? But at th e time of

hi s death was the relation expressed in most touchin g
words . Though his words and example were there ,

amounting almost to his continued pres ence with the

disciples , they were trusted to th e keeping of no

earthly successor ,
to no mortal protection , to no
56 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

mutual counsel and consultation , no mere vague

dependence even upon the F ather but upon the
ministry of the Sp irit alone . N ow this was but the
,

necessary consequence the natural resul t of Christ s

, ,
’

whole life and teaching this was the only consolation

in his fearful death , which was an overw helming
crisis to the infant Church . I t is expedient for you
that I go away ; for , if I gO
'

not away the Holy ,

”
Spirit will not come unto you . Could there be a
greater adversity than Christ s disappearance from ’

the earth ? Yet such an adversity was preferable to

“
delay in the Spi rit s coming
’
I go to my F ather and .
,

“
ye see me no more But the Spirit is coming to
.

”
dwell with you for ever . Thus Christ s life and death ’

served as an introduction to the advent of the Spirit .

THE S PIRI T V I N DI CAT E D .

I s this Spirit ,
then ,
a theological fiction ? The
revelations which Christ made in his own person often
fell upon unfruitful ground hearing the disciples did
,

not understand . Man s understanding in want of the

’

Spirit must often be at fault . With the gift of the

Spirit , his understanding grasps the most diffic ult
problems that try him . What was lost when the
Master went away who Should restore ?
, What was
58 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

of the professio ns witness that . The Holy Spirit is

withi n a man s own self —the hea rt of hi s heart
’
, ,
the

soul of his soul bound to be felt and recogni z ed in the

’

innermost rece sses where all is quiet He alone can .

enlighten exalt reform purify

, , , ,
t hrough great suff er
The Spirit is the God who is ever a man s own
’
ing .

God who silences doubt forces conviction c ompels

, , ,

conduct The F ather is far above the Son is far

.
,

away ! the Spirit abides with you always and in the

Spirit both the F ather and the Son abide . Christ was
perpetually conscious of the Spirit s presence with ’

him . “Lhate ve r he said or did in his life s work was ’

at the Spirit s dictate ’

. He subj ect s his whole nat ure ,

b odily and mental ,

to the Spirit s guidance ’
. In no
detail and in no principle of his ministry did he exalt
his own self He was spiritualized entirely ! he was
.

the Spirit made flesh . The glory of his trans figura

tion was spiritual glory . The glory of his crucifixion

was Spiritual glory ! the material surroundings were
mean and miserable . Th e glory of his resurrection
was spiritual glory it was no flesh and blood but the ,

spirit ascended into the kingdom above . We mate

ri alize d him because we have so little of the Spirit .

We know nothing higher than flesh and blood ! we

naturally turn his resurrection into flesh and blood .

The Spirit of God glorified himself in the Son . By

 DOCT RINE OF T H E S PIRI T IN C H RI ST I A NI TY 59

the light of the testimony of the indwelling Spirit

alone have I recogni z ed and loved and assimilated
Chr ist till he is my daily meat and drink
, . I t is the
F ather who has led me to the Son and knowing the
,

Son , I have k nown the F ather all the more fully .

Blessed indeed were those men who beheld in person

, ,

the Son of God and blessed are those wh o gave their

witn ess as to what they s aw and heard We cannot .

see what th ey saw ! we can hear what they heard .

Then in th e dim twi light of our faith amidst the ,

shadows and evil possessions of the time while there ,

is so little to help , so muc h to hinder sp irit 1al

i. percep
tions what can we lay h old of or look
,
up to except the
all powerful I ndweller to rescue us from the besetting
-

pe ri ls and give us the needed help ?

,

THE S PIRI T U NRE CO GNI S ED .

But adoration love , , worship , have been off ered

to the Son without stint or scruple Behold the .
,

Spirit has no altar erected to him in all Christend om .

We doubt not that th e doctrine of th e D ivin e Man has

made the Christian Church the queen of nations and
the mother of the humanities . But the personality of
the Spirit to whom Christ habitually looked up the ,

prophets d eclared wit h “

thus saith the Lord ,
” —a
60 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

sublime fierce cry —whom th e apostles recognised as

, ,

their supremest impulse the patriarchs bowed to that

, ,

personal Holy Spirit is sc arcely anything more than

ecclesiastic dogma M arble and canvas monastery
.
,

and cathedral drama poetry relics traditions and

, , , , ,

the b oundless resources of Ch ristendom have given

what permanence is possible to the divinity of J esus ,

“
nay even to the Madonna the
, Q ueen of Heaven , .

We grudge not to give every honor to the Son it has

produced immense moral results but why has th e ,

truth about the blessed Holy Spirit been practically

exiled fro m th e Christian s sanctuary his home an d ’
, ,
.

his heart ? E xcept in fo rmal responses and me c hani

cal b enedictions or at festivals few and far between ,
,

who ever feels that the Holy Spirit is to b e invoke d

,

with dev oti on and prayer who ever dre ams that our ,

relation to his nature forms th e source of the pro

foundest and most perennial revelation ? The fi rst
descent of the Spirit on th e infant Church is d escribe d
with heart stirrin g faith and graphic minuteness but
-
,

what Christian devotee is now ever heard to say that

the Holy Ghost descen ded on hi m wi th P entecostal
power in any special cr isis Of life ? Christ is described
s ometimes as reappearing on earth to convert sinners
or reclaim in fid e ls and such conversions are set forth
,

in u n ctuous phraseology E xcept on the memorabl e

.
 D O CT RI N E OF T H E S PIRI T IN C H RI ST I A NI TY 61

morning when the apostles were all with on e accord

”
in one place , one seldom hears of any unique event
ascri bed to the action of the Holy Spirit . The livm sJr
Spi rit of God , if h e ever appeared seems to have ,

retreated from the Church in the rage for popular

Christology or sub limated himself into an arithme tical
,

supplement . T O the Christian , Christ is all in all .

We have already quoted th e anticipations of the dying

Christ about th e future work of the Comforter . T he
inte rval between Christ s ascension and the end of th e
’

world is called Di spensation of th e Spirit in the

Christian Church TW0 thousand years ave come
.

h
and gon e of this new peri od . Vast and priceless
experiences have been gained by Christendom every
sentence of th e Gospels and th e E pistles has ru n

thr ough numberless editions and comment aries . Will

th e Chri stian un fold what spiritual mysteries involved ,

b efore and darken ed by time have been solved to him ,

by th e Spiri t what new truths unspeakable before , ,

have been Spoken what new perspectives of life have

been opened out ? I f there is no record to S how n o ,

new revelations to add no progressive ha rmonies

, ,
no

world wide possibilities th e worshipper

-
,
Of Christ must
admit th at either th e Messianic prophecy has not been
fulfilled or the Holy Spirit of God having come has
, , ,

disappeared ,
leaving th e Church to the d e vices of
62 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

prelates and councils . But we scout the suggestion .

Christ s promise has been redeemed

’
. The Holy
Spirit is active amidst the faithful , notwithstanding
the darkened consciousn e ss of an unspiri tual age .

SA I N T PAUL ON THE S PIRI T .

"
I ts chie f proof was the ministration of Saint P aul .

He spirituali z ed the whole doctrine and the whole

structure of th e earliest Christian Ch urch , drawing
his profound faith and wisdom from the indwelling
Spirit alo ne . His illumined eloquence bears the sure
witne ss of personal reali z ation . He rebuilt man s ’

flesh and blood into a temple of the living God and ,

consecrated every limb to the service of the Holy

of holies . He defined us as the sons of God that is ,

as many Of us as were spiritually minded and led by-

,

the Spirit of God . O n the unity of spirit and variety

of gifts he constructed the whole Church . The figure
of many limbs but one glorious body shall always
, ,

remain the visible rep resentatio n of the household of

resurrection , based on the everlasting truth that

 D O CT RINE OF THE S PIRI T IN C H RI ST I A NI T Y 63

flesh and bloo d cannot inherit the kingdom of

”
heaven . He does not fear to contrast even the

Holy Scriptures with the authority of the Spirit .

“ ”
The letter killeth but the Spirit , giveth life . His
d octrine of liberty is the power Of the Spirit over all
fl esh . The work of the Spir it according to hi m is , ,

the wor k of the tenderest sympathy of intercession , ,

of assurance of constant unendin g friendship

, , . E very
d uty , every impulse , every j udg ment , all hope all ,

insight all belief all se rvice are thus kindled with

, , ,

th e light of the Spirit . How is it , then , that the

C hr istian , when h e is conscious of an iinp ulse from
within ,
h astens to the written law , as if d eeply
s uspecting the unwritten ? P erhaps he opens the
pages of the Bible at hapha z ard , so that h e may
c onfirm not the letter by the Spirit but the Spirit by
,

t he letter . Certainly the writer knows from repeate d

,

e xperi ence that sometimes responses from sacre d

passages foun d without the least premeditation
, , are
in won d erful a d aptation to th e soul s sorrow and ’

nee d s but honestly speaki ng not unoften this process

, ,

f ails also . When th e Sc ripture d isappoints , as it

s urely will at times amidst the infinite complications
,

of life the Voice wit hin is the only law . When the
Voice sp eaks the Scripture if ri ghtly i nterprete d is
, , ,

s ure to give the con fi rmation .

64 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

TE ST OF T H E S PIRI T .

Too well must every religious community be

familiar with the pretenders who feign the impulses
of the Spirit Like other great gifts the gift of
.
,

inspiration is claimed by the le ast worthy But .

,

nevertheless religious impulses ought not

,
to b e di s
counted . N ow and then the great Apostle of the

Gentiles rises to the h eight of identifying the In

dweller with the in d welt devote e as when h e says , ,

“
The Spirit searcheth all things and knoweth the ,

”
mind of G d Those who by spiritual union have
p .

thus searched and known the mind Of God embody

the Spirit as it were in an obj ective form and that
, ,

form is the Apostolic Church the community of ,

Spiritual men . I n the past the prophets recorded the

deliverances of the Spirit ! in the present the Ch urc h
is its living interpreter Thus we are brought face
—
.

to face with three manifestations , the impulse in the

heart and consc ience the unanimity in the Church
, ,

and the voice of the dead recorded in the Scri ptures .

When these three voices speak in uni son the testimony ,

of the Spirit s coming is complete

’
! when they dis
unite , the impulse may be for the man or the moment ,
never for all timeI t is however essential to bear in
.
, ,

mind that whether for the indivi d ual or the Church or

,
 66 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

course of experience into a steady current of conscious

ness and become a permanent state of mind Thi s
,
.

is to be spiritually minded thi s is to be the son of-

God .
Thus a higher nature dawns upon nature ! a
hi gher spirit a self not your own pervades you You
, ,
.

feel yo u are something more than your old self a ,

-

stronger happ ier more helpful man suffi ciently able

, , , ,
f
'

under the Spirit

’
S leading to overcome the crisis that
,

has come The steady excitement pervades every

.

faculty ; the man ru shes out of himself as it were ,

.

A supernatural eloquence fires his tongue h e ex

pre sses hi mse lf with an earnestness and reality which

will surely appeal to me n . Th e possibilities of the

children of the Spirit are beyond calculation ! there
is no knowing what hey are going to be . Your
socalled religious men are o ften as worldly—nay
-
,

more so—than ordinary men upon whom they look

down . Unfortunately the children of th e Spirit are
,

Often denounced as law breakers but it is they who -

make the world s law and apostolic succession ’

.

I ndeed the man of the Spirit is often so peculiar that

,

he is suspected and hated . But every peculiar man is

not therefore a man of the Spirit . So many assume
the peculiarity to pass as Spirit moved and so many -
,

credulously acc e pt them as such ,

th at the warning
“
cannot be too often given , Th e test of the Spirit is in
 DO CT RIN E OF TH E S PIRI T IN C H RI ST I A N I TY 67

”
the heart and in the conduct . The fruit of the Spirit
“
is love j oy peace long
, , ,
-
su fl e rin g , gentleness good ,

ness meekne ss
, ,
faith ,
and temperance .
’
The sure
test of the Spirit is the power of trans i tting it to m
ot hers . The laying on of hands is a pregnant symbo l
but alas
,
! how often those who lay hands on others
need th at grace themselves ! The symbol is there
may the sense be there also Th ere is nothing deeper
in human character than faith When that is real .
,

indeed mountains of di ffi culty are moved . That faith

is never self acquired but God given though to keep
-
,
-
,

it a man has to fight all the wild beasts . I t is subj ect

.
to continued refinement and elevation . There is
progress in faith as in every other spiritual gift T he ,
.

gift of healing the working of miracles the power of , ,

prophecy the discerning of spirits diverse kinds

, ,
Of

tongues the kn owledge of men and things

, ,
—all come
’
when faith comes and faith comes with the Spi rit s ,

coming . Th e test of ,
fai th is the unity of mind . When
two three or more souls are in spired by the mind of
, ,

God th ey unite
, . They unite by the omnipotence of
law which binds the universe . Unity is the only test
that God s Spirit abides in a community
’
, whereas
disunion proves the contrary . I n a body of truly
inspired men ,
no two souls are alike , but all are
equally essential . There cannot b e equali ty ! there is
68 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

the higher and the lower among the whole of nature s ’

economy . The law O f equality is a democratic dream ,

bu t there is c o- ordination in the household of God .

Mutual love and honor harmoni z e all inequalities .

Unity is the seal of spiritual progress Mutual .

subj ection and mutual adj ustment are th e sig n of the

Spirit s work all places and all functions distribute
’
,

themselves naturally O nene ss of doctrine and uni

.

form puri ty of character in various stations of life

testify who are the elect . I ndeed some of the apostles
,

show ed great unwillingness to recognise the claims of

Saint P au to the place that belonged to him but he
l
did not hesi tate to recognize their claims and now , ,

t hat the healing hand of time has cured all personal

misunderstandings we have no d ifli culty in beholding
,

i n them all the mystic spiritual body of the Son of

G od, —namely , the Apostolic Churc h . I n the s ubs e

quent hi story of the Christian Church the same silent

leading of th e Holy Spirit is observable often , ,

unhappily , throu gh many erro rs and extravagances ,

even iniquities and outrages . Men and communiti es

have been i mperfect but the pro gress of the world is
,

toward perfecti on . The nearer that perfec tion is

approached the clearer the convicti on will b e that the
,

Spirit of God rules the destiny of the world I n our .

minds the Christian and Hindu d octrines of the Spirit

 DOCT RINE or T H E S PIRI T IN CH RI ST I A NI TY 69

form a many si d ed synthesis

-
, which is continually
enric hed by th e holiest experiences of the devout of
all religions . T he Spirit himself c o- operates with man
in dispensin g hi s self revelations through every
-
gr eat
life pursuit
-
. T he two religions we have reviewed
in dicate the poles between which those self manifesta -

tions range . This is eminently the age , an d th e

present aspirations make the medium through whi ch
the D ispensation of the Spirit sh all be perfected .
 CH A PT E R IV .

S ENSE OF TH E U N SEEN .

W ever seeI TH the bodily eye no one has seen or shall

,
th e Spirit . B ut there is a sen se in
,

man whereby the unseen can be perc e ived Credulity .

m eans a state of mind not far from real faith .

Credulity is far to be preferred to unfaith . But if ,

the truth were known , every man would be found

more or , less credulous sceptical here superstitious , ,

elsewhere —o u the whole showing a balance in favor

, ,

of the sense of the supernatural . N othing is so much

in nature as the supernatural , the unusual ,
the un

common ,
the unseen ,
—ay ,
if you so call it ,
the
miraculous . E verybody b oasts he does not believe
in wonders but if he is careful in self examination
,
-
,

and if he is candid he will surely detect himself

,

b elieving too much not perhaps in the D eity but in

, ,

his own imaginings . O verfaith in the average man

i s oftenest sh own in an involuntary consciousness of
the presence Of u nseen things and qualities . The
superstitious generally fear this presence as s omething
dark and malevolent the intellec tual b elieve it as a
law a necessity
, the man of right faith trusts in it
 S EN S E OF T HE UN S EE N 71

as a bright and loving guardianship . Barring the

most se lf -
s u ffic ie nt cynic every man who has any real
,

earnestne ss in him is constrained to worship an ideal ,

—a quality or character ,
a principle or system ,
a
humanity or a hope . This is a mystery forbidding a
too close search . The delicacy of the consciousness
resents every i rreverent question . I t silences reason ,

gainsays experience dominates every faculty

, ; it is
arbitrary , impe rvious alike to fear of consequences ,

entreaties of love and accusations of insani ty

, . The
awe felt in a gloomy forest after nightfall , or in a
graveyard ,or in the solitude of the sea the i nv olunta ry ,

suspicion felt against every sound every voice every , ,

footfall in th e dark , has its root in the tacit ,

half
conscious acknowledgment—c all it fortune , call it
fate , call it P rovidence , call it K arma—that there
is a P ower ,
men believe , that presides over the
circumstances of every man and every nation in their
upward or downward course . We can propitiate that
P ower by obeyi ng its law as far as known to us but
we can never control it nor b e excused because most ,

of its laws are unknown or u ncertain . We are

responsible for our ignorance as well as for our
disobedience . T he P ower is there , seen or unseen ,

known or unknown . We are al w ays searching it ,

discove ring it losing it finding it again

, , , as if we were
72 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

puppets and playthings in its hands . But we have in

us a spiritual sense by which we kn ow whence or
how all this is though it may transcen d the usual
,

calculations . I mmediately behind the seen and known

there is the presence Of something unseen and
u nsearchable The seen and known is a comparatively
.

Small area the unseen and unknown is infinite ,

in
which we all believe . D oe s not our very instinct of
causality make suc h b elief inevitable ? Whether it
be the domain of outward nature or the strange events
of personal life or th e rise and fall in a nati on s ’

fortu ne s m there is cause , there is law , there is an

ordaining power in all that happens the presence of ,

a force a will in perpetual evolution N ow this

, .
,

universal sense Of presence is such a sensitive feature

of the mind s organism that rightly touched it
’
, ,

develops into faith conviction insight and sp iri tual

, , ,

wisd om Wrongly touched it degenerates into cre

.
,

d ulity , superstition , fanaticism ,

and endless folly .

The vital but little known principle of religious

culture is involved in the right use of this simple ,

natural sense And moral purity is equally n ecess ary

for the same pu rp ose . F aith and purity ,
bound
together and made alive by love to God and man ,

m ake the substance of all religion The most cruel .

and dogmatic materialism cannot deaden th e se nse of

74 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

both fear and respect . What th e prophets of I srael

did in olden times many a prophet of positivistic
science and utilitarian metaph ysics has done in our
own day .
F aith in the presence of an Unseen Being
and his qualities is inevitable by the law of nature .

I f it is not admitted into the right quarter then it is ,

sure to make its way into the wrong .

F rom the foregoing it may be inferred that life

long and intense communion with God s Spirit can ’

alone give the strong and vivid sense of his prese nce
around and in everything ,
—
God in everything and
e ve ry thirg in God though matter and spirit be always
,

in their very nature contrary . This presence has in

it every human attribute —love , ,
holiness ,
beauty ,

joy , force , unity , infini ty , every blessed quality to

which contemplation may be attuned at the time ,

one Spiritual presence which dissolves itself thr ough

,

the spectrum of soul vision into all the varied tints of

-

a personality marvellously like unto man s though ’

,

infinitely more than human T he presence of God is .

not a va g ue sense or abstract feeling or arbitrary

, ,

faith bu t Shapes itself in every obj ect of light and

,

lustre of strength and terror sweetness and tender

, ,

ne ss in every kind of order beauty

, , ,
progress and ,

righteousness in every insect bird animal man or

, , , , ,

angel .
The sense of it inevitably grows as the min d
 SE N SE or T H E UN S E E N 75

grows in spiritual ferv or . N ay indeed th at presenc e

, ,

cannot b e put by in any stage of life or history . T he

elderly remember to h ave seen it in youth . The m an
broken down by ill health and sorrow has a sudden
-

glimpse of it in w hat h e used to see in better times .

I t is the secret cord that binds the golden links o f

memory into th e unity of life . I t makes old age the
inst ructor of youth it makes the sacred writings of
one land th e scriptures of all mankind and gives the ,

true prophet wherever he may rise the ministry of

, ,

all the children of God . Th e moderns beli eve th e

anci ents had the clearest insight into it , and record
their imperfect achievement . The Jews believ e th e
p rophets found the P resence when I srael s king was ’

n o other than Jehovah ,

the Lord of ho sts . Th e
Christians believe the apostles found it and Since then ,

our vision has been sealed . The Hindus believe th e

R ishis saw it and in the Dw ap ar and T reta ages the
‘

P resence of God incarnated itself in various form s ,

which the P uranas describe . I t is the one P resenc e

we all see as we see the presence of the
,
Sk y and the

s un and every o ne is b ound to recognise it as soon ,

as reminded of it by the man of authority . D welling

in th e least enlightened as blin d credul ity this
’

P resence is awakened in the sons of God as the fullest

sense of union with God .
76 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

E very man born into the world has seen God but ,

very few have known him . Have you not seen life
or intelligence or beauty or goodness or purity or
, , , ,

force ? You have seen them in thousands of objects .

Apart from the obj ects where they are seen what are ,

they but the phases o f one Divine P resence ? T he

natural man will deny this perhaps though he does , ,

not know and cannot say what they are or whence , ,

or wherefore The spiritual man knows and can say

.
,

the I nfinite reveals himself in nature His spirit leads .

him forward to recognize the Spirit . Standing alone

m
on the Hi alayan cli ff as you cast your eyes over the
,

precipice into the vast woods below a vague awe ,

seizes you as if in the solitude there is something that

,

touches you from b ehind . I t is the same in the

presence of towering summits of snow or in a little ,

boat amid great masses of heaving swaying waters ,

far from shore . I n the loneliness and danger of your

position you feel you are in the presenc e of Something
,

b efore which you are small and helpless . T he awe

felt deepens into dependence . I n the ma ssive forest
of many Shades sounding with a
, hundred bird notes
-
,

so strangely penetrating the intervals of silence the ,

fall and flow of streams faintly heard all the sweet ,

ness all the restful calmness

, Of Sight ,
sound ,
and
color , does not lighten , but makes the sense of
 S EN SE OF THE U N S EE N 77

P resence more oppressive . I f you utter anything a ,

p rayer or hymn or even an ej aculation

, ,
—and you can
scarcely withstand th e impulse ,
-
your wonder returns
with tenfold e fiec t, as if a thousand voices have
a nswered you . Th e P rese nce confronts you strikes ,

you ! you are hushed , vou bow b efore it you kneel ,

before it . You have seen the mysterious being of

God . His presence has a thousand forms and phases ,

d iffering in each obj ect and force of nature , according

to the capacity of the observer .

But scientist or seer , poet or ploughman man , ,

w oman , or chil d —every one must see G d in some

,
o
form or other . Seeing God is easy ! recogni z ing hi m
is di fficult but it is not m uch good to see until we
know whom we see . And there can be no knowledge
in this sense except through the revelation of the
Sp irit . That revelation never comes except through
s teady heart felt devotions -
,
all -
s ac rific ing search of
,

the soul through intercourse wi th devout holy men

, ,

an d throug h ceaseles s prayer that has survived every

t rialof sorro w an d doubt To the humble and broken .

i n h eart to the man w ho has acquired sanctity as

,

the reward of a lifelong moral struggle to the man ,

who has renounced all for the sake of his faith to th e ,

man whom Go d has called for his special purposes to ,

the re generate and the spi ritually min d ed to his -

,
own
78 THE S PIRI T OP G OD

Church and household God s Spirit will reveal his

,
’

presence Seeing comes by n ature ! knowing comes

.

by religious life . Seeing is a universal privilege

knowing is a special reward . The F ather passes
every man s threshold in his glorious presence ! we
’

admire it all as natural beauty O nly th e devoted

.

worshipper who has sought him night and day

recognises in that beauty the person of his Beloved ,

and is accepted into the inner sanctuary of spiritual

vision . The knowledge of God i s wonderful .
 C H A PT E R V .

TH E S PIRI T IN N AT U RE .

W H EN th e Spiri t of God fills the so ul like a

medium , all things are seen as through a
heavenly crystal . I n the twinkling of an eye as if ,

by an unseen touch an inner magic all is changed , , ,

all is new all is spiritual

,
. An unsuspected mean ing
s u fi u se s creation and human events . The power of
th e Spiri t that in flam e s the seer in flam es also what , ,

is seen When the Spirit repli e s to the sp

. ir it it is a ,

wonderful m u sic a wonderful light the vision of th e

, ,

Je rusalem .

\Ve ro s e , an d s l ow ly h om e w ard tu rne d ,

IVhile d ow n the w e s t th e s u n se t b ur n e d
A n d , in i ts l igh t ,
hil l , w ood , and ti d e ,

A n d hu m an f orm s se e m e d g lorifie d .

T he l
vil ag e hom e s tran sfigure d s tood ,

A n d p u rp l e blu ffs , w hose b e lti ng w ood

A c ross the w ate rs le an e d to h old

“

T he ye llow l e ave s lik e lam p s of g old .

“
T he n sp a ke m y f rie n d T hy w ord s
‘
are tru e

F ore v e r ol d , f ore ve r ne w,

T he se hqm e -
se e n sp le nd or s are the sam e

W hich ove r E den

’
s su n se ts
80 TH E S PIRI T or GO D

TH E C H A PE L OF H E R M I TS

The earliest pro ce ss of divine inspiration is through

nature s medium
’
. The later fuller higher revelation
, ,

of the Spirit does not exclude nature or supplant it ,

but discovers in it greater lustre , a deeper mine

of spiritual analogy . When man s mind interprets ’

’
nature the result is poetry science art when God s
, , ,

Spirit interprets it the result is prophecies and

,

scriptures . When nature loses its inspiring power ,

humanity also ceases to inspire the scriptures become ,

dry records or a mere moral stimulant even the ,

correspondence with the I nd weller becomes every day

fainter spi ritual death is th e e ff ect sooner or later .

E very s e eker of God must therefore retire at times

into solitude within nature s sanctuaries that the ’
,

Spirit of G od may there speak to him throu gh symbols

which his own breath has called into being .

The divine significance of nature is as old as the

religious records of the most ancient races ,
—nay ,

O lder for it was there before man s faith and rever ’

ence could be embodied in any sacred writing at all .

The hymns of the R ig Veda and the subsequent -

wisdom of the great b ooks of the Hindus th e C athas ,

of the ! end the P salms of D avid

, ,
the figures and
parables of the N ew Testament ,
the ecstasies and
82 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

“
u niverse . I n the Book of Job the Lor d asks ! Where
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ?
D eclare if thou hast understandin g Who laid the
,
.

corner ston e thereof w hen the morning stars sang

-
,

together and all the sons of Go d shouted for joy ? ”

,

The oldest ,
the most awe inspirin g sanctuary now
-
,

resplendent ,
now obscure , where every obj ect can
speak and has a sacred mystery to unfold where
—such
, ,

everything is the shadow of something hi gher ,

was nature to the prophetic worshippers of the past .

I saiah calls upon the forests and mountainsides to

b reak fort h in Singing unt o the glo ry of God . But
“
the modern priest of nature is Simply disturbed with
the j oy of elevated thoughts ,
l )
or speaks of

T hat bl e sse d mood ,

In wh ich the b urthe n of the myste ry,

In w hich the he avy and the w e ary we ight
Of all this unin e t lligibl e w orld ,
Is lighte ne d
t hat se re ne and ble sse d mood
In which th e aff e ct ion s g e ntly l e ad u s on ,

Until the bre ath of this c orpore al f rame

,

A nd e ve n the motion of ou r human blood

A lmost suspe nd e d we are laid asle e p
,

In body and be c ome a l iv ing s oul ”

, .

