This is the era of a new revelation. New religions, new systems of thought, new systems of philosophy are turning the tide of spiritual interest from the orthodoxy of past ages. The profound discoveries of modern science are forming into a basis for the authority of spiritual truth. Faith is giving way to knowledge. Faith often sinks into superstition. From being the forerunner of knowledge it is often debased into dangerous and soul suicidal manmade dogmas. Faith should herald the dawn of Truth. When it fails to serve this purpose, it perishes. The scriptures of the world ask us to "see, hear, perceive and know the Truth" ; they say : "ask, and ye shall receive ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." It is the direct perception of Truth that the soul demands. Belief has not the motive power for conduct that knowledge The cry of orthodoxy has been, "believe, and ye shall be saved." The new theology says, "by knowledge man is saved, alone by knowledge." The surest method of realizing Truth is to understand ourselves. If a man possesses a soul, he must become conscious of it. Consciousness is most concerned with the body. To center consciousness upon the soul is the aim of religion. By "soul'' is meant the changeless and permanent reality of which the changing and impermanent personality is the fleeting shadow. In this volume the author has endeavored to present a clear and practical conception of the soul. It is understood that by "soul" he means neither mind nor body, but the living essence of which these are the mental and material manifestations. The unity of life presupposes the omnipresence of that unity and its everlastingness. That unity is the One Spiritual Self residing in all. The goal of spiritual effort is the realization of the Spirit within. Psychic or spiritual control is the direct way of reaching the goal. The great principle which has been emphasized is: that morality is the medium through which the deepest psychic and spiritual consciousness is obtained. Morality, together with a consciousness of what, in essence, is the Self of all beings, is the thread connecting the various subjects.
