Excerpts from
"Eight Pillars of Prosperity" by James Allen Order in Adobe PDF eBook or printed form for $7.95 (+ printing charge) or click here to order in printed form from Amazon.com for $17.79 Book Description Prosperity rests upon a moral foundation. The foundation consists of the Eight Pillars, which the author explains include Energy, Economy, Integrity, System, Sympathy, Sincerity, Impartiality and Self-Reliance. As you will see, building on the eight pillars results in an honorable, satisfied person with a well-known, successful practice. Was there ever any doubt that the very same pillars are the base and mainstay of both a good life and a good livelihood? Preface IT is
popularly supposed that a greater prosperity for individuals or nations
can only
come through a political and social reconstruction. This cannot be true
apart
from the practice of the moral virtues in the individuals that comprise
a
nation. Better laws and social conditions will always follow a higher
realization of morality among the individuals of a community, but no
legal
enactment can give prosperity to, nay, it cannot prevent the ruin of, a
man or
a nation that has become lax and decadent in the pursuit and
practice of
virtue. The moral
virtues are the foundation and support of prosperity as they are the
soul of
greatness. They endure forever, and all the works of man which endure
are built
upon them. Without them there is neither strength, stability, nor
substantial
reality, but
only ephemeral dreams. To find moral principles is to have found
prosperity,
greatness, truth, and is therefore to be strong, valiant, joyful, and free. JAMES ALLEN
PROSPERITY rests
upon a moral foundation. It is popularly supposed to rest upon an
immoral
foundation—that is, upon trickery, sharp practice, deception, and
greed. One
commonly hears even an otherwise intelligent man declare that “No man
can be
successful in business unless he is dishonest;” thus regarding business
prosperity,
a good thing, as the effect of dishonesty, a bad thing. Such a
statement is
superficial and thoughtless, and reveals a total lack of knowledge of
moral causation,
as well as a very limited grasp of the facts of life. It is as though
one
should sow henbane and reap spinach, or erect a brick house on a
quagmire,—things impossible in the natural order of causation, and
therefore
not to be attempted. The spiritual or moral order of causation is not
different
in principle, but only in nature. The same law obtains in things
unseen—in
thoughts and
deeds—as in things seen—in natural phenomena. Man sees the processes in
natural
objects, and acts in accordance with them, but not seeing the spiritual
processes, he imagines that they do not obtain, and so he does not act
in
harmony with them. Yet these
spiritual processes are just as simple and just as sure as the natural
processes.
They are indeed the same natural modes manifesting in the
world of mind.
All the parables and a large number of the sayings of the Great
Teachers are designed
to illustrate this fact. The natural world is the mental world made
visible.
The seen is the mirror of the unseen. The upper half of a circle is in
no way
different from the lower half, but its sphericity is reversed. The
material and
the mental are not two detached arcs in the universe, they are the two
halves
of a complete circle. The natural and the spiritual are not at eternal
enmity,
but in the true order of the universe are eternally at one. It is in the unnatural—in the abuse of function and faculty—where
division
arises, and where man is wrested back, with repeated sufferings,
from the perfect
circle from which he has tried to depart. Every process in matter
is also a
process in mind. Every natural law has its spiritual counterpart. Take any
natural object, and you will find its fundamental processes in the
mental
sphere if you rightly search. Consider, For instance, the germination
of a seed
and its growth into a plant with the final development of a
flower, and back
to seed again. This also is a mental process. Thoughts are seeds which,
falling
in the soil of the mind, germinate and develop until they reach the
completed
stage, blossoming into deeds good or bad, brilliant or stupid,
according to
their nature, and ending as seeds of thought to be again sown in other
minds. A
teacher is a sower of seed, a spiritual agriculturist, while he who
teaches
himself is the wise farmer of his own mental plot. The growth of a
thought is
as the growth of a plant. The seed must be sown seasonably, and
time is
required for its full development into the plant of knowledge and
the flower
of wisdom. While
writing this, I pause and turn to look through my study window, and
there, a
hundred yards away, is a tall tree in the top of which some
enterprising rook
from a rookery hard by has, for the first time, built its nest. A
strong
northeast wind is blowing, so that the top of the tree is swayed
violently to
and fro by the onset of the blast; yet there is no danger to that frail
thing
of sticks and hair, and the mother bird, sitting upon her eggs, has no
fear of
the storm. Why is this? It is because the bird has instinctively built
her nest
in harmony with principles which ensure the maximum strength and
security.
