Manuscript Lecture No. 20 Subject: Manly P- Hall Only One Hundred Copies Prepared,FIRST PRINCIPLES OP THE WISDOM-RELIGION. By Manly P. Hall. The request has often been made that we a é 2 ot out a sim tion of the principles of religion as they should bo oecctey Lone S ng up the mystic and occult scicnces, so in the follon- ing pages we set forth in forse form basic traths that should play a Port in every religion, regardless of its beliefs. It is not the purpose of tie article to speck of oroeds or factions uut monoly to should be taken into’ conetasravion wasthis dal enmening eos PaERTE the occult or walking the wey of cvtiedoyy. 1a man enn In this day of modern misconceptions whero now dt 0s spring up over night and disappear in the-seno sense eeenectes sends of poople believe thenselves inspired end seek to convince others of thoir inspiration, a greet confusion ariscs which can only be eoped with by those whose feet are on the firm foundation of trath and Imowledge. “Most people are hopelessly indirect in their stete- nents ond hopelessly undecided in their concepts and precepts. Evesive answers that arise fron ignorance parading under the cloak of Imowledge are usucAly found when the student asks for dircet in- formation on fundamentals, and it 4s to in some wey to cope with this problem that the writer has compiled the following statements, not to be believed or accepted but only to pe coneidoned: The first great question is; whet is religion? Concisely summed up, it would seem that religion would receive classification under such @ definition as this? A religion is 2 phase of truth attuned to the state of conscious- ness or understanding of the one who is evolving through it. It ie the doctrine, part of a still greeter doctrine, to which wo are drawn by the faculties we have developed snd the understanding we have unfolded within ourselves. It is 2 chargeable point. As we grow in experience and understanding our religion and religious ¢on- cepts should broaden with us- In other words, we may say thet our religion is our answer to the problem of being or the answer which we have aecepted being a ‘ony with our own consciousness ond outlook on life. Eyery= thing in the universe is a matter of viewpoint; nt one viewpoint i Sentain truth scems divine while to another it 1s heresy—and the Gnele schene of things is a matter of whet we are and how life looks to us. A correct religion for us is one wnich explains to us in a Seas sonable, rational way the miracle end wonders of life, offert Ht the proper incentive snd environment for further growth ané_indivi- ine ration, supports us in the hours of extremity, 18 im saskeny: sue divine justice as we see it, end in no wey eompromisas tne highest and finest that we heve and ane. ee 4 ghere are certain things which g student must boware of, regard- lees of nis religion on creed, for there ere & renin fundentntal seee es which pregaeg only ono result and ean nevoy pegicne under enyconditions, except of See course when considered . oe on = ees through mistakes. of sede en ee cae ae cermarks by which the spiritual status of indtyid do With the rods weno nme atiibly judgec. They have nethine to only the Tite and’ tas erat iene iiee¢ions er cratfsstieh stop mall imilar wherever they are inspired by the divinainegeee oa Pirsti Wherever a narrow ming ie found ‘ shore if nothing on the face of Godia green sreacintad abscess Onega of fetinnst@t¥icual with a closed mind: he is the Alpha and Rie clcoda: aed Creeds which encourage and promigate the idea of recardlecs ogdz_on® "hich has learned enoveh already, are dengerous at thee doy enone on ideals. There are certain doctrines prevalent RookaiGatise ‘nd age which instruct their followers that they ore to Dhitoconnane but fo sald ereed for light sé that all the other Pelicion cee in, the, wmiverse are of no account. There doctrines of For son are the height of foolishness and should not be countenenced fo relaguent by ny intelligent seeker after spirituality. And ead Sane Bicone, cocultisn of today is being impregnated with the the sess cliea nach, hold the conventional religions of yesterday and eece bs ed mystie arts are bringing upon their own heads the des- ction that falle upon all narrow-minded ereeds and religions. The doctrines of Affirmation and Denial are the next that come under our consideration, for they are pitfalls into which the unsus- pecting student falis with creat ease and efficiency. People who ereund throuch the streets on walk the floors at night repeating r the nine millioneth time, "I em prosperity; riches end the fullness thereof are mine!" nay through the mental powers which they awaken pay the board bill and wear diamonds but they will never in any case be spiritual or unfold the qualities of right living within their own being. The Wisdon Teachings do not advocate or allow their students and followers to apply these mental powers for self- aggrandizement or the furtherance of personal aims. It is merely a form of self-hypnosis or auto-suggestion and in both cases it is not only useless but absolutely destructive to the finer sentiments and powers which the true student is seeking to unfold. People who go into religion because they want to stop working or who take up @ creed for the purpose of getting healing, essh or power out of it have stamped themselves as absolutely unworthy of receiving any real value from the teaching involved and in spite of all that may be said to the contrary, such students in the ultimate never amount to much. 5 noted and their mistakes 2 those wi going to live Thovsands of people have a horror of death and scalawags se perpetual youth and the elixir of life to 4 ‘orever but always + None of the ‘onis® etermal life to any cassing from seven to ers; yes die in the due cour work who consciously, Wi @ preparation and ‘The thing t en opportunity to work, inich oromise more should be watched to grind. Svery occult or mystical upon initiation is a fraud without ere al ehools of the ries a Lora ate vedy or ordain you a Grand Visor inere from a collier ninty ith sbsolute certainty thet sueh erganisations th the waile h places a