The Master did not like to be addressed with questions of a personal or material character. He preferred when ideological questions were raised
and discussed them always with readiness. The path of the disciple; the development of the inner forces, endowments and capabilities in man;
the Laws of the Intelligent Life and the methods for their application -these were the favorite subjects of our conversations. The Master perceived life in its depth and wholeness clearly, calmly and well. With simple words and examples, he would respond to the most complicated of questions. One evening after finishing all of the daily chores, we gathered around him and a question about the disciple arose. The Master said:
"You are still little children for whom God has created the great world to explore. God's Greatest Blessings are yet to come. That which you have experienced thus far is good, but it still is not your purpose.
"We can wait many years to accomplish that which we desire: the development of the inner forces. This can be accomplished sooner when we act in a Divine way. In this case, the time is shortened.
"Disciples should study nature and make interpretations. Observe the flowers, the grasses, the trees, the wellsprings, the light, and when you do so eliminate from your observations all impressions which harm or darken the consciousness; this is to say, all bad thoughts, feelings and impressions.
"Explore all that God has created, because each and every stone is a result of Supreme Intelligence. The trees, the flowers, the water, the air, the light - these are all manifestations of this Intelligence. When you are making your observations, think of this Intelligence, think of the Divine, because wherever life exists, there you will find Divine manifestation as well. By applying this method, you will be able to accomplish that which in an ordinary lifetime would take much longer to achieve.
"That which calms is the Spirit - the spiritual life. Herein lies the solution of the great task of the earthly existence. That which oppresses - that which brings all suffering - is the loss of the sublime, the beautiful: the separation from the Spirit.
"Christ's Teaching is so profound that it can only be applied by the mystics. Should one desire to apply it, he will encounter many diverse temptations the aim of which will be to divert him from his path. A multitude of good things will be promised to him with the sole purpose of obstructing him.
"As disciples of the Great School, you are given the task not only acquiring knowledge, but of developing those new organs which are still in the embryonic stage. Without the development of these organs,
you will not be able to evolve. This task is a difficult one, but it is unavoidable. To develop one of these organs indicates learning the art of swimming that you may be able to remain on the surface during any storm in the sea of life and not sink.
"If you make wise use of the present conditions, a bright future will await you. Should these conditions become lost to you, you will need to wait for thousands of years for new favorable conditions to come along.
"You need to give expression to all the good which God has implanted in you; otherwise, you will be negligent in your work.
"If man is not prepared to make right use of Nature's bounties, they will become a burden for him. For this reason, Nature has concealed many of her bounties from those who are not ready. To those who are ready - She reveals Her many mysteries. No fawning exists with Nature. When you are ready, She will lift the veil from in front of your face and reveal all that is required of you. If you are not ready, She will use ten keys to lock up everything in front of you. For this reason, the one who seeks to attain the great Truth must prepare himself. If man does not work mindfully on himself, he will drift into conformity and this will carry him off into a state of somnolence. Man must pass into a higher state of consciousness from that in which he finds himself at the present. The Fundamental Purpose of the Divine School is to prepare disciples that they may be ready to receive God's Blessings when they come.
"A modest improvement in one's capabilities can be achieved by many; but for one to become genuinely talented, preparation is needed. I will give you an example: one man works little, and his violin playing is mediocre; another one works hard and becomes a virtuoso.
"Each evening, the disciple should make a reckoning of the thoughts, feelings and actions which he has experienced during the day that he may keep that which is of value and put to compost that which is not.
"Work mindfully that you may be admitted to the Divine University. Here, kindred souls with similar strivings come together and form an Establishment. This occurs in Heaven. This is how the Divine Schools are formed. In the image of the Divine Schools, similar schools are created on the earth as well. Your status as students is not determined by the earth school, but by the Divine. In the Divine School, a record is kept for each and every student: when he first became enrolled; how he has progressed in his studies and with his behavior: how he has completed his education. Should the student experience much adversity in his existence - should he be unable to resolve the contradictions, and for this reason, has left the School - this is put in his record as well.
"Some will ask, 'What is the Master's purpose in speaking to us in this manner?' My purpose is to help you to become Members of the Universal White Brotherhood.
"The Universal White Brotherhood is not a new association. It has existed since antiquity and continues to exist today. That you may become worthy of this Blessing you must pray and work vigilantly on yourselves until your hearts become still. Each and every storm - every turbulence upon the sea - must cease. When this occurs, the rising of your Sun will come: a brilliant Day with no clouds or shadows will set in. When the Sun of your Life rises, your hearts will thrill because you will hear the Voice of God, of all the Angels, of all Evolved Brothers. You will then enter the Great City to dwell among the Intelligent Beings. When you attain this, your Joy will be extraordinary.
"At the moment, you are all in the desert where you must pray for many days until that time when you are able to overcome those hardships which you have encountered along your way. Do you think that it was easy for the Angels to attain their present state?
"Only the one who resolves his assignments rightly may be a disciple.
"Remember the following: the favorable conditions are given to man for free, but the efforts come from him alone. For one to be a man of genius - this depends upon the effort that he has made in past incarnations. The disciple must eliminate everything foreign within himself. Only that which God has implanted must remain.