First a fork is chosen as the foundation for the nest, and not a space
between
two separate branches, so that however great may be the swaying
of the tree-top, the position
of the nest is not altered, nor its structure disturbed; then the nest
is built
on a circular plan so as to offer the greatest resistance to
any external pressure,
as well as to obtain more perfect compactness within, in accordance
with its
purpose; and so, however the tempest may rage, the birds rest in
comfort and
security. This is a very simple and familiar object, and yet, in the
strict
obedience of its structure to mathematical law, it becomes, to the
wise, a parable
of enlightenment, teaching them that only by ordering one’s deeds in
accordance
with fixed principles is perfect surety, perfect security, and
perfect peace
obtained amid the uncertainty of events and the turbulent tempests of
life. A house or a temple built by
man is a much more complicated
structure than a bird’s nest, yet it is erected in accordance with
those
mathematical principles which are everywhere evidenced in nature. And
here is
seen how man, in material things, obeys universal principles. He never
attempts
to put up a building in defiance of geometrical proportions, for he
knows that
such a building would be unsafe, and that the first storm would, in all
probability, level it to the ground, if, indeed, it did not fall about
his ears
during the process of erection. Man in his material building
scrupulously obeys
the fixed principles of circle, square, and angle, and aided by rule,
plumb-line, and compasses, he raises a structure which will resist the
fiercest
storms, and afford him a secure shelter and safe protection. All this
is very simple, the reader may say. Yes, it is simple because it is
true and
perfect; so true that it cannot admit the smallest compromise, and so
perfect
that no man can improve upon it. Man, through long experience, has
learned
these principles of the material world, and sees the wisdom of obeying
them,
and I have thus
referred to them in order to lead up to a consideration of those fixed
principles in the mental or spiritual world which are just as simple,
and just
as eternally true and perfect, yet are at present so little
understood by man
that he daily violates them, because ignorant of their nature, and
unconscious
of the harm he is all the time inflicting upon himself. In mind as in matter, in
thoughts as in things, in deeds as in
natural processes, there is a fixed foundation of law which, if
consciously or
ignorantly ignored, leads to disaster and defeat. It is, indeed, the
ignorant
violation of this law which is the cause of the world’s pain and
sorrow. In
matter, this law is presented as mathematical; in mind,
it is perceived
as moral. But the mathematical and the moral are not separate
and opposed;
they are but two aspects of a united whole. The fixed principles of
mathematics, to which all matter is subject, are the body of which
the spirit
is ethical; while the eternal principles of morality are mathematical
truisms operating
in the universe of mind. It is as impossible to live successfully apart
from
moral principles, as to build successfully while ignoring mathematical
principles. Characters, like houses, only stand firmly when built on a
foundation of moral law,—and they are built up slowly and
laboriously, deed by
deed, for in the building of character, the bricks are deeds.
Businesses and
all human enterprises are not exempt from the eternal order, but can
only stand
securely by the observance of fixed laws. Prosperity, to be stable and
enduring, must rest on a solid foundation of moral principle, and
be supported
by the adamantine pillars of sterling character and moral worth. In the
attempt
to run a business in defiance of moral principles, disaster, of one
kind or
another, is inevitable. The permanently prosperous men in any
community are
not its tricksters and deceivers, but its reliable and upright men. The
Quakers
are acknowledged to be the most upright men in the British community,
and,
although their numbers are small, they are the most prosperous. The
Jains in
India are similar both in numbers and sterling worth, and they are the
most prosperous
people in India. Men speak
of “building up a business,” and, indeed, a business is as much a
building as
is a brick house or a stone church, albeit the process of building is a
mental
one. Prosperity, like a house, is a roof over a man’s head, affording
him
protection and comfort. A roof presupposes a support, and a
support
necessitates a foundation. The roof of prosperity, then, is
supported by the
following eight pillars which are cemented in a foundation of moral
consistency:— 1. Energy.
5. Sympathy. 2. Economy.
6. Sincerity. 3. Integrity.
7. Impartiality. 4. System.
8. Self-Reliance. A business
built up on the faultless practice of all these principles would
be so firm
and enduring as to be invincible. Nothing could injure it; nothing
could undermine
its prosperity; nothing could interrupt its success, or bring it
to the
ground; but that success would be assured with incessant increase
so long as
the principles were adhered to. On the other hand, where these
principles were
all absent, there could be no success of any kind; there could not even
be a
business at all, for there would be nothing to produce the adherence of
one
part with another; but there would be that lack of life, that absence
of fiber
and consistency, which animates and gives body and form to any object
whatsoever. Picture a man with all these principles absent from his
mind, his
daily life, and even if your knowledge of these principles is but
slight and
imperfect, yet you could not think of such a man as doing any
successful work.