This is good , mild , and refi ne d ! it g ently stirs

our cold unent husiastic mode rn bloo d
, but in the
prophetic age the passion for nature was a fi erce wild ,
 T HE S PIRI T IN N AT U R E 83

insight , a sort of periodic madness in the fever of ,

which things lai d bare their innermost meaning . A

flight of birds or a gust , Of wind ,
the flower of the
“ ”
valley or the veil of night ,
dark daughter of day ,

“
or the light Of dawn that wipes away darkness like
”
a debt ,
suddenly recalled to the seers memories res ,

p o ns e s , combinations , continuities likenesses which , ,

Slu mber in us all as strangely overlooked or half

forgotten things of some by -
gone birth . Any rapt
communion with nature is set down as fetichism or ,

animism ,
or tran scendentalism ,
or some other fine
phrase that thinly covers contempt for all i sight and
p
s pirituali ty . But without positively worshipping th e
,

fires the seasons or

, ,
the winds may we not behold
,

nature as the living manifestation of the Spirit of

G od ?
I t need not be disg uised that we religious men of
the present day are somewhat ashamed Of our material
surroundings . We suspect nature has at every step
laid ambuscades to entrap our faith , and th at the
demon of pantheism is al ways lying in wait to d evour
us without givin g any previous notice . So we keep
out of m aterial fascinations . We j ust read the one
hundred and thirty ninth psalm or recite a verse from
-
,

“
Mrs H e m ans s poetry or from the I ntimations of
.
’
,

”
I mmortality an d think our O bligations to nature are
,
84 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

s u fli c i e n tly discharged . F or genuine inspiration we

r ush to our Kant and Hegel or to our exegeses and ,

commentaries or read our scriptures often the tran

, ,

slation s of translations , and see their meaning as

through a gla ss d ark lv . We think the darkne ss has
thrown su fli c i e nt light upon the mysteries Of God and
m an or if it has not we rej oice in the darkness as
, ,

an advantage in itself . All personal religion is dri ven

into the dim lighted caverns of tradition like the
-
,

persecuted Christians in the time of the Rom an

emperors . To behold the glories of divin e purpose
and God ’
se lf revelations we are not to se arch the
s
-
,

living structures of nature which he daily raise s and

renews but must dig up the catacombs of the past
, .

Traditions and b ooks and sacre d histories of God s ’

dealings have their untold worth for they re prese nt

other Sides of nature — y ea a higher nature ! history
, ,

truthfully written is the way of the Spirit the record of ,

the unseen mind of God which he that runs may read ,

.

But nature must include and interpret natur e the ,

lower rising to the higher s phere above sphere the , ,

higher throwing down its light upon the lower The .

outer is always the shadow and form of the inner ! the

present is the fuln ess of the past and th e herald of
the future But our conceits and calculations have
.

expelled the Spirit from w hat the Spirit him se lf has

 T HE S PIRI T IN N ATU R E 85

made ; and in the throne of P rovidence speculation

reigns and terrori z es . O ur metaphysics hold us cap
tive wi thin ourselves ; our theologies and historica l
revelations h ave locked up all inspiration . N ature is
a universal blank or a stimulant of mild poetry , . It
inspires , at best , land scape painting in colors or in
-

wo rds if it inspires anything at all above prospecting

,

for mines enactment of forest la ws and the practice

, ,

of Spo rtsmanship . B e i t so to the scientific O ccidental ,

if it must . T0 us E astern men the mystic ministry of

the old mother continues . She is still the grand
apparition , instinct with the living fires 1.of actual
God prese nce still the oracle that
-
, O ften resolves th e
pe rplexities of faith and conduct . Th e mountain is
holy ground which recalls th e ass oc iations Of a thou
sand years , and awakes in th e so ul th e spiritual
raptures of revered ancestors . The ancient sanctuary
still holds its presiding D eity ,
to whom every devout
“
Aryan must make his pilgrimage . Creation s cup
’

”
sparkles with the heavenly win e in which the P ersian
“
poet saw melted his rosa ry and all the holy names
”
around it . N ot so very long since N anak sang
“
Behold ,
all the whole h eaven is a sacred vessel The
sun and moon are lighted as lamps for thy holy
vespers an d the stars in their sphere h ang as clusters
,

of pearls around . Bree z es of the South fan thy altar ,

6
86 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

the winds burn incense all the forest flowers drop as ,

O ff erings at thy feet . Such is thy evenin g worship .

0 thou D e liverer from the world s snares suc h is ’

,

thy w orship ! Thy glory is sung by the uncaused

”
harmonies of the universe .

THE PRE S E N C E IN N ATU RE .

From age to age t his ancient world receives and

reproduces its kind moves grows , , , b reathes through
leaf and lung sea and snow and fire
, ,
—a vast reservoir
of mystery of a Life whom all see but few know
t
g “
,

as the P rg s e n c e of God . The heavens declare the

” “
glory of God ,
the royal psalmis t exclaims . Day
uttereth speech unto day and night , S how e th know
ledge unto night . There is no speech and no words ,

their voice is not hear d ; yet through all the earth

their sound goeth forth and their words to the end of ,

the world . The law of the Lord is perfect refreshing ,

the soul the precepts of the Lord are true makin g ,

wise the simple ; the statutes of the Lord are right ,

rej oicing the heart the co mmandments Of the Lord

are clear enlightening the eyes
, the fear of the Lord
is pure enduring forever
, the laws of the Lord are
”
true and ri ghteous altogether .

All this exclamation is repeated again and again

by the devout heart from the pages of the Bible but
 THE S PIRI T IN N ATURE 87

to that same devout h eart to day N ature s voice is -

’

dumb and the speechless glory of night is ine ff ectual

, .

The Lord of glory ,

—where is he ? The same expanse
of the wonderful sky enfolds all but where is Va runa ,

“
the great Vedic D eity ? This boundle ss earth is
” “
his , says the A tharva Veda -
his the vast sky whose ,

depth n o mortal e er can fathom ’

. Both oceans (sea
and sky ) find a place in his body yet in that pool he
lies contained Whoever should flee far far beyond
.
,

the sky would not esc ape the grasp of Va runa the ,

King . His messengers descend countless from his

abode , forever traversing this world ,
an d. sc anning

with a thousand eyes its inmates . Whatever exists

w ithin this earth and all withi n the sky —yea all that
, , ,

is beyond ,
—King Varuna perceives . Th e winkings
of men s eyes are numbered all by him
’
. He wields
the universe as gamesters handle dice . Corning

down to later Hinduism this Spirit of nature only ,

“
intensifies I am the father and mother of the
.

“
world ,
the Bhagav ad -
Gita declares . I am the
pilgrimage of the good . I am generation and dissolu
tion . I am the inexhaustible seed of nature .

G od , in thy b od y I se e all th e g od s ,
A nd al l the var ie d h os ts of living things

I se e t he e with unn u m be re d arm s and bre as ts

A nd e ye s an d f ace s , i nfinite i n f orm

88 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

I s e e not e ith e r so u rc e or m e an or e nd

Of thee , the u ni ve rs al F orm an d L o rd .

I se e the e glow in g as a m ass of l ig h t

In e ve ry re gi on , har d to loo k u pon ,

Bri ght as the blaz e of bu rni n g fir e an d su n

On e ve ry sid e an d v as t b e yon d all bound

T he u nd i v id e d thou , the highe s t p oint
Of hum an thou ght ,
and se at su pre m e of all .

l aw u nd ying g u ard ian thou ,

’
E te rnal s

e ve rlast in g thou se e m s t me
’
T he c au se to .

I se e thy f ac e , that g low s as s ac re d fire ,

w ith i ts r ad i an ce h e ats t he u n i ve rs e
An
g
F of all the he av e n ly r e g io n s and th e space

T wixt e art h and he ave n fille d by the e alone

’
.

W he n thy m yste riou s awf ul form i s se e n , ,

The tripl e world s the n tre m bl e , S oul supre me .

T he B hagavad- G i ta .

And are we to look upon this N ature as a vanity ,

as a d elusion and a snare ? O r must w e look upon

,

her face with wondering eyes full of the light of love ,

and trust as the child looks upon th e face of its

,

m other for the first smile of imperishable love and the

first lesson of unerring wisdom ? Yea , deeper an d

d i viner wi sdom there is th an N ature sbut is not she ’

nearest and clearest simple and in exh austible reveal

, ,

ing things above nature through symbols and senses

90 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

uttered our vast rivers roll in solitude the lips of the

, ,

Rishi are silent , the voice of devotee has died away

The world i s losing faith first in God s creation and ,
’
,

then in G od .

Come let us rehabilitate then the spirit of divine

, , ,

communion in N ature . O f her universal framework

“
God is the wa rp and woof Th e Spirit and the bride .

say Come And let him th at heareth say Come

,
.
, .

And let him who is athirst come . And whosoever

”
will let him take the water of life freely
, . The vast ,

quivering pulsating ,
b ody of the creation has the
Spirit of
e
God for its life breath -
. This dim lighted-
,

incomprehensible sanctuary has him for its pervading

presence and activity When this intelligent un ity .

immanent in time and space ,

law simplifying law ,

event throwing light on event ? When he is not

known th e deepest in all things is unknowable He
, .

is all in all ami d whatever is seen

, where he is found
all is found or on the way to be E verything calls
, .

th e rapt spi ri t to unfold him city and so litude alike , .

Th e atmosphere of divin e presence enshrouds all he

has made . What thing is there in which his image is
not ? N ot as an outer garment merely ,
that is put
on or cast away without esse ntial increase or expense
to the wearer is nature s relation to God but rather
,
’
, , ,

if it is lawful to say so the relation of body to soul

, ,
 TH E S PIRI T IN N ATU R E QI

of form to spirit of symbol to se nse, . E very delicate

in ner sense suits th e organism ou t side such is man ,
’
s

sensitive frame . Th e form an d the spirit grow

together flowing into each o ther the one giving shap e
, ,

or causing change in the oth e r . O r when the form

,

is too frail for th e spirit ,

its very frailty is lucid
and eloquent . Th e Spirit makes ,
controls ,
breaks ,

remakes and faithfully represents his hidden mean

,

ings in all that takes place outsi d e . He that reads

thes e hieroglyphic phas e s is the true seer . We lack
insight into all the infinite d elicacy of soul experience
that is refl ected on the outside of things h e nce our
gross ey e fails to trace th e Spiritual a dum b ation r
.

We either mystify matter or vulgarize the spirit . The

profoundest meaning of saintly life is that it ever
struggles to realize itself in all its eart hly concerns .

T h e inn e r it m akes outer ,

the spirit u al i t makes
m aterial ! it ma ke s th e Word flesh . When every
movement Of th e outer organism th e home society , , ,

the State the personal habit

, , embodies or shadow s
forth a triumph ant impulse of the perfected spirit ,

then man lives his spiritual l i fe . N ature , in every

form and feature of her grand organization strain s ,

after a similar result . God speaks . The presence of

the Spirit reali z es itself in every impulse of nature in ,

all its beauty order wisdom blessedness

, , , , in what
92 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

takes place around you . N ot by an arbitrary fiat

of will not by a paroxysm of energy but by orderly
, , ,

unending growth by the gradations of law does God

, ,

convert his Spirit in to material manifestations What .

Should reveal him hides him before the carnally

“ “
minded N ature says Carlyle
. which is the , ,

time vesture of God and reveals him to the wise

-
, ,

”
hides him to the foolish The Hindu doctrine of .

Maiya or illusion does not mean that the O bj ective

, ,

universe is a dream but th at i t is a disguise ,

! it veils
the Spiritual Being who pervades all things and men ,

are so far deluded as to believe that not hing exists

except that which meets the senses “
The foolish .

“
t hink , Krishna is made to say , that I the , U nmani
f este d , am endowed with a manifest form not knowing ,

my higher nature which is imperishable and supreme

, .

Veiled by my mystical illusion ,

I am not manifest
b efore all . This deluded world knows not the Unborn
”
and E ternal . The formula of natural law in the

spiritual world is not through nature to nature s God ’

,

but through the Spirit to nature . E very one sees the

world its beauty life and law
, , , but these very things
hide God from him it is through God vision that the -

divine view of nature is obtained I t is not nature .

that always interprets the Spiri t though sometimes ,

it does so ! it is the Spirit that interprets nature .

 S PIRI T IN N ATU R E 93

Without the light of God s guidance in

’
soul ,

nat ure or the science

,
of nature ,
is a blind leader to

the blind . The God illumined o nly

-
follow th e
labyrinth of t hi ngs and eve nts . Whe n the Spiri t
re igns w ithin the heart he reign s in all the univers e
, .
 C H A P T E R VI .

TH E K IN SHIP IN N ATUR E .

LI VIN G being is this vast nature with the

A presence of the Spirit for its life
,

one with
,

me , yet distinct ,
an august n ot me that puts this
unquiet me to rest ,
—
the deep rest of communion ,

because to its remotest fact nature has a wonderfully

h u man aspect T he farth est sweep of the telesc ope
.
,

the minutest research of mathematical instruments ,

discover a
nd realize in their operations an intense

family likeness between the observer s mind and the ’

delicate adaptations of which he takes account . T he

soul with its transcendence is at home in the remotest
corners of infinite space and in the furthest cycle of
time . The soul is continually findin g itself fi nding ,

the order of its own laws , feelin gs , and reason

wherever i t finds admiss ion in the u niverse . I f he
was left to himself as h e has reason if he had th e
, ,

might and th e matter surely man would embody

,

himself in such another universe . All this glorious

cre ation we instinctively feel is th e work of a kindred
‘
s oul the bodying forth o f a soul the e ffort of a soul
, ,

to reali z e its deepest and best in outer forms the ,

 THE K I N S H IP I N N ATU RE 95

presence and self conscious activi ty of that soul -

.

E very part in every detail every mite every molecule , , ,

is a shadow a phase a symbol of the soul s

, , ,
’
p e rf e c
tion . God in n at re s economy is profoundly human
u
’
.

Might not that account f or a great deal of primitive

worship ? There are higher forms th an what w e
'

call
materi al forms . Matter can never fully represent
th e spirit . Life on earth can never be perfect . Th e
universe like human life is but an e ff or t a ceaseless
, , , ,

growing , an ever advancing -

e fl ort . Both spirit and
matter struggle to realize august ends ,
but never
succeed . Success at best is an indication of what
might be the present bright as i t is b ri t a hint of
, ,

the hereafter . An d N ature confirms us here . I n all

her faults and fulnesse s N ature is stri kingly like man ,
.

Wh at need to poin t out the thousand defo rmities that

shock our moral sense or the reasonable fitness of
th i n gs when w e contemplate th e heaven an d earth ?
“ ”
N ature ,
red in tooth and claw , need not deter us .

No ! it i s not perf e ct ,
-
perfect in nothing bu t only ,

typical of perf e cti on .

A re G od an d N atu re the n at strife ,

T hat N atu r e le n d s s u c h c vi l d re am s ?
So c are u l of th e
f typ e she se e ms ,
So c are l e ss o f th e s ing le lif e .
96 THE S PIRI T or G OD

“ ‘
So c are f ul of the t ype ?
’
B ut no .

F rom s c arp e d c l iff an d q uarrie d s tone

S he c rie s ,
‘
A thou s and typ e s are g on e
’
I c are f or n othig , al l s hall go .

0 l if e as f u tile , the n , as f rail !

O f or thy vo ic e to soothe and ble ss !
W hat hop e of an s w e r , or re d re s s ?
”
B e h in d the ve il , b e hi nd the ve i l .

In M e m oriam .

R ending the veil tha t disguises the awful face of

the Spirit in nature s tem p l e we find the P erfec t
’
,

active and e ve r
‘
present in the imperfect th e E ternal ,

in all things of time and space brooding to b ring forth

the future of creation the Holy Spirit of G od in man
, ,

willing and working that all may be perfect as he is

perfect He who feels fully at home in natur e feels
.

in it the satisfaction of his deep instincts Every .

activity Of his body and mind is called forth by its

faults for sympat hetic c o- opera tion . He feels that he
is but a part of something of th e universal plan finds ,

nature populous with the dispensations of the Spirit .

I t is the same familiar experience as he knows in the

ways of his own life Things call out to him as .

kinsmen to a kinsman and in perfecting himse lf he , ,

perfects all that is around him . I n the presence of

this mighty strain which a kindred spiri t lays upon a
98 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

wanderer in some strange land forgets for . a while all

his woes when the kindly presence O f the dearest O f
relatives suddenly discovered on the roadside shines
,
,

upon him so we after all our u nquiet cares and

, ,

solitary troubles find th e soul of all nature O ur

,
.

own highest self marvellously like unto us , though

infinite ,
greets us from the furthest and nearest
corners of creatio n the vast abyss of things wherein
,

we seem to be drifting A mighty pressure constrains

.

every creature A predestined nece ssity checks the

.

tendencies to lawless extravagance The law of a .

higher will forces us all very slowly perhaps to , ,

accomplish the destiny of perfection N ature is sub .

servient to the spirit . Matter and mind help one

another . E ach atom rushes to its place . E ach force
ex p ands into the ultimate harmony Of e ff ect . I t is a "
S piritual universe in which we live ,
matter only a
means to the end . \Ve , too , have a place in the
universal framework and whether or not we can act
,

and accomplish as we fain would ,

unceasing e fl ort,

doing our best and highest ,

each keeping his vow ,

that is the appointed c ourse and let everythi ng else ,

rest with God . The frail water lily -

has in it the
promise of the Vi c tori a r e g ia . The wild hedge rose -

may some day bloom as the full bosomed queen of the -

garden . Birds and animals have unfolded such

 TH E K IN S H IP IN N ATU R E 99

w onderful powers under the transforming hand of

culture that they can no longer be recognized as
coming down from the simple old typ e s . I n the
o bscure borderlands of nature the dead are continually
being raised to life the Simple are becoming complex
, ,

the mysteries of creation and evolution are taking

place . P re figure me n ts abound everywhere . Surely ,

man alone is not destined to a miserable finality , -

man
w ith all th e fire of his unquenchable aspiration ‘

Kindred to us in its imperfectness kindred to us ,

i n the presence of the Spirit within itself Speaking to ,

us ceaselessly though we listen so seldom

, ,
h as nature
taught us all that we need learn ? Many a le sso n of
unearthly solitude and ever enduring life -
,
of tender
ness and liquid sweetness and transcendent communion
with th e I nfinite abov e does the Himalaya teach
,
but
h as it finished all the message of divine presence it
had to deliver ? Th e mines have not y ielded yet a
tithe of their ores . Th e sea has not given up a tithe
of its treasure . The stars have neither been count e d ,

nor their glory discerned . N ature has n ot unfolded

the full measure of God s presence in it ’
. Commune
wit h the old mystic mother still , ask and search ,

penetrate from sanctuary to sanctuary , plunge from

depth to depth in spiritual absorption you will find in ,

nature further revelations of the Spirit of God . Has

1 00 TH E S PIRI T OF GO D

the vegetable kingdom been ransacked in its wealt h

and beauty ? Spiritualize the tree be a tree with the ,

t ree let the protecti ng bark

, , th e binding fibre , the

spreading ti ss ue the rushing sap the profound self

, ,

hiding root represent stages of your own being to you

, .

Wh o is it that l aughs in blooming flower and ri pen s ,

into the fragrance and sweetne ss Of fruit ? I n every

s e ason changeful ,
useful ,
beautiful , th e vegetable
promises and p re figu res the animal man spirit G od , , , .

The tree seems to have a soul that communes with

you . Th e tree is not bare in winter nor rank in its
summer fpliage but the Spirit of God instructs you
through it from th e tiny fern on your wall to the
,

d eep awful forest gloom

, .

Who can count or limit th e correspondences of

n atural things with th e supernatural ? The na tural
and th e supernatural are linked and continuous in the
all circling chain of eternal unity
-
. Truth inner shapes
truth outer . T he invisi ble is made visible . God is
one in matter as well as in spirit one indivisible , ,
. Of
that eternal unity one -
half , say only a fragment ,

who knows the proportion of the unseen universe to

the seen —is m aterial . All the rest is spirit . But
insomuch as both h ave their source their sustenance , ,

t heir progres s and their possibility in the O ne they

, ,

cann ot but resemble and reflect and reprint each other .

102 TH E S PIRI T OF GO D

open every hidden thing every secret of t ime space , , ,

sin sorrow and de ath

, ,
. T here is more in light tha n
any one knows T he dying Goethe exclaimed More
.
,

light !” Our green sweet ea rt h is the hospitable,

mother symbol of patience lowliness broad universal

, , ,

love hiding in her secret places every oppressor every

, ,

ungrateful son , every life misspent . The earth is

b ut the bosom of th e Mother divine , the depth of
whose forgiveness and love is known but to the
pardoned penitent . E very bird is an ascetic devotee ,

thoughtless of the morrow though environed with a ,

thousand cd angers sure of its uncertain food clothed

, ,

by an unseen hand cheerful ever delu ging the Wilder

, ,

ness with the sweetness of its song A very thin .

,

semi transparent veil divides nature from God

-
. An
innermost faith pierces that veil . Time and eternity
become one and every shadow is dispelled from the
,

awful self revealing face of God

-
.
 C H A P T E R V II .

TH E S PIRI TUAL PO W ER OF TH E
S EN SE S .

T H E sense of the Divine P resence in all things is

a gi ft of God reward of faith heaven on ea rth
, , .

I t is unusual for men to feel it . I t cannot be

im p ressed or . the minds of all ,
but perhaps in the
minds of the dev out you could call it out by unfolding
your own experience The body and so l percei ve
.

u
together that the glory of God encompasses you .

But it has been customary to take no account of the

bo dily senses in spiritual perception . This is a sad
blindne ss and se rious disability . I n the faith of the
future the senses as accessories of the soul must play
, ,

a vaster part so that the mortal faculties may be

,

trained to immortality . Di rectly cogni z ant as it is of

the Divine what were the soul without the miracles of
,

sense perception
-
? T hese reveal in the first instance
the soul then discerns . T he two work together ,
the
senses striking one note ,
the soul st riking an other ;

and the two together produce th e instantaneo us

harmony of the Spirit of G o d . The mistake that
anta onizes the senses to th e soul antagonizes G od to
g
 1 04 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

the universe . I t sometimes blots out th e universe to

save God or blots out God to save the universe
, ,

calling the latter i ts God I ndeed there must always .

,

be an element of the subtle unkno wable in the

senses between matter and spirit ; and F aith will
,

“ ”
arbitrarily ent hrone the D ivine P resence when
R eason withdraws in hesitatin g fear An unso lved .

apparent dualism must always make the constitution

of things . Why pretend to e fiec t a specious unity
which your practical instincts disavow night and day ?
Better far that with th e candid ancients one should
, ,

believe in he gods of light and the gods of darkness

t .

But when the God intoxicated soul and the senses

,
-

with all their contents form on e apparatus without ,

the concrete power of th e bodily senses the so ul

shrinks into an abstract entity unfruitful even doubt , ,

fu l . whether it is or not . And so without the glorious

,

drama of the a p pearances of outside things in our

V iew God shrivels into an abstract form ula with
, ,

whi ch philosophers may play , bu t mankind feel little

concern With the fulness of all the senses the soul
.

b ecomes a wonderful organ bo th of self knowledge ,

-

and the knowledge of life and reality beyond .

Thus ,

likewise embodied in the fulness Of the universe the ,

Supreme P resence reveals himself as the all filling -

R eality the F ather th e All life th e All in all

, ,
-
,
- -
.
 1 06 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

profound natural b eauty is a veiled form and faint

disguise the spiritually minded never fail to make
-

the right meaning out of it . Many sounds leave an

unfinished overture many fragrances of th e wood or
the sea the pure breezes and th e mountain herbs
, , ,

stir u p the depths in us I n such sense perceptions .

-

we are aware of something that needs filling up .

There is a feeling of sore inadequacy when it cannot ,

be supplied F aith supplies i t and calls it the

.
,

Presence of G od .

Th e link between the senses and the soul must

m
always re ain a mi ssing link . N o science or philo
sophy has discovered it ,
and never will . Theories
have only given evidence of human folly In this .

te rm i n c og ni ta the voice of faith shall sing its remote

song , the Spirit of God shall span the abyss of

mystery and unite sen se with soul from shore to shore
, .

The most transcendent spiritualities are sounded first

through th e organ of the s enses ,
and then played
upon the many stringed soul -
. Who transmutes these
grand notes of the seen world into th e harmonies of
the unseen ? Who spirituali zes matter into Spirit ?
What miracle is this that reveals in these infinite
analogies of physical fact and law the Shadowy
spiritualities Of eternal life ? I t was not P aul alone
“
w ho darkly declared , Whether I was in th e body I ,
 S PIRI TUAL PO\VE R OF TH E S EN S E S I O7

cannot tell or whether ou t Of the body I cannot tell

,

” “
God knoweth and who was caught up into
paradise , and heard unspeakable words which it is ,

”
not lawful for man to utter . But this glory has
belo nged to other seers also whose senses and Spirit ,

w ere blended into harmony . The Spirit of God thus

lifts up his knowers from earth to heaven . Half in
visible nature , half in invisible Spirit ,
through the
senses and through the soul thou comest O thou ,

E ternal Voice ,
—comest like some celestial music !
Th e ages resound with thee ,
the scriptures magnify
thee the prophets expound the psalmis ts sing
, ,
yet
i
there is a new revelation of thee and a I ew insigh t
day unt o day . T h e musi c of the consecrated senses ,
the purified bodily organs of the God seeker sends ,
-
,

an acceptable song to th e all holy throne -

. F or as the,

wo rld incarnates God , the senses incarnate the soul .

The eye stands for faith which sees face to face

,
. T he
ear stands for con s cience , which hears direct the

D ivine Voice . T he taste stands for joy , which is the

immediate e ff ect of th e knowledge of God . T he
sense Of smell suggests th e fragr ance of God s love ’
.

Th e embr ace of th e Spiri t touches and thrills t hrough

us when we bathe in the bree zy sunlight of the

m orning . The baptism of the flowing Ganges or

Jordan is a communion of divine embrace . He
1 08 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

touches us through grateful heat and cool and in the ,

thousand forms of prosperity and pain The agree .

able and disa gr eeable are alike the touch of the

F ather s hand ’
. The purified behold the Spirit hear ,

his mandates taste his blessings live in the fragrance

, ,

of his benedictions and are in perpetual contact with ,

him through the service of their lives . Certainly ,

you can commune with the I ndweller through the

soul only forgetting for the time that
, y ou have any
bodily senses or that t here is a material nature out
,

s ide . In extreme physical debility in great trouble ,

of mind in the approach of death

, , this is at once
apparent . But the fulne ss and j oyousness of the
D ivine P resence is poss ible when the forces of the

b ody and the forces Of the soul bear evidence together

that the glorious P resence enfolds you . The senses
alone can partly make the j oyousness of the e x p e ri

ence the powers Of the soul can partly make the joy ,

truth and sanctity

, the two together can make the
Spiri tual perceptions perfect . For there is no seeing
of the Divine Countenance until the heart in its purity
responds to the impression and there is no purity of ,

heart until the senses without and within act i n

d e epest harmony . The force of faculty that strikes
into the Divine both t hrough the senses and the soul
is the seer s faculty of Vision ’
. Call it faith or insight ,
1 10 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

contributes to that result . N or is there aught merely

ideal and abstract ,
for the Sp irit shapes himself in
every creature . Th e achievement Of the Spirit both
,

in its human and divine aspects is to fo rce its form s ,

upo n m aterial things The Spirit that cannot carry .

out its purposes in what the senses acknowledge as

real is neither G od nor man but an incoherent
, , ,

egoistic dream What is called idealism and what is

.

called realism are only two modes from which the

same R eality may be viewed th e R eality is all in all .

He is perfect all rounded complete ,

-
,
. He can neither
waste nor increase He is not continued into
su ff er .

‘
anything even the most mighty and beautiful but
,

all things in themselves incomplete suggest that they

, ,

are continued and completed in his will here or

elsewhere .

And thou O glorious Maker hast cast the Shadow s

, ,

of thy face on all things wh ereto thou hast given

form ! We see thee in our highest moods ! we see
t hee not when we cease to be ourselves and becom e ,

animals only . E verything answers to thee and thou ,

dost correspo nd through n ature with th e spirit of thy

children All forms are fleeting shad ows of thy
.

P ermanence . The Chinese alphabet has forty thou

sa nd letters , each the symbol of some true idea .

