Principles of progress and methods of improvement

Front matter

HN 78 .K5 Copy 1

Principles of Progress and

Methods of Improvement

Chapter I. LAW

II. PERFECTION AND PROGRESS

The Law of Progress Mind and Morals Character and Spirit

III. LIMITATIONS

Superstition

Artificiality

Fear

Prejudice

Unreasonableness

Egotism

Bigotry

Hypocrisy

Selfishness

IV. PRESENT PROBLEMS

Diversity of Views Freedom of Speech Inconsistency and Confusion Ignorance and Wickedness Present Conditions and Needs Five Great Problems

V. METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT

The Educational Work Physical Culture Spiritual Culture Race Culture Industrial Organization Political Organization International Organization Social Work

VI. INSTRUMENTALITIES OF CIVILIZATION

Some Thoughts on a Few of the Elements of Progress, including Religion, Morality, Knowledge and Education, Law and Government, Economic Conditions, Social Work, Spiritual Forces, Revolution and Evolution, Capitalism and Socialism, Free Speech, Persecution for the Truth's Sake, Trusts, Democrac3 r , Industrial Unionism, Co-operation, and Communism.

Appendix

Life and Service

The Higher Life

The Social Service

The Life and Service Fraternity

Introduction To The Life And Service

SERIES

Human progress is the result of a constant struggle for improvement ; and this yielding to the progressive urge of divine creative forces is one of the characteristics which distinguishes Man from the other animals and establishes his superiority in the world.

Each day and age has its problems, the solution of which is the task of the people of that time; and how ..each generation solves the problems confronting it determines the nature and degree of progress that is made at any time. We in our day have our tasks and difficulties, and ''The Life and Series" is to show how to meet and overcome them.

The general object of this work is to aid in promoting human progress along very broad lines. The task we have undertaken includes an explanation of all the most important facts pertaining to human perfection and happiness, by a study of Man and his environment, in the personal, social and cosmic aspects of his nature, and in his relation to the material and spiritual world.

We propose to raise the average of human perfection by increasing the number of more perfect individuals. The number of more perfect individuals depends upon personal improvement, good heredity, and favorable environment. Personal improvement is to be secured by right education, including manual and mental training, the harmonious development and right use of every organ, faculty and function, and a correct knowledge of all the essential means to usefulness and happiness ; and by providing the conditions favorable to right living and conducive to happiness. Good heredity is to be secured by the proper preparation for marriage and the right mating of parents, regulating the conduct of parents and children in accordance with their highest good, and providing the conditions in the home and family life that are necessary to produce more perfect children. And the environment necessary for the welfare and progress of Man is to be produced by (1) The improvement of the utilitarian equipment and the sanitary and esthetic conditions in all the surroundings of the home, social and industrial life ; (2) The socialization and efficient operation of all the means of supplying the needs of the people ; (3) Securing centralized management, democratic control and efficient administration of all the public affairs of the people; (4) Creating the psychological conditions and public sentiment favorable to perfection in both the individual and society; and (5) The organization of the national and international affairs so as to prevent selfish rivalry, special privilege, injustice and war, and -to establish righteousness in government and peace between all people throughout the world.

In order that there may be intelligent co-operation in carrying out these plans for improvement there must be first of all a more perfect enlightenment of the understanding in regard to the laws which govern all things, especially as these laws are related to human life ; and therefore we begin our work by setting forth some general principles of law, progress, perfection, etc., and later we show how these principles and universal law apply to the intelligent ordering' of our individual and collective conduct and being. The laws which govern our being and all our relations to each other and to the other parts of creation, including both the material and spiritual world, are made understandable to us by the discoveries of science and the lessons of human experience and the reasoning of philosophy. We recognize both experience and inspiration as means of learning. And we make use of all available sources of information and any appropriate method of instruction to acquire and disseminate such knowledge as will help our people to have a more perfect understanding of the harmonious working of the whole Universe, according to certain general laws and the special laws applying to particular parts of Creation, especially in so far as concerns Man and his wellbeing and civilization.

Since Man and the Universe is both material and spiritual, we divide our study for the development of the individual into two parts. In the one we study Man's physical body as the most perfect form of organized matter, and show how, why and what must be done to keep the human mechanism in the best working order, and we endeavor to explain such facts of nature and physiological and psychological law as relate to health and bodily perfection. And in the other we study the spiritual side of life — the soul and God — and we endeavor to explain the unity of life throughout the Universe and how Man's welfare and happiness (both individually and socially or collectively) depends upon his right relation to this life in the harmonious order of universal Creation.

