Earliest known work by Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken, later known by his spiritual name Bô Yin Râ, reproduced with permission of the German Bô Yin Râ Foundation from their website.“This drawing by the 16-year-old from 1893 at the beginning of his training at the Städelsche Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt is the earliest known work by the artist, that we know of. In terms of technical implementation, it appears to be black and white chalk on light brown cardboard. The signature E.v. Steinle (Edward von Steinle, painter, first professor at the Städelsches Institut) was added later in pencil.”

You should be active and work on your path, wherever the strength and ability to be active and work are found in you.

When one day you are united with your God in you, your whole life will consist of deeds and works, – indeed, you will yourself be simply deeds and works! – –

‘God’ is a living fire!

Everything which rots and stagnates without activity will be destroyed in that fire. – –

The will of the Spirit cannot ‘beget’ itself in you as your God if you do not act as though you were already united with your God…

Your God would be a God of power and daring, not a demon of impotent wishes and consuming fears! – – –

Active work may find your love at all times, just as the Spirit in Eternity works itself in continuous activity!

How can you hope to unite with your God while your love distances itself from him?! – –

You can only reach yourself in your God, if you are prepared to actively unite with your God, for – the Living God is no God of dreamers and fantasists!

He can only ‘beget’ himself in souls which have been awakened…

His light is far too bright for slumbering souls to bear. – –

Unite the powers of your soul to carry out exalted deeds!

Perfect whatever you can perfect here on Earth; work as long as you can!

In this way you will one day encounter your God within you, – your Living God, – liberated from fear.

You would not be alive, if ‘life’ were not working in you as the ‘deed’ of the Spirit…

Your life is only ‘eternal’ because ‘deed’ of the eternal Spirit is eternal, like itself. –

Temporarily you are as the temporal manifestation of this earthly world, and it is also your earthly duty to carry out temporal works in this temporal realm, just as in the eternal realm you are eternally worked by the Eternal! – – –

Only through steadfast working can you prove yourself, and you must have prepared yourself through deeds as high guidance demands from you, before your God is able to ‘beget’ himself in you.

The Book On the Living God is Book 2 of the Hortus Conclusus: the standard-translation© of the Hortus Conclusus (The Enclosed Garden), encompassing the spiritual teachings in thirty-two books by Bô Yin Râ. (Bô Yin Râ is the spiritual name of Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken 1876-1943.)

All rights, copyrights included, reserved by Posthumus Projects Amsterdam, 2014. Posthumus Projects Amsterdam is responsible for this standard-translation©. Posthumus Projects Amsterdam has provided general permission for reprinting and transmission of its publications with attribution.