Young children, too, live in an endless transition from joy to sorrow, but, as a rule, they quickly recover from such sorrows, especially if they are blessed with a couple of loving parents who act as "protecting angels" during their physical, existence. When grown up , on the other hand, it will usually prove far more difficult for them to overcome their problems and sorrows. Indeed, their troubles may sometimes seem so serious that they are led to commit suicide, because they believe that their difficulties are solely of a physical nature", and can be escaped through death. After death a suicide will, however, learn that his worries are purely of a psychic nature, and still exist independently of his physical body. When he leaves his physical organism, he lives on in his own dark world of thought, from which he can only be released through the power of prayer. Eventually he will be released, for, without his being aware of it; he is at all times surrounded by protecting angels whose special task it is to assist all who, having left their physical body, find themselves lost in a fearsome "state of purgatory" in which they are imprisoned in their own melancholy world of thought as if in a "mental prison".

When they call for help - as even the most rabid materialist and atheist eventually will - it is as though they attune their consciousness to another wavelength, and are thus suddenly able to see and contact the loving beings who, all the time, have surrounded them, and who, now that they have themselves torn aside the intervening veil, are able to suggestionize away their dark thoughts, just as loving parents soothe and console their unhappy child.

As earthly man is a mentally released, but unfinished and cosmically ignorant being, it is only natural that his existence must consist of a wandering between mentally light and dark states. In saying that he has been mentally released we mean that, in contrast to all other beings in the animal kingdom - to which he still belongs - he possesses an incipient ability to think and an ability to recognize the difference between "I" and "it". He is also at liberty to experiment and thus come to know -and understand the laws of nature, but, at the same time of course, he must suffer the consequences of his experimenting. Only when, by employing some course of action, he has acquired sufficient knowledge and experience with regard to the fatal or life-giving effects of his actions and thoughts — and the greater or lesser risk entailed by various kinds of thought and form of behaviour – has he become able to use his emancipation logically and; charitably. In a coming incarnation a suicide will find himself again in a situation similar to that which caused him to commit suicide in his former incarnation. This is not caused as a punishment, but is a natural effect of the causes he himself set going. His guardian angels have been able to suggestionize away his unhappy thoughts, but to remove their cause is beyond their power. The cause is to be found in the "talent-kernels" within his supreme consciousness and they will develop and form his fate in his coming incarnation, when he will himself have to overcome the effects, and try to create new causes of quite another character. Nervous breakdowns, illness, enmity, war, financial troubles, etc., indeed everything that goes to form the dark mental clouds in human life, are but the effects of causes having their root and origin in the supreme consciousness of the human beings, in their fate-element or talent-kernels. They are all results of earthly human beings' experimenting consciousness. They must learn to know the difference between Good and Evil, and come to be as God, as the Bible has it. That is to say that through their continual experimenting and the experience thus gained in successive incarnations, they will have to develop talent-kernels in their supreme consciousness through which they can display a power of thought and mode of action completely in agreement with the laws of life, or what means the same, entirely beneficial to everybody and everything.

The talent-kernels present in earthly man's mental structure promoting his dark fate, are not a recent phenomenon in his consciousness. On the contrary, they were formed gradually through the immeasurably long ages when earthly human beings were still in their animal states, through which steps in evolution they were gradually transformed into primitive, and subsequently into civilized human beings. But what we call "civilization" and "culture" are still but the thinnest of outer veneers covering the underlying jungle-mentality of the animal kingdom. Earthly man's world is an intellectualized jungle, and his incipient human feeling and intelligence, which form the veneer covering his animal nature have not yet acquired sufficient strength to bind and hold down the explosive animal force The experience gained through many successive incarnations has however already been instrumental in enabling a certain part of earthly humanity to reach stages in evolution on which they only to a lesser degree release wrong actions. Some have even advanced so far that they have become directly interested in their own further development, and now more or less consciously begin to investigate, study and consider the problems of life, both in the light of religion and science. Quite a few are beginning to understand the principle of reincarnation and the immense evolutionary process in the midst of which they find themselves. They wish to attain initiation and thus become true human beings. All this is excellent and only natural. But in such a situation earthly man may, in mistaken fanaticism, or in a far too one-sided emotionally or intellectually biased state of mind, often create great difficulties for himself as well as for those around him. It is therefore of considerable importance that the spiritual searcher be given an opportunity of becoming acquainted with those "guardians of the threshold" who must be overcome in his own consciousness before he can hope to reach the much desired condition which initiated beings enjoy.

