comfort, but it is the accompaniment of every expression of the Divine gifts within man. After man gives vent to his creative faculties, he experiences the joy of achievement. He may build an edifice, or plough a field, or compose a poem or a tale or a symphony, or he may see his dream of enterprise realized; in all instances, a deep feeling of joy overmasters him, unadulterated happiness floods his being, it animates all his thoughts and feelings. No matter what other emoluments man may receive for his accomplishments, his true reward he receives in terms of happiness-the happiness of creation.

28. Likewise, when man gives expression to the Divine love within him, he is compensated with great happiness. All love brings with it its meed of happiness, but the highest expression of Divine love is when it is offered disinterestedly; it is the love that one gives to the stranger without the expectation of a return. The noblest injunctions in the Scriptures are "Love the Stranger," and "Love thy neighbor as thyself." The Scriptures specifically tell us, "Love thy Neighbor," it does not tell us "Love thy father and mother," or "love thy friend." It is natural for man to love these, in return for the love they give him; and therefore the Scriptures do not need to lay that injunction upon us. But the stranger, the neighbor, who is related to us neither by ties of blood, nor by social commonship, it is equally incumbent upon us to love.

29. This love between man and his fellow is to be founded not upon the narrow, though deep, ties of consanguinity or common environment, but upon the larger

basis of humanity, on the more comprehensive feeling of brotherhood, and, above all, on the realization that the same Divine Mind dwells in all of us. Man may give expression to this Divine Love in many ways. He may express it by giving of his possessions to the needy and the destitute; by offering tender and cheerful words to the downcast and the depressed; by kindling hope in the heart of the wretched and the despondent; by healing others and relieving them of ailment and suffering. In short, man expresses Divine Love when he gives unreservedly of himself unto others; his reward is then meted out to him in terms of joy. After each kind, tender deed, man's whole being radiates with profound happiness; because he has made an outlet thereby for the rushing forth of the Divine Love within him.

CHAPTER III

PRAYER

1. "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain thee." In these words of the Psalmist do we find the true object of prayer. Prayer is an invocation for help from a Divine source. It is an appeal for courage in moments of fear, for strength in moments of helplessness, for hope in moments of despondency, for cheer in moments of gloom, for solace in moments of sorrow, for health in times of sickness, for relief in times of distress, for help, in short, in every difficulty of life.

2. One of the attributes of the Divine Mind, we have learned, is responsiveness to prayer; and one of the innate tendencies of the human mind is the offering of prayer. The human mind is the instrument whereby man obtains food and shelter and adjusts himself to his environment. But there are problems in life which the human mind is unable to solve, there are difficulties apparently insurmountable, there are moments when the human mind finds itself helpless and even despondent. At such times, the human mind needs the aid of a power greater and mightier and wiser than itself; it needs the help of the Divine Mind.

3. It is to this end that man has been endowed with the power of supplication, that when his human powers

fall short, he may be able to invoke the Divine Mind to come to his rescue. Prayer is an integral part of man's nature. It is the medium by which his body may gain new strength and his spirit loftier heights. The power to pray is no less inherent and purposive in man than the other powers of his human mind. It is, in fact, more inherent and more deeply seated than the faculties of logic and of judgment. Men pray long before they are able to rationalize, they seek the Divine help long before they are able intellectually to comprehend God's presence.

4. All men pray. Even those who claim that their intellectual faculty cannot grasp and must therefore deny the presence of God, oft find their lips whispering prayer. For the power of prayer is inherent in man, while his philosophies are but acquired, and constantly subject to change.

5. Thus man needs not to be taught to pray, only how to pray. The method of prayer is closely linked with man's conception of God. Traditional prayers are in many instances such as one would offer to an earthly king that has unlimited rule over his subjects. Such was often the God conception transmitted through tradition-that of a mighty ruler ensconsed on a throne on high, looking down from heaven upon His creatures below and directing their destinies a great Being to be feared and propitiated, whose mercy and kindness are to be pleaded for and whose wrath and vengeance are to be placated. Prayers offered to such a deity must of necessity be akin to petitions presented to an earthly monarch, who, in his limited domain, has the power to condemn and to par

don, to deprive a subject of his possessions or to heap favors upon him, to cast him down or to lift him up.

6. But such a conception is merely an outgrowth of the paganistic God idea. God, we know now, is not limited in His dwelling place, nor are His virtues tainted with human failings-such as anger and vengeance. God saturates all reality, His dwelling place is in the whole of the universe, in the heart of all things. He is the vitalizing force, the life principle of all that exists, and all forms of reality are but manifestations of His reality. There is no life, there is no particle even of existence that is not impregnated with the Divine Presence. God, moreover, is all goodness; he is not a king, nor a dire judge; He is not jealous, He is not vindictive, He is not wrathful, He is not punitive; He is possessed by none of the weaknesses or limitations of the human mind. And, therefore, He is not to be entreated in the manner that is thought befitting to a human monarch.

7. A prayer to the Divine Mind should be offered silently. An enunciated supplication presupposes God in the image of man, who perceives only the audible sound, whose emotions must be stirred and influenced by the persuasiveness of eloquence, or the appeal of pathos. An audible prayer, particularly when it is offered in public, carries with it the same self-consciousness as speech itself. The thought of the impression his utterances will make upon those near him unconsciously directs a man's lips. For this reason, man does not always give vent to the fullness of his thoughts. When one offers a prayer to the Divine Mind in audible accents, he often thinks more