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THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
THE

CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
BY
LEO TOLSTOY.
tº-mºmº
Translated by VLADIMIR TCHERTKOFF.
ºmº-º-º-º-º:
LoNDoN :
HORACE MARSHALL & SON,
TEMPLE House, TEMPLE Avenue, E.C.
1898.
This Work originally appeared in zweek/y parts
Żm “THE NEW AGE” during the months of /u/y and
449 ust, 1898.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
THIs book was not intended by the author for publication in
its present form. Having worked at it for about two years, and
remaining dissatisfied with its form of expression, Leo Tolstoy
put the book aside, hoping at some future time to return to it
with fresh energy. But other works took possession of his
attention, and not foreseeing the possibility of soon undertaking
the definite elaboration of this writing, he, in the following words,
gave me permission to publish it in its present form :—
“I certainly regard this writing as unfinished and far from satisfy.
ing the demands which I, myself, would have put forward twenty
years ago. But I now know that I shall not have time to finish
it, to bring it to that degree of lucidity which I should desire: and
yet I think that, even in its present form, there may be found in
it something useful to men. Therefore, print and publish it as
it is; and, God willing, if I become free from other work, and still
have the strength, I will return to this writing, and will endeavour
to make it plainer, clearer, and shorter.”
The reader should therefore keep in mind the unfinished form
of the rendering, and try to understand any passages which are
not quite clear, if such be met with, in the sense most appropriate
to the general idea and to the spirit of the whole book.
I should, on the other hand, be sincerely thankful to the reader
if he would indicate any inaccuracies or vague passages he may
remark in the text, and shall be very happy to profit, for the next
edition, by any of such corrections that shall be approved of by the
author.
V. TCHERTKoff.
Purleigh, Essex,
April 21st, 1898.
* * .
***, ,----, - - - - , . * **** :-
z-S --> <--, -º, º ż
*— ; : * ... " : *
- - .* _^e.”
- .**
CONT ENTS.
- * PAGE
Translator's Preface ... e tº e tº g tº & ſº º © e > tº gº º • . . V.
Introduction tº º ſº dº º is tº C & tº tº º tº º º tº º e tº º º e tº a ix.
PART I.-ANCIENT TEACHINGS AND THE NEW UNDER-
STANDING OF LIFE.
The Ancient Teachings tº º º & C & c e ſº tº ſº tº I
The Insufficiency of the Ancient Teachings tº tº º tº º E - - - 2
The Necessity of a New Teaching Corresponding to the Degree .
of Enlightenment of Mankind .. tº e º tº ſº tº tº & º • • - 2
The Solution of the Contradiction of Life, and the Explanation
of its Meaning, given by the True Original Christian
Teaching ... dº º e e º º º º º & & tº º ſº is e e • - 3
The Birth of the Spiritual Being ... tº gº tº e ſº tº tº º º • • - 5
What is that Being which is Born in Man P tº º & gº º º • • - 5
God, according to the Christian Teaching, is Known to Man
Within Man Himself ... tº tº º • e e. tº gº º tº º ſe ... 6
God, according to the Christian Teaching, is also Known to
Man Outside Man Himself tº c & tº º º © º º tº º gº ... 6
The Truth of the Christian Understanding of Life, Confirmed
by the Outward Manifestation of God... tº c is e ſº tº • - - 7
Life in this World, as Revealed to Man by the Christian *
Teaching ... © tº e gº tº º tº º º tº º º tº e º tº gº tº ... 8
In what does the True Life, Revealed by the Christian
Teaching, differ from the Former Life P tº tº º tº • * ~ 9
- PART II.-SINs.
What Hinders Man from Living the True Life P e e G • . . II
Obstacles to the Manifestation of Love ... © tº º º º º • • , II
Obstacles to True Life tº Gº tº to G tº tº º º tº G ſº tº º º • • , I 3
Three Kinds of Sins ... tº ſº º e - 9 º, º is is tº a tº tº Q • . . I3
Classification of Sins ... tº e e tº º tº tº ſº tº tº ſº tº tº gº tº • • - I4
Sensual Sin tº º º © tº gº tº e tº tº º º ſº tº º ... tº º º - - - I5
The Sin of Idleness ... e - © tº tº º e tº º tº ſº º tº º º ... I6
The Sin of Avarice, or Propert & © dº G. C. e e º tº e > • . . I?
The Sin of Ambition—Love of Power tº e º tº e e {º º º • * - IQ
The Sexual Sin tº º ºs º, º º • * * tº e e tº e G tº e º • - - 20
The Sin of Intoxication tº e e & © & tº º (º tº gº tº tº tº º • . , 22
The Consequences of Sin ... tº ſº tº º (º tº e ºs º C & • . . 24
PART III.-SNAREs.
What are Snares 2 e e Q tº gº º º º ºs tº º jº tº º tº © tº º • . . 27
The Origin of Snares ... tº gº º tº º º tº ſº gº tº e tº & gº ºn ... 28
The Classification of Snares ... & Cº tº dº tº ſº tº e º © tº º ... 28
The Personal Snare, or Snare of Preparation ... * - tº • . . 29
The Family Snare, of the Continuation of the Race ... • * ~ 3O.
viii. THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
PART III.-SNAREs (continued).
The Snare of Activity ... & Q wº to e º © & © © e e & Co Q & ©
The Snare of Fellowship & Cº - Q & © tº º e © e e tº º º © º º
The Snare of the State º º º tº º ºn * - ºn tº º º * tº e tº Q tº
The Consequences of Snares... & G tº e e g & © e © C e G &
PART IV.-RELIGIOUs DECEPTION, AND THE MEANS OF
DELIVERANCE FROM IT.
Religious Deception ... tº º ſº tº tº º tº º ſº º e - © tº º © e &
The Origin of Religious Deception ... º -
The Practice of Religious Deceptions C - G e & e
The Evil Caused by Religious Deception ... tº e & e tº e • e e
The Way to Live according to the Teachiug of Christ ... tº e &
Escape from Religious Deception & Cº º º e e tº º te &
Escape from Religious Deception Inculcated from Infancy
Escape from the Religious Deception Caused by Action on the
Senses • Q C ſº
Escape from the Deception of Mediation ... tº gº º © º 'º © º e
Escape from Faith in Miracles tº º º © º ºs tº e e tº º º © tº º
Escape from the Deception of Misinterpretation of Truth ...
PART V.-LIBERATION FROM SNAREs.
The Way to Avoid Snares ... tº e G tº e G tº º tº tº & G © C º
The Deception of the Snare of Preparation (the Personal Snare)
The Deception and Evil of the Snare of Activity © º
The Deception and Harm of the Family Snare ... tº gº tº © tº a
The Deception and Evil of the Snare of Fellowship tº tº
The Deception and Evil of the State Snare tº º º © º º tº e e
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE witH SINs.
Striving against Sins ... • - tº tº c * - © * * * tº e - tº e e
The Right Order in which to Contend with Sins... * - C © e º
The Way to Strive against Sin © e - º º e e e <> © º º © C e
Striving against the Sin of Intoxication ... ſº tº gº tº º e tº Q ºn
Striving against the Sin of Idleness
Striving against Sensual Sin & G Gº - - - tº e o tº e - tº º e
Striving against the Sin of Avarice ...
Striving against the Sin of Ambition
PAGE
3I
32.
33
34
59
60
6I
62
65
68
7o
72
74.
Striving against Sexual Sin e - ſº • * * ge e e tº º º tº tº º
PART VII.-PRAYER.
Special Means of Striving against Sins ... e e ºs e - G © tº e
Prayer ... © º º © e ºs © e
Occasional Prayer * 6 = © e > tº º tº © tº º tº tº º © º º © tº s
Continual Prayer & º ºs tº º
What does the Christian Life offer in the Present P
What Awaits Man in the Future ? ... & © e º ºg -
77
77
78
79
82
84
INTRO DUCTION.
I HAD reached the age of fifty, thinking that that life of man
which occupies the time between birth and death is all his
life; and that therefore the end of man is happiness in this
mortal life. So I tried to obtain this happiness. But the longer
I tried, the more evident it became that this happiness does not,
and cannot, exist. The particular happiness I sought I did not
gain, whilst such as I did gain immediately ceased to be
happiness.
On the other hand, adversities continually increased, and the
certainty of death became more and more evident. And I per-
ceived that after this meaningless and unhappy life, nothing
awaited me but suffering, illness, old age and annihilation. I
asked myself, Why is this? No answer was given me. I
despaired.
That which some people told me, and of which I had some-
times tried to persuade myself—namely, that a man should desire
happiness, not for himself only, but for others, his neighbours,
and all men—this did not satisfy me. Firstly, I could not
sincerely desire happiness for others as much as for myself;
secondly, and chiefly, others, exactly like myself, were doomed to
unhappiness and death, and therefore, all my efforts for others’
happiness were useless. -
I despaired. Then I thought that my despair might proceed
from something peculiar in myself; that others knew for what
they lived, and so escaped despair. So I began to observe other
people; but they, like myself, did not know for what they lived.
Some in the aimless round of life tried to hide this ignorance;
some assured themselves and others that they believed in the
various religions instilled into them in childhood, belief in which
X. THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
was impossible, so foolish were they. And of these last, many,
it seemed to me, only pretended to believe, but in the bottom
of their hearts did not.
I could no longer follow the round ol life, for no external
occupation whatever could hide the problem before me. And
I also could not again believe the religion taught me in childhood,
and which of itself fell from me when I reached intellectual
manhood. -
The more I considered, the more 1 grew convinced that
there was no truth in this religion, but only hypocrisy and
venality in the deceivers, and weakness of mind, obstinacy, and
fear in the deceived.
Apart from the inner contradiction of this teaching—its
paltriness, its cruelty in confessing a God who punishes men with
eternal suffering*—the principal thing which prevented my
belief in it was the knowledge that side by side with the Greek-
Crthodox teaching of Christianity, which asserts itself as the only
true one, there existed a second teaching of Christianity, the
Roman Catholic ; a third, the Lutheran ; a fourth, Dissent; all
these being at variance, and each one asserting itself to be the only
true teaching. I knew also that side by side with these Christian
teachings, non-Christian teachings also existed—Buddhism,
Brahmanism, Mohammedanism, Confucianism, and others—
these also asserting themselves to be true, and all other
teachings erroneous. • .
I could neither return to the religion taught me in my child-
hood, nor believe in any of those professed among other nations,
because in all of them were the same contradictions, absurdities,
miracles, rejection of all other religions, and, above all, the deceit
which demands blind confidence in the teaching.
After thus becoming convinced that I could not find the
solution of my difficulty and the abatement of my sufferings in
the existing religions, my despair was such that I was on the
verge of suicide.
* All these contradictions, absurdities, and cruelties I exposed in detail in my work,
“The Criticism of Dogmatic Theology,” where all the Church dogmas and theses, as
taught in our theology, are examined in Sequence.
INTRODUCTION. Xie
At this point salvation came—salvation, which was this.
From childhood I had retained a vague idea that in the Gospel
lay an answer to the problem before me. In this Gospel teaching,
despite all misrepresentations of it in the teaching of the Christian
Churches, I felt the presence of truth, and as a last effort, putting
aside all interpretations, I began to read and study the Gospel
and penetrate its meaning. The further I penetrated the more
clearly a new understanding of the Gospel was revealed to me,
quite different from that taught by the Christian Churches, and
solving the problem of my life. -
At length this solution became perfectly clear, and not only
clear, but incontestable as well; because, firstly, it harmonised
entirely with the demands of my reason and heart, and secondly,
when I came to understand it, I saw that this was not my
exclusive interpretation of the Gospel (as it might appear), nor
even the exclusive revelation of Christ, but the very solution of the
problem of life given more or less explicitly by the best among
men both before and after the Gospel was given; a succession
from Moses, Isaiah, Confucius, the early Greeks, Buddha, Socrates,
down to Pascal, Spinoza, Fichte, Fuerbach, and all those, often
unnoticed and unknown, who, taking no teachings on trust,
thought and spoke sincerely upon the meaning of life. So that,
in learning the truth I drew from the Gospel, I was not only not
alone, but I was with all the best men of the past and the present;
I became confirmed in this truth, and at peace; and I have
since with gladness passed through twenty years of life, and am
with gladness drawing near to death. -
This solution of the meaning of my life, which gave me full
rest and joy of life, I desire to communicate to men.
My age and state of health are such that I am with one foot
in the grave and worldly considerations have no meaning for
me. Even had they, I know that this exposition of my religion
will not contribute either to my worldly profit or reputation, but,
on the contrary, may only exasperate and grieve both those
unbelievers in religion who request literary work from me and
not theological treatises, and those believers in religion who are
xii. THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
indignant at all my religious writings and abuse me for them.
Besides, in all probability this writing will be made public only
after my death.* So that I am urged to what I do, not by
wish for gain or fame, nor by any worldly considerations, but
only by fear to fail in what is required from me by Him who
has sent me into this world and to Whom I am hourly expecting
to return.
I, therefore, beg all those who shall read this to follow and
understand my writing, putting aside, as I did, all worldly con-
siderations, and holding before them only that eternal Principle
of truth and right by Whose will we have come into the world,
whence, as beings in the body, we shall very soon disappear:
without hurry or irritation, let them understand and judge what
I say. If they disagree, let them correct me; not with contempt
and hatred, but with pity and love. If they agree, let them
remember that if I speak truth, that truth is not mine, but God’s,
and only casually part of it passes through me, just as it passes
through every one of us when we behold truth, and transmit it to
others.
* See Translator's Preface.
PART THE FIRST.
ANCIENT TEACHINGS AND THE NEW UNDER-
STANDING OF LIFE.
I.
THE ANCIENT TEACHINGs.
1. From the earliest times men have felt the misery, instability,
and senselessness of their existence, and have looked for salvation
from this misery, instability, and senselessness to a God, or Gods
who would deliver them from various calamities in this life, and
in a life to come give to them that welfare which they had
desired but failed to obtain in this. -
2. Therefore, from the remotest antiquity, there have been .
teachers in various nations who have instructed men as to the
nature of the God or Gods by whom they might be saved; and
as to the means of propitiation to be employed in order to obtain
rewards here or hereafter.
3. Some of these religious doctrines taught that God was
identical with the Sun, and personified in various animals; others
identified the Gods with the earth and sky; others taught that
God created the world, choosing from among all others one
favoured nation; others, again, taught that there were many
Gods, and that they participated in human affairs; yet others
taught that God had descended to earth in human form.
And, intermingling truth with error, all these teachers required
of men, not only abstinence from actions regarded as evil and
performance of actions regarded as good, but also divers sacra-
ments, sacrifices, and prayers, supposed to especially insure
welfare both in this world and the next.
2 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
II.
THE INSUFFICIENCY OF THE ANCIENT TEACHINGs.
4. But the longer humanity existed the less these teachings
satisfied the demands of the human soul.
5. In the first place, men saw that, notwithstanding
their fulfilment of the demands of their God or Gods, they
failed to obtain in this world the happiness to which they aspired.
6. Secondly, with the spread of enlightenment, these teachings
about God, and the future life with its promised recompenses,
were seen not to correspond with the present clearer conceptions
of the universe, and, consequently, men's confidence in them
grew weaker and weaker.
7. If, in former times, men could, without difficulty, believe
that God created the world six thousand years ago; that the
earth was the centre of the universe; that under the earth was
hell; that God, after descending to earth, flew away again into
the skies, and so forth : such beliefs have now become impossible,
because men definitely know that the world has existed, not six
thousand, but hundreds of thousands of years; that the earth is
not the centre of the universe, but only a planet, small in comparison
with other heavenly bodies; that there can be nothing under
the earth, because it is a sphere; and they know that it is
impossible to fly into the skies, because there is no sky, the
vault of heaven existing only to the eye.
8. Thirdly and chiefly, men's confidence in these various
teachings was undermined by entering into closer intercourse with
one another, and learning that in every country religious
teachers preach their own peculiar doctrine as the only true one,
denying the truth of all others. Men, discovering this, naturally
concluded that no one of these teachings was truer than another,
and therefore that none of them could be accepted as the
indubitable and infallible truth.
III.
THE NECESSITY OF A NEW TEACHING CORRESPONDING TO THE
DEGREE OF ENLIGHTENMENT OF MANKIND.
9. The unattainableness of happiness in this life, the spreading
PART I.—ANCIENT TEACHINGs. 3.
enlightenment of mankind, and the intercommunication of men
by means of which they came to know the religious teaching of
other nations, caused men's confidence in the doctrines they were
taught to become weaker and weaker.
Io. Yet the demand became more and more pressing for an
explanation of the meaning of life, and for a solution of the
contradiction between the desire for happiness and life on the
one hand, and the increasingly clear perception of the certainty
of calamity and death on the other.
