fhniprfij Jtoa 
 As a Worlii fftalaby 
 
 By Rosa G. S. Abbott. 
 
 The age-long cry for wealth reveals a universal need, a uni- 
 versal lack. This ! lack is felt by all classes of society, even 
 where there is apparent affluence : for the possession of riches 
 breeds appetite for increase of riches. Yet, happily, we find 
 those who are wealthy and content with no wealth whatever: 
 and this paradox proves that poverty is merely a mental state, 
 and that it may be transmuted or outgrown. If the great Alex- 
 ander could cast from him all his material possessions upon his 
 departure for Oriental conquest: if he could feel the power 
 within to create, and to attract more, according to his need t we 
 can do likewise by mental expansion. Who so care-free as 
 Diogenes in his tub? Who so jubilant, so royally rich as Saint 
 brands of Assissi after he had cast away worldly goods? He 
 is, par excellence, our most wealthy and satisfied and felicitous 
 precedent, our most glorious and triumphant example of men- 
 tal abundance and of spiritual freedom — -which is the true 
 wealth and which does not perish. 
 
 But how about today, with frantic competition born of the 
 absurdly complex tastes which have created a vast net-work of 
 unnecessary necessities? Can we acquire the largeness of ap- 
 prehension of our John Burroughs or John Muir, who live with 
 Nature's soul, condemning pseudo luxury? We can, but it will 
 require time and culture and the idea of impermanency in all 
 things mundane, as well as the idea of pre-existence of the 
 soul, and the eternal surge and transformation which we now 
 know as evolution ; the key to which comes only with an access 
 of consciousness and of universal intuition. 
 
 The tendency of ignorance is to begin by blaming the rich : 
 “If the trusts had not grasped more than their share, there 
 would have been sufficient for all” — (etc., etc., ad libitum . ad 
 nauseam ) . 
 
 f But this is a fallacious theory. Reflect upon the everlasting 
 .contrasts, from the days of Pharaoh and the abused hosts of 
 Israel, to all the countless millions of Orient and of Europe, 
 I who, though far superior in number, had never the skill nor 
 (he power to prevent their own exploitation bv the few who 
 jinderstood life '‘dans une grande manic re.” 
 
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Immensurable charity and bounty, given through thousands 
 of years in all climes, yet no relief came to the mass of the 
 poverty stricken. Benevolence and philanthropy of each and 
 every age effected no change in the privation of the submerged 
 majority. Jesus did little, and that which He did was through 
 alteration of the mental status : through elevation of doubt into 
 faith ; through conversion of tangential tendencies into unity 
 with the centre of truth and light. But the great mass of 
 misery about him remained unassuaged, save as the individual 
 received a new heart and a new aspect of life. This fact re 
 veals inherent conditions, all mental : and no case can be made 
 by those who think to extort pity for the poor by villifying the 
 rich. Envy and jealousy are self-avowed inferiority, which 
 merit no more than they have received. To whine, to count 
 up one’s wrongs, betrays the mongrel soul and the cowardly 
 mind : therefore we must not think to make capita! for poverty 
 by cursing the rich. Rather should we ask, “ What is this e'er 
 nal necessity of society, by which a few ( thinkers .of abund- 
 ance) have all the gains and the gaieties, whilst the vast.major- 
 ity groan and sweat under the lash of poverty? Is it cosmic order 
 and purpose, is it evolutionary precedence, which is predes- 
 tined, or is there escape for all who can learn the hidden law. 
 the correct attitude toward universe?” 
 
 It )• 
 
 I h 
 
 
 The Western World has not yet learned that Caste is a 
 great spiritual law, and that it is omni-persistent. Animals 
 and plants are of varying degrees of prosperity ; and their 
 struggles for food, light and air are unequally waged, un- 
 evenly recompensed: and this reveals subjective cause. In 
 human kind we see four great, natural divisions which remain 
 always in place; like rivers: though their banks are more flex- 
 ible and their waters shift, according to laws of equilibrium and 
 environmental stress. 
 
 True Caste (unlke the Western notion of Class) is psychic, 
 not material or social. It is from within, not from without. It 
 is the inevitable differentiation of energies and activities which 
 we observe in colleges or in families. Caste bases on cosmic 
 progression and surge. Its lines of cleavage are inherent. The 
 great Buddha was born a social aristocrat, but by his sublime 
 renunciation he proved himself a true Brabmana of the highest 
 caste, an avatar, a superman. “By deeds one becomes an out- 
 cast, by deeds one becomes a Brahmana,” he taught. 
 
 Caste cannot, therefore, disappear, although certain utopists 
 may fancy that democracy may cause water to run inconso 
 nantly up grades. 
 
