"life" is merely a thing to be used by the Real Self, which cannot die. Therefore kill out that desire of life which causes you to fear death, and which makes you attach undue importance to the mere bodily existence, to the impairment of the broader life of consciousness. Pluck from your mind that idea that when the body dies, you die—for you live on, as much alive as you are this moment, possibly still more alive. See physical life for what it is, and be not deceived. Cease to look upon "death" with horror, whether it may come to you or some loved one. Death is just as natural as life (in the stage of development) and as much to be happy about. It is hard to get rid of the old horror of physical dissolution, and one has many hard battles before he is able to cast off the worn—out delusion, which has clung to the race in spite of its constantly sounded belief in a future life. The churches teach of "the life beyond" to which all the faithful should look forward to, but the same "faithful" shiver and shudder at the thought of death, and clothe themselves in black when a friend dies, instead of strewing flowers around and rejoicing that the friend is "in a better land" (to use the cant phrase, which is so glibly used on such occasion, but which comforteth not). One must grow into a positive "feeling" or consciousness, of life everlasting, before he is able to cast off this old fear, and no creed, or expressed belief, will serve the purpose, until this state of consciousness is reached. To the one who "feels" in his consciousness this fact of the survival of individuality, and the continuance of life beyond the grave, death loses its terror, and the grave its horror, and the "desire of life" (relative) is indeed killed out, because the knowledge of life (absolute) has taken its place.
But we must not forget the reverse side of the shield. Read again the fourth precept: "Respect life as those who desire it." This does not mean alone the life of others, but has reference to your own physical body as well. For in your letting go of the old idea of the relative importance of the life in the body, you must avoid going to the other extreme of neglect of the physical body. The body is yours in pursuance of the Divine plan, and is in fact the Temple of the Spirit. If it were not good for you to have a body, rest assured you would not have it. It is needed by you in this stage of development, and you would be unable to do your work of spiritual unfoldment without it. Therefore, do not be led into the folly of despising the body, or physical life, as a thing unworthy of you. They are worthy of you, at this stage, and you may make great things possible through them. To despise them is like refusing to use the ladder which will enable you to reach the heights. You should, indeed, "respect life as those who desire it," and you should respect the body as do those who think that the body is the self. The body should be recognized as the instrument of the soul and Spirit, and should be kept as clean, healthy and strong as may be. And every means should be used to prolong the "life" in the body which has been given you. it should be respected and well-used. Do not sit and pine over your confinement in this life—you will never have another chance to live out just the experiences you are getting now—make the best of it. your "life" is a glorious thing, and you should live always in the "Now" stage, extracting to the full the joy which should come with each moment of life to the advanced man. "Life, life, more life" has cried out some writer, and he was right. Live out each moment of your life, in a normal, healthy, clean way, always knowing it for what it is, and worrying not about the past or future. You are in eternity now as much as you ever will be—so why not make the most of it. it is always "Now" in life—and the supply of "Nows" never fails.
If you ask us for a summing-up of this idea of this non-desiring of life, and its opposite side of respecting it as if you really did desire it, we will say: The desire referred to is the releative desire, which springs from the mistaken idea that physical life is the only life. The absolute desire of life, arises from the knowledge of what the whole life of man is, and what this brief physical life is—therefore while the advanced man does not desire it in the old way, he does not despise it, and really desires it because it forms a part of his whole life, and he does not wish to miss, or part with, any part of that which the Divine Plan has decreed, shall be his. The advanced man neither fears death, nor seeks it—he fears neither death nor life-he desires neither (relatively) and yet he desires both, from the absolute sense. Such a man or woman is invincible—neither life nor death have [sic] any terrors for such a one. When this consciousness is once reached, the person is filled with such power that its radiance is felt by the world in which it moves. Remember these words: Fear neither death, nor life. Neither fear death, nor seek it. When you have attained this stage, then indeed you will know what life is—what death is—for both are the manifestation of LIFE.
The third precept tells us to "Kill out desire for comfort"—but the fourth adds: "Be happy as those are who live for happiness." This teaching is also paradoxical, and follows the same line as the ones just spoken o. Its apparent contradiction arises from the two view—points, i. e. the relative and the absolute. Apply this solvent to all apparently contradictory occult teaching, and you will be able to separate each part so that you may carefully examine it. Let us apply it to this case.
"Kill out desire of comfort." At first this would seem to advocate extreme asceticism, but this is not the real meaning. Much that is called asceticism is really a running away from things which we may think are too pleasant. There seems to be an idea in the minds of many people of all shades of religious belief, that because a thing produces pleasure it must necessarily be "bad." Some writer has made one of his characters say: "It is so sad—it seems as if all the pleasant things in life are wicked." There seems to be a current belief that God takes pleasure in seeing people unhappy and doing unpleasant things, and accordingly many so-called "religious" people have frowned upon the normal pleasures of life, and have acted as if a smile was offensive to Deity. This is all a mistake. All normal pleasures are given to Man to use-but none of them must be allowed to use Man. Man must always be the master, and not the slave, in his relation to the pleasures of life. In certain forms of occult training the student is instructed in the cultivation of the Will, and some of the exercises prescribed for him consist of the doing of disagreeable and unpleasant things. Bu this discipline is merely to strengthen the Will of the student, and not because there is any special merit in the disagreeable task, or any special virtue in the self-denial attendant upon the doing without certain pleasant accustomed things. The whole idea consists in the exercising of the Will to resist; do without; and to do things; contrary to the usual custom and habits of the individual, which course, if practiced, will invariably result in a strengthening of the Will. It operates upon the principle of exercising a muscle by calling it into play. These exercises and practices are good, and we may have occasion to refer to them in some of our lessons. The fast-days and penance prescribed by the Catholic church have merit in the manner above indicated, outside of any particular religious significance.
But, to get back to our subject, this precept is not intended to preach asceticism. Occultism does not insist upon that. It does teach, however, that one should not allow himself to be tied to the pleasures and comforts of life to such an extent that he will cease to advance and develop his higher nature. Man may be ruined too much by luxury, and many cases are known where the higher influences at work under the Law took away from a man those things which hindered his growth, and placed him in a position in which he was forced to live normally, and thereby grow and unfold. Occultism preaches the "Simple Life." It teaches that when a man has too many things he is apt to let the things own him, instead of his owning the things. He becomes a slave rather than a master. "Kill out desire of comfort" does not mean that one should sleep on rough boards, as a special virtue pleasing to Deity, or that one should eat dry crusts in the hope of obtaining Divine favor—neither of these things will have any such effect—deity may not be bribed and is not specially pleased at the spectacle of one of his children making a fool of himself. But the precept does impression us that we should not be tied to any idea of comfort, and that we should not imagine that true happiness can arise from any such cause. Enjoy the normal and rational pleasures of life, but always retain your mastery over them, and never allow them to run away with you. And, always remember that true happiness comes from within, and that these luxuries and "comforts are not necessities of the real man, and are merely things to be used for what they are worth. These creature comforts and luxuries are merely incidents of the physical planet, and do not teach the Real Self. The advanced man sues all these things, as instruments, tools (or even toys if it is found necessary
