The Rosicrucian
Cosmo-Conception
by Max Heindel
(Part 15)
Part III
Man's Future Development
and Initiation
XV. Christ and
His Mission
The Evolution
of Religion
In the foregoing part of this work we
have become familiar with the way in which our present outside world came
into existence, and how man evolved the complicated organism with which he
is related to outer conditions. We have also, in a measure, studied the
Jewish Race-religion. We will next consider the last and greatest of the
divine measures put forth for the uplifting of humanity, i.e.,
Christianity, which will be the Universal Religion of the future.
It is a notable fact that man and his religions have evolved side by side
and in an equal degree. The earliest religion of any Race is found to be as
savage as the people governed by it and as they become more civilized, their
religions become more and more humane and in harmony with higher ideals.
From this fact materialists have drawn the inference that no religion has a
higher origin than man itself. Their investigations into early history have
resulted in a conviction that, as man progressed, he civilized his God and
fashioned Him after his own pattern.
This reasoning is defective, because it fails to take into account that
man is not the body, but an indwelling spirit, an Ego who
uses the body with ever-increasing facility as evolution progresses.
There is no doubt that the law for the body is "The Survival of the
Fittest." The law for the evolution of the spirit demands "Sacrifice." As
long as man believes that "Might is Right," the Form prospers and waxes
strong, because all obstacles are swept out of the way regardless of others. If
the body were all, that manner of life would be the only one possible for man.
He would be altogether incapable of any regard for others and would forcibly
resist any attempt to encroach upon what he considered his rights — the
right of the stronger, which is the sole standard of justice under the law of
the Survival of the Fittest. He would be quite regardless of his fellow
beings; absolutely insensible to any force from without that tended
to make him act in any manner not conducive to his own momentary pleasure.
It is manifest, then, that whatever urges man toward a higher standard of
conduct in his dealing with others must come from within, and from a
source which is not identical with the body, otherwise it would not strive with
the body and often prevail against its most obvious interests. Moreover,
it must be a stronger force than that of the body, or it could not succeed in
overcoming its desires and compelling it to make sacrifices for those who
are physically weaker.
That such a force exists, surely no one will deny. We have come to that
stage in our advancement where, instead of seeing in physical weakness an
opportunity for easy prey, we recognize in the very frailty of another a
valid claim upon our protection. Selfishness is being slowly but surely
routed by Altruism.
Nature is sure to accomplish her purposes. Though slow, her progress is
orderly and certain. In the breast of every man this force of Altruism
works as a leaven. It is transforming the savage into the civilized man,
and will in time transform the latter into a God.
Though nothing that is truly spiritual can be thoroughly comprehended,
yet it may at least be apprehended by means of an illustration.
If one of two tuning-forks of exactly the same pitch is struck, the sound
will induce the same vibration in the other, weak to begin with, but if the
strokes are continued, the second fork will give out a louder and louder
tone until it will emit a volume of sound equal to that of the first. This
will happen though the forks are several feet apart, and even if one of them is
encased in glass. The sound from the smitten one will penetrate the glass
and the answering note be emitted by the enclosed instrument.
These invisible sound-vibrations have great power over concrete matter.
They can both build and destroy. If a small quantity of very fine powder is
placed upon a brass or glass plate, and a violin bow drawn across the edge,
the vibrations will cause the powder to assume beautiful geometrical
figures. The human voice is also capable of producing these figures; always
the same figure for the same tone.
If one note or chord after another be sounded upon a musical
instrument — a piano, or preferably a violin, for from it more gradations of
tone can be obtained — a tone will finally be reached which will causes the
hearer to feel a distinct vibration in the back of the lower part of the
head. Each time that note is struck, the vibration will be felt. That note is
the "key-note" of the person whom it so affects. If it is struck slowly and
soothingly it will build and rest the body, tone the nerves and restore
health. If, on the other hand, it be sounded in a dominant way, loud and
long enough, it will kill as surely as a bullet from a pistol.
If we now apply what has been said about music or sound to the problem of
how this inner force is awakened and strengthened, we may perhaps understand
the matter better.
In the first place, let us particularly note the fact that the two
tuning-forks were of the same pitch. Had this not been the case, we
might have sounded and sounded one of them until the crack of doom, but the
other one would have remained mute. Let us understand this thoroughly:
Vibration can be induced in one tuning-fork by one of like tone only.
Any thing, or any being, can be affected as above stated by no sound
except its own key-note.
We know that this force of Altruism exists. We also know that it is less pronounced among uncivilized people than among people of higher social
attainment, and among the most uncivilized humans, it is almost entirely lacking.
The logical conclusion is that there was a time when it was altogether
absent. Consequent upon this conclusion follows the natural question: What
induced it?
The material personality surely had nothing to do with it; in fact, that
part of man's nature was much more comfortable without it than it has been at
any time since. Man must have had the force of Altruism latent
within, otherwise it could not have been awakened. Still further, it
must have been awakened by a force of the same kind — a similar force that
was already active — as the second tuning-fork was started into vibration by
the first after it was struck.
We also saw that the vibrations in the second fork become stronger and
stronger under the continued impacts of sound from the first, and that a
glass case was no hindrance to the induction of the sound. Under the
continued impacts of a force similar to that within him, the Love of God to man
has awakened this force of Altruism and is constantly increasing its
potency.
It is therefore reasonable and logical to conclude that, at first, it was
necessary to give man a religion commensurate with his ignorance. It would
have been useless to talk to him, at that stage, of a God Who was all
tenderness and love. From his viewpoint, those attributes were weaknesses and
he could not have been expected to reverence a God Who possessed what were to
him despicable qualities. The God to Whom he rendered obedience must be a
strong God, a God to be feared, a God Who could hurl the thunderbolt and
wield the flail of lightning.
Thus, man was impelled first to fear God and was given religions of
a nature to further his spiritual well-being under the lash of fear.
The next step was to induce in him a certain kind of unselfishness, by
causing him to give up part of his worldly goods — to sacrifice. This was
achieved by giving him the Tribal or Race-God, Who is a jealous God, requiring
of him the strictest allegiance and the sacrifice of wealth, which the
growing man greatly prizes. But in return, this Race-God is a friend and
mighty ally, fighting man's battles and giving him back many fold the sheep,
bullocks and grain which he sacrificed. He had not yet arrived at the stage
where it was possible for him to understand that all creatures are akin, but
the Tribal God taught him that he must deal mercifully with his brother
tribesman and gave laws which made for equity and fair dealing between
men of the same Race.
It must not be thought that these successive steps were taken easily, nor
without rebellion and lapses upon the part of primitive man. Selfishness is
ingrained in the lower nature even unto this day, and there must have been
many lapses and much backsliding. We have in the Jewish Bible good examples of
how man forgot, and had to be patiently and persistently "prodded" again and
again by the Tribal God. Only the visitations of a long-suffering
Race-spirit were potent, at times, in bringing him back to the law — that law
very few people have even yet learned to obey.
There are always pioneers, however, who require something higher. When
they become sufficiently numerous, a new step in evolution is taken, so that
several gradations always exist. There came a time, nearly two thousand
years ago, when the most advanced of humanity were ready to take another
step forward, and learn the religion of living a good life for the sake of
future reward in a state of existence in which they must have faith.
