, 1904-06-09

llliilo nv lives VI liitll dNlItltuto.
There is no royal road to righteous
ness but to live ~righteously and this
brings us to the Law of Duty. FL
deity to duty is Dharma, or right
%eousness. Even though angels
tempt, duty must shine dear to our
eyes and we must practice it if we
would tread the upward path of v
luton. What is then the Law of
Duty? Duty varies with every stage
of evolution although the principles
never changes. 1t is progressive as
the evolution progresses. The duty
of the savage is not the duty of the
evolved, educated man. The duty of
the teacher is not that of the Judge
who may condemn to death. The
merchant or farmer may not go out
and kill as the soldier under com-
mand of a superior may do.
l. From this it is clear that when we
begin TO study the law of duty we
must study our W place on the
great ladder of evolution. How soon
there would be moral havoc in socie-
ty if the eXecutioner began to do the
duty of the judge-a place he was
not fitted to fill. As executioner he
was fulfilling the Law of his Duty;
as Judge, he would condemn without
intelligence and his executions on his
own judgements would be murder.
The circumstances around us show
us III karma and by studying our
own powers and capacities, and as
certaining our weaknesses we will in
diligently arrive at a knowledge of
our duty. Out of this careful study
we shall arrive at the Law of Duty
and by it we must guide our steps.
Perhaps m of the most common
occurrences in the lives of young peo-
pie is an overpowering desire to get
ont of the environment in which ma
ture has placed them. 1t is a very
dangerous situation in which to find
ones self. IF the environment is alb
solutely wicked and evil, that is one
thing buj if it is simply ~distasteful,
that is quite another affair and il !s
TO the latter we may proftably give
our attention. Rather. if we find
ourselves i'll such a place, it is our.
selves who need attention and that
right speedily. If IA father or mo
ther is not quite up TO our standards
of elegance and education, Dharma
teaches us that right here is the place
for our cheerful performance of a du-
ty-the payment of Il debt perhaps
contracted to them many lives be
fore-a debt of loving h%elpfulness.
We must not shrink like guilty things
from them but bui.d on their noble
qualities, higher things. Gods work
in their uplifting will be done no
matter how we shirk our task and
leave to others our work. 1t is we
who really suffer from the indulgence
or our own vanity.
Dharma is the same for all at the
same stage of evolution and living
under the same circumstances. There
is also some common Dharma for all
as in the common duty of the de
Tense of the country. The expert
ence of the evolution of the race has
marked the general Dharma of man
to man; but there are questions of
Dharma to which are not 50 easy to
answer and are not so simple in their
character. The real difficulty comes
to those who are striving to advance
along the path of spirituality They
find it difficult to distinguish their
Dharma and to know what the Law
of Duty demands Conflicts of du.
| it's arse daily. One duty calls one
way and another duty calls another
way. The student of Dharma finds
himself perplexed. The way of Du-
tv is narrow and few find it because
it is so difficult to decide unseliishly.
These are some of the difficulties
of the Higher Life. These are the
tests of the evolving Consciousness.
There is no difficulty in performing
the duty that is clear and simple
and in its blunder is not likely to o.
cur. Easy problems are for the soul
in the infant School of life but as we
advance 10 the higher grades in Life's
School more difficult problems are
presented for our solution. And as
it is true of the pupil in school, his
mind will not expand unless he
solves his own sums, so in the larger
School of Life, each ego must learn to
be self-active and self-governing
through the solutions of his own
problems.
nl..-nr c..