Having seen what is necessary for the individual within himself we will then consider what is necessary for the individual outside of himself and also what is necessary for society or humanity as a whole.

The work to give us a better understanding of the environment of Man and the interdependence of individuals and peoples and their relation to Nature and God and the Universe in general, we divide into two parts. First we study the industrial and economic conditions prevailing among mankind and how these may be improved so as to overcome the evils of poverty and riches, competition and class war, waste of labor and material^ unsatisfactory service in production and distribution, and unnecessary and unjust economic conditions; and so as to insure the temporal welfare of all the people. We shall endeavor to show why and how there must be such a reorganization of our industrial and economic system as to secure more perfect order and efficiency in supplying all the needs of the people. Next we will study civil government, constitutional law and the evolution of the two most important factors in the more perfect order of government of the future — Democracy and Efficiency, and we will endeavor to show how these important factors will be incorporated in the organization of government so as to be of greatest service to the people. And, after having a better understanding of civic and industrial organization within the nations of the earth, we will study international relations in order to find a way to overcome the evils of war and the misunderstanding and hatred which is both cause and result of war, and to learn how the nations may unite, through a peoples international organization, to establish order and peace throughout the world. We will emphasize the fact that such a peace and order can only be permanent in proportion as there is a recognition of the universal kinship of humanity and of the principles of love and justice in the relations between all nations and people. The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man must mean more than mere platitudes. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done," must be more than mere words to us. These principles must find a practical realization in our personal, social and political life. The ideals we have been dreaming and talking about must be made real in the affairs of our daily existence as living and mutually dependent creatures.

In order that we may know what to do in the present and future we should know what has happened in the past, and thus be able to learn from the past experience of Man what we may expect of him in the future. Therefore we study the evolution of living things to find out how Man came into existence. We study the history of Man and his civilization to gain an understanding of the many steps by which we have arrived at our present state of civilization and to enable us to form an opinion of the possibilities of future progress. And we study present agencies and means of human betterment to find ways to harmonize the ideas and efforts of those who labor in any way for the improvement of mankind and to make their endeavors more effective in producing the most desirable results.

CHAPTER I LAW

We can succeed in the attainment of individual and general perfection and happiness only in proportion as we understand and obey the Natural Laws which govern our being; and, therefore, it is very important that we shall learn to know the nature, effect, purpose and general significance of Law.

All that exists is governed by law. There is nothing that is above law or that is not subject to the controlling and directing power of Universal Order. This applies to inorganic matter and organized bodies, plants and animals, the body and the soul, Nature and God, the temporal and the spiritual existence, all phases of human nature and being, and everything that -is in the Universe at any time, anywhere and everywhere.

When we say "law" in this connection, we do not mean man-made law, written law, or any particular kind of law ; but we mean the orderly method of control and direction by which all Creation is made to operate harmoniously and to evolve toward perfection. Depending upon the point of view or the method of application that we mean to indicate, we may speak of Divine Law, Natural Law, Moral Law, Psychological Law, Physiological Law, the Law of Love, the Law of Gravitation, etc. ; but all these laws are but parts of, and must be and are in complete harmony with, the great Universal Order which governs all that is.

Since God is the soul of the Universe, what we call Divine Law is but the spiritual aspect of Natural Law. Natural Law is truly Divine; and Moral Law predicates Natural Law in so far as it pertains to duties growing out of Man's moral and social nature. Nature is God in action ; Natural Law is simply God's method of operation ; and all the different forms or aspects of law are parts of the general or universal orderly plan of governing all things. When, therefore, we speak of Natural Law we mean the manner in which the forces of Nature work throughout the Universe and the nature, method and sequence by which certain effects follow certain causes or conditions. And we comprehend in our idea that Natural Law extends to all that is and to every part of the material and spiritual world. Recognizing the presence of God as the controlling and directing power in all things throughout the whole Universe, Natural Law is to us the will of our Maker, the expression of rig'ht reason and the dictate of religion, which is inherent in Nature and Man, and which is an ethically binding force as a rule of conduct.