That was a long, hard step to take. It was comparatively easy to take a
sheep or a bullock to the temple and offer it as a sacrifice. If a man
brought the first-fruits of his granary, his vineyards, or his flocks and
herds, he still had more, and he knew that the Tribal God would refill his
stores and give abundantly in return. But in this new departure, it was not a
question of sacrificing his goods. It was demanded that he sacrifice
himself. It was not even a sacrifice to be made by one supreme effort
of martyrdom; that also would have been comparatively easy. Instead, it was
demanded that day by day, from morning until night, he must act mercifully
toward all. He must forego selfishness, and love his neighbor, as he
had been used to loving himself. Moreover, he was not promised any immediate
and visible reward, but must have faith in a future happiness.
Is it strange that people find it difficult to realize this high ideal of
continued well-doing, made doubly hard by the fact that self-interest
is entirely ignored? Sacrifice is demanded with no positive assurance of
any reward. Surely it is much to the credit of humanity that so much
altruism is practiced and that it is constantly increasing. The wise Leaders,
knowing the frailness of the spirit to cope with the selfish instincts of the
body, and the dangers of despondency in the face of such standards of
conduct, gave another uplifting impulse when they incorporated in the new
religion the doctrine of "vicarious Atonement."
This idea is scouted by some very advanced philosophers, and the law of
"Consequence" made paramount. If it so happens that the reader agrees with
these philosophers, we request that he await the explanation herein set
forth, showing how both are part of the scheme of upliftment. Suffice
it to say, for the present, that this doctrine of atonement gives many an
earnest soul the strength to strive and, in spite of repeated failures, to
bring the lower nature under subjection. Let it be remembered that, for
reasons given when the laws of Rebirth and Consequence were discussed,
western humanity knew practically nothing of these laws. With such a great
ideal before them as the Christ, and believing they had but a few short years
in which to attain to such a high degree of development as this, would it
not have been the greatest imaginable cruelty to leave them without help?
Therefore, the great sacrifice on Calvary — while it also served other
purposes, as will be shown — become rightfully the Beacon of Hope for every
earnest soul who is striving to achieve the impossible; to attain, in one
short life, to the perfection demanded by the Christian religion.
Jesus and
Christ-Jesus
To gain some slight insight into the Great Mystery of Golgotha, and to
understand the Mission of Christ as the Founder of the Universal Religion of
the future, it is necessary that we first become familiar with His exact nature
and incidentally, with that of Jehovah, Who is the head of such
Race-religions as Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, etc.; also with the
identity of "The Father," to Whom Christ is to give up the Kingdom, in due
time.
In the Christian creed occurs this sentence: "Jesus Christ, the only
begotten Son of God." This is generally understood to mean that a certain
person Who appeared in Palestine about 2,000 years ago, Who is spoken of as
Jesus Christ — one separate individual — was the only begotten Son of God.
This is a great mistake. There are three distinct and widely different
Beings characterized in this sentence. It is of the greatest importance
that the student should clearly understand the exact nature of these Three
Great and Exalted Beings — differing vastly in glory, yet each entitled to
our deepest and most devout adoration.
The student is requested to turn to
Diagram 6 and note that "The only begotten" ("The Word," of Who John
speaks) is the second aspect of the Supreme Being.
This "Word" and It alone, is "begotten of His Father [the first aspect]
before all Worlds." "Without Him was not anything made that was made," not
even the third aspect of the Supreme Being, which proceeds from the two
previous aspects. Therefore the "only begotten" is the exalted Being which
ranks above all else in the Universe, save only the Power-aspect which created
It.
The first aspect of the Supreme Being "thinks out," or imagines, the
Universe before the beginning of active manifestation, everything, including
the millions of Solar Systems and the great creative Hierarchies which
inhabit the Cosmic Planes of existence above the seventh, which is the field
of our evolution (See Diagram 6). This is
also the Force which dissolves everything that has crystallized beyond the
possibility of further growth and at last, when the end of active
manifestation has come, reabsorbs within Itself all that is, until the dawn of
another Period of Manifestation.
The second aspect of the Supreme Being is that which manifests in matter as
the forces of attraction and cohesion, thus giving it the capability of
combining into Forms of various kinds. This is "The Word," the "creative
Fiat," which molds the primordial Cosmic Root-substance in a manner similar to
the formation of figures by musical vibrations, as previously mentioned, the
same tone always producing the same figure. So this great primordial "word"
brought, or "spoke," into being, in finest matter, all the different Worlds,
with all their myriads of Forms, which have since been copied and worked out
in detail by the innumerable creative Hierarchies.
"The Word" could not have done this, however, until the third aspect of
the Supreme Being had first prepared the Cosmic Root-substance; had awakened it
from its normal state of inertia and set the countless inseparate
atoms spinning upon their axes, placing those axes at various angles with
respect to each other, giving to each kind a certain "measure of vibration."
These varying angles of inclination of the axes and the measures of
vibration made the Cosmic Root-substance capable of forming different
combinations, which are the basis of the seven great Cosmic Planes. There is,
in each of these Planes, a different inclination of the axes, and also a
different measure of vibration, consequently the conditions and combinations in
each one are different from those in any of the others, due to the activity of
"The Only Begotten."
"The Father" is the highest Initiate among the humanity of the Saturn Period. The ordinary humanity of that Period are now the Lords of Mind.
"The Son" (Christ) is the highest Initiate of the Sun Period. The
ordinary humanity of that Period are now the Archangels.
"The Holy Spirit" (Jehovah) is the highest Initiate of the Moon
Period. The ordinary humanity of that Period are now the Angels.
This diagram also shows what are the vehicles of these different orders of
Beings, and upon comparison with
Diagram 8,
it will be seen that their bodies or vehicles (indicated by squares on
Diagram 14) correspond to the Globes of the Period in which they were human.
This is always the case so far as the ordinary humanities are concerned, for
at the end of the Period during which any life wave becomes individualized as
human beings, those beings retain bodies corresponding to the Globes
on which they have functioned.
On the other hand, the Initiates have progressed and evolved for
themselves higher vehicles, discontinuing the ordinary use of the lowest
vehicle when the ability to use a new and higher one has been attained.
Ordinarily, the lowest vehicle of an Archangel is the desire body, but Christ,
Who is the highest Initiate of the Sun Period, ordinarily uses the life
spirit as lowest vehicle, functioning as consciously in the World of Life
Spirit as we do in the Physical World. The student is requested to note
this point particularly, as the World of Life Spirit is the first
universal World, as explained in the section on Worlds. It
is the World in which differentiation ceases and unity begins to be
realized, so far as out solar system is concerned.
Christ has power to build and function in a vehicle as low as the desire
body, such as is used by the Archangels but He can descend no further.
The significance of this will be seen presently.
Jesus belongs to our humanity. When the man, Jesus, is studied
through the memory of nature, he can be traced back life by life, where he
lived in different circumstances, under various names, in different
embodiments, the same, in that respect, as any other human being. This
cannot be done with the Being, Christ. In His case can be found but
one embodiment.
It must not be supposed, however, that Jesus was an ordinary individual. He
was of a singularly pure type of mind, vastly superior to the great majority
of our present humanity. Through many lives had he trod the Path of Holiness
and thus fitted himself for the greatest honor ever bestowed upon a human
being.
His mother, the Virgin Mary, was also a type of the highest human purity
and because of that was selected to become the mother of Jesus. His father
was a high Initiate, virgin, and capable of performing the act of fecundation
as a sacrament, without personal desire or passion.
