This true story takes place in the lower parts of the Himalayas with an expedition of eleven practical Americans and their scientific quest into the understanding of the Masters they have heard about and then encountered in India, Tibet, China, and Persia. They had met several of these Masters in India and are now passing into the lower regions of the Himalayas with these individuals as their guides. This part of the story unfolds on the banks of a large river that is about two thousand feet across and running full-bank:


"We were told that this stream, in ordinary times, could be crossed at this place without any inconvenience. The nearest bridge farther upstream was at least four days of hard travel for the party.

"Thus far, none of us had any idea of the true significance or meaning of the things we were experiencing. Neither were we able to see that these things were performed by definite law, a law that all can use.

"When they awoke the next morning there were five strangers in their camp and it was mentioned that they were camped on the other side of the river. It was at first thought that they had come across in a boat and that the party could use the boat to transfer to the other side but it was
soon understood they hadn't used a boat.

"The five joined by seven from their own camp, which included several of those individuals guiding the group, decided to return to the camp on the other side of the river.

"When Jast rejoined the group, the twelve, fully dressed, walked to the bank of the stream, and with the utmost composure stepped on the water, not into it. I never shall forget my feelings as I saw each of those twelve men step from solid ground upon the running water. I held my breath, expecting, of course, to see them plunge beneath and disappear.

"I found afterwards that this was the thought of all our party. At the time, each of us held his breath until each of them were past midstream, so astonished were we to see those twelve men walking calmly across the surface of the stream without the least inconvenience and not sinking below
the soles of their sandals. The seven belonging to our party returned for lunch.

"It was decided that afternoon that we would be obliged to make the detour to the bridge in order to cross the stream. We were up early next morning ready to proceed on the long detour. Before we started, fifty-two of the company walked calmly down to the stream and across, the same as the twelve had done the day before.

"We were told that we would be able to cross with them, but none of us had the faith to make the attempt. Jast and Neprow insisted on accompanying us. The others took the four day route up the river to the bridge and back down the other side of the river.

"It was a struggle in the hot sun. The chief of the research team asked several questions; 'Boys, why is it that man is obliged to crawl and grovel over the earth?'

"He went on to say, 'How is it, if a few are able to do the things we have seen accomplished, that all men cannot accomplish the same things? How is it that man is content to crawl, and not only content to crawl but is obliged to do so?

" 'If man was given dominion over all things, he was certainly given power to fly above the birds. If this is his dominion why has he not asserted his dominion long ago? The fault must certainly be in man's own mind.

" 'This must all have come about by man's own mortal concept of himself. He has only been able, in his own mind, to see himself crawling; thus he has only been able to crawl.'

"Then Jast took up the thought and said, 'You are perfectly right, it is all in man's consciousness. He is limited or unlimited, bound or free, just as he thinks. Do you think that the men you saw walk across the stream yesterday to save themselves the inconvenience of this trip are in any way special creations any more than you are? No.

" 'They are not created in any way different from you. They do not have one atom more power than you were created with. They have, by the right use of their thought forces, developed their
God-given power.

" 'The things you have seen accomplished while you have been with us, you, yourselves, can accomplish just as fully and freely. The things you have seen are accomplished in accord with definite law and every human being can use the law if he will.'

The talk ended here and we went on and joined the fifty-two who had crossed, then proceeded to the village.

The Life And Teaching
Of The Masters Of The Far East

by Baird T. Spalding

Baird T. Spalding, whose name became legend in metaphysical and truth circles during the first half of the 20th century, played an important part in introducing to the Western world the knowledge that there are Masters, or Elder Brothers, who are assisting and guiding the destiny of mankind. The countless numbers of letters that have come in through the years, from all over the world, bear testimony of the tremendous help received from the message in these books.

PARTIAL CONTENTS LISTING

Volume I:
Foreword
Introduction of the Master Emil
Visit to the "Temple of Silence"
Astral projection
Walking on Water
Visit to the Healing Temple
Emil talks about America
The Snowmen of the Himalayas
New Light on the teachings of Jesus.

