The spiritual life

192 The Spiritual Life.

more and more complicated relationships with

others which surround them, and in these

organisationsthereisdeveloped moreandmore

ofthispowerofresponse. Thereisdeveloped

alsothememoryofresponse;thereisdeveloped

not only memory but the power of placing

thingsside byside, that is of comparison,and

thenofconsideringtheresultsofthecomparison

and drawing therefrom volitions. And then

thereistheexperiencegraduallygatheredwhich

illumines the developing consciousness,enables
ittorecognisecertain things as things foundto
be against progress, to be against the higher

evolution,certainthingswhich retardevolution,

certain things which check it, which tend to

bringabout disintegration instead of higher in-

tegration. Nowwhatmeansevolution? Itis

merelythebuildingtogetherofhigherandmore

complicatedorganizationsthatexpresswithever

greater and greaterperfection the Life that is

Divine,the Life thatinthe universeisseeking

manifestation. When we speak of manifesta-

tions as higher or lower, wereally mean they

express more orless of the Divine. Wecall

themhigherand lowermerelyas theymanifest

qualities, which tend towards the lessening of

separateness and the developing of unity, that

iswhichleadawayfromthepoleofmatterand