The New Samhita, or Sacred Laws of the Aryans of The New Dispensation
by Keshab Chandra Sen
Second Edition
Calcutta: Brahmo Tract Society
Printed by R.S. Bhatta at the Bidhan Press, 78, Upper Circular Road.
1889
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The Gospel [of Buddha] was an archetypical example of Orientalism, the appropriation of the Orient -- in this case Buddhism and the life of the Buddha -- to support a decidedly Western and Christian project...
The Gospel of Buddha was written to propagate Carus's post-Kantian Christian religion of science...
He shared with more orthodox Christians an abhorrence for any conception of the world that denied notions of the soul or God. In his Parliament paper "Science a Religious Revelation," he had argued that while a conception of religion that rejects science is inevitably doomed, humanity must have a religion because belief in God was "the innermost conviction of man which regulates his conduct." The resolution as he saw it was that religion would undergo changes, would "free itself from paganism, evolve and grow" in keeping with scientific developments. A new conception of the soul such as he had described in The Soul of Man was fundamental to this transition. In 1890 he had written: "The new view is monistic: it regards the soul as identical with its activity; the human soul consists of man's feelings and thoughts, his fears and hopes, his wishes and ideals."... [T]the Buddhists "anticipated the modern conception of the soul as it is now taught by the most advanced scientists of Europe" ... "Buddhism is monistic. It claims that man's soul does not consist of two things, of an atman (self) and a manas (mind and thoughts), but that it is made up of thoughts alone. The thoughts of a man constitute his soul; they, if anything, are his self, and there is no atman, no additional and separate 'self' besides."...
[H]is vision was unquestionably Christian. He attempted to overcome this by arguing that Buddhism and Christianity were essentially the same religion. They were both allegorical expressions of the one universal truth, their apparent differences nothing more than culturally determined "modes of expression." ...
His most radical declaration of their essential identity was his hypothesis that Christ was the Buddha Maitreya...
Carus's Gospel, in common with all Western scholarship at the time, claimed to pursue the essence of Buddhism, "the universal in the particular," the "nonsectarian ... ideal position upon which all true Buddhists may stand as upon common ground," that is, a transnational and textual Buddhism, the "real" Buddhism compared with which each Asian practice was a distortion or aberration... As a result, Carus's Buddha was the archetypal nineteenth-century intellectual: "the first positivist, the first humanitarian, the first radical freethinker, the first iconoclast and the first prophet of the Religion of Science."...
The preface to Gospel showed particular concern not to antagonize its targeted Christian audience, speaking of the advantages of Christianity over Buddhism, and concluding with a statement of the religious hierarchy as Carus understood it: "Above any Hinayana, Mahayana, and Mahase'tu is the Religion of Truth." Carus's image, which appropriated the Buddhist metaphor of the doctrine as a vehicle to transport followers to awakening, likened Christianity to a great bridge, "still more adapted to the needs of the multitude" than the large vessel of the Mahayana for crossing "the stream of self-hood and worldly vanity." "While the schools of Buddhism may be compared to ships that cross the stream, Christianity is a large and solid bridge. Christianity is a Mahase'tu. A child may walk over in perfect safety."
-- Presenting Japanese Buddhism to the West: Orientalism, Occidentalism, and the Columbian Exposition, by Judith Snodgrass
Table of Contents:
• Invocation
• The House
• The Householder
• Worship in the Sanctuary
• Daily Meals
• Business
• Amusements
• Studies
• Charities
• Relations
• Brothers and Sisters
• Husband and Wife
• Servants
• Ceremonies
• Jatkarma, or Birth-Festival
• Namkaran, or Nomination Ceremony
• Diksha, or Rite of Initiation
• Bibaha, or Marriage Ceremony
• Sradha Ceremony
• Vratas, or Vows
• Vows, Ripusamhar
• Vows, Juvenile Training
• Vows, Celibacy
• Vows, Widowhood
• Vows, Dadhak
• Vows, Ascetic Householder
• Vows, Missionary
THE NEW LAW.
[From the New Dispensation of 2nd September, 1883.]
