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Hierarchy (1931) - 71:
71. One may prosecute ignorance, but one should especially chastise superstition and hypocrisy. Like a leprous film, superstition covers weak brains. We are not against laboratories and Western methods, but We ask that honesty, efficiency, and the courage of impartiality be added to them. How can one think of cooperation when birdlike brains impede each experiment? One can produce the most stupendous manifestation if the horns of the devil do not impede in the test tube. People believe more in devils than in saints! Brotherhood (1937) - 342:
342. Prejudice is the entryway for injustice and ignorance. But people should recognize the boundary line of prejudice. This worm lives in the same house with doubt like a younger kinsman. A very keen eye is needed in order to discern such a dangerous mite. Each manifestation, each object, is usually encountered by people with varying degrees of prejudice. People try to justify themselves by saying that since they perceive objects they must as a preliminary measure preserve their unprejudiced judgment. But as a matter of fact, instead of impartiality they disclose the cruelest prejudice. One should keep this popular weakness in mind in order to know from what to liberate oneself. Supermundane - The Inner Life - Book 1 (1938) - 58:
Feelings can solve the most complicated problems of a country, but the inviolability of the individual and his dignity must be protected. Let us not be consoled by the so-called impartiality of the courts, where dignity is trampled by crude arbitrariness. It is easy to talk about sadism, but it is terrible to see that this inconceivable madness is not stopped. Yes, one must expect that the fundamental quality about which We are speaking will not be understood. There are so many small but nonetheless terrible tormentors all over the world! The deliberate torment of one's neighbor is no different from that carried out during the most barbarous eras. You may recall the crowds of the Roman circuses; can today's crowds boast of worthier conduct? Did the change in their attire change their consciousness? One must remember such conditions in order to know what Our Abode must fight.
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