The Influence of Various Religions upon the Development of the Individual

Every human is born into the world with an embryo individuality. No human ever develops this to its fullest possible expression. Some more nearly attain this goal than others. From birth until death, man struggles for such an attainment and in every race and nation he has died with the unquenchable hope that in another existence he may have the victory. What may be the fullest individual development in a future existence we cannot here hope to say. But with our finite sight and small degree of infinite insight we are able to determine a certain apparent ideal individual development. This ideal is built upon what we know of the individual developing and upon his aspirations for the future.Too much cannot be said of the value of a sense of power in the development of the individual. This sense lies deeply rooted in the Ego. It has accompanied, more than that, it has pushed life from its earliest and simplest expressions to the place where we find it today, to manhood well on its way to its divine goal. This sense of power is the door that opens for man the channels of energy, which pour into him from sources which he cannot comprehend, and while flowing through him set in motion all his life impulses, are they flow out of him to disappear he knows not where. Anything which touches his emotions stirs his power. According to Alexander Shand, the individuals emotions are centered around his ideals in a unifying system. If this be true, what must be the effect of the individual's ideals upon the power which is his. It is easily seen how these ideals which so stir his power must in the end carry him with greater or lesser strides along the road of his development.