Volume II:
Visit to the Temple of the Great Tau Cross
Visit with the Master Jesus
Jesus discusses the nature of hell;
The nature of God
The Mystery of thought vibrations
An account of a healing experience
Jesus, and Buddha visit the group.

Volume III:
One of the masters speaks of the Christ consciousness
The nature of cosmic energy
The creation of the planets and the worlds
The trip to Lhasa
Visit at the Temple Pora-tat-sanga
Explaining the mystery of levitation

Volume IV:
The White Brotherhood
The One Mind
Basis of coming social reorganization
Prana.

Volume V:
Living view past events
Is there a God?
The divine pattern
The reality
Mastery over death
The law of supply.

Excerpts:

FOREWORD

IN PRESENTING The Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East I wish to state that I was one of a research party of eleven persons that visited the Far East in 1894.

During our stay—three and a half years—we contacted the Great Masters of the Himalayas, who aided us in the translation of the records, which was of great assistance in our research work. They permitted us to enter into their lives intimately and we were thus able to see the actual working of the great Law as demonstrated by them. We call them Masters, which is merely our name for them. One living the life described herein is entitled to reverence and consideration as a Master.

Records and manuscripts—our actual experience with the Masters—were preserved. Personally, at that time, I thought the world was not ready for this message. I was an independent member of the research party and I am now publishing my notes under the title Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East, with the thought that the reader may accept or reject, as he wishes.

This book, which will be followed by others of the Sun series, gives the first year's experience of the expedition in relation to the Masters. It includes their teaching, which was taken by us stenographically at the time, with their permission and approved by them.

The Masters accept that Buddha represents the Way to Enlightenment, but they clearly set forth that Christ IS Enlightenment, or a state of consciousness for which we are all seeking—the Christ light of every individual; therefore, the light of every child that is born into the world.

(Signed) Baird T. Spalding

CHAPTER 1

THERE is so much being printed at the present time regarding spiritual matters, and there is such a great awakening and seeking for the truth regarding the great teachers of the world, that I am prompted to place before you my experience with the Masters of the Far East.

In this book I am not attempting to expound upon a new cult or religion; I am only giving a resume of our experience with the Masters, in which I am undertaking to show the great fundamental truths of their teaching.

These Masters are scattered over a wide territory and, since our metaphysical research covered a large portion of India, Tibet, China, and Persia, no attempt to authenticate these experiences is made.

There were eleven practical, scientifically trained men in our party. The greater part of our lives had been spent in research work. We had been accustomed to accept nothing unless it was fully verified and we never took anything for granted. We went thoroughly skeptical and came away thoroughly convinced and converted, so much so that three of our number went back determined to stay until they are able to perform the works and live the life, just as these Masters are living today.

Those who so greatly assisted us in our work requested that their names be withheld in the event of our publishing the expedition's memoirs. I shall relate nothing but the facts as they happened, using, as nearly as possible, the words and expressions of the people I met and with whom I was thrown in daily contact during the expedition.

It was one of the conditions of the agreement before taking up the work that we should at first accept as fact everything we witnessed, and no explanations should be demanded until we had gone into the work thoroughly, taken their lessons, lived and observed their daily lives. We were to accompany these Masters, live their lives, and determine for ourselves. We were at liberty to be with them as much as we liked, ask any questions we wished, use our own deductions in getting results, and finally accept what we saw as fact or fake. There was no effort at any time to influence our judgment in any way. They wished us to become thoroughly convinced before we gave credence to anything we saw or heard. Therefore, I will place these happenings before the readers and ask them to accept or reject as they see fit.

We had been in India about two years, doing regular routine research work, when I met the Master known in these writings as Emil. While walking along a street in the city where we were staying, my attention was attracted to a crowd. I saw the center of interest was one of the street magicians, or fakirs, that are so common in that country. As I stood there I noticed beside me an elderly man who was not of the same caste as those about him. He looked at me and asked if I had been long in India. I replied, "About two years." He asked, "Are you English?" I answered, "American."