II. Man desires welfare, and in it sees the meaning of his life;
but the longer he lives the more clearly he sees that this welfare
is impossible for him. Man desires life and the continuation of
life, but sees that both he and all that exists around him are
doomed to inevitable destruction and disappearance. Man
possesses reason, and seeks a reasonable explanation of the
phenomena of life, but finds no reasonable explanation, either of
his own life or of the lives of others.
I2. If in ancient times the consciousness of this contradiction
between the desire of human life for welfare and continuation,
and the inevitableness of death and suffering, was attainable
only by the best minds, like Solomon, Buddha, Socrates, Laotze,
and others, later On it became a truth open to all ; and more than
ever the solution of this contradiction became necessary.
13. And precisely at the time when the solution of this con-
tradiction between aspiration after welfare and life, and the
consciousness that they are unattainable, had become so pain-
fully necessary to men, it was given to them by the true original
Christian teaching.
IV.
THE SOLUTION OF THE CONTRADICTION OF LIFE, AND THE
ExPLANATION OF ITS MEANING, GIVEN By THE TRUE
ORIGINAL CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
14. The ancient teachings tried to hide the contradiction of
human life by their assertions of the existence of God as Creator,
4 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
Preserver, and Redeemer; the Christian teaching, on the Con-
trary, shows men this contradiction in all its force; shows them
that it must exist, and out of the acknowledgment of it derives
the solution. This contradiction may be stated as follows:—
15. It is true that on the one hand man is an animal, and
cannot cease to be an animal while he lives in the flesh ; but, on
the other hand, he is a spiritual being, rejecting all the demands
of the animal in man.
16. During the first period of his life man lives without con-
sciousness of living ; hence it is not he that lives but through
him lives that power of life which lives in all we know.
17. Man only begins to live himself when he becomes con-
scious that he lives. He becomes conscious that he lives when
he knows that he desires welfare for himself, and that other
beings have the same desire. This knowledge is given him by
the awakening in him of reason.
18. Having found out that he lives and desires welfare for
himself, and that other beings have the same desire, man
inevitably also discovers that the welfare he desires for his own
separate being is unattainable ; and that, instead of the welfare
he desires, unavoidable suffering and death are awaiting him. The
same calamities await all other beings. And there appears in
this a contradiction, of which man seeks a solution—a solution
which will give to his life, such as it is, a reasonable meaning.
He desires that his life should either continue as it was before
the awakening of his reason, i.e., purely animal, or else that it
should be purely spiritual.
19. Man desires to be either a beast or an angel, but he can
be neither the one nor the other.
20. And here we come to the solution of this contradiction
given by the Christian teaching. It tells man that he is neither
a beast nor an angel, but an angel being born of a beast—a
spiritual existence being born of an animal one,—and that all our
life in this world is naught else but this process of birth.
PART I.—ANCIENT TEACHINGs. 5
V.
THE BIRTH OF THE SPIRITUAL BEING.
21. As soon as man is born to reasonable consciousness this
consciousness tells him that he desires welfare ; and his reason-
able consciousness being born in his separate being, it seems to
him that his desire for welfare relates to that separate being.
22. But that same reasonable consciousness which showed
him himself as a separate being desiring welfare for himself,
shows him also that this separate being is incompatible with that
desire for welfare and life with which he associates it. He sees
that this separate being can have neither welfare nor life.
23. “What, then, constitutes true life?” he asks himself; and
he perceives that there is true life neither in himself nor in those
beings that surround him, but only in that which desires welfare.
24. And, having discovered this, man ceases to regard his
own isolated bodily and mortal being as himself, but regards as
himself that being (inseparable from others, spiritual, and there-
fore not mortal) which is disclosed to him by his reasonable con-
sciousness.
This constitutes the birth in man of the new spiritual being.
VI.
WHAT IS THAT BEING WHICH IS BORN IN MAN ?
25. The being that is revealed to man by his reasonable con-
sciousness is the desire for welfare, that same desire for welfare
which formerly also constituted the aim of his life, but with this
difference : that the desire for welfare of the former being related
to one separate corporeal being, and was not conscious of itself,
whereas the present desire for welfare is conscious of itself, and
relates not to anything isolated, but to all that exists.
26. In the first period of the awakening of reason it seems to
man that the desire for welfare, which he recognises as his real
self, relates only to that body in which it is enclosed,
27. But the clearer and firmer reason becomes the more
clearly it appears, as soon as he is conscious of himself, that the
true self of man is not his body (which is devoid of true life), but
C
6 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
this very desire for welfare—the desire for the welfare of all that
exists, i.e., universal welfare.
28. The desire for universal welfare is that which gives life to
all that does exist; it is that which we call God.
29. So that the being disclosed to man in his consciousness—
this being that is coming to life—that which gives life to all that
exists, is God. -
VII.
GOD, ACCORDING TO THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING, Is KNowN
TO MAN WITHIN MAN HIMSELF.
3o. According to the former teachings, in order to know God
man had to believe what other men told him : how God, as it.
was supposed, created the world and men, and then revealed
Himself to them ; whereas, according to the Christian teaching,
man recognises God within himself, directly through his own
Consciousness.
31. Consciousness reveals to man that the essence of his life is
the desire for universal welfare, which is something inexplicable
and inexpressible in words, and, at the same time, nearest and
most comprehensible to man.
32. First appearing in man as the life of his separate animal-
being, then as the life of those beings he loves, the principle of
the desire for welfare displays itself after his reasonable conscious-
ness is awakened as the desire for universal welfare. This desire
is the source of all life, it is God; as said in the Gospel, “God
is love.”
VIII.
GoD, AccordinG TO THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING, IS ALSO KNOWN
TO MAN OUTSIDE MAN HIMSELF.
33. But besides God being known to man within man himself
as the desire for universal welfare, as love, man has also, according
to the same teaching, knowledge of God outside man's self in all
that exists.
34. Being conscious of the spiritual and unsep-rated being of
God in his separate body, and seeing that same God present
in all that lives, man cannot but ask himself why God, a
PART I.—ANCIENT TEACHINGS. 7
spiritual being, one and indivisible, has enclosed Himself in the
separate bodies of beings, and in man's own individual body.
35. Why has a spiritual and absolute Being subdivided itself
as it were P Why has the Divine Essence been confined in con-
ditions of individuality and matter? Why has the immortal been
enclosed in the mortal, and bound up with it?
36. There can be but one answer. There is a Higher Will, the
motives of which are incomprehensible to man. And this Higher
Will has placed man, and all that exists, where they find them-
selves. This same Will, the desire for universal welfare, love,
which has for some purpose undiscoverable by man enclosed
itself in beings separate from the rest of the universe, is that
same God which man knows within himself, seen also outside
himself.
So that according to the Christian teaching, God is that
Essence of life which man recognises, both within himself and in
the whole universe, as the desire for welfare ; and which is, at
the same time, the cause by which this Essence is enclosed and
conditioned in, individual and corporeal life.
According to the Christian teaching, God is that Father who, as
we are told in the Gospel, sent into the world His Son like unto
Himself, for the fulfilment in it of His Will, which is the welfare
of all that exists.
IX.
THE TRUTH of THE CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE,
CoNFIRMED BY THE OUTwARD MANIFESTATION OF GOD.
37. In reasoning man God manifests Himself as the desire for
universal welfare; in the world around man God manifests Him-
self in separate beings who strive each for its own welfare.
38. Although it is not, and cannot be, known to man why
it was necessary for the one spiritual being, God, to manifest
Himself in reasoning man as the desire for universal welfare,
and in separate beings as the desire each for his own welfare;
yet man cannot but see that both converge towards one distinct
purpose, definite, attainable and joyful to man.
8 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
39. This purpose is revealed to man by observation, tradition,
and reason. Observation shows him that all progress in human
life (as far as known to us) has consisted only in men and other
living beings, previously divided from and hostile to one another,
becoming more and more united and bound together by agree-
ment and mutual influence. Tradition shows him that all the
wise men of the world have taught that mankind must pass from
separation to union ; that, as the prophet said, men must be
taught of God, and Spears and swords be beaten into plough-
shares and pruning-hooks; that, as Christ said, all should be one,
even as He was one with the Father. Reason shows him that
that greatest welfare of man, towards which all aspire, can be
obtained only by perſect union and concord among men.
4o. Therefore, although the ultimate purpose of the world's
existence is hidden from man, he nevertheless knows in what
consists the immediate work of the world's development in which
he is called to take part, namely, the substitution of union and
harmony for division and discord.
4I. Thus observation, tradition, and reason show man that
this in which he is called to participate is the work of God. And
the inner tendency of that spiritual being, love, which is in process
of birth within him, impels him in the same direction.
42. The inner tendency of the spiritual being born in man
consists solely in the increase of love within him. This same
increase of love and this only precisely concurs with that
work which is being accomplished in the world—the substitution
of union and harmony for division and discord—called in the
Christian teaching the establishment of the kingdom of God.
43. So that, were there any doubt as to its truth, this con-
currence of man's inner aspirations with the tendency of the life
of the whole world would corroborate the Christian definition of
life and its meaning.
X.
LIFE IN THIS WoRLD, As REVEALED TO MAN BY THE CHRISTIAN
TEACHING.
44. On being born to new life, man is conscious that in his
PART I.—ANCIENT TEACHINGs. 9
isolated individuality is enclosed love—the desire for welfare,
not for himself only, but for all that exists.
45. Were this desire for universal welfare, this love, not
enclosed in a separate being, it would be unconscious of its own
existence, and always remain equal to itself; but being enclosed
in the limits of a separate being—man—it is conscious of itself
and its limits, and tends to rend asunder that which
imprisons it.
46. By its nature, love tends to comprise all that exists. It
expands its limits naturally by, first, love to one's own family,
one's wife and children, then to friends, then to one's fellow-
countrymen ; but love is not satisfied with this, and tends to
embrace all.
47. The essence of man's true life in this world consists pre-
cisely in this continual expansion of the limits of the domain of
love, that essential of the new life born in man. Man's sojourn
in this world, from birth to death, is naught else than the birth
in him of the spiritual being, and this unceasing birth is that
true life which is referred to in the Christian teaching.
48. One can imagine that what now composes our body, that
apparently separate being loved by us in preference to all else,
at some period of our past lower life was but an accumulation of
beloved objects which love united into one so that in this life
we feel it to be ourselves; and that, in the same way, our present
love for that which is accessible to us may, in a future life,
unite all these objects into one whole being, which will be as
near to us as is our body now. (“In my Father's house are
many abiding-places.”)
XI.
IN whAT DOES THE TRUE LIFE, REVEALED BY THE CHRISTIAN
TEACHING, DIFFER FROM THE FORMER LIFE P
49. The difference between personal life and true life is this :
The aim of the personal life is to increase the enjoyment of external
life, and prolong it; but, notwithstanding all man's efforts, this
end is never attained, because he has power neither over the
IO THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
external conditions which hinder enjoyment, nor over the various
Calamities which may at any time overtake him. Whereas
the aim of the true life is the expansion and intensification of
love; and this nothing can hinder, for all external causes (such as
violence, disease, suffering, which hinder the realisation of the
aim of the personal life) co-operate to further the accomplish-
ment of the spiritual aim.
5o. The difference is the same as between the labourers
mentioned in the Gospel parable, some of whom, being sent into
the master's garden, decided that it belonged to them and with-
held the fruits from their master; while the others, acknowledging
themselves to be but labourers, fulfilled the master’s instructions.
PART THE SECOND.
SHNS.
XII.
WHAT HINDERS MAN FROM LIVING THE TRUE LIFE P
51. In order to fulfil his destiny man must increase love
within himself and manifest it in the world; and this increase
and manifestation of love is exactly what is necessary to accom-
plish the work of God. But how can man induce the manifesta-
tion of love?
52. The basis of man's true life is the desire for universal
welfare. Love in man, being enclosed within the limits of a
separate being, naturally tends to expand those limits. It
is therefore not necessary that man should do anything to induce
the manifestation of love, for it tends of its own accord to manifest
itself, and man need only clear away the obstacles that impede it.
What then are these obstacles P
53. The obstacles that hinder the manifestation of love by
man are (I) his body—its separateness from other beings—and
(2) the fact that beginning his life with infancy, during which
period he lives only for the animal life of his separate being,
he cannot later on, even when reason is awakened, altogether
disentangle himself from desiring the welfare of his separate
being, and so commits acts opposed to love.
XIII.
OBSTACLES TO THE MANIFESTATION OF LOVE.
54. Love, the desire for universal welfare, in its efforts towards
its own manifestation, meets with obstacles in man's body
largely because reason, which sets love free, wakes in man, not
at his first appearance on earth, but considerably later, when
he has already developed habits of animal life. Why is
this?
I2 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
55. Man cannot but ask himself this question: Why is a
spiritual being, love, enclosed within the separate being of man P.
And this question is answered variously by different teachings.
Some pessimistic teachings reply that the enclosure of the
spiritual being within man's body is a mistake which must be
corrected by the destruction of the body—of the animal life.
Other teachings say that the supposition of the existence of a
spiritual being is mistaken, and must be corrected by recognising
that only the body and its laws have any real existence.
Neither view of the matter really solves the problem; one
simply denies the lawfulness of the body, the other, that of the
spirit. The Christian teaching alone harmonises the apparent
contradiction.
56. To the suggestion of the Tempter that Christ should
destroy his body if he could not according to his own will
satisfy all the demands of his animal life, Christ answered that
one must not resist the will of God, Who has sent us into life as
separate beings; but that in this separate being we must serve
Him alone.
57. For the solution of the contradiction of life, according to
the Christian teaching, it is necessary neither to destroy the life
of the separate being (which would be contrary to the will of
God, Who has sent it), nor to submit to the demands of the animal
life of the separate being, i.e., act in opposition to the spiritual
element which constitutes the true “self” of man ; but in that
body which encloses the true self of man, to serve God alone,
58. The true “self” of man, the infinite love which lives
within him, always tending to increase, and constituting the
essence of his life, is enclosed within the limits of the animal
life of the separate being, and tends always to liberate itself
from it.
59. This liberation of the spiritual being from the animal
individuality, this birth of the spiritual being, constitutes the
true life of man, individual and collective.
60. Love in every separate man and in all mankind is like
steam confined in a boiler: the steam expands, drives the
PART II.-SINs. I3.
pistons, and performs the work. As, in order that the steam
may do its work, there must be the resistance of the boiler, so
also, that love may accomplish its work, there must be the resist-
ance caused by the limits of the separate being which encloses it.
XIV.
OBSTACLES To TRUE LIFE.
61. During infancy and childhood, and sometimes even later,
man lives as an animal, fulfilling the will of God then known to
him as the desire for the welfare of his own separate being ; and
he knows no other life.
62. Having awakened to reasonable consciousness man still
continues to consider this separate body as himself (although he
knows that his life is really in his spiritual being), and owing to
contracted habits of animal life he performs acts directed towards
the welfare of the separate being, and contrary to love.
63. By so doing man not only deprives himself of the welfare
of true life but fails to obtain the welfare of his separate being;
acting thus, he commits sins.” It is these sins that constitute
the inborn obstacles to the manifestation of love in man.
64. These obstacles are increased by the circumstance that
men of former generations, having committed sins, transmitted
the habits and forms of them to succeeding generations. -
65. So that, having in childhood acquired habits connected
with the personal life of his separate being, and having also these
same habits of personal life transmitted to him from his ancestors
by tradition, every man is always liable to sins—obstacles to the
manifestation of love.
XV.
THREE KINDs OF SINS.
66. There are three kinds of sins :—
(a) Sins which proceed from the ineradicable tendency of man
towards his own personal welfare while living in the body—
innate, natural sins.
* The reader is requested to bear in mind that words such as sin, snare, prayer, etc.,
are here used by the author, not in any theological meaning, but in the sense which he
clearly defines when he first introduces them. Thus, whenever further used, the term.
sins implies obstacles to the manifestation of love. (Trans.)
14 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
(3) Sins which proceed from the traditions of the institutions
and customs directed to the increase of the welfare of separate
persons—traditional, social sins.
(c) Sins which proceed from the tendency of individual man
towards the greater and greater augmentation of the welfare of
his separate being—personal, artificial sins.
67. Men C mmit innate sins when they place their welfare in
the preservation and increase of the animal welfare of their
separate personalities. Every activity directed towards increasing
the animal welfare of one’s personality is such an innate sin.
68. Traditional sins are those which men commit when they
profit by existing modes of adding to the welfare of their separate
personalities—modes instituted by men who have lived in former
times. All profiting by institutions and customs established for
the welfare of one's personality is traditional sin.
69. Personal or artificial sins are those which men commit
when, in addition to traditional ones, they invent new modes of
increasing the welfare of their separate personalities. Every new
mode invented by man for the increase of the welfare of his
Separate personality is such a personal sin.
XVI.
CLASSIFICATION OF SINS.