Thus the beautiful, pure and lovely spirit whom we know as Jesus of
Nazareth was born into a pure and passionless body. This body was the best
that could be produced on Earth and the task of Jesus, in that embodiment,
was to care for it and evolve it to the highest possible degree of
efficiency, in preparation for the great purpose it was to serve.
Jesus of Nazareth was born at about the time stated in the historic
records, and not 105 B.C., as stated in some esoteric works. The name Jesus is
common in the East, and an Initiate named Jesus did live 105 B.C., but he took
the Egyptian Initiation, and was not Jesus of Nazareth, with whom we are
concerned.
The Individual who was later born under the name of Christian Rosenkreuz,
who is in the body today, was a highly evolved being when Jesus of Nazareth
was born. His testimony, as well as the results of first-hand investigation by
later Rosicrucians, all agree in placing the birth of Jesus of Nazareth at
the beginning of the Christian Era, on about the date usually ascribed to that
event.
Jesus was educated by the Essenes and reached a very high state of
spiritual development during the thirty years in which he used his body.
It may be here said, parenthetically, that the Essenes were a third sect
which existed in Palestine, besides the two mentioned in the New
Testament — the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Essenes were an exceedingly
devout order, widely different from the materialistic Sadducees and entirely
opposite to the hypocritical, publicity seeking Pharisees. They shunned all
mention of themselves and their methods of study and worship. To the latter
peculiarity is due the fact that almost nothing is known of them, and that
they are not mentioned in the New Testament.
It is a law of the Cosmos that no Being, however high, can function in
any world without a vehicle built of the material of that world (See
Diagram 8 and
Diagram 14). Therefore the desire body was the lowest vehicle of the group
of spirits who had reached the human stage in the Sun Period.
Christ was one of those spirits and was consequently unable to build for
Himself a vital body and a dense physical vehicle. He could have worked
upon humanity in a desire body, as did His younger brothers, the Archangels, as
Race-spirits. Jehovah had opened an avenue for them to enter the dense body
of man by means of the air he inhaled. All Race-religions were religions of
law, and creators of sin through disobedience of that law. They were under
the direction of Jehovah, Whose lowest vehicle is the human spirit,
correlating Him to the World of Abstract Thought, where everything is
separative and therefore leads to self-seeking.
That is precisely the reason why the intervention of Christ became
necessary. Under the regime of Jehovah unity is impossible.
Therefore the Christ, Who possesses as a lowest vehicle the unifying life
spirit, must enter into the dense human body. He must appear as a man among
men and dwell in this body, because only from within is it
possible to conquer the Race-religion, which influences man from
without.
Christ could not be born in a dense body, because He had never
passed through an evolution such as the Earth Period, therefore He would first
have had to acquire the ability to build a dense body such as ours. But even
had He possessed that ability, it would have been inexpedient for such an
exalted Being to expend for that purpose the energy necessary for
body-building through ante-natal life, childhood and youth, to bring it to
sufficient maturity for use. He had ceased to use, ordinarily, vehicles
such as would correspond to our human spirit, mind and desire body, although He
had learned to build them in the Sun Period, and retained the ability to build
and function in them whenever desired or required. He used all his own
vehicles, taking only the vital and dense bodies from Jesus. When the latter
was 30 years of age Christ entered these bodies and used them until the climax
of His Mission on Golgotha. After the destruction of the dense body, Christ
appeared among His disciples in the vital body, in which He functioned for
some time. The vital body is the vehicle which He will use when He appears
again, for He will never take another dense body.
It is encroaching upon a subject to be dealt with later to remark that
the object of all esoteric training is to so work on the vital body that the
life spirit is built up and quickened. When we come to deal with Initiation it
may be possible to give more detailed explanations, but no more can be said
on the subject just now. In chronicling the events incident to post
mortem existence, this subject has been partially dealt with and the
student is here asked to note that a man is supposed to have conquered his
desire body to a considerable extent before attempting esotericism. His
esoteric training and the earlier Initiations are devoted to work on the vital
body and result in the building of the life spirit. At the time Christ
entered the body of Jesus, the latter was a disciple of high degree,
consequently his life spirit was well organized. Therefore, the lowest
vehicle in which Christ functioned, and the best organized of the higher
vehicles of Jesus, were identical; and Christ, when He took the vital body
and the dense body of Jesus, was thus furnished with a complete chain of
vehicles bridging the gap between the World of Life Spirit and the dense
Physical World.
The significance of the fact that Jesus had passed several initiations
lies in the effect that has on the vital body. Jesus' vital body was
already attuned to the high vibrations of the life spirit. An ordinary
man's vital body would have instantly collapsed under the terrific
vibrations of the Great Spirit who entered Jesus' body. Even that body, pure
and high-strung as it was, could not withstand those tremendous impacts for
many years, and when we read of certain times when Christ withdrew
temporarily from his disciples, as when he later walked on the sea to meet
them, the esotericist knows that he drew out of Jesus' vehicles to give them
a rest under the care of the Essene Brothers, who knew more of how to treat
such vehicles than Christ did.
This change was consummated with the full and free consent of Jesus, who
knew during this entire life that he was preparing a vehicle for Christ. He
submitted gladly, that his brother humanity might receive the gigantic impetus
which was given to its development by the mysterious sacrifice on
Golgotha.
Thus (as shown in
Diagram 14) Christ Jesus possessed the twelve vehicles, which formed an unbroken chain from the Physical
World to the very Throne of God. Therefore He is the only Being in the
Universe in touch with both God and man and capable of mediating between them,
because He has, personally and individually, experienced all conditions and
knows every limitation incidental to physical existence.
Christ is unique among all Beings in all the seven Worlds. He alone possess
the twelve vehicles. None save He is able to feel such compassion, nor so
fully understand the position and needs of humanity; none save He is
qualified to bring the relief that shall fully meet our needs.
Thus do we know the nature of Christ. He is the highest Initiate of the
Sun Period and He took the dense and vital bodies of Jesus that He might
function directly in the Physical World and appear as a man among men. Had He
appeared in a manifestly miraculous manner, it would have been contrary to
the scheme of evolution, because at the end of the Atlantean Epoch humanity had
been given freedom to do right or wrong. That they might learn to become
self-governing, no coercion whatever could be used. They must know good and
evil through experience. Before that time they had been led willy-nilly,
but at that time they were given freedom under the different Race-religions,
each religion adapted to the needs of its particular Tribe or Nation.
Not Peace but
a Sword
All Race-religions are of the Holy Spirit. They are insufficient,
because they are based on law, which makes for sin and brings death, pain and
sorrow.
All Race-spirits know this, and realize that their religions are merely
steps to something better. This is shown by the fact that all
Race-religions, without exception, point to One Who is to come. The
religion of the Persians pointed to Mithras; of the Chaldeans to Tammuz. The
old Norse Gods foresaw the approach of "The Twilight of the Gods," when
Sutr, the bright Sun-spirit, shall supersede them and a new and fairer order be
established on "Gimle," the regenerated earth. The Egyptians waited for
Horis, the new-born Sun. Mithras and Tammuz are also symbolized as Solar
orbs and all the principal Temples were built facing the East, that the rays of
the rising Sun might shine directly through the open doors; even Saint
Peter's at Rome is so placed. All these facts show that it was generally
known that the One Who was to come was a Sun-spirit and was to save humanity
from the separative influences necessarily contained in all Race-religions.