The signs of the times clearly point to the necessity of organisation. Heaven calls us to fellowship and unity. And who can be indifferent or defiant when the Lord our Master issues His mandate? Scattered Israel must be gathered saith the Lord. Undisciplined and unruly soldiers must be brought under control and discipline, and the Army of the Faithful must be forthwith organised. Wandering pilgrims and way-farers must be brought home, and united by domestic ties of attachment and kinship, and the home of God's children must be erected in India. The Lord's people shall no longer live under foreign powers in a state of mutual estrangement and separation, but must dwell together in the Holy City of the New Dispensation, under heaven's Sovereign. Lawless hordes of men and women must abide in peace and unity under the Reigns of Law. Such, we apprehend, is the command of our Master, and we must hasten to render loyal obedience. The New Samhita will be shortly ready, and a day ought to be appointed for its formal promulgation among our people, -- a day that will close the epoch of anarchy, self-wilt and lawlessness and usher in the kingdom of law and discipline and harmony. All our Churches in the metropolis and the provinces and all individuals professing loyalty to the divine Dispensation ought to acknowledge and accept the Law on that occasion, for their own guidance and the regulation of all social and domestic concerns. Let not the Samhita be a new fetish. It is no infallible gospel: it is not our holy scripture. It is only the national Law of the Aryans of the New Church in India, in which is embodied the spirit of the New Faith in its application to social life. It contains the essence of God's moral law adapted to the peculiar needs and structure of reformed Hindus and based upon their national instincts and traditions. It is essentially, not literally, Heaven's holy Injunction unto us of the New Church in India. We shall not, therefore, bow to its letter, but accept its spirit and its essence for our guidance. How many in India are to obey the summons of our Holy Church? How many families are ready to submit to the ordinances of the New Law? Let them come forward in scores, in hundreds, from all parts of India, and unite not merely in doctrine and faith but in daily life on the organized basis of the fellowship of law. One God, one scripture, one law, one baptism, one home, shall unite us in a mighty fraternal alliance, before which no enemy shall prevail, and all the powers of evil shall eventually succumb. The blessed season has come, and let all our brethren prepare.
THE NEW LAW.
INVOCATION.
1. Eternal Wisdom, vouchsafe Thy light unto Thy apostle and servant that I may faithfully promulgate Thy New Law for the guidance of the New community of Brothers and Sisters Thou hast founded in this holy land.
2. Write Thy law on every heart in letters of gold, proclaim it with a thundering voice throughout the land, and let Thy sons and daughters bow before the decrees of the Great Lawgiver.
3. On sacred Himachal may Thy Holy Spirit descend and reveal unto expectant India the law of holy living, and as Thou speakest may Thy voice resound in every believing heart, and may every loyal soul, O Mighty King, tremble and obey.
4. For Thy statute is not written on paper, nor is Thy law a book, but in spirit-whispers dost Thou speak to the soul the law of duty.
5. Nor dost Thou speak in this age of science unto chosen disciples only, but to all Thy apostles and ministers, to all Thy servants and devotees in the land, yea to the humblest believer. Thy message shall come as a message of light and power in the sanctuary of the heart, and Thy whole church, and Thine entire household shall receive it joyfully as the testimony of the Lord.
6. Speak then unto us, O Thou Holy God of India, Thou God of our ancestors, and declare Thy New Samhita unto the people of the New Church.
THE HOUSE.
1. The believer shall keep his house clean and tidy, that whoso observeth it may say, Verily it is the house of the Lord, His blessing dwells therein.
2. For next to godliness is cleanliness, and every man who loveth our God is commanded to keep his spirit clean and his body clean and his house clean, making each a fit tabernacle for the Lord.
3. The house cometh from the Lord and all the furniture thereof, and the householder shall honor them as sacred gifts, and use them for sacred purposes, even the magnifying of His holy name and the blessedness, temporal and eternal, of His family.
4. Woe unto Him who pilfereth God's things and regardeth them as his own, who looketh upon house and household objects as things earthly and godless, and uses them irreverently or extravagantly or for carnal and impure purposes.
5. As the church is consecrated so shall every householder duly consecrate his house unto the Lord, with all the things that are therein, thus —
6. I dedicate unto Thee, O God of householders, this house and all that appertains to it. Sanctify and bless It, and bless those that dwell therein.
7. He shall keep all things in the house clean and bright, pure and undefiled, and neither dust nor rottenness nor things putrid shall defile the house of God.
8. Every room in the house shall be daily cleansed, and all dust and impurity swept off, and water and disinfectants shall be freely used, and there shall be no obstruction to sun-light and pure air.
9. Stench is an abomination unto the Lord, and uncomeliness and disorder He will not tolerate.
10. For our God loveth both utility and beauty. He demandeth health and sanitation and also method and gracefulness of arrangement.
