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of life, behind all its pain, uncertainty, and 89 90 Hbot^e Xife^d Zlurmoll unrest, there abide the eternal har¬ mony, the unbroken peace, and inviol¬ able Justice. Is there, then, no injustice in the universe? There is injustice, and there is not.^ It depends upon the kind of life and the state of con¬ sciousness from which a man looks out upon the world and judges.

The man who lives in his passions sees in¬ justice everywhere; the man who has overcome his passions, sees the opera¬ tions of Justice in every department of human life. Injustice is the con¬ fused, feverish dream of passion, real enough to those who are dreaming it; Justice is the permanent reality in life, gloriously visible to those who have wakened out of the painful night¬ mare of self.

The Divine Order cannot be per- (Tbe Supreme Suetice 91 ceived until passion and self are tran¬ scended; the Faultless Justice cannot be apprehended until all sense of in¬ jury and wrong is consumed in the pure flames of all-embracing Love.

The man who thinksf “ I have been slighted, I have been injured, I have been insulted, I have been treated un¬ justly,’’ cannot know what Justice is; blinded by self, he cannot perceive the pure Principles of Truth, and, brood¬ ing upon his wrongs, he lives in con¬ tinual misery.

In the region of passion there is a ceaseless conflict of forces causing suffering to all who are involved in them. There is action and reaction, deed and consequence, cause and ef¬ fect; and within and above all is the Divine Justice regulating the play of forces with the utmost mathematical 99 Xife'0 Cutmoll accuracy, balancing cause and effect with the finest precision.

But this Justice is not perceived — cannot be perceived — by those who are engaged in the conflict; before this can be done, the fierce warfare of passion must be left behind. The world of passion is the abode of schisms, quarrellings, wars, law¬ suits, accusations, condemnations, im¬ purities, weaknesses, follies, hatreds, revenges, and resentments.

How can a man perceive Justice or understand Truth who is even partly involved in the fierce play of its blinding ele¬ ments? As well expect a man caught in the flames of a burning building to sit down and reason out the cause of the fire.

In this realm of passion, men see injustice in the actions of others be- XLbc Supreme Suetfce 93 cause, seeing only immediate appear¬ ances, they regard every act ,a8 standing by itself, undetached from cause and consequence. Having no knowledge of cause and effect in the moral sphere, men do ncft see the exact¬ ing and balancing process which is mo¬ mentarily proceeding, nor do they ever regard their own actions as unjust, but only the actions of others.

A boy beats a defenceless animal, then a man beats the defenceless boy for his cru¬ elty, then a stronger man attacks the man for his cruelty to the boy. Each believes the other to be unjust and cruel, and himself to be just and hu¬ mane; and doubtless most of all would the boy justify his conduct toward the animal as altogether necessary.

Thus does ignorance keep alive hatred and strife ; thus do men blindly inflict 94 ?lbove Xlfc'0 SuniioU suffering upon themselves, living in passion and resentment, and not find¬ ing the true way in life. Hatred is met with hatred, passion with passion, strife with strife.