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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
ing essence of Life, that is, soul, or âtman, as it is called in Sanskrit. All this is simple enough, yet must it ever remain unintelligible to those who do not take the trouble to meditate on the problem of Life itself.
Many wish to acquire faith without having the least idea of the difference that exists between the word of mouth and the emotion of belief. He who only hears of a thing and forces himself to put faith in it, is liable to have it destroyed when assailed by doubt, the arch-enemy which cannot be killed except with the sword of discrimination. Man must, therefore, build his house on the rock of reason which alone can withstand the severest storms and squalls of scepticism. Besides, unreasoning faith seldom fails to degenerate into fanaticism and superstition, which are the forerunners of the worst types of evil.
Moreover, knowledge and its application are two different things; and, obviously, it is the capacity in respect of the latter which determines the extent of the former. Hence, those who only hear the words of wisdom from others, without meditating on them for themselves, are like the Pharisees who were unable to form a true idea of what spiritual freedom signified. It was for this reason that they resented the statement,"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."
Taking the expression to mean national captivity, they angrily retorted that Abraham's seed was never in boudage to any one; how, then could he say, "Ye shall be free"?
One has only to turn to the doctrine of transmigration of souls to understand the full significance of the messia
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