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The highest caste consists of the intellectuals : those in whom 
 j emphasis is laid upon the thinking principle. These have a 
 
 £ higher and finer nervous structure, with greater delicacy of 
 
 W physique and complexity of brain; and with abilities above the 
 If average type. These are not essentially rich in worldly goods. 
 
 but they have an inherent wealth of invention and power of 
 fit seif protection and self restraint, winch the proletariate, ask- 
 ing aid. do not possess. With this caste, lack of money arises, 
 if at all. from lack of prudence and attention to material ways 
 and means ; the emphasis being placed upon things intangible 
 and immaterial. 
 
 It is quite possible that, like the great Greek, one may fall 
 , i into a well while gazing up at the stars: unless one is able to 
 
 l think and to act in opposite directions at the same time. The 
 
 “high caste” mind may always create leisure and comfort 
 through culture, books, self-control and the reverent attitude 
 >1 toward the marvelous order and wisdom of Nature. In this 
 caste the waste and ostentation of the “brute rich" are con- 
 spicuous by their absence: though if Beauty be sought as an 
 aid to perfectivity, one will incidentally attract it, together with 
 refined comfort, quiet elegance, peace and plenty. It is un- 
 questionably true that aesthetics , more than aught beside, lead 
 to beautiful and graceful abundance. In fact, the “artistic 
 temperament” is, in and of itself, the highest type of wealth, 
 J procuring joys the phlegmatic may not compass. 
 
 The second caste, consisting of the powerful of the earth ; 
 kings, governors, landed gentry and warriors have far more 
 j wealth than the highest caste : as they are objective and concen- 
 i trate upon worldly goods, rather than upon wisdom and the 
 light of imagination and mental vision. They do not deny 
 l ' Beauty, but affirm it, and thus beauty abides with them : and 
 this is the great lesson for those who crave beautiful accessories. 
 Live in the idea of graceful provision, and seek it, and it shall 
 seek you. 
 
 Calvin attracted poor and plebeian environment because he 
 contemned luxury and taste and the poesies of existence. The 
 s j de Medici loved and sought Beauty and Magnificence and lived 
 in their cult, and by it they elevated the world and gave impetus 
 j to art : though they fell short of sainthood and established no 
 rigid reforms after the manner of Calvin. 
 
 IV . 
 
 Spencer was poor, as he excluded decorative beauty from his 
 i life in order to moil among dusty archives for his data of 
 l synthetic philosophy, by which) we are enriched, even though 
 i he lived in barren deprivation. 
 
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Spinoza, in retreat and oblivion, forgot the beauty and com- 
 fort of society, that he might weave his mighty web of cos- 
 mic geometry and ideal “necessity.” 
 
 Fabre, in penury, bequeathed us his marvelous “Souvenirs 
 Entomologiques” ; which he could not have done had a press- 
 ing world and the pleasures of wealth distracted him from 
 lonely vigils and studies into the inner life of tiny creatures. 
 
 Balzac, the French Shakespeare, seemed under a spell of 
 poverty : but it was a divine fa .ality which enabled him to do his 
 universal “Comedie Humaine.” 
 
 But what shall we say of a Fabricius, sought by rulers for 
 counsel of wisdom, yet dying at public expense." What of 
 Coleridge, the thinker; and Mozart, type of harmonic beauty? 
 Doth it not appear that the fatality of some antecedent exist- 
 ence laid its rude necessity upon each? Verily there are ex- 
 amples inexplicable — both of wealth and of poverty — which 
 have their roots in pre-existent experience, and which are but 
 the outworking of the law of sequence: of psychic cause and 
 effect'. Yet, negative states may be overcome by the new 
 psychology, which will discover hidden complexes arising from 
 forgotten subconscious activities and dissolve them in a mighty 
 affirmation of equilibrium and of abundance; with increase of 
 spiritual vision. 
 
 The next caste is the commercial, or those engaged wholly 
 in traffic. It is material, appetitive and concentrative and lacks 
 little in the realm of plebeian plenty. Its real need is that of 
 intellectual and artistic expansion. 
 
 The lowest caste comprises the proletariate, the serf, the 
 slave, those who have not yet achieved an independent think- 
 ing principle, but are subject, like the ox and the ass, to him 
 who thinks. This caste may be slowly elevated by “sugges- 
 tion” ; and this is being done in America by the aid of music, 
 pictures, lectures and by the help of facile journals, breakfast 
 foods, imported fruits, rapid transit and civic order and beauty. 
 The great Buddha had a message for this castes and ordered 
 teaching and even saintship as practicable for its apprehension. 
 Also he avoided excitance of its blind hatred and envy of the 
 rich, as Christians have ever deliberately done. 
 
