Judging from the information that has appeared during the recent years ,the pre-Deluge events that were described in the Bible and several other ancient books of the East, took place in Atlantis. This was the paradise on earth, mentioned in the Bible. The Creator inhabited this land with evolutionary advanced souls, who lived in the bodies for several hundred years and whose bodies were larger than those of modern human beings.
But outside Atlantis, there lived another type of people, which modern scientists call paleoanthropus. It was to them that the Biblical Cain was expelled for the murder of his brother Abel; he found those people there and left among them numerous descendants.
The Atlanteans possessed the highest spiritual and technical knowledge, their bodies differed considerably from those of the paleoanthropus people. When they met people of other continents the latter would take them for Gods.
Modern people, except for several small groups, perhaps, can be considered a product of genetic mixing of the Atlanteans and paleoanthropus people.
The racist concept that claims superiority of some races over others is absolutely invalid: the color of the skin, which is determined by the congenital, genetically fixed amount of melanin pigment contained in it, protecting the skin from the excessive solar radiation, depends exclusively on the original habitats of the particular groups of people. The closer it is to the equator the more intensive the ultra violet radiation is and the greater amount of protective pigment the skin has to contain; and vice versa, the closer it is to the poles — the lesser amount of melanin is needed, thus the skin is lighter, since it needs to absorb as much ultra violet radiation as possible.
Atlantis was called the paradise on earth not only because it was located in an exceptionally auspicious climatic zone (the central part of the Atlantic ocean at the latitude of the Mediterranean Sea and Central America), but also (which is much more important) because its entire population possessed the highest spiritual knowledge and was familiar with methods of spiritual self-perfection. This was possible because God would send only highly advanced souls to incarnate into the bodies of the Atlanteans.
But as time went by, in this “paradise on earth” there appeared those ugly social phenomena, when certain people start to turn back in their evolution, to cultivate egocentrism, to seek power over the others, to proclaim themselves to be the “most high”, the superior, and to defy God… (This process was reflected in the legend about the “fallen angel”… But there have always been people like that: both then and now).
This phenomenon was especially dangerous since the Atlanteans possessed the magic knowledge, the misuse of which (applying them against Evolution) could lead to tremendous cataclysms, that could ruin life on the whole planet. The black magic was widespread, and those people started to seek usurpation of power… At that time God made a decision to destroy this hotbed of mystical contagion. He devised the Deluge of Atlantis.
Those of the Atlanteans, who remained steadfast devotees of God, were informed by Him beforehand and moved out of the doomed continent: some to America, some to Europe, Africa, and Asia. There they started to originate new centers of the highest spiritual culture. Such centers are known in America, Egypt, and Tibet.
And Atlantis submerged into the ocean.
What is Love ?
Love has multiple aspects. It manifests Itself as care, tenderness, devotion, self-sacrifice, active service to God, which is realized through service to other people called karma-yoga (work not for reward but for the sake of God), and in many other ways.
But the “foundation” of love is constant staying with one’s consciousness in anahata, transforming oneself as consciousness — through this — into constant emotion of love that is being radiated on all people, all living beings. One of the principal manifestations of love is tenderness, including the sexual aspect of it. It should be noted here, that the ethically correct sexual life directly contributes to developing the ability to love.
God is Love. If we want to Merge with Him, we have to transform ourselves into Love as well — into consciousness, constantly being in the state of Godlike Love. This is when we become those disciples of God whom He grants all other aspects of wisdom and then accepts in Himself. This is the principal condition of one’s being able to walk the Straight Path to Him.
But those, who oppose love — oppose God.
Upon developing his spiritual heart, an adept of the Straight Path learns how to expand it beyond his body limits — first for several meters, then to fill the whole Earth with it and then — even wider. This is the optimal way of breaking identification with the body and also the correct way of growing individual consciousness and of gaining experience of being and acting without the body while it is still alive.
The person that has developed himself to such a level, sheds all attachment to his body and does not fear the death of it anymore: since he finds out that now it does not matter for him whether he has the body or not. He is sure that the death of the body will spare him the unnecessary earthly trouble. For such a hero the moment approaches, when the Creator will reveal Himself to him and let him in His Abode.
But the “foundation” of love is constant staying with one’s consciousness in anahata, transforming oneself as consciousness — through this — into constant emotion of love that is being radiated on all people, all living beings. One of the principal manifestations of love is tenderness, including the sexual aspect of it. It should be noted here, that the ethically correct sexual life directly contributes to developing the ability to love.
God is Love. If we want to Merge with Him, we have to transform ourselves into Love as well — into consciousness, constantly being in the state of Godlike Love. This is when we become those disciples of God whom He grants all other aspects of wisdom and then accepts in Himself. This is the principal condition of one’s being able to walk the Straight Path to Him.
But those, who oppose love — oppose God.
Upon developing his spiritual heart, an adept of the Straight Path learns how to expand it beyond his body limits — first for several meters, then to fill the whole Earth with it and then — even wider. This is the optimal way of breaking identification with the body and also the correct way of growing individual consciousness and of gaining experience of being and acting without the body while it is still alive.
The person that has developed himself to such a level, sheds all attachment to his body and does not fear the death of it anymore: since he finds out that now it does not matter for him whether he has the body or not. He is sure that the death of the body will spare him the unnecessary earthly trouble. For such a hero the moment approaches, when the Creator will reveal Himself to him and let him in His Abode.
Selfcenteredness — versus God-Centeredness
We have already discussed that in order to realize the meaning of our lives as humans, to realize our Love to God that should manifest in the desire to serve Him, cognize Him, become like Him, and to merge with Him in the Embraces of Eternal Love, — we have to grow ourselves as spiritual hearts and to refine ourselves as consciousness.
But there is another aspect of self-development that needs to be understood and fulfilled. I am talking about the destruction of one’s lower self (ego).
Lower self is a part of a person that manifests itself as a feeling of separate existence, isolation from the All, from the Absolute.
A large number of vices are manifestations of a pathologically inflated lower self. Among these are greed, the desire to take possession of what belongs to others, arrogance, pride, conceit, resentfulness, anger, revengefulness, jealousy, self-admiration, attachment to material objects, and so on.
All this creates trouble and pain to both other people who surround such a person and to him. He cannot be loved and respected by people. Moreover, actions performed under influence of this kind of emotions form a negative karma (destiny) for him. While coarsening of consciousness, which inevitably results from the domination of coarse negative states, steers the development of such a person into a demoniac pattern and determines for him hell after death.
This is why Jesus put such a great emphasis in His preachings on the importance of conquering the “sticking out” lower selves of His disciples. In particular, He taught never to sit on the “high” place, to think “big” of oneself; on the contrary: He said that he who is willing to serve people should feel himself as their servant. Lao Tse, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, and Babaji, taught the same. Today this is taught by Sathya Sai Baba . The opposite qualities to those of the “protruding” lower self, which is proud, boastful, arrogant, self-admiring, touchy, rude, hasty, revengeful, envious, irritable, angry, greedy, lascivious, — are simplicity and humility (humble thinking of oneself) . The studying of spiritual literature, in particular “The Philokalia” can help in acquiring these qualities. The mistakes that a person discovers in himself must become subject of a thorough intelligent repenting,
But the ultimate solution of this problem can come only through practice of meditation.
The point is that it is impossible to be in the Divine eons as a separate entity: one can be there only in a “dissolved” state, the state of “non-I”. When a drop of water gets into an ocean it must dissolve in it, disintegrate into molecules. If this does not happen — then the drop will not be identical to the ocean and will not become a part of it, no matter how many times it dips into or swims inside it.
The same is true for us: for the sake of Mergence with our beloved Creator we have to sacrifice our selves — they have to die. Only in this case we can associate with His Self — our Higher Self.
… But let no one think that it can be accomplished as a result purely mental process. No. In order to realize the Mergence with the Creator one has to go a long Path of purifying oneself of vices and refining of one’s consciousness. One’s love to the Creator has to be so strong that it would enable one to renounce all “earthly” goals. One has to get into the highest eon and to bring up the Atmic energy kundalini to and move it through the body. Upon coming through the body it merges into the Creator. Starting from this moment a person may consider a part of “himself” as already being in Him . And all that remains to accomplish is to learn to shift the concentration of self-awareness in That part of oneself and to dissolve There along with it.
And then, being Him, we need to learn to act from Him using our physical bodies… In this case we become like Divine Teachers.
But there is another aspect of self-development that needs to be understood and fulfilled. I am talking about the destruction of one’s lower self (ego).
Lower self is a part of a person that manifests itself as a feeling of separate existence, isolation from the All, from the Absolute.
A large number of vices are manifestations of a pathologically inflated lower self. Among these are greed, the desire to take possession of what belongs to others, arrogance, pride, conceit, resentfulness, anger, revengefulness, jealousy, self-admiration, attachment to material objects, and so on.
All this creates trouble and pain to both other people who surround such a person and to him. He cannot be loved and respected by people. Moreover, actions performed under influence of this kind of emotions form a negative karma (destiny) for him. While coarsening of consciousness, which inevitably results from the domination of coarse negative states, steers the development of such a person into a demoniac pattern and determines for him hell after death.
This is why Jesus put such a great emphasis in His preachings on the importance of conquering the “sticking out” lower selves of His disciples. In particular, He taught never to sit on the “high” place, to think “big” of oneself; on the contrary: He said that he who is willing to serve people should feel himself as their servant. Lao Tse, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, and Babaji, taught the same. Today this is taught by Sathya Sai Baba . The opposite qualities to those of the “protruding” lower self, which is proud, boastful, arrogant, self-admiring, touchy, rude, hasty, revengeful, envious, irritable, angry, greedy, lascivious, — are simplicity and humility (humble thinking of oneself) . The studying of spiritual literature, in particular “The Philokalia” can help in acquiring these qualities. The mistakes that a person discovers in himself must become subject of a thorough intelligent repenting,
But the ultimate solution of this problem can come only through practice of meditation.
The point is that it is impossible to be in the Divine eons as a separate entity: one can be there only in a “dissolved” state, the state of “non-I”. When a drop of water gets into an ocean it must dissolve in it, disintegrate into molecules. If this does not happen — then the drop will not be identical to the ocean and will not become a part of it, no matter how many times it dips into or swims inside it.
The same is true for us: for the sake of Mergence with our beloved Creator we have to sacrifice our selves — they have to die. Only in this case we can associate with His Self — our Higher Self.
… But let no one think that it can be accomplished as a result purely mental process. No. In order to realize the Mergence with the Creator one has to go a long Path of purifying oneself of vices and refining of one’s consciousness. One’s love to the Creator has to be so strong that it would enable one to renounce all “earthly” goals. One has to get into the highest eon and to bring up the Atmic energy kundalini to and move it through the body. Upon coming through the body it merges into the Creator. Starting from this moment a person may consider a part of “himself” as already being in Him . And all that remains to accomplish is to learn to shift the concentration of self-awareness in That part of oneself and to dissolve There along with it.
And then, being Him, we need to learn to act from Him using our physical bodies… In this case we become like Divine Teachers.
Divine Teachers...
When trying to establish first contacts with Divine Teachers beginning mystics often meet with some type of misunderstanding. The main reason for that is that these people are unable to correctly identify their Interlocutor and to critically assess the information they receive.
First, a certain spirit (even a hell being) can pretend to be a Divine Teacher. Divine Teachers Themselves sometimes speak in such a manner that could be understood in two ways; They do it on purpose — in order to develop ethic qualities and intellectual abilities of Their disciples, as well as to probe their level of development by these criteria.