N ature s primer has an infinite alphabet the first few

’
,
 S PIRI TUAL POWE R OF THE S E N SE S III

letters of w hich we lisp in lifetime . E ach O bj ect is a

svllable , cuneiform and obscure ,
to be interr ogat e d ,

deciphered ; but it stands for an immortal idea ,

something hi gher than itself so me everlasti ng reality ,

dimly sculptured , a spark from the fires o f the

E ternal . God is not nature nature is a tablet
on which he writes hi s mind . O n the dim and
cloud capped heights of communion the devout Spirit
-

reads God s mind T he spiri tually initiated read that

’
-
.

language ! the world wise only a d mire the form and

-

arrangement of the inscripti on ,

—
they can go no
deeper . But in th e mysteri ous reading the sen se s and
the so ul play an equal part ! th e entire i
u r ity called
Man penetrates the Unity of the world s Spirit in ’

matter and form in spiri t Thou art n either seen

,
.

nor unseen thou art the elemen t in which we are and

in which we see . The senses have their beginning
and their end in t hee the ir messages lead to thy door
0 Lord ; and thou standest behin d them as their
u nseen medium to interpret thei r deep impres sion to
,

th e soul . I t is impossible to expre ss thy infinite

sense within us we can but make signs that we have
seen thee in the inner sanctuary . E xpression lags
behind th e intimacy of thy relationship to us . Attune
all our powers bo th ,
Of th e fl es h and of th e spirit to ,

thy contemplation .
 C H A P T E R VIII .

TH E S PIRI T IN L IFE .

M O ST wonderful is the contemplation of life

N o thing is so Simple so certain so universal as
.

, ,

life . The existence of God may be den ied or of the ,

soul may be or of the world but who ever denied

,

that he lived ? All our senses and all our faculties

acknowle dge and rejoice in life . O ur cherished
doctrine is that f G od is the L if e of all
the S pi ri t o

thi n g s . F rom the smallest fungus to the most regal

of created O bj ects humanity the master of the earth
, , ,

God s own image heir of hi s omnipotence —yea in

’
, , ,

beings higher than man —ih everything that is the re , ,

is Life . Coming down from the darkne ss of the

creative mystery in the measureless inconceivable past ,

evolving the future equally measureless ,

emerging
from centres of b eing wholly unsearchable ,
trans
mitte d from source to source , unregenerated and
indestructible fleeting away here filling up elsewhere
, , ,

its form s phases and abodes changing its sum and

, , ,

fulness unchangeable what is Life ? , Who does not

behold it beli eve it covet it love it honor it preserve

, , , , ,
1 14 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

his personality the inspirer of his humanity what is

, ,

Life ? All created things find unity here ! the finite

and the infinite are reconciled the senses and the soul ,

are in accord the universe bears testimony to the

,

P resence of Life the All ,

-
in-
all . Wordsworth sings
A n d I have f e lt
A P re se nce that d isturbs me w ith th e joy
Of e le va e dt thou g hts a s e ns e su bli me
Of s om e thing f ar more d e e p ly inte rf us e d ,
W hose d we lling i s the li ght of s e t t in g s u ns ,

A n d the rou nd oc e an and the l i vi n g ai r ,

A nd the bl u e sky, an d in the m ind of man

A mo tion and a sp iri t , th at im p e ls
A lf think in g thin g s , j
all O b e c ts of all thou ght ,

”
A nd roll s th rou g h al l thi ng s .

I n striking testimony of all this is a wonderful

pa ssage fr om the Chand ogy a Upanishad where in a , ,

dialogue between N arada and Sanat Kumar the latter ,

says that the knowledge of the four Vedas P uranas , ,

etc .
, is useless without insight into the nature Of the
“
Spirit of Go d The knowledge O f these w orks is a
mere name Speech is greater than this name mind
.
,

than speech , will than mind ,

reflecti on higher than
sensation (or the capacity of feeling ) knowledge than ,

re flection power than knowledge ; and higher than

,

all stands P rana , or Life . This Life ought to be

approached with faith and reverence and viewed as ,
 THE S PIRI T IN L IFE 1 15

an I mmensity which abides in its own glory . That

I mmensity extends from above and from below from ,

behind and from before from the south and from th e

,

north . I t is th e Soul of the universe . I t is God

himself . T he man who is conscious of this divini ty
”
i curs neither dise a se nor pain nor death
n , , .

Science co nfesses the fact of life to be inexplicable .

“
P rofe sor Lionel Beale says
s There is mystery in
life —a mystery that has never been fathomed and
, ,

which appears greater the more deeply the phenomena

Of life are studied and contemplated . I n living
c entres —
far
more central than centres se en by th e
,

highest magnifying po w ers —ih centres of livin g ,

matter where the eye cannot penetrate but towards

, ,

which th e understanding may tend proceed chang e s ,

Of the nature of which the most advanced physicists

and chemists fail to afl ord us the conceptio n . Nor is
th ere the slightest reason to think that the nature of
the se changes will ever be ascertained by physical
i nvestigation , inasmuch as they are certainly of an
order totally distinct from that to which any other
”
phenomena known to us can be relegated . E lse
“
w here he remarks '

Between the living state of

matter an d its non living state there is an a bs olute
-

and irreconcilable diff erence ; that , so far from our

b eing able to demonstrate that the non living passes -
 "
116 BE S P IRI T or G OD

by gr adations into or gradually assumes th e state or

con d ition of the living the transition is sudden and

,

abrupt and that matter already in th e liv ing stat e

may pass into th e non living co ndition in the same
-

sudden and complete manner The formation of .

bioplasm direct from non living matter is impossible

-
,

even in thought except to one who sets ab solutely at

,

”
naught the facts of physics and chemistry .

Mrs Annie Be sant w hom her worst enemies will

.
,

not accuse of any parti ality for religion and Go d thus ,

“
reasons ! I f from the blind clash of atoms and the
hurling forrce s there comes no explanation of Life an d
of Mind if these remain
, su i g e n e ris , if they loom
larger and larger as causes rather than as efie cts who ,

shall blame the se archer after Trut h when , failing to ,

find how Life can spring from force and matter he ,

‘

eks whether Life b e not its elf the Centre an d

se ,

whether every form of matter may not be the garment

wherewith veils itself an E ternal and Universal
”
Life ?
Thus the sci entific man meetin g at every step of
his progre ss this strange apparition of Life ,
cannot
account for how whence or what it is
, , is awed an d
bewildere d and silently p as ses on to the other side
, .

R eligion steps forward , an d declares that this all

pervadin g life is th e Living God , the Spirit ,
the
1 18 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

religions help greatly to unfold our own theistic faith ,

and to reveal unto us dimly the lineaments of the

Spirit whom we worship But nevertheless if our .
, ,

“
religi on claims to be a revelation the D ispensatio n of ,

”
the Spiri t ,
we must redefine God . He shall have a

new name to us he shall be a reality whom all our

,

senses and our faculties are a ble to reali z e . He loves

us helps us teaches comforts warns admonishes us
, , , , , ,

daily presents himself at the b le s sed intervals of our

daily devotions and can it be that beholding him in
,

so many relations so often communing with him we

, ,

are not ab le to gi ve some outlin e of his glori ous

presence ?
God is the fulness of Life in all things the Life ,

of the mysterious heavens in their processions of glory

from infinite to infinite the Life of all creatures in the
,

sweetness and a b undance of j oy His new name is .

the Living P resence Thou art the augu st eternal

.
,

Life 0 wonderful Being in faith and ho ly awe we

.
,

realize thee as Life in ourselves and in everything .

TH E S PIRI T IN H U MA NI TY .

I n speaking of th e Spirit of God as the life of all

things there is some fear of th e misunderstanding
,

that we identify him with th e material creation .

We
h asten to say that we recogni z e God as the life of
 T HE S PIRI T IN L IFE 9

hum anity also . The hum anity of God is a revelation .

N 0 man was ever the same as the eternal infinite ,

God but God is supremely human . I f he is the life

of th e mere material creation he is much more , the

life of humanity . He is the perfection of humanity

there is none so human as he . What is good in man
is consummated in him what is evil in man can never
be in him . All evil is the opposite of humanity all
good is included in it . Humani ty —What a wonderful
,

obj ect ! T o what person , to what race or land does

it not belong Yet who can lay exclusive ownership
to it ? Truly Humanity is a spirit a unio n a life a
, , , ,

personality ever unfolding in ceaselessly higher types ,

in p erfection ceaselessly advancing , ever completing

itself from the life of the universe to the life of man ,

yet ever f alling short . Humanity even most remote

,

in t ime or space recogni z es itself is in fact the same

, , , ,

thing . How much recorded and unrecorded wisd om

in humanity ,
what high measures of achievement ,

what fathomle ss possibilities How much love swe e t ,

ness ,
faith ,
meekness , courage , strength What
manliness ,
womanliness and child like simplicity-

What grasp and sweep of actio n as well as ideal A

universal Self recognized and adored by the best and
,

purest of the children of men ,

—a universal Self to
which myriads of minor selves have in every age
1 20 T HE S PIRI T O F GOD

been willingly sacrificed . What is of genuine personal

worth in a soul reali z es itse lf when thus merg ed in the
Universal O h for an interval of self forgetfulness and
.
-

“
a submergence in the Universal Man He that hath
” “
seen me hath seen my F ather . I am the four Vedas ,

I am the father and mother of all , ” the Gita says ,

“
I
am the giver of all recompense the way the Lord , , ,

the supporter the witne ss the abode the enj oyment

, , , ,

the friend ,
the d e stroyer ,
the indestructible seed of
”
all . The divinest man was the fittest type and organ
of God . All human imperfections are removed , all
human excellences are accumulated , in communion
with divin e Humanity . Th e loftiest peaks of th e
aspirations of all races are here kindled with the same
light the ideals of all religion are foun d true and man
, ,

stands as brother to man . Those men who rose to

such reali z ation are looked upon as gods . I n the
grand total of Humanity where all the earth s holiest
’
,

loveliest are enshrined see th e living acting most

, , , ,

historical God for Humanity is not an abstr action ,

not a mere idea but a Providence and a P ersonality
, .

God is most cert ainly like man though indeed he is , , ,

infinitely more . What were the good of callin g him

F ather if he did not embody th e perfection o f paternal
,

attributes or Mother if th e sweetn ess and unfailing

, ,

love of maternity w ere not to be foun d in the d ivine

1 22 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

soul . T0 answer that need it is not enough to say

,

that God is merely the life of the universe or even ,

that he is the living perfection of humanity These .

are not the only definitions of th e theist s God but ’

,

there is a dearer and nearer on e . N ot merely in the

infinite expanse of sky and creation is he the life not ,

m erely as a F ather or Mother or F riend in the e nc o m

passing humanity but he is the life of my own body
,

and soul he is in every circumstance of my own being

, ,

the soul of my soul my daily comforter a wonderful

, ,

though often unseen presence in my heart that , p e rp e

t
ually re n ws and strengthens me as nothing can
f
.

As every man is like unto every other man yet each ,

d ifiers in characteristics from the rest of the species ,

so though God in life pervades all things and men

, ,

unto every individual he is diff erent and special such ,

as the peculiar nature and condition of that pers on

will require . E very life realizes him as peculiar to
itself diff erent from all other lives according to its
, ,

needs and s orrows . God is total ,

yet individual ,

universal yet special and personal

, . To every one of
his seekers his image is a sweet divinity and a ne w

revelation . Let us turn to him with longing hearts ,

as the life of the body and of the soul of each one of

us Who knows what discords will then be h ealed
;
,

an d what sorrows soo thed ? Who knows how many

 T HE S PIRI T IN L IF E 1 23

of us long before th e next day dawns will be reunited

, ,

in th e abode where there is nei ther separation ,

nor
misunderstanding nor mise ry ,

T HE SP IRI T AS A PER S ON .

P erhaps it i s necessary to point out that it is not

su ffi cient to say God is life ! he is not only the Life ,

but the P erson . E very one p e rceives life ,

—the senses
quite as much as the so ul but th e spirit perceives th e
Spirit P erson
-
. E very one perceives God ; but very
few indeed perhaps on e in ten thousand
, ,
has beheld
and known th e personality of that wonderful Being .

’
The power by which such recognition is pos sible is
the power of faith . The Presence ,
th e motion the ,

spirit of which Wordsworth speaks as impelling all

,

things ,
will be no better than a pantheistic dream ,

devoid of the in tegrating inspiring power of the D ivin e

P ersonality . Thi s i s th e supreme function of religion ,

—to discover and develop and teach

, ,
. The province
of religion is undeb atable sin gul ar apart from every , ,

science every philosophy

, ,
essential for the growth
and perfection of man ,
b ecause n o other pursuit can
bring us to th e secret of th e living and personal God .

The sense of unity ,

force , and identity in our own
“ ”
n ature commonly called personality i s a marv ellous
fact in psycholo gy . I t unveils a similar but infinitely
1 24 T HE S PIRI T OF GO D

higher P ersonality around . To us s ufli c ie nt as this

fact seems we do not wish to overv alue its importance
,
.

The old d ifie re nc e between impersonal and personal

God between the supreme sub tle essence of the
,

Vedanta and the active incarnations of the P uranas ,

between the Absolute and Unconditioned of the ag

nostic and the Hebrew s Jehovah ’

, Lord of hosts is
,

not the only distinction ,

though it is most obvious
between Deism and Theism The doctrine of D ivine .

P ersonality is not necessarily inconsistent with pure

rationalism ,
b ecause , after all perso nality is a meta
,

physical thought and we may very much brood upon

that thought wit hout believing and realizing God as an
ac tu al pe rs on Such brooding th ought may indeed
.

call up the emotions ,

stimulate th e imaginative
faculty influenc e the motives —
, nay call reason to its , ,

aid and the entire mental process will be looked upon

as faith devoutnes s spirituality and what not
, , , . Yet
every form of metaphysical spirituality when it loses ,

its intense moods falls back upon a plane from which

,

the height of an attained consciousness that G od is a

pe rs on is separated by a gap which no mental strai n
is able to b ridge over . The protec ting ,
all -
s uffi c in g

sense of the guardianship of an encompa ssing personal

presence is strongly wanting in these s o- called theistic
systems . And in the last resort despite all his fine ,
1 26 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

all false fears of what is called anthropomo rphism ,

but we must go even so far as to devoutly believe that

the Supreme P erson can but a dequately reveal his
nature in the regenerated absorbed nature of the ,

God man . I t is th e perso n that can incarnate the

P erson and every great prophet is such a person

,
.

Every prophet is not the equal of every other , but in

greater or less er measure the Supreme P erson inc ar
nates himself in all There is only one personality in
.

the universe of which we are perfectly sure and that ,

is human personality . I f this could be made to bea r

te stimony —nay if it was the vehicle of the infinite
,
f
personality of God — then indeed is our faith perfect
,
.

N othing therefore and nowhere in the wide world

, , ,

exce p t in man and through man could we ever hop e ,

to estab lish the s upreme revelation of the personality

of G od But personality is not an idea it is a real
.

obj ect with int e lligence love holiness and joy

, , , , .

The Divin e P erson has all these and is therefore , so

intimately related to us He has these qualities in the

.

fulles t measure of the finite so that th e greatest amon g

,

men draw from him the inspiration of what is b e autifuI

in humanity . He is beyond the finite , so that when
we know him best we are abj ectly conscious of how
,

very little we know of him But th e overp oweri n g .

and wonderful sense of the I nfinite continually assimi

 T HE S PIRI T IN L IF E 1 27

lates itse lf in spiritual charact e r making i t lofti e r and ,

loftier still . Someth ing w ithin impels us always to

rush into the dark unknown b ac k g round of th e felt
prese nce of G od we stretch our hand after th e
E ternal lik e the child reac hing after th e moon The
, .

unattainable makes what is attainable exceedingly

and cease lessly great The universal intelligence of
th e Spirit keeps dawning upon us with every effort
of the min d to know th e truth of things the passion
for t ruth burns in th e intellect night and day . But
no one can know even th e knowa ble tru th wha t ,

then about the unknowable ?

The love of the Spirit
w
,

visits the loneli est and least comforting all ,

retched
ne ss with an assurance that suffices for life and death .

It is love that recognizes love . Without love one

cannot compreh en d th e love of G o d . Th e more
loving the sou l is th e more strong the se nse of divin e
,

afiec tion . Let a man be fully persua d ed that he is

th e beloved of God wi th the calmness and tenderness
of Ch ri st . Th e sense of being unloved fills th e so ul
with desolation and turn s the world into a graveyard .

Th e love of God given and gotten back is the only

, ,

joy and consolation of th e Holy S pirit . But it has to

be always born e in mind that th e Spirit is holy and ,

holiness in character only fin d s acces s to hi s love

W
.

The icked wh o are pe n iten t are visited with forgive

1 28 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

ness and the marvellous peace which it brings the ,

heart that is broken feels for a moment the healing

touch of heavenly love but the perpetual sense of
loving and being loved by th e Supreme P erson can
come by personal holin e ss alone . The holine ss of
God reproves us in the con science night and day ,

heaps s ufie ring upon suff ering that the wicked will of
man may be b roken into submission . The personal
sanctity of the D ivine when realized in the moods of
,

devotion points out how far we are from the land of

,

our pilgrimage . God s personality encompasses us

’
.

The constant reali zing of that P ersonality and its

i
blessed e ttrib ute s is the highest reward of spiritual
life . I t is impossible to hope that science will ofie r a
conclusive testimony to religion though it is equally ,

impossible to think that it will forever remain u nre li

g ious . A reaction seems to have set in already . But
no system of science , however comprehensive can ,

ever replace reli gion . With th e utmost progress that

Science can ever h ope to make the work and advance ,

ment of religion will remain unimpaired because to , ,

its utmost stretch science will deal with facts and

,

laws of the finite occasionally rising to a glimpse of

,

the glory of God . Let us for the presen t remain

satisfied with the reverent acknowledgment that there
is , beyond the provinc e of the mere intellect ,
an
1 30 THE S PIRI T OF GO D

int e lligence relatively to the will—i s an error and a

’
danger .
The negative part of the humani st s work is
good I t will strip Christianity of an outer shell which
.

has become superfluous but R uge and F euerbach

cannot save humanity . She must have saints and phi
”
losop he rs to complete th e work of her philosophers .

F A I TH IN THE S PIRI T
I have spoken of faith as the nse of the unseen se ,

as a faculty by its e lf and not m erely the sum of other

,

faculties and feelings ; and I have no hesitation in

saying that this sense of faith perceives the supreme
c
fact of personality of God —i t is specially and by ,

eminence the religious faculty . I t is the exclusive

function of religion to clear u p the sense of the
unseen N either ethical nor emotional nor aesthetical
.

nor th e most exquisite philosophical culture can pene

trate the mysteri es of the Divine P ersonality . A
haunting uncertainty , an anxious doubt ,
will never
leave the most rational mind . I t is useless trying
to disguise it under devout phrases ,
wel l formed
-

opinions or active duties

, . The heart confess e s to

itself a lack of soundn e ss in its spiritual constitution .

The culture of the religi ous faculty must not be

confounded with the culture of the other powers ! it
is entirely su i g e n eris . How can it be got ? F aith
 THE S PIRI T IN L IFE 1 31

c an only impa rt faith as life gives life

,
. The minis
tration of the man of faith is the vital need of

mankind but the religious world idolizes scholarship

a nd oratory and not knowing faith seems not to need
, ,

it . I n itself ,
and unattended by the culture and
harmony of the other powers the religi ous faculty , ,

though it may sometim e s produce g reat insight and

geni us does often
, , o ne is free to confess asso ciate ,

itself with errors and misconceptions of all kinds .

I f attended by the culture and harmony of man s ’

whole nature faith will revolutionize the world again

,

an d again . There may be very wide and

real
‘very
activities of the mind and heart without faith and ,

t here may be strong and wonderful faith without

collat e ral culture ; but th e tendencies o f the age
demand the concurrent pe rfection of both ,
and this
alone is calculated to give that stimulus to the progress
of the pursuit of reli gi on so necessary to disprove the
charge of unprogressivene ss often laid against it . All
the powers of man ,
touched by the spirit of faith ,

become spiritual powe s r . The intellect , s anctified ,

becomes prophetic wisdom th e feelings set aglow by

,

divine perception are turned into profound devotions

,

and the love of man ; morality becom e s holiness ;

imagination becomes second sight ; faith unveils a

world within the world . E verything is discerned in
1 32 TH E S PIRI T OF 6 0 1)

a new light all nature unseals within its laws n e w

,

meanings and signific an c e s the universe is spiritu a

,

lize d When the in sight of faith perceives th e

.

personality of God all the faculties all the sense s all

, , ,

the experiences all the worlds bring their

, , ma
c onfir

tion . God becomes real , religion becomes real ,

immortality becomes real and all doubt is at an end

, .
1 34 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

ag encies to serve our own lusts . Man s self is so

’
, to

say an empty sack

, ,
a mere sense of being a mer e ,

choice between the good and the b ad ! all the force

that makes up and fills his existence is divine . This
e g o, this first person ,
this number on e that fancies
itself to be the centre of creation is but a geometrical ,

point ,
an amorphous atom an empty receptacle ,
. I
am but a sense a capacity a mysterious choice betwee n
, ,

what is God and what is n ot God ! T hou 0 Spirit , ,

art all the rest Fill thou the sense with faith and
.

wisdom ,
fill the capacity with love , and turn the
choice into force of will to be thine wholly . T hen I
will be thy son , one with thee ; and the relation
between man and God shall be determined . Whe n
m an willingly yields to the purposes and forces of
th e Spirit for a time indeed he may
, be tossed and
lost his heart may be cast down and like a straw
, , ,

in the whirlwind , he may be carried hither and

thither as if without guide and destiny
, but surely
, ,

at last his place will find him he Shall know and keep ,

his relations and no doubt will remain as to what he

,

came here for what he accomplishes will bear witness

to that . Whe n man bends the forces of God to his
own wicked will as he is allowed to do sometimes he
, ,

may b e served for a while well enough apparently , ,

the greater the force entrusted to him the greater his ,

 THE S PIRI T IN TH E S PIRI T 1 35

o utward success but h e does not calculate what he

has cast himself upon The eternal concuss ion of.

currents that seem to bear him for a m oment in

triumph to his purpose will soon strand him on a
retribution as sad as it is tremendous . The great
majority of us s nfl e r thus and strangely fail to take
,

a lesson from our s nfl ering . O ur unwisdom is a

gr eater punishm ent than our agony . Man is indeed
the heir apparent of the creation . He does not serve
God a hundreth part so much as G o d serves him .

The highest and everlasting relations are u ps et in

ordinary life ; but , even within each m a ‘
u s short ’

ea rthly ex p erience ,
the day of restitution comes at
last and we know who is master and who is se rvant
, ,

who is faithful and who is unfaithful . Th e j udgment

is sure . The restitution is also sure . Yield there ,

fore unto the will and personality of God what is

,

undoubtedly his . Know yourself , your tru e place

and position before his august witn e ss and then the
world also will gi ve you what is your own . E very
one is a usurper only he who forsakes a ll to follow
God only he w ho gi ves his life to his F ather only he
, ,

is the prince of the kingdom .

T he divine life and per sonality wherein we exist

c ons ist o f
’

God s love and wisdom his power puri ty

’
, , ,

beauty and peace of his Spi rit

,
. When these abo un d
1 36 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

in us and the sense of being—which is nearly all that

,

makes for our self—is a sense of th e fulness of these

beatitudes within and without ,
then we truly live .

F or life is th e adjustment of our inner state to the

outer facts that go by th e n ame of circumstance .

Where the mind perpetually adj usts itself to all that

happens to i t from with out , and never forfeits the
consciousn e ss of living in God there is spiritual life,
.

But such an adjustment may b e p assive — a mere ,

resignati on bland submissiveness to events a trust a

, , ,

dependence an inactive looking

,
up , —a fatalism and ,

nothing more . These mental states do indeed indicate

some of the highest phases of life but spiritual life ,

means more ! it means ceaseless action What is .

inorganic in nature is dead though exceedingly

'

submissive and d e pendent what is organic is most

active full of moti on and change The spirit of man
, .

i s the highest organism in creation N othing can be .

compared to its m obility its power of assimila ti on

, , i ts
growth , function , fruitfulness ,
its tendencies and
complexities . Action then is th e substance of living
, , .

Whether he heals or teaches prays or c ontemplates , ,

fasts or watches , re bukes or con soles ,

suff ers or
organi z es liv e s or dies the man of God is the man of
, ,

endl e ss action . Action is the measure of spirituality .

But the forces of the soul s acti on have been described ’

1 38 THE S PIRI T op GOD

love that can bear all and overcome all . But it needs
culture . Just as th e poor and ignorant will succu mb
to the natural visitations which th e higher class es of
society will successively resist —nay not only resist , , ,

but turn int o profit and longevity —so from the trials ,

of religious life the cultured and advanced spirit will ,

in every instance draw n utriment for higher condi

,

tions of inner v itali ty . O ur circumstances involve

more than half the materi als of our appointed desti ny
“ ” “
T he winds and waves , we are told ,
are always on
the side of the best navigators .
’
Unspiritual men
com plain t ag ainst them ,
and allow themselves to be
crushed in vain resistance spiritual men disengage
their highest self from all this enigmatic opposition of
surroundings and appropriate for their use and
,

enj oyment what others find to be the cause of misery

and death . The highest spiritual life i s the highest
adj ustment of spirit with matter and with circum
stance It gi ves wi sdom it gives strength great peace
.
, ,

in apparent di fficulty ,
and the deepest me asures of
“ ”
love to God and man . I n his P rinciples of Biology
Herbert Spencer says Were th ere no changes in the
environment but such as the organism had adapted
changes to meet and were it never
, to fail in the
efficiency with whi ch i t met them there would b e ,

eternal existence and universal knowledge ” This .

 TH E S PIRI T IN T HE S PIRI T 1 39

profo u nd obs e rv ation answers the requirements of

earthly as well as immortal life . E very spiritual lif e

answers a definite purp ose of God which on the Side ,

of the man means his calling or vocation . F rom th e

very lowest order all vitality means the combination
of forces for definite ends and their incessant adj ust ,

m ent thereto . I n th e merely physical organism both

th e com bination and adj ustment are uncon sc ious in
the spiritual organism the e ffort is conscious ,
—
though
underlying it th e progress in righteousness is there
,

unconscious . Self -
conscious goodness is another name
for vanity . Humility and greatness e ve r abid e to
.
gether . F or the nature growth function and other , , ,

operation s of his spirit are most mysterious to the

man of God . He i s being carried along courses and
thr ough process es that no self analysis or introspection -

will unravel . I t is best that he should knowi n gly

submit to the unseen Hand . Blessed i s the man who
has ceased to doubt about the purpose for which h e
was sent to the world and who takes every pains in ,

his power to husband his availa ble means that the ,

purpose may be carried out through him ! The one

unch angeable thing in the incessan t changes of life is
faithfulness to its original purpose . Men have a
w holeso me prej udi ce against change of doctrin e and
character but i t ought to be remembered that
1 40 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

u nchangeableness means death and life means cease ,

less change . With every breath of air that is drawn ,

with every morsel of food that is eaten a vast ,

succession of changes take place The atoms that .

make up the body its heat its electric condition its

, , ,

bulk ,
its color , are rearranged and changed eve ry
moment . P erpetually we are in the process of a
physical regeneration though our identity is neve r ,

lost . I t is the same with the spirit . With every true

prayer that is off ered every devout thought that wells ,

up within every struggle at self s anc tific ation every

,
-
,

unselfish s e rvic e to God our entire spiritual nature is

,
c
rea rranged and elevated . I t is a repeated higher
birth and continuity of new life . The converse i s
equally tr ue ! wickedness and unt ruth displace every
atom of the soul We are re born as vermin and
.
,

gr ovel in the filth and venom we create . Thus like ,

the restless ocean the spirit world is in incessant,

-

motion —rising falling changing heaving sti rring

, , , , , ,

creating a firmame nt by the sweet incense of what it

exhales or darkness and thunder and dest ruction on
,

all sides . Souls of low vitality are uniform compara

tive ly . They change but seld om and slightly .
Then
there is the long drawn monotony slowly declining -

into death . Souls of high vitality are never uniform ,

but every day seething anew with a heavenly fer

14 2 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

ince ss antly work to give man his definite form ! It

is this series of changes which within a stated period
, ,

remake every atom of th e bodily frame but retain ,

nay strengthen—the integri ty

,
of the system Changes .

likewise build up the Spiritual n ature and every child

of the Spirit is being remade by a process which casts
him perp e tually into new moulds without affecting
his identity and continued self c onsciousne ss -
. A
process which di fferentiates a man from himself day
after day yet without pulling him to pieces integ
, , ,

rates him all the more firmly into an indestructible

spirit is pothing short of a progressive miracle In
, .

the entire range of organic existence this miracle is

ceasele ssly taking place E very on e i s becoming
.

better than himself or worse than himself always ,

without ceasing to b e the same personal self I n the .

course of a few years he may become a new being

entirely though he is hardly con sc ious of it
, . Com
paring what we were at the initiation w ith what we
—
are to day the feeling cannot b e helped that indeed
,

regeneration has taken place but yet every on e is

conscious of imperfections which force upon the ,

unwilling mind a sense tha t after all the corruptible

, ,

part of nature still sticks to our being that th e thorn ,

in the flesh cannot be pulled out . And hence the

unceasing need of devoting all that we call ourself to
 TH E S PIRI T IN TH E S PIRI T

the absolute direction of th e forces of God that beset

us and praying that his indwelling and outdwelling
,

perfections may fill th e emptiness which non e can

remove and th e
,
d e file me nts which nothing can pu rify .
 CHAPTE R X .