 Let it be insisted that these four castes are inherent in the 
 social structure and that they appear to be an evolutionary 
 necessity : though not always in the same definitive degree ; and 
 one may leap to higher caste by culture, as a bright scholar will 
 pass into higher school grades. Yet always from below, the 
 
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 ... — i- .i^i w i. n . im. 1 I I L1LW 1I 
 
I 
 
 k ranks fill, and in about the same status, so that Jesus realized 
 jh the inherent tendency when he said : “The poor ye have always 
 with you." 
 
 Now, having posed these conditions, existent as they have 
 ijj been during more than five thousand years, how shall we de- 
 - clare preventive measures? What affirmation and curative 
 discipline will apply to all this motley crew of world-pilgrims? 
 
 /-/I] 
 
 We reply : there are several efficacious methods of elevat- 
 ing caste, and, incidentally, conditions, 
 
 f hirst. The religious attitude should be taught and reiterated. 
 
 ‘The bather and I are One“ affirms power and plenty: not 
 j weakness and dependence. By hourly thought of union with 
 ‘ J universal abundance we may attract, according to our need and 
 f' our powers of receptivity: exactly as we breathe air from 
 j heaven : and that without poaching upon the preserves of any 
 j other being. 
 
 Marcus Aurelius, emperor and mystic, says : “Let your soul 
 receive the deity as your blood receives the air, for the influ- 
 ences of the one are no less vital than the other. For there is 
 an ambient, omnipresent spirit, which lies as open and pervious 
 7 to your mind as the air you breathe into your lungs. But, then, 
 j you must remember to be disposed to draw it.” 
 
 We are to become conscious of our divinity, and of our right 
 ! to a living wage : and we do this by intelligent application of 
 j ; the powers, of Will and of Love. Will, and effort to receive 
 j influx of light. Love, which accords to all other beings the 
 same right as our own. In this attitude we must not kill. This 
 j ^ spiritual law ; as killing sets up vibrations of pain and of 
 hate, which flow to the confines of Universe, and react to 
 plague us and to separate us from the centripetal love-currents. 
 
 Disease, despair, hatred, prostitution and all ills have their 
 roots in our brutality toward animals: the great speechless 
 | caste, which has its evolutionary span to complete, and which 
 f should be helped and not exploited. This is imperative if one 
 "would win peace and plenty, with inner sight and enduring 
 | fortune. 
 
 | 7 Justice and kindness toward every living creature are a 
 
 sine qua, non of such wealth of soul as that of a Saint Francis. 
 jljUso, from purely selfish motives, one should comprehend that 
 1 efined and aesthetic foods lead to a rise in caste and “ tern per a- 
 lAent,” and thus liberate the thinking principle. 
 
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 i //It 
 
 V 
 
 > I 
 
Second. Gratitude for hourly good gifts. The attitude of j 
 thankfulness and of happiness, magnetically attracts all the ] 
 best things of life; such as health, grace, love, beauty, willing , 
 service and plentiful supplies. The divine mother, Nature, 
 owes us our meed of reciprocity and of co-operation, and she J 
 will generously accord it as soon as our obedience and compre- I 
 hension are assured. Gratitude necessarily includes helpfulness I 
 to all persons, and a desire to promote universal harmony, j 
 happiness and prosperity. 1 
 
 Third. Appreciation of all things, with understanding of f 
 their merit. Observe architecture intelligently, and try to knowjp 
 why cultivated persons are so profoundly affected by it. Learn | 
 to judge sculpture critically, and its sister, art, painting. | 
 Study the rugs ; those Oriental woven poems : observe wood- j 
 carving, color-harmonies and all the refined arts and industries l 
 of the older peoples. These cultural efforts are means of 
 self-levitation. Use them thoughtfully and with respect. Lack- 
 ing appreciation one might draw a chair over a polished floor, 
 thus proving that he would not know how to use a fine floor if 
 he owned one. 
 
 Do not tread down an aesthetic rug with insolence, but use 
 it caressingly and even reverently ; knowing that each thread 
 tells of race-idealism and aspiration ; and in its Orient home, 
 shoes are removed and soft sandals substituted before stepping , 
 upon it. Associate beautiful workmanship with the mentality 
 and degree of psychic advance of those who achieved it ; and 
 endeavor to rise to full comprehension of its message and mis- 
 sion to us who lack their secret. 
 
 Unite in one harmonious scheme, the poem, the statue, the 
 flower, the idea of eternal life and of universal activity, all 
 obedient to definitive laws of growth. 
 
