The Washington herald., 1914-11-01
By DIR. W. w. BAKER.

sNY will be retold-truths Of a vivi'
and >perenniel interest that touch tn
deepest recesses Of our being. constantl.
immersed as are most OF Us In the af
fairs OF daily life. May they help man!
to realize the possibility OF initiation ant
maste-hood. The teaching Is not mine
but that Of one who knows.
There is a Path which leads to tina
which is known as Initiation, ant
| through Initiation to the Perfecting o
| Man; q Path which is recognized in al
the great religions. and the chief features
| Of which are described in similar term
in every one OF the great faiths Of th'
world. In the Roman Catholic teach
ings II Is divided into three parts: q
The Path Of Publication or Purgation
(2) the Path of Illumination, and g
the Path of Union with Divinity. Among
the Mussulmans in the Suh-the mystic
teachings of Islam, it is known under
the names OF the Way, the Truth, anC
the Life. You find it in the great faith
OF Buddhism, divided into subdivisions
though these can be classified under
the broader outline. II is similarly d.
vided IN Hinduism; for in both those
great religions. in which the study OF
psychology, OF the human mind and the
human constitution. has played so great
part, you find a more definite sub
division.
It matters not to which faith you turn
the Path is but one; its divisions are
always the same; from time immemorlsl
that Path has stretched from the life
Of the world to the life OF the Divine
Through thousands upon thousands OF
years some of our human race have
fFoddan 10 nd nf uhfrh
are yet unborn, some of our race shall
tread II to the end OF our earth story
to the conclusion Of this special cycle
of human time.
II Is the Path which, stage by stage
enables man to fulhll the command oi
the Christ: BE ye therefore perfect
even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect" II is the Path whereof that
same great Teacher declared: Strait il
the gate and narrow is the way that
leadeth unto life, and few there be that
hpd it" I know that in later days
when most men had forgotten the ex.
istence OF the Path. they changed those
true words into words that are utterly
false, that make the gate and the way
narrow that lead unto a heavenly life,
and broad and wide the way that leadeth
to an everlasting condemnation: but that
Is a distortion OF the occult teaching
II Is a twisting OF the words Of the
Christ. for surely He, whom His follow
ers call the Saviour OF the world. could
never have declared that only few
should be the ranks Of the saved. prac-
tically numberless the crowds of the
lost. The life to which the Path leads
the pilgrim is not the life Of the passing
joys of heaven: il is that life spoken OF
in the fourth gospel where 1t is written;
The knowledge of God is eternal
The Path that we are to study through
the coming Sundays, is the short though
dlflcult way by which man evolves more
rapidly than In the ordinary course of
human and natural evolution: II is the
Path by which. to use a simile often used
instead Of going round and round the
mountain by an ever-climbing spiral,
man climbs straight up the noun
tain-side regardless OF cliff and
precipice, knowing there is moth
ing that can stop the Eternal Spirit
Study. not for the mere interest OF what
is indeed a fascinating subject. but
rather a study that is meant to change
the life, a study that gives birth to a
determination to tread the Path, to know
IL not only the retically but by a practical
realization. and to understand something
of those hidden Mysteries by which man.
ever potentially divine. realizes his inner
Divinity and becomes perfect, rising
above and beyond humanity.
In order that the study may be prac-
tical, We must assume, at least for the
time. the existence Of certain great facts
in Nature. l do not mean that our man
of the world. in taking his first steps to-
wards the Path. need either know or
recognize these facts. Facts in Nature
do not change either with our believing
or nonbelieving. Facts of Nature remain
facts whether we know them or not, and
since we are here in the realm of Nature,
and under the order of law. the knowl-
edge OF the facts and the knowledge
of the law are not essential for the steps
which lead man to the Path. II is
enough that the facts are there, and
that the man unConsCiously Is allowing
those facts to influence his inner and
his outer life. Sunshine does not cease
to warm you because you may not know
anything Of the constitution of the sun.
1t is the security Of human life and hu-
man progress that the laws of nature
are working and carrying US on with
them, whether We know of them or not.
But II we know them. We gain a great
advantage, can cooperate with them as
has done.
ReIncarnatIon.
One OF the great facts which underlie
the whole possibility OF a Path of Hu-
man Perfecting, one OF the fundamental
facts in Nature. is the fact of reincarna-
ton. That means the gradual growth OF
man through many lives. through many
Of the physical world, of the
world. and also Of the world
called heaven. Evolution would be too
short to enable a man to grow from i'm
perfection, unless he had many oppor-
tunities. And our man Of the world who
will take the first steps, who is ready
10 take them. must have behind him a
nrn. nnrrrro 4 hn,r.,nr, or.nIr.Ai.. l. .nkinh.