11. The house wherein His devotees dwell shall be both pure and picturesque, saith the Lord, and a thing lovely to look at.
12. Therefore adorn it tastefully every morning with fresh flowers and leaves, that they may gladden the eye with their rich colors and the heart with sweet perfume, and let there be incense in the house of God.
13. And not in one room only or in one solitary part of the house shall the law of purity and beauty be observed, but in all rooms, and throughout the length and breadth of the house, in the sanctuary and the parlour, in the study and the bed-room, in the dining room and the bath-room, in the kitchen and the stables, in the servant's quarters and the garden, everywhere shall health and beauty reign together.
14. And the bed shall be clean, and the clothes in the wardrobe shall be well arranged, and the books in the library, and all articles of furniture, and all crockery, and all earthen, metal and glass plates and vessels and all cooking utensils shall be tastefully arranged, each in its proper place.
15. The greatest attention shall be paid to the sanctuary or place of daily devotion, and the family altar shall be honoured above all things. Let the vedi, and the books of hymns and texts, and the carpets on which the devotees sit, and the ektara, and other musical instruments, and the flower pots be all kept clean, and the room decorated every morning with fresh flowers by the ladies of the house.
16. And let suitable mottoes be inscribed or hung on the walls of the sanctuary. But there shall be no portrait or image or idol or any idolatrous symbol whatever for instruction or decoration.
17. The following excellent sloka of the Atharva Veda, breathing concord and peace, may be inscribed in a prominent place:—
"Sahridayam sammanasyam avidvesham krinomi vah I anyo anyam abhi haryata vatsam jatam iva ghnya | Anuvratah pituh putromatra bhavatu sam manah I jaya patye madhumatim vacham vadatu santivin I Mabhrata bhrataram dvikshad ma svasaram uta svasa | samyanchah savratah bhutva vacham vadata bhadraya | III. 30.
"I impart to you concord, with unity of hearts and freedom from hatred: delight one in another, as a cow at the birth of a calf. May the son be obedient to his father, and of one mind with his mother: may the wife, at peace with her husband, speak to him honied words. Let not brother hate brother, nor sister, sister: concordant and united in will speak to one another with kind words."
18. And the following scriptural text also may serve as a motto, enjoining the highest duty of the householder:
Brahmanistho grihastha syat tattvajnana parayanah yat yat karma prakurvita tat Brahmani samarpayet | Mohanirvan Tantra,.
"The God-trusting householder shall be versed in religious knowledge. Whatsoever work he doeth he shall render unto the Lord."
19. A house so clean, pure and well ordered, and regulated by such scriptural principles, is verily a house of Lakshmi, the household Deity of prosperity, joy and beauty, the Mother of smiling grace; and all who abide there, men, women, children and even the servants, yea the domestic animals under its shelter, shall be truly blessed.
20. The very walls of such a house shall sing Hallelujahs, and every object and person therein shall magnify the Lord of the New Dispensation.
THE HOUSEHOLDER.
1. The householder shall rise early in the morning, but not too early, never too late.
2. Seven hours sleep hath the Lord enjoined on His people, as science doth bear testimony; therefore when the Lord calls, let no sluggard cry, a little more sleep and a little more slumber.
3. Rising refreshed and renewed at the bidding of Heaven, the householder shall thankfully praise the Lord amid the joyful greetings of the new morn with its fresh light and fresh breeze.
4. And, sitting or kneeling or standing, he shall say, Good God, I thank thee that I have lived to see another day. Bless me and guide me, that this day may be unto me a day of righteousness and peace.
5. The body needeth exercise as the soul doth, and every believer shall devoutly devote sometime during the day, the morning being best, to moderate exercises conducive to the strengthening of the muscles, the inhaling of pure air, the circulation of the blood, and the promotion of health and strength.
6. He that neglects the body neglects the dwelling house of the spirit, and violates the law of God.
7. For the laws of health are the laws of God, and whoso transgresses these shall suffer penalty for their sins.
8. Blessed are the true believers for they serve the Lord in all things great and small, and carry out His behests whether they refer to the body or the spirit, health or life eternal.
9. Having read the morning papers and transacted such business as is of great urgency, the householder shall take his daily bath and ablutions in a reverent spirit.
