PRELIMINARY - SECOND READING
WHATEVER our pursuits, whatever our aim in life, one thing is certain, that to succeed in our under-takings we must necessarily be in a condition to ably meet the demands of our efforts, and must be in possession of that power which gives us assurance of success. To be able to live, we must necessarily have love of life. Love is the fundamental principle of Life, and Wisdom its constant companion. By love and the exercise of wisdom, life becomes complete and worth living, for life is as we make it ; its conditions as we make them.
As it is with the flower, the tree, the grain, so it is with man. You may place the seed in the soil, you may water it and keep the soil loose, that is all you can do for it. The rest must be left to the seed itself. If the life germ is conscious in the same, and the conditions in nature harmonious to its kind, it will sprout, grow and prosper. And here we are. Beings of a higher order, as we claim. But is our claim justified; do we prove it? This is a question that is best answered by the individual for his own self. We cannot depend upon others to answer for us. We have to answer all questions to our own satisfaction. As there is but one way whereby the seed may be able to germinate and continue to grow, and that it by putting it into the soil, the fish by being left in the water and man to live upon the earth, so there is but one way whereby man may gain salvation, the state of perfection, satisfaction, joy, a state of perfect harmony with nature --- health.