In case of man-made laws it is possible to disobey or evade the law without serious injury resulting from such failure to

But no observe the .aw of *£*^-&££^J1L&

disobeying God, without P«»« hm ' n *- The pm >sh q{

naturally every v,oktaon of the *w ^ £«« for ^^

the laws of health. It you ou y proportion to the ex-

you disobey them you are '"j 1 ™™^" P { / contr ary belief te „t of your d:s faience and reg ard ess of^y ^ y

S^S%nS??lK5S aS yotir body in a

n0rm The C r e n are certain conditions favorable or unfavorable to the p™ « g^wth of the soul and %*&%£%£££ ness and wisdom and spirituality The p maples w S

these conditions are the laws ^f^^ff S p^S wholeness

social conditions. The remedy in all these cases is to ^

trrs^a^sa is inks us to know, and until we cease to pervert any part of our nature and use every part of our body and mind only for those purposes for which God and Nature created them.

We might go on and mention other phases of human life and relations and show in each case that there are certain Natural Laws which we must observe in order that it may be well with us. Our social, political and industrial organization and all the institutions of society, as well as our personal and family life, are all subject to these laws; and the ills of society, as well as those of individuals, are all caused by being out of harmony with God and Nature. The remedy in each and every case is the same — learn to understand and obey the Natural law, as it applies to each case, and get all that pertains to our life and relations into harmony with the Universal Order that governs all things and all will be well with us.

There are many false ideas in regard to both the laws which govern us and how we may be saved from the results of our disobedience. Great error also exists in many minds as to what is right and what is wrong, and our ability to do right and obey the law. These errors are traceable to several causes. Ignorance has made it possible for us to be thus deceived. With enlightenment we will find out the truth and will be able to adjust our conduct and being so as to have the blessings of right living. One of the mistakes we have made has been to substitute faith for works and to depend upon arbitrary authority instead of law to govern us. Another mistake has been that we followed our own desires instead of our real needs, and have tried to ease our conscience with "saving faiths" and healing potions instead of avoiding evil and trouble by right living.

The reason why there is so much suffering and unhappiness among mankind is because the people have been following man-invented superstitions and means of cheating Nature, instead of seeking to know and obey the laws of Nature which govern us. And, since we suffer confusion and unhappiness because of our ignorance of and disobedience to these laws, it is of first importance that we shall make a careful investigation of all subjects that may help to enlighten us and that may enable us to acquire a knowledge of the Truth and a training in right living that shall give us the capability to follow these laws to the realization of more perfect happiness and more heavenly conditions.

The laws which govern our being, and which we cannot evade or disobey without harm, are not the commands of anyone in authority; but they are the facts and principles of right and wrong in relation to present being and ultimate results. When we understand that God is everywhere present, as the force which is ever working for perfection, we can see why this law is impersonal and why it applies to all things and is immutable. When we understand that our individual thoughts, acts and state of being effects the whole progress and welfare of the human race, we can see how great is our personal responsibility And when we understand the laws of growth and development, both physical and spiritual, and the inter-relation and inter-dependence of all things, we can see the utility and necessity of a universal order and control of law, and why .w must obey these laws and maintain right relations to all thingo and all parts of the Universe.

There is nothing super-natural ; all is natural. The ideas of super-naturalism, an autocratic God, eternal punishment, dispensations of Providence, and the like, are relics of past ages when mankind knew little about God and Nature and almost nothing about law and an orderly plan of universal govern-

meI1 In order to learn to understand and obey the Natural Laws, we must learn to distinguish between that which really pertains to or is produced by Nature and that which is artificially acquired or assumed. We must learn to see things as they really are and not as someone has said they are or as we may have previously believed them to be. And we must learn to see things according to life and reality and not with affectation, artificiality or exaggeration.

The authority for our ideas and theories of life and conduct must be Divine and not chimerical preter-naturalistic presumption We must learn to hear the voice of God in Nature and within our own souls. And we must receive the inspiration for the higher expression of life in Truth from the divine source of all that is good and wise, rather than from any man-made doctrine, faith or idea.

We may and should help each other by the exchange of ideas; and the study of the teaching of the philosophers and teachers of all ages may be profitable to us ; but all these are useful to us only in so far as they help us to find the Truth. Use reason and "Prove all things and hold fast that which is o-ood" is a good rule to follow in studying the teachings of men. The one single great aim in all our learning should be to know the Truth, regardless of what may happen to any doctrine, faith or idea that may be held by anyone.