10. He shall bathe and cleanse himself daily, either in the river or in a tank, or have a shower bath in his own house.
11. Let the water be clean and wholesome, or thy bath shall be a curse and not a blessing.
12. Rub thy body with a towel till it is thoroughly cleansed and freed from all impurity and becomes a fit tabernacle for a pure heart.
13. Anoint thy head and pour cold water over it so that it may be cooled and refreshed.
14. Thus shall thy bath be unto thee a double blessing, it shall remove impurity and allay heat, and bring unto thee daily both purity and freshness.
15. Remember, O child of God, that true bath is baptism and ablution is sacred.
16. Therefore treat thy bath-room with reverence as next to the sanctuary, and let sanctity dwell within its walls and the praise of God in its waters.
17. Welcome holy water and devoutly recognise in its cleansing efficacy a type of inward sanctification, so that in the lower temple of the body thou shalt realize the soul's blessedness, and in the old testament fulfil and glorify the new testament of the Lord.
18. And behold the spirit of God shining on the waters, and let the sacred waters come to thee as a divine mother to cleanse and purify thee.
19. And remember the words of Thy venerable ancestors in the Rig Veda x. 17, 10,
Apo asman matarah sundhayantu;
Visvam hi ripram pravahanti devir ud id abhyah suchir a putah emi.
"May the Waters, the mothers, cleanse us!
These divine mothers bear away defilement
I come up out of them pure and cleansed."
20. Remember also the baptism of Devanandan or the son of God in the river Jordan in the holy land of Judaea, recorded in holy writ.
Dineshu teshu jaghate yadisa agamat tada.
Jordansariti praptabhishekah salilat tatah,
Utthaya so'njasa'darsat dyaurdvedha' bhabadantike,
Kapotamurtya 'vatarat Paratma tasya chopari.
Tvamme priyatamah putro yasmin pritosmi santatam,
Iti vani vadanti dyoragamat, — M. I. 9, 10, 11.
"And it came to pass in those days that Yesu came and was baptized in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased."
WORSHIP IN THE SANCTUARY.
1. Having bathed and cleansed himself the householder shall put on clean apparel fitted for devotion.
2. For if his garment be uncleaned and defiled it may suggest thoughts of the world and even impurity and serve as fetters to keep down the spirit.
3. Therefore enter the holy sanctuary of the Lord with vestment pure and worthy of His presence.
4. And sit on thine own carpet at thy appointed seat, and be not reckless about seats or carpets, using those which belong to others and which thou hast not familiarized or made thine own by daily use.
5. Thou shalt love and honor the carpet on which thou prayest, and treat it as thy companion and friend in devotion, and carry it with thee in thy travels.
6. Let the husband and the wife, the brother and the sister, the father and the son, the mother and the daughter sit on their respective carpets in the sanctuary, round the family altar.
7. If guests or friends join in devotion let all the men sit on one side and the women on the other.
8. Each worshipper after taking his or her seat shall reverently bow before the family Deity.
9. The householder shall conduct service with solemnity and yet in a homely style adapted to the understanding and the requirements of the family.
10. He shall begin with an Invocation, and then there shall be a hymn, in which the voices of the men shall commingle with the tender voices of the women, and swell into a chorus of praise and prayer into the Lord.
11. Then shall follow the Adoration, all the attributes of Divinity being clearly set forth and realized and magnified, one after another, in the prescribed order.
12. These separated attributes shall then be realized together as a Holy Personal Presence in silent Meditation, the entire congregation observing the profoundest silence for a few minutes.
13. Having seen the Lord in the recesses of the heart the congregation shall offer united prayers in prescribed form, after which each individual shall pray, one every day, by rotation, speaking only of personal wants and sins.
14. After the singing of the second hymn the sacred Names of God shall be solemnly chanted, for unto the believer sweet and dear is the Name and mighty to save.
15. Then shall the presiding minister read scriptural texts magnifying the wisdom of ages and honoring the prophets and sacred books of the east and the west.
16. He shall then offer the chief prayer of the day, not carelessly or as a task, but with earnestness and sincerity, wisdom and reverence and loving tenderness.
17. The prayers shall be fresh every morning, sweet and beautiful as fresh flowers, breathing new thoughts and sentiments and aspiration every day.
18. Vain babbling pleaseth not our God, nor the repetition of set phrases, nor religious cant, nor the affectation of humility and poverty, nor gestures, nor intonation. These are a mockery and verily an insult to the Most High, and He hateth such abominations.