There are several ways one can recognize Divine Teachers. The main criterion is the Divine Level of Refinement of Their Consciousnesses. They usually appear in an anthropomorphic form consisting of Divine Fire — the subtlest, non-burning flame-like tender goldish or white Light. A spirit who has not attained Divinity cannot accept such a form.
But in order to be able to see Divine Teachers like that one has to get close to Them by the level of refinement of one’s consciousness. This is not easily achieved. And until it is, one must assess the information obtained by mystical means very carefully. It must be necessarily checked against the precepts and instructions of God that we can find in the holy books.
Many people who do not do this get into the traps set by hellish spirits and end up in mental hospitals as a result of their contacts with “cosmic teachers”.
First, a certain spirit (even a hell being) can pretend to be a Divine Teacher. Divine Teachers Themselves sometimes speak in such a manner that could be understood in two ways; They do it on purpose — in order to develop ethic qualities and intellectual abilities of Their disciples, as well as to probe their level of development by these criteria.
There are several ways one can recognize Divine Teachers. The main criterion is the Divine Level of Refinement of Their Consciousnesses. They usually appear in an anthropomorphic form consisting of Divine Fire — the subtlest, non-burning flame-like tender goldish or white Light. A spirit who has not attained Divinity cannot accept such a form.
But in order to be able to see Divine Teachers like that one has to get close to Them by the level of refinement of one’s consciousness. This is not easily achieved. And until it is, one must assess the information obtained by mystical means very carefully. It must be necessarily checked against the precepts and instructions of God that we can find in the holy books.
Many people who do not do this get into the traps set by hellish spirits and end up in mental hospitals as a result of their contacts with “cosmic teachers”.
The Conquering of Suffering...
Suffering of itself teaches us nothing, any more than boarding a ship takes us anywhere.. We must use it correctly, We must endure it long enough to call its bluff... We must not run away to refuge in self-pity or to high-sounding rationalizations...Such retreats only increase the illusion that suffering has us on the run... In spiritual battle we defeat the enemy, not through flight but though standing still long enough to see that we have mistakenly attributed power to the enemy.. Suffering has no power over anyone.. Just perceive this... Perceive it and you win every time, whether the assault comes as loneliness, frustration, despair, whatever...As a practical illustration, suppose our distress is caused by a cruel remark from someone, Now, the distress arises because the remark fell on the false self, whose very nature is touchy, sensitive, indignant..But as this artificial self fades away through psychological insight, what entity is left to suffer ? If a thousand people throw black paint against the air, it remains clear and undisturbed.....
What is Suffering?
We can either suffer from our suffering, or we can use it to end suffering... To abolish anguish, we must understand its nature... It is a face to face encounter with something that the false self does not want to face.. It is resistance against the Truth, against Reality.. We resist the very Truth that could liberate us because we don't recognize it, because we are still under the delusion that falsehood is all there is... Suffering is nothing more than an attempt by Nature to help us face illusions we don't even suspect we harbor.. Scientist Louis Agassiz points out, "Nature brings us bach to absolute truth whenever we wander"... If we learn the lesson, we lose both the illusion and the pain it causes.. If we resist, misery remains...............Vernon Howard
The End of the World....
There has been much written about the end of the world , throughout the centuries,,,but we must remember that the physical world is just an illusion created by our minds....once we awaken to spiritual knowledge, we realize that we cannot die, and that we are truly safe...we have died a thousand times, and each time we feel the fear of loss..but this is only a false belief....so raise your consciousness and spiritual level to the state of Love, and you will not fear anything...as fear cannot exist in Love....
Jesus at Katak. The car of Jagannath Jesus reveals to the people the emptiness of Brahmic rites, and how to see God in man. Teaches them the divine la
IN all the cities of Orissa Jesus taught. At Katak, by the river side, he taught, and thousands of the people followed him. 2 One day a car of Jagannath was hauled along by scores of frenzied men, and Jesus said, 3 Behold, a form without a spirit passes by; a body with no soul; a temple with no altar fires. 4 This car of Krishna is an empty thing, for Krishna is not there. 5 This car is but an idol of a people drunk on wine of carnal things. 6 God lives not in the noise of tongues; there is no way to him from any idol shrine. 7 God's meeting place with man is in the heart, and in a still small voice he speaks; and he who hears is still. 8 And all the people said, Teach us to know the Holy One who speaks within the heart, God of the still small voice. 9 And Jesus said, The Holy Breath cannot be seen with mortal eyes; nor can men see the Spirits of the Holy; 10 But in their image man was made, and he who looks into the face of man, looks at the image of the God who speaks within. 11 And when man honours man he honours God, and what man does for man, he does for God. 12 And you must bear in mind that when man harms in thought, or word or deed another man, he does a wrong to God. 13 If you would serve the God who speaks within the heart, just serve your near of kin, and those that are no kin, the stranger at your gates, the foe who seeks to do you harm; 14 Assist the poor, and help the weak; do harm to none, and covet not what is not yours; 15 Then, with your tongue the Holy One will speak; and he will smile behind your tears, will light your countenance with joy, and fill your hearts with peace. 16 And then the people asked. To whom shall we bring gifts? Where shall we offer sacrifice? 17 And Jesus said, Our Father-God asks not for needless waste of plant,of grain, of dove, of lamb. 18 That which you burn on any shrine you throw away. No blessings can attend the one who takes the food from hungry mouths to be destroyed by fire. 19 When you would offer sacrifice unto our God, just take your gift of grain, or meat and lay it on the table of the poor. 20 From it an incense will arise to heaven, which will return to you with blessedness. 21 Tear down your idols; they can hear you not; turn all your sacrificial altars into fuel for the flames. 22 Make human hearts your altars, and burn your sacrifices with the fire of love. 23 And all the people were entranced, and would have worshiped Jesus as a God; but Jesus said, 24 I am your brother man just come to show to way to God; you shall not worship man; praise God, the Holy One.
The Mage by Levi.....circa 1856
The Mage, or, if you prefer it the Sage, welcomes pleasure, accepts riches, merits honours, but he is never the slave of any of them. He knows how to be poor, to stint himself and suffer; he endures willingly forgetfulness, because his happiness, which is his own, expects nothing and dreads nothing from the caprices of Fortune.
He can love without being beloved; he can create imperishable treasures and raise himself above the level of honours, the gift of Chance. 1 What he wants he possesses, for he possesses profound peace. He regrets nothing of that which must come to an end, but he remembers with joy all that has been good for him. His hope is already a certainty; he knows that
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[paragraph continues] Good is eternal, and that Evil is transitory. 1 He can enjoy solitude but he does not fear the society of man; he is a child with children, joyous with the young, staid with the aged, patient with fools, happy with the wise.
He smiles with all who smile, he mourns with all who weep. He takes his part in all festivities, sympathises in all mournings, applauds all strength of mind, is indulgent to all weaknesses; never offending any one, he has never to pardon, for he never thinks himself offended; he pities those who misconceive him, and awaits the opportunity of doing them good. It is by the force of kindness that he loves to revenge himself on the ungrateful. Ready, himself, to give everything, he receives with pleasure and gratitude all that may be given him. He leans with affection on all arms stretched towards him in times of difficulty, and does not mistake for virtue the fretful pride of Rousseau. He thinks that it is doing a service to others to give them an opportunity of doing good, and he never meets with a refusal either an offer or a demand.
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Think you that a man of such a character is not greater than a king, richer than a millionaire, more happy than a Faublas or a Sardanapalus? Happy he who shall understand this greatness, appreciate these riches, and taste this joy and these pleasures! He will want nothing else, and all he wants he will have.
Perfection is equilibrium, and excesses of privation are as injurious as the excesses of enjoyment. Macerations have their unhealthy epicurism, and the Fakirs love to wither away in the ecstasy of their pride. The penitent executioners of their own bodies and of their souls feel the cruelty, of the God, whom they think to avenge, triumphing in them. The burners of men are those who submit to cruel self-discipline. Pope Pius V was an ascetic, and the terrible St. Dominic was a penitent, pitilessly rigorous to himself. The fanatic capable of killing himself for God is capable of killing others; the orgies of austerity harden the heart as certainly as the orgies of pleasure.
Arrived at perfect equilibrium, the man may walk or run without fear of falling. One must be some one to deserve to exist, but one is some one to do something; we exist only to act; we think to speak. Reason also is the Word, but the Word is not only speech, it is life and action. We are strong, to labour; we are learned, to teach; we are physicians, to heal the sick. We do not light a lamp to hide it under a bushel, as Christ said. The light should be placed on a candlestick; each one owes himself to all, as all owe themselves to each. We must not hide
He can love without being beloved; he can create imperishable treasures and raise himself above the level of honours, the gift of Chance. 1 What he wants he possesses, for he possesses profound peace. He regrets nothing of that which must come to an end, but he remembers with joy all that has been good for him. His hope is already a certainty; he knows that
p. 91
[paragraph continues] Good is eternal, and that Evil is transitory. 1 He can enjoy solitude but he does not fear the society of man; he is a child with children, joyous with the young, staid with the aged, patient with fools, happy with the wise.
He smiles with all who smile, he mourns with all who weep. He takes his part in all festivities, sympathises in all mournings, applauds all strength of mind, is indulgent to all weaknesses; never offending any one, he has never to pardon, for he never thinks himself offended; he pities those who misconceive him, and awaits the opportunity of doing them good. It is by the force of kindness that he loves to revenge himself on the ungrateful. Ready, himself, to give everything, he receives with pleasure and gratitude all that may be given him. He leans with affection on all arms stretched towards him in times of difficulty, and does not mistake for virtue the fretful pride of Rousseau. He thinks that it is doing a service to others to give them an opportunity of doing good, and he never meets with a refusal either an offer or a demand.
p. 92
Think you that a man of such a character is not greater than a king, richer than a millionaire, more happy than a Faublas or a Sardanapalus? Happy he who shall understand this greatness, appreciate these riches, and taste this joy and these pleasures! He will want nothing else, and all he wants he will have.
Perfection is equilibrium, and excesses of privation are as injurious as the excesses of enjoyment. Macerations have their unhealthy epicurism, and the Fakirs love to wither away in the ecstasy of their pride. The penitent executioners of their own bodies and of their souls feel the cruelty, of the God, whom they think to avenge, triumphing in them. The burners of men are those who submit to cruel self-discipline. Pope Pius V was an ascetic, and the terrible St. Dominic was a penitent, pitilessly rigorous to himself. The fanatic capable of killing himself for God is capable of killing others; the orgies of austerity harden the heart as certainly as the orgies of pleasure.
Arrived at perfect equilibrium, the man may walk or run without fear of falling. One must be some one to deserve to exist, but one is some one to do something; we exist only to act; we think to speak. Reason also is the Word, but the Word is not only speech, it is life and action. We are strong, to labour; we are learned, to teach; we are physicians, to heal the sick. We do not light a lamp to hide it under a bushel, as Christ said. The light should be placed on a candlestick; each one owes himself to all, as all owe themselves to each. We must not hide
God...
What we mean by the term 'God' is the source of all life and the creator of the physical universe. We perceive God to be pure spirit and not a physical being. God is in and of everything. Everything which lives does so because of the presence of the spiritual substance, the living light of Spirit, which animates it.
We do not assign any human personality traits to God such as anger, vengeance, jealousy, or anything of the like. As pure spirit, we perceive God as not having an ego or any other human characteristics. This is not to say we believe God is not involved in the workings of the world we know. The hand of God is evident everywhere and it is up to us to raise our consciousness so that we may become aware of God's presence in everything.
