32. Before we go any further, it should be noted that in order to improve conditions and stem the tide of darkness, a great deal has already been done on the part of the community by way of political organizations, philanthropic activities, the formation of new religious bodies, spiritual research and so on. However, although that influence has not been insignificant, it has been of little real effect and has not removed the real causes of evil. It could almost be compared to the botched-up patches around areas of repair which sometimes tear into big holes. Therefore it becomes clearer and clearer as an obvious fact that fundamentally nothing less than a completely new spiritual world impulse will be capable of remedying the world's distress and directing the Globe's spiritual course on towards such heights in the zone of love that the so-called "kingdom of God", or the kingdom which was formerly "not of this world", shall not remain as a distant radiance from a heavenly realm, as a utopia or the "promised land" but, on the contrary, shall arrive in the shape of a fully developed human kingdom, to cast its everlasting peace shining out over the length and breadth of the Earth. And thanks to divine Providence, who always permits help to reach the nearest where the need is greatest, a new divine impulse has already begun to make an entry into the world. Gradually, as it is rendered visible and the unfolding of its uplifting, life-giving inspiration becomes prevalent, a wholly new world civilization will be brought about, which being built up not on faith but on knowledge, can become a guarantee for terrestrial mankind's salvation or freedom from the dark zone of hatred and mutilation.
      According to this enlightenment, the Earth's present stimulation of suffering can only be regarded as the birth pangs before a great new world epoch. And in this way, even now terrestrial mankind is experiencing a world civilization's decline and a world civilization's birth.