19. Let daily worship in the family sanctuary be intensely real, and let those that pray pray in spirit and in truth, with reverent lips and hearts full of Iiving freshness.
20. And let those that pray in the house of God remember that they shall not merely ask but receive, not merely seek and search but see the Lord and gather His righteousness and peace and the inspiration and joy of His countenance.
21. For if ye only pray and ask and beg from day to day what reward have ye? I will respond to prayer and give to the suppliant what he seeketh, said the Lord, and every sincere petition of the humble sinner will I grant.
22. Therefore as ye pray wait trustfully till the Lord speaks and gives out of the riches of His mercy, filling every heart with wisdom and inspiration, holiness and joy.
23. So shall every morning be a blessed morning, and amid fresh prayer and praise the family of God shall eat and drink abundantly of His sweet grace and their souls shall become fat with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
24. After the Benediction and the concluding hymn the congregation shall bow before the Lord and bless and thank Him for His mercies.
25. And then say with joyful hearts.
Peace, Peace, Peace.
DAILY MEALS.
1. If ye eat as the beasts eat, are ye not carnal? Yes, ye are like fattened oxen and ravenous wolves.
2. Verily the carnal eat carnal food, but to the spiritual bread is life eternal.
3. Blessed are they who eat and drink unto the Lord and realize Divinity in their daily food.
4. For bread is indeed divine and rice is divine, and whoso eateth these in the name of God shall be saved.
5. Therefore be not as the epicureans are, who eat and drink and become merry unto destruction.
6. Let not thy dining-room, O godly householder, be a place of riotous feasting, but a sacred temple where the believer eateth the Lord's bread.
7. Thy bath-room is for baptism and thy dining-room for the eucharist: both shall be sacred unto thee, and neither shalt thou suffer to be unclean or ungodly.
8. Remember always the scriptural text,
Asnitha vatha pivatha kurutha vatha yattatah, yuyam kuruta tat sarvam mahimne Paramesituh.
Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of the God.
9. The morning devotion being over, the house-holder and the rest of the family shall enter the sacred place of their daily meals with hearts fully imbued with the spirit of the above text.
10. When every one has taken his or her seat let all reverently bow before the Invisible Annadayini, the Giver of rice, and let the householder say,
11. Bless the food before us, Good God, and grant that it may sanctify us.
12. Thou shalt not touch unclean bread nor unconsecrated rice, but taste that which the touch of the Divine hand has sanctified.
13. Therefore let every believer not only say grace but also behold the presence of the Lord as a nourishing Force in the food, and realize therein a type of the higher food of the soul.
14. Let him hearken unto the voice of the Lord saying, Lo! I am in thy bread.
15. Listen also to the voice of the saints vibrating through centuries of antiquity, Remember the Son of God in thy meals, and eat his life, making his flesh thy flesh and his blood thy blood, and let us abide perpetually in thee.
16. Then eat, and as thy mouth eats rice and bread, vegetables and sweets, the inner man shall eat and assimilate piety and purity, love and joy, and gather life eternal in God and in His saints.
17. And thus in the house of God there shall be no carnal eating, but only sacramental breakfast and dinner every morning and evening.
18. So shall spirit eat spirit and spirit drink spirit in the blessed mystery of the eucharist, which saints have taught and scripture hath magnified.
19. Regulate the diet of the whole household by the principles of economy and sobriety and health.
20. Avoid all manner of extravagance, and let not the cost of thy meals outrun thy means.
21. Be sober and touch not wine, for it is poison unto thee and death unto thy neighbour.
22. Whatsoever causeth thy weak brother to stumble thou shalt avoid, saith the Lord.
23. As for meat let those abstain who have taken the vow of poverty and simplicity, and are pledged to self-denial with a view to guard themselves and their neighbours against carnality.
24. Thy food shall be simple and yet invigorating, it shall be such as may bring to thee health and strength.
25. Take no unwholesome food albeit palatable and delicious, for verily it is the parent of disease.
26. The quality and quantity of food for each member of the family shall be daily determined by the state of his health and the peculiar requirements of his constitution.
27. Let thy food vary from day to day that thou mayst eat with relish and get all the essential elements of food which thy system needs.
28. The lady of the house shall determine the daily bill of fare.
29. The family physician shall regulate the regimen of the household, commending the things that shall be, and prohibiting the things that shall not be, eaten, and whatsoever he shall interdict in the name and as the representative of God let none touch.