You could picture him as leading the confused life of a shiftless tramp,
but to
imagine him at the head of a business, as the centre of an
organization, or as
a responsible and controlling agent in any department of life—this you
could
not do, because you realize its impossibility. The fact that no one of
moderate
morality and intelligence can think of such a man as commanding any
success,
should, to all those who have not yet grasped the import of these
principles
and therefore declare that morality is not a factor, but rather a
hindrance, in
prosperity, be a sound proof to them that their conclusion is totally
wrong;
for if it was right, then the greater the lack of these moral
principles, the
greater would be the success. These
eight principles, then, in greater or lesser degree, are the causative
factors
in all success of whatsoever kind. Underneath all prosperity they
are the
strong supports, and, howsoever appearances may be against such a
conclusion, a
measure of them informs and sustains every effort which is crowned with
that
excellence which men name success. It is true
that comparatively few successful men practise, in their entirety
and perfection,
all these eight principles, but there are those who do, and they are
the leaders,
teachers, and guides of men, the supports of human society, and the
strong
pioneers in the van of human evolution. But while
few achieve that moral perfection which ensures the acme of
success, all
lesser successes come from the partial observance of these principles
which are
so powerful in the production of good results that even perfection
in any two
or three of them alone is sufficient to ensure an ordinary degree of
prosperity, and maintain a measure of local influence at least for
a time,
while the same perfection in two or three with partial excellence in
all, or
nearly all, the others, will render permanent that limited success and
influence which will, necessarily, grow and extend in exact ratio with
a more
intimate knowledge and practice of those principles which, at
present, are
only partially incorporated in the character. The
boundary lines of a man’s morality mark the limits of his success. So
true is
this that to know a man’s moral status would be to know—to gauge
mathematically—his
ultimate success or failure. The temple of prosperity only stands in so
far as
it is supported by its moral pillars; as they are weakened, it becomes
insecure;
in so far as they are withdrawn, it crumbles away and totters to ruin. Ultimate
failure and defeat are inevitable where moral principles are
ignored or defied—inevitable
in the nature of things as cause and effect. As a stone thrown
upward returns
to the earth, so every deed, good or bad, returns upon him that sent it
forth.
Every unmoral or immoral act frustrates the end at which it aims,
and every
such succeeding act puts it further and further away as an achieved
realization.
On the other hand, every moral act is another solid brick in the
temple of
prosperity, another round of strength and sculptured beauty
in the pillars
which support it. Individuals,
families, nations grow and prosper in harmony with their growth in
moral
strength and knowledge; they fall and fail in accordance with their
moral decadence. Mentally,
as physically, only that which has form and solidity can stand and
endure. The
unmoral is nothingness, and from it nothing can be formed. It is the
negation
of substance. The immoral is destruction. It is the negation of form.
It is a
process of spiritual denudation. While it undermines and
disintegrates, it
leaves the scattered material ready for the wise builder to put it
into form
again; and the wise builder is Morality. The moral is
substance, form,
and building power in one. Morality always builds up and preserves, for
that is its
nature, being the opposite of immorality which always breaks down and
destroys.
Morality is the Master-builder everywhere, whether in individuals or
nations,
whether in the world or in the universe. Morality
is invincible, and he who stands upon it to the end, stands upon an
impregnable rock, so
that his defeat is impossible, his triumph certain. He will be tried,
and that
to the uttermost, for without fighting there can be no victory, and so
only can
his moral powers be perfected, and it is in the nature of fixed
principles, as
of everything finely and perfectly wrought, to have their strength
tested and
proved. The steel bars which are to perform the strongest and best uses
in the
world must be subjected to a severe strain by the ironmaster, as a test
of
their texture and efficiency, before they are sent from his foundry.
The
brick-maker throws aside the bricks which have given
way under the severe heat. So he who is to be greatly and permanently
successful
will pass through the strain of adverse circumstances and the fire
of temptation
with his moral nature not merely not undermined, but strengthened and
beautified.
He will be like a bar of well-wrought steel, fit for the highest use,
and the
universe will see, as the ironmaster his finely-wrought steel,
that the use
does not escape him. Immorality
is assailable at every point, and he who tries to stand upon it, sinks
into the
morass of desolation. Even while his efforts seem to stand, they are
crumbling
away. The climax of failure is inevitable. While the immoral man is
chuckling
over his ill-gotten gains, there is already a hole in his pocket
through which
his gold is falling. While he who begins with morality, yet
deserts it for
gain in the hour of trial, is like the brick which breaks on the first
application
of heat; he is not fit for use, and
the universe casts him aside: yet not
finally, for he is a
being, not a brick; and he can live and learn, can repent and be
restored. Moral
force is the life of all success, and the sustaining element in all
prosperity;
but there are various kinds of success, and it is frequently necessary
that a
man should fail in one direction that he may reach up to a greater and
more
far-reaching success. If, for instance, a literary, artistic, or moral
genius should
begin by trying to make money, it may be, and often is, to his
advantage and
the betterment of his genius that he should fail therein, so that he
may
achieve that more sublime success wherein lies his real power. Many a
millionaire would doubtless be willing to barter his millions for the
literary
successes of a Shakespeare or the spiritual success of a Buddha, and
would
thereby consider that he had made a good bargain. Exceptional moral
success is
rarely accompanied with riches, yet financial success cannot in any way
compare
with it in greatness and grandeur. But I am not, in this book,
dealing with
the success of the saint or moral genius (such being dealt with in
other of my
books), but with that success which concerns the welfare,
well-being, and
happiness of the broadly average man and woman,—in a word, with
the prosperity
of the mass of mankind; a success and prosperity which, while being
more or
less connected with money—being present and temporal—yet is not
confined
thereto, but extends to and embraces all human activities, and
which particularly
relates to that harmony of the individual with his circumstances
which produces
that satisfaction called happiness and that comfort known as
prosperity. To the
achievement of this end, so desirable to the mass of mankind, let us
now see
how the eight principles operate, how the roof of prosperity is raised
and made
secure upon the pillars by which it is supported. Order
in Adobe
PDF eBook or printed form for $7.95 (+ printing charge)
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