The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-01-31

means a combination and that means
a certain future dissolution. If, then,
the soul was created il must die. There
| fore il was not created.
''If matter and its transformation an
swer for all that we have. there is no ne
ceSSity Of suppOsing the existence OF
soul. But Il cannot be proved that
! thought has been evolved out Of matter.
, We cannot deny that bodies inherit GER
tain tendencies. but those tendencies
/ only mean the physical Configuration
! through which a peculiar mind alone
can act IN n peculiar way. Those pc
culiar tendencies in that soul have been
caused by past actions. A soul with
| certain tendency will take birth in q
| body which is the fittest instrument Of
| the display of that tendency by the laws
But there is another suggestion. TAX
/ ing all this for granted. How is it that
! I do not remember anything of my past
| life? This can be easily explained. I am
now speaking English. 1t is not my
mother tongue. in fact not word of
my mother tongue is present in my con-
I SCiOuSDeSs. but let me try to bring such
words up they rush into my conscious
ness That shows that consciousness is
| the name only If the surface OF the men
tai ocean, and within its depths are
stored up all our experiences. Try and
struggle and they will come up and you
viii be conscious. This is the direct and
demonstrative evidence. Vertical ton is
the perfect proof of "A theory and here is
| the challenge thrown to the world bv
Rishis. We have discovered precepts by
! which the very depths OF the ocean of
memory can he stirred up-follow them
and YOU will get a complete reminiscence
Of your past life. So then the Hindu
| believes that he is spirit. Him the
sword cannot pierce: him the fire cannot
{
the air cannot dry. lie believes every
soul is a circle whose circumference is
nowhere, but whose center is located in
a body. and death means the change of
I, this center from body 10 body. Nor is
the soul bound by the condition of mat
ter. I'm its very essence il is free, un-
} bound. holy and pure and perfect. But
somehow or other il has got itself bound
down by matter ] do not know
how the perfect being the soul. came to
think Of itself as imperfect as Joined
ana conditioned by matter But the fact
is "a fact for all that. II is a fact in
eVeTybodN's conSciousn ass that he thinks
Of himself as body
THE present Is determined by our
past actions and the future will be by
the present The soul Will go on evolv-
ing up or reverting back from birth to
birth and death 70 death The
heart sinks At the idea. vet this is
the law of nature. Is there no hope? Is
there no escape? The CRY that went up
from the bottom Of the heart Of despair
reached the throne Of mercy and words
or hope and consolation came down and
inspired a VediC sage and he stood I'D
before the world and i'm trumpet voice
proclaimed the glad tidings to the world:
Hear. ye children Of immortal bliss
even We that resisted i'm higher spheres.
] have found the ancient one who is
beyond all darkness. all delusion. and
knowing him alone YOU shall be saved
from death again Children of immor-
tai bliss. What a sweet. what a hone
III name. Allow me TO call you, breth-
ren. by that sweet name-heirs
Of immortal bliss. Yea. the Hindu re-
fuses 70 call you sinners. Ye are the
children Of God The sharers of frnmor-
tai bliss, holy and perfect beings Ye
diVinities OF earth, sinners? II is a sin
to call man So 1t is a standing libel
on human nature. Come up live and
shake off the delusion that you are
Sheep-yOu are souls immortal spirits
free and bleSt and eternal. We are not
matter, We are not bodies Matter is
Your servant. not YOU the servant of
matter.
Thus II is the Vedas proclaim not a
dreadful combination Of unforgiving
laws, not an endless prison of cause and
effect, but that at the head of all these
laws. in and through every particle of
matter and force. stands one Through
whose command the winds blow, the fire
burns the clouds rain and death stalks
upon the earth And what is his
nature?
He is everywhere the pure and form
less one. the Almighty and the All-Merci-
fuL Thou art our father. thou art our
mother, thou art our beloved friend thou
art the source Of all strength. thou art
He that Dearest the burdens of the uni
verse; help me bear the little burden of
this life"
Thus sang the Rishis of the Veda and
how To worship him?
Through love. lie is to be worshippeJ
as the one beloved, dearer than every
thing in this and the next life"
The NedaS teach that the soul is divine
only held under bondage Of matter. and
perfection will be reached when the bond
shall burst. and the word they use is
therefore. o-freedom-freedom from
the bonds Of imperfection; freedom from
death and misery.
And they teach that this bondage can
only fall off through the mercy Of God.
and this mercy comes to the pure. So
purity Is the condition Of His mercy
How that mercy acts, He rev eals Him
self 70 the pure heart and the pure and
stainless man sees God, yea even In this
life. and then. and then only. all the
croOkednesS Of the heart is made
straight There all doubt ceases. Man
is no more the freak OF a terrible law Of
causation. SO this is the very center
the very vital conception OF Hinduism.
The Hindu does not want 10 Ike upon
words and theories--if there are ex-
isteuces beyond the ordinary sensual ex-
istence he wants 10 come face 20 face
with them.
II there is a soul I'm him which is not
matter, IL there is an al-merciful uni
verssal soul. he will go TO him direct He
must see him and that alone can DESTROY
all doubts. So the best proof a Hindu
sage gives about the soul. about God. Is.
I have seen the soul. J have seen Cod"
And that is the only condition OF per
lection. The Hindu religion does not
consist In struggles and attempts 10 be-
lieve "A certain doctrine OF dogma, but in
realiZing-nOt in believing, but IN being
and becoming
SO the whole struggle in their system
is a constant struggle to become per-
feet. to become divine, to reach God and
see God, and in this reaching God, seeing
God, becoming perfect. even as the
Father in heaven is perfect, consists the
religion of the Hindu.
And what becomes OF man when he
becomes perfect? He lives a life Of bliss,
infinite. He enjoys infinite and perfect
bliss, having obtained the only thing In