I was surprised and very much interested to find one who spoke English. I asked him what he thought of the performance then going on. He answered, "Oh, it is a common occurrence in India. These fellows are called fakirs, magicians, and hypnotists. They are all the name implies; but underneath it all is a deeper spiritual meaning that few discern, and good will come of it some day. It is but the shadow of the thing from which it sprang. It has caused a great deal of comment, and those commenting upon it seem never to have reached the true meaning, for there certainly is a truth underneath it all."

Here we parted and I saw him only occasionally during the next four months. Our expedition was confronted by a problem which gave us a great deal of trouble. In the midst of our worries I again met Emil. Immediately he asked what was bothering me and began talking about our problem.

I wondered at this, for I felt that none of our party had mentioned it outside of our little circle. His familiarity with the situation was such that I felt the whole matter was known to him. He explained that he had a certain insight into the affair and that he would endeavor to help.

Within a day or two the matter was cleared up, leaving us without a problem. We wondered at this but, with other things to occupy our time, soon forgot.

As other problems came up it became a habit with me to talk them over with Emil. It seemed that as soon as I discussed our troubles with him they would cease to exist.

My associates had met and talked with Emil but I had said little to them about him. By this time I had read a number of books on Hindu lore, selected by Emil, and I was fully convinced that he was one of the adepts. My curiosity was keenly aroused and I was becoming more deeply interested each day.

One Sunday afternoon Emil and I were walking in a field when he called my attention to a pigeon circling overhead and casually remarked that the bird was looking for him. He stood perfectly still and in a few moments the bird alighted upon his out stretched arm. He said the bird has a message from his brother in the North. This proved to be a fellow worker who had not reached the attainment whereby he could communicate directly, so he took this means. We later found that the Masters are able to communicate with each other instantly by thought transference or, as they call it, a force much more subtle than either electricity or wireless.

I then began to ask questions and Emil showed me that he was able to call the birds to him and direct their flight while they were in the air; that the flowers and trees would nod to him; that the wild animals would come to him fearlessly. He parted two jackals that were fighting over the body of a smaller animal that they had killed and were feeding upon. When he approached them they stopped fighting and put their heads in his outstretched hands in perfect trust, then resumed their meal in quiet. He even gave me one of the young wild creatures to hold in my hands. He then said to me, "This is not the mortal self, the self you see, that is able to do these things. It is a truer, deeper self. It is what you know as God, God within me, God the Omnipotent One working through me, that does these things. Of myself, the mortal self, I can do nothing. It is only when I get rid of the outer entirely and let the actual, the I AM, speak and work and let the great Love of God come forth that I can do these things that you have seen. When you let the Love of God pour through you to all things, nothing fears you and no harm can befall you."

Every day during this time I had lessons with Emil. He would suddenly appear in my room, even if I had taken special care to lock the door before retiring. At first his appearance at will disturbed me but I soon saw that he took it for granted that I understood. I became accustomed to his ways and left my door open so that he could come and go as he pleased. This confidence seemed to please him. I could not understand all his teachings and I could not accept them fully, nor was I able, with all I saw while in the East, to fully accept at the time. It required years of meditation to bring me the realization of the deep spiritual meaning of these peoples' lives.

Their work is accomplished without ostentation and in perfect childlike simplicity. They know the power of love to protect them and they cultivate it until all nature is in love with them and befriends them. Thousands of the common people are killed annually by serpents and wild animals, yet these Masters have so brought forth the power of love in themselves that serpents and wild animals do not injure them. They live at times in the wildest jungles, and sometimes lay their bodies down before a village to protect it from the ravages of wild animals, and no harm befalls the village or themselves. When occasion requires they walk on water, go through fire, travel in the invisible, and do many other things that we have been accustomed to look upon as miracles performed only by one supposed in some way to possess supernatural powers.