7o. T ºre are six sins or obstacles to the manifestation of love
in man :—
(a) The sensual sin, which consists in preparing for oneself
pleasure by the satisfaction of one's needs.
(b) The sin of idleness, which consists in liberating oneself
from the labour necessary to the satisfaction of one's needs.
(c) The sin of avarice, which consists in acquiring for oneself
power to satisfy one's needs in the future.
(d) The sin of ambition, which consists in subjugating to
oneself one’s fellow creatures.
(e) The sexual sin, which consists in arranging for oneself
pleasure from sexual instinct.
(f) The sin of intoxication, which consists in producing
artificial excitement of one's physical and mental faculties.
PART II.-SINs. I5
XVII.
SENSUAL SIN.
71. Man must of necessity satisfy his bodily needs, and in the
unreasoning state he satisfies them completely like every other
animal, neither restraining himself nor adding to this satisfaction,
and in this he finds welfare.
72. But, on first awakening to reasonable consciousness, it
seems to man that the welfare of his separate being consists in
the satisfaction of his needs, and he devises means of increasing
the pleasure arising from this satisfaction. He also utilises the
means of pleasurably satisfying individual needs originated
by his predecessors, and himself invents new and still more
pleasant means of gratification. This constitutes sensual
sin.
73. When a man eats or drinks, not being hungry; when
he dresses, not for the purpose of protecting his body from the
cold; when he builds a house not for the purpose of sheltering
himself from the weather; but does these things in order to
increase the pleasure arising from satisfying his needs, he
Commits innate sensual sin. -
74. When a man who has been born and bred in habits of
superfluity in drink, food, dress, and lodging, continues to main-
tain these habits, and to profit by the superfluity he possesses,
such a man commits traditional sensual sin.
75. When a man, already living in luxury, invents additional,
new and pleasanter means of satisfying his needs, such as are
not used by those around him: when he introduces new and
more refined foods and drinks in place of his former simple fare ;
new, finer clothing in place of the former clothing which sufficed
to cover his body; builds another house with new adornments in
place of the former Small, simple one—and so on, such a man
commits personal sensual sin.
76. Sensual sin—innate, traditional, or personal—consists in
man impeding his birth into the new spiritual life by striving
after the welfare of his separate being tº ough the gratification and
increase of his needs.
I6 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
77. Besides this, man, while acting thus, does not attain the
end towards which he strives, because, by adding to his wants, he
reduces the probability of being able to satisfy them and also
weakens the pleasure arising from their satisfaction. The more
frequently a man eats and the more refined the food he con-
sumes, the less pleasure will he derive from eating ; and thus
also it is with regard to the gratification of all other animal
needs.
XVIII.
THE SIN OF IDLENESS.
78. Like the animals, man also must exert his strength, and
this strength is naturally directed towards obtaining those things
necessary for the satisfaction of his needs. After work thus
directed, man, like the animals, requires rest.
79. Before reaching his state of true consciousness, man, like
the animals, in procuring for himself objects necessary for life,
does indeed alternate work with rest ; and in this natural rest
finds welfare.
8o. But with newly awakened reason man dissociates work
from rest, and, finding rest pleasanter than work, tries to prolong
the one and diminish the other; compelling others, by force or
cunning, to supply his needs. This constitutes the sin of
idleness.
81. When a man, profiting by the labour of others, rests when
he might still work, he commits the innate sin of idleness.
82. When a man has been born and still lives in a position
where, not being himself obliged to work, he profits by the labour
of others, and maintains this state of things, such a man commits
the traditional sin of idleness. -
83. When a man has been born and continues to live among
those who are accustomed to profit by the labour of others, and
invents means of liberating himself from even such work as he
formerly performed, and lays this work also on others: when a
man who formerly cleaned his own clothes compels another to
do it, or, having formerly written his own letters, kept his own
PART II. —SINS. 17
accounts, or transacted his own business, compels others to do
this work while he himself uses his leisure time for rest or
recreation, then such a man commits the personal sin of idleness.
84. The fact that a man cannot do everything for himself, and
that division of labour often improves and facilitates work, cannot
justify a man in liberating himself either from work in general,
or from heavy work in favour of light work. Every product
of labour which a man uses demands corresponding labour
from him, not mitigation of his labour, nor Complete liberation
from it.
85. The sin of idleness, innate, traditional, or personal, consists
in man relinquishing his own work and profiting by the labour of
others, the reverse of what he was intended to do, since true
welfare is obtained only by service of others.
86. Besides, the man who acts thus fails to obtain even that
pleasure which he seeks, as, the enjoyment of rest being attained
only after work, the less work the less enjoyment from rest.
XIX.
THE SIN OF AvARICE, OR PROPERTY.
87. Man's position in the world is such that his bodily
existence is secured by general laws, to which he is subject in
common with all animals. Yielding to his instinct, man must work.
The natural object of his work is the satisfaction of his needs ;
and this work always more than suffices to secure his existence.
Man is a social animal, and the fruits of his labour so
accumulate in Society that, but for the sin of avarice, every man
unable to work might always have what is necessary for the
satisfaction of his needs. Hence, the Gospel saying about taking
no thought for the morrow, but living “as the birds of the air,”
is no metaphor, but a statement of the actual law of all social
animal life. In the Koran, likewise, it is said that there is
not one animal upon the earth to which God does not give its
SuStenance.
88. But as, after awakening to reasonable consciousness, it
long continues to appear to man that his life consists in the
I8 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
welfare of his separate being, and as this being is conditioned in
time, man takes special care to insure the satisfaction of the
future needs of himself and his family.
89. This special insurance of future needs is possible only by
withholding the necessaries of life from others, and this is the
nature of what we term property. It is this endeavour to obtain,
keep, and increase property, to which man directs his efforts, that
constitutes the sin of avarice.
90. When a man regards as his exclusive possession the
food which he has prepared or received for use on the morrow,
or the clothing or shelter for his own or his family's use in the
coming winter, he commits the innate sin of avarice.
91. When a man of awakened consciousness finds himself in
such circumstances that he regards certain objects as exclusively
his own, and withholds them from others, notwithstanding they
are not necessary to secure his life, he commits the traditional
sin of avarice.
92. When a man, already possessing those things which
are necessary to insure the satisfaction of the future needs of
himself and family, also things not necessary for the main-
tenance of life, notwithstanding this secures for himself more
and more possessions which he withholds from others, he commits
the personal sin of avarice.
93. The sin of avarice, whether innate, traditional, or personal,
consists in man doing the opposite of that for which he was
intended, in endeavouring to ensure the future welfare of his
separate being by amassing property and withholding it from
others: instead of serving men he takes from them that which
is necessary to them.
94. Moreover, the man who acts thus never attains his object,
for the future is not in the power of man; he may die at
any moment, and by spending the certain present upon
an unknown and uncertain future he makes an evident
mistake.
PART II.-SINs. I9.
XX.
THE SIN of AMBITION.—LovE OF POWER.
95. Man, like the animals, is placed under such conditions
that he is obliged to engage in struggle with other beings for
the satisfaction of his needs.
96. The animal life of man is sustained only to the detriment
of other beings. Struggle is the natural condition and law of
animal life. And while living an animal life, before the
awakening within him of consciousness, man finds welfare in
this struggle.
97. But when reasonable consciousness is awakened, it seems
to him during the first period of this awakening that his welfare
will be increased if he subjugates and conquers the greatest
possible number of beings. Accordingly, he uses his powers to
subjugate to himself men and other beings. This constitutes.
the sin of ambition.
98. When a man thinks it necessary to struggle in order to
preserve his personal welfare, and does so with those men and
animals that wish to subjugate him, such a man commits the
innate sin of ambition.
99. When a man has been born and has grown up under
certain conditions of power—whether he be the son of a king, a
lord, a merchant, or a well-to-do peasant—and, remaining in
this position, does not cease from the strife, which, though some-
times unnoticed, is always necessary to maintain his position—
then he commits the traditional sin of ambition.
Ioo. When a man in certain permanent conditions of struggle,
wishing to increase his welfare, enters into new contests with men
and other beings—when he attacks his neighbour in order to take
possession of his property or lands; or strives, by obtaining
privileges, diplomas, rank, to secure a higher position than he
occupies; or, wishing to increase his possessions, contends with
competitors or labourers, or with other nations—such a man
commits the personal sin of ambition.
2O THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
IoI. The sin of ambition—innate, traditional, or personal—
consists in man using his powers for the attainment of the wel-
fare of his separate being by means of strife, thus acting in direct
opposition to the conditions of true life. Instead of increasing
love within himself—that is, abolishing the obstacles which
separate him from other beings—he adds yet more obstacles.
Besides this, by entering into contest with men and other
beings, man attains the very opposite to that for which he strives;
he adds to the probability that other beings will attack him, and,
instead of subjugating others, that he himself will be subjugated
by them ; and the more he succeeds in the struggle, the greater
will be the inevitable strain. *
XXI.
THE SExUAL SIN.
Io2. The instinct of the continuation of the race—the sexual
instinct—is innate in man, and in the animal condition he fulfils his
destiny by satisfying this instinct, and in so fulfilling it finds welfare.
Io3. But with the awakening of consciousness it appears to
man that the gratification of this instinct may increase the welfare
of his separate being ; and he enters into sexual intercourse, not
with the object of continuing the race, but to increase his
personal welfare. This constitutes the sexual sin.
IoA. The sexual sin differs from all others in this respect : that
whereas in other cases complete abstinence from innate sin is
impossible and only a diminution is attainable, complete
abstinence from the sexual sin is possible. This is so because
entire abstinence from the satisfaction of personal needs—food,
clothing, shelter—would destroy the individual, as would also
deprivation of all rest, all property, all struggle; but abstinence
from satisfying the sexual instinct does not destroy the individual.
The abstinence of one, Several, or many persons from sexual
intercourse would not end the race, to perpetuate which is the
object of the sexual instinct. So that satisfaction of this instinct
is not obligatory upon every man ; but to every individual is left
the possibility of abstaining from it.
PART II.-SINs. 2 I
Ios. Man is, as it were, allowed the choice between two ways
of serving God: either, by keeping free from married life and
its consequences, he may by his own life in this world himself
fulfil all that God has appointed to be fulfilled by man ; or else,
conscious of his own weakness, he may transmit to the posterity
he has begotten, nourished and brought up, the fulfilment, or at
least the possibility of fulfilment, of that which he has himself
neglected. -
Ioé. From this peculiarity of the sexual instinct compared
with all others result two different degrees of sexual sin,
dependent on which of the two alternatives a man chooses.
Io?. In the first case, when man desires to keep chaste” and
to consecrate all his powers to the service of God, sexual sin will
consist in any sexual intercourse whatever, even though it have
for its object the birth and rearing of children. The purest
marriage state will be such an innate sin for the man who has
chosen the alternative of chastity.
Io8. The traditional sin for such a man will be any continua-
tion of sexual intercourse, although it be in married life and have
for object the birth and rearing of children. Relinquishment of
traditional sin for such a man will consist in the complete cessa-
tion of sexual intercourse.
Io9. The personal or artificial sin for such a man will be to
enter into sexual intercourse with any other person besides the
one with whom he has already entered into the marriage
relation.
IIo. In the case of a man choosing the service of God by the
continuation of the race, the innate sin will consist in any sexual
intercourse which has not that for its object, such as prostitution,
Casual connections, marriages for wealth, position, or amativeness.
III. The traditional sin for such a man will consist in any
sexual intercourse from which children cannot be born, or entered
into when the parents are unable or unwilling to bring up the
children born of their union.
* The words chaste and chastity are used by the author in their Russian signification,
which includes complete abstinence from sexual intercourse. (Trans.)
D
22 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
I 12. When a person, man or woman, having chosen the
second alternative of contributing to racial continuation, and
already in sexual relation with one person, enters into similar
relation with others, not for the sake of forming a family but in
order to increase the pleasure arising from sexual intercourse; or
avoids the birth of children; or becomes addicted to unnatural
vices—such a person commits the personal sexual sin.
II.3. The sexual sin, i.e., mistake, for the man who has chosen
the service of chastity, consists in this ; he might have chosen
the highest vocation, and used all his powers in the service of
God, and, consequently, for the spread of love and towards the
attainment of the highest welfare, instead of which he descends
to a lower plane of life and deprives himself of this welfare.
II.4. The sexual sin or mistake for the man who has chosen to
continue the race will consist in the fact, that by depriving
himself of having children, or, at all events, of family relation-
ships, he deprives himself of the highest welfare of sexual life.
115. In addition to this—as with the gratification of all needs—
those who try to increase the pleasure of sexual intercourse
diminish the natural pleasure in proportion as they addict them-
selves to lust.
XXII.
THE SIN OF INTOXICATION.
II6. In his natural state, man, like every animal, is liable to
be stimulated by external agencies, and in his animal condition
this temporary excitement gives him pleasure.
II 7. Having awakened to consciousness man notices what
causes this state of excitement and tries to reproduce and
intensify these causes in order to induce stimulation. With this
object he procures and takes into his stomach, or inhales,
substances which produce excitement; or he arranges such
surroundings, or performs such special vigorous movements, as
will bring him into this condition. This constitutes the sin of
intoxication.
PART II.-Sins. ' 23
*-
I 18. This sin is exceptional in that, whereas all other sins, by
strengthening the tendency in him to continue the animal life,
simply divert the man who is born to new life from the activity
proper to him, and do not in themselves weaken or violate the
activity of his reason, the sin of intoxication not only weakens
the activity of reason, but temporarily, and sometimes per-
manently, destroys it. In fact, the man who produces this
unnatural excitement in himself by smoking, wine, certain
imposing surroundings, or by vigorous movements (as do the
Dervishes and other religious fanatics), commits, while in this
condition, not only actions proper to animals, but even such
as, by their senselessness and cruelty, are unnatural to
animals.
II9. The natural innate sin of intoxication consists in the
circumstance, that man, having received pleasure from a certain
state of excitement—whether it be produced by food or drink, by
surroundings which operate upon his sense of sight or hearing or
by certain movements—does not abstain from what produces this
intoxication. When a man, without the set intention of exciting
himself, eats spices, drinks tea, beer, or cider, adorns himself of
his dwelling, dances or plays, he commits the innate sin of
intoxication. ... .ſt
I2O. When a man has been educated in certain habits of
intoxication, such as the use of wine, tobacco, or opium, imposing
sights—public, family, or religious—certain kinds of movements:
gymnastics, dances, bows, jumping, and so on, and perpetuates
these habits, he commits the traditional sin of intoxication.
12.I. When a man, having been educated in, and become
accustomed to, certain habits of periodical intoxication, intro-
duces through imitation, or himself invents, new modes of intoxi-
cation—after the use of tobacco begins to smoke opium, after
Wine drinks brandy, introduces new imposing ceremonies, pro-
duces increased excitement by means of pictures, dances, light,
or music, invents new modes of exciting physical movements,
such as gymnastics, cycle riding, etc.—this man commits the
personal sin of intoxication.
D 2
24 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
122. The sin of intoxication—innate, traditional, or personal—
consists in a man endeavouring by external causes of excitement
to weaken and obscure the consciousness which reveals to him
the meaning of his true life, instead of using his powers of mind
to remove all that tends to dim that consciousness.
123. Furthermore, the man who acts thus produces an effect
opposite to that for which he strives. The excitement produced
by external causes diminishes with every dose of the stimulant,
and notwithstanding the strengthening of the doses (which ruin
the health) the faculty of excitation grows constantly weaker.
XXIII.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN.
124. Sins act as obstacles to the manifestation of love.
125. But more than this, they also cause the greatest
calamities to men. These calamities are twofold—those suffered
by the men who commit the sins, and those suffered by others.
The calamities which befall those who commit the sins are
effeminacy, Satiety, weariness, apathy, anxiety, fear, suspicion,
anger, hatred, obduracy, jealousy, impotence, and painful
diseases of every description. The calamities to which others
are subjected are theft, robbery, torture, beating, murder.
126. If there were no sins there would be neither poverty nor
Satiety, neither depravity nor theft, robbery nor murder, execu-
tions nor wars.
127. Were it not for sensual sin, there would be neither the
destitution of the needy, nor the weariness and fear of the
luxurious ; there would be neither the unnecessary expenditure
of effort in guarding the pleasures of the rich, nor the degrada-
tion of the spiritual powers of the poor; the constant inherent
struggle between the two classes which produces contempt and
fear in the one, and jealousy and hatred in the other, would not
exist; neither would this enmity break out periodically in violence,
slaughter and revolt.
128. But for the sin of idleness, one would not on the one hand
see men exhausted by overwork, and on the other vitiated by
PART II.-SINs. 25
inaction and constant amusement; men would not be divided
into two hostile camps—the surfeited and the famished, the
festive and the overburdened.
129. Were there no sin of avarice, there would be none of that
violence which is committed for the sake of acquiring and
retaining property; there would be no theft, robbery, imprison-
ment, exile, penal servitude, nor executions.
