　　　　CHAPTER TWELVE

　　WHO IS SILVER BIRCH?

WE have read some of the teaching and wisdom of Silver Birch in preceding chapters. But what of Silver Birch himself? Who is he? Where does he come from? What is the purpose of his mission to earth?

　Sylvia Barbanell, in her foreword to More Wisdom of Silver Birch, tells part of the story. "More than a score of years have passed," she relates, "since I sat in my first circle. It was held in a very humble home in one of the poorer districts of London. One of the sitters, a young man who had just begun to inquire into Spiritualism, was

astonished to find, when the second séance he attended was over, that he had been entranced. He was, and remains, Silver Birch's medium.

　"But how different were those early manifestations from those of to-day! When the guide first announced himself at that sitting he could barely string a few words of English together. Gradually, he learned to speak with increasing fluency. It has taken him a long time to attain his present, rich vocabulary.

　"The young man, chosen by Silver Birch as his earthly instrument, had to be tried, tested and trained in the work he was to undertake. Over a long period of years his footsteps were guided in certain directions until the desired goal was reachedーa wider field of opportunity for the words of Silver Birch to be spread far and wide.

　"Those who know this guide can call him beloved friend as well as counsellor and teacher. He never holds aloof from humanity, but radiates compassionate under-standing of our earthly problems and weaknesses.

　"The personality of Silver Birch has developed and deepened since first I knew him; or rather it would be more accurate to say that he presents a fuller aspect of his true, spiritual individuality. In the early days of his manifestation he was a jesting, sometimes boisterous, but always lovable spirit control. It has been a gradual 'evolution' to the wise, mature teacher of to-day. Even his voice has altered and now differs almost completely from that of his medium. Indeed, such another side of his individuality is now expressed that I doubt whether I would recognise him as the same spirit guide were it not for our continued association. There are, it is true, certain characteristics that have not changed. He still exhibits a keen sense of humour and maintains the gift of rapid repartee."

　"I am a voice crying out in the wilderness. I am a servant of the Great Spirit. What does it matter who I am? Judge me by what I strive to do. If my few words, my earnestness, my determination, my mission among you, bring comfort or light to one who is struggling in darkness, then I am happy."

　This was the reply of Silver Birch when one of his circle asked for a hint of his real identity. What is known is that he is an evolved messenger of an advanced group who uses the astral body of an Indian as a stepping stone between his own sphere and ours. But he regards works as of greater value than labels.

　"I am but a humble servant," he once said, "an inter-preter for those who have sent me to expound forgotten laws that must be revived as part of the new world that is gradually dawning. Think of me always as a mouth-piece. I represent the voice of the spirit that seeks to make its presence felt in your world and which is succeeding in increasing measure. There is a vast concourse, all with wills perfectly attuned, with minds in harmony, with souls all at one. They use me, even as I use this instru- ment, to tell your world the truths that have been buried for too long but which are now being restored and given their rightful place in the lives of thousands of men and women."

　Another time he revealed: "I have come back merely to stress a few elementary spiritual truths. It seems to meーand I am quite an old manーthat what your world needs is not some high-flown, theological, abstract collection of doctrines, but a few simple truths enthroned in the hearts of most religions, taught by those who were inspired by the power of the spirit in days gone by, that all mankind is part of one another, that beneath our physical differences there is a common bond of the spirit which unites us all."

　"I always see my mission as two-fold," he told another gathering of the circle. "One is purely destructive and the other constructive. First, to destroy all those weeds which have choked the human soul for too long; the weeds of falsity encouraged by the churches; all the nonsensical, revolting and sometimes blasphemous doc-trines offered in the name of religion. All these must be extirpated, for they prevent life being lived as it should. That is the destructive part.

　"The constructive part is to offer knowledge, showing how reasonable, how simple, how beautiful and how true it is to all who are ready to receive it. The two tasks go hand in hand, and I am unconcerned with those who dislike any criticism of venerable falsehood. I have seen too many of the results in your world and in mine."

　In an age of superlatives, high-pressure salesmanship, slick evangelism, and life lived at a pace so frantic that many of us dare not stop to think in case we get left behind, the reasoned, tranquil prose of Silver Birch shimmers in a quiet backwater of sanity.

　Here is a splendid enlightenment, immaculate concept of spiritual thought and action, an unwavering advocacy of integrity, moral courage, ethical conduct and service to God, man, and every living thing.

　There is dignity, humour, compassion, understanding and an unassailable grandeur in the teachings of this visitor from the world of spirit. Yet...

　"The same blood flows in our veins, the same spirit is in each of our natures. The Great Spirit has made us all members of one family. The children make differences

and fail to see the underlying unity, and they have to be reminded that there is no true progress until these spiritual realities take their place in all worldly systems.

　"Brotherhood, co-operation, service, tolerationーthese are fundamentals in all life, and until man learns to build on these foundations, there can be no true peace. Serve one another, love one another, desire to help one another, that he who has much shall give some to him who has not enoughーthese are the simple truths which must be stressed over and over again. And I do know this: that all who apply them in their own lives and in the lives of peoples and nations, will provide the kind of existence which man was intended to have."

　Surely it is worth having a try....

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