These religions were steps which it was necessary for mankind to take to
prepare for the advent of Christ. Man must first cultivate a "self" before he
can become really unselfish and understand the higher phase of
Universal Brotherhood — unity of purpose and interest — for which Christ laid the
foundation at His first coming, and which He will make living realities when
He returns.
As the fundamental principle of a Race-religion is separation, inculcating
self-seeking at the expense of other men and nations, it is evident that if
the principle is carried to its ultimate conclusion it must necessarily have
an increasingly destructive tendency and finally frustrate evolution, unless
succeeded by a more constructive religion.
Therefore the separative religions of the Holy Spirit must give place to
the unifying religion of the Son, which is the Christian religion.
Law must give place to Love, and the separate Races and Nations be united in
one Universal Brotherhood, with Christ as the Eldest Brother.
The Christian religion has not yet had time to accomplish this great
object. Man is still in the toils of the dominant Race-spirit and the ideals
of Christianity are yet too high for him. The intellect can see some of the
beauties, and readily admits that we should love our enemies, but the
passions of the desire body are still too strong. The law of the Race-spirit
being "An eye for an eye," the Feeling is "I'll get even!" The heart prays
for Love; the desire body hopes for Revenge. The intellect sees, in the
abstract, the beauty of loving one's enemies but in concrete cases it
allies itself with the vengeful feeling of the desire body, pleading, as an
excuse for "getting even," that "the social organism must be protected."
It is a matter for congratulation, however, that society feels compelled to
apologize for the retaliative methods used. Corrective methods and mercy are
becoming more and more prominent in the administration of the laws, as is
shown by the favorable reception which has been accorded that very modern
institution, the Juvenile Court. Further manifestation of this same
tendency may be noted in the increasing frequency with which convicted
prisoners are released on probation, under suspended sentence; also in the
greater humanity with which prisoners of war are treated of late years. These
are the vanguards of the sentiment of Universal Brotherhood, which is slowly
but surely makings its influence felt.
Yet, though the world is advancing and though, for instance, it has been
comparatively easy for the writer to secure a hearing for his views in the
different cities where he has lectured, the daily papers sometimes devoting to
his utterances whole pages (and front pages at that) so long as he confined
himself to speaking of the higher worlds and the post mortem states,
it has been very noticeable that as soon as the theme was Universal Brotherhood
his articles have always been consigned to the waste-basket.
The world in general is very unwilling to consider anything that is, as it
thinks, "too" unselfish. There must be "something in it." Nothing is
regarded as an entirely natural line of conduct if it offers no opportunity
for "getting the best of" one's fellowmen. Commercial undertakings are
planned and conducted on that principle and, before the minds of those who
are enslaved by the desire to accumulate useless wealth, the idea of
Universal Brotherhood conjures up frightful visions of the abolition of
capitalism and its inevitable concomitant, the exploitation of others, with
the wreck of "business interests" implied thereby. The word "enslaved"
exactly describes this condition. According to the Bible, man was to have
dominion over the world, but in the vast majority of cases the reverse is
true — it is the world which has dominion over man. Every man who has property
interests will, in his saner moments, admit that they are a
never-failing source of worry to him; that he is constantly scheming to hold
his possessions, or at least to keep from being deprived of them by "sharp
practice," knowing that others are as constantly scheming to accomplish
that, to them, desirable end. The man is the slave of what, with
unconscious irony, he calls "my possessions,' when in reality they possess
him. Well did the Sage of Concord say, "Things are in the saddle and
ride mankind!"
This state of affairs is the result of Race-religions, with their system of
law; therefore do they all look for "One Who is to come." The Christian
religion alone is not looking for One Who is to come, but
for One Who is to come again. The time of this second coming depends
upon when the Church can free itself from the State. The Church, especially
in Europe, is bound to the Chariot of State. The ministers are fettered by
economic considerations and dare not proclaim the truths that their studies
have revealed to them.
A visitor to Copenhagen, Denmark, recently witnessed a church confirmation
service. The Church there is under State control and all ministers are
appointed by the temporal power. The parishioners have nothing whatever to
say in the matter. They may attend church or not, as they please, but they
are compelled to pay the taxes which support the institution.
In addition to holding office by the bounty of the State, the pastor of
the particular church visited was decorated with several Orders conferred by
the king, the glittering badges bearing silent but eloquent testimony as to
the extent of his subservience to the State. During the ceremony, he prayed
for the king and the legislators, that they might rule the country wisely. As
long as kings and legislators exists, this prayer might be very appropriate,
but it was a considerable shock to hear him add: ". . . . and, almighty
God, protect and strengthen our army and navy!"
Such a prayer as this shows plainly that the God worshiped is the Tribal or
National God — the Race-spirit, for the last act of the gentle Christ Jesus
was to stay the sword of the friend who would have protected Him
therewith. Although He said He had not come to send peace, but a sword, it
was because He foresaw the oceans of blood that would be spilled by the
militant "Christian" nations in their mistaken understanding of His teachings
and because high ideals cannot be immediately attained by humanity. The
wholesale murder of war and like atrocities are harsh, but they are potent
illustrations of what Love would abolish.
There is, apparently, a flat contradiction between the words of Christ
Jesus, "I came not to send peace, but a sword," and the words of the celestial
song which heralded the birth of Jesus, "On earth Peace, Goodwill toward
men." This contradiction, however, is apparent only.
There is as great an apparent contradiction between a woman's words and
her actions when she says, "I am going to clean house and tidy up," and then
proceeds to take up carpets and pile chairs one upon another, producing general
confusion in a previously orderly house. One observing only this aspect of
the matter, would be justified in saying, "She is making matters worse
instead of better," but when the purpose of her work is understood, the
expediency of the temporary disorder is realized and in the end her house
will be the better for the passing disturbance.
Similarly, we must bear in mind that the time which has elapsed since the
coming of Christ Jesus is but little more than a moment in comparison with
the duration of even one Day of Manifestation. We must learn, as did
Whitman, to "know the amplitude of time," and look beyond the past and
present cruelties and jealousies of the warring sects to the shining age of
Universal Brotherhood, which will mark the next great step of man's progress on
his long and wondrous journey from the clod to the God, from protoplasm to
conscious unity with the Father, that
. . . one far-off, divine event
To which the whole creation moves.
It may be added that the above mentioned pastor, during the ceremony of
receiving his pupils into the Church, taught them that Jesus Christ was a
composite individual; that Jesus was the mortal, human part, while Christ
was the divine, immortal Spirit. Presumably, if the matter had been
discussed with him, he would not have supported this statement, nevertheless in
making it he stated an esoteric fact.
The Star of
Bethlehem
The unifying influence of the Christ has been symbolized in the beautiful
legend of the worship of the three magi, or "wise men of the East," so
skillfully woven by General Lew Wallace into his charming story, "Ben Hur."
The three wise men — Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar — are the
representatives of the white, yellow and black Races and symbolize the people
of Europe, Asia and Africa, who are all led by The Star to the World-Savior,
to Whom eventually "every knee shall bow," and Whom "every tongue shall
confess"; Who shall unite all the scattered nations under the Banner of Peace
and Goodwill; Who shall cause men to "beat their words into plowshares and
their spears into pruning hooks."