In overcoming our separation from God, we enter into the oneness of God's love and presence. We hold that the inner issues and emotional disturbances we experience in life are the very things which are taking the place of the presence of God in our lives. We have been given 'free will' which entitles us to choose the experiences we want to have in life. If we choose the lower emotional experiences of hatred, anger, resentment, bitterness, guilt, envy and greed, these experiences will take the place of the presence of God within. We must choose which experiences we truly want in our lives. We cannot harbor the feelings of hatred and anger and expect to experience the presence of God in our lives. The counterpart is also true; we cannot experience the love which comes from God and live in the presence of God and expect to experience the lower emotions as well. Jesus has explained that we cannot serve two masters. We must choose.
The presence of God will not intrude where it is not welcome, nor will it enter where a suitable home has not been provided. It is our responsibility to convert our consciousness so that it is compatible with the presence of God and provides a suitable home for the love which comes from God. Once we do that, the love and presence of God will automatically begin entering our lives.
We do not assign any human personality traits to God such as anger, vengeance, jealousy, or anything of the like. As pure spirit, we perceive God as not having an ego or any other human characteristics. This is not to say we believe God is not involved in the workings of the world we know. The hand of God is evident everywhere and it is up to us to raise our consciousness so that we may become aware of God's presence in everything.
In overcoming our separation from God, we enter into the oneness of God's love and presence. We hold that the inner issues and emotional disturbances we experience in life are the very things which are taking the place of the presence of God in our lives. We have been given 'free will' which entitles us to choose the experiences we want to have in life. If we choose the lower emotional experiences of hatred, anger, resentment, bitterness, guilt, envy and greed, these experiences will take the place of the presence of God within. We must choose which experiences we truly want in our lives. We cannot harbor the feelings of hatred and anger and expect to experience the presence of God in our lives. The counterpart is also true; we cannot experience the love which comes from God and live in the presence of God and expect to experience the lower emotions as well. Jesus has explained that we cannot serve two masters. We must choose.
The presence of God will not intrude where it is not welcome, nor will it enter where a suitable home has not been provided. It is our responsibility to convert our consciousness so that it is compatible with the presence of God and provides a suitable home for the love which comes from God. Once we do that, the love and presence of God will automatically begin entering our lives.
Salvation...
We hold that Salvation is not a matter of belief. Salvation is the outcome of a process of inner unification and transformation where our consciousness is withdrawn from our ego and centered on the awakened spirit within. The spirit within has eternal life because it is the substance of God; living light. We grow up in the world while we are developing our ego. The ego acts as the interface between us and the world and is the chief interpreter of our experience in the world. The ego is a function of the physical body and derives its energy and life from the body. When death is experienced the life force of the spirit is withdrawn from the body. The ego no longer has a source of energy. The ego then weakens and fades away leaving only the sleeping spirit. All awareness and consciousness associated with the ego also fades away into nothingness. This is called the second death.
The Son of Man.....
The Son of Man is a term which appears in two forms. The lower case form 'son of man' refers to the un-awakened spirit within each person. The upper case form 'Son of Man' refers to the awakened spirit within a person. The ego, or outer personality, seeks the things the world has to offer; wealth, power, social position and control.
The un-awakened spirit is often referred to as being asleep. But just as we dream and stir while we sleep, so too does the spirit within stir and generate activity in our lives. Our search for who we are (the desire to find our self), is the activity of the spirit within. The stirring of the spirit within begins our search for our true self and God. At some point we become disillusioned with the things of the world and begin our search for meaning. This is the beginning of our spiritual journey and it begins long before we recognize it as being spiritual in nature. Our spiritual journey is the seeking which drives us to examine one thing after another, looking for that small sign of truth which will resonate within us.
Sometimes we find some of the truth we are seeking and become involved in a group, a teaching, or a movement. Eventually we realize there is more truth to be discovered and the seeking continues by moving on. Even though a group, a teaching, or a movement may believe it has a complete offering of the truth, it is really up to the individual to find the whole truth for themselves. The best service a teaching can provide is to equip the individual with an understanding of what the truth is and provide the tools where the individual can enter into the truth on their own. The truth cannot be given; it must be experienced and entered into.
This is the essence of the process of transformation:
1. Learning the concepts and forming an intellectual understanding of God and spirituality.
2. Learning and practicing the tools – the exercises which will liberate us from the control and influence of the ego and the outer world.
3. Continue practicing the exercises which will bring about the spiritual experiences and our personal contact with God.
4. Use our new understanding of God, based on our personal experiences to fine tune our exercises and increase our contact with God and move into the presence of God.
5. Create a suitable environment for the presence of God in our life by eliminating all emotional disturbances and issues which take the place of God in our life.
6. Change our perception of other people so that we consciously recognize the light and presence of spirit within each and every person, no matter what his or her outer circumstances may be.
7. Practice loving everyone and everything which enters our life. By making love our central and dominant emotion, we invite the full presence of God to enter into our life and complete the process of transformation.
This process awakens the spirit within, raises it up, and empowers it with the presence of God. This process transforms the son of man into the Son of Man.
The un-awakened spirit is often referred to as being asleep. But just as we dream and stir while we sleep, so too does the spirit within stir and generate activity in our lives. Our search for who we are (the desire to find our self), is the activity of the spirit within. The stirring of the spirit within begins our search for our true self and God. At some point we become disillusioned with the things of the world and begin our search for meaning. This is the beginning of our spiritual journey and it begins long before we recognize it as being spiritual in nature. Our spiritual journey is the seeking which drives us to examine one thing after another, looking for that small sign of truth which will resonate within us.
Sometimes we find some of the truth we are seeking and become involved in a group, a teaching, or a movement. Eventually we realize there is more truth to be discovered and the seeking continues by moving on. Even though a group, a teaching, or a movement may believe it has a complete offering of the truth, it is really up to the individual to find the whole truth for themselves. The best service a teaching can provide is to equip the individual with an understanding of what the truth is and provide the tools where the individual can enter into the truth on their own. The truth cannot be given; it must be experienced and entered into.
This is the essence of the process of transformation:
1. Learning the concepts and forming an intellectual understanding of God and spirituality.
2. Learning and practicing the tools – the exercises which will liberate us from the control and influence of the ego and the outer world.
3. Continue practicing the exercises which will bring about the spiritual experiences and our personal contact with God.
4. Use our new understanding of God, based on our personal experiences to fine tune our exercises and increase our contact with God and move into the presence of God.
5. Create a suitable environment for the presence of God in our life by eliminating all emotional disturbances and issues which take the place of God in our life.
6. Change our perception of other people so that we consciously recognize the light and presence of spirit within each and every person, no matter what his or her outer circumstances may be.
7. Practice loving everyone and everything which enters our life. By making love our central and dominant emotion, we invite the full presence of God to enter into our life and complete the process of transformation.
This process awakens the spirit within, raises it up, and empowers it with the presence of God. This process transforms the son of man into the Son of Man.
The Gnostic Virgin Birth...
Matthew 1:8 (RSV) "Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way." This is how the story begins, and right away we have a footnote that explains, "Other ancient authorities read 'of the Christ'". So let's use the footnote and see what we have. "Now the birth of the Christ took place in this way." The outer form of Christianity wants us to believe that Jesus was the only Christ and thus feels justified in replacing 'of the Christ' with 'Jesus Christ'. While we have no doubt that Jesus was a Christed being; we certainly dispute the idea that he was the only Christed being. Christ is a title, the recognition of a highly elevated state of consciousness, which we refer to as 'The Christ Consciousness'. Clearly, from our study of the inner form of Christianity, known as Gnosticism, and the mystery school system, that Jesus was not the exception, but the rule in the upper levels of the Gnostic training system. The whole Gnostic system was designed to create Christed beings. This was not a 'men only' practice in the Gnostic organization; women were also trained and brought through the Christing process, know as the apostle level or the apostleship program. Mary, the wife of Joseph, is used as an example in this case. "When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit." This is precisely as it should be. But we are not talking about a physical baby here; we are talking about a child of the Holy Spirit. The outer form of Christianity with it's perspective of male supremacy, can only conceive of a physical child when it comes to a woman. To admit that women are equal spiritually to men and can become Christed beings would be a heresy of the highest order. We have to keep in mind that the entire Gnostic society we are dealing with was geared to creating Christed beings on a regular basis. So we need to take a closer look at Joseph and Mary. In Laurance Gardner's book "Bloodline of the Holy Grail" (Element Press) Pg. 35, the concept of Joseph as a carpenter is explained. The word translated into English as 'carpenter' represents the much wider sense of the ancient Greek ho tekton, which is in turn a rendition of the semitic word naggar. As pointed out by the Semitic scholar Dr. Geza Vermes, this descriptive word could perhaps be applied to a trade craftsman, but could equally well define a scholar or teacher. It certainly did not identify Jesus and Joseph as woodworkers. More precisely it identifies them as men with skills, learned men, who were the masters of what they did. Indeed, one translation of the Greek. ho tekton, relates to 'a master of the craft', as may be applied to modern Freemasonry." Jesus was constantly referred to as 'Teacher'. Could his father have also been a teacher, a spiritual teacher? The outer form of Christianity would like us to believe that the spiritual nature of the teachings of Jesus are a result of his being the only Son of God, or in some cases, God Himself. But what if Jesus grew up in a family of spiritual teachers, a family highly placed in a Gnostic community, a family of Christed beings? Would this change our view of who Jesus was? What if Joseph and Jesus were 'masters of the craft' with full knowledge of the spirituaql principles and practices and had acquired all of the spiritual powers that are a part of that experience? If Joseph was a Christed being, it would only make sense that his betrothed would also need to be a Christed being. And what do we have? Mary was with child of the Holy Spirit. Mary had gone through the entire Gnostic process, and was becoming a Christed being herself. For most people, this is a very radical statement, and it's not something that will stand by itself. So is there something else that helps to support this virgin birth concept? There is a whole set of interesting statements that are related to the virgin birth concept, including being born again, and a lot of bride and bridegroom terminology. In our experience of everyday life we have a pattern of bride and bridegroom, marriage, conception and birth. Because it is so familiar to us it makes sense to use the same pattern to describe spiritual things as well. So let's start at the begining of the pattern and see what we can find. Matthew 9:15 (RSV) follows a question about fasting. "And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.'" The next several lines help us to determine the context of the statement that Jesus is making. And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved." (The same statement appears in Mark 2:19 and Luke 5:34.) Is this really about garments, wine and wineskins? Of course not, it's about consciousness. A new consciousness will not work with an old belief system. That is what the statements are about. You cannot marry a new consciousness to an old belief system; the results are disastrous. This is why the unshrunk cloth on an old garment, and the new wine in an old wineskin were used as examples. People knew from their own experience what would happen. If the last three quarters of the statement is about consciousness, isn't the first quarter as well? It sure is. Matthew 25:1-13 (RSV) sheds a little more light on the subject. "Then the Kingdom of Heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom (footnote - Other ancient authorities add 'and the bride'). Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Then all of those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise replied, 'Perhaps there will not be enough for us and you; rather go to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' But he replied, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour." Here it is clear that we are talking about consciousness. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Christ Consciousness. Here too we have the slumbering, sleeping theme that relates to the consciousness of the world. The opportunity to awaken only comes from time to time. When we think we are ready, the opportunity is delayed, as the bridegroom is in the story. Only those that have truly prepared for spiritual awakening and enlightenment will experience it. We do not know when the time of awakening will come for us, but we do know that we must be completely prepared; if there is even one small thing left to do, we will miss our opportunity. John 3:27-36 (RSV) adds to our information, "John answered, 'No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegrooms voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease,'" This is the condition we find ourselves in as we approach our spiritual awakening; our ego, represented by John the Baptist, admits it is not the Christ, the awakened spirit, the living light within, and realizes that it must decrease so the spirit can increase and awaken, thus entering into the Kingdom of Heaven, the Christ Consciousness. The bridegroom and the bride represent the crossing over point from the earthly ego to the divine spirit and its entrance into the Christ Consciousness. John continues on, "He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him." "He who comes from above" is the spirit, the living light within each of us. "He who is of the earth belongs to the earth," this is the ego, "and of the earth he speaks." It cannot be any other way. The ego cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven, nor can it enter within. The ego is locked into the world. The awakened spirit bears witness to the things of God, for only it can see and hear them. Our ego does not want to hear it; it does not want to receive the testimony of the spirit. But something happens as we get closer to the point of awakening; the ego begins to see that it is not what the spirit is, that it must sacrifice itself for the greater good, for the Spirit. It becomes the friend, standing near the spirit and hearing its voice. This becomes the greatest joy the ego can experience, to hear the spirit as it awakens and is prepared to take on its Christhood. The ego's joy is now full. At this point the ego receives the testimony of the spirit and comes to realize that God is real. Then the ego 'believes' in the 'Son'. Until then, the ego does not believe in the Son, the spirit within each of us, and does not obey the spirit; consequently the ego does not see real life, but the wrath of God; the death, sickness, crime, and brutality of the world. Once the ego believes in the Son, the awakened spirit within, then it is willing to make the sacrifice, to decrease so the spirit can increase. It's the caterpillar and the butterfly thing. It is the conversion of lead (the ego) into gold (the awakened spirit within). "It is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand." This is the unconditional love that is the true nature of God. There is no measure, no limitation; all of it is given to us. "The Father loves the Son", God loves you, the spirit, the living light which you really are. The ego is not real, so it's like it never was, and isn't now. God sees and loves the spirit that is the real you, not the silly things of the ego. And it is the real you that God wants to see grow into the mature, empowered spiritual being that He had in mind when He created you. The story is completed in the Book of Revelation 21:9 (RSV) "'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.' And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal." The new Jerusalem represents the full Christ Consciousness coming down from God. This is the Bride of the Lamb, and the lamb is the true self without the ego. It is the lamb because without the ego we have no anger, hatred, fear, guilt, shame, resentment, bitterness or envy. We have become "pure in heart" and are ready to see God. We have become the kindest, gentlest, most loving people in the world. The lamb is the most descriptive word in this case. This is what the apostleship program was all about; bringing about the Christ Consciousness within the individual person. A person becomes so changed by the process that a new name is given to them upon completion of the process. The birth of the full Christ Consciousness is referred to as being born again, or being born from above. The Christ Consciousness is the child of the Holy Spirit, the result of establishing our 100% full conscious contact with God. Revelation finishes with 22:17 (RSV) "The Spirit and the Bride say 'Come.' And let him who hears say 'Come.' And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price." The 'Spirit' is God, and God says "Come." The 'Bride' is the full Christ Consciousness, and it says, "Come." This is the ultimate spiritual journey, to cleanse and purify ourselves of the ego, become as gentle and harmless as the lamb, become pure in heart as the virgin, and take the water of life and give birth to the full Christ Consciousness within. This is the Gnostic virgin birth.
