“The soul of man within his body is like a conqueror in an occupied land. The laws of the victor conflict with the laws of the vanquished, but it is the greater law that must be obeyed, so both may live

together in harmony.

“Avoid the guilt of furtive and unmanly things, that you may walk with a high head and steady eyes.

“It is wrongful for a man who cannot know woman to seek the sustenance of the serpent.

“Your nose is ever ready to savor the sweetness of perfume, and your mouth delights in delicacies of the table. Your eye is ever alert for beauty. But remember that perfumes do not linger long in the nostrils, and delicacies destroy the appetite they arouse. Beauty seen too often ceases to

stir the heart.

“The rule is moderation in all things; turn from unmanly ways, follow the path of cleanliness, and avoid the indulgences of soft living and iniquity. Follow these rules, and sleep soundly; spend your waking hours in peace.”

-The Kolbrin Bible (MPR:17:19-23)

Body and Spirit

The body and spirit must function together for optimum health and development. But as the quote says, the greater law must be obeyed. That means that the spirit should take priority and we should not do things that conflict with spiritual law. Unfortunately, that rule cannot always be obeyed. The Laws of Spirit (or of God) say that we should not kill other beings, yet we must kill and consume other beings in order for the physical body to survive. That is why the physical body must eventually die, no matter how hard we try to keep it alive.

Avoid Furtive and Unmanly Things

Furtive means trying to hide things we know we shouldn’t have done. So this part of the quote is telling us that instead of doing things we know we shouldn’t, and then trying to hide it, we should avoid doing such things altogether.

Perfumes do not Linger

This part of the quote is telling us that the pleasures of the physical realm are always temporary. That is why many are never satisfied and always seek more of whatever they find pleasant. The point this paragraph is making is that we should not waste our lives constantly seeking pleasure. It is fine to enjoy such things in a limited way. As the oriental philosophies say, we must avoid getting attached to things. That is because the forces of darkness can use such attachments to control us.

Moderation in all Things

The final paragraph sums up the point by saying that “The rule is moderation in all things”. We can have good food, live in a nice house, etc. but in moderation. There is one exception. When it comes to spiritual development, we should not practice moderation, but seek to advance as much as possible. And now we have the Sun of Righteousness shining down on us to aid our spiritual growth.

“Is man in his thinking and acting a spiritually free being, or is he compelled by the iron necessity of purely natural law? There are few questions upon which so much sagacity has been brought to bear. The idea of the freedom of the human will has found enthusiastic supporters and stubborn opponents in plenty. There are those who, in their moral fervor, label anyone a man of limited intelligence who can deny so patent a fact as freedom. Opposed to them are others who regard it as the acme of unscientific thinking for anyone to believe that the uniformity of natural law is broken in the sphere of human action and thinking. One and the same thing is thus proclaimed, now as the most precious possession of humanity, now as its most fatal illusion. Infinite subtlety has been employed to explain how human freedom can be consistent with the laws working in nature, of which man, after all, is a part. No less is the trouble to which others have gone to explain how such a delusion as this could have arisen. That we are dealing here with with one of the most important questions for life, religion, conduct, science, must be felt by anyone who includes any degree of thoroughness at all in his make-up. It is one of the sad signs of the superficiality of present-day thought that a book which attempts to develop a new faith out of the results of recent scientific research, has nothing more to say on this question than these words: With the question of the freedom of the human will we are not concerned. The alleged freedom of indifferent choice has been recognized as an empty illusion by every philosophy worthy of the name. The moral valuation of human action and character remains untouched by this problem. It is not because I consider that the book in which it occurs has any special importance that I quote this passage, but because it seems to me to express the view to which the thinking of most of our contemporaries manages to rise in this matter.”

-Rudolf Steiner

Is Man Spiritually Free?

Steiner asks if we are spiritually free beings, or are we compelled to act according to the laws of nature?

The answer is both. Our physical body and mind must function according to the laws of nature, but our spirit is free to follow or not follow the Laws of God. Of course, if we foolishly choose to not follow God’s Law, then we forfeit our chance for eternal life with God in Heaven.

