"They were called seers or sages, because they could see spiritual truths which others could not, and it was at this period and through one of these seers that a voice spoke, 'That which exists is one, men call it by various names.' That was the conclusion that many other eminent seers and sages had come to. For they saw that there was one great Infinite Life Force manifesting itself in all and through all. That there is a correlation of spiritual forces, and that all the various phenomena are the one manifestation of this Infinite Life, which is called by some God, by others Lord, by others Brahma, by others Jehovah, by others Allah, the meaning of them all being exactly the same as that expressed in the Bible by the name of God, in whom we live, move, and breathe and have our being; that we are the manifestation of Him. In short, our real entity, our real life, our real self (the Atman), our soul (the Purusa) is Spirit eternal and immortal. Now the life of the Spirit has no sex in it, but the spirit manifests itself in these various forms of male and female. The sexual form is only the instrument, not the Being. For the Being is not sex, and, therefore, there is nothing connected with sex, that is spiritual and eternal. It belongs to the external world and the material plane, and is, therefore, a temporary manifestation suitable to the earth plane. It becomes necessary, in order to get a true conception of what we really are (that we are spiritual beings, being neither male nor female) that we get away from the illusion of sex, and not be in bondage to it. But the man must look upon the woman as a spiritual being and not think of her only for what her material form stands for. If he does he is under an illusion, being in bondage to her body, which becomes a barrier to realizing the Divine within, and if the woman looks upon the material form of the man as being the man and that for which he stands, then she is under an illusion and is in bondage to his material form, looking upon his male body as the all of man. And such a thought becomes a hindrance to her realizing her Divine nature. "Remember, Stella, that sex is only apparent, not real. It belongs to the phenomenal world." Stella said: "To accept the idea you have just advanced I shall have to begin and lay a new foundation to build upon, for you have swept away many things I considered truths." Penloe said: "Stella, you are merely casting off old garments that you have outgrown, and you are now ready for a new robe that fits you. But remember never to quarrel with the old clothes you once wore. They have served their purpose and should always be respected." Stella said: "Penloe, the truth you have advanced regarding sex will take me some time to fully digest." "Certainly," said Penloe, "but it will not be long before you will comprehend it fully in all its relativity and make it a part of your own mentality."