he spiritual plane of Being.

This actual growth means Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge of
the Law, Obedience to its Commands, and Realization of its Rewards.

This Constructive Psychology is the _growth of the Soul_.

Man passes, therefore, from the age of Fable, Superstition, and Fear, to
the age of Faith and Obedience, and finally to that of actual Knowledge.

This _age of Knowledge_--not for all of mankind, but for a larger number
who are worthy and well-qualified, duly and truly prepared than was ever
known at one time before--has at last dawned.

The question is continually asked, "Why do the Masters of Wisdom Conceal
their Knowledge?"

The only adequate answer is that so few are ready, willing, and able to
receive it in the right way, and to use and not abuse it.

Those who deny that any such knowledge has ever existed, or exists to-day,
or can exist, had better waste no time over it. They cannot alter it, nor
destroy it, as their predecessors have tried to do for ages, often
murdering or crucifying all who were even suspected of possessing it. They
might as well try to destroy the law of gravitation, or imagine that by
murdering the foremost mathematician of the day that they had destroyed
the science of mathematics. I am speaking of _Knowledge_ of Spiritual
things.

A new Avatar, therefore, is not simply an individual, though many
individuals may understand and exemplify it--the Initiated, the
Illuminati--and one man may lead in representing it.

To call it "the descent and embodiment, or Incarnation of Vishnu," in a
metaphysical sense, the Spirit (generically), that renews, rejuvenates,
transforms, and regenerates, is by no means an empty metaphor.

In the same sense we speak of the "Genius of Greece," or of Rome, or of
Civilization.

The _idea_ is composite, and represents an underlying and _universal
principle and potency_.

But after all metaphor and generalization, each Avataric movement centered
around an individual _Man_, and this _Man_ embodied the principle and
undertook the special work of an evangel, or _Christos_, or "Avatar,"
amongst men.

Not only have there been many Avatars, and many Buddhas, but when we
realize the meaning of these terms and the mysteries they represent, we
discover that while it may be the special mission of one, like Christna,
or Buddha, or Jesus, to undertake the work of enlightening and redeeming
any age; there are other Masters, or Illuminati, eng