TH E SPIRI T IN I MM OR TAL L IFE .

G OD is our life here and in heaven . We live in

him he cannot die how can we ? He is the
unity of physical ,
mental ,
and transcendental life .

The essence of immortality is the consciousness that

God is life . The living come from him . He makes
their force he takes away their force they return
, ,
to

him and we call it death . He is our hope in mortal

c
“ ”
life ! Wh om in heaven have I but Thee ? O f the
fulne ss of G o d as life there can neither be limit nor ,

description nor adequate conception Life on earth

, .

is no measure of life beyond death but the highest ,

life here is an unfailing earnest of a s till higher life

elsewhere . D eath gains upon us fast enough ,
but
immortality gains faster still . The daily death is the
death of the flesh which changes and decays and is ,

yet revived without our knowing it Th e daily life .

is the sense of health growing strength increa sing

, ,

j oy and assurance in communion with the deathle ss

realities of the Spirit Called up to life from a .

thousand forms of decay —revived renewed re g e ne , , ,

rated day after day under the E ternal s keeping

,
’
,
1 46 THE S PIRI T OF GO D

saints ,
philosophers foretell and forestall it all
humanity expects i t ; all moral inequalities demand
it all evoluti ons anticipate it How dare y ou rej ect .

all this promise ? There is no devotional life that has

not witnessed the fulfilment of a hundred promises
of the Spirit —miraculous fulfilme nts which have
,

brought faith and hope unutterable I n the realms .

wherein the Spirit works every fulfilled promise

unfolds a new promise ,
every accomplished hope a
new hope and every ascending stag e O f life O pens the
,

prospect of a still higher ascent . Thus earth promises

heaven and life promises immor tality
,
.

But thié soul s immortality is more than a mere

’

individual hope and promise it is a universal belief

and instinct . N ot all the reasoning against a future
life has made man a whit less believing not all the ,

arguments in its favor have made men s belief more ’

sure . We are very much where our fathers were in

this matt e r . We are very much the same in our
attitude to immortali ty as to God s existence and ’ "

attributes nay even the existence

, Of our own souls .

The argument of unbelief shakes us for a moment as

a passing wind shakes the forest and th e analogies O f ,

nature and life confirm for th e while as an April

sunshine lights up the landscape but the in tu i ti ons
a b out God , soul and immortali ty survive
, all . The
 THE S PIRI T IN I M MO R TAL L IF E 1 47

Christian believes in a resurrection of the body the ,

Musalman believes in a K aamat the Hindu believes ,

in a rebirth the savage believes in a hundred ghost

,

stories , and our ultra civilized agnostic in spirit

-

rappings , astral bodies ,

auras ,
and various other
species of necromantic fancies . I t is th e original
instinct of th e old Adam uttering itself in difl e re nt
accents of well founded superstition -
. We have no

quarrel with these men as we ha ve no quarrel with ,

the various believers in conflicting forms of fetichism

and polytheism . Aberrations in belief only testi fy to
the universality of the instinct .

EX PE RI E N C E I N S I G H T
, , H ABIT .

I mmortal life is much more than a mere belief or

instinct it is an insight and experience . The belief
has done a great deal Of good but it has never been
,

Op erative without the other . Sure faith in future life

is the result of actual experience of life in God . F or
life in the Spi rit of God is a deathless life which we
have lived or in other words it is a repeated rising
, , ,

from death to life . Whether we rise to heaven or are

reborn there surely our life on earth is a prelude to
,

the eternal h armoni es afterward . I t is sure also that

we do not come back here Who is not tired Of
‘

- .

fig hting the tyrannies of the flesh , the pa ssions and

 1 48 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

impulses Of the senses that ri se unceasingly like the

tides of the sea ? The imbecilities ,
in fid e litie s , des
pairs flaws in bodily life make existence O ften a
, ,

burden yet so long as flesh and b lood remain they

, ,

shall remain in some form or other . This poor

patchwork of carnal form is unfit for the glories of
ete rnal promise . I t is unfit even here , how much
more hereafter ? Therefore let no one think that flesh
and blood ,
of which we are getting tired already ,

have any part in the kingdom Of heaven . What ,

then is to
,
be understood by living an immo rtal life
in God ? A death and a rebirth death to sin rebirth , ,

in the Spirit . We have experience of death D eath .

is a process ,
not an act ; a continuous change a ,

continuous unfolding N ot even does a mustard seed

.

die d ying and disappearing i t unfolds produces a , ,

hundred fold -
Of its kind . Th e flesh is continually
renewed like a garment
, the spirit is als o renewed .

The infant has died to or outgrown foetal life the

, ,

boy has died to infancy the youth to boyhood and , ,

so on to manhood and O ld age and though we should ,

be wise to combine the excellences of all these c ondi

tions into the unity of perfect life ,
we should be
unwise if we exchange what we have gained fo r what
we have lost . We have los t perhaps in animal s piri ts ,

but gained in the spirit immortal . We have lost the

 1 50 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

longer fear death . They have experienced death ,

they are habi tuated in death . D ie how and ,

to what ?
D ie to the cravings of the flesh to the temptations of ,

the world ,
to self interest to the desire of honor to
-
, ,

the love of pleasure ; di e in self -

sac rific e , unto the
glory Of God s right e ousness
’
. Th e endurance of pain ,

the practice o f austerity the hardship of devout life , ,

form an essential part of this practice O f death We .

fear death so much that our paraly z ed faculties fail

to perceive there is a life b eyond Th e saints had .

practised death already having died to their bodily ,

c ravings a D eath was therefore Shorn of its dange rs ,

and with all their mind and heart they could con
template the glory Oi the prospect on the other shore .

There are two kinds of death however — violent , ,

unnatural death , and natural timely death . The

suicide dies because h e is tired of life he hates life , .

The saint is not afraid to die because he has already ,

found a more j oyous and more glorious life in the

love Of God . T he fondness for life is so strong , so

universal that to hate it means to hate all the world

,

and death is the last act of disappointed selfishne ss .

T he l ove of God outgrows the common pleasures and

hopes as manhood outgrows the pursuit sO f infancy
, ,

as health outgrows the infirmitie s O f disease and ,

s hares in the delights of heaven before the ea rth has

 THE S P IRI T IN I MMOR TAL L IFE 151

closed its scenes . Violent asceticism therefore and

, ,

unnatural self mortific ation is a dangerous practice

-
.

Self -
sacri fic e is always a means to an end never an ,

end in itself . SO many have made it the goal of

religious life that they have killed t heir lower nature
without attaining the higher . Always beware of this .

By the death of carnal nature we mean the self

subj ection that surely follows obedience to the will of
God The dealings of P rovidence crush every ves tige
.

Of
’
man s self will -
. F ew have the faith or the force or
th e self denial to submit
-
to them . When a man has
schooled his nature in the sacrifice of self j ust as much
,
as will enable him to accept the suff erings that are
ordained through circumstances by God s lovin g ’

wisdom he has s choo led himself to living death and

,

the attainment of immortal life .

But popularly death means to cease to live

, , . It
is negative . E xperience of immo rtal life is something
positive . I t does not mean cess ation but acti on , . It
does not m ean death ,
but higher life . Higher or
im mortal li fe means living beyond Self interest -
living
the universal life God life ,
-
living in God as a divine
being . We h ave acquired the experience the insight , ,

and the habit Of living life immortal living beyond ,

the body the life in God and with God

,
. The first
form of universal life is the life of the creation .
152 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

Sh are consciously ,
u n se lfishly , in the great life of the
universe feel y ou are a Spark in its central fires . All
nature lives in you ; the golden lamp of your life
illumines all that is around you and reveals God s ,
’

life in its universal form . The world is deathless ,

dying at one point reviving at another The sum of

,
.

life in nature n e ver grows less N ay what is dead .

,

now soon burst s into life again . N ature s life and

’

promise form a universal ecstasy . He who partakes

of it forgets himself and feels he is immortal Learn .
,

therefore to live in th e rap t contemplation O f nature

’

.
,

I t is a sure foretaste O f th e glories of immortal life .

Alas ! the slavish love O f mean pleasures blinds us to

the immortal aspects of nature I t forces us to .

seek the continuation and dread disc ontinuation of

, ,

what cannot po ssibly last . We become voluptuaries ,

cowards and imb eciles at the same time

, . N ot being
able to help the los s of what we must lose we try to ,

avert our eyes from th e prospect of the inevitable

end and are strangely indiff erent to the only duty
,

that remains ,
—iO acquiring the higher deathless life ,
.

Step out of y ourselves ,

therefore ,
and enter int o
c ommunion with the great universe around . Men
need not think of death constantly but they do need
to live that they may have part in and insight into
,

the external existence that always courts their faith .

1 54 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

in the everlasting nature of the work I came to do .

N o man ever died who held his own happiness of little

value befor e the happiness of God s children and who ’
,

lived that others may acquire a higher life .

When the soul c ommunes with the Spirit of God ,

and when the intercourse is deep for the time it ,

transcends the limitati ons of th e body and the i nflu

e nc e s O f the world . I live in God . God is my life
and ,
inasmuch as God is immortal , the good are
immortal He lives most intensely who com m
. unes
with God but he lives the life of th e spi rit O f the
,

immortal! O ften in this mood have I been perfectly

unconscious of pain poverty and persecution , ,
nay ,

the greater the trouble th e greater th e exaltation

, . It
was not the eff ort Of the power of endurance ,
—no
stoicism crushing the weakness and complaint of the
flesh ! it was the consolation Of a higher peace the ,

healing Of a higher love the strength , Of the unspe ak

able companionship Oi God . The depth and intensity
of this experience I feel convinced
, , c an grow upon a
man to an unlimited extent till th e fear and sting of ,

death are completely gone . Absorption and ecstasy

in the communion of God steadily cultivated will there
fore disarm death , and give us insight int o ,
and
experience of the nature of immortal life
, . Life the ,

highest life is supportable upon other resources than

,
 TH E S PIRI T IN I M MOR TAL L IFE 15 5

those of the flesh and the world . There is peace ,

s trength , health , hope possible in God

, ,
and God
alone . Strangers to that communion and companion
ship when decay and dissoluti on are near we either
,

fall back upon our feeble powers of self mastery or -

faint and sink altogether . Steady dev otional life ,

growing with age and infi rmity is the surest way to ,

im mortal life . Such in short is spiritual expe rience

, ,

and insight into immortality . But nothing in life can

give a full measure of what we are to be after death ,

and no faith or insight can completely solve the

problem of mortality . Living in God , I find some
times th at insoluble problem nearly solved the steps
becom e clear , an d th e prospect full of light . Anon
the gloom returns ,
and for a while all is darkne ss
again . Yet eve ry experience of immortal life slowly
gathers and builds up a faith and h ope a vision which ,

disarms the calam ity of death and creates an impe

tuo ns expectancy of the life beyond .

P E R S I ST EN CE
The d ead live ! will the living die ? The chemical
activity of inorganic matter the combination , , fe rm e n

tation , and di ssolution into water , or gas , or ne w

compounds that ceaselessly take place is undeniably ,

a process of life . Life with its facts forces and laws , ,

1 56 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

pervades the atmosphere pervades the surface of the ,

ea rth making creation habitable to life

,
. Unconscious
in the O bj ects that hold it and Show it forth i t is a ,

conscious purpose that finds its unity in higher orders

of being and is i nterpreted at last by the consci ous
,

intelligence and purposeful will of man . The activity

in the midst of lifeless organisms is still greater .

Silent invisible and intangibl e beings surround us

, ,
.

Living germs cover the air we breathe the water we ,

drink and th e food we eat

,
cover the skin that protects
us en ter the pores that drain our bodily structure and
, ,

pervade r internal organs And when we die the

p
o .
,

dead body in its putrefaction in its transmutation into ,

th e o riginal elements from which it was made becomes ,

living forces which feed the life germs that crowd int o
,

its interior and exterior As soon as the living organ .

ism expires , it becomes the home the realm of innu , ,

m e rable life , the f ood for uncounted organisms , the

source of known and unknown forces which enter into ,

the inexhaustible life that dwells in nature . Living ,

we diff use life ! dying we d iff use life

, . Dissolved , or
disintegrated or , gasifie d , the po sthumous proce ss is
the result of another order of life living germs produce
it matter dead enters into new cycles of life
, . N either
force dies nor matter dies, and then will the highest
, ,

life —the life of the mind heart and soul the life t hat
, , , ,
1 58 TH E S PIR I T OF G OD

Yea the immortals live with us in the depths of God

,
.

Saint P aul b eheld Chri st , and the faithful saw his

l ikeness again and again . We ,
too, in our humbl e
way have me t with the vision of the Son of Man in
,

the very heart of our hearts N o the dead are not.

,

so far away nor is h eaven entirely b eyond our ken .

The nearer we go to the beloved God , the nearer we

go to our beloved on earth who have only prec eded
us where we shall all once more meet again .

RE UNION IN H EAV E N .

Love never dies . When our beloved are lost we

‘
love them all the more ; an d we f e el we have their love
!

wherever and in whatso ever state they abide The .

higher and purer our nature the more imm or tal , our

love . We are more tender and reverent to th e dead

than to th e living And if we love those whom we
.
,

have lost shall we lose those whom we love ? I f this

,

love be from Go d, not from our selfishness or w orldli

ne ss it carries the proof of its own immortality
, . It
would be th e cruelest delusion to our hearts and cons
sc iences if this were not so, if the highest love and
craving for union missed their obj ects . We heartily
believe in mutual recognition and reunion in heaven .

Heaven would be no heaven without our dear ones .

But how are we to be reunited ? N ot certainly

, ,
in
 TH E S PIRI T IN I MM OR TAL L IFE 1 59

the lower relations of the flesh and the world but in ,

the higher relations of spiritu al nat u re . R eunion

means recognition . I t means spiritual recognition .

When they were a li ve did we recognise—if th ey live

—
,

now , do we recognise their spiri tual nature ? When

we do not recognise our dear ones here we Shall not ,

kn ow them elsewhere . I t is not the carnal life th e ,

carnal mind , the earthly union ,

or ,
at b e st mental ,

peculiarities that make all the relations between our

,

se lves an d the obj ects of our love . Surely much of ,

that union di ss olves when life dis so lves ; and with

'
that di ssolution goes also th e possibility of re cognising
them in the state in which the spiri tu al na
ture is all
in all . So lon g therefore as life lasts the unceasing
, , ,

e fl ort Of th e believers in immortality Should be to

recognise each o ther s spiritual nature and make that
’
,

th e obj ect of th e highest and tenderest regard . For

those who have no recognition of the spiri t here ,

under so many favorable conditions cannot expect to ,

recognize each other in th e strange land where bodily

relations and earth ly features di sappear . And with ,

out recognition how is union possible ? Heaven will

be n o heaven to you but a veritable hell if while on
, , ,

earth you h ave failed to recognise its spiritual claims

, ,

and made yourself u nfit to m eet themi The immortals

will not b e your friends but seem like enemies if you, ,
1 60 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

neglect to be ruled in your conduct of life by them

while here ; your b eloved in P aradise are not what
you imagine ! with your selfishness vanity impure , ,

mindedne ss you will never feel at h ome with them

,

if
'

you do not try to be like them I t is only whew .

you have lived up to the holiest rul e s of life lived as ,

an absolute sacrifice to God that you can meet your ,

God on that awful day . Learn to live as an immortal ,

know your dear ones and treat them as immortals ,

satisfy the demands of the good and true who have

gone before if you pray for reunion
,
.

FI GU RE S OF THE I MMOR TALS .

Surely when we die not only the whole

, ,
Of the
body but a great deal of what we call the mind
, ,

dissolves also . This is amply obse rvable in the loss

of memory and other mental powers in the ve ry aged .

Bodily death as it approaches slowly unmakes the

, ,

man and the immortal part of him has to be recast

and remoulded after he has ceased to be on earth .

What time what ages that will take

, ,
no one knows .

I t is one of the things hidden in the depths of God s ’

j ustice wisdom and love

, , . But we kno w from e x pe

rie nc e that the regenerate and spiritually minded not -

only make here their immortal life b ut make their ,

bodily life also , as the organ of the spi rit . The powers
162 T HE S PIRI T OF GO D

him . T oo feeble are these eyes to behold the

ma rvellous self revelations of the E ternal and ears
-
,

cannot measure the depths of hi s infinite harmony .

F or the greater part of my days have these band s

served my Master and now that they are every day
,

becoming feebler the desire of serving him and his

,

children overpowers me . O h I need a greater v oice

, ,

visions of farther seeing , a greater capacity for the

music of eternal truth ! Oh , I need greater powers
for God s worshi p and servic e
’
Ve ry soon will these
earthly activities end while the life of the spirit ,

approaches its perfection A t the very dawn of . .

J
‘
eternal life behold this b ody is like a broken tool I
, ,
.

need a higher form , higher powers more abiding ,

organs , to find my God . These surely will be gi ven ,

whatever the n ature or the details of that form may

,

be . I shall be glorified and unite and mingle with ,

my beloved ones who are glorified . I shal l recogni se

them and they will recognise me and the bosom of
, ,

God in heaven will b e the home of our reunion .

Greater than the j oy which enraptures the bor n blind

at the sudden unveiling of mid day glory grea ter than -
,

the wonder that transports the horn deaf and mute

when the sudden strains of divine music pour into
their silent souls will be the light rapture and se nse
, , ,

that animate the devout in their passage from life “

to
 THE S PIRI T IN I M MO R TAL L IF E 1 63

immortality . We shall be transformed ,

glorified ,

enrobed in spiritual forms that have no property of

carnal or earthly admixture . The whole structure of
life here and hereafter is a unity it ascends from the
earth to the eternal s p heres . We can catch but
occasional and remote glimpses . The veil of death
must remain dark and impenetrable and on the other ,

s ide there S hall always lie mysteries that none dare

attem p t to unravel . But the light of fait h experience , ,

and insigh t casts such transparencies on th e darkness

as to give unfailing assurance that tho s e who live
i n G o d have the unut terable glo ry of immortal life .

H EA V E N AN D H E LL .

E very organism will always have an environment .

E very spirit will have a form . We cannot think of

a being without circumstances of some kind . The
soul is the highest organism on e can think of . The
circumstances which environ i t here in this world
bring out its various possi bilities and give i t concrete
fulness . But that so - called fulness is always imper
f e ct . E ven he who achieves most feels disappointed
when thinking how much more he could have done .

O ur doing here is never up to our aspiration because

the environmen t overcomes us , circumstances are
seldom favorable and the powers we hav e are not
,

s ufli c ie n t for our purposes . I f the soul is to have a

1 64 TH E S PIRI T OF GO D

continued exi stence after death , and i f a separate

ex istence apa rt in consciousn ess from God and other
,

immortals the soul will have an ab od e where condi

,

tions of life hel p to complete its growth That .

surrounding of new circumstances we m ay call heaven

or hell . Heaven ,
therefore , or hell is not entirely
subj ective but it is obj ective and external also . It
is not wholly inside us but outside also in the form ,

of various conditi ons full of joy sorrow t rial tribu , , ,

lation victory according as we have deserved them

, ,
.

The process es of God always conspire to save man

from wha t is against his higher nature —to save him ,

from sin from self and what is called the te m ptations

, ,

of life . These processes act through the medium of

every man s life events
'
’
-
. Th ough indeed part of our
, ,

circumstance is our own making ,

part of it also
perhaps the larger part—is ordained by God . But ,

howsoever made every man s circumstance is a help ,

’

or a hindrance to him — a help i f he can take , ,

advantage of it to carry out his de stiny a hindrance ,

if otherwise . I need not however be a hindrance , ,

to

any at all . Beca u se , if w e k new how to use the

things that surround us th ey would always serve a ,

wholesome end . All things good and bad serve

together to do g oo d to those who love God . R eligiou s
culture has for its obj ect to teach us how the greatest
1 66 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

be a heaven also ,
—utside
o us , independent of us ,

ordained for u s, —that the organism of our spiri t may

find an abode better adapted and more favorable than
it met here to accomplish its destiny and that peace ,

and progress may be united in the conscious love of

God . What length of s uff ering there may be in the
scene of retribution which is to come here on earth
or elsewhere who can say ?, O ur conscious misdeeds ,

our violated instincts ,

our haunting remorses ,
our
well remem bered self d efile me nts our neglected opor
- -
,

tuni ties haunt us always like bloody ghastly spectres ,

claiming restitution , and demanding j ustice The

w
.

passions hich burn all the more fiercely the more

they are gratified the resentments and j ealousies that
,

cry for vengeance as we grow impotent the desires ,

which consume like a fatal fever th e imagined wrongs ,

tha t cannot be righted the bitterness losses cruelties

, , ,

of life are fearful tormentors . The fears of the

future the despairs of the present the memories of
, ,

the past are no mere dreams They represent realities

, .

which will have to be met and dealt with and their

combination makes a state of life which can be
expressed by no word better than by the hateful ‘

“ ”
word hell . O n the other hand ,
the triumphs of
righteousn ess , the sorrows of God s service the se lf ’

s acrifice s on the altar of humanity the nameless ,

 THE S PIRI T IN I MMOR TAL L IFE 1 67

yearnings of th e saint and the nameles s hopes of the

devout the promises of the Spirit and the inheri tances
,

of the past ,
—all combined and all fulfilled ,
can be
expressed by no word better than the clear word
“
heaven . I t has entered into no man s imagination ’

what bless ings the Great F ather has rese rved for them
in heaven who are faithful to him on eart h . Yet let
us remember that heaven and hell are as much matters
of this life as the life hereafter . The heavenly minded -

here discern the heaven they will get hereafter and ,

the wicked and evil minded here have surely earned

-

the hell which they dread . I n the mansions of the

‘
blessed where every holy aspiration meets with i ts
,

response and every blessed endeavor is given its

,

reward ; where th e po or are exalted and the pure

minded see their God and where the cruel separations
,

of the world end in reuni on where the tyrannies of

the flesh cease and the bonds of heredity are loosened
where wisdom and j oy and love make the environment
of the children of God ,
—
who knows what happines s
may b e hoped for ,
who knows what the nature of
unending progre ss there ? But the s ufie ring s of
p urga to ry an d the tranquillities of paradise are equally
intende d by God our D eliverer to lead us deeper and
, ,

higher int o spiritual communion and inseparable

relationship with himself .
 CH A P T E R X I .

TH E SPIRIT IN RE ASO N .

R EAS ON is sai d to be the word of God . That ,

again is the mind and thought of the E tern al

, ,

nay his very self

,
. All men have reason , and all
scriptu res h ave in them their measure of the fulness
of the mind of the Deity . But language and popular
notion have i t that in this reason there is a divine and
a human Side . O n th e mirror of th e soul th e depths
Of all thé wo rlds are reflected . The universe of light
and order is said to be within , not without . This
marvellous creation is described as a subj ec tive dream ,

the mystery of communion between divine and human

reason ,
—y og a- 1naia , —in which the secrets of all things
“
are hidden . The sun does not shin e there ,
ay s
“
the Upanishad ,
neither the moon nor the stars
what will these fires (of sacrifice ) avail This is the ?”

Spirit land whence reason brings the word of God

-
, .

Spiritual reason is never metaphysical but always ,

practical and true enligh tening all things and teaching

,

all wisdom . R eason is the s acred highland whence

religion and phil osophy take their departure ,
and
where ultimately they meet again to glorify G od .
 T H E s p rm r OF GOD
'
1 70

beauty ,
of goodne ss ,
love , moral character devout ,

trust God s self revelation

,
’
- . I t belongs partly to the
intellectual faculty also . Th e combination of all
makes the wisdom of reason Why should we take .

the intellect which is a part for th e whole ? Spiritual

, ,

reason takes note of all fertile facts in whatever part ,

of li fe observable and assi m ilates them into devout ,

wisdom . S ome thinkers of th e nineteenth century

have made a noble attempt to vindicate th e Spirit s ’

s overeignty in the realm of reason by reconstructing

the laws of th e universe and the laws of the soul on
a co mmqn basis of unity , of continuity , of evolution
of th e m anifested will of God . The great work of
wisdom is t0 fin d wisdom in all things and find out
'

the likene ss of the two reasons divine and human , .

I s the r e ason in man essentially the same as reason

in
l
God related but as part to the whole ?
, I n the one

case it is pure supreme unch angeable , ,

in the other
case , warp ed and mixed by grosser elements ,
but
tending to be pure and transcendent al so through
spiritual culture . This is th e question which the
philosophy of religion has to an swer . That the
Spirit s glori o us eternal reason has its shrine in us
’
, ,

is linked with our nature is more than half of , u s,

n ay , nearly th e whole of our bei ng ,

—is not a matter of
speculation or sentiment or even faith , but it is an
 TH E S PIRI T IN R E AS ON 1 71

experience a consciousness which at last grows int o

, ,

an instinct and cannot be shaken

, off . R eligion is an
instinct as much as aff ection or reasoning but in
man , unlike other animals no instinct is a changeless ,

finality but always a potency

, ; it grows purifies , ,

p erfects itself ti ll it re aches its goal in God

, . T he
c onceptions of cause and being of self and not se lf , ,

of b eauty right and duty of God and immortality

, , , ,

we did not make nor can we entirely unmake though

, ,

it is our power to clear them or obscure them neglect ,

t hem or perfect them . They are the rea son of God

in us .

D E V O UT TH O UGH T .

E xalted and inspired thought is th e proper function

of godly reason . I s the thought of God possible
without a devout equilibrium of our faculties —nay , ,

without the harmony of the senses and of the s oul ?

Thought is to the spirit wh at breath is to the body ,

the sweet result of the health of vital powers . What

the heaven s blu e is to the far sighted eagle
’ -
,
—its
element its strength its j oy its glory
, , , ,
—the though t
of the E ternal is to th e mind . As there is no obj ect
whic h the h eavens d o not encompass and fill from ,

the s olar system to th e dewdrop , so no obj ect no ,

truth or beauty or spiritual s ecret i s inaccessible to

1 72 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

the vision of inspired thought . The subli mest func

t ion of reason i s this devout contemplation The .

process of creation is but the thinking aloud of G od .

E verything that is made was in him at first as though t .

The realities of divine thought besiege us on every

side within and without . And as by contemplatio n
,

alone we have insight into the profound depths of

God so through the same process everything flash es

,

“
back to its originating thought , everything on
”
earth is the shadow of something in heaven a rid
this thought world is God world All true thoug h
-
t -
.

is original poetic unw ord ly and universal becau s

, , e , ,

that whose function it is is a particle from the

Universal Light The truest thinkers agree and
understand each other th e conceited love to quarrel ,

compete and a ss ert their individuality When men

, .

learn to think away what is local , bodily , or

personal or cruel then only they learn to think
, , ,

because the D ivine R eason descends to make her

abode in them . So long as the confusions of the
world perplex them they brood ,
they plan ,
they
calculat e , are carried away by the streams and
tendencies of things they never rise to pure universal
thought . The method and th e result of thought is
philosophy the absorption of thought in its theme is
,

communion the tranquillity of thought is blessed

,
1 74 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

touches the faculties with calmness and stimulate s

them to united exercise . I t is only when we have
made our peace with ourselves and the whole world
that we rise above self and th e world . That peac e
m ay come after war , struggle , and death of the

flesh but it must b e free from ill will spite defiance -

, , ,

injustice . Th e loftiest thought is poss ible to the

loftiest ch aracter .