13o. Were there no sin of ambition, there would be none of
that enormous and useless expenditure of human energy for the
purpose of subduing others and of maintaining power; there
would be neither the arrogance and heartlessness of the con-
queror, nor the obsequiousness, deceit and hatred of the
conquered; there would be no family, social, and national
divisions, nor the quarrels, fights, murders and wars arising
from them.
131. But for the sexual sin there would not exist the slavery
and suffering of woman side by side with over-indulgence and
depravity; there would be none of those quarrels, fights,
murders caused by jealousy; there would not exist the degrada-
tion of woman to the condition of an instrument for the
satisfaction of lust, prostitution, unnatural vice ; nor the en-
feeblement of the physical and mental powers, those dreadful
diseases from which men now suffer; nor forsaken children; nor
infanticide.
132. Were it not for the sin of intoxication by the use of
tobacco, wine, and opium, and by wild exciting movements and
imposing solemnities, men would be free from recklessness in
their sins. There would not be a tithe of the quarrels and fights,
the plunderings, adulteries, and murders that now occur chiefly
in consequence of the weakening of thespiritual powers; and there
would be none of that useless expenditure of energy upon
things not merely unnecessary, but often positively harmful.
Avoiding it, men—in many cases excellent men—would avoid
that stupefaction which now causes them to spend their lives
without profit to themselves and a burden to others.
PART THE THIRD.
SNARES.
XXIV.
WHAT ARE SNAREs P
133. The pernicious consequences of sins, both to those who
commit them and to the society in which they are committed,
are so evident that from the earliest times, seeing these calamitous
consequences, men have preached and legislated against sins
and punished those who have committed them. Theft, murder,
dissoluteness, slander, drunkenness have been forbidden, but,
notwithstanding the prohibitions and punishments, men have Con-
tinued, and still continue, to sin, destroying their own lives and
those of their fellows.
134. This arises from the fact that for the justification of sins
there exist false arguments according to which there would appear
to be exceptional circumstances, rendering sins not only excusable
but even necessary. These false justifications may be called
“Snares.”
135. A snare—(Greek, “scandalos")—signifies a trap; and,
indeed, a moral snare is a trap, into which a man is enticed by
the similitude of good, and in which, when caught, he perishes.
Thus it is said in the Gospel that snares (causes of stumbling)
must come into the world, but woe to the world because of them,
and woe to him through whom they come. - -
136. It is in consequence of these snares—these deceptive
justifications—that men do not turn from their sins but
continue in them and, worst of all, inculcate them to their
posterity.
28 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
XXV.
THE ORIGIN of SNARES.
137. The birth of a man to the new life is not accomplished at
once, but, like the physical birth, by degrees. The pangs of
birth alternate with pauses and reversions to the former position—
manifestations of spiritual life alternate with manifestations of
animal life; man now gives himself up to the service of God,
and in it finds his welfare; now returns to personal life, seeks the
welfare of his separate being, and commits sins.
138. Having committed sin, man becomes conscious of the
want of harmony between the act performed and the demands of
conscience. As long as he only desires to commit sin this
discord is not fully evident, but as soon as the sin is committed
the discord is revealed and man wishes to end it.
139. It is only possible to end the discord of the act, and of
the position into which man has entered through sin, by using
one's reason to find a justification for the act and the position.
14o. This justification of the contradiction between sin and
the demands of the spiritual life can only be achieved by
explaining one's sins as the result of the demands of the spiritual
life. This is precisely what men do, and by this mental
exercise ensnare themselves.
141. From the time when the contradiction between the animal
and the spiritual life was revealed to man, from the time when
man began to commit sins, he began also to devise justifications
of sins—i.e., snares. There have, therefore, been established
among men identical traditional justifications or snares; so that
a man need not himself devise justifications for his sins, for the
snares are already invented, and he has but to accept them
ready-made. -
XXVI.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF SNARES.
142. There are five Snares which ruin men : the personal snare,
or snare of preparation; the family Snare, or snare of the con-
tinuation of the race; the snare of activity, or utility; the snare
PART III.--SNAREs. 29.
of fellowship, or fidelity: and the State snare, or snare of the
general good.
I43. The individual Snare, or Snare of preparation, consists in
man, while committing sins, justifying himself by the con-
sideration that he is preparing for an activity which will be
useful to him in the future.
144. The family snare, or snare of the continuation of the
race, consists in a man justifying himself on the ground of his
children’s welfare.
145. The Snare of activity, or utility, consists in a man
justifying his sins by urging the necessity of continuing or com-
pleting some work, already begun, which shall be useful
to men. -
146. The Snare of fellowship, or fidelity, consists in the
justification of man's sins by the consideration of the welfare of
those with whom he is in some special relationship.
147. The State Snare, or snare of the general good, consists
in men justifying the sins they commit by the consideration of
the welfare of a number of people, of a nation, of humanity.
This snare was expressed by Caiaphas, when he demanded the
execution of Christ in the name of the welfare of many.
XXVII.
THE PERSONAL SNARE, or SNARE OF PREPARATION.
148. “I know the meaning of my life is not in service of self,
but in service of God and man,” says the man who has fallen into
this snare, “but in order that my service may be effectual, I
will admit certain digressions from the demands of conscience
should they be necessary for that perfecting which will prepare
me for future useful activity. I must first acquire knowledge,
finish my term of service, re-establish my health, marry, secure a
livelihood for the future; and while attaining these ends I cannot
fully obey the demands of conscience, but having accomplished
this I will then begin to live exactly as my conscience demands.”
3O THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
I49. And, having for the sake of the greater, more effectual
service of men and the manifestation of love in the future
admitted the necessity of looking after his personal life, man
serves his own person, committing sins. He commits sensual
sin, the sin of idleness, of property, of ambition, and even of
depravity and intoxication, not regarding it as a matter of
importance because the indulgence in it is only temporary during
the time that all his powers are directed to preparing for his
future active service of men.
150. But having begun to serve his person—protecting,
strengthening, perfecting it—man naturally forgets the object
for which he is doing so, and gives up his best years, sometimes
his whole life, to preparing himself for a service which he never
performs.
151. In the meanwhile the sins he has allowed himself to
commit for a good object become more and more habitual; and,
in place of the supposed useful activity for others, he passes
his whole life in sins which ruin it, and by serving as a
temptation to other men, injure them also. This constitutes the
snare of preparation.
XXVIII.
THE FAMILY SNARE, OF THE CONTINUATION OF THE RACE.
152. People, especially women, entering upon family life, are
liable to think that love for their family, for their children, is
exactly what reasonable consciousness demands of them ; and
that therefore should one have to commit sins to satisfy the needs
of the family such sins are excusable.
153. And, convinced of this, such people think it possible in the
name of family love, not only to release themselves from the
demands of justice towards others, but, with the certainty that
they are acting rightly, to commit, for the sake of their children's
welfare, the grossest cruelties towards others. *
154. “If I had no wife, husband, children,” say those who
have fallen into this snare, “I would live quite differently, and
PART III.—SNAREs. 3I
would not commit these sins, but the education of my children
being necessary I cannot now live otherwise. If we did not live
thus, if we refrained from these sins, the human race would
cease.”
I55. And, thus arguing, not seeing the evil he is doing, a man
will quietly take from others the result of their labour, compel .
them to labour to the detriment of their life, deprive them of their
land, and—most striking example of all—will rob a child of its
milk, in order that its mother may feed his child. This con-
stitutes the family Snare, or the snare of the continuation of the
Tal Ce.
XXIX.
THE SNARE OF ACTIVITY.
I56. Man is by nature obliged to exercise his mental and
physical powers and with this object he chooses a certain activity.
I57. Every activity demands the performance of certain
actions at certain times, and if these are not performed in their
season useful work is destroyed without benefit to anyone.
158. Those who have fallen into this snare say: “I must finish
harrowing my field which is already sown, for unless I do this,
both seed and labour will be lost without advantage to anyone; I
must finish a certain work within a certain time, for should I not
finish it, work, which might have been useful, will be lost; I
have a factory which produces articles necessary to man, and
affords employment for ten thousand workmen, if I interrupt the
work the goods will not be manufactured and the men will be
thrown out of employment.”
I59. And having argued thus a man not only does not leave
his field unharrowed in order to rescue his neighbour's horse
from a swamp, but is ready to take advantage of his neighbour's
misfortune to finish it. Not only does he decline to leave urgent
work so that he may sit for a day by a sick man's bedside, but
he is ready to withdraw another man from nursing an invalid
merely in order that his own appointed work may be finished.
32 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
He not only does not stop the work of his factory which is
destroying men's health, but he is even ready to sacrifice the
health of several generations in order that saleable goods may
be produced. This constitutes the Snare of activity or utility.
XXX.
THE SNARE OF FELLOwsHIP.
16o. Having casually or artificially entered into certain
common conditions, people are inclined to join with others in the
same conditions, and separating themselves from other men, to
think their duty requires them to disregard the dictates of conscience
for the benefit of those similarly conditioned men. Not only do
they prefer the interests of these—“their own"—to the interests of
others, but they even injure other men, in order not to violate
fidelity to “their own.”
161. “The deeds of these people are obviously evil, but they
are our companions and therefore their iniquities must be hidden,
justified. What I am asked to do is evil, senseless, but all my
companions have decided on it and I cannot stand aloof. It
may cause suffering and calamity to others, but for us and our
fellowship it will be pleasant, therefore it must be done.”
162. There are various fellowships of this nature. Of such
are the fellowships of murderers or thieves, deeming fidelity to
their companions in crime more binding than loyalty to their
conscience, which condemns the deed ; the fellowships of pupils
in educational establishments, of communities of workers, of
regiments, scientists, clergy, kings, nations. -
163. All these men regard fidelity to the regulations of their
fellowships as more binding than faithfulness to the dictates of
conscience with regard to their conduct towards other men.
This is the Snare of Companionship, or fidelity.
I64. The peculiarity of this snare is that the wildest and most
senseless acts are committed in its name, such as dressing one-
self up in peculiar garments and attributing to them a special
PART III.-SNAREs. 33
importance. In its name also men poison themselves with wine
and beer; and, by exciting hostility between different fellowships,
it frequently causes dreadfully cruel deeds, fights, duels, murders
and so forth.
XXXI.
THE SNARE OF THE STATE.
165. Men live in a certain social organisation, and this organi-
sation (like everything else in this world) continually changes
with the development of consciousness in man.
I66. But people, especially those for whom the existing order
is more advantageous than for others (and there always are such),
regard the existing order as conducive to the welfare of all.
Therefore, for the sake of this welfare they not only deem it
allowable to act unlovingly towards certain people, but also
believe it to be just and good to commit the grossest iniquities so
that the existing order may be maintained.
167. Men have instituted the right of property, and some
possess land and the means of production while others have
neither. This unjust possession of land and the means of
production by those who do not work is regarded as the
order which must be maintained, and in its interest it is
believed to be just and good to imprison and execute those who
infringe this order. So also, lest a neighbouring nation or
sovereign should attack or subdue our nation and abolish or
change the established order, it is thought just and good, not
only to co-operate in the organisation of the army, but to be
oneself prepared to murder men of another nationality and
actually to go and slay them.
I68. This snare is peculiar in that, whereas in the name of the
first four Snares men transgress the demands of their consciences
and individually commit evil deeds, in the name of the State
Snare are committed most awful collective iniquities, such as
executions and wars; and most cruel crimes against the masses,
Such as slavery in the past, and the withholding of the land
34 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING,
from the labourers in the present. Men would be unable to
commit these iniquities had they not invented certain combina-
tions by means of which the responsibility is so distributed that
no one feels its weight.
169. This distribution of responsibility is accomplished by the
acknowledgment of the necessity for an authority to ordain these
crimes for the benefit of those under its rule; so that for the
sake of the common welfare, its subjects must obey the injunctions
of authority.
17o. Those in authority say, “I much regret being obliged to
order the appropriation of the products of labour, to commit men
to prison, exile, penal servitude, to exact the penalty of death, to
wage wars, but it is my duty to act thus, for it is demanded of
me by those who have endued me with power.” Those in a
subordinate position say, “If I rob men of their property, tear
them away from their families, imprison, exile, execute them; if
I ruin or kill men of another nation, bombard towns containing
women and children, I do all this, not upon my own respon-
sibility, but in fulfilment of the will of the higher power, which,
for the general welfare, I have promised to obey.” This con-
stitutes the snare of the State, or of the general welfare.
XXXII.
THE CONSEQUENCEs of SNAREs.
171. Sins are the result of habits (inertia, animal life). The
impetus of the animal life cannot cease at the moment when
reason awakens in man and he understands the senselessness of
his animal life. Although he now knows that animal life is
meaningless and cannot give him welfare, owing to confirmed
habit he still seeks for meaning and welfare in the pleasures of
animal life, in the satisfaction of complicated, artificial needs, in
continual rest, in the accumulation of property, in power over
others, in depravity, in intoxication ; and he uses his reason for
the attainment of these ends.
PART III.-SNAREs. 35
172. But sins bring with them their own punishment: man
very soon finds that the welfare he seeks in this way is unattain-
able, and sin loses its attraction. So that, but for the justifications
of sins—snares—men would not continue in their sins, or in any
case would not carry them to the extreme they now do.
173. Were it not for the snares of preparation, the family,
activity, and the State, no one, however cruel, would be able,
surrounded by men dying of starvation, to profit by those
superfluities which the rich now enjoy ; and the rich could never
reach that condition of complete physical idleness in which they
now spend their dreary lives, often compelling the old, the infirm,
and children to perform the work they require done. If it were
not for these snares justifying property, men could not sense-
lessly and aimlessly spend all their vital powers in accumulating
property which cannot be used; neither could they, while
suffering from the results of strife, call it forth in others. But
for the snare of fellowship there would not be a tithe of the
depravity that now exists, nor could people so obviously and
foolishly destroy their mental and physical powers by intoxication,
which diminishes, instead of increasing, their energy.
174. The sins of men cause the destitution and over-work of
some and the opulence and idleness of others. It is sins that
cause inequality of possessions, competition, quarrels, litigation,
executions, wars, the calamities of depravity and the brutalisa-
tion of men. But to snares are due the permanence and
sanctification of all this—the legalisation of the destitution and
oppression of some and of the opulence and idleness of others,
the legalisation of violence, murder, war, depravity, intoxication;
—and the awful stage of development to which these evils have
now attained.
PART THE FOURTH.
RELIGIOUS DECEPTION, AND THE MEANS OF
DELIVERANCE FROM IT,
XXXIII.
RELIGIOUS DECEPTION.
175. If it were not for snares, people could not continue to live
in sins, as every sin avenges itself. The men of former genera-
tions would have pointed out to their successors the injurious
consequences of sins, and a new generation would have been
educated without contracting habits of sin.
176. But man, using his reason, not for the understanding of
sin and deliverance from it, but for its justification, Snares appear,
and sin is legalised and confirmed. *
I77. But how can a man whose reason is awakened mistake
falsehood for truth P. In order that he may not detect the lie,
and may accept it for truth, his reason must be perverted; for
the unperverted reason infallibly discerns falsehood from truth;
this being its purpose.
178. The reason of men educated in human society is in
truth never free from perversion. Every man educated in
human society inevitably undergoes the perversion of religious
deception.
179. This deception consists in men of former generations
instilling into succeeding ones by various artificial means an
understanding of the meaning of life founded, not upon reason,
but upon blind confidence.
I8o. The essence of religious deception is the intentional con-
fusion of faith and credulity, and the substitution of one for the
other. It is affirmed that without faith man cannot live and
E
38 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
think—which is perfectly true; and then in the place of faith,
i.e., the acknowledgment of the existence of that of which one is
conscious, but which cannot be defined by reason, such as God,
the soul, good—is substituted confidence that there exists a God
in a certain form, in three persons, who at a stated time created
the world, and who has revealed certain things to men, at certain
places and times, and through particular prophets. -
XXXIV.
THE ORIGIN OF RELIGIOUS DECEPTION.
I81. Humanity moves slowly but unceasingly onward towards
a higher and higher development of consciousness of the true
meaning of life, and towards the organisation of life in con-
formity with this development of consciousness. Men's under-
standing of life, and the life itself of humanity, is thus constantly
changing. Men who are more sensitive to truth understand life
according to that higher light which now shines within them
and order their lives in accordance with it; less sensitive men
adhere to the former understanding and order of life, and try to
uphold it.
182. So that, side by side with men who point out the most
advanced and recent expressions of truth and endeavour to live
in accordance with them, there are always in the world men who
uphold the out-lived and now unnecessary understanding of truth
and the order of life based on it.
XXXV.
THE PRACTICE OF RELIGIOUS DECEPTIONS.
183. Truth needs no external corroboration, being freely
accepted by all to whom it is transmitted; but falsehood
demands special methods by which it may be transmitted to
men and adopted by them ; and the same methods to achieve
this end have always been made use of by men.