The Star of Bethlehem is said to have appeared at the time of the birth of
Jesus, and to have guided the three wise men to the Savior.
Much speculation has been indulged in as to the nature of this Star.
Most material scientists have declared it a myth, while others have said if it
were anything more than a myth, it might have been a "coincidence" — two dead
Suns might have collided and caused a conflagration. Every mystic, however,
knows the "Star" — yea, and the "Cross" also — not only as symbols connected
with the life of Jesus and Christ Jesus, but in his own personal experience.
Paul says: "Until Christ be formed in you"; and the mystic, Angelus
Silesius, echoes:
Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born
And not within thyself, thy soul will be forlorn.
The Cross on Golgotha thou lookest to in vain
Unless within thyself it be set up again.
Richard Wagner shows the intuitional knowledge of the artist when, to the
question of Parsifal, "Who is The Grail?" Gurnemanz answers:
That tell we not;
But if thou hast by Him been bidden,
From thee the truth will not stay hidden.
. . . The land to Him no path leads through,
And search but severs from Him wider
When He Himself is not the Guider.
Under the "old dispensation" the path to Initiation was not open. It was
for only the chosen few. Some might seek the path, but only those who were
guided to the Temples by the Hierophants found entrance. Previous to the
advent of Christ, there was no such sweeping invitation as "Whosoever will
may come."
At the moment the blood flowed on Golgotha, however, "the veil of the
Temple was rent" (for reasons presently to be explained), and ever since
that time, whosoever will seek admittance will surely find it.
In the Temples of Mystery the Hierophant taught his pupils that there is in
the Sun a spiritual, as well as a physical force. The latter force in the
rays of the Sun is the fecundating principle in nature. It causes the growth
of the plant world and thereby sustains the animal and human kingdom. It is the
upbuilding energy which is the source of all physical force.
This physical, solar energy reaches its highest expression in midsummer,
when the days are longest and the nights are shortest, because the rays of
the Sun then fall directly on the northern hemisphere. At that time the
spiritual forces are the most inactive.
On the other hand, in December, during the long winter nights, the
physical force of the solar orb is dormant and the spiritual forces reach
their maximum degree of activity.
The night between the 24th and the 25th of December is The Holy Night,
par excellence, of the entire year. The Zodiacal sign of the
immaculate celestial Virgin stands upon the eastern horizon near midnight, the
Sun of the New Year is then born and starts upon his journey from the
southernmost point toward the northern hemisphere, to save that part
of humanity (physically) from the darkness and famine which would inevitably
result if he were to remain permanently south of the equator.
To the people of the northern hemisphere, where all our present day
religions originated, the Sun is directly below the Earth; and the spiritual
influences are strongest, in the north, at midnight of the 24th of December.
That being the case, it follows as a matter of course that it would then be
easiest for those who wished to take a definite step toward Initiation to get
in conscious touch with the spiritual Sun especially for the first time.
Therefore the pupils who were ready for Initiation were taken in hand by
the Hierophants of the Mysteries, and be means of ceremonies performed in
the Temple, were raised to a state of exaltation wherein they transcended
physical conditions. To their spiritual vision, the solid Earth become
transparent and they was the Sun at midnight — "The Star!" It was not the
physical Sun they saw with spiritual eyes, however, but the Spirit in the
Sun — The Christ — their Spiritual Savior, as the physical Sun was their
physical Savior.
This is the Star that shone on that Holy Night and that still shines for
the mystic in the darkness of night. When the noise and confusion of
physical activity are quieted, he enters into his closet and seeks the way to
the King of Peace. The Blazing Star is ever there to guide him and his soul
hears the prophetic song, "On earth Peace, Goodwill toward men."
Peace and goodwill to all, without exception; no room for one single enemy
or outcast! Is it any wonder that it is hard to educate humanity to such a
high standard? Is there any better way to show the beauty of, and the
necessity for peace, goodwill and love than by contrasting them with the
present state of war, selfishness and hate?
The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow it casts. The higher our
ideals, the more plainly can we see our shortcomings.
Unfortunately, at the present stage of development, humanity is willing to
learn only by the hardest experience. As a Race, it must become absolutely
selfish to feel the bitter pangs caused by the selfishness of others, as one
must know much sickness to be thoroughly thankful for health.
The religion miscalled Christianity has therefore been the
bloodiest religion known, not excepting Mohammedanism, which in this respect is
somewhat akin to our malpracticed Christianity. On the battle field and in
the Inquisition innumerable and unspeakable atrocities have been committed in
the name of the gentle Nazarene. The Sword and the Wine Cup — the
perverted Cross and Communion Chalice — have been the means by which the more
powerful of the so-called Christian nations gained supremacy over the
heathen peoples, and even over other but weaker nations professing the same
faith as their conquerors. The most cursory reading of the history
of the Graeco-Latin, Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon Races will corroborate this.
While man was under the full sway of Race-religions each nation
was a united whole. Individual interests were willingly subordinated to the
community interests. All were "under the law." All were members of their
respective tribes first, and individuals only secondarily.
At the present time there is a tendency toward the other extreme — to exalt
"self" above all else. The result is evident in the economic and industrial
problems that are facing every nation and clamoring for solution.
The state of development wherein every man feels himself an absolutely
separate unit, an Ego, independently pursuing his own course, is a necessary
stage. The national, tribal and family unity must first be broken up before
Universal Brotherhood can become a fact. The regime of
Paternalism has been largely superseded by the reign of Individualism. We
are learning the evils of the latter more and more as our civilization
advances. Our unsystematic method of distributing the products of labor, the
rapacity of the few and the exploitation of many — these social crimes
result in under-consumption, industrial depressions and labor disturbances,
destroying internal peace. The industrial war of the present day is
vastly more far-reaching and destructive than the military wars of the
nations.
The Heart as
an Anomaly
No lesson, though its truth may be superficially assented to, is of any
real value as an active principle of the life until the heart has learned it in
longing and bitterness, and the lesson man must so learn is that what is not
beneficial to all can never be truly beneficial to any. For nearly 2,000
years we have lightly assented with our lips that we should govern our lives in
accordance with such maxims as "Return good for evil." The Heart urges mercy
and love, but the Reason urges belligerent and retaliatory measures, if not
as revenge, at least as a means of preventing a repetition of hostilities. It
is this divorce of head from heart that hinders the growth of a true feeling of
Universal Brotherhood and the adoption of the teachings of Christ — the Lord of
Love.
The mind is the focusing point by means of which the Ego becomes aware of
the material universe. As an instrument for the acquisition of knowledge in
those realms the mind is invaluable, but when it arrogates to itself the
role of dictator as to the conduct of man to man, it is as though
the lens should say to an astronomer who was in the act of photographing
the Sun through a telescope: "You have me improperly focused. You are not
looking at the Sun correctly. I do not think it is good to photograph the Sun
anyway, and I want you to point me at Jupiter. The rays of the Sun heat me too
much and are liable to damage me."
If the astronomer exercises his will and focuses the telescope as he
desires, telling it to attend to its business of transmitting the rays that
strike it, leaving the results to him, the work will proceed well, but if
the lens has the stronger will and the mechanism of the telescope is in
league with it, the astronomer will be seriously hampered in having to contend
with a refractory instrument, and the result will be blurred pictures, of
little or no value.
Thus it is with the Ego. It works with a threefold body, which it
controls, or should control through the mind. But, sad to say, this body has a
will of its own and is often aided and abetted by the mind, thus frustrating
the purposes of the Ego.