The Law of Spiritual Perfection....
We can base our life on one of two options: ego-based, which is how we all begin, or spirit-based, which is how we overcome the world and enter into oneness with God.
In being ego-based, our consciousness is centered on and dependant on the ego. The ego, in turn, is centered on and dependant upon the body. When the body dies, the ego loses its source of life, and as its energy gradually fades and disappears, so too does the consciousness which has been attached to the ego fade into nothingness.
In being spirit-based, our consciousness is centered on and dependant on the spirit within. The spirit, in turn, is centered on and dependant upon God. Since God is eternal, and the spirit within us is the substance of God, our consciousness will remain active and functioning forever.
In order to make the shift from being ego-based to being spirit-based, the following principles are provided:
1. Each person has the light within him or her, and this light is the substance of God.
2. The light, or spirit within, is in a general state of deep sleep, or hibernation, similar to death. This is the result of feeding the ego and not the spirit within. Fear-based emotions feed the ego and love-based emotions feed the spirit.
3. Through love, the spirit can be awakened and raised to a position of power and authority within each person. This awakening and raising process is referred to as the resurrection.
4. Each person is responsible for becoming truly loving and using the Love which flows from God to awaken and raise the spirit within.
5. Each person is responsible for cleansing and purifying the thoughts and feelings within, transforming all fear based emotions into love.
6. Each person is responsible for overcoming his or her own ego and shifting his or her consciousness from the ego to the awakened spirit.
7. By cleansing and purifying his or her thoughts and feelings, and overcoming the ego through love, each person will enter into a higher state of consciousness referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Christ Consciousness.
8. By following the Law of Spiritual Perfection, each person becomes one with God and experiences his or her salvation.
9. In this oneness with God, each person is born again.
10. In Spiritual Perfection, death is overcome and each person enters into eternal life (eternal consciousness).
The Law of Spiritual Perfection is the perfection of spirit-based consciousness. When 100% of our consciousness has been centered on the spirit within, the Law has been fulfilled, and we have become one with God. Because our ego and our spirit are both fed from emotional energy, our emotional state is of critical importance in the shift from ego-based to spirit-based consciousness. Jesus repeatedly tells us that we are what is in our heart – our emotional state. “As a man is in his heart, so is he.” “A good man brings forth good from his heart, and an evil man brings forth evil.” The “good” and “evil” aspects can be defined as love-based and fear-based, spirit-based and ego-based respectively.
What we believe in our mind is almost irrelevant. “Who by taking thought can change one hair on their head?” It all comes down to our emotional state – what is in our heart. When our heart is true, our thoughts are true. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The emotional transformation from ego-based to spirit-based is dependent on resolving the emotional issues within and transforming our emotional base from fear to love. The spirit within is fed and supported only by love-based emotions. This is the power base of the spirit: the love from God which flows through our heart. Anything other than pure love in our heart restricts the flow of God’s love through us and limits our spiritual power and our consciousness. In order to perfect the spiritual state within, we must remove all obstructions (all thoughts and feelings incompatible with God’s love) from our mind and heart. God’s love is the standard. Spiritual perfection is the removal of everything which falls short of that standard. “Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is also perfect.” “I give you a new commandment: that you love one another.”
In being ego-based, our consciousness is centered on and dependant on the ego. The ego, in turn, is centered on and dependant upon the body. When the body dies, the ego loses its source of life, and as its energy gradually fades and disappears, so too does the consciousness which has been attached to the ego fade into nothingness.
In being spirit-based, our consciousness is centered on and dependant on the spirit within. The spirit, in turn, is centered on and dependant upon God. Since God is eternal, and the spirit within us is the substance of God, our consciousness will remain active and functioning forever.
In order to make the shift from being ego-based to being spirit-based, the following principles are provided:
1. Each person has the light within him or her, and this light is the substance of God.
2. The light, or spirit within, is in a general state of deep sleep, or hibernation, similar to death. This is the result of feeding the ego and not the spirit within. Fear-based emotions feed the ego and love-based emotions feed the spirit.
3. Through love, the spirit can be awakened and raised to a position of power and authority within each person. This awakening and raising process is referred to as the resurrection.
4. Each person is responsible for becoming truly loving and using the Love which flows from God to awaken and raise the spirit within.
5. Each person is responsible for cleansing and purifying the thoughts and feelings within, transforming all fear based emotions into love.
6. Each person is responsible for overcoming his or her own ego and shifting his or her consciousness from the ego to the awakened spirit.
7. By cleansing and purifying his or her thoughts and feelings, and overcoming the ego through love, each person will enter into a higher state of consciousness referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Christ Consciousness.
8. By following the Law of Spiritual Perfection, each person becomes one with God and experiences his or her salvation.
9. In this oneness with God, each person is born again.
10. In Spiritual Perfection, death is overcome and each person enters into eternal life (eternal consciousness).
The Law of Spiritual Perfection is the perfection of spirit-based consciousness. When 100% of our consciousness has been centered on the spirit within, the Law has been fulfilled, and we have become one with God. Because our ego and our spirit are both fed from emotional energy, our emotional state is of critical importance in the shift from ego-based to spirit-based consciousness. Jesus repeatedly tells us that we are what is in our heart – our emotional state. “As a man is in his heart, so is he.” “A good man brings forth good from his heart, and an evil man brings forth evil.” The “good” and “evil” aspects can be defined as love-based and fear-based, spirit-based and ego-based respectively.
What we believe in our mind is almost irrelevant. “Who by taking thought can change one hair on their head?” It all comes down to our emotional state – what is in our heart. When our heart is true, our thoughts are true. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The emotional transformation from ego-based to spirit-based is dependent on resolving the emotional issues within and transforming our emotional base from fear to love. The spirit within is fed and supported only by love-based emotions. This is the power base of the spirit: the love from God which flows through our heart. Anything other than pure love in our heart restricts the flow of God’s love through us and limits our spiritual power and our consciousness. In order to perfect the spiritual state within, we must remove all obstructions (all thoughts and feelings incompatible with God’s love) from our mind and heart. God’s love is the standard. Spiritual perfection is the removal of everything which falls short of that standard. “Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is also perfect.” “I give you a new commandment: that you love one another.”
Son of God...
The Son of God is a term we define as the awakened and empowered spirit within an individual. The Son of God refers specifically to an individual who has established a 100% full conscious contact with God on an ongoing basis. Anyone can raise their consciousness to this level through the inner work of unification of the self and transformation of the emotional nature. There have been a number of Sons of God in the past and there will continue to be more in the future. It is the final stage of our spiritual growth in this world. Once accomplished, we move on to higher levels of experience and more advanced learning.
Our goal here on earth is to become a Son of God. This is accomplished by a process of unlearning the false teachings of the world and entering into the truth of God. The false teachings of the world include:
1. The superiority or inferiority of other people or other races of people. Each and every person in the world is a child of God and each has equal standing in the eyes of God. None are better than or less than any other.
2. In order for us to have something, we must deprive another. This is the basis of competition which is the excuse for accumulating wealth and objects at the expense of others. The correction for competition is cooperation. Through cooperation we can learn to live together, grow together and help one another accomplish our true potential. War is the ultimate competition and the death and destruction it brings demonstrates the true nature of competition.
3. Power and control represent the highest level of personal development. Kings, Queens, presidents and rulers of countries are elevated above the rest of humanity. Yet the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than all of these rulers put together. The greater the personal and spiritual development, the more we desire to serve humanity. Our service to God in this world is our service to God’s children.
4. We are born in sin and must have someone save us. We are not born in sin, we are born of God. The living spirit within is the substance of God; the living light of spirit. We are given this opportunity and life to find, express and expand the spirit within.
Our goal here on earth is to become a Son of God. This is accomplished by a process of unlearning the false teachings of the world and entering into the truth of God. The false teachings of the world include:
1. The superiority or inferiority of other people or other races of people. Each and every person in the world is a child of God and each has equal standing in the eyes of God. None are better than or less than any other.
2. In order for us to have something, we must deprive another. This is the basis of competition which is the excuse for accumulating wealth and objects at the expense of others. The correction for competition is cooperation. Through cooperation we can learn to live together, grow together and help one another accomplish our true potential. War is the ultimate competition and the death and destruction it brings demonstrates the true nature of competition.
3. Power and control represent the highest level of personal development. Kings, Queens, presidents and rulers of countries are elevated above the rest of humanity. Yet the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than all of these rulers put together. The greater the personal and spiritual development, the more we desire to serve humanity. Our service to God in this world is our service to God’s children.
4. We are born in sin and must have someone save us. We are not born in sin, we are born of God. The living spirit within is the substance of God; the living light of spirit. We are given this opportunity and life to find, express and expand the spirit within.