It is not true that there are any laws of Nature which it is impossible for us to obey. God and Nature are m absolute harmony Our own being is not excluded from that harmony, except as we willfully or ignorantly put ourselves out of harmony with the proper order of things. The continued progress of each part of creation toward perfection requires that all parts shall work in harmony with the general plan ; and those parts which refuse, or fail for any reason, to thus work in harmony with the universal order of Creation, will be destroyed. And the laws governing all things work so that whatever becomes imperfect, in the sense that it does not serve a good purpose in the plan of creation, must be destroyed, and naturally, by the operation of the Natural Laws, destroys itself. If we undernSessar? for °Z *£$* j ? n °£ ° nly P ° SsiWe ' but absolutely necessary for our good and for the purposes of Creation that

we shall order our thought and conduct our life according the

great general plan and purpose that govern the Universe And

these are the reasons why we should educate ourseWes weH "n

a correct knowledge of the Truth and train ourselves kT r i e ht

living, so that we shall be able to obey these laws and have fhe

*m%?£3£ and SpiHtUality ' and Wi8d0m and'ef^

Chapter II Perfection And Progress

The Law of Progress

Involution is God's method of creation and wellbeing and attainment are the rewards of conformity to this method. Progress is necessary to human happiness. The progress of Man depends upon his incessant striving toward perfection, in his own inner life as well as his environment. Obedience to this impulse or law has made Man supreme among the living creatures of the world; has enabled him to develop the higher mental, moral, social and spiritual powers which distinguish him from the other animals ; and will carry him through future stages of enlightenment and progress to the wonderful realization of at-one-ment with God and Nature in the heavenly conditions of happiness in the higher planes of existence to which he is slowly but surely advancing.

The history of Man and his civilization shows that, while the evolution of human perfection has been persistent, and while the divine forces of progress are constantly at work for the improvement of all that pertains to human life and relations, the evidence of progress manifest themselves in different degrees at different times. Sometimes progress seems to be steady and sure for a number of years. Sometimes changes come suddenly, and progress seems to be made by leaps and bounds. And sometimes there have been periods when there seemed to be retrogression instead of progress. But under and through it all the careful observer can see God and Nature continually and effectively working", through the physical and spiritual forces, to promote the progress of Man and his world, in successive stages or by steady growth, from a lower to a higher order of being, life and environment.

The progress of humanity is however accomplished only so fast and in proportion as the individuals and people of each day and generation recognize the conditions and needs prevailing in their particular time and as they adjust their efforts for the improvement of those conditions in accordance with the forces or laws of progress, in such a way as to solve the problems arising from time to time, and to guide the conduct of human affairs in harmony with the general aim of our race toward the higher perfecting to which we are advancing.

In accordance with Natural Law, all that is contrary or injurious to progress and perfection must be and is destroyed. And the individual, the family, the nation, or the race which does not consciously or instinctively conform in conduct and being to these laws will surely suffer the consequences of such disobedience. Evil may prosper for a day, a season, a year, a hundred or a thousand years ; but sooner or later it will destroy itself by its own folly and wickedness. And thus the good and right will ever survive and come uppermost in the end, even though its bearers may have to pass through the most intense fire of persecution to carry onward and upwards the standards and ideals which are the guiding ideas of mankind in each successive stage of human progress. Temporary trouble may come to the best people, because of the enmity of the wicked or the errors introduced into human affairs by the evil ones ; but, by patient perseverance, the righteous shall prevail. Individuals go down in suffering to spiritual death as a result of sin; or they rise in perfection and happiness to immortality as a result of righteousness. Families die out because they seek to pervert their nature and disobey the laws of God ; and other families survive the struggle for existence and live and multiply to populate the earth, because they obey the laws of their being. Nations rise and fall according to their own national character and the conditions that prevail in the morals of their people. And that race will finally be supreme, and dominate the earth by the excellence of its ideals and social organization, which attains the highest perfection in all that characterizes the superiority of Man. War will never decide the matter of supremacy among nations, races or peoples ; but the final decision will be made by the natural working of the laws of our being, working out the destiny of Man, in harmony with the Universal Order, in the triumph of those who practice right living most perfectly.

The question is sometimes asked "What is perfection? And how does this term apply to human individuals and mankind in general?" Perfection is a relative term. We cannot tell what absolute perfection would be ; because, so far as we know, when anything is as perfect as we can conceive of its being, there is always a chance that it may be further improved. Therefore, perfection is progressive. Nothing can be truly said to be as perfect as it is possible to make it ; because, no matter how perfect it may seem now, at some future time, as the relations of things change, a change or improvement may again be found practicable and advisable.