184. There are five such methods: (1) The misinterpretation
of truth; (2) faith in the miraculous; (3) the institution of
PART IV.-RELIGIOUS DECEPTION. 39
intermediaries between God and man; (4) influence exerted
upon man's senses; (5) the inculcation of erroneous faith into
children. -
185. The first method of religious deception consists in not
only verbally acknowledging the justice of the truth revealed to
men by the latest teachers, but also admitting the teacher him-
self to be a sacred, supernatural person—deifying him, attributing
the performance of various miracles to him, and at the same
time concealing the very essence of the truth revealed, so that,
instead of its condemning the former understanding and order
of life, it may, on the contrary, confirm it.
| Such misinterpretation of truth and deification of its teachers
have been practised in all nations on the appearance of a new
religious doctrine. The teaching of Moses and of the Jewish
prophets was perverted thus. And with this same misinterpreta-
tion did Christ reproach the Pharisees, saying that they were
sitting in Moses' seat and, entering not into the kingdom of God,
Hindered those who were entering. The teachings of Buddha,
Laotze, and Zoroaster were similarly misinterpreted; so also was
the Christian teaching at the time of its acceptance by Constan-
tine, when heathen temples and deities were transformed into
Christian ones, and Mohammedanism arose to counteract a
pseudo-Christian polytheism, itself to fall a prey both in the past
and now to a similar misinterpretation.
186. The second method of religious deception consists in
assuring men that in the search for truth it is sinful pride to use
the reason given them by God, that there is another and more
reliable means of attaining to truth, consisting in revelations
made by God to chosen men, the reliability of which revelations
is supposed to be confirmed by certain signs, miracles—i.e.,
supernatural events—which accompany them. One is told to
believe, not reason, but miracles—i.e., that which is contrary to
Tea,SOI].
187. The third method of religious deception consists in
persuading men that they cannot have that direct relation with God
E 2
40 THE CHRISTIAN IEACHING.
which every man feels (and which was made specially clear by
Christ, when he acknowledged man as the son of God), and that
for communion between man and God an intermediary (or inter-
mediaries) is necessary. In this position of intermediary are
placed prophets, Saints, the Church, Holy Writ, recluses, dervishes,
Llamas, Buddhas, hermits, and clergy of every description. What-
ever diversity may exist between them, the essence of their office
consists in the denial of direct relation between God and man,
and the affirmation that truth is not directly accessible to man,
but can be received by him only through faith in intermediaries
between him and God.
188. The fourth method of religious deception consists in the
practice of collecting a number of people together under the
pretext of performing certain actions supposed to be demanded
by God—such as prayers, Sacraments, sacrifices—and, after
submitting these people to various stupefying influences, impressing
falsehood upon them in the guise of truth. People are entranced
by the beauty and grandeur of temples; by the magnificence of
ornaments, vessels and vestments; by the lustre of artificial light,
the sound of voice and organ; by incense; intonations, pageants;
and while under the spell of this fascination, an attempt is made
to impress upon their souls falsehood presented as truth.
189. The fifth method is the most cruel of all: it is contained
in the answers given to the child’s questions as to the
nature of this world and of his own life and as to the
relation between the two. He questions his elders, who, having
lived longer than he, have had an opportunity of acquiring
the knowledge of former generations; but he receives in reply,
not what these elders themselves think and know, but what was
thought by men who lived thousands of years ago, and is not
and cannot be now believed by any grown-up person. Instead
of the indispensable spiritual food for which the child asks, he
receives a poison destructive to his spiritual health, to recover
from the effects of which will cost him the greatest effort and
intensest suffering.
PART IV.-RELIGIOUs DECEPTION. 4I
190. A child awakens to conscious life with a clear
unobstructed understanding, conscious in the depth of his soul—
though vaguely—of the truth of life, i.e., his position and duty,
and ready to accept it. (The human soul is naturally Christian,
more experienced parent or teacher: What is life? What is my
relation to the universe, and to its source? And the father or
teacher, instead of giving him the little but certain knowledge of
the meaning of life he has himself acquired, assures him with
authority of that which he, in the depth of his soul, regards as
untrue. If he be a Jew, he tells him that God created the world
in six days, and revealed the whole truth to Moses by writing
with His finger upon a stone, that oaths must be adhered
to, the Sabbath kept, circumcision practised and so on. If
he be an Orthodox Greek, a Catholic or a Protestant
Christian, he says that Christ, the Second Person, created
the world and descended to earth to redeem Adam's
sin with His own blood, and so on; if a Buddhist, that
Buddha flew up into the heavens, and taught men to destroy
their life; if a Mohammedan, that Mohammed visited the seventh
heaven, and there learnt the law, according to which a five-fold
prayer and a pilgrimage to Mecca procure for man paradise in
the future life l
191. Parents and teachers, although they know that other men
instil other ideas into their children, pass on each his own
particular superstition, knowing in the depth of his soul, that it
is only superstition, and they transmit this to innocent, trustful
children at an age when impressions are so deep that they are
never afterwards completely effaced.
XXXVI.
| THE EVIL CAUSED BY RELIGIOUS DECEPTION.
192. Sin, causing man to at times commit acts contrary to his
spiritual nature—to love, impedes his birth to the new true
life.
42. THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
193. Snares, by justifying sins, lead man into a life of sin, so
that he not only commits certain sinful acts, but, while living an
animal life, does not perceive it to be in contradiction to the true
life.
194. Such a position is possible only when the truth is per-
verted by religious deception. No man whose understanding is
not thus perverted can be blind to the falsehood of snares.
195. Religious deception is, therefore, the foundation of all the
sins and calamities of mankind.
196. Religious deception is that which is called in the Gospel
“blasphemy against the Holy Ghost,” concerning which it is
said that it cannot be pardoned, i.e., it can never, in any life, fail
to be ruinous.
XXXVII.
THE WAY TO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE TEACHING OF CHRIST.
197. In order to live according to the teaching of Christ, man
must destroy the obstacles which impede true life, or the mani-
festation of love.
198. These obstacles are sins. But sins cannot be destroyed
until man frees himself from Snares. And freedom from snares
is possible only to the man who is free from religious deception.
199. Therefore, in order to live according to the teaching of
Christ, man must first of all free himself from religious deception.
200. Only after having freed himself from this can a man
liberate himself from the falsehood of snares; only after seeing
the falsehood of snares can he free himself from sins. -
XXXVIII.
EscAPE FROM RELIGIOUs DECEPTION.
201. In order to free himself from religious deception in
general, man must understand and remember that the only
instrument he possesses for the acquisition of knowledge is
reason, and therefore that every teaching affirming what is
PART IV.-RELIGIOUS DECEPTION. 43
contrary to reason is a delusion, an attempt to set aside the
only instrument for acquiring knowledge which God has given
to man.
202. In order to escape from religious deception, man must
understand and remember that he has not, and cannot have, any
other instrument of knowledge but reason—that, whether he will
or no, every man believes only in reason. They therefore
deceive themselves who say that they believe in Moses, Buddha,
Christ, Mohammed, the Church, the Koran, the Bible, but not in
reason, because whatever their faith, they believe, not in the
medium which transmits the truths in which they believe—not in
Moses, Buddha, Christ, the Bible—but in reason, which tells
them that they must have faith in Moses, Christ, the Bible, and
not in Buddha, or Mohammed, and vice versa.
203. Man can receive truth only through his reason. The
man therefore who thinks that he receives truth through faith,
and not through reason, only deludes himself, and uses his reason
for a purpose for which it was never intended—namely, to solve
questions as to which of those who transmit that which is given
out as truth one must believe, and which reject. Whereas reason
is intended, not to decide between whom one must, and must not
believe (this, indeed, it cannot do), but to verify the truth of
what is presented to it. This it can always do; for this
purpose it was designed.
204. Misinterpreters of truth generally say that one cannot
trust reason, because its assertions vary in different men, and that
it is therefore better, for the sake of union, to believe in revela-
tion confirmed by miracles. But such a statement is directly
opposed to fact. Reason never makes opposite assertions, but
always and in all men asserts or denies the same thing.
205. It is only “faiths” which assert, one, that God revealed
Himself on Sinai and is the God of the Hebrews; another, that
God is Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva ; another, that He is the
Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost; a fourth, that He is
identical with heaven and earth; a fifth, that the whole truth
'44 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
was revealed by Buddha; a sixth, that all was revealed by
Mohammed. It is only these faiths that divide men, whereas
reason, whether it be the reason of a Jew, a Japanese, a Chinaman,
an Arab, an Englishman, or a Russian, always says one and the
same thing. -
206. When it is said that reason can deceive, and in confirma-
tion of this is cited the contradictory assertions of different
people as to the existence or nature of a God, and the way in
which He must be served, they make a mistake, and, inten-
tionally or unintentionally, confuse reason with speculation and
invention. Speculations and inventions, it is true, may be, and
are, infinitely diverse and numerous, but the conclusions of
reason are the same for all men at all times. Speculations and
inventions about the origin of the world and of sin, and as to
what will happen after death, may be infinitely various ; but the
conclusions of reason as to whether it is true that three Gods are
one, that a man died and then rose again, that He walked upon
the water or flew away into the sky, that in consuming bread
and wine I consume flesh and blood—the conclusions of reason
about these questions are the same for all men in all the world,
and are undoubtedly correct. Whether a Jew affirm that
God walked in a flame of fire, or a Hindoo that Buddha
ascended in the rays of the sun, or whether it be affirmed that
Mohammed flew into heaven, or Christ walked on the water, and
so forth, the reason of all men always and everywhere gives the
same answer: “It is not true.” But to the question, “Is it right
to act towards others as you would have them act towards you ?
Is it good to love men, to pardon their offences, and to be
merciful?” the reason of all men, at all times answers, “Yes, it
is right, it is good.” -
207. Therefore, to avoid falling a prey to religious deception,
man must understand and remember that truth is revealed to
him only through reason, given him by God for the purpose of
discovering the will of God, and that the practice of inspiring
distrust in reason is founded on the desire to deceive and is the
greatest blasphemy.
PART IV.-RELIGIOUs DECEPTION. :45
208. Such is the general means of liberating oneself from
religious deception. But in order to escape it, one must know
all its methods and beware of and strive against them.
XXXIX.
EscAPE FROM RELIGIOUS DECEPTION INCULCATED FROM INFANCY.
209. In order that a man may live according to the teaching of
Christ, he must first of all free himself from the religious deception
in which he was educated, whether this deception be Hebrew,
Buddhist, Japanese, Confucian or Christian.
2Io. And in order to do so, a man must understand and
remember that he has received reason directly from God, who
alone can unite all men ; whereas human traditions do not
unite, but divide. He must, therefore, while verifying the
beliefs inculcated from infancy, have no fear of the doubts and
questions which reason calls forth, but must, on the contrary,
carefully submit all that has been transmitted to him to
examination and comparison with other creeds, and however
ancient the transmitted traditions may be, or however impressive
their surroundings, must acknowledge none as true which
contradict reason.
211. Having submitted the beliefs inculcated from childhood
to the judgment of reason, the man who wishes to quite free
himself from this mode of religious deception, must boldly and
unreservedly throw aside all that is contrary to its judgment,
not doubting for a moment that what is thus contrary must
be untrue.
212. Having freed himself from the religious deception taught
him from childhood, the man who wishes to live according to
Christ's teaching must himself refrain from contributing to the
deception of children by word, example or by silence, and must
also expose this deceit by every possible means, following the
example of Christ, who pitied children on account of those
deceptions to which they are subject.
:
:
;
:
46 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
XL.
ESCAPE FROM THE RELIGIOUs DECEPTION CAUSED BY ACTION
ON THE SENSES.
213. Having freed himself from the religious deception incul-
cated from infancy, man must avoid the deception produced by
deceivers of all nations, by means of external influence on the
senses. -
2I4. To avoid falling under this deception man must under-
stand and remember that the propagation and acceptance of
truth by men require neither apparatus nor adornments; that
Only falsehood and deception demand special conditions for their
transmission; and therefore that all solemn services, processions,
Ornaments, perfumes, songs and so forth, are no proof of truth,
but on the contrary serve to show that falsehood, not truth, is
being transmitted.
215. To avoid falling under deception by action on the senses,
man should call to mind the words of Christ that God must be
served, not in any particular place, but in spirit and truth, and
that he who wishes to pray should go, not into the temple, but
into the solitude of his own room, knowing that all external
splendour in the worship of God has for its object deception,
which deception is the more cruel the more magnificent the
ceremony. He should, therefore, not only himself refrain from
participating in stupefying acts of worship, but should also, when
possible, expose this deceit.
XLI.
EscAPE FROM THE DECEPTION of MEDIATION.
216. Freed from the second deception of action on the senses,
man has yet to avoid the deception of mediation between God
and man, which will certainly conceal the truth from him if he
surrenders to it.
217. That he may not fall under this deception a man must
understand and remember that God only reveals Himself directly
:
:
;
:
*
:
:
§
:
:
PART IV.-RELIGIOUS DECEPTION. 47
to man's heart, and that every intermediary, whether it be one
person or a collection of persons, a book, or a tradition, not only
hides God from man, but also causes the most dreadful evil
which can befall him, namely, that he should regard as God that
which is not God. -
218. As soon as man admits faith in any kind of mediation he
deprives himself of the only possible means of authenticating his
knowledge, and incurs the liability of accepting any kind of false-
hood in the place of truth.
219. It is owing to mediation alone that men have practised
and continue to practise those dreadful deceptions owing to
which reasonable and good men pray, as if to God, to Christ,
the Virgin Mary, Buddha, Mohammed, saints, relics, and
images.
220. In order to avoid this deception man must understand
and remember that truth is revealed to him primarily, and
most reliably, not in a book, nor by tradition, nor through any
assembly of men, but in his own heart and reason, as Moses
declared when he told the people that the law of God must be
sought neither over the sea nor in the sky, but in one's heart;
and as Christ taught the Jews when He said that they knew not
the truth, because they believed the traditions of men instead of
Him who was sent by God. And it is reason, the only infallible
instrument whereby to attain to knowledge, that is sent into us
by God.
221. To avoid the deception of mediation man must under-
stand and remember that truth cannot be at once revealed in its
fulness, but is disclosed to man by degrees; further, that it is
disclosed to those only who seek it, and not to those who,
believing what is transmitted to them by so-called infallible
intermediaries, think that they possess it. In order, therefore,
not to incur the danger of falling into the most dreadful
errors, man must regard no one as an infallible teacher, but must
seek the truth everywhere in all human traditions, verifying
them by his own reason.
48 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING,
XLII.
EscAPE FROM FAITH IN MIRACLEs.
222. But having freed himself from the deception inculcated in
childhood, avoided that of impressive ceremonies, and rejected
all interimediaries between himself and God, man will not yet be
free from religious deception and capable of understanding
Christ's teaching, unless he liberate himself from faith in the
supernatural, the miraculous.
223. It is said that miracles, i.e., the supernatural, are per-
formed with the object of uniting men; but, in fact, nothing so
disunites them, for every religion has its own miracles, and
repudiates those of all others. Nor can this be otherwise. The
miraculous or supernatural is infinitely various ; the natural only
is everywhere and always the same.
224. So, to escape the deception of faith in the miraculous,
man must acknowledge as true only that which is natural, which
is in accordance with his reason, and must recognise as false all
that is unnatural—that contradicts his reason—knowing that all
that is given out as such is human deception, as are various
contemporary miracles, cures, raisings of the dead, miraculous
images, relics, the transformation of bread and wine, etc., and as
are the miracles related in the Bible, the Gospels, and in the
Buddhist, Mohammedan, Laotzian, and other Scriptures.
XLIII.
EscAPE FROM THE DECEPTION OF MISINTERPRETATION OF
TRUTH.
225. Having escaped from the deception of mediation, man
must also free himself from that of misinterpretation.
226. Whatever be the religion a man has been educated in,
whether it be Mohammedan, Christian, Buddhist, Hebrew, or
Confucian, in every one he will meet side by side with assertions
which are unquestionably true, and accepted by his reason,
assertions contrary to reason, which are represented as equally
reliable.
PART IV.-RELIGIOUS DECEPTION. 49
227. If he would free himself from this deception, man must
not be troubled by the fact that the assertions acknowledged by
reason and those rejected by it are given out as equally certain,
and as of the same origin, and are apparently inseparably
connected. He must understand and remember that every
revelation of truth to man, i.e., every new understanding of truth
by one of the more advanced men, has always so impressed
people that they have enclosed it in a supernatural form. To
every manifestation of truth an element of superstition has
inevitably been added, so that to discover the truth it is impera-
tive that he should separate falsehood and fiction from truth and
reality, and not, on the contrary, accept all that has been
transmitted concerning the revelation of the truth.
