Since the beginning of human evolution, our efforts to protect and evolve ourselves and improve our knowledge of the world around us, to organise community life, to establish laws and a well-ordered society, have all been the subject of a singular purpose.

From our Palaeolithic state to modern times, humanity has struggled for survival.

In order to maintain its existence, it has faced many tasks and physical trials. We are now born into an organised society, with established laws and modes of living; a superior level has been attained.

The struggle for survival now becomes the struggle with ancestral instincts.

In the past we have been preoccupied by the domination of our universe. In the future we will have to learn to dominate ourselves, to understand the complexities of our own nature and learn to fulfil our mission as part of humankind. The progress we have made with regard to the world about us has proven easier to attain than it has been to conquer certain aspects of our behaviour.

The conquest of space has taken precedence over the conquest of self.

A Scientific Age

In modern society there is an emphasis on science; the role of applied science and technology has brought changes in the world around us more quickly and more far reaching than ever before.

But the territories of the mind await greater exploration for their riches to be discovered.

These scientific discoveries and their application enable us to predict the movements of the planets; it alleviates human suffering and has considerably lessened human effort, lightened our burdens and improved communications.

But while we are able to measure the universe, we are still a stranger in much of the world of our own nature.

Why is it then that our knowledge of our environment has grown more quickly than knowledge of ourselves?

Our ancestors employed their intelligence to secure food and shelter, to manufacture weapons for fighting and tools for farming, to develop trade and build communities.

It would seem that knowledge of the world was immediately more useful to us; our environment demanded conquest of the outer world.

In doing so, we neglected to give the same attention and study to our own inner world.

Our Responsibility

Our common task is to raise our consciousness, namely to develop the most perfect of human ideals for the purpose of acquiring a more evolved soul through harmonious fusion of all human qualities.

The promise of this evolution is a superior struggle. If we identity ourselves with others of the human race who similarly aspire to rise above human weaknesses, modern humans will become the archetype of the future race, the ancestor of the spiritually perfect person.

Some biologists consider that evolution on the morphological plane has ceased.

The struggle for morality and spirituality has replaced the struggle for life, and this is where our evolution needs to take place.

The knowledge we have gained of the physical world makes it essential that we seriously consider the moral and spiritual implications of our actions.

In the development of the human race, humanity has presented a spectacle which, with a few beautiful and glorious exceptions, has been exceedingly difficult to understand.

The source of most of the evil and destruction in the world is not from an exterior source, but arises from within ourselves. To eradicate this evil we must learn to neutralise our degrading instincts, as well as our greed, ignorance and hatred, which colour our attitudes.

It is not an easy task; it will be acquired only at the cost of personal sacrifice and sustained effort.

The responsibility lies within us.

The mystical impulse slumbers, awaiting those capable of transforming it into practical mysticism.

It is in tandem with this mystical aspiration and through personal effort that we grow in spiritual stature.

The processes of evolution will continue to take us through many trials. To pass through these stages successfully we must fortify ourselves educationally, morally and spiritually.

But, for sure, our development is one of high obligation and great opportunity.