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“Unveil, O Thou: who giveth sustenance to the Universe; from whom all proceeds: to whom all must return; that face of the true Sun, now hidden by a vase of golden light, that we may see the TRUTH, and do our whole duty, on our journey to thy Sacred Seat.”

—The Gaiyatri.

THE

WORD

Vol. 1 OCTOBER 21, 1904 No. 1

Copyright 1904 by H. W. PERCIVAL

OUR MESSAGE

This magazine is designed to bring to all who may read its pages, the message of the soul. The message is man is more than an animal in drapings of cloth—he is divine, though his divinity be masked by, and hidden in, the coils of flesh. Man is no accident of birth nor plaything of fate. He is a power, the creator and destroyer of fate. Through the power within, he will overcome indolence, outgrow ignorance, and enter the realm of wisdom. There he will feel a love for all that lives. He will be an everlasting power for good.

A bold message this. To some it will seem out of place in this busy world of change, confusion, vicissitudes, uncertainty. Yet we believe it is true, and by the power of truth it will live.

“It is nothing new,” the modern philosopher may say, “ancient philosophies have told of this.” Whatever the philosophies of the past may have said, modern philosophy has wearied the mind with learned speculations, which, continued on the material line, will lead to a barren waste. “Idle imagination,” says the scientist of our day of materialism, failing to see the causes from which imagination springs. “Science gives me facts with which I can do something for those living in this world.” Materialistic science may make of deserts fertile pastures, level mountains, and build great cities in the place of jungles. But science cannot remove the cause of restlessness and sorrow, sickness and disease, nor satisfy the yearnings of the soul. On the contrary, materialistic science would annihilate the soul, and resolve the universe into a cosmic dust heap. “Religion,” says the theologian, thinking of his particular belief, “brings to the soul a message of peace and joy.” Religions, so far, have shackled the mind; set man against man in the battle of life; flooded the earth with blood shed in religious sacrifices and spilled in wars. Given its own way, theology would make of its followers, idol-worshippers, put the Infinite in a form and endow it with human weakness.

Still, philosophy, science, and religion are the nurses, the teachers, the liberators of the soul. Philosophy is inherent in every human being; it is the love and yearning of the mind to open and embrace wisdom. By science the mind learns to relate things to each other, and to give them their proper places in the universe. Through religion, the mind becomes free from its sensuous bonds and is united with Infinite Being.

In the future, philosophy will be more than mental gymnastics, science will outgrow materialism, and religion will become unsectarian. In the future, man will act justly and will love his brother as himself, not because he longs for reward, or fears hell fire, or the laws of man: but because he will know that he is a part of his fellow, that he and his fellow are parts of a whole, and that whole is the One: that he cannot hurt another without hurting himself.

In the struggle for worldly existence, men trample on each other in their efforts to attain success. Having reached it at the cost of suffering and misery, they remain unsatisfied. Seeking an ideal, they chase a shadowy form. In their grasp, it vanishes.

Selfishness and ignorance make of life a vivid nightmare and of earth a seething hell. The wail of pain mingles with the laughter of the gay. Fits of joy are followed by spasms of distress. Man embraces and clings closer to the cause of his sorrows, even while held down by them. Disease, the emissary of death, strikes at his vitals. Then is heard the message of the soul. This message is of strength, of love, of peace. This is the message we would bring: the strength to free the mind from ignorance, prejudice, and deceit; the courage to seek the truth in every form; the love to bear each other’s burdens; the peace that comes to a freed mind, an opened heart, and the consciousness of an undying life.

Let all who receive The Word pass on this message. Each one who has something to give which will benefit others is invited to contribute to its pages.