Although Adoni Bourdalone had been but a short time at the retreat where the very atmosphere breathed of peace and contentment - of that satisfying sense of righteous living, he already felt the soul-satisfying influence of Bashinar and his teachings. The heart-hunger that had beset his being since he had burned his bridges behind him in the great church where his last words had stunned those who had formerly given him all but adulation, seemed to have grown less keen; he* felt a peaceful realization that he was about to experience that for which his heart had yearned for many years. He realized the divine import of the teachings of Bashinar and knew, deep down in his own heart that he was nearing the consummation of that thought which had borne to him the promise of fruitful endeavor in shaping the spiritual as well as material destinies of the rising generation.

Bashinar was a wise teacher and his faith in Adoni was rewarded by diligent devotion to the spiritual teachings of this man, whose thoughts transcended material things. Adoni gave himself up to his influences and supreme guidance, but he was eager to be up and doing - eager to; impart to the world the things which he was absorbing with unselfish zeal. And Bashinar gave him that inspiration that would make for unrestrained effort.

On this momentous morning, when the air was pregnant with inspiration and lofty ideals, Bashinar read from the treatise on the "Light on the Path" the tenets of the faith which formed the foundation to the great movement of human progress which was gradually, like a wave of light, rolling through the intellectual world. He read of the necessities in self-denial which the devotees of the faith must exercise, how ambition for worldly rewards must be restrained; how the higher ideals can only be attained by a desire to bring joy to the hearts of men through the science of right living and due regard to the omnipotent power which shapes man's destinies. And in closing his recital, Bashinar quoted:

"Look for the flower to bloom in the silence that follows the storm. Listen for a voice to speak where there is none to speak - it is a messenger that comes, a messenger without form or substance; or it is the flower of the soul that has opened. It cannot be described by a metaphor. But it can be felt after, looked for, and desired, even amid the raging of the storm. The silence may last a moment of the time or it may last a thousand years. But it will end. Yet you will carry its strength with you. Again and again the battle must be fought and won. It is only for an interval that nature can be still."

And then Adoni took the book and turned its pages slowly, reading over again those passages which had most impressed him. And at the very beginning he read again these words:

"Before the eyes can see they must be incapable of tears. Before the ear can hear it must have lost its sensitiveness. Before the voice can speak in the presence of the Master it must have lost its power to wound. Before the soul can stand in the presence of the Master its feet must be washed in the blood of the heart."

Adoni laid aside the book and seated himself opposite his teacher ready for discussion.

"You now understand, my son, that 'The survival of the fittest9 is soon to be demonstrated by the unblemished law of natural science, which is once more swinging into place - and this time, instead of following in the footsteps of a few teachers, man will study under the teachers only as long a time as it takes him to learn to master the science; and knows that he is 'A law unto himself? 'A living soul, 'A creator of his own world.' "

"This science of body, soul and mind, is not against religion, but with 'Practical Religion' expressing a sympathetic, noble, loving Christlike personality along our daily walks of life. "Man is the great psychological study of man today." It teaches that a man is what he thinks he is; acts the blossoms of thoughts; joy and suffering its fruits. Thought is the greatest power that drifts on the ocean of life; it moulds our character, shapes our destiny, builds our mansions and destroys them with what we secretly think. 'As a man thinketh, so is he;' as he continues to think, so he remains. Man can only rise by lifting up his thoughts. Thought is the most powerful force. The voice of the soul is a mighty Truth in the Psychic Creed."

Adoni devoured every word that fell from the lips of his wise teacher, then he asked with eagerness:

"What do you teach of the life beyond?"

"This question is one most frequently asked by the western preachers. These so-called teachers are like the blind leading the blind. Among highly developed Orientals, the 'other side' need not be taken on faith but is actually known by the higher sense which is possessed by all the race."

"Do you not find it a great task when you first attempt to convey this knowledge to the western mind?"

A faint smile flittered across Bashinar's face.

"They demand actual proof-----."

'This, of course," interrupted Adoni, "you are not able to give them?"

"We are not, for these facts must first be experienced to be known. Truth is truth only when proven by its own experiment. We only ask that the student shall have confidence in the teacher pointing out the way; there to find the things we teach - handle them, weigh them, taste them, measure them and 'Know for Yourself.' "

"Even so," asked Adoni, "when the first glimpses of truth dawn upon the mind, does not the skeptical student require scientific proof?"

"He does, and is usually disappointed. "Physical apparatus is intended for physical objects only. The world of spirit has its own set apparatus, which alone is capable of registering its phenomena. No physical proofs are offered; there are none to be found anywhere. Moreover there is no attempt or basis for argument between the seers of the 'Other Side' and those whose visions are limited to the earth plane." Even so there reaches forth into the mental night the groping hands of 'They who seek the Light.' "