The prophecy of "the woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under
her feet," is not of _a_ woman, but of Woman, in the light of a race of men
who have attained cosmic consciousness.

Nothing more is needed to make a heaven of earth, than that the great light
and love that comes of Illumination, shall become dominant.

It will solve all problems, because problems arise only because we are
groping in the dark. The elimination of selfishness; of condemnation; of
fear and anger, and doubt, must have far greater power for universal
happiness and well-being than all the systems which theology or science or
politics could devise. Indeed, all these systems are sporadic and empirical
attempts to express the vague dawning of Illumination.

In the fullness of its light, the need for systems will have passed away.




CHAPTER I

THE NEW BIRTH: WHAT IT IS: INSTANCES DESCRIBED


The chief difference between the religions and the philosophies of the
Orient and those of the Occident, lies in the fact that the Oriental
systems, methods, and practices, emphasize the assumption that the goal of
these efforts, is attainable at any moment, as it were.