​29. THE DARK SIDE OF NATURE
RELATIVE TO HUMAN LIFE
21 February 1877
IN My last (preceding) word I defended Myself against the criticism raised by some, or actually by many people, concerning the contradictions they believe to find My visible nature, when they compare them with My everywhere proclaimed words of love, of meekness and of the promised joys.
As far as was possible, I have elucidated this dark side for you, explaining also that “it could be otherwise, but it must still be as it really is.”
Now I still have to carry out an important scrutiny of your own life, where man-; a person says: “Just look at human life, from birth to grave it is nothing but conflict, suffering, disappointment, with very little love, joy and other promised things, unless man knows how to procure them himself.
“What else is life on this earth but a vale of tears where one – not knowing any better – is referred to religious dogmas and other revelations always speaking of another life after death, of reward and recompense for sustained suffering while letting man battle here on earth with every misfortune. Why should I bother about another world beyond, of which I actually know nothing certain and in which I am expected to believe blindly!
“Since I see this world surrounding me as so miserable, who guarantees that the future world is not just as contradictory as the real one here where, instead of joys, only physical or spiritual sufferings follow each other and even what is attained with effort does not afford the enjoyment some expected!”
Thus, and in a thousand other forms, I am accused of having made promises to mankind, none of which I ever intended to keep! The man who only considers what is there, visible to him, not wanting to acknowledge any spiritual life apart from his rational life, has judged rightly. For he regards in advance only that as existing which he can grasp either with his hands or with his given senses. This is the very theory of all materialists, who say the entire visible world has originated through a chance mixing together of all elements, and who even consider the mental aspirations in their own brain merely as a product of such mixtures.
It goes without saying that this theory easily finds many adherents, for it does not restrict man, who can then satisfy his passions as far as criminal laws allow it, for he thinks: “After this earthly life everything comes to an end anyway; so let us “live” (according to his concepts) as well as we can!” Thus he sees the dark side of human life only in so far as material losses, illnesses, discord and disappointment of every kind follow one another.
This word shall serve to reduce these accusations to an orderly level and show man, whose fault it actually is, if human life is really thus. For also among you I have often heard such complaints and read even worse ones in your thoughts. There, like lost souls who prefer only a life of pleasure, you are prepared to dedicate only a short hour here and there to the Spiritual when you have nothing else to do. Now to the point.

50. HOW TO SAFE MATERIALISTIC SOULS
[1] HOWEVER, if the soul, who received the pure teaching, who also understands the truth and thinks within himself: ‘Aha, now I know what I rightly should do for my salvation. But before I will completely work on it, I still want to enjoy for a while the charms and sweet things of this world, for they are offered to me, because now that I precisely know the ways to spiritual completion, it really will not matter as to when I earnestly will walk on it. And when I will go that way, I surely will also make progress.’ Look, friend, then the soul begins to taste of the charms and sweet things of the world, and also to fully enjoy it. By that, he will give a great overweight to the matter of his flesh that can hardly or not at all be completely conquered anymore with his clear understanding in the things of the spirit.
[2] Since such a soul acted in the beginning against his better judgment, he slowly sinks ever deeper into matter. And also the original pure spiritual enlightenment becomes ever more opaque. The soul comes into all kinds of doubts, and in his material laziness it is for him really not that worthy anymore to stand up and to – at least for the short time of a few days or weeks – make a serious attempt, by denying himself, to convince himself whether there is still something true of the teaching that was revealed from the Heavens in order to receive the inner, true life.
[3] Yes friend, once such a soul became lazy against his very own judgment, and sees people around him who have attained to the inner life’s completion because they did their best since the
beginning, then this will still have no strong influence on him, and it will not bring about any activity in him. If he is in a good mood, he will let the wonders of the spiritual in man be told to him by the awakened fellowmen. And now and then, also the wish will be awakened in him to be like those completed men. But immediately after that, the enticements of this world, which he enjoyed and still wants to enjoy, act so mightily upon him that he cannot resist them, and he will think by that: ‘Well yes, I do not do anything wrong if I do not fully repent immediately. First I still want to see and try out this and that in the world, and then I still will have largely the time to walk in the footsteps of the completed ones.’

29. THE DARK SIDE OF NATURE
RELATIVE TO HUMAN LIFE
21 February 1877
IN My last (preceding) word I defended Myself against the criticism raised by some, or actually by many people, concerning the contradictions they believe to find My visible nature, when they compare them with My everywhere proclaimed words of love, of meekness and of the promised joys.
As far as was possible, I have elucidated this dark side for you, explaining also that “it could be otherwise, but it must still be as it really is.”
Now I still have to carry out an important scrutiny of your own life, where man-; a person says: “Just look at human life, from birth to grave it is nothing but conflict, suffering, disappointment, with very little love, joy and other promised things, unless man knows how to procure them himself.
“What else is life on this earth but a vale of tears where one – not knowing any better – is referred to religious dogmas and other revelations always speaking of another life after death, of reward and recompense for sustained suffering while letting man battle here on earth with every misfortune. Why should I bother about another world beyond, of which I actually know nothing certain and in which I am expected to believe blindly!
“Since I see this world surrounding me as so miserable, who guarantees that the future world is not just as contradictory as the real one here where, instead of joys, only physical or spiritual sufferings follow each other and even what is attained with effort does not afford the enjoyment some expected!”
Thus, and in a thousand other forms, I am accused of having made promises to mankind, none of which I ever intended to keep! The man who only considers what is there, visible to him, not wanting to acknowledge any spiritual life apart from his rational life, has judged rightly. For he regards in advance only that as existing which he can grasp either with his hands or with his given senses. This is the very theory of all materialists, who say the entire visible world has originated through a chance mixing together of all elements, and who even consider the mental aspirations in their own brain merely as a product of such mixtures.
It goes without saying that this theory easily finds many adherents, for it does not restrict man, who can then satisfy his passions as far as criminal laws allow it, for he thinks: “After this earthly life everything comes to an end anyway; so let us “live” (according to his concepts) as well as we can!” Thus he sees the dark side of human life only in so far as material losses, illnesses, discord and disappointment of every kind follow one another.