What is spirituality without wisdom and how , is

wisdom possible with out some knowledge of the fact s
and laws of nature ? Men of genius by some kind ,

of inner ght come to possess this knowledge that

i

l ,

i s, as much of it as su ffices to enable them to do wha t

'

they came for . To them the unity and integrity of

soul make up the reasonableness which we have to
acquire by studious application . The utter unreason
ableness of some big ots is a c onclusive proof that thei r
-

loud claim to inspiration is a false cry . A ll inspired

men are profoundly reasonable ,
and the reason and
obse rvation of mankind slowly grow into propheti c
wisdom . Let us carefully observ e and cultivate our
wi sd om , for nothin g gives a diviner insight into the

mi nd of th e All wise -
. Th e moods and habits , the

thoughts an d Imaginations of that mind are impressed

upon all things great and small , . T h e lineaments of
that wonderful glorious reason are traced now di mly
, ,
 TH E S PIRI T IN R E AS ON 1 75

now distinctly , on the highlan d s and lowlands of

creation as the sublime outlin e s of th e Himalay as are
,

disce rnible amid great shrouds of mist ,

now partly
concealed and now partly revealed . E ven the s elf '

concealment of the Spirit is a revelation because it ,

leads to a keener concentration of the seer s soul ’

;
and concentrati on is always th e prelude to absorption .

When so concentrated so absorbed —ay so inspired

, , , ,

—reason revolves th e microcosm of its knowledge ,

wh at vi sions of universal law and order open out !

A falling apple reveals the heart secret of th e universe

-
.

Whether you rear an ts or hive bees or bree‘l pigeons

, , ,

or graft plants ,
or swee p the heavens with your
l ordly telescope ,
whenever you search for reason
with reason th e communion of the two conscious or
, ,

unconscious ,
results in flashes and thunders amid
whi ch godly Science writes her decalogue .

According to the philosophy of th e Hindus ,

intellect is not th e same as reason . The lower animals

have the senses but no mind,
the lower orders of
men have th e senses and the mind , bu t not much
intellect worldly men have the mind and the
intellect not much soul the knower of God combines
—the
,

and controls all three senses the mind and the

, ,

intellect —by reason in his soul . When th e Spiri t

makes the sou l his gu e st chamber reason incarnates
-
,
1 76 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

in an d all things lay open their depths then ,

“
true wisdom is revealed T he vision of genius
”
c omes , says E merson by renouncing the too
,

ofli c iou s activity of the unders ta nding R eason .

does not understand ! it sees . That includes under

standing . But understanding often excludes reason .
1 78 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

the inebriate excite ment , the force of attachme nt

stronger than every other relation stronger than
—often
,

every obstacle as lasting and as long as life

, ,

lasting long long after death

,
! Love really seems
like an inspiration from above ! it cannot be defined .

Then between friend and friend it takes another phase

again . The open manly fellow feeling the pleasant -
,

sense of equality not unmingled with quiet respect

, ,

secret admiration and natural deference

,
the delight
in spending money and time and energy for the benefi t
of the friend the Shrinking modesty at the slightes t
acknowledgment or expression of gratitude for what
is receiv ed ; and the u nd e finabl e sense of help and
strength in the hea rt of the recipient when all this
goodness is remembered give us a relationship which
,

is an honor to human nature . I t is not generally

thought that between master and servant , sosordid
and mercenary has the relation become ,
anything
which bears at all a likeness to personal love is
possible . Loving thoughtful service makes all the
,

charm of calling God our Master , o ur Lord . There

are so few faithful afl e c tionate servants because there
are so few faithful and a ff ectionate masters . Yet the
attachment between him serves and him w ho
w ho
receives the service is a sacred social and dome tic
, , s

bond . I t is full of respect , full of kindness ; the

 THE S PIRI T IN L O VE I 79

sincerest wish to give pleasure on the part of one and ,

a gratitude a fondness almost! parental

, ,
—so intense ,
so
true it is ,
—n o the part of the other . N ow is all this
,

c omplex love applicable to our relationship to the

Supreme Sp irit ? We hold that it comes from him .

He is in it he is it , ; and in every one Of its com

p on e n ts this l ove purified may indeed be
, , O fl e re d as
a fitting worship to the God of love .

G OD IS LO V E .

Undoubtedly this is true What we mean by love .

in its highest sense is n othing but himself A S love .

h e is seen in various relations Of life . The calm

tranquil relations that for m the ground work of
society and bind all classes
, Of men ,
—the rich to the

poor and the poor to each other —are permeated by

, ,

an unobtrusive love whose tides ebb and flow as

they stand clos er or farther apart . But the courtesies ,

the common O bligations of life the respect that every

,

man owes to his neighbor , the mutual dutifulness

which is the bond Of all organi z ed society ,
are
sweetened and cemented by an u nd e rflow of feeling
easy to recognise as the love of man for man . When
that feeling is not there ,
these so cial O bservances
become hard ,
insincere ,
hypocritical , to not a few
positively disgusting . When there is that feeling a ,
1 80 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

morning bow has th e balm of a morning breeze and ,

the commonest civility becomes an acceptable worship .

The love Of man for man i s the outcome of the l ove

of God for man Th e kin dn ess O f a glance the
. ,

pressure of a hand an inqui ry in ill ness an acknow

, ,

ledgment O f a favor —all b ec ome instinct with an ,

.

influence and a mysterious force . There is a Se cret

divinity in it all . The genuine love Of man is almost
as sacred as the love of God , oftentimes harder to
practise —surely th e stepping ston e to that higher
,
-

love . The love Of God is the best teacher of the

service of social order The inspiration O f domestic .

te n d e rne éfi of public duty patri otism

, and philan , ,

thropy , is th e love Of God . NO one goes through the

common usages of life more pleasantly than he who
is fami liar with the ways of the Spiri t God abi des .

amon g us as the tran quil kindness of social and

household life . I f all these pleasant manners are not
assumed we are good to each other because the love
,

Of goodne ss the love , of G od besets us unknown to

ourselves . The exquisite relations of refined society
b ring this undercurrent Of a ffectionateness into a
higher and more prominent order . There is a whole
some shyness in us all which does not permit it to he
confessed that men , if they are not deliberately
wicked or cruel love each other in the commonest
,
18 2 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

person be drawn to an other without any motive Of

person al gain ? Any reason any motive any thought , ,

Of the usefulness O f the O b j ect loved any assignable ,

cause is utterly absent I f it wer e present love

,
.
,

would cease to be love . A blind force an irresistible ,

instinct a hereditary impulse an attraction for whic h

, ,

there is no accounting a strange yearning compels , ,

me n women all human beings fly to eac h other s ’

, , ,
to

arms and as it were to flow into each other s bei ng

, , ,
’
.

Uncounted utilities uncounted interests spring fro m ,

it all but in its source it springs from something to

which th thought or sense of interest or utility is a
y
.

positive a ff ront The life O f one becomes the life of

.

another ,
-
nay , more precious than life i tself - the
happiness of one becomes the ceaseless tireless life , ,

long care Of another . Th e excitement ,

j oyousness ,

insight resourcefulness se rviceableness self

, , ,
-
sac rific e ,

the delicacies refinements and sweetness es which the

,

presence O f love calls forth have b een described and ,

felt everywhere ev ery day though i t is all ever new , , .

T he greatest of the sons of men have said and proved

by their lives and death that religion is nothing but
love in its essence . Th e vilest Of men have proved by
their life and death that the shadow of love covers
some of the ghastliest Spectacles Of crime and folly .

Crimin als have be en turned int o saints by its force

 T HE S PIRI T IN L O VE 183

they have turned their bad instincts into divine

aspirations . There is a very intimate likeness be tween
life and love . O ne is as universal as the other —as ,

much a force as little mad e by man as indestructible

, , ,

as full Of infinite results . O nly life is S ingle often ,

times selfish confined within itself, whereas love is

always relative double treble manifold possible only
, , , ,

when it goes out itself and con secrat es expends all , ,

it possesses for others . AS fire kindles fire as light ,

produces light ,
as a spark can bu rn a continent ,

so love b egets love How many thousands upon

thousands can the same man love ! L i ft; without
love is th e meanest thing possi ble . Very likely it is
i mpossible ! every suicide is the e ffect of the absence
of love . B ut love always includes life ,
—
i ts own life
and the life Of others —
Or
, if it compels the sacrifice
,

Of life ,
it confers immortality as the reward Of the
sacrifice . Apart from individual and carnal relations ,

love is a tremendous , worl d compelling power

-
, like
gravitation ,
like electri city ,
like V itality . This love
Of God and man has knit togeth er millions Of men ,
.

it has united the past and present . I t is a force it ,

i s a fact it is a presence that fills all animated beings

,

it is the Spiri t of God in man . The profoundest self

revelation of God is in the l ove of man for man .

Like life force like every other force that is put into
-
,
1 84 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

the hands Of man for u se , it is O ften converted into

very wrong purposes ,
j ust as religion , sacrament ,

scripture ,
the authority of God , entrusted to the
hands of man are used sometimes for wrong purposes
,
.

Those who thus misuse ex po se themselves to unheard

of p e naltifi N othing on earth brings down such an
.

awful su ffering as misdirected love .

L O V E INE X H A UST I B L E
We have already said th at all human love is in
essence divine ,
though invariably mixed with the
gross ele ents
m Of flesh and blood . Th e elim ination
Of this gro ssness forms the purpose and substance of
spiritual and moral culture . E very religious or
ethical system which excludes or narrows any Of the
numerous channels through w hich the divine love
currents flow from one to another defo rms and
narrows humanity and in , SO far mars the prospect Of

its own acceptance . E very fo rm of religion and

morality which ,
in sanctioning human affections ,

sanctions the animalism which more or less underlies

them prepares for its future degeneracy and downfall
, .

O nly that ble ss ed D i spensation Of the Spirit which

recogn ises and in clu d es th e infinite vari eties Of love ,

but lays down the disciplines by which each can be

purified , sublimated , and turn ed into the divine
1 86 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

abiding force in love is independent Of personal

.

reasons —a universal force a divin e attribute the

, , ,

pr esence of God . Though most narrow and definite

in its range and O pera tions it is very Singular about
,

this quality of love in man ,

—
that all other powers Of

his nature are exhaustible beyond certain limits but ,

love is inexhaustible . O ur energy ,

however great ,

soon finds its limit . S O our endurance , knowledge ,

life itself ranges within its narrow b oundaries . Is
there any end to the O bj ects one may love ? The
personal circle widens into the domestic the domestic ,

into the m 1bli c , thé public into the patriotic that in to ,

the philanthropic ,
and philanthropy makes its home
among all manlifn d . O ur friends ,
in proportion a
we are unselfish tend to multi p ly
, for love sprin gs
"

from the infinite depths stored in our being . The

throb Of sympathy thrills in us for the sorrow and

the
This
o~
wrong even of those whom we personally

\ c
_
ity for love has neither limit nor end
k now not
.

univeYsa
l heart in the individual this infinite
‘
,

sympathy in the finite ,

the capacity for aff ection
co~
extensive with the whole race —nay , ,
overflowing
th e shores Of time and space rushing into the land ,

of the dead into the past and future

, ,
—
what is it but
the heart of God beating in man th e Spirit s pulse ,
’

throbbing in this vessel of clay wherein we are for

 T HE S PIRI T IN LOVE 1 87

a while The warm and intense anxiety which those

'

who love feel for each other indicates that this

anxiety has its counterpart in th e O ne wh os e creation
they all are ! their mutual love is but a process by
which God eff ects the preservation and happiness of
th e w orld . The higher the n ature ,
the deeper its
anxi ety for others good ’
. Love is careful and
anxious not for itself b u t
, , f or the beloved heedless ,

Of all deserts . IS it possible for uS to reali z e that

divi n e love is anxious for our welfare amid all the
trials and adversiti e s through which we m ust travel ,
‘

h eedless whether w e are worthy or not ? Leaving all

care for our own li fe in th e F ather s ’
han d s pthe wisest
course for us i s to do our best ,
—to be faithful and
loving in all ou r m anifold duty to him . T0 be
u nanxious in e very condition Of earthly li fe is th e
great reward of the religious man and this reward is ,

o n ly po ssibl e when he has faith enough to cast all his

burdens upon his God . The type of this unanxious
trust i s ex emplified in the infant on the mother s ’

breast and th e mother s ever wakeful solicitude in the

,
’
—
u nconscious acknowled gment of that trust . D arwin ,

“
in one Of his books makes a comical allusion to
, the
”
absurd expre ssion of happiness both in the calf and
th e human infant while sucking the m other s milk ’
,

w ith eyes upturn ed . Absurd or sober , this is a

1 88 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

distinction in child life -

; and the religious man has
to a Sk himself what corresponding fact does it indicate
? “
in the relation of the soul to God Th e Lord is my
”
Shepherd I shall not want
,
. O ften does the child
Of God feel and expre ss an absurd happiness in trust
ing him Unle ss there was deep truth in it would
. ,

the best and noblest of the world feel and act upon
this dependence ?

DI V I N E SY MPAT H Y .

The sum Of sympathy felt by man for man in the

diverse relations Of life forms the great heart of
E ternal beating in the depth Of humanity .

God s heart is in every heart according to its nature

’

and capacity As every living thing is the receptacle

.

O f God life so every heart is the receptacle O f G od

-
,

love . F or as God is life so God is love

, ,
! both life
and love are his force his presence his essence his , , ,

overshadowing soul in the secret places Of our mind .

The partnership which men bear in each ot her s ’

feelings of j oy and sorrow in each other s burdens ,

’

of a nxiety and labor —lovingly , ,

tenderly borne by
the meanest and least ,
—
makes the unique principle Of

sympathy . This bond cements family life social life , ,

patri otism , philanthropy ,

religious brotherhood —in ,

fact every form of organi z ed e xistence

, . The color
1 90 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

This vas t common feeling for all and for eac h

other thi s generous heavenly wine warms the best
, ,

and noblest spirits of our race . Whence is it , or

what but the nature of the E ternal poured out that ,

excites all animated O bj ects ,

—nay , sparkles even in
th e inanimate and turns th e universe into the abode
,

of God s love ? ’
Love is the greatest revelation of

God s nature He that loves most loves best has

’
.
, ,

the best and most of God in him O nly for the .

,

perfection of heavenly mindedness that love must be -

fre e from every taint Of self . D esire nothing want ,

nothing expect no service no gratitude no return

, , ,
of
l
any kind ! love all and feel rewarded by your own
,

a ff ection That is how God loves

. God means .

infinite sympathy —the mother s sympathy and the ,

’

father s ’
,
the friend s ’
, life s
’
faithfu lle st companion s ’
,

the giver s the benefac tor s —the sum of sympathy

’
,
’
,

in every sweet and lofty relation . God means the

beaming smile of congratulation in good fortune the ,

kindred tear drop shed in secret at genuine sorrow

-
,

the helpin g hand at hard struggles the gracious ,

approval and welcome at anything well done when

the O dds are against th e doer I t is God s love that ’
.

’
makes the sunlight Of th e thousand forms Of man s
sympathy for man . Weeping in oth ers ’
sorrow ,

exulting in others j oy are the two sacred privilege s ’

 T HE S PIRI T IN L O VE 1 01

given to our race ; and wh en the holiest among us

have wept th e Spiri t of God h as wept with them

,

when they have smiled the Spirit has smiled ,

. Verily ,

th e Spiri t of G od both weeps an d smiles with man .

D epen d and t r ust in his sympathy .

THE S PIRI T IN BE AUTY .

I t is a significant feature of love to behold always

a beauty in its object . It b ri ngs its inherent beauty
to bear on what it sees ,
j ust as hatred darkens
thin gs by its own in ward deformity . The distinction
between th e handsome an d th e ugly is levell ed by the
’
mystic glamour of love ,
and the wh ole world ,
all
circumstances , are made handso me . Whether the
t hin g loved be really beautiful or no t, love itse lf is so
beautiful t hat it transfuses its own glory eve rywhere .

I t discovers un suspected possibilities , it brings into

relief laten t advantages it exp lains apparent difli cul ,

ties it creates a
,
new world and peoples it with ideal
,

excellences . Those who love are not discourag ed by

what they see m p rospect Of what they know wil l
some day come to b e . Hence faith and hope are the
n ecessary attributes of love ; hence the celebrate d
P aulin e u tterance ,
—Charity
“
beare th all things be ,

lie ve th all things ,

hopeth all things , endureth all
”
t hin gs . To God th erefore all thin gs are beautiful
, , ,
 THE S PIRI T OF GO D

if not in the present certainly in th e future The ,

.

present and future make no diff erence to him What .

is the distance of the actual fr om the possible in the

eye O f O mniscience ? To the lover of G od all things
are beautiful —not as they are apart from him but
, ,

as they are in the divine conception and ultimate

destiny I n the tiny ragged hedge rose is involved
.
-

the beauteous queen of the garden the contemptible

wate r fl owe r will some day bloo m as the magnificent
Vi c toria re gi a . T he murderous highway robber is
the incipient Valmiki and Saul the truculent per
,

se c u ti ng ,
develops into the prince Of Christian
(bigot
ap ostl e s fi I t is not what we are that is glorious
and b eautiful , but what we S hall be and when for
,

a brief moment we strangely become our own

future selves then G od s love is reali zed ’
. And
as we love God also we love ourselves , . G od s love
’

“
and ours becomes one love . We reali z e God is
love . He w ho dwells in love dwells in G od and ,

”
G od in him . When do we discover in ourselves our
future destiny ? I n moments Of the profoundest
devotion or heroic self
,
-
sacrific e , or tri umphant con
quest over temptation ! in Short when Divine grace
,

descends upon our head then God s love makes us ’

beautiful What then is the transcendent beauty Of

.
, ,

creation around us from th e starry heavens to the

,
1 94 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

God s love The unseen breezes that sweep to the

’
.

unknown bear messages and carry the soul on their

wings to God The mighty Himalayan summits
.
,

mysterious with their untrodden snow call and invite ,

me to G o d The catarac ts that fall on the hillside

.
,

r u sh away give a parting call to the far O E E ternal

,
-

the voices Of the night and morning the voices of the ,

ble ssed dead heard in scriptures the voices of the ,

beloved saints who have gone before u S all call us ,

-

in love ; and there are harmonies beyond these of ,

which these are the echo Through them all the love .

Of God calls us to heaven , to himself . I f there is

‘
a S p ark of love in us ,
why do we tarry ? Yes in ,

hearing and in doing all this the fear , Of death is lost ,

the care Of poverty and the sorrows of life all is lost .

When in so many voices the love Of God calls who ,

will not respond ?

L O VE AN D H O L IN E SS
L ove creates beauty beau ty creates love
, and the
two perpetuate one another Who does not fove the
.

bloom Of the spring or the pl u mage Of the bird or

, ,

the symmetry of the mountain pine or the form and ,

’
grace of R aphael s Madonna ? I have seen the most
uncouth and unclean hill cooly stick a bunch Of

delicate orchids in his greasy Skull cap and in simple -

,
 TH E S PIRI T IN L O VE I 95

g lee grin from ear to ear . The most ill tempered and
-

unmanageable of babies is stopped in its cries by an

O fl er of the far off evening moon -
. I t is beauty that
s tirs love it is love that quiets all innate savagery ,

and crowns the spirit with peace . Astonishing it is

to think how the ministry Of a flower is almost without
the limi t of time and space in the worship and ofl e ring
o f devotion The devotee O ffers to his beloved God a
.

flower , th e youth to his beloved maiden ; and the

sorrowing nation to its dead hero O ff ers the wreath of
flowers . Church es , oratories ,
and altars ,
fes tivals ,

marriages and funerals are be autifie d with flowers

, .

I t is the tribute which love O ff ers to eg

rce lle nce .

Beauty is the golden link that binds afl e ction to good

ness an d its Off er shall be universally acceptable B ut
, .

what is the value of the beauty Of form or color or

, ,

motion or , o r d er all which is uni ted in man

, ,
without
the beauty of the Spirit ? I t is only so far as the
outer lineaments su ggest the inner excellence tha t
they are loved and when the conviction is fi nal that
,

the excellence is absent the forms become a hideous ,

mocke ry like embellishing a corpse

,
. The persons
an d portraits of heroes and saints will be ten d erly
honore d not becau se their bodies were fi ner
,
O bj ects
than ot her men s ’
,
but because of the n obleness ,

saintliness an d Spirituality that shone through them

,
1 96 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

and made them beautiful Socrates will be always .

more beautiful than Alcibiades Seneca than N ero , ,

Saint P aul than F estus Cromwell than King Charles , ,

because their presence might be mean or hard

featured ,
but their S pirits were gr eat . The nimbus
that hall ows the heads Of the immortals is thrown out
n ot the sunlight or the atmosphere but by the
by ,

m oral beauty from within and we love it we venerate ,

it —
,
our devoutest afl e ctions are forced from uS .

Thus beauty exacts love by its spirit force -

, and is
w edded to it We love beauty and therefore we
.
,

perpetua e it A b e autiful and beloved model O f the

t
.

—
lotus flow er or the human face ,
th e structure of a
stone pillar or th e dome or spire of a temple is repro ,

du c e d ten thousand times on metals gems buildings , , ,

pai n tings orn amen ts until it becomes a symbol and

, ,

type Of perfection —nay , ,

until the accursed and
unhallowed b ecomes beautiful and bless ed , li ke the
cross of Calvary . True beauty both in natural things
,

and in character is ever loved and perpetuated for all

,

time . I t suggests th e thought that somewhere some ,

day in something beauty love and permanence find

, , , ,

a home . The loving are so seldom beauteous ,

the

beautiful so often unlovely we stand confounded in ,

the di sordered scenes before us and lose all sense of ,

the innate relationship . Amid the decline and pass

1 98 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

love in God becomes a conscious spiritual condition

when the power O f conscience purges the soul from
all impurity . Both beauty and love perish and dis
appear in the hell -
fire of S in . There is no violence ,

no wickedn ess Of cruelty , no filth of self pollution -

,

which the man Of guilty conscience may not commit .

Th e one great test Of love is whether or not it

constrains the conscience , compels the morality of
self -
s acrifice , purifies a man stimulates renunciations
, ,

short Of which test emotion means self indulgence -

.

Moral character means self control -

. Love coincides
wit h it there but goes much further and doe s not
, ,

stop sho rt O f self e ff acement immolation-

, of all se lfish

ness at the altar of duty . But is not self e fl ace me nt -

a blank ? When all the depths and heights Of motive ,

the light and Shade of impulse all the , O pinions and

experiences , desires and dislikes ,
aspirati ons and
sorrows that make up what is called a man s self are
,
’
,

crushed at one fell stroke of cruel sacrifice what

remains behind ? I f self is gone ,
who reaps the
harvests sown in tears and blood ? The tyrant cons
c i e nc e remains ,
—the ruthless critic who never , gi ves
rest one Single moment but accuses hurts exposes, , , ,

ever the angel Of vengeance w ho se arches every

hiding place and points
-
,
to every spot of secret guilt .

This second self this higher self of conscience has

, ,
 THE S PIRI T IN LO VE 199

the whole realm Of nature to itself when I withdraw

from the government Of my own afl airs . The rule of
the heavenly kingdom begins when man abdicates
hi mself . Co nscience is immortal universal common , ,

to all mankind . When man dies , his conscience

remains an d rules his whole world becomes the law
, ,

Of conduct . Conscience is the very God in man .

Love compels this conscience —nay becomes a , ,

ne w

and higher conscience ! the two combine into one ,

and that one lays down laws of conduct very far

indeed from the agreeable self satisfactory ways -
Of the
O lden times . The sacrifice Of self that love enforces
is far indeed from the destruction of soul so O ften
erroneously set down as the teaching Of the doctrine
of N irvana . NO orthodox Hinduism or Buddhism
teaches that ! it teaches the absorption Of all that is
noblest and divinest in every man s self into the ’

higher principle Of Universal Self that pervades the

universe . T he love Of God recommends and enforces
such acts such mo tives thoughts
, , , and afl e c tions as
all men—that is the best and ,
holiest among them
will love ,
and th e gradual forsaking Of such as are
purely peculiar to o ne s self
’
. N ot o nly what is
immoral ,
but what is exclusive , is forbidden to the
spiritual man . The love of G od lays down the basis
of a more compre hensive life , to which humanity
20 0 TH E S PIRI T O F G OD

must return after its wanderings . I t will repel men

at first by reason ,
Of their animality but will surely ,

raise them and unite them in the long run . With

the humblest and devoutest reverence I ask ,
Can
there b e any conceivable self renunciation deeper and -

more complete than that O f the Supreme Spirit ?

He ,
the ever bless e d
-
and holy God , places the
forces and attributes of his being his laws and orders , ,

his b e n e fic e nc e s , his providences ,

his sanctions and
secrecies at the disposal of man , who uses them SO

O ften for the wickedest and vilest purposes . T he

hypoc rites are not woe be gone the P harisees not -
,

ap p are nily accursed Th e libertines and persecutors

.

are not crushed . But they triump hantly use the

resources and orders Of nature ! they prosper live , ,

and die as if there was no Moral Governor of the

,

World . I t is those who have very little Of the world

that find what little they have taken away from them
the poor are downtrodden the mourner goes , u ncon

soled the friends and lovers

, Of God are hounded to
death . Da vid prayed for the destruction Of his
enemies b ut one much greater than D avid se emed ,

for the while forsaken of G O d —th e helpless victim

, ,

O f his fierce enemies Apparently G o d pla ce s the .

,

whole machinery of the physical and moral world at

the disposal of such as dishonor him . I n the cease
20 2 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

love inspires the mind and kindles the eye contact ,

with the subj ects Of knowledge reveals much more ,

and goes much deeper than the mere unaided faculty

of O bservation and reasonin g ? Without having the
remotest wish to undervalue the operations of the
intellect one might truly say the lover of nature and
,

th e lover of man or Of God will observe more under ,

stand more e ffect more reason more to the purpose

, , ,

than he who scorn s to rely upon anything else than

his bodily senses and his logi cal quickness T he .

minister to the mind has sometimes healed bodily

ailm e n ts when the physician failed . The loving
c
woman as m other or as wife knows hum an nature
, ,

more than the self complacent philosopher Love is

-
.

an organ of the intellect ! with all its di ff erent

qualities the soul is a unity
, . So repeatedly how ,

ever , has th e emotional pietist foolishly dishonored

the O fli c e O f intelligence that th e natural reprisal has
come . The scientific man in his solid investigation
,

after undeniable facts has left , on one side faith and

sentiment as so much womanish cant . But as surely
does the love Of man for God and the love Of God for
man open the exhaustle ss wealt h Of intelligence as
the atmospheric currents O pen th e cloud depths into -

life gi ving fertilizing Showers of the summer

-
. Philo
sophy is th e daughter of inspiration and the prophets ,
 TH E S PIRI T IN LO V E 20 3

Of th e world have laid the foundations Of wi s dom

much deeper than the reach Of modern doubt and
n escience . After all is it not the impulse
,
Of the love
of beauty or fitness or v astness or com b ination that
lies at the ori gi n Of th e noblest creations Of art ? And
it i s th e same impulse Of love that lies at the origin
of the universe and all the immensities of wisdom
which i t involves . Then what love has created love
can comprehend nothing else is fully competent . I
have said before love coalesc e s with conscience ! I
say now love coalesces with reason ; and holiness ,

wisdom ,
and love condense into the nature Of G od .

I n God reason and righteousness and g ra EO form a

unity ! in man also they form a unity . Till God and
man unite human reason sickens into a demoniac
,

possession that wants to displace th e D eity from the

world righteousness
,
hard e nS into a ruthless asceticism
that tramples upon the tenderest sacraments Of life ,

and love degen erates into a drivelling sentiment or ,

fl atule n t mysticism . But wherever any one Of these

qualities is born of reality it has a sure tendency to
produce th e other two ; an d hence , from the most
humble beginnings spiritual religion has ceaselessly
,

contributed to th e harmony Of individual and national

character .
O ut Of the fulness Of his love the F ather
has given us the lofty privilege of wisdom , the
204 T HE S P IRI T OF GO D

inheritance of the whole creation and in all the light

and glory man s wisdom man hall ofl er unto his
’
Of s

b e ne fic e nt Creator the devoutest worship of his love .