There is a striking resemblance between the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and those of these Masters as exemplified in their daily life. It has been thought impossible for man to derive his daily supply directly from the Universal, to overcome death and to perform the various so-called miracles that Jesus performed while on earth. The Masters prove that all these are their daily life. They supply everything needed for their daily wants directly from the Universal, including food, clothing and money. They have so far overcome death that many of them now living are over five hundred years of age, as was conclusively proved by their records.

There are comparatively few of these Masters in India, other cults seeming to be but offshoots of their teaching. They realize their number is limited and that only a few scholars can come to them. In the invisible, however, they can reach almost unlimited numbers and it seems to be the greater work of their lives to reach out into the invisible and help all who are receptive to their teaching.

The teaching of Emil laid the foundation for the work which we were to take up years later in our third expedition to these countries, during which time we lived with the Masters continuously for three and one-half years, traveled with them, and observed their daily lives and work throughout the Far East.

CHAPTER VIII

AFTER a delay of eight days, we broke camp on Monday morning and proceeded on our way.

The afternoon of the third day out, we came to the bank of a larger river. The stream was about two thousand feet wide, running bank-full, and the current was at least ten miles per hour. We were told that this stream, in ordinary times, could be crossed at this place without any inconvenience.

We decided to camp until morning and observe the rise and fall of the water. We were informed that we would be able to cross by bridge farther up stream, but to reach this bridge would necessitate a detour of at least four days' hard travel. We felt that if the water was receding, it would be better to wait a few days rather than undertake the long detour. It had been demonstrated to us that we need not take any thought as to our provisions for, from the day already referred to, when our provisions were exhausted the whole company, consisting of over three hundred persons, had been supplied with an abundance of provisions from the invisible, as we called it. This supply was maintained for sixty-four days, until we returned to the village from which we started. Thus far, none of us had any idea of the true significance or meaning of the things we were experiencing. Neither were we able to see that these things were performed by definite law, a law that all can use.

When we were assembled for breakfast next morning, we found five strangers in camp. They were introduced and it was mentioned that they were from a party that was camped on the other side of the stream and were returning from the village of our destination. We thought very little
of this at the time, as we naturally supposed they had found a boat and had crossed in it. One of our party said, "If these people have a boat, why can we not use it to cross the stream?" I think all of us saw this as a way out of our difficulty; but we were told that there was no boat as the crossing was not thought to be of sufficient importance to maintain one.

After finishing breakfast that morning we were all assembled on the banks of the stream. We noticed that Emil, Jast, and Neprow with four others of our party were talking with the five strangers. Jast came to us and said they would like to cross with the others to the camp on the other side of the stream as they had decided to wait until the next morning to see if the water showed signs of receding. Of course, our curiosity was aroused and we thought it rather foolhardy to attempt to swim a stream as swift as the one before us just to make a friendly call upon a neighbor. We felt that swimming was the only way the crossing could be accomplished.

When Jast rejoined the group, the twelve, fully dressed, walked to the bank of the stream, and with the utmost composure stepped on the water, not into it. I never shall forget my feelings as I saw each of those twelve men step from solid ground upon the running water. I held my breath, expecting, of course, to see them plunge beneath and disappear. I found afterwards that that was the thought of all our party. At the time, I think each of us held his breath until they were all past midstream, so astonished were we to see those twelve men walking calmly across the surface of the stream without the least inconvenience and not sinking below the soles of their sandals.

When they stepped from the water to the farther bank I felt that tons of weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I believe this was the feeling of every one of our party, judging from the sighs of relief as the last man stepped ashore. It certainly was an experience that words fail to describe. The seven belonging to our party returned for lunch. While the excitement was not so intense at the second crossing, every one of us breathed more freely when the seven were safe ashore again. Not one of our party had left the bank of the stream that forenoon. There was very little discussion regarding what we had witnessed, so engrossed were we with our own thoughts.

