LITMIR.BIZ

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the average man would be impelled to get as much happiness for himself as possible, and to bestow as little happiness upon others as he could help, as there would be no reason why he should act otherwise—in fact, that he would obey the letter of the human law, and not go one inch further. Theoretically this objection might be correct, but, in spite of cold theory, man is open to higher impulses and motives coming from regions of his soul that the utilitarian philosophy, as well as its opponents, fail to recognize. A form of this same objection is found in the idea that the utilitarian philosophy appeals only to the developed intelligence (that is, according to the view of the Yogi Philosophy, to the highly evolved soul) and that the ordinary man would not be influenced by it to high action but, if he grasped it at all, would use it as an excuse for his own selfishness, caring nothing for the welfare of his fellow men, or for the benefit of the generations to come. The objectors hold that according to this theory a man working for the good of his kind is the greatest kind of a fool, for he is throwing away his happiness and material gain for a sentiment. (This objection loses sight of the fact that the advanced man finds much of his greatest happiness in making others happy.) A further objection is urged against this theory of ethics to the effect that the happiness of the majority is an unworthy limitation, inamuch that even though the majority be happy the minority may not be so, and, in fact, a certain number of them must be very unhappy and miserable. This objection finds a response from those of spiritual advancement, for such people know that no one can be thoroughly happy unless all are happy, and that there can be no ideal happiness if even one of the race is crowded out of it by any set code or rule. The followers of the theory that all morality is derived from Divine revelation, and there is no moralitu to be found outside of it, object to the utilitarian view because they say “it leaves out God and His wishes.” Those favoring the Intuitional Theory object to the Utilitarian Theory because it refuses to recognize the existence of the “conscience” or higher reason in man, and instead, places the basis and foundation of all morality and rules of conduct upon the cold human reason, and that, consequently, there can he no “good” or “bad” except as measured by the intellectual standard, which standard could be altered, changed, improved upon, or abolished by Man‘s reason. These objections are recognized, and answered in the Hindu Philosophy of Dharma, which, while recognizing the weakness of the theory when considered as the "whole truth,” still finds much truth in it and places it as one of the pillars of Dharma, the other two theories forming the other two supports of the structure. Dharma claims to set in order this apparent confusion. It recognizes each view as a partially correct one—parts of the whole truth—but too weak and incomplete when standing alone, It reconciles the conflicting schools by taking the materials that are found in each, and using them to build a complete system. Or, rather, it finds a complete structure erected, in the order of the Universe, and sees that each school of thinkers is looking at but one of its pillars, mistaking its favored pillar for the sole support of the structure, the other two being hidden from sight by reason of the particular point of view of the observer. And this teaching of Dharma is much needed at this time by the western people who are in a state of great mental and spiritual confusion on the subject of morality and conduct. They are divided between (1) those who rely on revelation, and who disregard it in practice because it is not “practical”—these people really advocate revelation as modified by experience and custom; (2), Those who claim to rely on intuition and conscience, but who feel that they are testing on an insecure foundation, and who really live on custom and “the law of the land,” modified by their “feelings”; and, (3) those who rely on pure reason, modified by the existing laws, and influenced greatly by the impulses which come to them from the higher regions of the mind,notwithstanding that they deny these same higher states of mentality. Let us hope that a study of Dharma will help to straighten out matters for some of us. Of course, this little lesson is merely a hint of the truths of Dharma, but we trust that it may help some to adjust the matter in their minds, and make it easier for them to get their moral bearings, and to take advantage of the truths that are pouring in on them from the three sides of life. Let us now see what Dharma has to offer.

      In our brief consideration of the subject, we must ask the student to give us the “Open Mind." That is, bc willing to lay aside, for the moment, his preconceived ideas and theories, and to listen to our teachings without prejudice, as far as possible, without being unduly influenced by his previously entertained theories. We do not ask him to accept our teachings unless they appeal to his reason and intuition, hut we do ask him to give us a fair hearing—that is, the hearing of an unprejudiced judge instead of that of a paid advocate ready to pick flaws and make objections before we state our case. That is all we ask, and it is no more than any fair-minded student should be willing to grant. We are not attempting to tell you how to act, but wish merely to present the general principles of Dharma for your consideration.

      Perhaps thet [sic] better way to begin our consideration of the philosophy of Dharma would be to give you an idea of how that philosophy views the three above mentioned theories of the basis of morality and rule of conduct. We shall take up each theory in turn. But before doing so we must ask you to bear in mind the fundamental theory of the Yogi Philosophy that all souls are growing souls—souls in diferent stages of growth and advancement along The Path. Spiritual evolution is in full force, and each soul builds upon its yesterdays, and, at the same time, is laying a foundation for its tomorrows. Its yesterdays extend back over its present earthly life away back into its past existences. And its tomorrows reach far ahead of the remaining days of its present earthly life into its future embodiments or incarnations. Life is not a mere matter of a few years in the flesh– the soul has countless yesterday's of existence, and has the whole of eternity before it, in a constantly progressing scale, plane after plane of existence being before it, in an ever ascending spiral. We do not purpose dwelling upon this fact, but mention it that you may be reminded that the embodied souls we see around us in the shape of men and women represent diferent scales of ascent, development, and unfoldment, and that of necessity there must be widely differing needs and requirements of the soul. The advancing ideals of morals, conduct and ethics are seen by the Yogis as indications that the idea and fusion of separaten faIling away from the race, and that the consciousness of Oneness is dawning in the minds of men. This dawning consciousness is causing the race to see “wrong” in many things that were formerly considered “right”—it is causing men to feel the pains and sorrows of others, and to enjoy the happiness and pleasure of those around them—it is making us kinder and more considerate of others, because it makes us more and more conscious of our relationship with each other. This is the cause of the increasing feeling of brotherhood that is possessing the race, although those who feel it may not realize the real cause. The evolution and unfoldment of the soul results in higher ideals of thought and conduct for the race, and accounts for the changing conceptions of morality which is apparent to anyone who studies history, and who notices the signs of the times. An understanding of this theory of Dharma, enables us to understand ..comparative morality, and prevents us from condemning our less developed brethren who have cruder ideals of conduct than ourselves. The higher the degree of unfoldment, the higher the ideal of conduct and morality, aithough the unfoldment causes the soul to cast off many old forms and ideals which seemed the best for it in the past. Bearing these facts in mind, let us consider the three sources of authority.

      The Yogi Philosophy recognizes the theory of Revelation as one of the pillars supporting the edifice of Dharma. It holds that at different times in the history of the race the Absolute has inspired certain advanced souls to give forth the teachings needed by the race at that particular time in its history. These inspired men were souls that had voluntarily returned from higher stages of development in order to render service to their less developed brethren. They lived the life of the people around them, and took the part of prophets, priests, seers, etc. Accounts of these people come down to us from the ages, distorted, magnified and elaborated by legends, superstition, and myths of the people among whom they lived. They seldom wrote, but their teachings often written down by others, (often after long years had past), and, although colored by the views of the compilers, these writings still give a fair idea of the teachings of the particular prophet or teacher. These prophets were of varying degrees of advancement, some coming from great heights of attainment, and others from comparatively lower planes, but each carried a message to his people, suited to their needs at that particular time. These messages were accepted, more or less, by the people, and the teachings worked a change in them, and helped

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