This antagonistic "lower will" is an expression of the higher part of the
desire body. When the division of the Sun, Moon, and Earth took place, in
the early part of Lemurian Epoch, the more advanced portion of
humanity-in-the-making experienced a division of the desire body into a
higher and a lower part. The rest of humanity did likewise in the early
part of the Atlantean Epoch.
This higher part of the desire body became a sort of animal soul. It
built the cerebro-spinal nervous systems and the voluntary muscles, by that
means controlling the lower part of the threefold body until the link of
mind was given. Then the mind "coalesced" with this animal soul and become a
co-regent.
The mind is thus bound up in desire; is enmeshed in the selfish lower
nature, making it difficult for the spirit to control the body. The focusing
mind, which should be the ally of the higher nature, is alienated by and in
league with the lower nature — enslaved by desire.
The law of the Race religions was given to emancipate intellect from
desire. The "fear of God" was pitted against "the desires of the flesh."
This, however, was not enough to enable one to become master of the body and
secure its willing co-operation. It became necessary for the spirit to find in
the body another point of vantage, which was not under the sway of the desire
nature. All muscles are expressions of the desire body and a straight
road to the capital, where the traitorous mind is wedded to desire and reigns
supreme.
If the United States were at war with France, it would not land troops in
England, hoping in that way to subjugate the French. It would land its
soldiers directly in France, and fight there.
Like a wise general, the Ego followed a similar course of action. It did
not commence its campaign by getting control of one of the glands, for they
are expressions of the vital body; nor was it possible to get control of the
voluntary muscles, for they are too well garrisoned by the enemy. That part of
the involuntary muscular system which is controlled by the sympathetic
nervous system would also be useless for the purpose. It must get into a
more direct touch with the cerebro-spinal nervous system. To do this, and
secure a base of operations in the enemy's country, it must control a muscle
which is involuntary, and yet connected with the voluntary nervous system.
Such a muscle is the heart.
We have previously spoken of the two kinds of muscles — voluntary and
involuntary. The latter are formed in lengthwise stripes and are connected
with functions not under the control of the will, such as digestion,
respiration, excretion, etc. The voluntary muscles are those which are
controlled by the will through the voluntary nervous system, such as the
muscles of the hand and arm. They are striped both lengthwise and
crosswise.
The above is true of all muscles in the body except the heart,
which is an involuntary muscle. Ordinarily, we cannot control the
circulation. Under normal conditions the heart-beat is a fixed quantity, yet
to the bewilderment of physiologists, the heart is cross-striped
like a voluntary muscle. It is the only organ in the body exhibiting this
peculiarity but, sphinx-like, it refuses to give material scientists an answer
to the riddle.
The esoteric scientist easily finds the answer in the memory of nature.
From that record he learns that when the Ego first sought a stronghold in
the heart, the latter was striped lengthwise only, the same as any other
involuntary muscle; but as the Ego gained more and more control over the
heart, the cross-stripes have gradually developed. They are not so numerous
nor so well defined as on the muscles under the full control of the desire
body, but as the altruistic principles of love and brotherhood increase in
strength and gradually overrule the reason, which is based in desire, so
will these cross stripes become more numerous and more marked.
As previously stated, the seed-atom of the dense body is located in the
heart during life and withdrawn only at death. The active work of the Ego is
in the blood. Now, if we except the lungs, the heart is the only organ in the
body through which all the blood passes in every cycle.
The blood is the highest expression of the vital body, for it nourishes
the entire physical organism. It is also, in a sense, the vehicle of the
subconscious memory, and in touch with the Memory of Nature, situated in
the highest division of the Etheric Region. The blood carries the pictures of
life from ancestors to descendants for generations, where there is a common
blood, as produced by inbreeding.
There are in the head three points, each of which is the particular seat of
one of the three aspects of the spirit (See
Diagram 17), the second and third aspects having, in addition, secondary
vantage grounds.
The desire body is the perverted expression of the Ego. It converts the
"Selfhood" of the spirit into "selfishness." Selfhood seeks not its own at
the expense of others. Selfishness seeks gain regardless of others. The
seat of the human spirit is primarily in the pineal gland and secondarily in
the brain and cerebro-spinal nervous system, which controls the voluntary
muscles.
The love and unity in the World of the Life Spirit find their illusory
counterpart in the Etheric Region, to which we are correlated by the vital
body, which latter promotes sex love and sex union. The life spirit has its
seat primarily in the pituitary body and secondarily in the heart, which is
the gateway of the blood that nourishes the muscles.
The actionless Divine Spirit — The Silent Watcher — finds its material
expression in the passive, inert and unresponsive skeleton of the dense body,
which is the obedient instrument of other bodies, but has no power to act on
its own initiative. The Divine Spirit has its strong hold in the
impenetrable point at the root of the nose.
In reality there is but one spirit, the Ego, but looking at it from the
Physical World, it is refracted into the three aspects, which work as
stated.
As the blood passes through the heart, cycle after cycle, hour after hour
all through life, it engraves the pictures it carries upon the seed-atoms
while they are still fresh, thus making a faithful record of the life which is
indelibly impressed on the soul in the postmortem existence, It
is always in closest touch with the life spirit, the spirit of love and unity,
therefore the heart is the home of altruistic love.
As these pictures pass inward to the World of Life Spirit, in which is
the true memory of nature, they do not come through the slow physical
senses, but directly through the fourth ether contained in the air we
breathe. In the World of Life Spirit the life spirit sees much more clearly
than it can in the denser Worlds. In its high home it is in touch with the
Cosmic Wisdom and in any situation it knows at once what to do and flashes
the message of guidance and proper action back to the heart, which as
instantaneously flashes it on the the brain through the medium of the
pneumogastric nerve, resulting in "first impressions" — the intuitional
impulse, which is always good, because it is drawn directly from the fountain
of Cosmic Wisdom and Love.
This is all done so quickly that the heart has control before the slower
reason has had time to "take in the situation," as it were. It is the
thought that man "thinketh in his heart," and it is true that "so is he."
Man is inherently a virgin spirit, good, noble and true in every respect.
All that is not good is from the lower nature, that illusory reflection of
the Ego. The virgin spirit is always giving wise counsel. If we could only
follow the impulses of the heart — the first thought — Universal Brotherhood
would be realized here and now.
But that is just the point where the trouble begins. After the good
counsel of the first thought has been given, the mind begins to reason, with
the result that, in the great majority of cases, it dominates the heart.
The telescope arranges its own focus and points where it lists, despite the
astronomer. The mind and the desire body frustrate the designs of the
spirit by taking control and, as they lack the spirit's wisdom, both spirit
and body suffer.
Physiologists note that certain areas of the brain are devoted to
particular thought activities and phrenologists have carried this branch of
science still further. Now, it is known that thought breaks down and destroys
nerve tissues. This and all other waste of the body, is replaced by the
blood. When, through the development of the heart into a voluntary muscle,
the circulation of the blood finally passes under the absolute control of
the unifying life spirit — the Spirit of Love — it will then be within the
power of that spirit to withhold the blood from those areas of the brain
devoted to selfish purposes. As a result, those particular thought centers
will gradually atrophy.