 “The older I grow*, the more surely I rely upon that law 
 whereby the rose and the lily blossom, wrote Goethe in 1831- 
 “ Consider the lilies " and know that evolutionary development 
 implies less resistance and more power to live, and to enjoy, and 1 
 to understand life's meanings, in the large aspect of unity and if 
 of identity under one law. (The lilies unite with Life as a|j 
 Whole. They are not segregated botanical specimens, but all 
 verv part of Cosmic Being in beautiful endeavor : and Jesus, 
 lifts us into the realm of pure aesthetics and the higher giystic jj 
 ism by giving them to us as an ensample of repose throng! ! 
 union with over-soul.) 
 
 Eschew appetitive indulgence, as it closes the entrance t ;! 
 the plane of spirit- vision, and to that of the occult scienc 
 and arts. 
 
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The aristocratic idea of “ noblesse oblige" must he held, with 
 the pride which forbids dependence on Others, or the slightest 
 desire to exploit them. Responsibility , respect for self and 
 independence will guard against parasitism and a too ready 
 acceptance of favors : and this attitude, of itself, is a self-provi-’ 
 ; deuce and a thrift which breeds means and ways and which 
 absorbs from the Whole (not from the parts) the essentials of 
 : i simple and dignified living. 
 
 These are idealistic measures and remedies to be apprehended 
 I by the thoughtful apd the reflective mind. 
 
 | / Fourth. Material methods of economic success are indicated 
 notably by Benjamin Franklin in his essays on industry and 
 thrift. Energy, efficiency, parsimony, denial of luxuries, plod- 
 
 I ding toward a goal of acquirement, these are efficacious in their 
 realm: and until one develops intuition and the divine escape- 
 
 iment from the common way, one is wise to adhere strictly to 
 I' toil and saving — the ox-cart methods of earth. 
 
 \ "'What is divine, runs with light feet’’: and there comes a 
 time when thought creates; without task, or taskmaster: thus 
 ushering in the higher consciousness of life as an ecstasy ; when 
 one wonders why there ever was lack or limitation, as it now 
 [seems an absurd self-deprivation. 
 
 I I By intelligence, love and worship comes deliverance: and the 
 sodden world may again realize an Eden, through simple 
 •beauty and projected ideality, by union with cosmic order and 
 abundance. 
 
 | In the interim, the beneficent “Rich” and the “Trusts*’ are 
 fcreating wealth by social uplift of schools, high wages, profit 
 Isharing, welfare work, reputable amusements and pleasurable 
 Jconstructiveness. 
 
 > The literary , the spiritual , the aesthetic are the great caste 
 llevitators : and if mind be focussed on these while hands are 
 [busy, one will soon rise to their level, leaving dull routine of 
 I leaden labor behind. 
 
 m 
 
 ihe simple tastes of the golden age should be revived as an 
 ;; aid toward inner poise and tranquility, and, also, as a valuable 
 • adjunct of aestheticism. The graceful Greeks saw primitive 
 ((living as happy living. Abnormal needs, which pass beyond 
 (refined simplicity, are morbid and diseased tendencies in so- 
 ciety. becoming inflammatory and a cause of general demorali- 
 zation. The plain living and high thinking of Rabindranath 
 ( (Tagore constitute a robust yet elegant simplicity, which admits 
 ijf poesie, communion with Universe and a mental fecundity 
 which benefits all mankind. ' 
 
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“A poet should not run to fires,” nor should he umpire street I 
 
 brawls, whether canine or human : neither should those capable J 
 
 of “large discourse, looking before and after,” preoccupy their ^ 
 minds with trivial modes of the moment. “We are Gods.” | 
 We are growing toward Godhood, and its consciousness of 
 the Whole. All is ours, because we are parts of the All. Each | 
 
 cell is entitled to unity in the life of the great body. Poverty is 
 undevelopment. Abundance comes with a liberal culture of 
 body, mind and spirit ; a correct rapport with seen and unseen 
 planes of living : and this is a science which must be learned 
 as any other science is learned : it is a science of the finer forces : 
 a psychic “wireless,” which sends out its “S. O. S.” appeal into 
 the great intelligible Universe; and which gets a response in k 
 consonance with its perfect adjustment. We are free, as soon as 1 
 we perceive our relation to the ambient subconscious Energy : 
 the Life ocean ; a relation that is at once identic and also a re- 
 pose in our over-soul, our higher Self. 
 
 S 
 

1 ^ (She Pmterty Shea Aa a Unrlh iialahy 
 
 ROSA G. S. ABBOTT 
 
 s ^ consideration of the Universal Problem from a new point of vantage 
 with remedies within the reach of all 
 
 Heavy paper, in gold and brown 
 Price 35 Cents. 
 
 NEW YORK CITY 
 
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