F or worship is not complete or fitting till righteous

ness love and wisdom unite on the altar of human
, ,

character unto the glory of G od .

20 6 THE S PIRI T OF GO D

we have not the power Of saying N ay to its

decisions .

WH AT I S CO N SC IEN CE ?

I f conscience b e a feeling —a mere sense , Of joy

or disgust —or if it b e a j udgment it cannot belong
, ,

to an inanimate O bj ect s urely ,

b ecause an inanimat e
obj ect cannot f e e l ! it must belong to a living person ,

to whom high sentiments are possible Such a livin g .

person is indeed not our own self because this very

,

self leads us to break the moral law . We do not fear

our own self we do not care for our own consolation
,

but a self other than our own w hich somehow si ts ,

brooding in us can only cause the reality of such

,

“
emotions . Who then is that other self ?
, ,
If , say s .

“
Cardinal N ewman ,
upon doing wrong we feel the

same tearful , broken hearted so rrow which over

-

whelms us on hurting a mother if on doing right we

enj oy the same sunny serenity Of mind ,
the same
soothing , satisfactory delight ,
which follows on our
receiving praise from a father ,
—w e certainly have
within us the image of some person unto whom our

love and veneration look in whose smile , we find our

happiness , for whom we yearn ,
towards whom we
d i rect our pleadings in whose anger we are troubled
,

” “
and waste away . I n man y instances have I
 TH E S PIRI T IN CO N SC I E N CE 20 7

found , says Ke shu b , there is a person within the

person , there is a tongu e within the tongue ; and
they talk in di ff erent voices and th e voices can , be

distinguished by the trained ear . There is a Thou

”
within the I , and the two are separate . Thi s
s econd person is th e incarnated word Of God in our
moral sense and this word is the law
, Of life . The
Spirit Of G od is the law Of life for man . This law
every on e breaks more or less O ften but non e may
,

outgrow . I ts warning always hangs over the head .

Amid the wild pleasures Of youth and wealth there is

an underton e of threat faintly heard wh h may be
’
s ,

drowned or defied but will surely return Amid all

, .

th e complaisance Of keeping the civic or social law

there i s the sense Of an unsatisfied inexorable higher ,

law which never gives rest till it has exacted its

,

uttermost due But no mere law is at all times

bindi ng or real till it is referable to the nature ,

authority and personality of some one

,
w ho holds us
accountable and in his character exemplifies what h e
,

a d ministers . Th e moral law then is the will power

, , , ,

and perso nali ty of God embodied in our mind . O ur

irresistible instincts b ear testimony that the presence
and Spiri t of God executes upon us his j udgments .

Th e image Of God is seldom kept pure in any one Of

u s, and is n ever given in perfection to any . O ur

20 8 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

surroundings greatly a ff ect it . Conscience like reason ,

or faith is to be educated
,
. The lives Of great men ,

the influences of reli gi on the trials ,

Of life heighten ,

our moral faculty . The Spirit Of God s righteousness

’

pours in larger or lesser me asures into us according ,

as we make ourselves fit to receive him . I ncarnated

in us ,
his authority becomes more inviolable as we
ourselves become more advanced . E very man s con ’

science may be a l aw unto him but it shall not , be

a law unto others . N ay ,
there are times when
individual conscience has to be sacrificed to a higher
conscience . God demands Of us the highest plane of
‘
life whether we ourselves find it or others Show it to
,

u s —not only an intenser but another kind of li fe

, , ,

a universal life , which all men shall honor . Here

individual and universal conscience is reconciled , and
God s will alone is the law of holiness
’
. An attain
ment Of unearthly purity is demanded . Th e world
compelling men brin g it and force it upon us in spite ,

of ourselves Th ey for instance demand a sacrifice

.
, ,

Of all self indulgence

-
, even Of the commonest needs
and satisfactions . They demand forms Of duty
against which our nature rebels a self ,
-
inflicte d misery
almost inhuman in its arbitrariness and rigor . Yet ,

apparently severe as such demands are the soul in , ,

its upward look , meekly admits the j ustice Of the

21 0 TH E S PIRI T OF GO D

C ON SC I E N CE U N I V ER SAL .

Thus our moral consciousness i s but the orga n of

a P resence —a mouth piece of an Autho rity which we
,
-

are bound to report to ourselves if n ot to others I n a , .

vast measure the Spirit forces our moral fac ul ty as he

forces other faculties both of knowledge and feeling
, ,

to recognise th e fact that he dwells in us directs us , ,

holds us firmly in his grasp

,
and we can never go far
from his presence even though we would ,
. All this
becomes the more awful when that P resence is voiced
by the innermost experience of whole races and the
weird , un J
a rthly accents Of prophecy . The mystic
teachi ngs Of the ancients , for whom reverence is
universal only makes the teachings Of our own heart
,

more authoritative . I t shows the highest moral life

has a uni ty and universality in it which is a sure sign ,

that it is the life of the E ternal himself an d he is in ,

us . The un ity of purpose in nature the unity , of l ife

in animals the unity of intuitions in minds is
, , not

more striking than the unity Of moral instincts in

mankind . D espite the petty divergences of the moral
codes of nations in the value of particular acts un der
parti cular circumstances , at th e bottom of the relations
between man and man between man and woman in , ,

the active principles of human character there is the ,

 TH E S PIRI T IN C O N SC I E N C E 2I I

u nchangeable rock of natural morality . This means

the presence , the guidance and the identity of Him
,

w ho keeps the nations together . The wicked man is

felt to be the enemy of the whole race . He has his
home nowhere and , however he may hide the
blackness Of his hear t even the unseeing savage finds
,

him out erelong . B efore the balef u l figure Of human

misdeed health and happiness
, ,
religion and ritual ,

earth and all its promises stand dum b ,

. T he consola
tions Of philosophy the pleasures , Of poss ession are ,

helpless vanities when at last the retribution Of

Wi ckedness has overtaken you . When the Law Of

Life is violated man is smitten with livi ng Q ath and

,

can the (lead enj oy ? Before the sunrise of the

excellence of holiness the humblest and the heart
broken stand rej oicing . R ighteousness exaltet h a
nation and ano inte th with gladness the childre n of
men . The pure in heart are also the joyous in heart
and when man keepeth faith with the word of God
, ,

he also keepeth his covenant with his faithful . SO

that those who overcome wickedness are crowned with
peace and rest both ,
here and hereafter . The funda
mental u nity of moral life creates the hope of a
world wide brotherhood
-
,
makes up the reality Of an
endless progre ss and establish e s the throne of the
‘

kingdom Of righteousness in the very centre of human

21 2 TH E S PIRI T O F G OD
,

nature .
The Spiri t is present with all his peoples
the Jew an d the Gentile are alike under his rule and ,

inasmuch as they consciously honor and obey the

expr essed commandment of Him who dwells in and
rules their hearts they cannot but have some sympathy
,

for each other .

M OR AL I TY AN D H O L I N E SS

Morality and holiness are only th e lower and

higher levels Of the same principle —in kind the s ame ,

thing but exceedingly

,
d ifl e re nt in degree . Holiness
is th e self revelation
-
Of divine s anctity superadded to

fi
c onsc i e nt i u s , faithful living . Holiness is intense and
tender love to God and man superadded to moral
character . There may be conscientious without holy
living . Unholiness or sin is living in
, , o pp osi tion
‘
to

the law of moral faithfulness which ou r sense is

o bliged to admit if not to follow , . There is in us the
law of animal life the law ,
Of worldly s ocial life ,
and

the law piritual life rising one above another

Of S , ,

oftentim e s the higher merging in the lower some ,

times th e lower merging in the higher . There is no

nece ssary antagonism in them ! the antagonism is our
ow n m aking . We make it when we w ilfully violate
the higher for the sake Of gratifying the lower . This
is sin and we are its authors not God , . When by ,
21 4 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

holiness .To us the moral idea do es not mean the

ima gina ry or the speculative or the abstract a mere
, , ,
-

poetic fancy void of any perso nal value T he ideal

, .

is the Infinite ly R eal who abides in every man s ,

’

moral sense and compels him to live accor ding to

,

rules that repea tedly affect the powers of his body

and not a few desires of his social and domestic li fe .

I t must be conceded that the moral ideal is not equally

high or clear or full in all men or to the same man ,

at difl e re nt times of his life I t waxes or wanes .

accordin g to the moods and tenses of the mind I t .

b ecomes an overwhelm ing impulse now , or a cold

judg me nf of the intellect next time ; it becomes a
'
i

madness and fury at one moment or faints an d sub ,

sides and seems not to leave a trace in the besetting

,

darkness . But it is not therefore gone . As soon as ,

in as much as a man outgrows the grossly animal life
, ,

he is dominated by this inevitable ideal . When this

ceases to have any influence over him h e becomes a ,

mere machine bu t it never does cease . . It is in each

one of us as a part of our nat u re ! it is the Spirit an d
word of God in us . Here comes the supreme nee d
of devotions . P rayer restores the lost ideal repairs ,

the broken vision , renews the Spirit to behold the

unchanging face within . D oubt and weakness and
sin and the hundred wearinesses
, Of the worl d mar ,
 T H E S P IR I T IN CO N S C IE N C E 215

the brightness of our eye an d th e pe ace of our spirit

but we never entirely lose the priceless possession of
’
G od s holy inner presence the guidance of the great ,

destiny that leads us on and on . Unless we deliber

a tely forsake the practices and associati ons which
have in thousand instances s aved our failing morals ,

we are not forsaken ,

—no , not even then entirely .

Absol u tely lost to all moral influences no man ever

was or can b e . But can any one be absolutely good ?
I ndeed , character incess antly tends to a finality .

How far evil and how far good a man can become we
have yet no conception Ye ti from the lo we t dept h
s
.

of wi ckedness a man or a woman is found to emerge

with a startling suddenness which opens a strange ,

perspective of pos sibilities . This may be called

salvation if you will
, and the fai th and expe rience i t
begets ma k e a tremendous force . But the law of
perso nal holine ss is a law of tardy o p era ti on . No one
can attain to innermost sanctity by a sudden plunge .

He must reap as he has sown his evil deeds must

execut e a retri bution upon him unknow n to any one
but himself and the great awful Witness within , . It
is enoug h i f he will in the future abstain from all
conscious d e file me nt . Salvation from sin never yet
meant salvati on from punishment ! it means growing
d eliverance from the po ss ibilities of further sin b ut ,
216 THE S PIRI T OF GOD

the deli verance comes through gr eat sufiering . Sin

is the puni shment of si n . The recurrence of sinful
thought or wish is the worst misery that can happen
to a godly man w ho hates sin But this punishment .
,

which we would fain avoid is a powerful fact or in ,

bringing about the deliverance we seek The more .

we hate and dread sin the more we struggle to avoid

,

it and the nearer we are to the mansions of holiness .

The more we practise purity in defiance of ourselves ,

the nearer we are to God But it is a fearful penal .

reform atory work He upon whom the dreadf ul

.

j ustice God has been executed not in vengeance , ,

bu t in light and wisdom of edifying love ,

—he will
take reasonab le care not to ofl e n d that j ustice again .

He who cheaply escapes the penalty undervalues the

pardon T he forgiveness of sinners is a mystery of
'
.

D ivine L ove whi ch scarcely acts in two cases alike .

I t means dreadful suff ering to one ! it means the

prodigal s easy retur n and reception to another
’
. But ,

whatever the measure of sufi erin g , adapted as that

always is to the nature of the su fie re r, its inevitable
effect is to heal wickedne ss and brin g the rest of the
righteous . Yet let no one think that su ff ering is
enough to cure evil . Thousands suff er but are all ,

the more hardened by their punishment . The Son of

Man and th e im penitent thief wer e! nailed side by
218 THE S PIR I T or G OD
‘

di vine forgiv ene ss and dai ly

'

s anctity on e deny that near ,

la nd of glory ?
 CH A P T E R X IV

TH E SPIRI T IN CH R I ST .

HE ideal becomes real in us at detached moments

T ,

seldom continuously . I n those moments we

are d ivine , we are our higher selves . T h e E ternal
embodies himself in us for the while . Ve ry soon
fleshy impulses darken our nature ; and the i d eal
looms in th e distance , abstract ,
cloudy ,
spectral ,

sometimes disappearing from view altog e the like the

furth est snow of the Himalayas .
s
Suddenly
,

it is
recalled by a look , by a mountain summit ,
by a

mornin g sun light by an ill ness or sorrow

,
. The obj ect
of all spiritual culture is to plant ourselves perm a
n e ntly on the high est plane of moral aspiration , to

become forever what we wish to have been . We need

for this examples ; we need those men who have
achieve d what we have not ,
—the eminence of living
up to the lofty vision of their souls . Unless the
possible becomes actual ,
moral aspiration is a per
p e tual a gony . Th e j udgments of the conscience are
often admixed with worldly interests and lower
motives . Very few of us indeed can solely depen d
, ,

upon ourselves in our course towar d perfection . We

2 20 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

n e ed an independent obj ective to ve rify our impulses ,

and the great ,

godlike men give us that obj ective .

We see the b est and highest of ourselves in them .

T h e intuitions o f the D ivine i n our hearts pro

fou n dly recognise their counterpart in some men we
come across either in history or in our experiences
, ,

of life . I t is impossible to be devoid of sympathy for

the great and good because these are in fact our
, , ,

selves that is to say the embodiment and reality of

,

what is noblest and best in us that which we cannot ,

make ourselves even if we would . All the impulses

W
and SHO ? wishes for moral or spi ritual li fe we feel
and to which somehow or other we fail to give
, ,
,

e fl e c t, b ecome proved realities in these superior beings .

The mind of God faintly shadowed in our hearts

, ,

kindles into a sort of supernatural light in them .

This light we did not make we cannot quench , . It

illumines our path far before and behind They .

become divine men ; their presence and their life

strike us as not of the earth . N ot a few fall down
and worship them as gods .

The wisdom of Greece t ook shape in a Socrates ,

the stoicism of Rome in a Seneca the asceticism and ,

self conquest of I ndia in a Sakya Muni or its insight

- -
,

in a Krishna , the Chinese s ense of duty in a

Confucius the Arab energy of faith in a Mohammed
, .
222 TH E S PIRI T OF G O D

sense and divine in

,
the most intelligible sense . They
r e present man in his aspirations and possible achieve
ments they represent God in all his accessible
perfections . But these incarnations are generally
o ne - sided they stand for ce rtain isolated principl es of
God s nature
’
,
and hence become unacceptable to
mankind as a whole . The prophets of one country
are not the prophets of another the incarnations of
one age are s upplanted by those of an other ! they are
partial local imperfect
, , ,
b ounded by time nationality
, ,

and circumstance Socrates is for the Greeks Mose s.

,

for th e ws Confucius for the Chinese Krishna

, ,

for the nd u s , and Mohammed for the Musalmans .

These will never be accepted by all the world ; as

everlasti ng models they will not b e acknowledged by ,

all men . The need of man is for a central figu re a ,

universal model ,
one who includes in himself all
t he se various embodiments of God s self manifesta ’
-

tion T he need of man is for an incarnation in whom

.

all other incarnations will be completed Such an .

incarnation was C hrist . I n Abraham and before

Abraham in Socrates and in all the great and good
, ,

over reverenced in h umanity ,

was Jesus Christ in
spirit . His essential nature is in the greatest and
best of the r ace ! we look upon him as the type of
humanity . He was as no other man ever was or shall
 TH E S PIRI T IN CH RI ST 2 23

be ! this is his uniqueness . Christ is unique ,

not
because his flesh was born of a v irgin but because he ,

was th e unity all those who had preceded him in

of

th e divin e order of humanity His spirit his being .

, ,

was the immaculate and un exampled conception of

the Supreme Virginity in God Ch rist indeed had a .
, ,

virgi n mother in a spiritual sense but that mother

,

was not Mary Joseph s wedded wife b ut the m y ste ri

,
’
,

ou s Maternity whereof all this fair universe and all

this fair humani ty is born . Th e prophets of th e world
cann ot be reconciled with each other ! their followers
fight over them O ne represented wi sd n, another
g
.

compassion ,
a third energy , a fourth conscience or ,

self consecration or faith or love

-
, , . But wisdom faith , ,

love ,
and holiness all found their reconcili ation in
adequate measure in Jesus Christ . E very one profess
ing to b e a prophet must b e in tensely human ,

exceedingly natural To b e natural is not to b e

.

carnal , bu t to be what men are sure to long to be if ,

not now at some distant time

,
. To have an undoubt
ing fore knowledge an instinctive anticipation of what
-
,

humanity mus t grow into ,

and to have the courage
and strength and succe ss to be that , makes the
ori ginality of the prophet s character ’
. A national
leader always antedates his nation , and God p re d e s
tines th e people in th e person of their leader . Th e
2 24 TH E S PIRI T or GOD

divine foresight pours itself forth into him . He

b ecomes an incarnation God s purpose God s
’
of
’
,

wisdom and force . But divine humanity is such a

v ast total God is s uch an inconceivable aggregate of
,

q u alities ,
that men , even the most perfect men ,

become at b est but broken lights of his glory . What

is worse the fragmentary lights cross and contradict
,

each other . So long as our quarrels about the incar

nations of God are not made up ,
quarrels about
reli gi ons will not be made up and th eol ogical hatred
,

will b ring all theology int o contempt . O ur belief is

that Christ is unique because in him the unity of all
i
th ese difl e re nt shapes of divine excellence was first
e ff ected . Therefore we call him the Son of Man and ,

the histo ry of the Christian religion is the history of

'

the progress of humanity . Some day if not now , ,

it
will be the pride of the followers of Christ to realiz e
that he does not supplant or abolish the prophets and
incarnations of other religions but that they all ,
and

each have their place in him that h e completes and ,

reconciles them . He is the type of all humanity .

Humanity broken up before and after is bound up in

him so that he is the human centre and bond of
,

union in the religious organizations of mankind .

When will Christian ministers turn their love of

Christ into the love of the good and holy men of all
2 26 TH E S PIRI T or G OD

not in sentiment nor in mere moral principles but , ,

in all details of every day lif e in all difficulties -

, ,

sorrows and temptations in all calls of duty great

, , ,

or small ,
to b e , to will and ,
to do as the F ather would
we should —that is sonship When with the inherent
,
.
,

weakness and unwillin gness of man in spite of ,

circumstances and examples all the other way ,

when he is able to do this the whole mind of the

,

F ather is manifeste d in the Son . He is embodied as

the image of the Spirit of God . We exclaim with ,

J ohn ,
“
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among ,

us and we saw his glory as the glory of the only ,

begott en 8 the F ather 1

,
full of grace and truth .

God and man became one ,

not in transcendental
idealism , but in actual visible reality . Such was
Christ .

That this is no mere dream has been evidenced

by the events of two thousand years —events not ,

legendary but able to stand the scrutiny of modern

,

historical tests . How many orders of civili z ation ,

how many ideals of life what wonderful revivals of ,

literature art and science what infinite prospects of

, , ,

improvement in everything have sprung from the

root of Christ s character and exampl e
’
! How many
principaliti es ,
empires ,
communities ,
organi z ations ,

and churches have been founded on it ! I s it not

 THE S PIRI T IN C H RI ST 227

un ique that twenty centuries ins tead of be ing able

,
to

e xhaust this single personality should add more and ,

more to its afli u e nce , till at the pr esent moment we

stand wondering if there will be any end to the
D ivine Humanity which thus fee d s and fills the
world ? I t is the parable of the five loaves and fishes
again applied to the needs of the community of all
mankind th e fragments gathered able to feed many
,

more than those who have feasted already .

This apparent transcendence of the limits of time

and space invests the central figure of Christ with a

universality which has to b e recognised even by th os e

who declin e to accept his religion . This R
u I ve rs ality ,

again ,
has led so m any to ascribe unto him the
eter nity and infinitu d e of th e Godhead . The result
of this is that the infinite and eternal God the veriest ,

S upreme , has b een overlooked ,

and made of little
practical avail in the boundless enthusiasm of wor
s hipping the Son of Man . There are two opposite
e xtremes of painful error in th e matter of Christ s ’

p ersonality among religious men . The first under

v alues th e revelation of God in man rej ects the all ,

impo rtant truth of incarnation ridicules an d censures

,

our great reverence and faith in Christ , and wo uld

lead us back if not , to utter heathenish darkness at ,

b est to vag ue Hebrew aspirati ons or Vedantic specula

 2 28 THE S PIRI T or G OD

tions about the nature of the D eity . The second

extreme ,
in order to emphasize the definite self
revelation of God in hum anity must force upon him ,
!

the abdication of all the supremacy of infini tud e on

behalf of the D ivine Man . However impossible it may

beto conceive two parallel in finitu d e s let us ask , ,

What is the practical benefit ? XVhe n the human in

finitu d e of the Son absorbs all our personal love ,

l oyalty and devout aspiration are not all the p urposes

, ,

of worship all impulses of Spiritual life fulfilled ?

, The
abstract infinite—call it the D eity ,
the F ather ,
the
Spirit the Brahma—left behind may perhaps round
,

ou t our tfleology and ,

ofl e r us a stronghold to retire on
philosophic al emergencies but its S piritual worth is
doubtful and can be dispensed with When Christ is
, .

found to contain infinite and e ternal perfection we ,

need none other and any allegiance to the u nc ondi

tion e d abstract D eity becomes an act of the merest

supererogation . Declare openly that Christ is all in
all , that the absolute Go dhead is included and
exhausted in him ,
and let the so- called Supreme
Being of the Theist retire forever from the arena of
practical and personal religion or like us declare that , , ,

God is all in all that Christ is his spiri tual manifesta

,

tion only as the typ e ever growing into perfection .

So far as God s nature and relation could be sh own

’
2 30 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

I t is stated sometimes that the infinite perfection

of the love of the F ather n ecessitates an infinite object
for its satisf action and that obj ect is Christ The
,
.

moral necessity of the infinite makes another infinite

unavoidable But as soon as the latter infinite is
.
,

m ad e it ceases to be infinite
,
and if the two
, infinites
are uncreate and run parallel like two geomet rical
lines they never meet and become one they are inde
,

pendent I ndependent beings never wholly submit to

.

one another . What then becomes of the depe ndence

, , ,

love trust and oneness which make the very ess ence
, ,

of Chris t s nature without whic h he would cease

i ,
to

teach us anything ? N or is this all . God makes

nothing unnecessarily . I f the presence and person
ality of the Son ofl e re d infinite satisfaction to the love
and other attributes of the E ternal O ne what , ne c es

s ity for further obj ects is left behind ? The whole

creation ,
wit h its marvels of love and intelligence ,

becomes a pure redundancy . The F ather and Son

would be perfectly sufficient for each other . And all
spirits all angels all worlds all men all progressive
, , , ,

lives would b e mere interl opers

, ,
w ho came only to
disturb the infinite adaptation of the two . God creates
us because he needs us because he loves us because , ,

we are necessities in th e economy of his nature and

the divine humanity of Christ only crowns this mar
 THE S PIRI T IN C H RI ST 231

ve llous structure of man . The indispensable necessity

for Christ is the nece ssity for the creation of all thin gs ,

the evolutio n and p rogress of all th ings the perfecti on

,

of things from the imperfect .

I f Jesus Christ is to b e taken as the consummation

of all th e great beings who came before him are we to ,

think that there is no necessity for any to be sent

afterwards ? Christi without his apostles would be an
insuffi cient centre a centre witho u t a circumference
,
.

The Sermon on the Mount without the P auline E pistles

would present an incomplete construction . I f this b e
so in the foundation of Christian society 6 is much ,

more so in th e history of religious society elsewhere .

As the greatness goodness and spiri tuality of those

, ,

w ho went before were built up in Christ ,

so the
sum of his being and C haracter has b een resolved
into componen t figures into particular virtues each
, ,

separately embodied in several teachers , prophets ,

ministers according to the needs of the times com

, ,

m un i ti e s , an d generations . The word of God was in

th ose who went before and in those who we nt after ,

Christ standing as the central figure between the as

c e n di ng and descending seri e s filling all enli ghten , ,

ing all the light of every man that comes to the world
,
.

Christ analy z ed woul d b e found to b e the essence of

spirituality of each of all these glorious b eings each ,
232 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

more or less Christ like in proportion as the harmony

-

of human character th e ha rmony of wisdom love

, , ,

and holiness ,
was more or less embodied in them .

There shall be many sons of God , many prophets ,

teachers , and ministers , Christ like men

-
. The suc
cession of divine humanity sh all never cease but no
son of man shall ever be greater th an J esus and no ,

n am e as his name — every knee shall bow to him

, .

The past p re figure d him ,

the future shall illustrate
him from him the present shall draw its inspiration
, .

They talk of the second coming of Christ and wait ,

for th e (fistruction of th e world in that hope The .

world does not hold out a prospect of speedy anni

hilation , but of steady progress and prosperity ; and
if Ch rist s second advent is
’
to take place , he shall
come as th e expected guest of the world s b ridal ’

cha mber not the avenging angel of its graveyard

,
.

Yea we maintain that he has come already not once

, , ,

not twice but repeatedly

, ,
in the shape of hi s servants
and faithful representatives who have loved like him , ,

su fl ere d like him , served like him devoted , , conse

crated , martyred . Accordin g to this law ,

every
minister is a Christ unto his co ngregation ,
ev ery
father a Christ to his family every proph et a Christ to ,

his people Christ pervades humanity . Like unto the

deluded J ews ,
who expected the promised Me ssiah
2 34 TH E S PIRI T O F G OD

and the part o f passion Action means d oi ng passion .

,

means sufie ring Wha t did Jesus Christ do ? He

.

came to do what ? N ot to make a doctrine not to ,

found a moral law not to establish a religion even, ,

far less to establi sh his own worship . O th e

rs did all
this before him He came to reveal the nature and
.

will of God and in the light of that revelati on to lay

,

d own the basis of a kingdom of a society of a divine , ,

household wherein the relations of men and their

,

Maker and their re lation S

'

to each other should be as

they had never been before . That God acknowledged ,

by m any cs the Creator the Ki ng regarded by some , ,

as the P reserver feared by most as th e D estroyer

, ,

might b e known as th e F at her trusted loved looked , , ,

up to like an earthly parent in all conditions in all ,

di fficulties , and thus glorified in each act of each

day —nay in all life and death
, , ,
—was the principle
which he came to establish . That men who looked
upon each other , as aliens ,
strangers ,
not unoften
enemies , who , disliked distrusted , ,
deluded by each
other feared ill treated made too ls of made toys of
, ,
-
, ,

each other sh ould forsake s uch attitudes and look

, ,

upon each other as memb ers of the same household ,

b rothers , equals friends , , C hildren of the same F ather ,

bound to C herish ,
help edify elevate sanctify each
, , ,

other by th e overrnastering impulse of love a mutual ,

 TH E S PIRI T IN C H RI ST 2 35

interest and a common yearn ing an i n tense feeling of ,

nen e ss of ow n ne ss , is the principle which Jesus

’
o ,

Christ came to establish . Th e vilest and least ,

the
n oblest and most high ,
formed one family and sat ,

side by side the last often becoming first and the first
,

last in loving j ustic e to the claims of all Sickne ss .

,

sorrow , death , pain , pove rty ,

more than everything
else sin with its loathsome misery in one member of
, ,

’
God s household , S hould call forth th e tenderest
sy mpathy and demand instant cure . Such was the
commonwealth of afl e c tion he came to establish such
h e felt was th e will of God He was c ontgi i ce d that .

this was his own calling and work for this he was ,

sent into th e world . AS the F ather loved his children

with the most genuine human afl e c tion , he loved his
disciples with the same affection he revealed th e
wonderfu l humanity of God . As God loved all men ,

so he wanted men should love each other , that t hey

may be one ; as tho u ,
F ather ,
art in me , and I in
thee , that they also may be on e in us ! that the world
”
may believe that thou h ast sent me . Th e fierce
en ergy and unremitting l abor with whi ch he did this
work th e fasting and watching the endless teaching
, , ,

p aying healing wandering

, , , ministering , are imper
f e c tly recorded in th e four Gospels . I t is recorded
with wh at s weetn ess , tenderness , reasonableness ,
2 36 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

speechless sympathy and genuine , goo d will to all

men and womenhe did his work fearless of the rich , ,

or the mi ghty or the learned unyielding stern

, , , ,

scathing in his reb ukes to the insincere lowly and ,

e ver forgivin g to th e penitent sinner

- At what time .

of the day or night was he inactive ? to what duty

unmindful ? what lowly ofli ce did he not un d ertake ?
His young ,
gentle life was spent too soon thus
workin g for God and man . He died . The divine
spirit in Christ s howed how to be perpetu ally active
in the loving service of God and man And Christian .

men and cammuniti e s have Shown how to imitate that

activity .

