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THE TRUTH
13-THE LOTUS OF THE HEART
The headquarters of the Soul is not situated in the head; for the brain is not the seat of passions and emotions by any means. It is situated in the region of the heart, in the spinal column, not in the physical organ of the heart, though the latter both affects and is affected by the conditions prevailing in the former. There is no other place where it can be properly located. No other place is affected by passions and emotions as the heart is affected, and no other place is fitted to be the head office of the soul in the whole organism.
The lotus of the heart is a nervous centre whose petals constitute the operating board for the will. The key-board is connected with the different centres in the brain through which knowledge of the outside world may be obtained, and it is also connected with the limbs of motion in the body through which the wishes of the soul can be enforced. The will is here engaged in seeking gratification of its desires in the external world, led hy different kinds of its impulses. It itself acts as Reason when it is able to subdue its cravings in a certain measure. It becomes Self-conscious when its prejudices are destroyed and the passions are reduced to the type of mild intensity. It obtains Omniscience when all its
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