The time span of youth is divided into two periods of seven years each. The first period begins at 21 years of age and concludes at 28 years of age. The second period initiates at 28 years of age and ends at 35 years of age. Thus, the bases of youth are found in home, at the school, and in the street.
When youth are raised on the basis of a fundamental education, then, indeed, they are edified and essentially dignified. Whereas, when youth are raised on false foundations, it becomes, as a logical consequence, a mistaken path.
Sadly, the majority of men misuse the first part of their life; consequently, they make the continuance of it miserable; that is, based on the mistaken concept of a false manhood youngsters often fall into the arms of prostitutes.
These excesses of youth are promissory notes drawn against old age, which the bearer pays with very high interest thirty years after the date of issuance.
Therefore, without a fundamental education, youth is a perpetual intoxication; it becomes a fever of error, liquor, and animal passion.
Everything that any individual will become in life is found in a potential state during the first thirty years of their existence.
The majority of human enterprises that we have knowledge of (as much as in former epochs as well as in our epoch) were initiated before the individual reached thirty years of age.
Individuals who reach thirty years of age sometimes feel as if they have come out of a great battle in which they have seen a multitude of their companions fall one after the other. Usually, at thirty years of age, these men and women have already lost all their vivacity and enthusiasm, thus if they failed in their first projects, they then become filled with pessimism and abandon their enterprises.
The longings of adulthood follow the longings of youth, yet without a fundamental education the inheritance of seniors is often desperation.
Youth is fleeting; beauty is the splendor of youth, but it is illusory, it does not last long. Youth has a vigorous genius and a weak judgment. Rare are the youngsters with strong judgment and a vigorous genius, since, without a fundamental education, youngsters usually become passionate drunkards, swindlers, sarcastic, concupiscent, lustful, gluttons, covetous, envious, jealous, killers, thieves, proud, sluggish, etc.
Youth is similar to a summer sun that quickly sets, since youngsters delight in squandering the vital values of their youth.
Seniors commit the error of exploiting the youngsters by leading them into war.
Youngsters can transform themselves and transform the world if they orient themselves along the path of a fundamental education.
During our youth we are filled with longings that lead us only to disenchantment, given that our ego takes advantage of the fire of our youth in order to strengthen itself and become powerful. Yes, in our youth the ego only wants passionate satisfactions—at any cost—even if it means that our old age will become totally disastrous.
Regrettably, youngsters’ only concern is to fall into the arms of fornication, wine, and all types of pleasures. Youngsters do not want to realize that to become a slave to pleasure is suitable only to prostitutes, and never to authentic humans.
Pleasure never endures long enough, this is why the thirst for pleasure is the ailment that makes the intellectual animals most pitiable.
The great Spaniard poet, Jorge Manrique, wrote:
“So swiftly passes a pleasure,
so quickly its remembrance causes pain,
since according to our measure,
any former time was better.”
Aristotle, when addressing pleasure, stated, “Regarding the judgment of pleasure, we men are not impartial judges.”
The intellectual animal enjoys justifying pleasure, thus, Frederick the Great had no problem emphatically affirming: “Pleasure is the best of life.”
The most unbearable pain is produced by the prolongation of the most intense pleasure.
Philanderer youngsters abound like weeds. The philanderer ego always justifies pleasure. The chronic philanderer abhors marriage or prefers to postpone it.
To postpone marriage with the pretext of enjoying all the pleasures of the Earth is a terrible blunder. Yes, it is an absurdity to be done with the vitality of our youth before getting married. The victims of such a stupidity are our offspring.
Many men get married because they are tired, while many women get married out of curiosity: the outcome of such absurdities is always deception.
Every wise man truly loves with all his heart the woman that he has chosen.
It is better to get married in our youth if indeed we do not want to have a miserable old age.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose in life; thus, it is normal for a young person to get married, but it is folly for a youngster to wait until old age for marriage.
So, young people must get married and must know how to form their home, and they must never forget that the monster of jealousy destroys homes.
Hence Solomon said:
“Jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.”
– Song of Solomon 8:6
The race of intellectual animals is jealous like dogs, given that jealousy is a totally animal element.
The man who, out of jealousy, constantly scrutinizes his wife cannot even know who he is dealing with; it is better for him not to do that, so he can know what type of wife he really has.
The poisonous shouting of a jealous woman becomes more deadly than the fangs of a rabid dog.
It is a falsity to state that where there is jealousy, there is love, since love and jealousy are incompatible. Thus, jealousy is never born from love: the origin of jealousy is in fear.
The “I” justifies jealousy with many types of reasons. The “I” fears losing the one he loves. Therefore, those who wants to truly dissolve the “I” must always be willing to lose what they love the most.