I n the next place these ceaseless endeavours to

,

establish God s kingdom by some hidden law brought

’

on fearful sufferings . I t is strange to thi nk that the

most devoted workers of the world should b e its
devoted victims also . But we do not know in what
spirit to bear our s nfl e rin gs O ne part of Christ s ’
.

appointment was to teach us to suff er . Ascetics in

I n dia and Stoics in other parts of the world did Show
,

how they could suff er and die without flinching .

They scorned pain and death an d loftily looke d ,

down perhaps pitied those who inflicte d the

, snfl e r

ings ; but Christ taught the lesson of snfl e ring in a

di f erent spirit . The meekness , gentleness , u ncom
2 38 TH E S PI RI T OF G OD

cross ,
accursed at one time , now blessed , is the

symbol of th e Christian s fait h and hope On the

’
.

towering crest of the lordly cathedral on th e fortified ,

heigh ts of many a castle and palace on the marble ,

spire of the hero s tomb ’

, this singular Sign Of the
cross is reared up . O n th e low mouldering chapel of
th e poor village or hamlet on th e steep roadside of the ,

dese rt heath , over the humble grass grown grave of -

the unknown rustic the Si gn , Of the crucifix stands

in its solitary significance . I t is the symbol of victory
over nature over sorrow over want over death
, , , . It
stands at head of the sick man s bedside it stands
the
’
,

w ithin reach of the dead man s grasp i t witnesses the

’

coronation of kings the vows of th e bridegroom and ,

the bride T he devout in all states look upon it with

.

th e same t rust and awe I t is the symbol of God s .

’

will ruling all th e events of human life . Man s ’

wishes and man s life running in a smooth placid

’
,

line God s almighty will falling like a thunder bolt

,
’
-
,

cu tting dividing covering it makes th e figure of th e

, , ,

cr oss . O n this mysterious figure was th e Son of God

slain . I ts significance Shall never be lost .

What shall I say of Ch rist s resurrection ? ’

Men
e ithe r do not believe it at all or , b elieve it in a most
gross ma terial sen se . I t is disagreeable to disturb
’
any one s faith all on e can do is to try to express
 TH E S PIRI T IN CH RI ST 2 39

’
o ne s own .
I believe in th e rising of Christ ,
- not
the rising of his materi al body ,
but of his spiritual
body . I claim to have seen that body ,
and I have
born e wi tn ess elsewhere to what I have seen . Tha t
was th e turning point of my reli gi ous life —to me a
-

most memorable event The lineaments of the as .

c e n d ed Son Of God find expression in a spiritual

unity Of character , of in fluence of a personality
,

exceedingly near exceedingly interior but , ,

fully
realizable in fai th and personal relationship . I t is
substantial not material , . I ts su bstance is the same
as the composition of our own souls as , i ompo si
thej

tion of the Spirit of God with whom we commune

eve ry day His bleeding hands bended hea d an d
“

.
, ,

broken feet his wounded brow his pierced side so

, , ,

familiar by art an d by description ,

so inexpressibly
afl e c ting , do not any longer represent his risen
presence . I t is full of the glory and sweetne ss of an
incorruptible s piritual life , unmarred ,
indivisible ,

whole with out wound or pain

, , ,
or blood , or flesh .

The woun d s an d the agony ,

the flesh and its
surroundings were all real . They are historical ,
in

delibl e th e typ e,
Of what those must inevitably s u ff e r

who toil in his footprints . But as h e now is as he

, ,

no w appears in hi s resu rrectio n robes as he reigns in ,

th e spiritual realm as h e blesses and consoles afli ic te d

,
24 0 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

humanity earthly , disfig ure m e nts are no longer trace

able . We discern his unspeakable sympathy which ,

is the chief feature Of his love , the grac e of his

meek ness the lustre of his strength his submission
, ,

and sweet sanctity —in Short the undying illustration

, ,

of all that he came to be to teach and

, , to leave b e hind
him for the salvation of man . Thus re - embodied his
ascended figure kn ocks at every man s heart door and ’
-
,

seeks admission . Christ has not only risen ,

but
returned as he promised
, . As a quickening spirit as ,

a heavenly figure , as the form of immortality as the ,

law of fir e spiritual life has he returned and doth , ,

dwell in our hear ts There let him abide forever . .

Abide Lord as the divine Man abide as the Son of

, ,

God as the F riend of the poor man

,

TH E S PIRI T A L L IN AL L .

Saint P aul prophesies to the Corinthians that ,

when all things S hall be subdued unto Christ then ,

shall th e Son himself b e subj ect unto him w ho p ut

all things under him tha t G od may be all in all ” , .

I ndeed to us in the Brahmo S omaj G od is all in

, ,
-
,

all But what is the nature O f th e privilege and

.

glory Of reali z ing God as all in all ? To be enj oyed as

a privilege it is most essential that eve ry member of
,

our faith should cheerfully surrender himself and be

24 2 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

P aul ,
quote d above ,
is not unauthori z e d ! it is the
legitimate r esult of and in faithful confo rmity with
,

the Master s own forecast that the D ispensation of

’

the Spirit Comforter shall come . We in the Brahmo

Somaj declare with faith and force that the Dispe n
, ,

sation of the Spirit has come t hat we are of it and

, ,

that i t h ath sealed our s alvation . What , then has,

the function of the Son ceased ? I ag ain say i t shall

never cease . O ne- half religion is to find G od in
Of

man s own heart

’
. To be Christ like is to find pet pe
-

tually the divinity ,

th e God likeness
-
, in man , as
Christ f und God in himself This is one half of -

fi
.

revelation The other half means immersion in the

.

humanity of God . It is th e perception that after all , ,

amid all the impurities and u nsp iritu alitie s of man ,

the Spirit of God makes up the su m of humanity ,

shaping our r ough hewn ends an d roun din g -

our

imperfect purposes . I t is to find the ima ge of the

D eity in the lowliest! and vilest of the race as Chris t ,

found it , and re store man to the place from which

he fell . Wh en all this is accomplishe d when every ,

thin g
is thoroughly subdued to the spirit of divine
humanity when the F ather is found and acknowled ge d
,

in the sons of men all over the worl d in the meanest ,

amon g mankind then Christ Jesus and the thousand

, ,

Christ like souls before and after reveal the Spirit in

-
,
 THE S PIRI T IN C H RI ST 24 3

fulness unto us and disappear into the infinite expanse

,

where God God alone is All

, ,
-
in -
all ,
—
the O ne with
out a second The unity of man with God is the s oul
.

o f all personal religion ! the unity of man with man

is the soul of all organized church life all brotherhood , ,

al l community all , c o- operation in th e service Of G od

“
and man . Christ s conclusive prayer
’
,
that they may
all be one as thou F ather art in me and I in thee
, , , , ,

e mbodies it fully . This is the twofold process of

perfectness by which God leads in Spirit his chosen
c hildren to teach other s bosom through his manifesta
’

tions in humani ty and leads at last all cre tion int o

,

the infinite depths of himself .

“
F rom himall these
things sprang into life in him they are and back into
, ,

him they all retire in the e nd . I nquire Of all men

about him He is the Brahma Such is the peace l”

—
.

ful reconciliation in the Brahmo Somaj which the ,

essence of Hinduism makes with the essence Of

Christianity .
 CH A P T E R XV .

TH E SPIRI T IN H I ST O RY .

PE R S ON AL DE ST I N Y .

W H OE V ER has helped to carry out a divine

purpose has helped to make history . History
dates from the birth Of gr eat men . The Dispensation
Of God b egins with personal history . That the
Sup re m e L i fe of the universe embodies himself in
t
human form an d works out world compelling pur
,

poses is a doctrine which has prevailed at all times .

When the material c reatio n is talked O f as God s ’

glorified form naturally man the glory of creation

, , , ,

and above all the most glorious among mankind ,

should be speciall y honored as th e F ather s image ’

.

I t is an instinctive b elief therefore that the Spiri t of

, ,

G od descends upon the s cenes O f history deals with ,

men and throu gh his incarnations or chosen ones

, , , ,

a ffects the destinies of mankind This is th e popular .

belief in incarnation it may be made universal when

you say th at the Spirit of God is active in eve ry holy
man that from the greatest to the least we are all his
, , ,

instruments God the transcendent P ersonality thus

.
, ,
 246 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

s ou l s
’ ‘

p ote ncy it may grow into a sickly superstition ,

a foolish idolatry or th e perfection of genuine faith

,
.

Your own spiritual progress is in the meas ure and Of

the kind of what you put your trust in And though .
,

indeed we all ,
b elieve more or less that P r o
vidence
acts Out appo inted purposes on th e stage of history ,

the religious worth of our instinctive belief is in

proportion to the light and revelation Of God s Spirit ’

in what we have actually se en or heard . T his deter

mines th e scale and quality of a religion namely the ,

kind of character it discovers in its G o d —that is to ,

say the ind of humani ty it enforces The spiritual

,
f .

obj ective becomes the believer s spirit in ’

the course
of time .

What did Schelling mean when he said “ There ,

is in every man a certain feeling that h e has been

what he is from all eternity ,
and by n o means
b ecame such in time ? Wordsworth strikes but an
ech o to this note when h e Sings ,

Our bi rth is but a sl e e p and a f org e tt ing .

What did Krishna mean when in th e Gita h e said

'
, , ,

“
N ay not that I never was in being befo re
, nor that
thou never hadst being before nor that these kings
did not exist before nor is it that we shall ce ase to
”
exist in future And is not all this summ ed up when
 TH E S PIRI T IN H I ST OR Y 24 7

J esus made th e startling exclamation ,

Before Abra
”
ham was I Am , ! Th e im p ulses of the R e as on
E ternal rose and fell deep within God , unwatched ,
like lA tlantic upheavals ; and , as time unrolled its
mysterious needs , these impulses took shape in pur
poses the purposes took shape
, in events the events ,

took Shape in man , and the man came down to

take his plac e among his fellow men -
. E ach man ,

if he was e nlightened , would discover in his life

a divine purpose ; an obj ect to fulfil ,
which con
cerned many more than himself ; a greatness and
goodness to achi eve . He , too ,
is a p rinc. of th e
line .
Like N apoleon the Great , h e too is
, ,
a child
’
of destiny . We know myriads die b efore they reali z e
this . Very few indeed in any age do
, , so but those
who do even if they are not of th e most intelligent or
refined or aspiring fin d honor and recognition among
,

vast circles O f men Th ey are the creators Of history

. .

Weavers and workers in le ath er like Kabir and R abi

dass fishers an d tax gatherers like P eter and Matthew
,
-
,

most commonplac e of men need not despair of , di s

covering in their ap p oin me nt the seal of th e heavenly
Kin g ! no one is too mean to share in the royalty of
the sonship Of God . All else i s vain and sure to pass
away only the purp os e of God ,
—as embodied in each
one as reali z ed developed
, , , and acted out through
2 48 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

powers of bo dy mind hea rt in event in circumstance

, , , , ,

in character ,
—
only the purpose of the E ternal outlasts
th e chan ges and ravages of tim e The fi xe d intents .

of Providence are emb odied in organism again and

again ,
—in lands na tions individuals in systems of
, , ,

thought in courses of history in dispensations of reli

, ,

gion who knows in what in how many other forms ?

,
-
,

E ach man therefore is an incarnation of the Spiri t

, ,

and purpose of the E ternal . E ach man has a most

important destiny to fulfil if he only knew it , . Those
who have f ulfilled it have left a history b ehind .

But fi fithln our experience the whole course Of

things seems to turn the other way they are contrary
to our cherished ideals hostile to every e ff ort we make ,

to better ourselves and th e worl d in g eneral . A

str uggle to make real what is highest and best in us,
a determination to bring things back to the ideal state
from w hich they have fallen or which they never
O btained necess itates wh at is ca lled hi story “ Blesse d
, .

”
is that nati on which has no history which has no ,

stru ggle to go through which is therefore full of

,

peace . But such a nation is a nation of vegetables ,

because the law of struggle is the law of progress , an d

the true prophet brings a sword from heaven The .

end O f life is surely peace and not war , bu t honorable

peace is the rewar d of honorable war . Stag nant me n
250 T HE S PIR IT OF G OD

is said the poet is born not made but the musician, ,

the painter the ruler even the physician and the

, ,

preacher is also born not made

, ,
. All originality is
b orn , and n ot made . The making of a man through
education is not a trifling matter . The problem whic h
education has to solve is how to adapt formal training
to th e natural talents and temperament of a man ,

how he may find the light to behold and e fiec t his

destiny . If th is solution were found out there would ,

b e more eminent men in every pursuit of life the ,

diffi
culty of self education would be much less and its
-
,

ne c e ssa
; w
imperfections considerably removed But .

every one has to be continually reminded of the old

“ ”
precept ,
Know thyself ; and still as many of us are
ignorant about what they came to do as in th e time
of Socrates . Self knowledge in its true sense is the
-
, ,

knowledge of the purpose of God in our appointed

life and there is no calling not even the meanest
, ,

from which such purpose is absent . E very man is not

a genius . Most of us are mediocre . But if by re ligi

ous and moral trainin g th e yout h of a country were

taught and helpe d to discriminate their aptitude every ,

one would find more use and more succe ss in li fe than

at present seems to be the case . P erhaps then money
making would cease to be the only destiny of man k ind .

There would be more dignity and less despair in the

 THE S PIRI T IN H I ST OR Y 25 1

world more devoutness less doubt less convention

—
, , ,

altogether a larger measur e of humanity and per

sonal wo rth . Th e leading of the Spirit is not a vague
mysticism it is the c oncrete choosing of a definite
work the d oing of that work with the utmost industry ;
,

it is incessant self culture incessant service to the

-
,

cause taken up . When every individua l member of

a community is thus led and thu s occupied ,
what
doubt that not only religious life but every order of ,

life would
,
be raised to a higher level ?
The Spirit presence of God reigns in the heart s
-
’

history from the earliest infancy to the clo e of life

s
.

As a wild j oyousness and unbounded liberty P rovidence

dawns upon the mysterious consciousness of the cradled
child . He whose insigh t can penetrate the mists that
obscure his remote past will b ear evidence to this .

Then in the unforced innocent activity of boyhood

, , ,

the Spirit reveals himself as uprising i ntelligence ,

tenderness and willing dependence towards guardians

,

freedom sweetened by the discipline of parental love

the inebriate hilariousness of young life and power
the clear strong natural sense of the right and true
, ,

the vagu e reverence for the I nfinite . There is a fit

ness in angels as perpetual youth . I n this country
childhood is worshipped as divine it is the divini ty of
Gree k art ,
w herein self unconscious youth reali z es
-
25 2 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

within itself beauty ,

freedom , heavenliness , and
strength . With the prime of manhood God s Spirit ’

brings us hi gher mess ages of divine li fe . The initia

tion in religion is a veritab le ascent up to the thron e
o f God I n the history of the soul s true conversion ’
.

the presence of the Spirit is like a sacred incense ,

a

supersensible light that shines out of the c ircu mam

bi e n t sky as that light which shone once upon the
,

gates of Damascus b efore persecuting Saul . I remem

ber what overflowing emotions thrilling impulses like , ,

elect ric currents , flew through body , mind ,

soul ;
crushing e n i te n c e that shed its howers upon the
g
s

dust h y resolutions that filled the ea rth with

solemnity that made repeated consecration of life s
,
’

every power and possibility to thy service , 0 my

G od ! When G od possesses the soul ,
th e tearle ss
wee p li ke Augustin e the proud fall prone men retire
, ,

into the wilderness like Gautama or dance like D avid , ,

or foam in the mouth like Mohammed or becom e ,

blind like P aul or ride out into the darkness never

, ,

never to return into the world again E very grea t .

religion is full of the history of conversions every ,

nati onality is full of such history every true life red ,

let ters the day of its conversion every community ,

dates the descent of the Spirit . And from that

memorable day does not the Spi rit embody himself
25 4
'

T HE S PIRI T OF GO D

history shine with a splendor that cannot b e put out .

They are ever congregati ng under the same law o f

inspiration heroes and philosophers saints and sa ge s
, , ,

acting their several parts in the unity Of spirit to

unfold one august purpose Of

T hat G od , which e ve r l ive s and l ove s ,

On e G od , one law , on e e le me nt,

'
A nd one f ar
-
off d ivine e ve n t,

T o w h ic h the w hol e c re a tion move s .

“
P rovidence shapes our ends rough hew them how
,
-

we Shakespeare says but it involves the

whole Wisdom or spiritual history However hard or .

s elf willed we cannot escape th e hands of God

-
,
or ,

thwar t him or defeat his purposeful power We are

, .

puppets boastful as we are

,
and we are most under
compulsion when we think we are most free . Things
appointed shall happen . We are wisest when we
throw our lot into the s cale Of destiny . I n the conduct
of spiritual life three things are necessa ry ! ascertain
the purpose of God in your existence cease lessly
endeavor by the use of every faculty given you to
, ,

work out that purpose wait and most faithfully

depend upon the power and providence of God for the
O pportunity which will surely come . Th e all- wi se
P rovidence undoub tedly co- operates with the man who
 THE S PIRI T IN H I ST OR Y 25 5

f aithfully labors to fulfil his destiny b ut the greater

the destiny th e greater the opposition
, to its fulfilment ,

and the great e r therefore the struggles to overcome

, ,

it . The record Of these struggles is the invaluable

h istory of spi ri tual experiences for the Spirit presides
over them and gives the m the victory
, . E very great
life is eventful though not dramatic every event is
ordained from on high . The passions , prej udices ,

and errors of men are many and sad . The very best
amon g us are not free from them . These are
inevitable by nature s limitations which no one may
’
,

go beyond . But through the worst wea ses and

wickednesses the wisdom of God e ff ects i nd ivi
dual s des tiny
’
. We have each one of us
, , an elemen t
of the unknown i n our natur e . N either si ght nor
self posse ssion extends there
-
; there we feel we are
helple ss and must depend
,
. Th at is the chief centre
of the Spi rit s action O ur personal freedom and our
’
.

personal limitations no more afl e c t the ca rryin g out of

divine providences than the forces and movements of
natural O bj ects th e progress of the solar system . The
law of g ravitation harmoni z es within itself the lesser
attractions of things toward each other . The omni
potence of God rounds every grain of san d and the
career of every littl e s oul . Both the goo d and the
ba d serve their several illustrations of the Spirit of
25 6 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

God in history . I f we cannot leave th e light of a

great example we leave a warning for the guidanc e
,

of those w ho come b ehind . The history of every life

thus forms a chapter in th e great scriptures of

humanity .

N AT ION AL DE ST IN Y .

I n the li fe of a nation fully formed there is a unity

of character most concrete and palpable . Like unto
an individual s spirit you see the spirit of a great
’
,

nation when in contact with it . I ts thousand energie s

are direct to on e great purpo se ,
—the general good
of the people . I ts material wealth ,
th e products of
its soil its varied industries its laws
, , ,
—made by the
people themselves ,
—its training of youth , e mployment
Of labor provision for age and poverty its churches
, , ,

schools hospitals museums theatres form di ff erent

, , , ,

features of the national body as the limbs and organ s ,

in their di fferent forms mak e the individual human

body . And there is a Life and Spirit in th e latter as

there is in the former and th at is the presence of ,

Go d . The more united a nation is in its interests and

aspirations the cleare r and more definite th e character
,

of that Spirit the less its unity the more unspiritual

, ,

it is ; but if it has an integrity of aim ,

the Spiri t
grows and wha t is imperfect to day tends to grow
,
-
25 8 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

or puts in motion these causes The personal qualities .

are obvious in each man an d almost as obvious in a

,

people generally though indeed s ometimes they are

, , ,

more s triking in th e national aggregate t han in th e

individual unit I n a concrete form such charac teris
.

tics take shap e in religious systems in forms of ,

government ,
customs of society ,
an d habits of
domestic life . E very E gy ptian shared more or less in
the E gyptian instinct for th e vast and the perm anent
th e Pyramids an d the C atacombs were th e e fiec ts of
this instinct E ach Grecian shared in th e Hellenic
.

genius for beauty and symmetry the I ndi an relics of

the p e rio TOf Greek occupation , in th e fourth century ,

give evidence Of that almost as much as the remains

at Thebes and Athens . E ach R oman was a Roman
inasmuch as he represented th e national spirit of law
and order in their stern reality . I n modern times the
love of constitutional liberty in the Teutonic character
has embodied itself in the character of E nglishmen
and Americans P ersonal freedom of tho ught speech
.
, ,

and act is claimed not only by men but by women ,

also . The Semitic ideal Of the absolute po wer of one

person of G o d the Supreme P erson and his prophet
, ,

or the successors of that prophet has born e fruit in ,

the rigid faith Mohammedan countri es an d in the

Of ,

absence of that spirit of progress th e mode rn spirit , ,

 TH E S PIRI T IN H I ST OR Y 25 9

which leads ultimately to the mental and spiritual

emancip ation of each man . And among ourselves in
I ndia we find th at the spiritual instinc ts of the people
which always forced them into the search and e mbod i
ment of th e I nfinite in their philosophy ,
in their
literature ,
in their worship ,
in all the innumerable
changes and developments of I ndian history still act , ,

h owever feebly ,
in shaping th e movements of the
time the most importan t of these being the Brahmo
,

Somaj . N ow th e ,
d e ali n g s of P rovidence sy ste mati

cally work to mature these distinctive qualities into

the perfection of national as of personal character .

What man Of faith does n ot believe that thQSp i it r Of

God wills and works t oward his salvation in the

perfectness Of spiritual life And w hat devout patriot
will hesitate to believe that the Spi rit carries out his
purposes in th e history of his people ?
O ften indeed has it been th e fashion to speak of
, ,

individual men as if they w ere puppets in the hands

of an omnipotent God . I s this consciousness then , ,

Of carrying out our self determined purposes which -

,

is the very essence of our manhood —is it all a dream ? ,

I t is th e O ld question of th e discord of p ersonal free

dom and divin e almightine ss . There is an apparent
d ifii c u lty involved in this which must remain a
mystery but th e universal exp erience of men bears
2 60 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

out the fact that every one is practically the master

of his own conduct and on the other hand also that
, , ,

T h e re d i vi nity that s hap e s our e nd s ,

’
s a

”
R ough he w
-
the m h ow we w il l .

E ach nation als o has to work out its ow n destiny .

But over the afl airs of the man or the nation or

the world there presides the genius of P rovidence ,

to give eff ect to laws to purposes to a universal , ,

pr ogress very foreign to the plans and interests that

,

move our narrow hearts . T0 illustra te the relation

between e movements of the divine will and our
own i regulation Of events ,
the example is aptly
given Of the independent movements of every animated
O bject and the predetermined course of the earth as it
revolves round th e central sun . The daily or yearly
pilgrimages of the planet never hinder any one of us
in the pur suit Of our individual callings ; but what
ever efforts any community or all mankind can make
will at no time interfere with th e order Of day and
“
night and the sweet succession of the seasons .

T he drought of May or the drenching rains Of J uly

will ca rry off a great many who live and move around
us , and N ature , be ne fic e n t i n her operations ,
will
sometimes make strange havoc of her own innocent
children but we have nevertheless in us a force that
, ,
26 2
5 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

too shall know our duty in completing the evolution

,

of the future I n modern times nations are forming

.
,

or maturing or declining as in the past only their

, ,

life is richer than b efore and their development faster .

E ach nation realizes better its work and its mission .

Germany stands for education F rance for good taste , ,

England for constitutional freedom and America for ,

progress in all directions . The purpose and the will

of the Spirit lead these nations nearer and nearer in
the formation Of a universal brotherhood and the
establishment of God s kingdom Like geological
’
.

periods ( at c onverge to the formation of the earth s ’

crust Whereon we tread the Tita ni c revolutions of

,

history laid the foundation of the law order and , ,

progress O f o ur own times . I t is the unity of an

eternal plan ; it is a necessary ev olution ; it is one
connected history ; it is the august purpose Of the
Spirit revealing himself ,
and realizing the far O bj ect
for which man was created . There is a mystery that
cannot be got rid Of in the beginning sequence and , ,

termination of events . How some men and nations

succeed in whatever they put their hands to ! How
others fail in their very best endeavours ! How
from smal l beginnings the grandest results come
forth ' How plausible successes ,
splendid under
takings superabundant promises come to a miserable
,
 THE S PIRI T IN H I ST OR Y 26 3

end ! N o do ubt there is the greatest need of our

putting forth all the force that we may feel possess ed
of that genius talents means and men go to make
, , , ,

up the future of every cause b ut , after all that may

be said , there are those s trange visi tors called
accidents and in too many cases it is these that make
,

a large part of hi story . The familiar proverb is that

“
in the history of men as well as of nations it is
, , the
”
unexpected that always happens . O ur calculations
and preparations are mysteriously defeated and
t hings look much more simple or much more complex ,

in most cases much more unaccountable th aj we ever

’

t hought These accidents are either cruel mysteries

.
,

lawless chances powers ,

Of fate blind and mindle ss
, ,

or they are the fiats Of a su pe rnatural will , an

I ntelligence above o ur minds , with whom rests the
final issue of everything that is begun . The man of
devout character will not abate one j ot of his energy
and dutifulness to anticipate the interferences of
P rovidence but faith always looks for the grace and
,

will of God to supplement it . F ate is indeed a power ,

but it is not a blind or lawless power ! it is a higher

intelligence a hi gh er will a hi gher method of love
, , ,

that corrects the feebleness of our conceptions .

It
supplements our endeav ors by turning earthly events
“
into the ful filment of heavenly purposes .
History ,
2 64 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

lo oked at for the first time says Amiel seems to , ,

us accident and confusion looked at for the second

time it seems to us logical and necessary
,
Looked .

at for the last time it is the carrying out of a universal

,

plan wherein persons are simply means to an end ,

God all in all . E very person ,

even the m ost ambi
ti ous is born ,
to achieve much nobler ends t han he is
aware of . E very nati on has a higher destiny than its
best men reali z e . NO truly noble cau se shall fail
through lack of divine aid . But our faith and
intelligenc e are too miserably small to compa ss the
u l tim ate
fi fl e c ts of what we begin God s love is
’
.

greater than our fondest aspiration O ur cause takes .

an unexpected turn all calcul ations are defeated , ,

Some O ne else seems to have the upper hand and ,

nothing bu t the most childlike dependence can

reconcile one s utmost endeavor with th e unyielding
’

tendency of things I n every man s faith and deter

.
’

mination there is a power as invincible as fate and

he thus combats fate with fate law with law —a , ,

combat in which the higher law must overcome the

lower The lower law is the law of nature O f cold
.
,

and heat hunger and want intellect and taste heredity

, , ,

and physical organism The higher law is the law of .

the sonship of God —Of dependence se lf sac rifice , ,

-
,

love trust in divine inspiration

, Here weakn ess .
2 66 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

millions of li ves . I ts form is a combination of count

less forms . Many souls make its spirit many interests ,

make its interests yet a nation is an organized unity .

The country is its home What the body is to the .

soul the land is to the pe ople dearly to be loved

, , ,

preserved b e au tifie d What ene rgy w hat resources

,
.
, ,

wh at growing improvements , what wealth , youth ,

strength ,
wisdom ,
reli gi on ,
enterprise , union , pro
gress make up ,
the life of a people ! The unity is so
living so vast so full of soul and purpose that we
, , ,

cann ot but behold in it the presence of a higher mind

than thacp f the individual man . I t is the Spirit of
the Creator of all things that gathers so many units
to form a vast aggregate called the nation P atri otism .
,

rightly understood is th e love of God whose presence , ,

is in one s own people ’

, j ust as much as poetic
feeling means the love of God in nature . P at riotism
i s an instinct as unaccountable yet iner adicable as , ,

the religious instinct or the love of home , or even

self l ove The nobler a man s nature ’
the more
'

-
.
,

distinctly it comes out . D uty to your country is as

sacred as duty to your God because God gav e , y ou
your b ody , your home ,
and your land and people .