It was decided that afternoon that we would be obliged to make the detour to the bridge in order to cross the stream. We were up early next morning ready to proceed on the long detour. Before we started, fifty-two of the company walked calmly down to the stream and across, the same as the twelve had done the day before. We were told that we would be able to cross with them, but none of us had the faith to make the attempt. Jast and Neprow insisted upon accompanying us. We attempted to dissuade them, saying that we could follow along with the others, thus saving them the inconvenience. They were unyielding and stayed with us, saying that it was absolutely no inconvenience to them.

The subject of conversation and thought during the four days it took us to join those that had crossed was the remarkable things we had seen accomplished during the short time we had been with those wonderful people. The second day the company was toiling up the steep side of a mountain with the hot sun pouring down upon us when our Chief, who had said but little during the last two days, suddenly remarked, "Boys, why is it that man is obliged to crawl and grovel over this earth?" We answered in chorus that he had voiced our thoughts exactly.

He went on to say, "How is it, if a few are able to do the things we have seen accomplished, that all men cannot accomplish the same things? How is it that man is content to crawl, and not only content to crawl but is obliged to do so? If man was given dominion over all things, he was certainly given power to fly above the birds. If this is his dominion why has he not asserted this dominion long ago? The fault must certainly be in man's own mind. This must all have come about by man's own mortal concept of himself. He has only been able, in his own mind, to see himself crawling; thus he has only been able to crawl."

Then Jast took up the thought and said, "You are perfectly right, it is all in man's consciousness. He is limited or unlimited, bound or free, just as he thinks. Do you think that the men you saw walk across the stream yesterday to save themselves the inconvenience of this trip are in any way special creations any more than you are? No. They are not created in any way different from you. They do not have one atom more power than you were created with. They have, by the right use of their thought forces, developed their God-given power. The things you have seen accomplished while you have been with us, you, yourselves, can accomplish just as fully and freely. The things you have seen are accomplished in accord with definite law and every human being can use the law if he will."

The talk ended here and we went on and joined the fifty-two who had crossed, then proceeded to the village.

The Life and Teachings of the
Masters of the Far East
by TJ Spalding

“When we stand one with the sum of all intelligence, and recognise ourselves as an actual part of that intelligence, and know conclusively that this is the great principle, God, we shall soon find ourselves conscious of the fact that all intelligence throughout the whole cosmic universe is working with us. We also realise quickly that the intelligence of all great genius, as well as the little mentality of the single cell of the body, is working with us in perfect harmony and accord. This is the One Great Intelligent Cosmic Mind that we are positively allied with. Indeed we are that very mind; we are the self-consciousness of the universe. The instant we feel this very thing nothing can keep us from our Godhead.

“From this universal consciousness we can draw all knowledge; we know that we can know all,
without studying and without process of reasoning, not going from lesson to another, nor from one point to another. The lessons are necessary only in order to bring us to the attitude in which we can step forth into this thought. Then we become comprehensive and include all thought. There is a complete stream of motivating thought that is irresistible and we know that nothing can divert us from true accomplishment.

" . . . The drop of water is only weak when it is removed from the ocean, replace it and it is as powerful as the whole ocean. It matters not whether we like or whether we believe it. It is intelligent law and we are that very thing.

“The sum of all truth is the Great Principle God. Everything from eternity to eternity, whether we
think it’s a great truth or a little truth, every true word, thought, or spoken is part of the Great Truth, One Great All, One Universal Truth and we are that very thing. When we realise this oneness and stand absolutely with truth, we have the whole of truth back of us and our irresistibility is increased. It is the force of the ocean back of the wave that gives the wave its power; that, too, is but a portion of God-force which man also is.

“The sum of all love is the Great Principle, God. It is the sum of every affection, every fervent
emotion, every loving thought, look, word or deed. Every attracted love, great or small, sublime or low, makes the one infinite love stand forth and nothing is too great for us. As we love unselfishly, we have the complete ocean of cosmic love with us. That which is thought least is greatest as it sweeps onto absolute perfection; thus the whole universe of love is consciously with us. There is no greater power in Earth or in heaven. Earth becomes heaven; heaven is humanity’s true home.

