to use the earth, the source of all raw material, in order to produce wealth and capital for themselves.

The reform, then, of our present land "system," which is none but

"The good old rule, the simple plan,

That they should take who have the power
And they should keep who can,"

-is not the end of reforms nor the sum of reform. It is, as a great teacher has said, "the gateway of reforms." More than that, it is the one reform without which all others will be self-destructive, because all other reforms tend to increase either population or production, and thereby to increase rent. -and so to foster every form of monopoly.

VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY AT GREENACRE.

BY THE SWAMI ABHEDANANDA.

The Greenacre Conferences were started by Miss Farmer in 1894, the year after the Parliament of Religions was held at Chicago. Since the time of their inauguration the liberalizing and unsectarian spiritual teachings of the Vedanta philosophy have taken a prominent part in shaping the ideals of the Greenacre movement. The teachers of this philosophy have come from India, and have represented it almost every year. These teachers are known as "Swamis," a word meaning spiritual teachers, or masters. Of these, the first was Swami Vivekananda, the Hindu Sannyasin, or monk, who represented the Hindu philosophy before the World's Fair Parliament of Religions. He was the first Hindu teacher who came to America and explained the lofty ideals of the Vedanta through his wonderful eloquence, oratorical powers, and magnetic personality.

In 1896, his successor, Swami Saradananda, came to Greenacre and taught Vedanta for two successive seasons. By his charming manners and unselfish love for humanity he succeeded in making a deep impression, as to the practical results of the Vedanta teachings, upon the minds of almost all who met him personally or heard his discourses under the "Swamis' Pine" in the woods.

In 1898, Swami Saradananda was followed at Greenacre by the writer of the present article. During that season he gave one lecture on "Science and Religion," in the large tent before the general audience, and four lectures before the Monsalvat School of Comparative Religion, established and conducted at Greenacre by Dr. Lewis G. Janes. On account of the pressure of work at different cities this season, the present Swami could

give only three lectures-in the last week of August. The subjects were "Is Hinduism Pantheistic?" "Reincarnation," and "The Spiritual Influence of India in the West."

It is necessary to mention some of the fundamental principles of the Vedanta philosophy, so that the reader may be able to learn a little of what this ancient philosophy of the Hindus teaches. The word Vedanta means literally "end of all wisdom," and this philosophy teaches what that end of wisdom is and how it can be attained. Some people may misunderstand the meaning of the above phrase, and may think that, like all sectarian philosophies, it limits the scope of human knowledge by asserting that there is an "end," and that no one can go beyond it. This philosophy never means that; it tells us rather to realize the eternal Truth of the universe and to become one therewith. It teaches that revelation is not given. once and then left to stand for all time, but that it wells eternally in the heart of man, being ever from within, never from without. It teaches that science, philosophy, and logic must not be separated from religion; that that which is unscientific, unphilosophic, or illogical cannot be truly religious.

Vedanta says that religion does not mean a belief in this creed or that dogma, in this book or that person, but that it is the science of the soul. It gives a scientific and philosophic basis to religion. It teaches that every soul is divine and a child of immortal bliss; that we must become conscious of our divine nature and become perfect in this life, manifesting divinity in and through all the actions of our every-day life. It points out the various methods by which we can unfold our higher nature and mold our conduct of life in the highest form. It teaches the secret of work, the secret of devotion, the secret of concentration and meditation, as well as the secret of the highest wisdom. The Vedanta philosophy explains the purpose of life and how it can be fulfilled. It is based upon the doctrine of evolution and teaches that through the natural process of evolution each soul is bound to attain to the highest

stage of spiritual development, and become perfect sooner or later. It recognizes the different stages of the spiritual evolution of the individual soul as spiritual childhood, youth, and maturity, and explains scientifically the immortality of the individual soul. It teaches that the soul of man existed in the past, exists in the present, and will exist in the future, continuing to exist after death, manifesting again according to its desire, tendency, and powers, either on this earth or on some other planet. The Vedanta holds that our present is the resultant of our past, and that our future will be the result of our present. It maintains that we ourselves are responsible for all the pleasure and pain, happiness and misery, of our present life; that we make our own destiny and shape our future by our thoughts and deeds. It teaches that we are at present bound by the law of action and reaction-of cause and sequence. The Vedanta says that God does not reward the virtuous, nor does he punish the wicked; but that reward and punishment are the reactions of our own actions.

This philosophy has three grand divisions: first, the Dualistic; second, the Qualified non-dualistic; and third, the Nondualistic. By these three it includes within its all-embracing arms the various systems of religion that exist in the world, together with all their creeds, sects, and denominations. It has no quarrel with any system of philosophy or religion. It believes in an intracosmic, eternal Being, who is personal as well as impersonal. The personal aspect of that Being is called "Iswara," the Creator (i. e., Projector) of the universe, who is worshiped by all nations under different names: by some as a Father in Heaven; by others as Divine Mother; by some as God; by others as Jehovah, Allah, Brahma, Hari, Buddha, or Lord. The impersonal aspect is called "Brahman" by the Hindus, "Will" by Schopenhauer, "The Unknown and Unknowable" by Herbert Spencer, "Substantia" by Spinoza, "The Good" by Plato, and "The Absolute" and "The Noumenon" by others.

It does not

Vedanta is not pessimistic, like Buddhism. teach that the whole visible universe is an illusion, as some people misunderstand the spirit of this philosophy through not knowing the real meaning of the word Maya. Its true meaning is relative, conditional, or phenomenal existence, and not "illusion." Professor Max Müller understood this when he said:

"For all practical purposes, the Vedantist would hold that the whole phenomenal world, both in its subjective and objective character, should be accepted as real. It is as real as anything can be to the ordinary mind. It is not mere emptiness, as the Buddhists maintain. And thus the Vedanta philosophy leaves to every man a wide sphere of real usefulness and places him under a law as strict and binding as anything can be in this transitory life. It leaves him a Deity to worship as omnipotent and majestic as the deities of any other religions. It has room for almost every religion-nay, it embraces them all."

The Vedanta philosophy does not recognize caste, creed, or sex in the Soul of man. It teaches the equality and sameness of the true nature of all human beings. The one peculiarity of the teachings of Vedanta lies in their universal toleration for, active coöperation with, and acceptance of all the various phases of religious thought in the world. It says that there is one universal Religion in the world, which cannot be confined by any name or authority-nor by any personality or book. Christianity, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Hinduism, and all other “isms” are but partial expressions of that underlying, universal Religion. It teaches that all such "isms" are but so many paths leading to the same Goal. It says: "As rivers rising from different mountains run, crooked or straight, toward one ocean, so all these various creeds, sects, and religions, starting from different points of view, run crooked or straight toward one Infinite Ocean of Truth, which we call 'God.''

The Vedanta philosophy is not confined to any particular book or scripture-it embraces all the Scriptures of the world. It is not built around any particular person, or special revela