The Brahmic doctrine of castes. Jesus repudiates it and teaches human equality. The priests are offended and drive him from the temple. He abides with
FOUR years the Jewish boy abode in temple Jagannath. 2 One day he sat among the priests and said to them, Pray, tell me all about your views of castes; why do you say that all men are not equal in the sight of God? 3 A master of their laws stood forth and said, The Holy One whom we call Brahm, made men to suit himself, and men should not complain. 4 In the beginning days of human life Brahm spoke, and four men stood before his face. 5 Now, from the mouth of Parabrahm the first man came; and he was white, was like the Brahm himself; a brahman he was called. 6 And he was high and lifted up; above all want he stood; he had no need of toil. 7 And he was called the priest of Brahm, the holy one to act for Brahm in all affairs of earth. 8 The second man was red, and from the hand of Parabrahm he came; and he was called shatriya. 9 And he was made to be the king, the ruler and the warrior, whose highest ordained duty was protection of the priest. 10 And from the inner parts of Parabrahm the third man came; and he was called a visya. 11 He was a yellow man, and his it was to till the soil, and keep the flocks and herds. 12 And from the feet of Parabrahm the fourth man came; and he was black; and he was called the sudras, one of low estate. 13 The sudras is the servant of the race of men; he has no rights that others need respect; he may not hear the Vedas read, and it means death to him to look into the face of priest, or king, and naught but death can free him from his state of servitude. 14 And Jesus said, Then Parabrahm is not a God of justice and of right; for with his own strong hand he has exulted one and brought another low. 15 And Jesus said no more to them, but looking up to heaven he said, 16 My Father-God, who was, and is, and evermore shall be; who holds within thy hands the scales of justice and of right; 17 Who in the boundlessness of love has made all men to equal be. The white, the black, the yellow, and the red can look up in thy face and say, Our Father-God. 18 Thou Father of the human race, I praise thy name. 19 And all the priests were angered by the words which Jesus spoke; they rushed upon him, seized him, and would have done him harm. 20 But then Lamaas raised his hand and said, You priests of Brahm, beware! you know not what you do; wait till you know the God this youth adores. 21 I have beheld this boy at prayer when light above the light of the sun surrounded him. Beware! his God may be more powerful than Brahm. 22 If Jesus speaks the truth, if he is right, you cannot force him to desist; if he is wrong and you are right, his words come to naught, for right is might, and in the end it will prevail. 23 And then the priests refrained from doing Jesus harm; but one spoke out and said, 24 Within this holy place has not this reckless youth done violence to Parabrahm? The law is plain; it says, He who reviles the name of Brahm shall die. 25 Lamaas pled for Jesus' life; and then the preists just seized a scourge of cords and drove him from the place. 26 And Jesus went his way and found shelter with the black and yellow men, the servants and the tiller of the soil. 27 To them he first made known the gospel of equality; he told them of the Brotherhood of Man, the Fatherhood of God. 28 The common people heard him with delight, and learned to pray, Our Father-God who art in heaven.
Spiritual Development....
The process of spiritual development is an expansion, and this expansion is brought about by the widening of the outlook. The outlook depends upon the attitude of mind. If a mind is focused to thinking of small things, then this process of widening the outlook will not be completed. ... Spiritual progress is the lifting of the consciousness in order that the consciousness may expand to perfection. Therefore it is a continual work of trying to look into a wider sphere. By this attitude a person, without learning to be spiritual, will naturally become spiritual; his outlook on life will become different. Little things that people take to heart will seem to him of little importance; things that people become confused with will become clear to him; things that matter so much to everyone will not matter to him. Many things that frighten and horrify people will not have the same effect upon him; disappointments and failures will not take away his hope and courage. His thought, speech and action, as his outlook becomes wide, so everything he says or does will be different. What we call nobleness, that natural nobleness which belongs to the soul, will blossom.
Attitude....
Attitude is the principle thing in life. It is not the conditions in life which change life for us, but mostly it is our attitude toward life and its conditions upon which depends our happiness or unhappiness. ... The attitude becomes high and broad when one looks at life from a higher point of view. When the point of view is not high, the range of man's sight becomes limited; man becomes narrow in his outlook on life, and in his feelings, thought, speech and action the same is expressed. Why is God pointed out on high, toward the sky? Why not toward the earth, for God is everywhere? The reason is that within the range of God's sight the whole universe stands as a little grain of corn, as to one that flies in the balloon and looks down from high the whole city comes within the range of his sight, when he stands on earth he sees no further than the four walls which keep the whole world covered from his sight.What does it mean to become spiritual, or godly? It means to have a higher view of life, to look at life from a higher point of view. It is the high point of view in life which ennobles the soul.
Patience....
Those who cause me suffering Are like Buddhas bestowing their blessings. Since they lead me to liberating paths , Why should I get angry with them?
"Don't they obstruct your virtuous practice?"No! There is no virtuous practice greater than patience; Therefore I will never get angry With those who cause me suffering.
If, because of my own shortcomings, I do not practice patience with my enemy , It is not he, but I, who prevents me from practicing patience.
"Don't they obstruct your virtuous practice?"No! There is no virtuous practice greater than patience; Therefore I will never get angry With those who cause me suffering.
If, because of my own shortcomings, I do not practice patience with my enemy , It is not he, but I, who prevents me from practicing patience.
Words of Shantideva
Shantideva was a monk of the Madhyamika school in the Mahayana tradition, living at the University of Nalanda during the 7th/8th century AD, who is said to have been the oldest son of a king in South India, but declined the king's throne to became a monk said; " First of all I should make an effort To meditate upon the equality between self and others: I should protect all beings as I do myself Because we are all equal in wanting pleasure and not wanting pain. Although there are many different parts and aspects such as the hands; As a body that is to be protected they are one, Likewise all the different sentient beings in their pleasure and their pain Have a wish to be happy that is the same as mine. The suffering that I experience Does not cause any harm to others. But that suffering is mine because of my conceiving of myself as "I"; Thereby it becomes unbearable. Likewise the misery of others Does not befall me. Nevertheless, by conceiving of others as "I" their suffering becomes mine; Therefore it too should be hard to bear. Hence I should dispel the misery of others Because it is suffering, just like my own, And I should benefit others Because they are sentient beings, just like myself. When both myself and others Are similar in that we wish to be happy, What is so special about me? Why do I strive for my happiness alone?"
Disease........Dis-Ease
The body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the operations of the mind, whether they be deliberately chosen or automatically expressed. At the bidding of unlawful thoughts the body sinks rapidly into disease and decay; at the command of glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes clothed with youthfulness and beauty.
Disease and health, like circumstances, are rooted in thought. Sickly thoughts will express themselves through a sickly body. Thoughts of fear have been known to kill a man as speedily as a bullet, and they are continually killing thousands of people just as surely though less rapidly. The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it. Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease; while impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will soon shatter the nervous system.
Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace. The body is a delicate and plastic instrument, which responds readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed, and habits of thought will produce their own effects, good or bad, upon it.
Men will continue to have impure and poisoned blood so long as they propagate unclean thoughts. Out of a clean heart comes a clean life and a clean body. Out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and corrupt body. Thought is the fount of action, life and manifestation; make the fountain pure, and all will be pure.
Change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts. When a man makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food.
Disease and health, like circumstances, are rooted in thought. Sickly thoughts will express themselves through a sickly body. Thoughts of fear have been known to kill a man as speedily as a bullet, and they are continually killing thousands of people just as surely though less rapidly. The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it. Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease; while impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will soon shatter the nervous system.
Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in vigor and grace. The body is a delicate and plastic instrument, which responds readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed, and habits of thought will produce their own effects, good or bad, upon it.
Men will continue to have impure and poisoned blood so long as they propagate unclean thoughts. Out of a clean heart comes a clean life and a clean body. Out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and corrupt body. Thought is the fount of action, life and manifestation; make the fountain pure, and all will be pure.
Change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts. When a man makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure food.
A Great Purpose...
Those who are not prepared for the apprehension of a great purpose, should fix their thoughts upon the faultless performance of their duty, no matter how insignificant their task may appear. Only in this way can the thoughts be gathered and focused, and resolution and energy be developed, which being done, there is nothing which may not be accomplished.
The weakest soul, knowing its own weakness, and believing this truth - that strength can only be developed by effort and practice, will at once begin to exert itself, and adding effort to effort, patience to patience, and strength to strength, will never cease to develop, and will at last grow divinely strong.
As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.
To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.
Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the right nor to the left. Doubts and fears should be rigorously excluded; they are disintegrating elements which break up the straight line of effort, rendering it crooked, ineffectual, useless. Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplish anything, and never can. They always lead to failure. Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts cease when doubt and fear creep in.
The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step.
He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. His every thought is allied with power, and all difficulties are bravely met and wisely overcome. His purposes are seasonably planted, and they bloom and bring forth fruit which does not fall prematurely to the ground.
Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force; he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers.
The weakest soul, knowing its own weakness, and believing this truth - that strength can only be developed by effort and practice, will at once begin to exert itself, and adding effort to effort, patience to patience, and strength to strength, will never cease to develop, and will at last grow divinely strong.
As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.
To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.
Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the right nor to the left. Doubts and fears should be rigorously excluded; they are disintegrating elements which break up the straight line of effort, rendering it crooked, ineffectual, useless. Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplish anything, and never can. They always lead to failure. Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts cease when doubt and fear creep in.
The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step.
He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure. His every thought is allied with power, and all difficulties are bravely met and wisely overcome. His purposes are seasonably planted, and they bloom and bring forth fruit which does not fall prematurely to the ground.
Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force; he who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger than a mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; he who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers.
Thought and Purpose...
Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority the barque of thought is allowed to drift upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction.
They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pitying, all of which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins (though by a different route), to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving universe.
A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object which he has set before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is overcome), the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting point for future power and triumph.
They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pitying, all of which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins (though by a different route), to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving universe.
A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object which he has set before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is overcome), the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting point for future power and triumph.
Spiritual Achievement...
The universe does not favor the greedy, the dishonest, the vicious, although on the mere surface it may sometimes appear to do so; it helps the honest, the magnanimous, the virtuous. All the great Teachers of the ages have declared this in varying forms, and to prove and know it a man has but to persist in making himself more and more virtuous by lifting up his thoughts.
Intellectual achievements are the result of thought consecrated to the search for knowledge, or for the beautiful and true in life and nature. Such achievements may be sometimes connected with vanity and ambition but they are not the outcome of those characteristics; they are the natural outgrowth of long and arduous effort, and of pure and unselfish thoughts.
Spiritual achievements are the consummation of holy aspirations. He who lives constantly in the conception of noble and lofty thoughts, who dwells upon all that is pure and unselfish, will, as surely as the sun reaches its zenith and the moon its full, become wise and noble in character, and rise into a position of influence and blessedness.
Achievement, of whatever kind, is the crown of effort, the diadem of thought. By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well-directed thought, a man ascends; by the aid of animality, indolence, impurity, corruption, and confusion of thought a man descends.
A man may rise to high success in the world, and even to lofty altitudes in the spiritual realm, and again descend into weakness and wretchedness by allowing arrogant, selfish, and corrupt thoughts to take possession of him.
Victories attained by right thought can only be maintained by watchfulness. Many give way when success is assured, and rapidly fall back into failure.
All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, are governed by the same law and are of the same method; the only difference lies in the object of attainment.
He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly
Intellectual achievements are the result of thought consecrated to the search for knowledge, or for the beautiful and true in life and nature. Such achievements may be sometimes connected with vanity and ambition but they are not the outcome of those characteristics; they are the natural outgrowth of long and arduous effort, and of pure and unselfish thoughts.