"The disciple will be exposed to many contradictions and temptations in his work which must be overcome. The end result of this will determine his status. When you are admitted to the School, two voices will speak to you. One will tell you, 'Leave the school and go on living in the world as other people do.' The other voice will be saying to you, 'Remain in the school; fulfill that which is required of you.'
"Many atavistic behaviors and forms exist in man's life - in his prayers, in his ideas, and so on - which he must eliminate. If a person is smeared with honey, flies will be attracted to him and will adhere to him. I understand this to mean: never give inferior spirits the chance to be attracted to you. Never expose to others that which is sacred; which is to say: never put on display the sublime within your soul.
"As soon as one begins to make the effort, the Invisible World will come to assist him. When a disciple has the help of the Invisible World, his affairs will improve. And so, be not afraid. When the Invisible World begins to help you, you will become a talented person.
"Many believe that the moment in which they begin to walk on the new Path that their lives will become easy and pleasant. This is correct, but only at the end of their journey; but in the beginning, they will pass through great difficulties and trials.
"All good people are put through great trials while on the earth. When an Angel descends into the material to incarnate, he gradually descends into the dense matter and forgets his experience in the world beyond; because if he should remember how it is beyond, he would suffer.
"Job passed through great suffering: he lost everything and became afflicted with boils and scabs all over his body. There are those among you who believe that it will be easy for them to enter the Kingdom of God. Have you ever experienced the greatest suffering? Suffering is required that you may be truly happy. It is only under such conditions that you can become worthy of tasting God's Love. It is then that something sublime will come forth from you. It is then that you will be genuine Human Beings.
"God is continuously trying your Love. He gives you money; and then when He takes it away from you, you are saddened. This indicates that you are concerned with the material. You should rejoice when you are robbed. No one can take away from you that which is real: the Divine. Who is able to steal the stars, the sky, the sun or the Pacific Ocean?
"The world is a sea into which many fishing rods are cast. The ledger lines are the temptations. Once you become entangled in them, you start to stray from God.
"The ordinary believer lives as an ordinary man. For him, trials do not exist. And yet, the moment in which you become a disciple, trials will begin to come to you. Therefore, the disciple is tested, while the ordinary man - in this sense - is free. Man's faith is tested in times of greatest trouble. The strength of a ship is tested during the greatest storms.
"Someone chooses to take the spiritual path. He prays, helps others, and after a while says, 'Now let others do the work. I have worked enough.' This is not correct. The one on the spiritual path must work harder than anyone else. Prayer is required of all people today. Why it is required? Because we find ourselves at the border of a changing world into which a New Order is coming at this very moment.
"Those days of trials and tribulations are coming of which the Scripture says, 'The sun, the heavens and the moon will darken.' This means that the belief systems of all religions will lose their significance and that the secular authority will lose its power as well. And so, all disciples of the School must seek to better themselves: by putting on their armor and their helmets that they might withstand this Wave of trials and tribulations through which all of humankind must pass. The name of this armor is Love. After all people pass through this Wave, they will evolve.
"When you find yourselves in the midst of contradictions which attack you from all sides, you need to understand that you are finding yourselves in your natural environment; and for this reason, you are being attacked. And when you come to the greatest of contradictions, you need to understand that the moment has come for you to return to your own, to the people that you may show them how to live. Do not question why these contradictions come, but return to the place of your God-given origin. It is there that you will find yourselves. And once you have found yourselves, you will have found inner peace as well. In so doing, you will have become your own masters. All of the trials which one must endure - this is the work. After the trials, come the fruits, the results, the renewal. Whenever something is sown in the good soil, the Forces of the Intelligent Nature work on it and it sprouts. In this way, whenever something is sown in your soul, the Invisible World works on the implanted seed and revivifies it. The main work is accomplished by the Invisible World.
"Those who do not learn cannot be admitted to the Divine School. To be admitted - this indicates that one is gifted. However, should a person withdraw - this is not because he is ignorant. Not everyone is admitted; and so, he has interrupted his study for other reasons. Later -when he returns - he will continue from where he left off. The fact that he had begun his study in the Divine School indicates that he is capable, but he has been hindered by the external conditions and - for this reason - has interrupted his study. Later, he will resume it.
"It is been said, 'Narrow is the path.' The 'narrow path' is given as a general concept, but the narrow path is different for each. You must be admitted to the Divine School on your own efforts.
"In his desire to achieve something of note, man neglects the little things which are, in reality, the most beneficial for him. Each morning upon awakening, the disciple must instill at least one small Divine Thought in his heart that his existence may have meaning.
"Each one of you should study a science: mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, philosophy and others.
"The disciple must be well informed about the present epoch.
"Once you have come to earth, you need to study. You are students. All living beings must learn - even the least.
"Not until a person reaches the age of forty will he be able to study the Fundamental Law: the Love for God. At the age of thirty, man passes through a crisis and his status is determined as to whether or not he will make something good of himself.
"You can determine which grade of the School you are in by the assignments which you are given to resolve."