of church—people. On the contrary the followers of this form of Yoga are generally men of dignified bearing, and deep knowledge. They do not roll around shouting “Glory, glory,” and working themselves up into a frenzy of emotional excitement. Instead, they go through life—doing their work, and living their lives—but filled with a deep and abiding sense of the love of God, coming from their consciousness of their relationship to, and nearness to Him, and from the consciousness of His accessibility. They realize that in Him, indeed, do they live and move and have their being, and that He is not a being afar off, hut is right here, all the time, nearer than one’s very body. They are not “goody-goody” people, but men and women who see God everywhere, in everything, and who feel that they are worshiping Him in every act. They seek diligently the Kingdom of Heaven, but they realize that the Kingdom of Heaven is within themselves, and also all around them. They feel in Heaven every moment of their lives. They worship God, all the time, everywhere; in every act—they know that every act is a service to Him, and that every place is His Temple. They feel constantly filled with the Power of God—constantly within his sight and knowledge—constantly in His Presence. And they fear not—Love fills them so completely that there is no room for anything else. Love casts out all Fear, for them. Every day is Sunday to such people—every hill, plain, field, and house is the Temple. To them every man is His priest—every woman His priestess—every child an attendant at His altar. They are able to pierce the disguise of man, woman and child, and to see the soul underneath the often hideous fleshly covering.
The Bhakti Yogi does not feel that God demands Man’s love, or that He holds favors and benefits as a reward for those who love Him, or reserves punishments and penalties for those who do not manifest such love. On the contrary, his idea of God would cause him to regard such an idea as unworthy of a true lover of God. He knows that God is above such primitive feelings and characteristics. He knows that the love of God extends to all of his children, without regard to whether or not they love Him or worship Him. They know that God does not demand services or duty; worship, or even reverence. They compare God to the sun which is no respecter of persons or motives, and which shines on the just and unjust alike—his rays being open even to those who deny his existence. But the Bhakti Yogi also knows that there is a reward and benefit awaiting those who open themselves to God’s love—not as an act depending upon God’s favor, but as an effect resulting from the act of Man. Just as the man who steps out into the warm rays of the sun is relieved of cold, and is thus rewarded for his act, so is the man rewarded who steps out in the sunshine of God’s love which is there awaiting his coming, and is thus.relieved of the cold resulting from a failure to take advantage of the warmth of such love. It is not to be wondered that throughout many Oriental writings the Sun is used as a symbol of the Absolute. We find this symbol used in nearly all sacred writings, even in the Bible, which, of course, is of Oriental origin.
Some of these ideas about God may seem strange to the Western student, but if he will take the trouble to look into the matter he will find that this idea runs along through the Christian teachings like a golden thread upon which the beads of the teaching is strung. Cnrist’s teachings are full oi this truth, which, however, has been lost sight of during the centuries. early Christians saw these truths plainly, as may be seen by a reading of the works of some of the early fathers of the church, but the theologians have built much rubbish around the early teachings so that unless one looks under the surface the central truths are not seen.
The Bhakti Yogi prays to God. In the elementary stages of Gati Bhakti he may word his prayers so that they seem to be asking God for favors—this, later, is discarded. The man of crude spiritual discernment may come to God as a beggar, asking for this thing and that (usually material benefit). A little later on, Man sees that this is not the way to approach God, and he asks to be given strength and courage and to be helped in spiritual unfoldment. In this stage the man thinks that God rewards the prayer by bestowing strength and courage and the rest, just as a king may bestow gifts to those asking for them. But the Yogi who follows the road of Para—Bhakti does not expect rewards of this kind, and yet he obtains the richest rewards. He knows that prayer does not help God, nor does God delight in being besought and praised in prayer. And yet prayer is of the greatest benefit to Man, for, by means of it, he brings himself in tune with the Infinite, and opens himself to the strength, courage, and wisdom that comes from the nearness to God—the nearness to the Centre of Power and Wisdom. This is the secret of prayer. The man who prays earnestly—from the heart—brings himself into a closer touch with the Absolute. No word may be uttered, but the mental condition of prayer brings man into a form of union with God, and allows the strength and wisdom of the Infinite to flow freely to him. And yet the most of us prefer to use words, and find them a great help in producing the proper condition of mind. But the words are merely helps to that end. God does not need to be spoken to in words—when the finite mind calls to the Infinite Mind its message is heard and understood.
Prayer to be efficacious must not be mere lip—service—mere parrot—like repetition of words, for such performances do not tend to open up the mind to the inflow of the Divine Strength and Wisdom. One must have a heart-to-heart talk with God. Not that God needs to be told what we want—He knows far better than we do—but by a heartfelt confession and talk we open up our mind properly—we uncover the empty vessels needing filling, and the Divine pours into the void. The Divine Power and Wisdom is ours, if we but open ourselves to it. That is all there is to it. It is as free as the air and sunshine, but we must remove the barriers that we have erected. We have imagined God to be afar off from us, and we must cultivate the consciousness that he is right Here—Now. Talk to God as you would to your Father, or Mother, or loved Child, or Friend, or Husband or Wife, or Lover. He is all this and more, and whatever form represents to you the closest relationship, that is the form to use. Realize the sense of the nearness of God, and He will be near. Fine words are not necessary—use the same words that you would in addressing the person dearest to you and who loves you the best. God does not sit as a king on his throne, expecting you to prostrate yourself at his feet and stammer out your message. He bids you seat yourself beside Him, and He places His arm around you—makes you feel at home—and you forget your fear and bashfulness and tell him your story in your own words.
Do not imagine that God needs your advice or suggestions. You must have the confidence in Him, and know that He will abide with you, and guide your steps. Your mind will be filled with the knowledge that will enable you to know how to act—you will then be given the strength to act. If the mind does not seem able to grasp the situation—if no way opens out before you—open yourself to the inflow of the Divine, and you will be led by the Spirit to see the erst step to be taken—then take that first step in p confidence, This is not mere “churchy” talk, such as has been poured into your ears from every pulpit as a matter of form. It is a great reality, and thousands live in this way. You gradually will gain courage and confidence in leading this life, and will begin to realize what a great field has been opened to your view.
The main idea in considering one’s relation to God, is the fact that God is the great Centre of Life. He is the centre, and we are like atoms in the rays emanating from that centre. We are not apart from Him, although we are not the centre itself. We are connected with Him, as the rays are connected with the sun. The power and wisdom flowing out along the rays are ours, if we but elect to use them, and allow them to The little wheel in the centre of the symbol used by the publishers of these lessons (found on the front of the cover of all their books)—the little wheel within the triangle—represents this truth. The symbol is imperfect, for it shows that the rays terminate, while the rays of the Absolute never terminate—they are infinite. But infinity cannot he represented by finite symbols, and so a circle must be drawn around the rays, which circle represents the finite understanding of Man. If you will but fix this idea of God and His emanations in your mind, you will find yourself gradually grooving into a better realization of the matter. The Centre is pure Spirit—God—and as we unfold spiritually we draw nearer and nearer to that centre. Those in whom the Spirit has not manifested so freely as in us are farther removed from the centre than are we. And those who are further advanced spiritually are still nearer it than are we. The further from the centre, the more material is the atom. The nearer the centre, the more spiritual does it become. There are far off from this planet, atoms of a still gre'ater degree of materiality than we can dream of. And closer in to the centre are beings so far advanced