228. Having separated truth from the added superstition, let
it be understood and remembered that the element of superstition
is not only not as sacred as the truth itself (as those affirm who
benefit by these superstitions), but, on the contrary, constitutes
the most pernicious medium of the concealment of truth, to
destroy which man must exert all his powers.
PART THE FIFTH.
LIBERATION FROM SNARES.
XLIV.
THE WAY TO AVOID SNARES.
229. Man having liberated himself from religious deception
would be ready to accept the teaching of Christ were it not for
snares. But though freed from religious deception, and under-
standing Christ's teaching, he is always in danger of falling into
SIla TêS.
23o. The essence of all snares consists in this, that man having
awakened to consciousness, experiences the discord and suffering
caused by sin, and seeks to escape both, not by striving against
the sin, but by justifying it.
231. And sin cannot appear to be justified except by
deception.
232. Therefore, in order to avoid falling into snares, man must
not fear to recognise the truth, knowing that its recognition Can-
not remove him further from welfare, whereas untruth is the
chief source of sin and of man's departure from welfare.
233. So, to escape Snares, man must, above all, avoid
lying, especially to himself; being careful not so much to abstain
from lying before others as to himself, i.e., not hiding from himself
the motive of his actions.
234. Further, if a man would avoid snares and the resulting
sin and ruin, he must not be afraid to repent of his sins, repent-
ance being the only means of liberation from sin and the
Calamities arising from it.
235. Such are the means whereby men may avoid falling into
snares in general. But in order to be able to avoid each par-
ticular Snare, one must clearly understand what constitutes its
deception and harm.
52 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
XLV.
THE DECEPTION OF THE SNARE of PREPARATION (THE
PERSONAL SNARE). -
236. The first and most common snare into which man falls
is the personal snare—that of making preparations to live, instead
of living. If a man does not himself invent this justification of
his sins, he will find it invented already by men who have lived
before him.
237. “I can now,” says man, “for a time diverge from the
path of duty, from what is demanded by my spiritual nature,
because I am unready. I will first prepare myself, and then,
when the time comes, I will begin to live altogether in accord-
ance with my conscience.”
238. The deception of this snare consists in man turning aside
from life in the present, which is the only actual one, and
hoping for life in the future, whereas the future does not belong
to him.
239. The deception here is made clear by the circumstance
that if a man foresee the morrow he must also foresee the next
day, and the next, and so on; and if he foresee all this, he will
also foresee his inevitable death. And, foreseeing that, he will
not make preparations for the future of a life which is approach-
ing its termination, because death destroys the meaning of all
that for which man prepares in this life. If a man gives free
scope to his reason he cannot but see that the life of his separate
being is meaningless, and that he can therefore make no prepara-
tion for it.
24o. The deception is also revealed by the consideration that
man cannot prepare himself for a future manifestation of love
and of service to God. Man is not a tool that is used by some-
one else. You may sharpen an axe, and if you have no time to
use it, it can be used by someone else, but no one can utilise a
man save the man himself, because he is a tool continually work-
ing, and perfected only by work.
PART V.-LIBERATION FROM SNAREs. 53
241. The evil of this snare is that the man who has fallen
into it, while looking forward to a life in the future, which never
comes, not only fails to live the true life, but even loses the
temporal life of the present. Thinking to perfect himself for
the future, man relinquishes that perfecting in love, which can
be accomplished only in the present, and which is the life's
purpose of every man.
242. In order to avoid falling into this snare, man must under-
stand and remember that there is no time for preparation; that
he must live in the best way possible now, as he is; that the only
perfecting he needs is perfecting in love, and that this is accom-
plished only in the present.
243. He must, therefore, without delay, live each moment in
the present with all his powers, for God, i.e., for all who make
demands upon his life, knowing that it is precisely for this
continual service he has come into the world, and that at any
moment he may be deprived of the possibility of rendering it.
XLVI.
THE DECEPTION AND EVIL OF THE SNARE OF ACTIVITy.
244. A man occupied on a certain piece of work is involuntarily
captivated by it, and it appears to him that, for the sake of that
work, he may refrain from doing what is required of him by his
conscience, by God.
245. The deception in this snare, consists in the fact that any
human work may turn out useless or may be interrupted and
remain unfinished, whereas the work of God, which is accomplished
by man through the fulfilment of the will of God, can neither
prove useles, nor in any wise be interrupted.
246. The evil in this Snare is that, having decided that some
particular work—whether it be raking over seeds, or liberating a
nation from slavery—is more important than the work of God,
i.e., the immediate help and service of one's neighbour (often the
most insignificant work in human judgment), there will always
be found work which it is necessary to finish before complying
F
54 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
with the demands of the work of God. Man will thus continually
excuse himself from the service of God, from the accomplishment
of the work of life, by substituting the service of what is dead for
the service of that which is living.
247. Having fallen into this snare, men will always postpone
the service of God, until they shall be free from all worldly activity;
whereas, from worldly activities men are never free. To avoid
falling into it, man must understand and remember, that no human
activity which has an end can be the aim of a true eternal life,
which aim can be nothing but the participation in the endless
work of God, which consists in the greatest possible manifestation
of love.
248. Therefore, in order to escape the snare of activity, man
must do no work of his own that violates the work of God—that
violates love to men; and he must always be ready to relinquish
any occupation when summoned to the accomplishment of that
work. Like a workman employed on his master's work he
should attend to his own affairs only when his powers and
attention are not required for his master's work.
XLVII.
THE DECEPTION AND HARM OF THE FAMILY SNARE.
249. This snare is used, more than any other, to justify men's
sins. Persons free from the snare of preparation for life, or that
of activity, are rarely free—especially if they be women—from
the family snare.
250. This snare consists in men, in the name of exclusive love
for the members of their own family, regarding themselves as
free from duties to others, and calmly committing sins of avarice,
ambition, idleness, and lust, without regarding them as sins.
251. The deception of this snare consists in the fact that the
animal propensity drawing men towards the continuation of the
race (which is lawful only in so far as it does not violate love to
mankind) is regarded as a virtue justifying sin.
PART V.-LIBERATION FROM SNAREs. 55
252. The evil of this snare is that, more than any other, it
strengthens the sin of property, intensifies strife among men by
exalting as a merit and a virtue the animal instinct of love
towards one's family, and diverts men from knowledge of the
true meaning of life.
253. To avoid falling into this snare, man must refrain from
intentionally developing in himself this family love, from
regarding this love as a virtue, and from yielding to it; and
knowing the snare, he must be always on his guard against
it, so as not to sacrifice the divine for the family love.
254. One can without caution love one's enemies, unattractive
people, strangers, and altogether give one's self up to this love;
but one cannot without caution love the members of one's
own family, because such a love leads to moral blindness and
justification of sins.
255. In order not to fall into this snare, man must understand
and remember, firstly, that love is true, bestowing life and welfare,
only when it neither seeks, nor expects, nor hopes for recompense,
just as no other manifestation of life expects recompense for its
existence. Secondly, that love for one's family is an animal
instinct, which is good only so long as kept within the limits of an
instinct, and so long as man does not sacrifice spirtual demands
for its sake.
256. Therefore, in order to avoid this snare man must
endeavour to do for every stranger the same that he wishes to
do for his family, and not do for his family such things as he is
not ready and able to do for a stranger. -
XLVIII.
THE DECEPTION AND EVIL OF THE SNARE OF FELLOWSHIP.
257. Having separated themselves from others, and linked
themselves together under certain exceptional conditions, men
think that, if they maintain these conditions, they are per-
forming such a good work that it liberates them from the general
demands of conscience.
F 2
56 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
258. The deception of this snare consists in the circumstance
that by entering into fellowship with a certain small number of
people, men cut themselves off from the natural fellowship of all,
and consequently violate the most important natural duties in
the name of artificial ones.
259. The evil of the snare is, that men who have bound
themselves together in separate fellowships, and whose lives are
guided by their own special rules, and not by the common laws
of reason, depart further and further from those reasonable
principles of life common to all men, become less tolerant and
more cruel to all outside their fellowship, and thus deprive them-
selves and others of true welfare.
26o. To avoid falling into this Snare man must understand and
remember that the rules of fellowships organised by men may be
infinitely various, changeable and contradictory, that no rule
artificially ordained by man should bind him, if it be contrary to
the law of love, and that every exclusive union limits the
circle of fellowship and deprives man of the chief source of wel-
fare, possibility of loving communion with all on earth.
261. He should, therefore, not only refrain from entering all
societies, fellowships, and associations, but should avoid all
that may exclude him, in union with others, from the rest of
mankind.
XLIX.
THE DECEPTION AND EVIL OF THE STATE SNARE.
262. This cruellest of snares is, like false religion, transmitted
to men by two modes of deception—inculcation of falsehood into
children, and influence exerted on the feelings of men by
external solemnities. On awakening to consciousness, almost
every man who lives in a state, finds himself already entangled
in state snares, and living under the persuasion that his is a
superior, special people, state, country, for the welfare and
advancement of which he should blindly obey the existing
Government, and at its bidding torture, wound and slay his
fellows.
PART V.-LIBERATION FROM SNAREs. 57
263. The deception of this snare consists in the assumption
that, for the sake of the welfare of his nation, man may disregard
the requirements of conscience, and sacrifice his moral freedom.
264. The evil of this snare is that as soon as we admit the
possibility of ascertaining and understanding what constitutes the
welfare of a number of people, there is no limit to conjecture as
to the resultant welfare from any act whatever; so that any act
may be justified the moment a man assumes that the welfare or
life of one man may be sacrificed for the sake of the future
welfare of many. There is no limit to the evil that can be done
in the name of such reasoning. The first assumption—that we
can know what will promote the future welfare of many—has
been responsible in former times for torture, the inquisition, and
slavery, and in our time, for courts of law, prisons, and landed
property. Acting on the second assumption—that of Caiaphas
—Christ was slain in the past, and at the present time millions
perish by executions and war.
265. In order to avoid falling into this snare, man must under-
stand and remember that before belonging to any state or nation
he belongs to God, being a member of a universal kingdom, and
that so far from being able to transfer to anyone the responsi-
bility for his actions, he must himself alone always be answer-
able for them.
266. Therefore man must, under no circumstances, prefer men
of his own nation or state to those of another; no consideration
as to the future welfare of many must ever induce him to do
harm to his neighbours; and he must not think that he ought to
obey anyone whatever in preference to his own conscience.
PART THE SIXTH.
THE STRUGGLE WITH SINS,
L.
STRIVING AGAINST SINs.
267. But, although they may have freed themselves from
religious deception and avoided snares, men still fall into sins.
A man with awakened consciousness knows that the meaning of
his life consists only in the service of God, and yet, owing to
habit, he commits sins, which hinder both the manifestation of
love, and the attainment of true welfare.
268. How, then, is man to strive against the habit of sin P
269. Before he can successfully so strive he must, in the first
place, clearly understand the consequences of sins: that they do
not accomplish the purpose for which they are committed, that
they do not increase, but rather diminish the animal welfare of
men. Secondly, he must know in what order to contend with
the sins.
27o. Firstly, therefore, one should clearly understand and
remember that the conditions of man's life in this world are such
that after the awakening of reasonable consciousness every search
for personal welfare deprives him of this welfare, and that, on the
contrary, he obtains welfare only when he does not think of his
personal well-being, but uses all his powers in the service of God.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all the rest shall be added unto you.”
271. Secondly, for success in striving against habits of sin, one
must know to which sin one should first direct one's attention,
not beginning by striving against a sin which has its roots in
another as yet unconquered one, but recognising their mutual
connection and succession,
6o THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
LI.
THE RIGHT ORDER IN which To Contend witH SINs.
272. There is a connection and sequence between sins by
which one sin engenders others, or hinders liberation from them.
273. Man cannot liberate himself from any sins so long as he
addicts himself to the sin of intoxication ; he cannot liberate
himself from the sin of ambition if he yield to that of avarice, or
from avarice while he is addicted to the sin of idleness ; he
Cannot free himself from sexual sin if he addicts himself to
sensual sin and that of idleness; and he cannot liberate himself
from ambition and avarice so long as he yields to sensual sin.
274. This does not mean that one should not strive against
every sin at all times, but that for success in the contest one
should know with which to begin, or rather with which one
cannot begin.
275. It is often only this striving against sins in the wrong
Order which causes that want of success which drives men to
despair.
276. The sin which, while yielded to, precludes the possibility
of all contest with others is intoxication by means of stupefying
substances, impressive surroundings, or exciting actions. The
intoxicated man resists neither idleness nor sensuousness, sexual
propensities nor ambition. Therefore, in order that he may
contend with other sins, he must first of all liberate himself from
that of intoxication.
277. The next sin from which a man must liberate himself if
he would have power to strive against sensuousness, avarice,
ambition, and sexual sin, is idleness. The freer a man is from
the sin of idleness the easier it is for him to abstain from
sensuousness, avarice, sexual sin, and ambition. A man who is
working requires no elaboration of the means of satisfying his
needs, does not require property, is less liable to sexual tempta-
tions, and has neither the occasion nor the leisure for contest with
his fellows. -
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE witH SINs. 6I
278. Next comes the sensual sin. The more abstemious a
man is in food, clothing, and habitation, the easier it will be for
him to liberate himself from avarice, ambition, and sexual sin.
Satisfied with little, he does not need property; restraint helps in
the struggle with sexual desires; and, having need of little, he has
no reason for conflict with his fellows.
279. The next sin is avarice. The freer man is from this sin
the easier will it be for him to refrain from sexual sin and from
ambition. Nothing so encourages sexual sin as superfluity of
property, and nothing so promotes conflict among men.
28o. The next is the sin of ambition or competition, which is
included in and promoted by all the other sins, and liberation
from which is possible only in conjunction with liberation from
them all.
LII,
THE WAY TO STRIVE AGAINST SIN.
281. It is possible to strive successfully against sins in general
only when we know their successive order, so that we may com-
mence with those, without freedom from which we cannot contend
against the others.
282. But even in the contest with each separate sin a man must
begin with those manifestations of it, abstinence from which
are within his power, and which have not yet become habitual.
283. Such manifestations are, in every kind of sin—intoxication,
idleness, sensuousness, avarice, ambition, sexual sin—the personal
sins, those which men commit for the first time, not yet being
habituated to them. Therefore, it is from those sins that a man
must, first of all, free himself.
284. It is only after having liberated himself from these sins—
after having ceased to invent new means of augmenting his
personal welfare—that man can begin to contend against the
habits and traditions of sin established in his particular circle.
285. And only when he has conquered these traditional sins
can a man begin to strive against innate ones.
62 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
LIII.
STRIVING AGAINST THE SIN of INToxication.
286. The purpose of man's life is the manifestation and
increase of love; this increase takes place only in consequence of
man's consciousness of his true divine self, and the more conscious
he is of that true self, the greater his welfare. Therefore, all
that impedes this consciousness, as does every kind of excitement;
all that strengthens the erroneous consciousness of one's separate
life, and weakens the consciousness of one's true self—as every
kind of intoxication does—impedes the attainment of true
welfare.
287. In the case of a man awakened to consciousness, every
form of intoxication, besides hindering the attainment of true
welfare by him, also deceives him, not only by failing to increase
that personal welfare which he seeks through stimulation, but by
even depriving him of that share of animal welfare which he
already possesses.
288. In addicting himself to any kind of artificial stimulation—
Smoking, drinking, solemnities, dancing—a man still living on
the animal plane or a child not yet awakened to consciousness
receives full satisfaction from the excitement produced, and needs
no repetition of it. But with awakened reason man remarks that
every excitement stifles the activity of his reason and destroys
the pain of the contradiction between the demands of the animal
and spiritual natures. He therefore requires a repetition and
strengthening of the intoxication, and increases his demand until
the reason which had awakened within him is altogether stifled.
This can only be attained by destroying altogether, or, at all
events, in part, the corporeal life. So that a man with awakened
reason, in addicting himself to this sin, fails to obtain the welfare
he expects, and falls a victim to the most various and cruel
calamities.
289. A man free from intoxication employs in the service of
his worldly life all those powers of mind or intellect which he
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE WITH SINs. 63
possesses, and can intelligently choose what is best for his animal
welfare, whereas a man addicted to intoxication loses even those
mental powers which are natural to the animal and necessary for
the avoidance of harm and the reception of pleasure.
290. Such are the consequences of the sin of intoxication for
the man who commits it ; for those who surround him the con-
sequences are particularly disastrous. This is so, firstly, because,
for the production of the means of intoxication, enormous expen-
diture of labour is necessary, so that a large proportion of the
labour of mankind is spent upon the production of intoxicants,
the preparation of exciting ceremonies, processions, religious
services, monuments, temples, and commemorations of every kind.