In addition to this desire to reach the great initiation or "the Supreme Birth" the developed earthly human being has still many unfinished facets to his being. He has, at the same time, the ability, or is at liberty to try to gain initiation in such a way that these unfinished facets are not only not overcome but will, on the contrary, combine with certain psychic experiences to turn said being into what Christ refers to as a "false prophet". Now, how are these "false prophets" to be distinguished from beings whose cosmic flashes have been genuine and natural steps on the road towards cosmic consciousness? They are distinguished by the fact that they have not yet overcome their characteristic qualities as regards religious fanaticism, arrogance and intolerance. They desire power and wish to dominate others, and are often inclined to condemn anyone who does not believe in them, or who has his own philosophy, if this does not happen to agree with theirs. But how can a being with such unfinished qualities in his consciousness attain cosmic flashes, visions or illuminating revelations? Quite often, in his eager desire to gain initiation, the person in question has sought to gain the desired state by employing artificial circumventions. As is well known, it is possible, by means of mental concentration, to train oneself up to a kind of spiritual ecstasy in which one may experience a radiant light and receive visions, and revelations. In a sudden lightning flash one may come in contact with the highest spiritual energies. But this seemingly wonderful experience will, however, wake the "guardians of the threshold" to action; for this artificial contact, with these same cosmic energies is neither initiation, nor the Supreme Birth. Genuine cosmic flashes and the attainment of cosmic consciousness are not something that can be acquired by artificial training or practice, for it is impossible to attain such heights in an artificial way. Cosmic consciousness exists only as a result of the complete subjugation of the lower nature of the being in question. It will then set in as an inevitable and natural organic process which will open up the latent potentialities of the said individual's brain and enable him, during his waking state on the physical plane, to be day-conscious, both on the physical, as well as on the psychic or spiritual plane of life. Such an experience will happen at a moment when said individual least expects it, indeed has not thought himself far enough advanced to deserve to be vouchsafed such an experience. It certainly never will happen at a time when the individual considers himself far enough developed to deserve it.

Nonetheless, persons who try by artificial means to attain such an initiation are convinced that they will eventually succeed, arid they are so consumed by their burning desire, that no price seems too high to gain it. Such a person is not at all concerned about ridding himself of the unfinished states still dominating his consciousness, indeed, he does not even notice their existence. Such a rabid desire to attain the Supreme Birth is in reality nothing more than a mark of vanity, and of having too high an opinion on one's own spiritual standard. People who fail to recognize their own immature condition do not realize either how dangerous it is to try to bring this condition in contact with the higher cosmic energies or forces. Said forces constitute a condition of "high tension", and, if the proper human qualifications are not present in a person's consciousness, they may well involve the most terrible forms of "short circuit" and "fire" in' his mentality. The Supreme Birth is not something one can run after, as one might be out for promotion or a title.

These "guardians of the threshold" are disclosed in the fact that persons- without the necessary ballast of moral development, who try, by artificial means, to pass across the threshold to a higher state of consciousness, often exhibit bitterness or even wrath with other religious people who possibly have had more success than themselves in the religious field. They may even show a' tendency to persecute those who have been vouchsafed true cosmic flashes, or who have already attained permanent cosmic consciousness. Naturally, the karma these people create for themselves by such behaviour will be neither bright or radiant, on the contrary, it cannot be otherwise than gloomy and full off suffering. But these sufferings are just what is needed to gradually to call forth and develop charitable feelings, humility and a humane solicitude for others, in fact, all the very attributes that will remove the guardians of the threshold". By that time the being in question will have learnt to discountenance all attempts to attain initiation by artificial means, and, when that happens, he will, in fact, be nearer true initiation than he ever was before.

While all such artificial attempts to attain a higher stage of consciousness usually make for Spiritual arrogance and ambitious strivings, those who have experienced cosmic flashes in a natural way are usually most reluctant to speak about their experience. Such people feel only an insistent urge to help humanity out of its difficulties as best they can in a humble and modest, way. They feel pleasure in meeting and associating with like-minded beings. They will quickly feel that people of themselves seek their company, and that, in their quiet, humble way, they have the ability to spread a mental illumination around them in everyday life. It is obvious that such people may well have some unfinished aspects as well and these they will continue to have as long as they can only experience the cosmic state in flashes. But in a mentality characterized by humility and a fervent attitude towards God, such unfinished aspects will never prove so drastic or destructive that they will combine with and dominate said cosmic flashes. Still it may often happen, too, that when a certain number of years have passed since the first cosmic flash shed light in their consciousness that it will grow somewhat dimmer, and the unfinished facets in their character will once more begin to gain the upper hand. They will then once more be confronted by the "guardians of the threshold" in their own mind, and a struggle will ensue which will, however, always end in victory. Then comes another cosmic flash far stronger than the first. And thus things will continue until no single vestige of their animal nature remains. Then it is that the Supreme Birth will be experienced, and the person in question will become a Christ-like being, at one with the Father, a being who, in every situation, will do God's will. It is, such beings who, following in Christ's footsteps in all the activities of their daily life, become the true helpers in the service of spiritual science and. in the redemption of mankind. Only he who follows meticulously in Christ's footsteps is safely insured against false cosmic, flashes or visions.