The Washington herald., 1914-05-31
Will, NOT FATE,
RULES Mankind
King Over Realm Of Mind, Ii
Guides the Universe. Says
Theosophist.
VISION PRODUCES POWER
Once Free from Yoke Of Desire.
Mature, Determination
Shapes Our Lives.
By DR. W. ". BAKER.

T.
By DR. w. W. BA,kER.
When a problem has been under dis
cussion for hundreds OF years; and when
it has been debated by the keenest In
tellects with varied results. II seems ar.
rcgant to say that IL may be solved by
srasping three main factors In human
evolution. Nevertheless. the theosophis.
cannot well avoid this statement when he
envisages the problem OF free viii and
necessity. for in the light Of the iden-
tity of the divine and human natures re-
incarnation and karma. the dimcuities
will fade away. and the SOLUTION pre-
sents itself as obvious without tnese
three truths the problem can never pc
solved. There is a necessity which COM
pels and Guide. US; there is free VIII
which decides and selects Thus stated,
a paradox appears How can a soul at
once be free and yet compelled by an M
exorable destiny?
Man in made in the image OF God" In
one form or another this allegation ap-
pears in every world-religion, 1t has been
believed everywhere, at all times, ana oy
all. II bears the hall mark or catnonc-
ity. In this truth lies hidden the recon
Ultimate of Force.
When we seek TO study some OF the
attributes of the manifested God we rec
,gnize among them that of will. In fact
will seems as though 1t were the supreme
attribute of, the Logos, ana II represents
10 us the ultimate Of force, all-pcrvadfng.
,Il-directing, irresistible. Majestically
,ree, self-determined, It appears to us,
moving all things to harmony and order.
but moved by none. We rest upon 1t in
perfect confidence as on rock that can
not be- shaken, and the exquisite order
md invariableness of nature are for us
rooted in that steadfast, all-compelling
will.
When we think Of man as containing
within himself the germs of all divine
,otencies. as the acorn contains within
tself the potentiality OF becoming the
perfect oak tree, We naturally seek in
him the germ of this imperial will. since
he must be in tine divine image in the
,ower of will as much as in anything
Use. We find in him the attribute of
Cill. and see him exercising, power of
.hoice: but when we analyzs this attrib-
lite and go below the surface Of the ap-
,arently free choice, We find that the
will is continually limited and hampered.
Ind that the choice is pressed from every
ide by pre- determining forces which
rush II in one direction. The freedom is
ieen to be but apparent. the choice is
.erceived to be determined. And yet there
emains an obstinate conviction that no ar
Iument. however logical and irresistible.
wholly able to dispel. that the activity
If the will contains a factor not ac-
ounted for in the rigorous analysis of
leterminism, a subtle element that has
'scaped recognition by the keen scrutiny
Il the mptaphysicaf chemist
Process. of Evolution. /
This conviction is strengthened by the
observation that what we call will in man
s a power in process of evolution. and
s indeed still rudimentary in the major
ty. We cannot trace such a power at
III in the mineral kingdom; there the
ffinities and repulsions are fixed and
table, the preferences can be measured
md their recurrence can be depended
Ipon- In even the highest members of
he vegetable kingdom selective action is
Uceedingly feeble, and can scarcely be
aid to show any spontaneity. Given sim
lar conditions, similar plants act in a
tmilar way. So again in the animal
dngdom there is a marked absence of
pontaneity: for the most part the actions
4 an animal can be calculated before
land by any one who has made study
Il the species to which 1t belongs. and
experienced hunters utilize this regularity
4 action in pursuing and trapping their
rey. Neyertheless. we do observe occa- |
fonal alterations. especially in the high |
animals, and those, most of all, who !
ave been much under the stimulating in |
luence of man. When We come to study
he less involved members of the human |
amily We find that in them also there |
. comparatively little deviation from lines
hat can be laid down beforehand. They
re played upon by forces. the existence |
which they do not recognize and to |
ghich they unconsciously yield. They are |
moved to activity chiefly by the attrac-
Ions and repulsions exercised over their
'esires by external objects: hopes and |
ears pull and drive them. and since they
re mainly moved by these pullings and |
ushings from outside. their lines of ac-
Ion can-be predicted with a fair amount /
certainty. None the less we observe 1
hat as We ascend in the scale of hu-
/, ,ranity, spontaneity of action becomes a |
sss and less negligablie factor. and that
'hile with a very highly developed man
re can prophesy with certainty as to a
lumber of things that he will not do II
practically impossible to predict what |
us actions will be. And this becomes
more and more apparent the more highly 4
he man is evolved. The will of the saint
q the hero, shows something of the i'm.
erial character Of self-motfon that we 1
hink of as characteristically divine.
For by will We mean the determina-
Ion Of force upon the inmost center of I
lie, while by desire-which stands as l.
he illusive reflection CT will in the ma
ority-we mean the determination OF |
orce from that which is outside that in
most center, outside the inner immortal
nan. In the lower types of mankind the
actor energy is in the desires of fbe 1
nimal nature. imperiously demanding
abstraction and urging the man along
he road leading to objects which crafty
hose desires. For this reason the actions
the majority can be predicted with
ertainty, the objects which yield graft
Ration being known and the desires
inch seek qualification being similar.
ne results of our study of evolution in
eneral. then. leads us to the conclusion
nat this part of the divine image in us
one of the later outcomes of our
Iowth, and that the characteristics of |
fontaneity is found to be marked in
doportion to the degree of DEVELOPMENT
III We turn our attention especially to 1
he order of evolution of mental qualities,
.e shall arrive at a similar conclusion. /
VIZ does not manifest itself until after
lemory, comparison, reason, judgment, /,
Imagination, have reached a considerable
mount OF development. For a long per-
% these growing mental faculties are
oked To the service of the desire-nature !
he's 81 4