________________
74
ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES
puzzle or conundrum at any time. You have got to read into the original conceptions of art the scientific meanings which were hidden there by the artists themselves. We must make up our minds, for instance, to take seriously the word of St. Paul who says that the notions of God and Christ and the teachings of the Gospels are mysteries which he wished he could explain openly in speech. He even tells us that the narrative of Abraham and his two sons and their two mothers are but an allegory, depicting a secret doctrine which he partially unveils, though unfortunately for us, by means of another allegory. I have no time to explain these mysteries and allegories in the space at my disposal now, but a good many of them have been explained in books which are recommended to be read.* It will be found at the end that the human intellect is itself fully capable of imparting the exact Truth, though in the beginning it plays havoc with our ill-formed, ill-conceived speculations concerning life and the hereafter and God. And the conclusions of unbiassed investigation will be found to be grander by far than anything the human mind is familiar with today in the domain of religious thought ; and they constitute a code of living doctrines which have been the source of incalculable benefit and good to mankind in the past, and which are intended to enable us to attain to a position so high and sublime that people dared not speak of it openly, for fear of molestation and violence from the unthinking nasses at large.
I shall now show in a general way from the early Christian teachings alone what this Science of Life was which was imparted in this secret manner to men. It must however be remembered that it is but the barest outline of the subject that can be given in a short note like this. But if any one is seriously minded to make a regular study of the subject. I shall invite him to read the books that I have already referred to.
A rough outline of the Science of Life may be given thus : the soul is immortal (being a simple substance as distinguished from a compound which alone is perishable)--it is by nature endowed with a
* See especially my Key of Knowledge, Confiuence of Opposites, and The Glimpses of a Hidden Science in Original Christian Teachings.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