On the other hand, it will be possible for the spirit to increase the
blood supply when the mental activities are altruistic, and thus build up
the areas devoted to altruism, so that, in time, the desire nature will be
conquered and the mind emancipated by Love from its bondage to desire. It is
only by complete emancipation, through Love, that man can rise above the law
and become a law unto himself. Having conquered himself, he will have
conquered all the World.
The cross stripes of the heart may be built by certain exercises under
esoteric training, but as some of these exercises are dangerous, they should be
undertaken only under the direction of a competent teacher. That no reader
of this book may be deceived by impostors professing ability and
willingness to so train aspirants for a consideration, it is emphatically
repeated that No true esotericist ever boasts, advertises his esoteric
power, sells esoteric information or lessons at so much each or for a course;
nor will he consent to a theatrical display. His work is done in the
most unobtrusive manner possible and solely for the purpose of legitimately
helping others, without thought of self.
As said in the beginning of this section, all persons earnestly desiring
the higher knowledge may rest assured that if they will but seek, they will
find the way open for them. Christ Himself prepared the way for "whosoever
will." He will help and welcome all real seekers, who are willing to work
for Universal Brotherhood.
The Mystery of
Golgotha
During the last 2,000 years much has been said about "the cleansing
blood." The blood of Christ has been extolled from the pulpit as the sovereign
remedy for sin; the only means of redemption and salvation.
But if the laws of Rebirth and Consequence work in such a way that the
evolving beings reap as they have sown, and if the evolutionary impulse is
constantly bringing humanity higher and higher, ultimately to attain
perfection — where then is the need for redemption and salvation? Even if
the need existed, how can the death of one individual help the rest? Would it
not be nobler to suffer the consequences of one's acts than to hide behind
another? These are some of the objections to the doctrine of vicarious
atonement and redemption by the blood of Christ Jesus. We will try to
answer them before showing the logical harmony between the operation of the
law of Consequence and the Atonement by Christ.
In the first place, it is absolutely true that the evolutionary impulse
does work to achieve ultimate perfection for all; yet there are some who are
constantly straggling behind. At the present time, we have just passed the
extreme point of materiality and are going through the sixteen Races. We
are treading "the sixteen paths to destruction," and are consequently in
graver danger of falling behind than at any other part of the evolutionary
journey.
In the abstract, time is nothing. A number may fall behind so far that
they must be abandoned, to take up their further evolution in another
scheme, where they can continue their journey to perfection. Nevertheless
that was not the evolution originally designed for them and it is reasonable to
suppose that the exalted Intelligences in charge of our evolution use every
means to bring through in safety as many as possible of the entities under
their charge.
In ordinary evolution, the laws of Rebirth and Consequence are perfectly
adequate for bringing the major portion of the life wave up to perfection,
but they do not suffice in the case of the stragglers, who are lagging behind
in the various Races. During the stage of individualism, which is the climax
of the illusion of separateness, all mankind needs extra help, but for the
stragglers some additional special aid must be provided.
To give that special aid, to redeem the stragglers, was the mission of
Christ. He said that He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He
opened the way of Initiation for all who are willing to seek it.
Objectors to vicarious atonement urge: That it is cowardly to hide
behind another; that each man should be willing to take the consequence of
his acts.
Let us consider an analogous case. The waters of the Great Lakes narrow
into the Niagara River. For twenty miles this enormous volume of water
flows rapidly toward the falls. The river bed is filled with rocks and if a
person who goes beyond a certain point does not lose his life in the rapids
above the cataract, he will surely do so by the plunge over the brink.
Suppose a man appeared who, in pity for the victims of the current,
placed a rope above the cataract, although he knew that the conditions were
such that in doing so, he himself could not by any possible chance escape
death. Yet gladly and of his own free will, he sacrificed his life and
placed the rope, thus modifying former conditions so that any otherwise
helpless victims who would grasp the rope would be saved and thenceforward
none need be lost.
What would we think of a man who had fallen into the water through his
own carelessness, and was struggling madly to reach the shore, if he should
say: "What! Save myself and seek to avoid penalty of my carelessness by
shielding myself behind the strength of another, who suffered through no
fault of his own, and gave up his life that such as I might live? No,
never! That would not be "manly." I will take my deserts!" Would we not
all agree that the man was a fool?
Notall are in need of salvation. Christ knew that there is a very large
class who do not require salvation in this way, but just as surely as there
are the ninety-and-nine who are well taken care of by the laws of Rebirth
and Consequence and will reach perfection in that way, so there are the
"sinners" who have become "bogged" in matter and cannot escape without a
rope. Christ came to save them and to bring peace and good will to all, by
raising them to the necessary point of spirituality, causing a change in
their desire bodies which will make the influence of the life spirit in the
heart more potent.
His younger brother Sun spirits, the Archangels, had worked as
Race-spirits on the desire bodies of man, but their work had been from
without. It was simply a reflected spiritual Sun-force and came
through the Moon — as moonlight is reflected sunlight. Christ, the Chief
Initiate of the Sun spirits, entered directly into the dense body of the Earth
and brought the direct Sun-force, thus enabling Him to influence our desire
bodies from within.
Man cannot gaze long upon the Sun without becoming blind because its
vibrations are so rapid that they destroy the retina of the eye. But he can
look without harmful results upon the Moon, the vibrations from which are
much slower; yet they are also sunlight, but the higher vibrations have been
taken up by the Moon, which then reflects the residue to us.
So it is with the spiritual impulses which help man to evolve. The reason
why the Earth was thrown off from the Sun was because our humanity could not
endure the Sun's tremendous physical and spiritual impulses. Even after an
enormous distance had been placed between the Earth and Sun, the
spiritual impulse would still have been too strong had it not been sent
first to the Moon, to be used by Jehovah, the Regent of the Moon, for man's
benefit. A number of Archangels (ordinary Sun spirits) were given Jehovah as
helpers in reflecting these spiritual impulses from the Sun upon the humanity
of the Earth, in the form of Jehovistic or Race-religions.
The lowest vehicle of the Archangels is the desire body. Our desire body
was added in the Moon Period, at which time Jehovah was the highest
Initiate. Therefore Jehovah is able to deal with man's desire body.
Jehovah's lowest vehicle is the human spirit (see
Diagram 14) and its counterpart is the desire body. The Archangels are His
helpers because they are able to manage the spiritual Sun forces and the desire
body is their lowest vehicle. Thus they are able to work with and prepare
humanity for the time when it can receive the spiritual impulses directly
from the Solar Orb, without the intervention of the Moon.
Upon Christ, as the highest Initiate of the Sun Period, is laid the task of
sending out this impulse. The impulse which Jehovah reflected was sent out
by Christ, Who thus prepared both the Earth and humanity for His direct
ingress.
The expression, "prepared the Earth," means that all evolution on a
planet is accompanied by the evolution of that planet itself. had
some observer gifted with spiritual sight watched the evolution of our Earth
from some distant star, he would have noticed a gradual change taking place
in the Earth's desire body.
Under the old dispensation the desire bodies of people in general were
improved by means of the law. This work is still going on in the majority of
people, who are thus preparing themselves for the higher life.
The higher life (Initiation) does not commence, however, until the work on
the vital body begins. The means used for bringing that into activity is Love,
or rather Altruism. The former word has been so abused that it no longer
conveys the meaning here required.
During the old dispensation the path of Initiation was not free and open,
except to the chosen few. The Hierophants of the Mysteries collected certain
families about the Temples, setting them apart from all the other people.
