cance and
wisdom from the Book of Divine Revelation, and whose illumined hearts draw
inspiration from the unseen world of God, certainly exert their efforts to
bring about the supremacy of the true followers of God, in all respects
and above all peoples, and they toil and struggle to make use of every
agency that will conduce to progress. If any man neglects these high
purposes he can never prove acceptable in the sight of God; he stands out
with all his shortcomings and claims perfection, and destitute, pretends
to wealth.

One sluggish, blind and surly's a poor thing,
"A lump of flesh, without a foot or wing."
How far is he who apes and makes a show
From the illumined, who doth truly know.
One but an echo, though it's clear and sharp,
And one, the Psalmist David with his harp.

Knowledge, purity, devotion, discipline, independence, have nothing to do
with outer appearance and dress. Once in the course of My travels I heard
an eminent personage make the following excellent remark, the wit and
charm of which remain in memory: "Not every cleric's turban is a proof of
continence and knowledge; not every layman's hat a sign of ignorance and
immorality. How many a hat has proudly raised the banner of knowledge, how
many a turban pulled down the Law of God!"

The third element of the utterance under discussion is, "opposes his
passions." How wonderful are the implications of this deceptively easy,
all-inclusive phrase. This is the very foundation of every laudable human
quality; indeed, these few words embody the light of the world, the
impregnable basis of all the spiritual attributes of human beings. This is
the balance wheel of all behavior, the means of keeping all man's good
qualities in equilibrium.

For desire is a flame that has reduced to ashes uncounted lifetime
harvests of the learned, a devouring fire that even the vast sea of their
accumulated knowledge could never quench. How often has it happened that
an individual who was graced with every attribute of humanity and wore the
jewel of true understanding, nevertheless followed after his passions
until his excellent qualities passed beyond moderation and he was forced
into excess. His pure intentions changed to evil ones, his attributes were
no longer put to uses worthy of them, and the power of his desires turned
him aside from righteousness and its rewards into ways that were dangerous
and dark. A good character is in the sight of God and His chosen ones a