“Finally the sum of every condition, every form, every being is the one infinite cosmic principle,
God. Whether it be individuals, worlds, planets, stars, atoms, electrons, or the most minute particles. All together make the infinite whole, the body of which is the universe, the mind, cosmic intelligence; the soul, cosmic love. Woven together as a whole their bodies, minds and souls are held together with the cohesive force of love; yet each one functions in eternal individual identity, moving freely in its individual orbit and octave of harmony, attracted, drawn and held together by the love of that universe of harmony. We constitute that Great Being that nothing can thwart. It is made up of every unit of humanity as well as every unit of the universe. If a portion of one unit excludes itself from the whole, it makes no difference to Principle Being but it makes a vast difference to the unit. The ocean is not conscious of the removal of the drop of water but the drop is very conscious of the ocean when it is returned or reunited with it.

“It is not enough for us to say that we are close to the Great Cosmic Principle, God. We must
know definitely that we are one with, in, and of, and amalgamated entirely with, Principle; and that we cannot be separate or apart from God, Principle. Thus we work with the principle of power which is all power. It is the law that in principle we live, move and have our being. Thus when we wish to come into contact with God, we do not think of something away from us and difficult to attain. All we need know is that God is within as well as all about and that we are completely included in God; that we are consciously within the presence of God and are present in God and in command with full power. Thus we need not pause, we need not ponder; we take the path directly to God within. Here the Christ stands steadfast and supreme and with God we endure forever.

“Thus we arouse our dead cells into the realisation of the life within and that life resurrects us
from the dead; we return to life immortal, unchanging. We are convinced of life and our right to live that life fully and perfectly. The Christ within stands forth and says, ‘I come that you may have complete life and live that more abundantly’. This must be a true resurrection in our consciousness—an uplifting of our dead senses into a higher vibration of life, truth and love. As all nature is awakening about us, let us arouse ourselves . . . up and out of all sense of limitation in which we have bound our bodies. We roll the stone of materiality completely from our consciousness, that heavy weight of thought that has separated the life within from the life without; and which has held the life form in death and denied it life because we have not recognised its right to life. Let us get up and out of death—this is what the resurrection means. It is an awakening to the full realisation of life here and now—and that life omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient; nowhere absent, nowhere powerless, nowhere unconscious but everywhere present, everywhere powerful, everywhere conscious, in wellness, in freedom, in gloriously radiant expressive, expanding action ...

“As we awaken to our rightful heritage, we shall awaken to the beauty and purity of the age-old
message that our bodies are eternally beautiful, pure and perfect. They are always beautiful, pure, spiritual bodies, most magnificent and divine, the true temples of God. This awakening also convinces us that our bodies have never descended from that high estate. We see that it was only a human concept wherein we thought they had descended. As soon as this thought is released, our body is released to its true inheritance of divinity . . . soon pure rays of white light appear within our bodies; they become aglow with this light”.

"They emanate with this light and they become transfigured as we become immersed in divine life. The son of man becomes the Christ of God. Jesus goes on to say that, “it is a body so luminous that no germ of old age or decay can find lodgement therein. It is a body so alive that it cannot die . . . such a body stands forth as divine master of every situation. The new age message of enlightenment is the old age message of resurrection told throughout the ages that “the son of man is to realise his divinity, reveal this divinity in his body and affairs and become the Christed God in the kingdom of God ‘know ye not that ye are Gods? . . .

“God knows that in the great structure of the universe there is a splendid place for every human
being and each has his individual place . . . you are an especially designed creation, you have a particular mission, you have a light to give, a work to do that no other can give or accomplish; and if you will open your heart, mind and soul wide to spirit, you will learn of it in your own heart. There you will find that your very own father speaks to you . . . you need not the teaching of any man . . . you may accept others as brother helpers but you are always instructed and led from within; the truth is there for you and you will find it . . .

“The Truth is ‘all is one’; One Spirit, One Body, the Great Lord Body of all humanity. The
Great Love Light life of God completely amalgamates that body into One Complete Whole”.
What more is there to say?"
.................