Secondly, because Smoking, wine, exciting movements, and
especially pompous ceremonies, compel weak-minded men, while
under these influences, to commit the most insane, coarse,
pernicious, and cruel actions. This should be understood and
borne in mind by the man who is tempted to any form of
intoxication. -
291. No one while living in the body can altogether destroy
the possibility of temporary intoxication by means of food or
drink, special external surroundings or stimulating movements,
or to the consequent strengthening of his animal consciousness
and the weakening of the consciousness of his spiritual self. But
if man cannot altogether destroy tendency towards excitement,
every man may reduce it to the smallest possible limits; and this
constitutes the struggle with the sin of intoxication which faces
everyone.
292. In order to liberate himself from this sin a man must
understand and remember that a certain degree of excitement is
natural to man as an animal, under special circumstances and
at certain times; but that when consciousness has awakened
within him, he should not only refrain from seeking this
excitement, but endeavour to avoid it, and cultivate that tranquil
state of mind in which the activity of his reason can manifest
itself in all its power—that activity through which the greatest
64 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
welfare may be procured both for the man himself, and for the
beings that are connected with him.
293. In order to attain to this a man must begin by
refraining from adding to that sin of intoxication to which he is
accustomed, and which has become the habit of his life. If into
a man’s life there have already entered certain habits of
intoxication, recurring periodically, and regarded as indispensable
by all around him, let him, even if he continue those habits,
introduce no new ones, neither imitating others nor inventing for
himself. If accustomed to smoke cigarettes, let him refrain from
habituating himself to the use of cigars or opium; if accustomed
to beer or wine, let him refrain from stronger intoxicants; accus.
tomed to low bows during prayer at home or in church, or to
jumping and dancing during worship, let him refrain from all
fresh acts of that kind; if in the habit of keeping certain festivals,
let him institute no new ones.
Let him refrain from increasing the means of excitement to
which he is accustomed, and he will have already done much
towards liberating himself and others from the sin of intoxication.
If men would only introduce no new forms of sin, sin would be
destroyed, because it originates at a time when there are, as yet,
no habits formed, and when it is, therefore, easy to overcome it,
and there always have been, and always will be, men who free
themselves from sin.
2.94. When a man has become conscious of the folly of this
sin, and has firmly decided not to multiply those modes of
intoxication which have become habitual to him, then let him
cease from smoking and drinking, if he have acquired these
habits, or from taking part in the solemnities and festivals in
which he formerly participated, or from exciting movements if he
be accustomed to them.
295. As soon as a man has freed himself from these artificial
habits of intoxication in which he has been living, let him begin
to free himself also from those states of excitement produced in
him by certain food, drink, movements, and surroundings that
are common to everyone.
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE witH SINs. 65
296. Although men will never, while in the body, altogether
liberate themselves from the excitement and intoxication produced
by food, drink, movements and surroundings, the degree of this
intoxication may be reduced to the smallest limits. And the
more a man awakened to consciousness frees himself from this
sin, the clearer will his reason become, the easier will it be for
him to strive against all the other sins, the more true welfare will
he obtain, the more material welfare will be added to him and
the more will he contribute to the welfare of others.
LIV.
STRIVING AGAINST THE SIN OF IDLENESS.
297. The man whose consciousness is awakened is not a
self-existent being, satisfying itself and capable of independent
welfare; he is God's ambassador, for whom welfare is possible
only in proportion to his fulfilment of the will of God. Therefore,
for a man to serve his separate personality is as unreasonable as
it would be for a workman to serve the tool with which he works,
to spare his spade or his scythe instead of spending it in the work
which is set him. As it is said in the Gospel: he who wishes to
save his bodily life will lose his true life, and only by spending
one's bodily life can one obtain true life.
298. To compel others to work for the satisfaction of one's
needs is as unreasonable as it would be for a workman to destroy
or spoil the tools of his companions in order to preserve or
improve the tool he should use up in the performance of the work
to which both he and his companions are appointed.
299. But besides depriving himself of true welfare by freeing
himself from labour and laying it upon others, such a man also
deprives himself of that animal welfare which comes to him
through the natural bodily labour necessary for the satisfaction
of his needs.
3oo. Man obtains the greatest welfare of his separate being
through the exercise of his powers, and through rest, when he lives
instinctively like an animal, working and resting just as much as
66 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
is necessary for his animal life. But as soon as man artificially
transfers the labour to others and arranges for himself artificial
rest he ceases to receive the delight which rest affords.
3or. The man who works receives true delight from rest,
whereas, instead of the rest he seeks, the idle man experiences
constant uneasiness. Besides this, by artificial idleness he
destroys the very source of pleasure, his health; thus, weakening
his body, he deprives himself of the ability to labour, and, conse-
quently, of the result of labour, true rest, and engenders in him-
self painful diseases.
302. Such are the results of idleness for the man who commits
the sin. For those who surround him the consequences are
hurtful, firstly, because, as the Chinese proverb says, “If there
be one man who does not work, then there is another who is
Crying from hunger”; and, secondly, because ignorant people, not
knowing the dissatisfaction from which idle men suffer, try to
imitate them, and experience towards them, instead of goodwill,
envious, unkind feelings. This should be known to everyone
who wishes to subdue the sin of idleness.
303. In order to free oneself from this sin one must clearly
understand and remember that any liberation of one's self from
the labour one has been accustomed to perform will, instead of
increasing, diminish the welfare of one’s personality, and also
cause unnecessary injury to others.
3o4. Although it is impossible to destroy in man's animal
being the desire for rest and aversion to work (according to
the Bible, idlenesss was bliss and work punishment)—still, it is
towards the diminution of this sin, its reduction to the smallest
possible dimensions, that man must aim if he would free himself
from the sin of idleness.
3os. In order to liberate himself from the sin of idleness a man
must begin by not exempting himself from any work that he has
hitherto done; if he formerly brushed his own clothes, washed his
own linen, let him not compel another to do it; if he dispensed with
articles produced by other men's labour, let him not now purchase
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE WITH SINs. 67
them; if he went about on foot, he should not ride; if he carried
his own portmanteau, he should not give it to a porter, and so
on. All this seems so insignificant; but were people to refrain
from doing these things they would be free from most of their
sins, and from the sufferings resulting from them.
306. Only when a man has learnt to refrain from exempting
himself from, and laying upon others, labour formerly performed
by him, can he successfully begin to strive against traditional
idleness. If he be a peasant let him now refrain from forcing his
wife, when weak, to do what he has leisure to do himself; from
hiring the workmen he used to hire; from purchasing the products
of labour he used formerly to purchase, but which others dispense
with. If he be a rich man, let him discharge his servant, and
take care of his things himself, and refrain from purchasing the
expensive clothes to which he is accustomed.
307. When a man has succeeded in conquering the idleness he
has been accustomed to from childhood, and has descended to
the plane of labour on which those around him live, then only
can he successfully commence to strive against the innate sin of
idleness by working for the welfare of others even while they
feSt.
308. The fact that human life, owing to the division of labour,
has become so intricate that it is impossible for a man himself to
satisfy all his own needs and those of his family, and that in this
world one cannot avoid profiting by other men's labour, this fact
should not prevent a man from striving to attain a position
wherein he may be able to give to others more than he receives
from them.
309. In order to be sure of doing this, one should first do for
one's self and one's family all that one has time to do, and then,
in the service of others, choose, not the work that one likes, and
for which there are always many volunteers, such as supervising,
teaching, and amusing people, but the work that is urgently
necessary but unattractive, and avoided by all, as is the case
with every kind of common and dirty work.
68 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
LV.
STRIVING AGAINST SENSUAL SIN.
3ro. Man was designed to serve God through the increase of
love. The fewer a man's needs, the easier will it be for him to
serve God and man, and, therefore, the more true welfare will
he receive through the increase of love within himself.
311. But, in addition to the welfare of true life which man
receives in proportion to his freedom from sensual sin, his condi-
tion is such that if he attend to his needs-only to the degree in
which they demand satisfaction, and does not direct his reason to
the increase of the pleasure arising from their satisfaction, such
satisfaction affords him the greatest welfare attainable from this
source. Whereas, with the increase of one's wants, whether
they be satisfied or not, the welfare of earthly life inevitably
diminishes.
312. Man will receive the greatest welfare from the satisfaction
of his needs of food, drink, sleep, clothing, lodging, when he
satisfies them, like an animal, instinctively, not in order to obtain
pleasure from food, not when it is refined, but when he is hungry;
and from clothes, not when they are very fine, but when he feels
cold; and from lodging, not when it is luxurious, but when he
takes refuge in it from the weather.
313. A man who has rich dinners, clothing and houses, which
he does not need, will receive less pleasure than a man who uses
the poorest food, clothing and accommodation, but does so after
he has become hungry, cold and wet. So that complicating
and providing plenteously the means of satisfying needs does
not increase the welfare of the personal life, but rather
diminishes it.
314. Superfluity of the means of satisfying needs deprives
man of the very source of the pleasure he derives in satisfying
them: it destroys the health of the organisms for no food affords
pleasure to the diseased weak stomach: no clothing, no houses
can warm a body deficient in blood. -
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE WITH SINs. 69
315. Such are the consequences of sensual sin for the man who
yields to it. For those around him the results are two-fold:
Firstly, needy men are deprived of those products consumed by
the luxurious. Secondly, all feeble-minded men, witnessing the
superfluity of the luxurious but not their suffering, allured by
their position, and tempted to the same sin, experience towards
them, instead of the joyful, brotherly feelings natural to all,
painful envy and ill-feeling. It is this that a man must
recognise in order that he may successfully strive against Sensual
S111.
316. To destroy the tendency in the separate being of man of
seeking pleasure from the satisfaction of his needs is impossible,
as long as man lives in the body, but he may reduce this
tendency to the smallest dimensions, and in doing so consists the
struggle with this sin.
317. To attain the utmost freedom from sensual sin, a man
must first of all clearly understand and remember that any
complication of the means of satisfying his needs will diminish
rather than increase his welfare, and cause unncessary evil to
others.
318. If he would free himself from the habit of this sin, a man
must begin by refraining from increasing his needs, from
changing that to which he is accustomed, from imitating and
inventing new wants. He should not begin to drink tea, when
he has hitherto lived in good health without it; should not erect
a new mansion when he already has one.
To thus refrain seems little, but if people would only do so,
nine-tenths of the sins and sufferings of mankind would dis-
appear.
319. A man can only commence the struggle with the tradi-
tional sin when he carefully refrains from introducing new
luxuries into his life, only then can a man, accustomed to drink
tea and eat meat, or habituated to champagne and fine horses,
gradually break away from what is unnecessary, and exchange
luxurious habits for more simple ones.
G
7o THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
32 o. And it is only when he has freed himself from luxurious
habits, and descended to the level of the poorest that a man
can begin to strive against innate sensual sin, i.e., diminish
his needs in comparison even with the poorest and most
abstemious of men.
LVI.
STRIVING AGAINST THE SIN OF AvARICE.
32 I. The true welfare of man consists in the manifestation
of love, and he is moreover placed in such a position that he
never knows when he will die; any hour may be his last.
Therefore no reasonable man can violate love in the present in
order to insure a future which may never come. Yet this is
precisely the conduct of those who try to acquire property and
keep it from others, in order to insure the future for themselves
and their family.
322. But in addition to depriving themselves of true welfare,
the people who behave thus fail to attain that welfare of the
separate individual which is always accessible to man.
323. It is natural for man to satisfy his needs by labour, and
even like certain animals to provide the things he will require in
the future ; and in so acting he attains the highest possible
welfare for his separate being.
324. But the moment a man begins to assert exceptional
rights to the articles thus provided or otherwise obtained, the
welfare of his separate being not only diminishes, but is even
replaced by suffering.
3.25. The man who trusts the insurance of his future to his
labour, to the mutual helpfulness of men, and above all to the
organisation of the universe in such a way that men's lives are as
well insured as those of the birds of the air or the lilies of the
field, such a man can peacefully surrender himself to all the joys
of life; whereas a man who has begun to secure property for the
future, can never enjoy a moment's peace.
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE WITH SINs. 7I
326. First of all, he never knows for how long he must insure
himself—for a month, a year, ten years, or the next generation.
Secondly, cares concerning his property distract him more and
more from the simple joys of life. Thirdly, he is always afraid
of aggression on the part of others, and struggles incessantly to
keep and augment what he has procured, and so while spending
all his life in anxiety for the future, he loses his present life.
327. Such are the consequences of the sin of avarice for the
man who yields to it. For those around him the result is want,
caused by their being dispossessed.
328. Almost impossible as it is to destroy within one's self the
inclination to retain for one's exclusive use the necessary articles of
clothing, tools, or a piece of bread for the morrow, it is possible
to greatly reduce this tendency, and this reduction constitutes the
struggle against the sin of avarice.
3.29. Therefore, in order to free one's self from it, a man must
clearly understand and remember that every insurance for the
future by the acquirement and protection of property, diminishes
rather than increases the welfare of his separate being, and also
inflicts great and unnecessary injury on those among whom the
property is acquired and protected.
330. One must commence the struggle with the habit of this
sin by refraining from increasing the property one already
possesses, whether it be millions of pounds or a dozen bags of
rye for a year's consumption. If men were only to understand
that their welfare and life—even their animal life—cannot be
insured by the possession of property, and if they cease to
augment their property at the expense of others, then most of the
Calamities from which men suffer would vanish.
331. A man can successfully begin to free himself from his
possessions only when he can abstain from augmenting his
property. Not until he has liberated himself from the traditional
sin of avarice can he commence to strive against the innate sin–
i.e., give to others that which is regarded as indispensable to the
maintenance of life itself.
G 2
72 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
LVII.
STRIvING AGAINST THE SIN OF AMBITION.
332. “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
great ones exercise authority over them, not so shall it be among
you; but whosoever would become great among you shall be
your servant.” Such is the Christian teaching, According to
this teaching man is sent into the world to serve God; and
this service is accomplished by the manifestation of love. Love
can be manifested only in the service of mankind; therefore,
whenever a man who has awakened to reasonable consciousness
strives with his fellow-man—i.e., commits violence, desiring to
make another act contrary to his will, he fails to fulfil his destiny,
and injures his true welfare.
333. But the man awakened to reasonable consciousness, who
enters into conflict with others, not only deprives himself of the
welfare of true life, but even fails to attain that welfare of the
separate being for which he strives.
334. The man who is still living only an animal life, contends
with other beings like a child or an animal only so long as his
animal instincts demand this contest ; he robs another only when
he is hungry, drives another away only when he needs his place;
for this contest he employs only physical force, and conquering
or being conquered, ceases the strife. Acting thus he attains
the highest welfare accessible to him as a separate being.
335. But it is quite otherwise when a man with awakened
reason enters into contest. This man employs his reason in the
strife, makes it his aim, and therefore never knows when to
cease. Being victorious he is carried away by the desire for
further victories and excites hatred in the conquered which
poisons his life, whereas being conquered he himself suffers from
humiliation and hatred. So that a man with awakened reason
contending with others, not only fails to increase the welfare of his
separate being, but even diminishes it and replaces it by the
sufferings he has himself produced.
PART VI.—THE STRUGGLE WITH SINS. 73
336. Firstly the man who avoids strife, who humbles himself,
is free, and can employ his powers upon that which attracts him.
Secondly by loving others and humbling himself before them,
he calls forth a responding love from them, and is thus enabled
to profit by those advantages that fall to his lot which are con-
nected with this life. Whereas when a man with awakened
reason enters into conflict, he inevitably surrenders his whole life
to the effort; and by exciting resistance and hatred in others,
prevents the possibility of peacefully enjoying the advantages
obtained as it is necessary to incessantly defend them.
337. Such are the consequences of the sin of ambition for the
man who commits it. For those around him the consequences
are sufferings of every kind, deprivations of the conquered
and, still worse, feelings of hatred which replace the natural
loving feeling of brotherhood.
338. Never as long as he lives will man altogether free
himself from the conditions of strife; but the more he succeeds
in liberating himself from them according to his powers the
more true welfare will he attain, the more earthly welfare will
be added to him, and the more will he contribute to the welfare
of the world.
339. Thus, in order to liberate himself from the sin of ambition
or strife, man must clearly understand and remember that both
his true spiritual welfare and his temporal animal welfare will
increase in proportion as he diminishes his strife with men and
all other creatures, in proportion to his submission and humility,
and to his habit of offering the other cheek to the smiter, and
giving his coat to him who would take his cloak.
34o. To avoid falling into the habit of this sin, a man must
begin by not increasing it: if already in conflict with men or
animals and his corporeal life is thus sustained by this conflict,
even if he continue the struggle let him not increase it; let him
avoid entering into conflict with yet more beings, and he will
already have accomplished much toward freeing himself from
the sin. If men would only avoid increasing the strife it would
74 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
gradually disappear as there are always those who refrain more
and more from strife.
341. If a man has attained that stage in which he no longer
augments his conflict with other beings, let him then set to work
to diminish and weaken that state of traditional strife, in which
every man finds himself on entering upon life.
