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It is essential that a person shall give before they can re-
ceive. Giving is like opening a door, if we do not open the door
we cannot admit those good things which are ready to come in
to us. If we are not prepared to give, then we cannot put
ourselves in a receptive frame of mind. Actually it is almost a
problem in mechanics.
In ages far beyond the Christian teachings, right at the
dawn of history itself, the Ancients believed in sacrifice be-
cause they did not go by the words of some self-styled 'scien-
tist', they knew by actual experience that sacrifice was essen-
tial, and they sacrificed that which was of most value to them.
They sacrificed a valuable creature, a ram, or in some in-
stances a son. This was not done with the thought of cruelty,
but with the thought of doing that which they considered
would be pleasing in the sight of God. They thought that if
they gave that which was of most value to them it would show
God the high value which they placed upon his pleasure.
In the Far East it is the custom to give very freely to those
in need. The monk with his bowl is not just a beggar who is
making himself a nuisance; the housekeeper, or the woman of
the house, looks forward to giving to the monk who calls at her
door. She will reserve choice pieces of food for him. In many
parts of India where there is extreme poverty people still keep
aside food for a monk who calls and this entails very consider-
able sacrifice, and it means that the people of the house are
always on the hunger-borderline. Yet the sacrifice is made
willingly, and it is regarded as an honour if a monk calls at the
door for food, the monk never has to ask, he just goes to the
door and the woman of the house will see him there, will take
his bowl, and will fill it with food. If she is very, very poor she
will put that which she has available in the bowl, and the monk
will then go to perhaps three or four houses until he has
enough. But those of the neighbors who are not called upon
on that day wil1 look upon it as a sign of disfavor, because
they well know the merit to be derived from giving, particu-
larly when giving means sacrifice.
To digress again (digression is one of my vices, perhaps I
shall get rid of that in Nirvana!) it is most regrettable that
many people take fright at the mention of money although,
199
actually, they love the stuff dearly. People expect to have the
knowledge of ages without paying a penny for it, people expect
a man to live throughout a very long life and to study all the
time, and then to give away all that knowledge, all that he has
gained, just for nothing, just so that he can get a good name I
suppose. But what happens if you want to train to be a doctor
or an undertaker (that was unfortunate, wasn't it!). Well,
supposing he wants to train for anything, a man expects to
have to pay for his knowledge, but when it comes to occult
knowledge everyone thinks they are going to be in on it for
free .
People forget that even those who have occult knowledge
have to live, have to eat, have to have clothing unless one is
willing to be charged with indecent exposure, and if one is so
busy learning and so busy teaching that one cannot earn a
living, how is one to eat and to clothe oneself? Sackcloth and
ashes have gone out of fashion, and there seems to be a short-
age of fig leaves.
In the East hermits do not earn money because there is not
much money to be earned. People do not pay money for know-
ledge because most times there is no money with which to pay,
they pay by service instead. The student provides the food and
the clothes, and the teacher provides the teaching, so they get
on, each knowing and sharing the difficulties of the other and
each making allowances for the difficulties of the other. But in
the Western world where commerce reigns supreme and where
the pound sterling or the dollar is almost as good as a God,
money is all that matters. If you do not have money, then you
are a fake or a failure. I will tell you that I have had some
remarkable experiences in this connection; however, perhaps
that will come in another book when I write of my experiences
with the Press and a few jealous people in Germany and else-
where. But now we must get back to our giving.
You must give in order that you may receive. People ask for
things, people pray for things, people pray for money, for
health, it does not matter what it is, people pray that they may
be given something, they never say what they may give in-
stead, and it is a definite statement of fact that if one is always
asking for things one becomes as servile as a dog which merely
asks for a pat from its master's hand.
There is a definite occult law which says that you cannot
receive unless you are first ready to give. Imagine that you are
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inside a room with the door and the windows shut, not locked,
mind, just pushed shut. If you wish you can have the door
made of thin paper, and the windows also. Outside, piled in
heaps, with sacks all ready so it may be carried away, are
jewels, riches worth a king's ransom or more. Outside there are
all the things you have ever dreamed of and wanted. Yet if you
could not push outside that paper door you could not get at all
those jewels which would be yours for the taking. If you will
not make the first simple move such as the symbolical pushing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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