Therefore the patriot serve s his land and gives his

, ,

life in th e service . Varied as the impulses of the

members of a nation are , they b ecome on e impulse in

 TH E S PIRI T IN H I STO R Y 26 7

th e national life the unity being eff ected through an

,

agency we so little reali z e . As many trees together

make the forest many peaks make the Himalayas
, ,

many members make the family many profess ors of ,

learning make th e university ,

so many men and
women make th e nation . I t is the same unity and
variety , the play of the Spirit Divin e that makes ,

all these organi z ations . Your politici ans ,

warriors ,

scientists ministers of religion your mothers wives

, , , ,

guardians millionaires , ,
and paupers ,
your virtuous
men and vicious men prophets and P hari sees unite , ,

to form one national life The aggr e ate itself

g
.

b ecomes a unit and th e lives of di ff erent people stan d

,

out as SO many distinc t figures painted on a great

canvas . As each man has his constitution ,
his
characteri stics his accomplishments his peculiar des
, ,

tiny his infancy youth

, , ,
maturity , and declin e , so
has each nation . And ,
as all th ese individual men
taken together make th e community ,
SO all these
nations put together make mankind . A family is a
higher unit than each member as a community is a ,

higher unit than a family ,

the nation is a higher unit
t han a community but mankind is the largest unit
that we can think Of . Yet as the life of each member
j oined with that of others makes th e character of a
h ome ,
an d as the history of di ff erent f amilies make
268 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

the history of the communi ty so all the commun ities , ,

in the manner of their life and conduct , make the

character of the nation . A father loves and has his
home in his family ,
a leader in his community a ,

patriot in his pe ople but the Spirit and his prophets

love and have their home in all mankind A nation .
,

t herefore like all mankind means a progressive life

, , ,

representing more or less fully the advancement of its

individuals and communities . Thus as each man by
, ,

his faithfulness or otherwise ,

carries out or defeats
the purpose of P rovidence in his pers onal life so each ,

nation righteousness or public vices may

‘j
, by ts , e fl e ct

the Divine purpose and perpetuate itself or bring

about its own downfall At o n e time it is said
.

every man lived by robbing his neighbor and every ,

nation by making war upon other natio ns The rule .

of life now is that the common good O f all individuals

makes the welfare of each and the common advance
,

men t of all nations means the progress of each .

The
war instinct is still there both in the man and in the
people but with the advancement of the world it
,

tends every day to becom e less and less ; and the

promise of the future is the promise of peace and
universal prosperity The sovereignty of the Spirit of
.

God rules individual and national interests and labors ,

to combine these interests into a great spiritual

2 70 THE S PIRI T OF G O D

improvement comes fr om the highest personal reli

gion the highest national development comes from
’

the hi ghest national faith God rul e s the destinies of

.

the man and of the people . Let all nations seek him ,

serve him and be at on e with him Monarchy has its

,
.

defects aristocracy has its weak spots and democracy

, ,

is anything but blameless . O nly the rule of God is .

perfect . So let each man rule himself , and each

nation find its perfect life in submitting to the rul e
of the All -
holy O ne .

THE S PIRI T IN TH E T I ME S .

(j '

The Sp irit ru les the times . God has touched and

stirred the heart of mankind to fur ther endeavors .

There is an upheaval in every region of life . Th e

nations are restless the lands full , Of turmoil . R eligio n .

can scarcely keep confined within its old limits and ,

the unrest in politics is complete . E verything rushes

to go forward , seeks for a nobler aim struggles ,
to

occupy a higher plane looks out for a better adjust,

ment . The great industrial classes of civili z ed lands

are rising up eve rywhere like ocean waters touched ,

bv the blast of storm . They appeal to the law of

right , claim to b e the children Of God ,

and ask if
it is th e divine purpose they Should be al w ays kept
down . The higher ranks of society seem bewildere d
 THE S P IRI T IN H I STOR Y 27 1

to know their relations with those who lie underneath .

Th e Spirit of th e times is readjusting the temporal and

the moral interests of the world N o subject nation .
,

no d owncas t community no unrepresented class can , ,

be trodden un der foot with impunity . Whether it be

the J ews under th e C z ar or the Armenians under the ,

Sultan th e pers e cuted have always friends in G od and

,

man The present undoubtedly is better than th e

.

past but in View of the future the presen t is only a

, ,

small beginning . Th e aspirations of th e tim es are far

hi gher than any possible achievement yet e fl ec te d

the c ry still is “
Hi gher high er l” What forc e is it
’
,

t hat thus stirs mankin d ? I t is the Spi ri t Of God .

The excellences of the past were from him the ambi ,

ti ons of th e pressent are made by his breath and the ,

prospects o f the future li e in his hands . Let us

recognise him in our surroundin gs . Men have been

so unj ust towards each other nations have been so ,

despotic religions have been so insu fli c ie nt

, , that a
larger measure of truth is demanded everywhere .

We feel the shortcomings of our performance we feel

th e stir of our instincts th e agony of our strivings the
, ,

weight of our su ff erings . But blind as we are we do

, ,

n ot see who stands behi n d them all . Willin g or

unwillin g ,
every man has to go forward . So every
nati on so all mankin d
,
. Standin g still means d eath .
27 2 T HE SPIRI T O F G O D

History s hows it has meant death , and experience

shows it will always mean that The Spirit of God . ,

recognized or unrecognized sub mitted to or disobeyed , ,

catches the man and the community by the hair of the

head and drags them forward
,
. I t is b etter for them
if they yield to that be n e fic e n t force Woe to them .

if they resist i t ! That nation is looked upon as the

scum of all n ations which still adheres to the mire
of its past iniquities . That religion has ceased to
live which does not look to universal principles and ,

that society which will not reform and go forward , ,

shall s ure ly d ie .

fl
Th e fire of the Spirit has descended upon the
earth and entered in to the constitution O f individual
,

life of domestic relations of the relations of the

, ,

sexes the structur e of society and the organization

, ,

of the realm Literature is being purified amuse

.
,

ments are being reformed public vices condemned , ,

public life ennobled and commerce purged of its ,

iniquities The resources of the land are in the way

.

of being developed everywhere The offi ces O f the .

State are being filled with better men the laws of ,

health more scrupulously regarded and enforced and ,

cleanliness of th e land and the m orality of the people

better looked after P overty is not as unheeded as
.

it one time was There are hospitals asylums

.
, ,
2 74 TH E S PIRI T OF G O D

and age than that a fe w should monopoli z e the

bounties of Heaven and leave the rest in outer
d arkness ! Better far that all men Should r ise to
moderate levels of h u man excellence than that some
should ascend into the skies and the rest descend into
the bottom of the pit ! T he j ustice Of God like the
,

light of his sun is meted out in a measure

,
to all men .

And those who under his special mercy

, , enj oy the
larger s hare must now under stress of the Spirit
,
Of

the age ,
sacrifice a portio n of their possessions for
those less favored than they .

I t is cu tomary with some men to extol the past at

the
s
expense of the present as if all wisdom all
, ,

prophecy all abundance of grace had departed fr om

, ,

th e world as if the antiquities alone present spirit u al

,

perfection . We hold the contrary view . The D is

p e nsation of the Spirit attests itself in the higher
intensity of feeling and conviction with which men
exp ress their sense of God at the present day . The
increase of warmth the eloquence of address in the
,

whole literature of devotion sho ws the pressure O f the

,

Spirit in the re li gi ous impulses of man and the inward

counsel of the Holy O ne who dwells in every heart .

Also the power of persuasiveness has deepened in the

character of the inter p reters of the secrets of God .

The gift of inspiration instead of being with d rawn

, ,
 T HE S PIRI T IN H I ST OR Y 2 75

is shed more largely am ong the foremost of mankind .

T he fire of faith has been rekindled under new

c onditions . Altogether ,
the ideals of moral and
reli gious excellence are higher and more com plex .

T he exemplars Of the age indeed are not , , so singular

in their exaltedness as the unique individualities of
the past but that is b ecause the b ulk of mankind has
risen higher and ,
the contrast bet ween the two is not
so great . The violence in the religious world is much
less . Theologians are more discriminate in the wrath
of mutual condemnation . There is a ray of light
and sweetness shed over the whole real m Of human
r elations ,
making the path of broth erhood more
practicable in future . Men are more patient without ,

losing their moral vigor more tolerant , with out

losing their integrity of fait h more sympathetic
without loss of enthusiasm for their respective cause .

A s the spirit of science leads to the search of unity in

the forces of nature so the spirit of truth leads to the
,

search of common principles inall religions P e rse c u .

tion is b ecoming hateful ,

exclusiveness a feature of
bigotry .
The Sp irit in the times favors the unity of
all truth in religion in science in
, ,
soc al progre ss in ,

a ll the pursuits of man . The times in their progre ss

, ,

tend to make man one with God , one with his

 C H AP TE R X VI .

TH E SPI RI T IN ALL RE LI G IONS .

V ERY system of religion that has largely

E
influenced the destinies of man has grown
under the action and influence of the Spirit of God .

All religions are not equally true but inspiration is ,

the m onopoly of no particular land or sect E very .

great w orld religion has had its inspired teachers

- .

More and more every day will th e followers O f each

religion segthat God is no respecter of prej udices or
persons tha t not only are those who work righteous
ness in all nations acceptable ,
bu t that in th e midst
of much error darkn ess waywardness even wicked
, , ,

ness the di vine li ght has shone and the divine hand
,

has guided . The triumphs and disgraces of every

religious system are equally historical the goo dness
of God and the wickedness of man equally signi fi c ant
,

the shadow of the divine Spir it dimly moving in them

all equally apparent And as m e n amid the critical
, .
,

d ifli cu lti e s of life overlook on e another s shortcomings ’

,

in view of the undoubted excellence the indispensabl e ,

usefulne ss which each is found to have so the b est

, ,

men of all faiths who are conscious of their own

2 78 THE S PIRI T OF G OD

founder of the Musalman faith . Buddhism spread in

China Japan Thi b et Tartary P ersia and formed
, , , ,
.

unquestionable alliances with the primitive faiths of

those comparatively little known countries . The
Spiritual influences of systems and nations spread
invisibly and mingle tending to unite into common
,

centres . A universal religion is always forming in

the atmosphere . And thus the commerce of religious
convictions and spiritual principles has been carried
on silently and unconsciously from very a ncient times .

I t has contributed slowly to the formation of a unity

between a m and man —at least toward creating
02 ,

aspirations for a common religion . The evidence of

this is traceable among the advanced of the whole
h uman race but very obscur e among the masses of
,

mankind . Wherever spiritual religion arose whether ,

originating among one people or many it arose out of ,

common instincts . I t was either the search for a First

Cause or a sense of the I nfinite or a feeling Of depend
enc e the first principles were much the same . Also
there is no doubt after arising i t spread all around
, ,

by the subtle laws of man s progress binding many ’

,

men into one community R eligion embodied itself in .

scriptures in doctrines rules symbols incarnations

, , , , ,

ih comm on forms of all ki nds Wh e n—according to

—it
.

climate or constitution or social and moral nee d s

 T HE S PIRI T IN ALL RE L I G ION S 2 79

crystalli z ed itself in de fi nite systems those systems , in

their turn influenced each other , giving rise to the
ancient hope that all religious b odi es may form one
brotherhood . Thus the unity of truth and of man s ’

instincts is preserved in the va riety of circumstances

and developments . The skeleton of all religions
largely shows a common structure . O f course the ,

skeleton alon e is not the living organism and the ,

other things th at make it up di fferentiate one faith

from another . But even this subsequent making up
shows a connection and continui ty . I t is the same
Hand that lays down the rudiments an d ffi om the ,
'

r udiments buil d s up the organic whole The fi rst .

stag e of the O ldest reli gions is the worship of the

G reat P ower through natural forces . I n E gypt , in
Greece ,
in P ersia ,
in I ndia , that was so . N atural
obj ects are the nearest s implest clearest , , and they
bear their light on their faces . God reveals himself
in the creation and the childlike souls of the ancients
,

directly perceived him there . The second stage of

progress is lookin g from without within God reve als
himself in the mind reli gion becomes mental —qui te
, ,

metaphysical The spiritual philosop hy of Socrates

. ,

P lato of the schools of Alexan dria of th e Upanishads

, ,

of I n d ia , g ive evi dence . When the subtleties become

too fine ,
a more positi ve sta ge forms the necessary
280 T HE S P IRI T OF GOD

reaction men believe in Go d taking th e human form ,

incarnation becomes th e common principle of all

reli gi ons . But even th e doctrine of incarnation may
go too far it may defeat its ends and m ake some ,

suc h protest necessary as the system of Mohammed

made against the degraded Christianity of the six th
century . Thus s omething like a very common prin
c ip l e and proce ss becomes apparent in the formation
of the chief re ligious systems so far as we know of ,

them Coming from common instincts common

.
,

truths common processes reli gion proves its

, ,
ource
s

also is mmon
o namely th e Spiri t of God The
c
.
,

commonness and continuity of reli gi ons beco me still

more interesting when it is found out that each supple
ments the others , each emphasi z es on e all e ssential -

feature which the others generally or lightly touch ,

each represents on e great permanent principle while ,

all constitute th e many sided fulness of G od s self reve

-
’
-

lation Hin d ui sm stands for philosophic spirituality

.

and emotion , Buddhism for et hi cs and humanity ,

Christianity for the fulness of God s incarnati on in ’

man , whi le Mohammedanism is the ch am pion of

uncompromising monotheism I t has been prove d by .

history tha t each of these systems abso lutely withou t ,

the light an d strength of any of the others ,

would
produce conse q uences great in d eed but n either wholly
,
28 2 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

races has b een the dream of devout spirits every where .

This is the impulse of miss ionary activity of internal ,

organi z ation of progressive ministry and the literary

, ,

eff ort of religious men . And so far as these agencies

,

have been successful communities ,

Of the devout have
come closer and one spirit has begun to move in all
,

religi ons .

The fulness of light and spiritual life mentioned

above finds its embodiment in w hat I call the Disp en
sation of the Spirit to the present age . E very great
religion is widening on its own basis . Christianity
has b e gI to fall back upon the universal prin ciples
‘
Whereon Jesus founded his message . Hinduism is
daily rationalizing itself ,
and going back to that
search for the I nfinite which inspired the formation
of the Vedas and Upanishads . I slam i s going through
repeated reforms ,
and also aiming at a higher and
more universal s pirituality than i t showed before .

Hafez and Sadi command gr eater popularity now than

the exponents Of more orthodox form s . E ven Buddh
ism is slowly rising out of its reputed agnosticism ,

and courting t he alliances of theistic bodies in the

civilized world . The result of the researches of

comparative religion proves the sympathy of all faiths

and the possibility of the expansion of their common
principles into greater unity . Akbar in the sixteenth
 THE S PIRI T IN AL L RE L I G ION S 28 3

century gathered representatives of di ff erent religions

presen t at his court into friendly gatherings for the
purpose of fin d ing out a common basis for all . And
now after three hundred years in Chicag o without
, , ,

any political pressure or imperi al aut hority the more ,

advanced representativ es of these very faiths e nthu si

as tic ally meet and successfully prove that men can
,

be united and can honor each other with no other

creed than God s fatherhood and th e love of their
’

neighbo rs .

All this amply Shows that the Spiri t of God is

work ing in the midst of all religious communities to
bring ab out a great harmony . This will ifind oubte d ly
x

characterize the religion of th e futur e . We maintain

that h a rmony has come in the simple faith of the
Brahmo Somaj -
, where the Spirit Of God is all in
all , bot h for worshi p and the sanctity Of personal
character . All scriptures fin d acceptance with us all
prophets find honor ,
allegiance ,
and imitation ; all
records of experi ence in spiritual life produce and
awaken aspiration and genuin e response . But every
“
thin g points to and ends in union with God , the
”
O ne without a second . The self revelations of the
-

Spirit in the great cosmos , as exhibited in rapt

communion with nature such as the N ew Dispensation,

ince ssantly urges th e transcendental spiritualities of

284 T HE S PIRI T OF GOD

the seers and prophets left in the example of their ,

faith and character —are the continued ambition of

,

the devote e in the N ew Dispensation of the Brahmo

Somaj The universal truth of the incarnation of the
.

Spirit of God is found in the excellence of every holy

man s life and all these excellences are typified and
’
,

s ummed up in the life of the Son of Man . Di vin e

humanity is the highest self revelation of G od and -
,

divine humanity has always meant to us the un iversal

brotherhoo d of man . But the aspirations of the age
are not satisfied with all this they claim the
immediate presence of the Spirit of G od in direct
c omm u nio‘ w ith every man s heart Th e age looks ’
.

for the great Comforter promised by Christ , w ho will

reveal all teach all explain all and fulfil all
, , , . This ,

to our mind , is the culmination of that progressive

order which links all religions and all nations to each
other .

Th e religious life of mankind began with the

simple worship of the Spirit of G o d as among the ,

Hindus and Hebrews I ndeed the Hindu t hought of .

,

him as the cosmic po w er and the Hebrew as the

personal power ; but still i t was the O ne P ower of

truth wisdom and goodness Si mple as it was i t
, , .

included within itself all the great evolutions of coming

centuries and all the spiritual possibilities of man .
286 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

mutual help for a great common faith

,
. In s atisfac

tion of that universal search the E tern al reveal s

himself as the Giver of all great dispensations and
the unity of the highest aspirations of man .

The century is nearing its close , li ke a long ,

dreary night and over the darken ed hori z on of our

many doub ts and disbeliefs the dawn of a better day

dimly smiles . The nineteenth century is full of
great scientific discoveries and material advancements ,

full also of deep unrest and uncertainties . May we

not hope that ,
in the approachi ng cycle of time ,

science and spirituality philosophy and faith doubts

, , ,

d istre sse s ’astrivings will find their rest and

nd ,

reconciliation in th e eternal realities of the Dispensa

tion Of th e Spirit ? The procession of that great
Holy Spiri t has been throug h all the vast stages of

human evolution . The self revelati on of the Spirit

-

seems to be at its l ast stage if it has any end at all

, .

I ndia calls upon all the world to mark the footprints

of the E ternal Spirit left on th e sands of time
wherever th e waters of religion have been ,
and to

follow the leading Of th e F ather of truth to that

far ofl destiny where all destinies Of all men and
’

nations are reconciled .

 CH A P T E R XV II .

L I V E IN TH E SPIRI T .

T O say that God lives in man is not necess arily

to say that man lives in God . When we live
in God there is a conscious reality of the Divine
,

P resence which is th e highest reward of the devout

, .

Within man s soul not in law nor scripture nor

’
,

work is the true secret of his heavenly relationship .

There is th e image of God enshrined . There every

one discovers the highest and best in g as divine
bi .

That is resemblance to God , the s onship of God .

When the tyrannies of flesh for one moment cease ,

when the fever of earthly desires finds a brief

remission t hen th e consciousness of the supreme fact
,

of the Spirit s indwelli ng glows into attitudes of

’

blessedness which intensify the wh ole being and draw

it within I n u nion O f the spiri t with the Spirit the
.

sense of eve rything else is drowned All our varied .

faculti es resolve into channe ls through which the

abundance of G o d is poured within There are .

infinite diversiti es of the manifestation of God N o .

two men realize th e Spirit exactly alike . I t depends

upon the make an d the n eed of each soul . The aspira
tions of each find a fulfilment and each fulfilment is
,
2 88 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

a revelation . And the record of the revelati ons makes

a scripture . When e verything inside kindles into the
divine it becomes most di ffi cult to say what is o urs
, ,

what i s God s All is of G o d The Spirit is all in

’
. .

all Dispossessed of every power every p ride with

. , ,

nothing to call its own this vaunted self finds itself ,

an e mpty sac a mere sense of being wh olly dependent

,

upon Him who fills it . What the fruit is to the rind ,

the corn to th e husk the j ewel to

,
the setting God ,

is to me so cries the devotee ,

.Without a conscious
ness of self existence -
, the hundred beatitudes that
make communion cann ot be realized . B ut this sense
of being i
is an emptiness 0 Spirit without thy
y , ,

all filling
-
presence and perfection T hou art the .

life Of the soul life of the body , . We know not what

we are ! we only know we are in thee ! Upon the
soul as an organic centre the infinite forces of the
Spirit have their ceaseless play . Th e feelings rise and
fall the intelligence presents an ever changing pano
,
-

rama moti ves flit across in ghostly succes sion

, . The
D ivine countenance is seen in all its varying glory ,

mirrored everywhere Such is the beginning O f .

life in the Spirit There is a wonderful varie ty .

Of change and motion , impulse energy insig ht

, , ,

growth thought and expression when the Spirit is

, , ,

active within the heart .

2 00 TH E S PIRI T OF GOD

The wicked find a fearful rebu ff in the pure

character of those filled with divine holine ss . The
rebu ff is proportionate to the inevitable hatred they
feel against the good Goodness never hates E vil . .

mindedness is full of hate and b rings the recoil of ,

its violent feelings on itself . Th e sti llness of the

spirit when God s Spirit visits it does ’
n ot long rema in
still . Communion is still ,
b ut communion invariably
results in activity . The soul is receptive ,
living ,

fertile the soul which is the sublimest in all created

,

nature ,
is ,
in Hindu idea ,
the female principle ;

it is ove rsl d ow e d , it conceives bears brings forth

‘
.
, ,

When united with God s Spirit ’

,
there is endle ss
change motion impulse aspiration hope pain j oy
, , , , , , ,

insight ,
resolution bu t it all takes finali ty in
character , in work . There is no truly good work
without spiritual life O f some kind and there is no ,

Spirituality without lasting good work Convictions .

glow like sunlight motives are inspired which scorn ,

every self interest -

, love yearns after every creature ,

there is not an inactive moment in the twenty four -

hours and the sense of holiness becomes an a tmos

,

p he re in which the spirit floats like an angel . We

become the very highest and best accord i n g to our
po ssi bilities . All life tends to action the inner must ,

p rov e itself in the outer impulse must consolidate ,

 L I VE IN THE S PIRI T 29 1

i tse lf in character . Men ,

things ,
events ,
circum
stances , crowd on all sides ,
and conspire every
moment to negative our spiritual experiences . When
th e world complime n ts and appreciates we are elated , ,

a nd feel big when the world belittles us we sh rink ,

like a paper bag . Which is true —what men think

,

of us or what we think Of ourselves ? O r are both

untrue ? The man to whom the Spirit of God has
c ome is bound to overcome this contradiction , to set
al l experi ences , whether in life outside or heart
within , singing to the same tune . The kingdom of
heaven must be esta b lished outside if ou have
'y \

e stablished it in yourself or your finding God is a

,

pretence .

Why do I say the soul proves its im p ulses in acts ?

Why not say the Spirit of God proves ,
illustrates ,

and g lori fie s himself in all thr ough which the believer

is made to pass ? E very aspiration every hope every
, ,

good resolution every promise that is delayed must

, ,

be made a reality in life s scenes ’

. I ndeed ,
O ften in
th e loftiest spiritualities Of the devout there is a thread
of self will that winds itself unperceived
-
, and the
s tern facts of life must disillusionize the sons of God ,

and correct their unconscious bias . The web o f

even ts ,
how ever tangled or unintelligible , is w oven
’
by th e unseen spi ritual Hand to disjoin man s destiny
29 2 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

from th e thousand consequences of his s elf wille d

-

acts I ndeed it is not easy to disentangle the hum an

.
,

and the divin e to lay down the line where th e one

,

ends and the other b egins , so often do the two mix ,

mingle and become one but yet the heart knows its
,

own bitterness know s that in its highes t and best

,

t here is often the earthly stain which nothing but the

fires of God can burn away . Those fires are kindled

for us in the world into which we must go forth .

The sacrificial ground is laid out the fuels are piled ,

together events and things and circumstances are

,

poured int the soul s interstices God s will kindles

’ ’

€H ow
,

the fire . our passions burn like crackling

thorns our wishes and interests are turned to ashes
, ,

our plans cru mble to the dust all insidious carn alities
, ,

disguised conceits gilded aff ections of the world con

,

sume die never to c ome back but as spectres of the

,

past ! Ay, religious contemplation is a fine occupa

tion but reli gi ous life is a frightful reality .

The worst opposition to our impulses comes from

men , but there is a worse still that comes from
ourse lves N othing incapacitates a man so much as the
.

rottenness of his own heart Yet the Spirit of God .

is only one moment b efore we found he had poured

his consolation into us like th e genial influences of ,

climate and health . Blind and perplexed we stil l ,

294 TH E S PIRI T OF G OD

the subterr anean caverns ,

to be revealed again in
unforeseen intervals and shape the conduct of life
,
.

N o spi ri tual experience is with out its e fiec t on

character N ever yet an unse lfish love for saint or
.

sinner for living creatures or the immortals in heaven

, ,

for your nat io n or the world at large for goodness ,

or b eauty or truth or God s kingdom on earth

,
’
,
—never
yet was an angel instinct wasted by age weakness or , ,

the mean treacheries of life But as the mystic veil .

,

of time s illusions is blown away at moments by the

’

E ternal s breath
’
,
the latent good in y our h eart visits
you again vou find the Spiri t of God never left you
fi ,

though you left him and his h eavenly hosts that he ,

shed peace on your path in the past and th e light of

promise on your future By the same law wickedne ss
.

persists also but all evil is short lived only goo dne ss -
,

lasts .

Th e struggle of the spir itual man is to make the

world around him like unto what his soul is ever ,

in peace with God —peace amidst endless activity

, ,

peace amidst endless war . In that struggle he

lives , he labors an d dies .And what h e cannot
accomplish while alive , he accomplishes when dead
and gone . The truest victories are after death . But ,

dead or al ive , life begets life ,

spirit b egets Spi ri t .

Snfie ri ngs endured evil overcome trials met renun

, , ,
 L I VE IN THE S PIRI T 29 5

c iations made insults borne with dignity holy trusts

, , ,

forgi veness amidst provocation , s ecret self humilia -

tions crushing losse s silently taken and the thousand

, ,

other cro sses of li fe which come to try ,

-
the se b ring
the Spirit s consolations these make man the comforter
’
,

of man . The same sweet presence of the F atherly

Spi rit that is in the inner sanctuary ules the events
r

of life also . I t is not hard to find the peace of God

within why t hen do you shrink to find or make the
, ,

same peace without ? I nsolence brutality injustice

, , ,

ingratitude ,
will never depart from the world . In
your loftiest moods you shall now and a g ain collide
w rth them . P ract i cally ,
to hve ln G 00 15 to b e
conscious of blessedness ,
though these things will
always continue to torment you . O ur very worst
circumstances hide in them the precious elements of
our peace only in our spiritual blindness we do not
,

perceive it .

Why d o y ou forget that in every Judas that betrays

his Master in every P eter that denies him in eve ry
, ,

high priest that wickedly j udges the Son of God in ,

every weak tim e server that sentences him -

,
—in every
thing that is untoward and apparently unj ust the
. ,

all holy purpose of God is a conspiring element ?

-

Yes the loving kindness of

,
-
the D ivine P resence is in
all your reverses his holiness in the sin of circum ,
29 6 T HE S PIRI T OF G OD

stances ,
his tenderness in their cruel tyranny his ,

inviolable purpose in the hopeless disorder and anarchy

of things . R eligious culture means the perception
and acceptance of the spirit principle amidst these -

frequent reverses . Th e perfection of spiritual life is

to realize its highest moods in the most contradictory
circumstances . F or communion with God is never a
uniform or undisturbed stream always following one ,

unbroken direction ! it is always a cross current -

, a
tumultuous eddy ,
a cycle of storms blowing your
soul hither and thither proving your own pilotage ,

i ne fl e c tu al but nevertheless carrying you in spite of

, ,

yourself ,
to the oth er shore . He that always wants
to sail in the smoot h waters of contemplation wants
to cheat his circumstances thru sts aside the hand of ,

P rovidence from th e helm , and lands at the fool s ’

paradise where his imagined bliss shrinks into the

,

i nsignific anc e of his own self . All of your circum

stanc e is not self made -
. School yourself to be hold
in what concerns you the same Spiri t P resence that
pervades everything dark or luminous in nature ,

everything great or striking in history every loving ,

and peaceful sanctity in your hea rt . Your environ

ment is intensely G od pervaded Yet often—who -
.

knows how O ften —do we escape from life s struggles ’

into the silent shrine of th e soul . Undisturbed there