Spiritual Development

We have seen how man is part of God. He is not an isolated entity but a spirit which is very much bound up with, and interrelated with all Spirit and all things. When he is born he comes into being bearing the spiritual and physical qualities of the family and race which produce him. His mental and bodily qualities have been laid down for him by millions of years of evolution, and he inherits strong and well marked characteristics. He is placed upon the ladder of progress by his ancestors and parents, and finds himself in an environment which is not of his own choosing. In other words his beginning is completely determined for him, and from his first moment he becomes a spiritual focus of struggle between his inherited powers and his environment. His sphere of action is limited and conditioned from the commencement, but he can become conscious of this limitation, and in contrasting his own with other lives can desire progress. His capacity to compare and desire is however also limited by his degree of consciousness, but the fact that he is part of a greater spiritual process than himself which, while determining and fixing his start in life, can equally facilitate his development. Friends and ministering angels help even the helpless, and there are some alas, who are practically helpless. This is the function of “The Brotherhood of Man”a principle which all people should uphold.