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"All our senses are doors which can lead us not only to a fuller expression of life but to a better understanding of it and a higher state of inner development. But like everything else, they must be kept in their proper place, fulfilling their proper function." (Presc for Liv 53) (78:3) "Some men's lives are solely occupied with the things of this world; their minds are so circumscribed by exterior manners and traditional interests that they are blind to any other realm of existence, to the spiritual significance of all things. They think and dream of earthly fame, of material progress. Sensuous delights and comfortable surroundings bound their horizon, their highest ambitions center in successes of worldly conditions and circumstances... Like the animal, they have no thought beyond their own physical well- being." These live at the lowest level. (Pt 98- 9) (78:4) "The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment... Man is, so to speak, unripe; the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him... The greatest men have suffered most." (Pt 178) (78:5) "Men who suffer not, attain no perfection. The plant most pruned... is that one which, when the summer comes, will have the most beautiful blossoms and the most abundant fruit." (Pt 51) (78:6) "For example, if this tree were entirely fruit, the vegetable perfections could not be attained; for leaves, blossoms, and fruits are all necessary, so that the tree may be adorned with utmost beauty and perfection." (Saq 148- 9) (78:7) "The soul (in the earthly lifetime? ) is the intermediary between the body and the spirit (developed soul or Holy Spirit? )... (as) this tree is the intermediary between the seed and the fruit. When the fruit appears and becomes ripe, then we know that the tree is perfect; if the tree bore no fruit it would be merely a useless growth, serving no purpose." (Pt 98)
(78:8)
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