These chosen families were then rigorously guarded as to certain rites and
ceremonies. Their marriages and sexual intercourse were regulated by the
Hierophants.
The effect of this was to produce a race having the proper degree of laxity
between the dense and vital bodies; also to wake the desire body from its
state of lethargy during sleep. Thus a special few were made fit for
Initiation and were given opportunities that could not be given to all. We
see instances of this method among the Jews, where the tribe of Levi were
the chosen Templars; also in the caste of the Brahmins, who were the only
priestly class among the Hindus.
The Mission of Christ, in addition to saving the lost, was to make
Initiation possible to all, therefore Jesus was not a Levite of the class to
which priesthood came by inheritance. He came from the common people and
though not of the teacher class, His teaching was higher than that of Moses.
Christ Jesus did not deny Moses, the law, nor the prophets. On the
contrary, He acknowledged them all and showed the people that they were His
witnesses, as they all pointed to One Who was to come. He told the people
that those things had served their purpose and that henceforth Love must
supersede Law.
Christ Jesus was killed. In connection with this fact, we come to the
supreme and fundamental difference between Him and the previous teachers, in
whom the Race spirits were born. They all died and must be reborn again and
again to help their peoples bear their destiny. The Archangel Michael (the
Race-spirit of the Jews) raised up Moses, who was taken up to Mount Nebo to
die. He was reborn as Elijah. Elijah returned as John the Baptist; Buddha
died and was reborn as Shankaracharya; Shri Krishna says, "Whenever there is
decay of Dharma. . .and. . .exaltation of Adharma, then I myself come forth
for the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the
sake of firmly establishing Dharma. I am born from age to age."
When death came Moses' face shone and Buddha's body become
alight. They all reached the stage when the spirit begins to shine
from within — but then they died.
Christ Jesus reached that stage on the Mount of Transfiguration. It is of
the very highest significance that His real work took place subsequent to
that event. He suffered; was killed — and resurrected.
Being killed is a very different thing from dying. The blood that had
been the vehicle of the Race-spirit must flow and be cleansed of that
contaminating influence. Love of father and mother, exclusive of other fathers
and mothers, must go — otherwise Universal Brotherhood and an all-embracing
Altruistic Love could never become an actuality.
The Cleansing Blood
When the Savior Christ Jesus was crucified His body was pierced in five
places; in the five centers where the currents of the vital body flow; and
the pressure of the crown of thorns caused a flow from the sixth also.
(This is a hint to those who already know these currents. A full elucidation
of this matter cannot be publicly given out at this time.)
When the blood flowed from these centers, the great Sun-spirit Christ was
liberated from the physical vehicle of Jesus and found Himself in the
Earth, with individual vehicles. The already existing planetary vehicles
He permeated with His own vehicles and, in the twinkling of an eye, diffused
His own desire body over the planet, which has enabled Him thenceforth to work
upon the Earth and its humanity from within.
At that moment a tremendous wave of spiritual sunlight flooded the Earth. It
rent the veil which the Race-spirit had hung before the Temple to keep out
all but the chosen few, and it made the Path of Initiation free thenceforth
to whomsoever will. So far as concerned the Spiritual Worlds, this wave
transformed the conditions of the Earth like a flash of lightning, but the
dense, concrete conditions are, of course, much more slowly affected.
Like all rapid and high vibrations of light, this great wave blinded the
people by its dazzling brilliance, therefore it was said that "the Sun was
darkened." The very opposite was what actually occurred. The Sun was not
darkened, but shone out in glorious splendor. It was the excess of light
that blinded the people, and only as the entire Earth absorbed the desire
body of the bright Sun-spirit did the vibration return to a more normal
rate.
The expression, "the cleansing blood of Christ Jesus," means that as the
blood flowed on Calvary, it bore with it the great Sun-spirit Christ, Who by
that means secured admission to the earth itself and since that moment has
been its Regent. He diffused His own desire body throughout the planet,
thereby cleansing it from all the vile influences which had grown up under
the regime of the Race-spirit.
Under the law all sinned; nay, more — they could not help it. They had
not evolved to where they could do right for Love's sake. The desire nature
was so strong that it was an impossibility for them to rule it altogether,
therefore their debts, engendered under the law of Consequence, piled up to
monstrous proportions. Evolution would have been terribly delayed and many
lost to our life wave altogether it some help had not been given.
Therefore did Christ come "to seek and to save that which was lost." He
took away the sin of the world by His cleansing blood, which gave Him
entrance to the Earth and its humanity. He purified the conditions and we owe
it to Him that we are able to gather for our desire bodies purer
desire-stuff than formerly, and He continues working to help us, by making
our external environment constantly purer.
That this was and is done at the expense of great suffering to Himself, no
one can doubt who is able to form the least conception of the limitations
endured by that Great Spirit in entering the hampering conditions of
physical existence, even in the best and purest vehicle possible; nor is His
present limitation as Regent of the Earth must less painful. True, He is
also Regent of the Sun, and therefore only partially confined to the Earth,
yet the limitations set by the crampingly slow vibrations of our dense
planet must be almost unendurable.
Had Christ Jesus simply died, it would have been impossible for Him to
have done this work, but the Christians have a risen Savior; One Who
is ever present to help those who call upon His Name. Having suffered like
unto ourselves in all things and knowing fully our needs, He is lenient
toward our mistakes and failures so long as we continue trying to live the
good life. We must ever keep before our eyes the fact that the only real
failure is ceasing to try.
Upon the death of the dense body of Christ Jesus, the seed-atom was
returned to the original owner, Jesus of Nazareth, who for some time
afterward, while functioning in a vital body which he had gathered
temporarily, taught the nucleus of the new faith which Christ had left behind.
Jesus of Nazareth has since had the guidance of the esoteric branches which
sprang up all over Europe.
In many placed the Knights of the Round Table were high Initiates in the
Mysteries of the New Dispensation. So were the Knights of The Grail — to
whom was finally confided Joseph of Arimathea's Grail Cup, which was used by
Christ Jesus at The Last Supper. They were afterward entrusted also with
the Lance which pierced His side, and the receptacle which received the
blood from the wound.
The Druids of Ireland and the Trottes of Northern Russia were
esoteric schools through which the Master Jesus worked during the so-called
"Dark Ages," but, dark though they were, the spiritual impulse spread, and
from the standpoint of the esoteric scientist they were "Bright Ages" compared
to the growing materialism of the last 300 years, which has increased physical
knowledge immensely, but has almost extinguished the Light of the Spirit.
Tales of "The Grail," "Knights of The Round Table," etc., are now scouted as
superstitions and all that cannot be materially demonstrated is regarded as
unworthy of belief. Glorious as are the discoveries of modern science, they
have been bought at the terrible price of crushing the spiritual intuition
and, from a spiritual standpoint, no darker day than the present has ever
dawned.
The Elder Brothers, Jesus among them, have striven and are striving to
counteract this terrible influence, which is like that in the eyes of the
snake, causing the bird to fall into its jaws. Every attempt to enlighten
people and awaken in them a desire to cultivate the spiritual side of life, is
an evidence of the activity of the Elder Brothers.
May their efforts be crowned with success and speed the day when modern
science shall be spiritualized and conduct its investigation of matter from
the standpoint of spirit, for then, and not until then, will it arrive at a
true knowledge of the world.
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