Mankind in general, and each individual in particular, has some imperfections which our advance in civilization enables us to see needs to be remedied. The history of mankind and our civilization proves to us that Man has made progress in the past and may and must progress in the future. The law of progress is a part of the immutable eternal Natural Law and our happiness depends very much upon how well we obey its mandates.

Having developed a mental capacity greater than any other animal, Man has established his superiority in the world, but has not advanced far enough to understand the laws which govern his being and to act in each case according to his best interests or highest good. Man is just now at a dangerous stage of his development, when he ceases to be guided by instinct, but has not developed his mental and spiritual powers far enough to be able to avoid error in the use of his body and the things of creation surrounding him. Man is, however, a teachable being and will continue to develop the mental and moral powers of his spiritual being and will learn to understand his own nature and all that pertains to our welfare and progress. And, in our continued progress, we will acquire that character and consciousness which will enable us to avoid the dangers which now beset us, and we will adjust the manner and course of our thought and life so that, in the generations to come, our posterity may realize the higher perfection and glorious experiences which await our race in the blessed future.

Each successive stage in human progress has required some strong effort, usually originating with some individual who was ahead of his time in mental, moral or spiritual development, and including an educational campaign to secure acceptance of the new truth and to develop the force necessary to carry out the necessary reforms. And such a work is necessary at the present time. The fact that there are many things wrong among mankind is so self-evident that it seems no argument should be required to prove that improvement must be made.

It is difficult to find anyone who is absolutely perfect in health. Headaches, pains, weakness, or health troubles of some kind are so common that we are rarely surprised to find anyone afflicted with some of them. Perfect health is possible for all. A perfect race must have perfect health as a general condition among its members. The time is coming when there will be no sickness, except that of old age or accident ; but that will be when we understand and obey the laws of health much better than we do now. Wonderful progress has been made in improving personal and public hygiene and sanitation and in preventing and curing disease. But, among the people in general, there is still much unnecessary ignorance in regard to diet, exercise, ventilation, mental conditions, the moral conduct of the intimate and domestic relations, the use of methods of treatment, and other matters pertaining to health, which need correction before we can have a people fit to fully enjoy life and to produce a superior race of mankind.

There is perhaps no phase of human life and relations in which we have made less progress than in those things which pertain to sex and marriage and parentage. There are no evils which threaten our race and plague mankind today as great as the evils of sexual perversion and the degeneracy resulting from the bad conditions which prevail in marriage and parentage and the relations of the sexes under other circumstances. The fearful prevalence of divorce, prostitution, venereal diseases, mental, moral and physical degeneracy resulting from sexual immorality, and the general failure to realize happy marital relations, reveal to us the greatest danger that threatens our race and is the strongest kind of evidence that our civilization is not doing for us all that it will and must do before we can reach the more satisfactory conditions toward which we are striving to advance.

The fierce struggle for existence which our present social and industrial system, or lack of system, occasions, the class interests and international prejudices and hatred which this struggle engenders, and the terrible wars which result from these conflicting interests, prejudices and hatreds, are evidence that we have still much to improve and a long way to advance before we can establish the practical ideals of the religious principles we have professed to believe. Wars of all kinds (commercial, national, racial, or class) will not cease as long as we do not change the system that causes them. And universal peace cannot exist until universal love and justice have a larger place in all our public affairs ; and this love and justice is not real unless it includes honesty and righteousenss. We cannot expect permanent peace until we are ready to be just and kind to each other. The same principles of morality and good manners must be made to apply to the conduct of nations and other combinations of people as we recognize as being necessary for individuals.

Man, as he is today, is the product of evolution and has great possibilities of future development. The history of creation is a record of progress. Both human experience and the operation of Natural Law show us the necessity of continued and actively sustained effort to advance toward greater degrees of perfection.

It is not true that things have always been as they are and that they will always remain the same. Things, or the form of things, are continually changing. Change is necessary for progress ; and change is the means of progress. Progress is perpetual and eternal. Progress is the way of life, and beauty and happiness. Retrogression is the way of failure, dissolution and death. But "all things work together for good," and even the means of disintegration are made to serve the purposes of perfection and are used by the great divine forces of progress to perfect Man and his environment. There is a power that controls and creates all things ; and we need to place ourselves into right relation to that power, in order that we may realize both present and future satisfaction and happiness.