Spiritual achievements are the consummation of holy aspirations. He who lives constantly in the conception of noble and lofty thoughts, who dwells upon all that is pure and unselfish, will, as surely as the sun reaches its zenith and the moon its full, become wise and noble in character, and rise into a position of influence and blessedness.
Achievement, of whatever kind, is the crown of effort, the diadem of thought. By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well-directed thought, a man ascends; by the aid of animality, indolence, impurity, corruption, and confusion of thought a man descends.
A man may rise to high success in the world, and even to lofty altitudes in the spiritual realm, and again descend into weakness and wretchedness by allowing arrogant, selfish, and corrupt thoughts to take possession of him.
Victories attained by right thought can only be maintained by watchfulness. Many give way when success is assured, and rapidly fall back into failure.
All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, are governed by the same law and are of the same method; the only difference lies in the object of attainment.
He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly
Luck...
The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, "How lucky he is!" Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, "How highly favored he is!" And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, the remark, "How chance aids him at every turn!" They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the Vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and call it "luck"; They do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it "good fortune"; do not understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it "chance."
Serenity....
Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought-evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.
The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find his business prosperity increase as he develops a greater self-control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equable.
The strong, calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson of culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold - yea, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money-seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!
How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control. How few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!
Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.
Tempest-tossed souls, wherever ye may be, under whatsoever conditions ye may live, know this - in the ocean of life the isles of Blessedness are smiling, and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming. Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought. In the barque of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, "Peace, be still!"
A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought-evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.
The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find his business prosperity increase as he develops a greater self-control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equable.
The strong, calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson of culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold - yea, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money-seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!
How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control. How few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!
Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.
Tempest-tossed souls, wherever ye may be, under whatsoever conditions ye may live, know this - in the ocean of life the isles of Blessedness are smiling, and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming. Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought. In the barque of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, "Peace, be still!"
Cause and Effect....
Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice, and cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts.
Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master.
Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this - that man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.
As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the Lord of his own thoughts, man holds the key to every situation, and contains within himself that transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himself what he wills.
Man is always the master, even in his weakest and most abandoned state; but in his weakness and degradation he is the foolish master who misgoverns his household. When he begins to reflect upon his condition, and to search diligently for the Law upon which his being is established, he then becomes the wise master, directing his energies with intelligence, and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues. Such is the conscious master, and man can only thus become by discovering within himself the laws of thought; which discovery is totally a matter of application, self-analysis, and experience.
Only by much searching and mining are gold an diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul; and that he is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, if he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others, and upon his life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation, and utilizing his every experience, even to the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is Understanding, Wisdom, Power. In this direction, as in no other, is the law absolute that "He that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened"; for only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the Door of the Temple of Knowledge.
Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master.
Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this - that man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.
As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the Lord of his own thoughts, man holds the key to every situation, and contains within himself that transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himself what he wills.
Man is always the master, even in his weakest and most abandoned state; but in his weakness and degradation he is the foolish master who misgoverns his household. When he begins to reflect upon his condition, and to search diligently for the Law upon which his being is established, he then becomes the wise master, directing his energies with intelligence, and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues. Such is the conscious master, and man can only thus become by discovering within himself the laws of thought; which discovery is totally a matter of application, self-analysis, and experience.
Only by much searching and mining are gold an diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul; and that he is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, if he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others, and upon his life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation, and utilizing his every experience, even to the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is Understanding, Wisdom, Power. In this direction, as in no other, is the law absolute that "He that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened"; for only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the Door of the Temple of Knowledge.
Thought...
Thought in the mind hath made us. What we are By thought we wrought and built. If a man's mind Hath evil thoughts, pain comes on him as comes The wheel the ox behind . . . If one endure In purity of thought, joy follows him As his own shadow -
The Value of Silence..
In everyday life we are confronted with a thousand troubles that we are not always evolved enough to meet, and then only silence can help us. For if there is any religion, if there is any practice of religion, it is to have regard for the pleasure of God by regarding the pleasure of man. The essence of religion is to understand. And this religion we cannot live without having power over the word, without having realized the power of silence. There are so very many occasions when we repent after hurting friends, which could have been avoided if there had been control over our words. Silence is the shield of the ignorant and the protection of the wise. For the ignorant does not prove his ignorance if he keeps silent, and the wise man does not throw pearls before swine if he knows the worth of silence.
Silence...
Why are you so afraid of silence, silence is the root of everything.If you spiral into its void,a hundred voices will thunder messages you long to hear.
The Teacher...
And then the next aspect of religion is the ideal of the Teacher. One says that: 'My Teacher is the Savior of the world, the Savior of humanity. My Teacher is Divine, My teacher is God Himself.' And there is another who is ready to oppose it, saying that it is not true, no man can be called divine and now one can save the world, each one has to save himself. But if you look at it from the Sufi's point of view, the Sufi says: What does it matter if a man sees in someone he adores and worships and idealizes, God himself? After all, this whole manifestation is God's manifestation. If he says that in that particular Teacher he sees the Divine, there is nothing wrong about it. Let him call his Teacher Divinity. I am sorry for the one who does not call his Teacher the Savior.' Besides that, we each have an effect of our deeds on the whole cosmos and if a high soul was called by someone' the Savior of the World,' it is not an exaggeration. One wicked soul can cause such harm to the whole cosmos, and one holy soul by his life on earth can do so much good, directly and indirectly, to each being in the world, because each soul is connected with the whole cosmos. But for the Sufi there is no dispute about it. If a Buddhist says: 'Buddha is my Savior, if a Christian says 'Christ is divine,' if a Muslim says ' Muhammad was the seal of the Prophets,' if a Hindu says ' Krishna was the expression of God,' the Sufi says: 'You are all justified; you each have your name, individually or collectively. You are calling my Ideal. All these names are the name of my Ideal. You each have your own ideals. I have all these names as the name of my Ideal. I call my Beloved: Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad. Therefore all your ideals I love, because my ideal is one and the same.'
What is God according to a Sufi Master...
And now coming to the idea of what religion consists of. The first thing in the religion is the idea of God. What is God? Some say that 'my idea of God is that He is in the highest Heaven, that He is the Creator, that He is the Judge of the Last Day, that He is the Forgiver.' And there is another one who says: 'My idea is that God is all, God is abstract, all is God, and if anyone believes in a personal God, I do not believe it.' Both are right and yet both are wrong. They are right if they see the other point of view and they are wrong if they see their own point of view. Both see the God-ideal with one eye. One sees it with the right eye and the other with the left eye. If they see with both eyes, then the vision is complete. It is indeed an error on the part of man to limit God in the idea of a Personal Being, and it is wrong in the person who believes in the Absolute God, to efface the Being of god from his conception of it. As they say: 'To explain God is to dethrone God.' To say that God is abstract is like saying: 'God is the space, God is the time.' Can you love the space? Can you love time? There is nothing there to love. A beautiful flower would attract you more than the space. And nice music will attract you more than time. Therefore the believer in the abstract God has only his belief, but he is not benefited by it. He may just as well believe in no God as in an abstract God. Yet he is not wrong. He is uselessly right. The most advisable thing for the believer of God is to first make his own conception of God. Naturally man cannot make a conception which he does not know, of something he does not know. For instance, if I told you to imagine a bird that you have never seen, which is unlike any bird you have ever seen, you will first attach the bird to wings, then you will see the head of the cow, and then perhaps you will imagine the feet of the horse, the peacock's tail. But you cannot imagine any form which you have not seen, which you have not known. You have to embody from your mind a form which you already know. You cannot make a conception which you have never seen or known before. Besides, it is the easiest thing and it is the most natural thing for man to conceive of any being in his own form. When man thinks of fairies or angels he sees them in human form, and therefore it a person conceives of the God-ideal, even the highest and best way of conceiving will be in the highest and best human personality. There is nothing wrong about it. That is all that man can do. God is greater than man's conception, but man cannot conceive Him higher than he can. Therefore any man's God is in his own conception. It is useless, therefore, to argue and to discuss and to urge one's own conception upon another. For the best way a person can think of God is in the way he is capable of thinking of God.
The Sufi's Religion from Religious Gatheka #66, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
Religion in the ordinary sense of the word, as known by the world, is the creeds. There are not many religions in the world, but there are many creeds. And what does creed mean? Creed means a cover over the religion. There is one religion and there are many covers. Each of these covers is called 'Christianity,' 'Buddhism,' 'Hebrew Religion,' 'Muslim Religion,' etc., and when you take off these covers, you will find that there is one religion, and it is that religion which is the religion of the Sufi. And at the same time a Sufi does not condemn a church or creed or a certain form of worship. He says it is the world of variety. Everyone must have his choice of food, his choice of dress, his choice of expression. Why must the followers of one faith think that the others are heathens or pagans? The Sufi thinks that we all follow one religion, only in different names and different forms; but behind names and forms there is one and the same spirit and there is one and the same truth. But the pity is that the orthodox priests and clergy disagree among themselves about it; even in the colleges and in the universities, when students study theology, they study without interest. A professor told me in Switzerland that 'we have read many books of religion. I was a professor of theology; but we are taught in the college to study without taking deep interest in the subject, to be neutral.' But that is not the attitude to become inspired. Our attitude must be that of interest, of sympathy, of friendliness toward that religion and toward the Teacher who has brought it.I began to study the Bible in my early youth and my devotion towards Christ and the Bible was as great as that of any Christian or perhaps more. And so it is with all Scriptures. If you have sympathy, if you have interest in all you study and read, then it is living, then it inspires you, you are benefited by it because of your love for truth. The same truth is common to all, but the tendency of the academic study of religion is to find where is the difference. They would be most interested in knowing where Christianity differs from Buddhism and where the Jewish religion differs from Islam. Their interest is in the difference instead of being interested in the synthesis, where we meet. It is in the meeting ground of different faiths that there is the sacred place of pilgrimage. In India, in order to teach this idea, they have made a place of pilgrimage where two rivers meet. When there is one river, they call it sacred but the most sacred place is where two rivers meet. It is the same thought that every stream of Divine Wisdom which we call religion is sacred, but most sacred it is there where two streams meet. And when we realize that, we make the real pilgrimage in the spirit.
Saint Francis of Assisi baptised as Giovanni di Bernadone
O Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace!Where there is hatred, let me sow love.Where there is injury, pardon.Where there is discord, harmony.Where there is doubt, faith.Where there is despair, hope.Where there is darkness, light.Where there is sorrow, joy.Oh Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."
Happiness....
Marathi poet has said, 'O mind, my restless mind, my mind with its thoughts of a thousand things which it supposes will make it happy, saying, 'If I had that, I should be happy; if I had this, I should feel life was not wasted.' O, my mind, will you tell me who in this world is happy?' The mind says, 'if I had the wealth which I see others have, I should be happy.' But are these others happy? They in their turn say they would be, if they had something still higher!The secret of happiness is hidden under the veil of spiritual knowledge. And spiritual knowledge is nothing but this: that there is a constant longing in the heart of man to have something of its origin, to experience something of its original state, the state of peace and joy which has been disturbed, and yet is sought after throughout its whole life, and never can cease to be sought after until the real source has at length been realized. ... It is only those who are blessed by perceiving the origin and source of all things who awaken to the fact that the real inclination of every life is to attain to something which can not be touched or comprehended or understood. The hidden blessing of this knowledge is the first step to perfection. Once awake to this fact, man sees there is something in life that will make him really happy and give him his heart's desire. He can say, 'Though there are many things in life which I need for the moment, and for which I shall certainly work, yet there is only that one thing, around which life centers, that will satisfy me: the spiritual attainment, the religious attainment, or, as one may even call it, the attainment of God.' Such a one has found the key to all happiness, and has found that all the things he needs will be reached because he has the key to all. 'Seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you... Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.' This kingdom of God is the silent life; the life inseparable, eternal, self-sufficient, and all-powerful. This is the life of the wise, whatever be the name given to it; this is the life which the wise contemplate. It is the face of this life that they long to see; it is the ocean of this life that they long to swim in; as it is written: 'In Him we live and have our being.'These are the ones who are really happy, who are above all unhappiness, above death and the destruction of life
The Soul...