342. When he has succeeded in freeing himself from the con-
ditions of struggle in which he has been educated let him then
endeavour to free himself also from that tendency to strife innate
in every man.
LVIII.
STRIVING AGAINST SExUAL SIN.
343. The object of man's life is to serve God through the
manifestation of love to man and all other beings, but he who
yields to sexual lust weakens his powers and diverts them from
that service, thus depriving himself of the welfare of true life.
344. But the man who is addicted to sexual lust, in whatever
form, besides depriving himself of true welfare, fails to attain even
that welfare which he seeks.
345. If a man lives an orderly married life, entering into sexual
intercourse only when there can be children, and fulfils the
responsibility of educating these children, the inevitable result
for the mother is suffering and cares; for the father, anxiety
about the mother and children ; and for both, mutual abatement
of affection and frequent quarrels between man and wife and
between parents and children.
346. If, on the other hand, a man enters into sexual intercourse
without the object of fostering and educating the children; if he
try to avoid having them, or, having them, neglects them and
changes the object of his love, then the welfare of the individual
becomes still less possible. The man inevitably undergoes
sufferings which are crueller the more he yields to sexual lust;
there ensue quarrels, diseases, and the weakening of the physical
and spiritual powers, and there is not the consolation enjoyed by
those living an orderly married life—that of the family with all
its help and joy.
PART VI.--THE STRUGGLE WITH SINs. 75
347. Such are the results of sexual sin for the man who com-
mits it; whereas, with regard to others, firstly, the person with
whom it is committed undergoes the same natural consequences
of the sin–loss of both true and temporal welfare, and the same
sufferings and diseases; secondly, there result destruction of
children in the germ, infanticide, neglect of children, and that
appalling evil which ruins the souls of men—prostitution.
348. No animal is able to destroy within itself the tendency
towards satisfying the sexual lust, neither can man, except in
rare cases. Nor could it be otherwise, for the instinct which
ensures the existence of the human race will continue as long as
the race is needed by the Higher will.
349. Yet this lust may be reduced to very small dimensions,
and by some even replaced by entire chastity. This diminution
and reduction, in some cases even to the extent of chastity, con-
stitutes the struggle against sexual sin, as we are told in the
Gospel.
350. Therefore, if a man would free himself from sexual sin,
he must understand and remember that the satisfaction of sexual
lust is the necessary condition of the life of every animal, and of
man as an animal—but that reasonable Consciousness, when
awakened in man, demands the opposite, i.e., complete absti-
nence, complete chastity. He must understand that in propor-
tion as he addicts himself to sexual lust, he will fail to acquire,
not only true, but even temporal, animal welfare, and will cause
suffering both to himself and others.
351. To overcome the habit of this sin, a man must
first of all refrain from increasing it. If he be chaste, let him
not infringe his chastity; if he be married, let him be true to his
partner; if he have sexual intercourse with many, let him not
invent unnatural forms of vice. Let him refrain from augmenting
his sexual sin. If men would do this, many of their sufferings
would come to an end.
352. When a man has succeeded in refraining from fresh sin,
then let him labour to diminish that sexual sin to which he is
76 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
still subject; let the externally chaste strive against unchaste
thoughts; let the married strive to diminish and regulate sexual
intercourse; let the person who knows many of the opposite sex
become true to his or her chosen partner.
353. And if a man has been able to free himself from those
habits of sexual lust in which he has hitherto lived, then let him
aspire to liberation from the innate tendency to sexual lust
common to all.
354. Although only in rare cases are men able to be altogether
chaste, still everyone should understand and remember that he
can always be more chaste than he formerly was, or can return
to the chastity he has lost, and that the nearer he approaches to
perfect chastity according to his powers, the more true welfare
will he attain, the more earthly welfare will be added to him, and
the more will he contribute to the welfare of mankind.
PART THE SEVENTH.
PRAYER.
LIX.
SPECIAL MEANS OF STRIVING AGAINST SINs.
355. If one would avoid deception one must trust to no one
and to nothing, but to reason alone. In order to escape snares
one must avoid justifying those actions which are contrary to
truth—to life. To avoid falling into sin one must clearly
understand that sin is an evil, causing much harm to man and
depriving him, not only of his true welfare, but also of personal
welfare, and besides that, one must know the consecutive order
in which it is necessary to contend with sins.
356. But even when men know all this they still fall into sin.
The reason is that men either do not clearly know or else forget
who they are—what constitutes their true “self.” • .
357. There is one powerful means by which man may more
and more clearly know himself and remember who he is. This
means is prayer.
LX.
PRAYER,
358. From the earliest times it has been acknowledged that
prayer is necessary to man.
359. For the majority of men prayer was, and still is, an
appeal made to a God or Gods, with the object of propitiation—
an appeal made under certain circumstances, in certain places,
and in special words or acts.
360. The Christian teaching knows nothing of such prayers,
but regards prayer as indispensable, not for avoiding material
disasters and acquiring material welfare, but for strengthening
man in his conflict with sins.
78 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
361. If a man would successfully strive against sins he
must understand and remember his position in the world ; he
must also weigh every act before committing it. For both,
prayer is necessary.
362. Christian prayer is therefore of two kinds: that which
elucidates for man his position in the world—occasional prayer;
and that which accompanies his every action, bringing it to
God’s judgment, weighing it—continual prayer.
LXI.
OCCASIONAL PRAYER.
363. Occasional prayer is that by means of which a man in his
best moments, abstracting himself from all worldly influences,
evokes within himself the clearest consciousness of God and of
his relation to God.
364. It is to such prayer that Christ refers in the sixth chapter
of Matthew, in contradistinction to the many-worded and public
prayers of the Pharisees, and for which he taught that solitude
is an indispensable condition. His words in this passage show
men how they should not pray.
365. The prayer “Our Father,” on the other hand, as well as
Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, shows us how
we should pray, and what should constitute that true occasional
prayer which, by clearing man's consciousness of true life, his
relation to God, and his duty in the world, strengthens his
spiritual powers.
366. Such prayer may be the expression in his own words of
a man’s relation to God; but it has also consisted, and will
always consist, in the repetition of the utterances and thoughts
of men who have lived in former times and expressed their
relation to God ; as well as in spiritual union with these
men and with God. So Christ prayed, using the words of
the Psalm, and we truly pray in repeating the words of Christ,
and not of Christ only, but also of Socrates, Buddha, Laotze,
PART VII.-PRAYER. 79
Pascal, and others, if we enter into that same spiritual state in
which they lived and which they expressed in certain words
that have come down to us.
367. True occasional prayer is, therefore, not that which is
uttered at certain stated times, but that only to which man gives
expression in moments of the greatest spiritual realisation. Such
moments, which are experienced by all, are sometimes called
forth by suffering or the approach of death, and sometimes
come without any external cause. They should be valued by
man as his greatest treasure and used for the greater and
greater enlightenment of his consciousness; for it is only
in these moments that our progress and approach to God is
accomplished.
368. Such prayer requires neither meetings nor any external
influences, but only complete solitude and freedom from all
distractions. -
369. This prayer raises men from a lower to a higher plane
of life—from the animal to the human, from the human to the
divine.
370. It is by means of such prayer only that man comes to
know himself—his divine nature, feels those limits which con-
fine his divine nature, and, feeling them, strives to render them
asunder, and thus expands them. “,
371. This prayer, by clearing man's consciousness, renders it
impossible for him to commit the sins into which he formerly
fell, and reveals to him as sin that which he did not formerly so
recognise.
LXII.
CoNTINUAL PRAYER.
372. In his progress from the animal life to the true spiritual
life, in his birth to new life, in his conflict with sin, every man's
relation to sin is always of three different kinds. Some sins are
overcome by man; they are chained like captured beasts, and
only from time to time remind one by their growling that they
8O THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
still live. These sins are left behind. There are other sins
which man has only just discovered, actions he has been per-
forming all his life without regarding them as sins, the sinfulness
of which he has only just perceived in consequence of the
clearing of his consciousness by occasional prayer. Man now
sees the sinfulness of these actions, but he is so accustomed to
perform them, he has only so lately and as yet so indistinctly
understood their sinfulness, that he does not at present even
attempt to overcome them. There is a third kind of action, the
sinfulness of which man clearly sees, and against which he already
strives, which he at times commits—yielding to sin—while at
other times he avoids it, thus conquering sin.
373. It is for the conquest of this last species of sin that
continual prayer is necessary. Continual prayer consists in
reminding man at every moment of his life, during all his actions,
what constitutes his life and welfare ; and, therefore, in those
cases in which man has the power to conquer his animal nature
by spiritual consciousness this prayer helps him to do so.
374. Continual prayer is the perpetual consciousness of the
presence of God: the ambassador's continual consciousness,
during his mission, of the presence of Him by whom he was
Sent. -
375. Birth into new life, liberation from the fetters of the
animal nature, emancipation from sin, are accomplished only by
slow effort. Occasional prayer, by enlightening the conscious-
ness of man, reveals his sin to him. Sin at first appears unim-
portant, supportable, but the longer a man lives the more urgent
becomes the necessity for freeing himself from it. And if a
man can only keep clear of the snare which conceals it he
inevitably enters into conflict with sin.
376. But from the very first attempt to overcome sin man feels
his impotence. Sin allures him with all the attractiveness of
habit, whereas man can oppose nothing to the sin except his
consciousness that it is evil; and so, knowing what he is doing
to be evil, he yet continues to commit this evil.
PART VII.-PRAYER. 81:
377. There is only one way out of this position. Some
religious teachers see a way of escape through a power called
grace, which sustains man in his conflict with sin and which is
acquired through certain performances called sacraments.
Others see a way of escape through faith in the redemption
accomplished for man by the death of the Christ. God. Others,
again, see a way through petitionary prayer to God for the
strengthening of man's powers in the conflict with sin.
378. But none of these means really facilitate man's conflict
with sin. Notwithstanding grace acquired through Sacraments,
faith in the redemption, and petitionary prayer, no man who has
sincerely commenced the conflict with sin can help feeling his
utter weakness in the face of the power of sin and the hopeless-
ness of striving against it.
379. The apparent hopelessness of the contest arises especially
from the fact that man, understanding the falsity of sin, desires.
immediate freedom from it, in which he is encouraged by various
erroneous teachings about redemption, Sacraments and so forth ;
and that, feeling the impossibility of immediately liberating
himself, he neglects those humble efforts which he might make
to gradually free himself from sin.
380. But as all great changes in the material world are accom-
plished, not suddenly, but by slow and gradual growth and
shedding off, so also in the spiritual world liberation from sin.
and advance toward perfection are accomplished only by steady
opposition to sin—by the destruction, one by one, of its minutest
particles.
381. It is not in man's power at once to free himself from
sins the habits of which have been accumulating for many
years, but it is in his power to refrain from those actions which
draw him into sin, to diminish the attractiveness of sin, to
leprive himself of the possibility of committing it, to cut off the
hand or pluck out the eye which causes him to offend. It is
possible to do this every day and every minute, and, in order to:
be able to do so, continual prayer is necessary.
82 THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
LXIII.
WHAT DOES THE CHRISTIAN LIFE OFFER IN THE PRESENT 2
382. There are religious teachings which promise men full and
complete welfare, not only in the future life, but also in the
present. Some even understand the Christian teaching in this
way. These men say that one need only follow the teaching of
Christ—deny himself and love others—in order to render his life
one of unceasing happiness. Other religious teachings see in
human life endless, unavoidable sufferings, which man must bear,
hoping for compensation in the future. The Christian teaching
is understood in this way also. The former see in life continual
happiness, the latter continual suffering.
383. Neither of these views is correct. Life is neither
happiness nor suffering. It may appear to be happiness or
suffering to the man who regards his separate being as his
self, but only for this self can there be happiness or suffering.
Life, according to the true Christian teaching, is neither
happiness nor suffering, but the birth and growth of the
true spiritual self of man which knows neither.
384. According to the Christian teaching the life of man is the
continual increase of his consciousness of love. And as the
growth of man’s soul—the increase of love—is in continual
progress, and as the work of God, which is attained by this growth,
is continually being accomplished, the man who understands his
life, according to the Christian teaching, as consisting in the
increase of love for the establishment of the kingdom of God,
can never be unhappy or unsatisfied.
385. He may encounter on his way through life pleasures and
sufferings for his animal personality of which he cannot help
being conscious—pleasures which he can but enjoy, and
sufferings which he cannot but feel ; but he can never
experience complete happiness (and should not therefore
desire it), and he can never be wholly unhappy (and therefore
PART VII.-PRAYER. 83
should not fear sufferings nor desire to avoid them if they stand
in his path). -
386. He who lives the Christian life does not attribute great
importance to his pleasures, does not look upon them as the
fulfilment of his desires, but regards them as merely casual
experiences to be met with on his way through life—as that
which is added unto him who seeks the Kingdom of God and
His truth. And his suffering he regards, not as something that
ought not to be, but as experience inevitable in life like friction is
in work; he knows also that as friction is the sign that work is
being accomplished, so also are sufferings a sign of the accom-
plishment of the work of God.
387. He who lives the Christian life is always free, because
that which constitutes the meaning of his life—the removal of
the obstacles which hinder love, and the consequent increase of
love and the establishment of the Kingdom of God—is precisely
that which he always desires and which is inevitably being
accomplished in his life. He is always at peace, because nothing
can happen to him which he does not desire.
388. It must not be supposed that a man who lives the Christian
life always realises this freedom and peace, always accepts pleasures
without being captivated by them, as Something casual which he
does not desire to retain, or always regards sufferings as the
indispensable condition of progress in life. A Christian may be
temporarily captivated by pleasures and try to produce and
retain them, he may be temporarily troubled by sufferings,
regarding them as something unnecessary, something that might
have not happened ; but while enduring the loss of pleasures and
the fear and pain of sufferings, a Christian recalls to mind his
Christian dignity, his mission, and then both pleasures and
sufferings assume their right place, and he again becomes free
and peaceful.
389. So that, even in a worldly sense, the position of a
Christian is not worse, but better, than that of the non-Christian.
“Seek ye first His truth, and all the rest will be added unto
84 - THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING.
you,” signifies that the earthly joys of life are not shut off from
the Christian but are quite accessible to him, only with this
difference, that whereas the joys of the non-Christian may be
artificial and pass into Satiety and his sufferings appear to be .
unnecessary and without escape, for a Christian joys are more
simple and natural and therefore more intense, and never pro-
ductive of satiety, and sufferings can never be so painful, nor
appear so meaningless as they do to the non-Christian.
Such is the position of a Christian in the present life. But
what can he expect in the future ?
LXIV.
WHAT AwarTS MAN IN THE FUTURE P
390. Man cannot, while living in this world in a bodily form,
picture life to himself otherwise than in space and time; he,
therefore, naturally asks where he will be after death?
391. But this question is wrongly put. When the divine
essence of the soul, which is spiritual, independent of time and
space, enclosed in the body in this life—when this divine essence
leaves the body, it ceases to be conditioned by time or space,
and therefore one cannot say of this essence that it will be. It
is. As Christ said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” So also
with us all. If we are, we always have been, and shall be.
We aze.
392. It is precisely the same with the question: Where shall
we be? When we say where, we speak of a place. But the idea
of place is only caused by that condition of separation from all
else in which we have been placed. At death this separation
will cease, and thus for those still living in this world we shall be
everywhere and nowhere. For us locality will not exist.
393. There have been many different conjectures as to what
we shall be and where we shall be after death. But none of
these conjectures, from the coarsest to the most refined, can
satisfy reasonable man. The voluptuous bliss of Mohammed is
too coarse, and is evidently incompatible with the true idea of
PART VII.- PRAYER. 85
man and God. The ecclesiastical representation of heaven and
hell is also incompatible with the idea of a God of love. The
transmigration of souls is less coarse, but it also retains the idea
of the separateness of individual existence; the common concep-
tion of Nirvana removes all the coarseness of this representation
but transgresses the demand of reason—the reasonableness of
existence.
394. Therefore no representation of what will be after death
gives such an answer as will satisfy a reasonable man.
395. Nor can this be otherwise. The question is wrongly
formulated. Human reason, which can work only in the condi-
tions of time and space, seeks to give an answer concerning that
which is outside of these conditions. One thing only is known
to reason : that the divine essence does exist, that it has been
growing while in this world, and that, having attained a certain
extent of growth, it has passed out of these conditions.
396. Will this essence still continue its functions in a separate
form? Will the increase of love produce a new accumulation?
These are but conjectures, and of such conjectures there may be
many; but none of them can give certainty. e.
397. One thing alone is certain and indubitable, that which
Christ said when He was dying: “Into Thy hands I commend
my spirit”; that is to say, at death I return whence I came.
And if I believe that from which I have emanated to be reason
and love (and these two realities I know), then I shall joyously
return to Him, knowing that it will be well with me. Not only
have I no regret but I rejoice at the thought of the passage
which awaits me,
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