“Yes, we have all seen it in a small way; and does it not seem strange that men have never thought of cultivating it in a larger way, through the exercise of their will in controlling their minds and bodies? This exaltation of spirit is only attained through effort, or some great physical shock. It is the secret of all power; it conquers all pain, and makes disease impossible.”
“Makes disease impossible!” cried Paul in astonishment.
“Yes,” answered the elder man quietly. “This soul power, of which I speak, is the hidden akasa in all men—it is the man himself—and when once recognized, the body is relegated to its proper sphere as the servant, and not the master; then it is that man realizes his own power and supremacy over all things.”
“But,” persisted Henley, “if you go so far as to say that this occult or soul power can conquer disease, you would have us all living forever!”
“We do live forever,” answered Ah Ben.
“Yes, after death; but I mean here!”
“There is no such thing as death!” remarked Ah Ben quietly, as if he were merely giving expression to a well-established scientific fact.
“And yet we see it about us every day,” Paul replied.
“There you are wrong, for no man has ever seen that which never occurs!”
“You are quibbling with words,” suggested Henley.