Lesson 1 -- Study and Preparation for Life

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MODERN CIVILIZATION has taken giant leaps forward in just the last few hundred years. Everywhere, there have been very great changes. It is now becoming increasingly more difficult for man to remember that only a few thousand years before, things were not as they are now.

02 Then, electricity had not yet been discovered: there were no telephones, no radios and no television sets; and at night, just to keep warm, people had to keep an open fire. There were no automobiles. Most people walked while the more affluent rode on the backs of animals. There were no trains or buses, airplanes or spaceships. Water couldn’t be had by turning a faucet.

03 There was a very high illiteracy rate. Reading, writing and the beginnings of a formal education were accessible only to members of the nobility and the monastic scholars. Books were a rarity and there were no newspapers. People believed that the world was flat, that the sun was God and that the earth was the center of the Universe. There clearly was a need to raise the level of consciousness of the people. One of the more effective ways was through the teaching of religion.

04 To bring the people forward, the wise men of old had formulated only the simplest possible explanations and teachings. They were all that the people could understand, then. During those early times, people were told to accept God’s divine instruction given through prophets and priests without question. Moreover, they were compelled to blindly follow the teachings of the church under the threat of excommunication or the pains of hell. There were good and valid reasons behind this injunction.

05 Certainly, little children should not be allowed to play with matches because they might burn the house down. For much the same reason, the higher knowledge was not revealed to the common people.

06 They being morally deficient, any such advantage over others would have been misused and utilized mainly for selfish interests, resulting in harm to others as well as to themselves. Further, being intellectually inferior, they would find extreme difficulty in trying to understand advanced concepts. Such elevated ideas would serve only to confuse them all the more. First, they must be thoroughly grounded in the basics in much the same way that we must be fully conversant with simple arithmetic before we can begin to study higher mathematics. Based on these considerations, it was deemed to the people’s best advantage that, in the meanwhile, they should rather concentrate their time and efforts on matters which were better suited to their particular stage of development.

07 For their own good, therefore, the higher teachings were withheld from those who were not ready for them. However, to a very few deserving students, the higher truths were taught in secret. In the East, the Masters taught their disciples and initiates in the temples of higher learning. Christ, himself, taught most of the people in parables but spoke plainly to those few who were ready for more advanced instruction (1, 2).

08 Today, however, the times have greatly changed. Now, modern man is considered sufficiently evolved to begin to understand. In fact, thinking men and women everywhere find the old teachings to be sorely inadequate, even unreasonable and illogical, running counter to the dictates of their ordinary common sense. To them, the old explanations can no longer suffice. And their dissatisfaction gives rise to a compelling desire to search for deeper meaning and explanations to the mysteries of life.

09 Clearly, today, the reasons for withholding the teachings no longer apply. And, in preparation for the coming Age of Enlightenment, the knowledge is to be disseminated to all the people. Still, as always, understanding can come only as a result of continuous strivings.

10 In preparation for our life on earth, we choose to undergo many years of rigorous studies in order to attain to some degree of worldly success. We spend long, hard years of sweat and tears, passing through every phase, from grade school and, hopefully, on to the more advanced degree courses just so that we may have a better life with better opportunities that are not available to the less educated among us. And yet, when it relates to spiritual matters, far too many leave everything to chance, and they insist falsely that these matters cannot be learned.

11 To all the questions of life, the answers can be found. We should re-examine our thoughts on this matter because there is so much that we can do today to get over our confusion concerning the deeper and more spiritual aspects of our being.

12 In any field of knowledge, we learn only as we study. As we study, we inquire, we seek, only then are we able to learn more and more. However, even as we investigate and seek out every possibility, we must at all times analyze, test and question. And only after, should we accept that which we find to be reasonable.

13 The wise commit themselves to serious study and preparation for the life to come. They don’t just wait, doing nothing. Instead, they endeavor to learn what will be required of them and prepare all things beforehand. Just like the wise virgins who prepared for the coming of the bridegroom, we, too, must prepare for the coming of death, because the gates of heaven will be shut to those who are not ready to enter therein. We can’t afford to be like the foolish virgins (3). We must study and prepare.

14 People who have attained to some measure of worldly success may feel that their entry into heaven is already guaranteed. But this is not so. Real success is not according to the standards of the people in the world (4). Therefore, in our quest for heaven, we should first strive to learn the laws lest we fail because of ignorance.

15 Looking around us, we find that people are such a confused lot. They don’t realize what they are supposed to do, and so, they do all the wrong things. They continue in their error-filled ways, unaware of the deeper spiritual realities. In order that the people may be guided, God sent Jesus to light the way (5). And even into our modern age, his message rings true. Everyone who seeks the Higher Path needs only to refer to the words of God revealed through Jesus (6).

16 Ignorance of the law is no excuse. The higher laws apply also to the innocent and to the ignorant. They continue to affect us even if we choose to ignore them or even reject them (7). Although we may not believe in the teachings of Christ, the same will be the basis of our salvation (8). And so, it is inevitable that those who desire to be on the side of the Truth should listen to him and hear his life-giving words (9). Those who listen and strive to live according to his divine teachings are wise and they will prosper (10).

17 The young and innocent are allowed certain concessions. However, since they are not yet deserving, the true riches in heaven cannot be made available to them. Precisely, this is why they are being taught and helped now (11). But if they should choose to disregard the guidance being given them and refuse to acknowledge their mistakes, then, they will have no one to blame but themselves. They will seek for God, but they won’t be able to find Him (12). All those who have been so instructed should do their utmost to live accordingly because the kingdom of God is reserved only for the righteous (13, 14).

18 As we become increasingly aware of our true spiritual objectives, we will come to realize that so many things which we previously thought to be important are not really important. Consequently, free from many worldly cares, we will be able to live more meaningful lives and be able to progress more easily and much faster (15).

19 We should be more concerned with fulfilling our duties and responsibilities to God and faithfully attending to the work assigned to us. Those who are faithful and vigilant in the performance of their duties shall be rewarded in heaven. But all those who fail to do their allotted tasks will certainly get what they deserve (16, 17, 18).

20 No one knows exactly when we will be called to account for all that we have done. And while there may still be a sufficient amount of time left for each of us to do what must be done, still, there is no time to waste. We must always be alert and watchful. We must study and prepare.