Free Will

As the quote indicates, the idea of Man having free will is a subject of much debate. Some insist man has free will; others say the opposite. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. We have free will, but it is limited. We cannot stop breathing for hours at a time. We cannot stop eating entirely. Even the ancient Essenes, possibly the most developed spiritual people ever, had to eat occasionally. Likewise, we can’t fly without being inside or attached to a flying device such as a plane or jet pack.

Most Precious Possession

The quote says that free will is our most precious possession. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but it certainly is one of the top three. God wants all of us to follow His Law, but if we had no choice in the matter, it wouldn’t be much of an accomplishment. God also wants us to develop the strength to resist the temptations sent our way by the forces of darkness. That also requires that we have some degree of free will.

Scientific Research

The quote says that scientific research is not concerned with free will. That is true for the most part, because few scientists see any value in studying spiritual or even moral matters. That is starting to change, however, as they increased study of consciousness, it is leading them in the direction of spiritual growth, since spiritual development is the only way to raise our level of consciousness.

“Rejoice, O man, in your body strength and cleanliness, and be not ashamed of your nature. Live in peace and contentment, for cakes of flour and water eaten with a contented heart serve the body better than fine meats eaten with strife and enmity.

“Do not accustom yourself to lying in bed, while the dawn is breaking in beauty, for no man is wholesome unless he has knowledge of the dawn.

“Remember that the call of the food table exceeds the needs of

the body.

“Do not weary yourself concerning the affairs of the day, nor be over anxious about your household and estate. Things happen; disaster or power come according to the dispensations of God. Follow your inclinations, and if your plans go awry, continue in peace. Do your best, and be content

that you can do no more.

“Let your heart be quiet within your body, and your body will not be unhealthy. It is the guest chamber of the soul; let the soul not abide in squalor.

“God ordained the Law and laws, which govern the conduct of

man and laws, which govern the ways of nature. Unnatural deeds bring

unnatural afflictions in their train, and unnatural thoughts precede unnatural

ills.”

The Kolbrin Bible (MPR:17:13-18)

Rejoice in Your Strength and Cleanliness

It is true that we should rejoice in our strength. This doesn’t mean being muscular, although that is a good thing as well. It means strength in making wise decisions and avoiding temptation. As for cleanliness, this refers to internal cleanliness rather than external.

Live in Peace

It is important to live in peace. The quote implies that it means peace with yourself and your condition rather than the opposite of war, although both types of peace are important. It is true that your food will digest better when you are contented, even food as simple as bread and water.

Up at Dawn

The quote says we should not be lying in bed when the sun is rising. We in Cosolargy know this is true. You cannot do solar techniques if you don’t get up for sunrise. It is recommended that you do techniques within one hour after sunrise. The only exception being when you do your sun-gazing at sunset. We do need knowledge of the dawn, as the quote says. Mainly, knowledge of the spiritual side of the sun.

Call of Food

The quote says that the call of the food table exceeds the needs of the body. This means that we should not overeat. It also means that we should not eat the wrong things. That means we shouldn’t eat red meat such as beef and pork. It is fine to eat fowl and fish, but if you choose to be a vegetarian, that is even better. We should also avoid junk food and overly processed food.

Do Your Best

Both in physical and spiritual endeavors, it is important that we do our best. This does not mean that we need to be better than others, but we do need to continually improve, especially in spiritual development.

Let Your Heart Be Quiet

This means that we should avoid such things as anger and jealousy. If we don’t like a persons behavior, we can be upset with the behavior without being angry with the person. We should also understand that jealousy harms us, not the other person.

God Ordained the Law

I have covered this subject before. There are three levels of law: God’s, natures, and Mans. We must understand that God’s law is above all other law. Man should not make laws that oppose those of God or nature. Unfortunately, many of Man’s laws do oppose God’s or natures, but that is starting to change as we are learning the folly of believing we are above the laws of God or nature.