The soul in Sanskrit, in the terms of the Vedanta, is called Atman which means happiness or bliss itself. It is not that happiness belongs to the soul; it is that the soul itself is happiness. Today we often confuse happiness with pleasure; but pleasure is only an illusion, a shadow of happiness; and in this delusion man may pass his whole life, seeking after pleasure and never finding satisfaction. ... Do you think that if these people gained their desires they would be happy? If they possessed all, would that suffice? No, they would still find some excuse for unhappiness; all these excuses are only like covers over a man's eyes, for deep within is the yearning for the true happiness which none of these things can give. He who is really happy is happy everywhere, in a palace or in a cottage, in riches or in poverty, for he has discovered the fountain of happiness which is situated in his own heart. As long as a person has not found that fountain, nothing will give him real happiness
General Characteristics of Mystical Experience
Mystical experiences are marked by all or some of the following feelings/insights.
A sense of unity or totality
A sense of timelessness
A sense of having encountered ultimate reality
A sense of sacredness
A sense that one can not adequately describe the richness of this experience
Most experiences can last as short as a few seconds or up to a few days.
A sense of unity or totality
A sense of timelessness
A sense of having encountered ultimate reality
A sense of sacredness
A sense that one can not adequately describe the richness of this experience
Most experiences can last as short as a few seconds or up to a few days.
Satori...
. T. Suzuki is credited with bringing Zen to America. Through books, articles, and teaching, Suzuki helped make Zen instruction widely accessible in North America. Zen, known for its distrust of symbols, rituals, and study of holy texts, Zen practice is mainly built around focusing the mind on the breath, a movement, or on an unchanging landscape such as a blank, white wall.
The mystical experience in Zen is called Satori (wu in Chinese). Satori is that which lies beyond most forms of insights such as those arising from contemplation or via imagery and is a intuitive grasp of the reality "beyond forms." Suzuki says Satori has these characteristics:
1. Irrationality. "By this I mean that satori is not a conclusion to be reached by reasoning, and defies all intellectual determination. Those who have experienced it are always at a loss to explain it coherently or logically."
2. Intuitive Insight. "That there is noetic quality in mystic experiences has been pointed out by (William) James...Another name for satori is "kensho" (chien-hsing in Chinese) meaning "to see essence or nature," which apparently proves that there is "seeing" or "perceiving" in satori...Without this noetic quality satori will lose all its pungency, for it is really the reason of satori itself. "
3. Authoritativeness. "By this I mean that the knowledge realized by satori is final, that no amount of logical argument can refute it. Being direct and personal it is sufficient unto itself. All that logic can do here is to explain it, to interpret it in connection to other kinds of knowledge with which our minds are filled. Satori is thus a form of perception, an inner perception, which takes place in the most interior part of consciousness.
4. Affirmation. "What is authoritative and final can never be negative. Though the satori experience is sometimes expressed in negative terms, it is essentially an affirmative attidude towards all things that exist; it accepts them as they come along regardless of their moral values."
5. Sense of the Beyond. "...in satori there is always what we may call a sense of the Beyond; the experience indeed is my own but I feel it to be rooted elsewhere. The individual shell in which my personality is so solidly encased explodes at the moment of satori. Not, necessarily, that I get unified with a being greater than myself or absorbed in it, but that my individuality, which I found rigidly held together and definitely kept separate from other individual existences, becomes lossened somehow from its tightening grip and melts away into something indescribable, something which is of quite a different order from what I am accustomed to. The feeling that follows is htat of complete release or a complete rest---the feeling that one has arrived finally at the destination...As far as the psychology of satori is considered, a sense of the Beyond is all we can say about it; to call this the Beyond, the Absolute, or God, or a Person is to go further than the experience itself and to plunge into a theology or metaphysics."
6. Impersonal Tone. "Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Zen experience is that it has no personal note in it as is observable in Christian mystic experiences."
7. Feeling of exaltation. "That this feeling inevitably accompanies satori is due to the fact that it is the breaking-up of the restrction imposed on one as an individual being, and this breaking up is not a mere negative incident but quite a positive one fraught with signification because it means an infinite expansion of the individual."
8. Momentariness. "Satori comes upon one abruptly and is a momentary experience. In fact, if it is not abrupt and momentary, it is not satori.
The mystical experience in Zen is called Satori (wu in Chinese). Satori is that which lies beyond most forms of insights such as those arising from contemplation or via imagery and is a intuitive grasp of the reality "beyond forms." Suzuki says Satori has these characteristics:
1. Irrationality. "By this I mean that satori is not a conclusion to be reached by reasoning, and defies all intellectual determination. Those who have experienced it are always at a loss to explain it coherently or logically."
2. Intuitive Insight. "That there is noetic quality in mystic experiences has been pointed out by (William) James...Another name for satori is "kensho" (chien-hsing in Chinese) meaning "to see essence or nature," which apparently proves that there is "seeing" or "perceiving" in satori...Without this noetic quality satori will lose all its pungency, for it is really the reason of satori itself. "
3. Authoritativeness. "By this I mean that the knowledge realized by satori is final, that no amount of logical argument can refute it. Being direct and personal it is sufficient unto itself. All that logic can do here is to explain it, to interpret it in connection to other kinds of knowledge with which our minds are filled. Satori is thus a form of perception, an inner perception, which takes place in the most interior part of consciousness.
4. Affirmation. "What is authoritative and final can never be negative. Though the satori experience is sometimes expressed in negative terms, it is essentially an affirmative attidude towards all things that exist; it accepts them as they come along regardless of their moral values."
5. Sense of the Beyond. "...in satori there is always what we may call a sense of the Beyond; the experience indeed is my own but I feel it to be rooted elsewhere. The individual shell in which my personality is so solidly encased explodes at the moment of satori. Not, necessarily, that I get unified with a being greater than myself or absorbed in it, but that my individuality, which I found rigidly held together and definitely kept separate from other individual existences, becomes lossened somehow from its tightening grip and melts away into something indescribable, something which is of quite a different order from what I am accustomed to. The feeling that follows is htat of complete release or a complete rest---the feeling that one has arrived finally at the destination...As far as the psychology of satori is considered, a sense of the Beyond is all we can say about it; to call this the Beyond, the Absolute, or God, or a Person is to go further than the experience itself and to plunge into a theology or metaphysics."
6. Impersonal Tone. "Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the Zen experience is that it has no personal note in it as is observable in Christian mystic experiences."
7. Feeling of exaltation. "That this feeling inevitably accompanies satori is due to the fact that it is the breaking-up of the restrction imposed on one as an individual being, and this breaking up is not a mere negative incident but quite a positive one fraught with signification because it means an infinite expansion of the individual."
8. Momentariness. "Satori comes upon one abruptly and is a momentary experience. In fact, if it is not abrupt and momentary, it is not satori.
The Knowledge of Einstein...
"The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religion." - Albert Einstein
The Way, The Truth, and The Life....
When Jesus declared that he was the Way, he spoke as the infinite Christ-self in every man, not as the finite person Jesus. He meant that whoever sought God, the Father, had to come through this higher self, could not find him by any other channel. This only was the Way.
The Birth of the Universe...
We are constantly faced by the hoariest of all problems, which is"Why did the Universe arise out of the depth and darkness of the Absolute Spirit?" The Seer can offer us a picture of the way in which this Spirit has involved itself into matter and is evolving itself back to self-knowledge. That is only the How and not the Why of the world. The truth is not only that nobody has ever known, that nobody knows, and that nobody will ever know the final and fundamental purpose of creation, but that God himself does not even know--for God too has arisen out of the Absolute no less than the universe, has found himself emanated from the primeval darkness and utter silence.Even God must be content to watch the flow and not wonder why, for both God and man must merge and be absorbed when they face the Absolute for the last time. (In the symbolic language of the Bible,"For man cannot meet God face to face and live." )
Where is Truth?..
If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?- Dogen Zenji
Past Mistakes....
"Do not turn against yourself, no matter how badly you may have blundered in the past, for blundering exists only in man-made time and your true nature does not live in time but in the pure present."
Meditation as taught by Gautama the Buddha
The following meditation is said to be the meditation taught byGautama Buddha about 2500 years ago. The primary focus is your breathing. However, the primary goal is maintaining a calm, non-judging awareness, allowing thoughts and feelings to come and go without getting enmeshed in them. This calm, accepting, spacious awareness is your Core Self... your Essence.Steps of Mindfulness Meditation 1. Sit comfortably, with your eyes closed and your spine reasonably straight.2. Direct your attention to your breathing.3. When thoughts, emotions, physical feelings or external sounds occur, simply accept them, giving them the space to come and go without judging or getting involved with them. 4. When you notice that your attention has drifted off and become engaged in thoughts or feelings, simply bring it back to your breathing and continue.• Remember... it's ok and natural for thoughts to arise, and for your attention to follow them. No matter how many times this happens, just keep bringing your attention back to your breathing. Benefits of this meditation:• Maintaining your calm inner awareness, balance & clarity in the midst of any situation.• A gradual shift to a higher level of consciousness...centered in the peace, joy & freedom of your Spirit.• Increased insight & clarity... seeing things truly, as they are.
The Godhead...
The Godhead is as void as though it were not," said Eckhart. "Pass from the station of `I' and `We' and choose for thy home Non-entity. For when thou hast done the like of this, thou shalt reach the supreme felicity,"wrote Qurratulayn, a Persian poetess, nearly a century ago. We may begin to grasp the meaning of such statements by grasping the conception that Infinite Mind is the formless, matterless, Void, Spirit. Mortal error is mistaking forms for final realities instead of penetrating to their essence, Mind. Whatever can be said about the unnameable "Void" will be not enough at least and merely symbolic at most. The mystic's last Word is the Freemason's lost Word. It can never be spoken for it can never be heard. It is the one idea which can never be transferred to another mind, the one meaning which can never get through any pen or any lip. Yet it is there--the supreme Fact behind all the myriad facts of universal existence.To elevate any form by an external worship or an internal meditation which should be given only to the formless Void is to elevate an idol in the place of God. Muhammed is reported to have once said that the worship of any one other than the great Allah, i.e., "the Beginningless, the Endless,"was the first of major sins. Yet to honour the sublime No-thing by thought or rite is hard for the unmetaphysical. And it requires much metaphysical insight to perceive its truth. The cold impersonality of this idea is at first repelled by us with something like horror. A change in this attitude can come about only gradually at most. But if we perseveringly pursue our quest of truth we shall overcome our aversion in the end. If it be true that Truth is not something we can utter, that the Nameless cannot fitly be represented by any name, we may however continue to use any word we like,provided we keep its limitations clearly in our understanding of it. After all, although the thinking intellect creates its own image of truth, it is the Overself that starts the creative process working. But in the end we shall have to reserve our best worship not for a particular manifestation in time but for the Timeless itself, not for a historical personage but for the impersonal Infinite
The Dream...