30. And when ye eat, eat not with morose and melancholy faces, but with cheerful spirits and smiling countenances.
31. Let there be pleasant conversation and interesting gossip and abundance of good humour.
BUSINESS.
After taking his morning meal the householder shall rest a while, and then proceed to his place of business.
2. Whether he serves others in the capacity of a paid subordinate, or is engaged in an independent profession or trade, he shall attend to his engagements with the utmost punctuality.
3. For punctuality is the soul of success, and its violation is condemnable in the sight of God being a wilful violation of the rule of veracity.
4. Remember the Lord before thou enterest upon thy daily work.
5. Temptations and trials, difficulties and dangers abound in the world of business, and none can combat them except the true believer who trusts the Lord.
6. Wilt thou, conceited worldling, venture upon the perilous sea of secular work, where so many are wrecked daily, with the rudder in thine own hand?
7. Dost thou believe that thou knowest trade and finance, commerce and agriculture, law and medicine, and reform, the fine arts and the mechanical arts better than thy God, or that thou art a better bookkeeper or householder than He?
8. Canst thou attain wealth and prosperity without Divine help, canst thou add a cowri to thy stock without the strength of the Lord?
9. Cast off this infidel infatuation, and believe that if thou plungest into secular work without the Lord's guidance, worldliness shall swallow thee, and lying and corruption, anger and covetousness, and all manner of sensuality and sin shall drag thee in their impetuous current into the vortex of death.
10. Therefore in all things depend upon thy Master for wisdom and strength, and seek His counsel in all intricate and important questions.
11. What thou shalt do and how thou shalt do it thy Master shall tell thee, and thy Father who hears thy prayer will not desert thee in the hour of trial and temptation.
12. Whatever thy business, and wheresoever thou mayst be employed, the Lord is thy only Master, and thou art his servant, and His behests only shalt thou carry out.
13. Whether at home or in a shop, in the bank or the merchant's office, in the manufactory or the observatory, in the council chamber or the field of survey, remember that it is a sacred place where thou art employed, and that thou art doing sacred work under the eye of thy Heavenly Master who is before thee.
14. Not only is thy place of business sacred and thy work holy, but the very tools with which thou workest shalt thou consider sacred.
15. The King's sceptre, the surgeon's lancet, the astronomer's microscope, the architect's trowel, the writer's quill, the painter's pencil, the carpenter's chisel, the blacksmith's hammer, the tiller's scythe, all these, when consecrated to the Lord's service, He toucheth and sanctifieth, and blessed are they who use them reverently in His holy name and unto His glory.
16. Be not slothful, but active and diligent and persevering, doing the full measure of the work appointed by thy Master.
17. For if a man neglects his Master's work or does less than is enjoined, shall he not suffer the penalty of indolence? Only the laborer is worthy of his hire, but he that sleeps and is idle steals bread from his Master's house and is a thief.
18. Nor should the servant of God work by fits and starts, toiling for a week and then sleeping for a month, but he shall work with constancy and with sustained zeal, working at least seven hours daily.
19. Every man shall have to render unto the Lord a full account of his daily stewardship, of the amount of work he does every day, and of the manner in which, and the extent to which he employs his physical and mental energies.
20. Preserve thine equanimity amid the vexation and irritation of daily toil, and thy freshness and buoyancy amid its dull unvarying monotony.
21. If ever thy passions are aroused in the course of business, if thy heart becomes angry or fretful, proud or jealous, if thou art tempted by thirst of gold to do aught that is dishonest or unfair or untruthful, turn instantly to thy Master, and offer brief ejaculatory prayers within, saying, God save me, Heaven deliver me from worldliness and sin, Father keep my temper, Saviour from gold-worship set me free, Master control Thy servant.
22. Work always with a cheerful heart, thou child of industry, for joyful toil in the Lord's vineyard shall make thee healthy and wise and pure, and it shall bring thee here and hereafter a plentiful harvest of divine life.
23. For true labour is worship, it is the worship of Eternal Force, the homage of our little will force to the Great Will, the communion of our energy with Supreme Energy in holy and useful work.
24. The Infidel goeth to his place of business in a godless spirit, and he returneth therefrom with a heart full of vexation and heaviness.
25. But the joy of the Lord is upon them that serve Him, and lo! they return every evening from their field of work with joyful and thankful hearts, singing the glory of His name.