In practicality, we have been able to verify after many years of observation that every libertine bachelor becomes a jealous husband.
Every man has been a dissolute fornicator.
Man and woman must be voluntarily united because of love, but never because of fear and jealousy.
The man will answer for his behavior before the Great Law, likewise the woman will answer for hers. A husband cannot answer for the behavior of his wife nor can the wife answer for the behavior of her husband. Thus, let each spouse answer for their own behavior and let them both dissolve their jealousy.
The basic problem of youth is marriage.
The flirtatious girl with multiple boyfriends will remain single because all of them will become disillusioned with her. Thus, it is necessary for young girls to know how to keep their boyfriend if indeed they want to get married.
It is necessary to not mistake love for passion. Lamentably, young men and women do not know how to distinguish between love and passion.
It is essential to know that passion is a poison that deceives the mind and the heart.
Every impassioned man and every impassioned woman would even swear with tears of blood that they are truly in love, however, after their animal passion is satisfied, their castle of cards falls to the ground.
Many marriages fail because they are based on animal passion and not on love.
The most serious step that we take during our youth is marriage; therefore, young men and women should receive the necessary preparation for this important step within schools, colleges, and universities, since it is lamentable that many young men and women only get married based on financial interest or mere social conveniences.
When a marriage is performed because of animal passion, social conveniences, or financial interest, the outcome will be a failure.
Many couples fail in marriage because of incompatible characters.
The woman who marries a jealous, angry, furious young man will become the victim of an executioner.
The young man who marries a jealous, furious, angry woman will obviously have to spend his life in a hell.
In order for true love to exist between two beings, it is essential for animal passion to not exist. Likewise, it is indispensable to dissolve the “I” of jealousy, necessary to disintegrate anger, and moreover, it is vital to have an unselfishness capable of facing any circumstance.
The “I” harms homes; the “myself” destroys harmony. If young men and women study our fundamentals of Gnostic education and propose to dissolve their “I,” then, by all means, it is clear that they will be able to tread on the path of the perfect matrimony.
Only by means of the dissolution of the ego will true happiness be within all homes.
To those young men and women who want to be happy in marriage we advise an in depth study of our fundamentals of Gnostic education and for them to dissolve their “I.”
Many parents are frightfully protective of their daughters and do not want them to have a boyfriend. Such a procedure is one hundred percent absurd, because girls need to have a boyfriend and get married. The outcome of such incomprehensive behavior are secret affairs with boyfriends in the street and the ever present danger of falling into the arms of a seductive suitor.
Teenage girls must have the freedom to have their boyfriend. However, since they still have not dissolved their “I,” it is advisable to not leave them alone with their boyfriend.
Young men and women must have the freedom to have parties at home. Healthy entertainment does not harm anyone.
Notwithstanding the necessity for youngsters to have entertainment, we must acknowledge that what harms youth are alcohol, cigarettes, fornication, orgies, licentiousness, bars, cabarets, etc. Thus, family parties, decent dances, good music, trips to the countryside, etc. cannot harm anyone.
The mind damages love. Many young men have lost the opportunity of getting married to magnificent women because of monetary fears, because of the memories of the past, or the uncertainties of the future.
Fears of life, hunger, or misery and the vain projects of the mind become the fundamental cause of any nuptial postponement.
Many are the young men who resolve to not marry until they collect a specific amount of money, own their own house, the latest car and hundreds of nonsensical things, as if the whole of this was happiness. Regrettably, these men lose beautiful marriage opportunities because of their fear of life, death, or what others might say, etc. These types of men remain single for their entire life or they get married too late, when they do not have enough time to form a family and educate their offspring.
Indeed, all that a man needs in order to support his wife and children is to have a profession or a humble occupation, and that is all.
Many young women remain single because of selecting a husband. Yes, calculating, egotistical, manipulative women remain single or resolutely fail in their marriage.
It is necessary for young women to comprehend that any man becomes disillusioned with a manipulative, calculating, egotistical woman.
Some young women—with the longing of getting a husband—make themselves up in an exaggerated way: they pluck their eyebrows, curl their hair, put on wigs and false eyelashes. These women do not comprehend male psychology. They ignore that by nature every man abhors make-up dolls and admires the totally natural beauty and the ingenuous smile. Every man wants to see in a woman sincerity, simplicity, true, disinterested love, and purity of nature.
So, the girls who want to get married need to deeply comprehend the psychology of the male sex.
Love is the summum of wisdom. Love is nourished with love. The fire of eternal youth is love.
Samael Aun Weor