Whatever the universe be in human experience, it is, in important ways, like a dream. That is, we must grant existence to a dream world as an indubitable fact because it is a perceived and experienced world; but at the same time we must refuse its form ultimate existence, and hence enduring reality, because it is neither perceived nor experienced after we awake from sleep. This twofold character of the dream world also belongs to the familiar and so-called real universe. It is plain, yet paradoxical at the same time. For this reason, ancient Tibetan philosophers declared the world to be both existent and non-existent. To the unenquiring mind it vividly is what it seems to be, but to the awakened insight of the sage its form presents itself like a more enduring version of the transient form of a dream world. Both forms are thought-constructions. Both have Mind as their underlying "substance." Therefore Mind is their reality. Apart from Mind the world could not even exist, just as apart from the dreamer his dream could not exist.
The Search...
Why is it that despite all the visible and touchable counter-attractions, despite the innumerable failures and long years of fruitlessness, so many men have sought through so many ages in so many lands for God, for what is utterly intangible, unnameable, shapeless, unseen, and unheard? Because the simple but astonishing fact is that the Overself, which is the presence of God in them, is part of their nature as human beings! Mysticism is nothing more than the methodical attempt to wake up to this fact. The "soul" which metaphysics points to in reasoning, mysticism establishes in experience. We all need to feel the divine presence. Even the man who asserts that he does not is no exception. For he indirectly finds it just the same in spite of himself but under limited forms like aesthetic appreciation or Nature's inspiration. Even if all contemporary mystics were to die out, even if not a single living man were to be interested in mysticism, even if all mystical doctrines were to disappear from human memory and written record, the logic of evolution would bring back both the teaching and the practice. They are two of those historical necessities which are certain to be regained in the course of humanity's cultural progress.
The Overself...
The time will come, if he perseveres, when his mind will naturally orient itself toward the spiritual pole of being. And this will happen by itself,without any urging on his part. No outer activity will be able to stop the process, for to make it possible, his mind will apparently double its activity. In the foreground, it will attend to the outer world, but in the background it will attend to the Overself.
Seeing Yourself....
How do you see yourself? You see your body, or rather a part of it,and identify yourself with it. The appearance of your body in consciousness is perceived and interpreted by you exactly as it is done by any other observer. Your own interpretation of yourself is as ephemeral and illusory as that of others (though maybe a little more flattering). But any thought about yourself, whether your own or someone else's, is only a temporary mental image. The solid personality you think yourself to be is nothing more than a flimsy succession of these images stored in the memory. As a person, that is all that you are. But is that truly you?
Time is a Barrier...
Without time, there is no causality. David Hawkins says the belief in causality is the primary obstacle to awakening. But how do we actually do this-get rid of our ideas of time, or causality? "Just calmly see that all is one, and by themselves false views will go"(Affirming Faith in Mind). Sitting quietly, doing nothing whatsoever, expecting nothing, hoping for nothing, just this, exactly as it is. When the mind stops, the world disappears. Causality, time, space, emptiness, form-"these dreams are naught but flowers of air; why work so hard at grasping them?"
The Wisdom of Tesla....
"The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power." - Nikola Tesla, 1933
Jesus and Lamaas among the sudras and visyas. In Benares. Jesus becomes a pupil of Udraka. The lessons of Udraka.
NOW, Jesus with his friend Lamaas went through all the regions of Orissa, and the valley of the Ganges, seeking wisdom from the sudras and the visyas and the masters. 2 Benares of the Ganges was a city rich in culture and in learning; here the two rabbonis tarried many days. 3 And Jesus sought to learn the Hindu art of healing, and became the pupil of Udraka, greatest of the Hindu healers. 4 Udraka taught the uses of the waters, plants and earths; of heat and cold; sunshine and shade; of light and dark. 5 He said, The laws of nature are the laws of health, and he who lives according to these laws is never sick. 6 Transgression of these laws is sin, and he who sins is sick. 7 He who obeys the laws, maintains an equilibrium in all his parts, and thus insures true harmony; and harmony is health, while discord is disease. 8 That which produces harmony in all the parts of man is medicine, insuring health. 9 The body is a harpsichord, and when its strings are too relaxed, or are too tense, the instrument is out of tune, the man is sick. 10 Now, everything in nature has been made to meet the wants of man; so everything is found in medical arcanes. 11 And when the harpsichord of man is out of tune the vast expanse of nature may be searched for remedy; there is a cure for every ailment of the flesh. 12 Of course the will of man is remedy supreme; and by the vigorous exercise of will, man may make tense a chord that is relaxed, or may relax one that is too tense, and thus may heal himself. 13 When man has reached the place where he has faith in God, in nature and himself, he knows the Word of power; his word is balm for every wound, is cure for all the ills of life. 14 The healer is the man who can inspire faith. The tongue may speak to human ears, but souls are reached by souls that speak to souls. 15 He is the forceful man whose soul is large, and who can enter into souls, inspiring hope in those who have no hope, and faith in those who have no faith in God, in nature, nor in man. 16 There is no universal balm for those who tread the common walks of life. 17 A thousand things produce inharmony and make men sick; a thousand things may tune the harpsichord, and make men well. 18 That which is medicine for one is poison for another one; so one is healed by what would kill another one. 19 An herb may heal the one; a drink of water may restore another one; a mountain breeze may bring to life one seeming past all help; 20 A coal of fire, or bit of earth, may cure another one; and one may wash in certain streams, or pools, and be made whole. 21 The virtue from the hand or breath may heal a thousand more; but love is queen. Thought, reinforced by love, is God's great sovereign balm. 22 But many of the broken chords in life, and discords that so vex the soul, are caused by evil spirits of the air that men see not; that lead men on through ignorance to break the laws of nature and of God. 23 These powers act like demons, and they speak; they rend the man; they drive him to despair. 24 But he who is a healer, true, is master of the soul, and can, by force of will, control these evil ones. 25 Some spirits of the air are master spirits and are strong, too strong for human power alone; but man has helpers in the higher realms that may be importuned, and they will help to drive the demons out. 26 Of what this great physician said, this is the sum. And Jesus bowed his head in recognition of the wisdom of this master soul, and went his way.
After you have conquered the Ego....
You no longer create suffering for yourself. Anger, resentment, regret, grievances, anxiety, guilt, etc, which are all inseparable from the egoic state of consciousness, no longer arise. And when you no longer create suffering for yourself, you no longer create suffering for others. You have deep empathy, not only with other human beings, but also with nature and all life forms. You see all life forms as manifestations of the one formless and eternal Life, which is what you are in essence, and you can sense that essence not only in yourself, but in all beings. In other words, everywhere you encounter yourself.
Seek the Highest....
To attach oneself to a guru, an avatar, one religion, one creed, is to see the stars only. To put one's faith in the Infinite Being and in its presence within the heart, is to see the vast empty sky itself. The stars will come and go, will disintegrate and vanish, but the sky remains.
End of Duality....
When his mind moves entirely and wholly into the One Infinite Presence, and when it settles permanently there, the divided existence of glimpse and darkness, of Spirit and matter, of Overself and ego, of heaven and earth, will vanish. The crossing over to a unified existence will happen.
It's Time to get Serious...
Starting right now, this moment, I am asking you to become the Buddha. I am asking you to take your stand, to stand absolutely firm in your intention to awaken to the Truth of your Self.
This is what the Buddha did. He didn't say, "I'll try." He didn't say, "I hope I'll find the Truth." He didn't say, "I'll do my best." He didn't say, "If not in this lifetime, then maybe next lifetime." He came to the point where he didn't look for anyone else to tell him the Truth or show him the Truth. He came to the point where he took it all on himself. He sat alone under the Bodhi Tree and vowed never to give up until the Truth be realized.
The power of this very simple, yet unshakable intention and absolute stand to be liberated in this lifetime propelled him to awaken to the simple fact that he and all beings are liberated—that all beings are freedom itself. Pure awakeness.
The Buddha was no different from you. No different. That is why he serves as a good model, because he was as you are now. So don't worship the Buddha. Don't put him on a pedestal. Don't even look up to him. Become him. Have the same intentions, take the same stand. Be the Buddha now! Put an end to all delaying, to all excuses, to all bowing down to saintly figures of the past or present. Stand up! You are the Buddha! You are freedom itself! Stop dreaming your dream! Stop pretending that you are in bondage—stop telling yourself that lie! Stop pretending to be someone, or something! You are no one, you are no-thing! You are not this body or this mind. This body and mind exist within who and what you are. You are pure consciousness, already free, awake, and liberated. Stand up and walk out of your dream. I am here to say that you can do this.
Step out of the dream of your concepts and ideas. Step out of the dream of what you imagine enlightenment to be. Step out of the dream of who you think you are. Step out of the dream of everything you have ever known. Step out of your dream of being a deluded person. Stop telling yourself those lies and dreaming those dreams. Step out of all of that. You can do it. Nothing is holding you back. There are no requirements and no prerequisites to awaken. There is nothing to be done, nothing to think, nowhere to go.
Just stop all dreaming. Stop all doing. Stop all excuses. Just stop and be still. Effortlessly be still. Grace will do the rest.
At each and every moment from here on out, have the intention to directly experience Truth, your true liberated Self. Don't think about the Truth—directly return to your experience here, now, moment to moment. Experience Truth. Experience your Self. Dive into your experience. Your experience! Your experience of hearing, of seeing, of tasting, of breathing, of your heart beating, of your feet touching the floor, of the birds, of the wind.
Experience the vastness of who you are. Experience the freedom of who you are. You are the Buddha—experience that. You are the Buddha.
This is what the Buddha did. He didn't say, "I'll try." He didn't say, "I hope I'll find the Truth." He didn't say, "I'll do my best." He didn't say, "If not in this lifetime, then maybe next lifetime." He came to the point where he didn't look for anyone else to tell him the Truth or show him the Truth. He came to the point where he took it all on himself. He sat alone under the Bodhi Tree and vowed never to give up until the Truth be realized.
The power of this very simple, yet unshakable intention and absolute stand to be liberated in this lifetime propelled him to awaken to the simple fact that he and all beings are liberated—that all beings are freedom itself. Pure awakeness.
The Buddha was no different from you. No different. That is why he serves as a good model, because he was as you are now. So don't worship the Buddha. Don't put him on a pedestal. Don't even look up to him. Become him. Have the same intentions, take the same stand. Be the Buddha now! Put an end to all delaying, to all excuses, to all bowing down to saintly figures of the past or present. Stand up! You are the Buddha! You are freedom itself! Stop dreaming your dream! Stop pretending that you are in bondage—stop telling yourself that lie! Stop pretending to be someone, or something! You are no one, you are no-thing! You are not this body or this mind. This body and mind exist within who and what you are. You are pure consciousness, already free, awake, and liberated. Stand up and walk out of your dream. I am here to say that you can do this.
Step out of the dream of your concepts and ideas. Step out of the dream of what you imagine enlightenment to be. Step out of the dream of who you think you are. Step out of the dream of everything you have ever known. Step out of your dream of being a deluded person. Stop telling yourself those lies and dreaming those dreams. Step out of all of that. You can do it. Nothing is holding you back. There are no requirements and no prerequisites to awaken. There is nothing to be done, nothing to think, nowhere to go.
Just stop all dreaming. Stop all doing. Stop all excuses. Just stop and be still. Effortlessly be still. Grace will do the rest.
At each and every moment from here on out, have the intention to directly experience Truth, your true liberated Self. Don't think about the Truth—directly return to your experience here, now, moment to moment. Experience Truth. Experience your Self. Dive into your experience. Your experience! Your experience of hearing, of seeing, of tasting, of breathing, of your heart beating, of your feet touching the floor, of the birds, of the wind.
Experience the vastness of who you are. Experience the freedom of who you are. You are the Buddha—experience that. You are the Buddha.
The Journey.......
"We are not human beings on a Spiritual Journey,but rather spiritual beings on a Human Journey"
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