AMUSEMENTSf
1. Let the householder after the day's work seek such amusements and pleasures as are harmless.
2. For labor and amusement, work and rest are both hallowed and divine.
3. From each of His servants the Lord our Master daily demandeth the fullest measure of work, and unto every one He giveth freely the fullest measure of joy, and unto men and women and children He dispenseth a rich fund of enjoyments suited to each.
4. He who sacrifices work for the sake of amusement is as much to be censured as the man who works continually without joy or relaxation, and is like one that liveth in the burial place and hath adopted life-long mourning.
5. Heaven is not made of mourners, nor is our God a taskmaster.
6. Moroseness is not sanctity nor is weeping salvation.
7. Work in season and smile in season, saith the Lord.
8. As industry is the worship of Divine force so is amusement the worship of Divine joy.
9. Ye believers, work as the Lord our God worketh and rejoice and smile as He rejoiceth and smileth.
10. Blessed are they in whom His force works and in whom His joy abounds!
11. In all your amusements and enjoyments let the pure smile of Heaven play on your lips.
12. Avoid excess of pleasure, for it defiles the heart and brings on carnality and levity of spirit.
13. The carnal seek pleasure in wine and woman, and thousands perish in the vortex of dissipation.
14. The wise abhor these two deadly forms of vicious indulgences and keep aloof from them altogether.
15. Drunkenness and debauchery are the vilest of abominations on earth, and those addicted thereto shall be treated as unclean outcasts, who breathe poison and pollution in society.
16. If the company of the harlot pleases thee or the sight of her face, thy pleasure, O gay youth, is thy death.
17. Nor shouldst thou constantly seek the company of gay and frivolous women, as is the habit of thoughtless youths, for in the excitements of carnal mirth is the seed of corruption.
18. Seek not joy in gambling, for it bringeth ruin and misery.
19. Ask the Lord to determine and regulate thy daily amusements, and trust not thine own judgment, or thou runnest much risk.
20. Indulge in all manner of harmless sports and games which are agreeable to the body and the mind.
21. And as there is wide variety of these thou shalt vary thine amusements and prevent dull monotony.
22. Music is the highest and the purest of all enjoyments, and is indeed heaven upon earth.
23. She is a sweet angel, blessed daughter of Heaven, who assuages grief, relieves weariness, allays anxiety, guards against temptation, tranquilizes stormy passions, scatters joy and promotes devotion.
24. Woe unto him who desecrates music by applying it to immoral and sensual purposes, who delights in lust-awakening songs, who is fond of the music of harlot lips, who in the name of music destroyeth his own soul and the souls of others.
25. Truly there is divinity in music, and in the charms of the sweet voice and the harmony of many instruments is the Blessed Mother of Music, the Invisible Saraswati of Eternal Harmony.
26. Therefore honor music and treat all songs and musical instruments with the reverence due to sacred things, and let heavenly music fill every house of God with peace and joy, with concord and harmony.
27. If possible, thou shalt now and then combine music with instruction and pleasure with wisdom on the stage, and seek in drama the purest intellectual joy.
28. Great is the power of the drama, and blessed are they who use it for their own good and the benefit of others.
29. Many a sinner has it reclaimed, many a social abuse has it rectified, many a sorrowful heart has it cheered, many an idle evening has it enlivened, many a youthful group of associates has it kept from dissipation, many a languid soul has it roused into fresh life.
30. Therefore band yourselves together, ye young men who pant after rational amusements, and in the evening enact such pieces of drama, ancient or original, as are full of wisdom, and give yourselves and your friends the most exalted of social entertainments.
31. But beware, let there be no revelry, no association with immoral men or women, no unhallowed representation, nothing whatsoever that taints the heart, induces moral laxity, injures health or interferes with higher duties.
32. Consecrate the stage and all its appendages unto the Lord, and act and play, sing and dance in His presence, that thus ye may magnify the Lord of the Drama.
33. Evening parties and soirees, with or without musical entertainments, are also sources of rational amusement, and prove besides profitable unto the cementing of friendship, the promotion of brotherhood and goodwill, and the gathering of much valuable knowledge and information.
34. Conversation bringeth abundance of joy and mirth, wit and humour, and is always available and within the reach of all.
35. Whensoever ye have opportunities, meet and talk on all subjects of interest exchanging your best thoughts and ideas, and reciprocating the affections and sympathies of the heart with fraternal cordiality.